second son was Yang, Yu (1837–1890), also named Ban-hou. People used to call him “Mr. The Second.” He studied taijiquan with his father since he was very young. Even though he practiced very hard and continuously, he was still scolded and whipped by his father. He was good at free fighting. One day he was challenged by a strong martial artist. When the challenger grasped his wrist and would not let him escape, Yang, Ban-hou suddenly used his jing to bounce the challenger away and defeat him. He was so proud he went home and told his father. Instead of praise, his father laughed at him because his sleeve was torn. After that, he trained harder and harder and finally became a superlative taiji artist. Unfortunately, he didn’t like to teach very much and had few students, so his art did not spread far after he died. One of his students, called Wu, Quan-you (吳全佑), later taught his son Wu, Jian-quan (鑑泉), whose art became the Wu Style Taijiquan. Yang, Ban-hou also had a son, called Zhao-peng (兆鵬), who passed on the art.
The third son of Yang, Lu-chan was Yang, Jian (AD 1842–1917), also named Jian-hou and nicknamed Jing-hu (鏡湖). People used to call him “Mr. The Third.” He also learned taiji from his father since he was young. His personality was softer and gentler than his brother’s and he had many followers. He taught three postures—large, medium, and small—although he specialized in the medium posture. He was also expert in using and coordinating both hard and soft power. While using a dust brush, he used to spar with his disciples who were good at sword and saber. Every time his brush touched the student’s wrist, the student could not do anything but bounce out. He was also good at using the staff and spear. When his long weapon touched an opponent’s weapon, the opponent could not approach him, but instead bounced away. When he emitted jing, it happened at the instant of laughing the “ha” sound. He could also throw the small metal balls called “bullets.” When he had a few balls in his hand, he could shoot three or four birds at the same time. The most impressive demonstration he performed was to put a sparrow on his hand. The bird could not fly away because when a bird takes off, it must push down first and use the reaction force to lift itself. Yang, Jian-hou could sense the bird’s power and neutralize this slight push, leaving the bird unable to take off. From this demonstration, one can understand that his listening jing and neutralizing jing (see Chapter 3) must have been superb. He had three sons, Zhao-xiong (兆熊), Zhao-yuan (兆元), and Zhao-qing (兆清). The second son, Zhao-yuan died at an early age.
Yang, Jian-hou’s first son, Yang, Zhao-xiong (AD 1862–1929), was also named Meng-xiang (夢祥) and later called Shao-hou (少侯). People used to call him “Mr. Oldest.” He practiced taijiquan since he was six years old. He had a strong and persevering personality. He was expert in free fighting and very good at using various jing like his uncle Yang, Ban-hou. He reached the highest level of taiji gongfu. Specializing in small postures, his movements were fast and sunken. Because of his personality, he didn’t have too many followers. He had a son called Yang, Zhen-sheng (振聲).
Yang, Jian-hou’s second son, Zhao-yuan, died at a young age. The third son was Yang, Zhao-qing (AD 1883–1935), also named Cheng-fu (澄甫). People called him “Mr. The Third.” His personality was mild and gentle. When he was young, he did not care for martial arts. It was not until his teens that he started studying taiji with his father. While his father was still alive Yang, Cheng-fu did not really understand the key secrets of taijiquan. It was not until his father died (1917) that he started to practice hard. His father had helped him to build a good foundation, and after several years of practice and research he was finally able to approach the level of his father and grandfather. Because of his experiences, he modified his father’s taijiquan and specialized in large postures. This emphasis was just completely reversed from that of his father and brother. He was the first taiji master willing to share the family secrets with the public, and because of his gentle nature he had countless students. When Nanking Central Guoshu Institute (南京中央國街館) was founded in 1926, he was invited to be the head taiji teacher, and his name became known throughout the country. He had four sons, Zhen-ming (振銘), Zhen-ji (振基), Zhen-duo (振鐸), and Zhen-guo (振國).
Yang Style Taijiquan can be classified into three major postures: large, medium, and small. It is also divided into three stances: high, medium, and low. Large postures were emphasized by Yang, Cheng-fu. He taught that the stances can be high, medium, or low, but the postures are extended, opened, and relaxed. Large postures are especially suitable for improving health. The medium-posture style requires that all the forms be neither too extended nor too restricted, and the internal jing neither totally emitted nor too conserved. Therefore, the form and jing are smoother and more continuous than the other two styles. The medium posture style was taught by Yang, Jian-hou. The small posture style, in which the forms are more compact and the movements light, agile, and quick, was passed down by Yang, Shao-hou. This style specializes in the martial application of the art. In conclusion, for martial application the small postures are generally the best, although they are the most difficult, and the large-posture style is best for health purposes.
To summarize:
1 Chen Style Taijiquan was derived from Jiang Style. Before Jiang, the history is vague.
2 Chen Style was divided into two styles: old and new. Chen, Chang-xing learned the old style and later passed it down to Yang, Lu-chan. The new style was created by Chen, You-ben.
3 Yang Style was derived from Chen Style fourteen generations after the Chen family learned from Jiang.
4 Chen, You-ben passed his art to Chen, Qing-ping, who created Zhao Bao Style.
5 Wü, Yu-rang (武禹襄) obtained the new style from Chen, Qing-ping and the old style from Yang, Lu-chan and created Wü Style Taijiquan (武氏太極拳).
6 Li, Yi-yu learned Wü Style (武氏) and created Li Style.
7 Hao, Wei-zhen obtained his art from Li Style and started Hao Style Taijiquan.
8 Sun, Lu-tang learned from Hao Style and began Sun Style.
9 Wu Style (吳氏) was started by Wu, Quan-you, who learned from Yang, Lu-chan’s second son, Yang, Ban-hou.
10 Yang Style Taijiquan has been famous since its creation by Yang, Lu-chan in the early part of the twentieth century.
11 Yang, Cheng-fu’s taijiquan is not the same as his father’s, uncle’s, or brother’s. He modified it and emphasized large postures and improving health.
The reader should now understand why there are so many variations within the art, even within a style such as the Yang Style. After so many years and so many generations, countless students have learned the art. Many went on to modify the style in light of their own experiences and research. It is understandable that a student nowadays might learn taijiquan and find that his style is different from that of another claiming to be from the same source. No one can really tell which is the original style or which is more effective than the others.
In Wang, Zong-yue’s Taijiquan Classic he writes, “What is taiji? It is generated from wuji. It is the mother of yin and yang. When it moves, it divides. At rest it reunites” (see appendix A-2). According to Chinese Daoist scripture, the universe was initially without life. The world had just cooled down from its fiery creation and all was foggy and blurry, without differentiation or separation, with no extremities or ends. This state was called wuji (無極) (literally, “no extremity”). Later the existing natural energy divided into two extremities, known as yin and yang. This polarity, or tendency to divide, is called taiji, which means “grand ultimate” or “grand extremity,” and also means “very
