Masters

Chen Zhao-Pi (1883-1972) was a student of Chen Deng-Ke (his father), Chen Yan-Xi, Chen Pin-San, and Chen Fa-Ke. His teaching and efforts to continue the legacy of Chenjiagou Taijiquan led to the spread of Chenstyle Taiji to the world outside Chenjiagou, as well as the establishment of the Wushu Training Halls in both Chenjiagou and Wenxian.

In 1928 he went to Beijing to teach.When he arrived a journalist wrote that finally a teacher of the original Chen Style Tai Chi has brought it to the capital .This article led to an event where Chen Zhaopi received challenges over 17 days and remained undefeated after more than 200 other martial artists tried to test his skills. During this period he asked Chen Fa-Ke to come to Beijing to teach also.

After Chen Fa-Ke arrived in Beijing, Chen Zhao-Pi traveled to Nanjing. At that time, the Kuomintang was in power, and the Mayor of Nanjing invited him to come and teach a class there and he also served as an honorary coach at the famous Central Martial Arts Institute.

From 1928 to 1958, he taught Taiji outside of the village. Some of the cities he taught in were Beijing, Nanjing, Xian, Lanzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou. In 1958 he returned to the village. After his return visit, he realized that not very many people were practicing Taijiquan anymore, due to the stresses of the World War, and the war between the Nationalists and the Communists.

Seeing this, he became very worried that the art would eventually decline. So, he returned to his job at the Yellow River Regulatory Commission in Kaifeng and requested an early retirement. He returned home to the Spartan life of the village to recruit a group of children for serious training.

There were about thirty kids who would gather in front of his door for instruction. He would lead the class in front while his wife would be in the back, making corrections. He was very patient, and took great pains to make corrections. He was never angry . During these years, there were three years of “natural disasters” (flooding, famine, etc.) as well as the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

During the Cultural Revolution, Taijiquan was considered to be old-fashioned, and part of old religions and superstitions. It was forbidden to promote Taijiquan at this time. Also, because he was connected to the Nationalists in Nanjing in the 1930’s, he was in a lot of trouble. During this time, if you wanted to teach or learn, it was very difficult.

Chen Ke-Sen, Chen Zhao-Pi’s son, wrote of this period: “During the Cultural Revolution, my father was persecuted and subjected to public “struggle sessions” which included having a 100 kilo weight tied around his neck and being made stand bowing while receiving abuse, but during the still of night, Chen Zheng-Lei and several others of his prized disciples secretly went to study under him. My father, demonstrating that he was not afraid of the persecution, bravely carried on with his teaching of Taijiquan.”]

Grand master Chen Zheng Lei recounts “At times, he would see his students practice seriously, and at other times, not so seriously. I know that this made him upset, but he never showed it to us. Instead, he would tell us stories to make us understand why we needed to practice with determination. He told us many stories about heroes in history whose efforts led them from obscurity to success.

He told us the story of the famous ancient musician who was the inventor of the 5-tone style of Chinese music. Because he wanted so badly to develop this music, he rubbed salt in his eyes to blind himself and rid himself of the distractions of sight and thus could focus his attentions on his hearing, and his music. He also told us of General Yueh Fei who had his mother tattoo four characters on his back that read, “give yourself wholeheartedly to your country.”

He told us these stories because he wished us to follow in the example of these heroes, and so that we would be resolute and tough in our lives. Most importantly, he made us realize that we were the future successors of the art of Taijiquan, and that we must practice continuously to live up to this responsibility. If we did not, our generation would break the tradition of instruction passed down from our ancestors. Taijiquan comes from the Chen family.

If we broke this tradition, we would not be able to stand before our ancestors, and our children would lose their martial inheritance. So, when we were very young, we were made to understand our responsibility. Regardless of how difficult our situation was at the time, we had to practice hard.

Toward the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party decided to begin to promote martial arts.As a result, my teacher’s morale and confidence improved. His teaching began to increase. He would teach with great patience. If you did not understand a movement, he would repeat it over and over for you. Not only would he explain the movement, he would also explain the principles behind it and the applications.

At that time, he was in his eighties, but he would still teach push hands. In 1972, he died. He died as a result of overwork. He took Taiji teams all over China to compete. His living conditions were not good in the village, and could not sustain the energy he expended in teaching over those years. Before his death, he taught me all of the principles, techniques, barehanded routines, weapons and push hands that he knew.

Chen Zhao-Pi has passed away, but he left a group of young people dedicated to Taiji. Teachers of the style, whether they are from Chenjiagou or not, are all in a way descended from him. He was the one responsible for promoting the art when it was in decline, and raising the next generation of teachers in the village”