Five Major Schools of Tai Chi Chuan - Yang Style
Yang family style (楊氏 yángshì) tai chi chuan in its many variations is the most popular and widely practised style in the world today and the second in terms of seniority among the primary five family styles of tai chi chuan.
History
The Yang family first became involved in the study of tai chi chüan in the early 1800s. The founder of the Yang style was Yang Lu-ch'an (楊露禪), aka Yang Fu-k'ui (楊福魁, 1799-1872), who studied under Ch'en Chang-hsing starting in 1820. Yang became a teacher in his own right, and his subsequent expression of tai chi chuan became known as the Yang style, and directly led to the development of other three major styles of tai chi chuan (see below). Yang Lu-ch'an (and some would say the art of tai chi chuan in general) came to prominence as a result of his being hired by the Chinese Imperial family to teach tai chi chuan to the elite Palace Battalion of the Imperial Guards in 1850, a position he held until his death.
Yang Lu-ch'an passed his art to:
- his second son but oldest son to live to maturity, Yang Pan-hou (楊班侯, 1837-1890), who was also retained as a martial arts instructor by the Chinese Imperial family. Yang Pan-hou became the formal teacher of Wu Ch'uan-yu (Wu Quanyou), a Manchu Banner cavalry officer of the Palace Battalion, even though Yang Lu-ch'an was Wu Ch'uan-yu's first tai chi chuan teacher. Wu Ch'uan-yu became Yang Pan-hou's first disciple. Wu Ch'uan-yu's son, Wu Chien-ch'üan (Wu Jianquan), also a Banner officer, became known as the co-founder (along with his father) of the Wu style.
- his third son Yang Chien-hou (Jianhou) (1839-1917), who passed it to his sons, Yang Shao-hou (楊少侯, 1862-1930) and Yang Ch'eng-fu (楊澄甫, 1883-1936).
- Wu Yu-hsiang (Wu Yuxiang, 武禹襄, 1813-1880) who also developed his own Wu/Hao style, which eventually, after three generations, led to the development of Sun style tai chi chuan.
Yang Ch'eng-fu removed the vigorous Fa-jing (發勁 release of power), energetic jumping, stamping, and other abrupt movements to emphasise Ta Chia (大架 large frame style). This style has slow, steady, expansive and soft movements suitable for general practitioners. Thus, Yang Ch'eng-fu is largely responsible for standardizing and popularizing the Yang style tai chi chüan widely practised today. Yang Ch'eng-fu moved to Shanghai in the 1920s, teaching there until the end of his life. His descendants are still teaching in schools associated with their family internationally.
Tung Ying-chieh (Dong Yingjie, 董英杰, 1898-1961), Ch'en Wei-ming (Chen Weiming), Fu Zhongwen (Fu Chung-wen, 1903-1994), Li Yaxuan (李雅轩, 1894-1976) and Cheng Man-ch'ing were famous students of Yang Ch'eng-fu. Each of them taught extensively, founding groups teaching T'ai Chi to this day. Cheng Man-ch'ing, perhaps the most famous outside of China, significantly shortened and simplified the traditional forms Yang taught him.
Related Articles
Not Just Physical Fitness, Tai Chi Chuan as a Martial Art
History of Tai Chi Chuan and its Founders
Five Major Schools of Tai Chi Chuan - Chen Style
Five Major Schools of Tai Chi Chuan - Wu Style
Five Major Schools of Tai Chi Chuan - Wu (Hao) Style
Five Major Schools of Tai Chi Chuan - Sun Style
Basic Postures of Tai Chi Chuan
Step-by-Step Tai Chi Chuan Moves
Tags:Tai chi chuan Yang style
