T’ai Chi Ch’uan was originally developed in antiquity (6th century A.D.) as a Chinese form of “moving meditation” for Taoist monks. Its main goals were self- defense, strength-building to improve balance and flexibility, and transcendence of the physical realm to achieve inner tranquility. Since the hustle and bustle of the city was unsuitable for those seeking enlightenment, the Taoists had to search for isolated spots in which to settle where they could live a hermit-like existence. Such spots existed only in the mountains where one finds little or no sound, no sorrow, and no movement. But in reality, such hermitage was an unsuitable, often extremely dangerous environment in which to dwell. High winds, foggy conditions, scarcity of food, serious diseases, and constant danger of attacks from wild beasts caused these gentle, peaceful hermits to invent a means of protection and strength-building in order to survive.
During the Tong Dynasty (618 A.D. to 907 A.D.), several “soft” styles of the martial arts were created, and the 37 "postures" of Hsu Suan Ping emerged as the most important form. At the end of the Sung Dynasty, a Taoist by the name of Cheung San Fung, in order to find one suitable martial art for the Taoist, often observed the habits of long-lived animals such as turtles and cranes. After many years of study, he at last created T’ai Chi Ch’uan, which was passed directly down through the ages within the Chen family exclusively—outsiders were not allowed to learn this most secret art.
T’ai Chi did not gain international prominence until the eighteenth century when Yang Lu-ch’an introduced it in Beijing. Yang Lu-ch’an was the first non-member of the Chen family to be brought into this sacred fold to be trained by a grandmaster, and his skill was so superior that he was never defeated in his lifetime.
Following Yang’s death, his version of T’ai Chi, now known as Yang Family Style, was taught mainly by members of Yang’s family. Yang’s grandson, Yang Cheng-fu, formalized the teaching of T’ai Chi into a set of 81 moves; the more repetitious and impractical moves were further modified by one of Yang Cheng-fu’s better students, Cheng Man-ch’ing, into the standard 44 moves of the Yang short form. Cheng Man-ch'ing became a revered Grandmaster and it was said he was never defeated in combat in his lifetime.
And finally, the esteemed Terrance Dunn, also trained in China by Cheng Man-ch'ing, simply regrouped the original 44 moves into an easier-to-understand 49-move Short Form for ease of teaching and understanding. Thus the lineage is totally pure and direct from the sixth century all the way to the present day for our studying pleasure.
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Emily B. Smith, Grasshopper Martial Arts, Edgerton 53534
