Searching for roots and asking ancestors, visiting Chen Jiagou's 81-year-old branch secretary to tell the modern history of Chen Jiagou Taijiquan.
On November 5, 2017, during the period of learning boxing in Chengou, I took the time to visit Mr. Zhang Weizhen, an eighty-one-year-old old village secretary, and listened to the old man tell the story of Chenjiagou Taijiquan, the birthplace of Taijiquan, This is the third time I came to Chenjiagou, the first few times I led the team to participate in the Jiaozuo Taijiquan Exchange Competition, mainly to experience the holy land of Taijiquan and its strong Taijiquan culture, this time chenjiagou is to learn the traditional original Chen Taijiquan.
Seeing Mr. Zhang Weizhen look more than seventy years old at most, not like the actual age of 80 years old, the old man's memory is amazing, and the things of the past few decades are as clear as yesterday in the eyes of the old man. Mr. Lao told the history of Chen Jiagou Taijiquan from shallow to deep, from complex to simple, so that the listeners have a sense of immersion.
The old man said that in the 1930s and early 1950s before the liberation of Chenjiagou Taijiquan, due to war and locust infestation, more than 800 of the 4,000 people in Chenjiagou fled to Xi'an and other places. Outside the work, car cart, begging, part-time workers for the sake of life do not practice boxing, Chen Jiagou only Wang Yan (1900-1980), the word Tingxuan, chen jiagou "old four big Kong" prestige far and wide. Master Wang Yan has intelligent qualifications, superhuman understanding, and practices hard, and all the teachers teach him, he will practice day and night, and make a name for himself in martial arts with "iron and god dependence". Its Tai Chi style is low and stable, the body is neutral, the virtual and real are clear, and the winding and vigorous operation run through the entire routine. Its fist moves in the clouds and flows, the giant is slowly entangled, the waves are turbulent, the loose and trembling, continuous, switching without a trace, in one go. Wang Yan is proficient in knives, guns, swords, and sticks, especially in the Spring and Autumn Period, which is impenetrable and pure fire, which makes people daunted.
In the early 1950s, Wang Yan set up an account for apprenticeship. In 1958, chen Zhaopi returned from Zhengzhou, and Wang Yangong abandoned the old habits of martial arts and let his apprentices learn art from Chen Zhaopi. The apprentice asked for advice in two places, and the art of boxing has since improved greatly. In his later years, Wang Yangong conferred all his life's learning to Wang Changjiang (sun), Zhu Laohu (grandson) and many other disciples, and countless scholars from all over the country and in the village. Wang Yangong's spirit of hard work and open-mindedness have set an example for future generations to learn and made outstanding contributions to the inheritance and development of traditional Chen Taijiquan The old Man's family is insisting on practicing boxing. In 1953, several teachers asked Mr. Wang Yan to teach boxing to everyone. Mr. Wang Yan was a disciple of Chen Yanxi, the grandson of Chen Changxing, and a brother of Chen Fake. Mr. Wang Yan has been practicing boxing for decades since he was taught, and his fist frame is the best, his kung fu is very strong, and the martial arts community is known as Taijiquan "Iron Holding God". Mr. Wang Yanlao was invited by Chen Fake to go to Beijing to fight and sit in town, and Chen Fake told Mr. Wang Yan that if he lost, Mr. Wang Yanlao would come to power, and as a result, Chen Fake won the competition, which shows the high status of Mr. Wang Yanlao's martial arts in Chen Fake's heart at that time.
The generation and inheritance of Chenjiagou Taijiquan. In 1943, Wen County suffered a serious natural disaster, there was no harvest of grain grain, and the Japanese Kou continued to harass and loot, and the helpless ChenJiagou people had to go out and flee. In those years, escaping from the wilderness became the only way out for the People of Chenjiagou. According to the recollections of the elderly, more than 800 people fled to Xi'an alone. There are only some old people left in the village, only a few years of work, people who can box are becoming strangers, people who can't boxing have no chance to learn boxing, and tai chi is in danger of being lost. Mr. Wang Yan was grateful to Chen Yanxi, grateful to Master for his unreserved and careful teaching, and often told future generations: "Learn Chen Jiaquan and do not fight with the Chen family." "While formulating the ancestral precepts, I was afraid that Taijiquan would be lost in this generation, and while teaching my children, grandchildren, and nephews, I taught some disciples and students, including people with the surname of Chen Jia, including teachers in school, without pay, and this teaching was five years.
After liberation, the Chenjiagou people who went out to flee the wilderness returned to their hometowns one after another, but almost no one among those who returned could practice tai chi. At that time, few people in Chenjiagou knew about Taijiquan. In 1958, Chen Zhaopi, the tenth generation of Chen Taiji, retired early and returned to the village in order to pass on boxing. According to the old branch secretary, "Chen Zhaopi's attitude was very resolute, he had to teach boxing without giving money, and he could not let taijiquan break in Chen Jiagou." He only got 16 yuan for his retirement salary. From then on, the responsibility of teaching everyone boxing was entrusted to Mr. Chen Zhaopi.
At the same time, Mr. Wang Yan also has more time to teach future generations. Mr. Wang Yan has countless disciples, and the most potential and understanding include Wang Changjiang, Zhu Laohu, Wang Fukui and others. Wang Changjiang is not only one of his most beloved grandsons, but also looks at him as a person of integrity, simplicity and loyalty, benevolence, and perseverance. Time is the best testimony, and teacher Wang Changjiang, who is now the year of Hua Jia, has insisted on studying tai chi for more than 60 years.
In the village, when you ask whose kung fu is strong, everyone will say that there is not necessarily kung fu in Chen Gou, there is not necessarily a kung fu, and now whoever earns more money is the king's way, and the old man in Chen Village will say that when he was young, he had never heard of any leader or the title of the master, calling you a teacher is quite lifted, all of them are in the reform and opening up after the money trouble, this is the current situation of Chen's Taijiquan today, but also a sad point.
Teacher Wang Changjiang's fist is known as the "living fossil" of true taijiquan, and it is an original Chen taijiquan frame that has not been altered. Teacher Wang Changjiang is a master of the hermit family, and his fist is ready to be launched, spiraling, endless, quiet as a virgin, moving like a rabbit, and shaking alive. People who know a little bit of tai chi can see the subtlety of his boxing, as steady as Mount Tai, and as strong as the momentum of the mountains and the sea. In the eyes of Chen Jiagou people, Teacher Wang Changjiang is a real master. There are many Taijiquan practitioners who have been practicing for more than ten years or even decades in the East, West, South and North, and come to eat and live in his home to study pure kung fu tai chi. Teacher Wang Changjiang follows the teachings of his grandfather, teaching boxing is not for the purpose of profit, to inherit and promote taijiquan for the purpose, for the admiring taiji people to pass on the art of boxing without reservation, from the core teaching of taijiquan, from simple to complex, from shallow to deep, according to the talent.
The narration of the old branch book mentions the deeds of Mr. Wang Yan and his descendants many times. The old man was very emotional, always saying: "Chen Jiaquan is the most complete preserved here in Mr. Wang Yan, the most primitive fist frame, is the original Chen Taijiquan, if there is no unremitting inheritance from generation to generation, especially in the war and disaster Chen Jiagou people wandering around, hungry in the era, the real Chen Taijiquan is afraid that everyone will never see it again." The real Chen's ancient frame is Wang Changjiang's fist frame, which looks unremarkable, has no gorgeous appearance, its fist technique is delicate, the fist frame is as stable as a rock, the winding silk is running through the entire routine, the fist method is flowing through the clouds, the huge package is wrapped, the waves are turbulent, the loose and elastic, the continuous, the switching is traceless, and the characteristics of Chen's taijiquan are fully reflected.
Zhang Weizhen, the old secretary, talked about the development and current situation of Chen's Taijiquan
Take a group photo with Mr. Zhang Weizhen
The old clerk's house