Tai Chi Lineage

This is the who begat whom bit. It's intended to be useful in establishing where the particular style of Tai Chi you are studying came from so that you can see where you “fit” in the global Tai Chi family.

The lineage chart shown below is intended as an overview of the main styles practiced today and their origins. However, you should bear in mind a few points when studying lineages:

There is still some argument among historians about the ancient roots of Tai Chi and the further back you go, the more scanty the available documented evidence becomes. Martial Arts were often passed on from father to son or master to disciple without written records being kept so there will always be some controversy about it.

Just because a person has an authentic lineage, that does not mean that they are necessarily good at Tai Chi. Suppose, as sometimes happens, a great teacher has a child with no interest or little aptitude in Tai Chi and yet, on the death of the teacher, that child becomes a sought-after “lineage holder” just because of their parentage. It’s easy to see how key skills can be lost in this process as thousands of students flock to the descendants of famous masters while few bother to seek out the less well-known disciples who received a more accurate transmission of the art.

It’s also worth remembering that even students who have studied long and hard with a teacher may not have mastered the art and it doesn't matter who your teacher was if you haven’t got “it” – that mysterious springy, jingy Tai Chi thingy that comes from a combination of natural talent, patient practice and a sound understanding of the principles. Once you have this, you can recognise authentic Tai Chi wherever you see it, irrespective of its lineage.

The version of the Tai Chi family tree shown here is generally accepted by the majority of Tai Chi practitioners worldwide. The chart shows the passing on of the art though members of biological families and also via senior students outside the families who then founded their own dynasties. However, this only shows the main roots and branches. Because teachers may have had many students with different family names, the actual picture is very complex, though overall your particular leaf and twig will probably connect somewhere to this tree unless it has been made up by someone wanting to cash in on the Tai Chi name. (The best way to check that you are doing authentic Tai Chi is to see if it follows the Tai Chi principles. If it does, then, by definition, you are doing Tai Chi, if it doesn't, you aren't, though you may still be doing a useful and enjoyable form of exercise.)

In Chinese martial arts, different schools are also called families, with the teacher as “mother “or “father” and fellow students as “brothers and sisters” .

*Chang San Feng?
Sung Dynasty
12th Century AD
I
I
Wang Chung Yueh
Ming Dynasty
I
I
Chen Wang Ting? Chiang Fa
1597-1664 Ming Dynasty
I I
I I
___________________________________________________________________
I I
I I
Chen Chang-Xing Chen You Ben
1771 – 1853
I I
I I
_____________ I________________ I
I I I
Chen Gen Yun Yang Lu Chan Chen Qing Ping
I 1799 – 1872 1795 - 1868
I ___________I____________________________________________________ I
I I I I
Chen Yan Xi Yang Ban Hao Yang Jian Hao Wu Yu Xiang
I 1837 – 1892 1839 – 1917 1812 - 1880
I I I I
I I I I
Chen Fa Ke Wu Quan Yu Yang Cheng Fu Li Yi Yu
1887 - 1957 1834 -1902 1883 – 1936 1832 - 1892
I I I I
I I _________I________ I
I I I I I
I I Yang Sao Chung Cheng Man Ching Hao Wei Zhen
CHEN STYLE WU STYLE (Yang Zheng Ming) 1901 – 1975 1849 - 1920
1883 - 1936 ______I_____
I I I I
I I Hao Yue Ru Sun Lu Tang
YANG STYLE CHENG MAN CHING STYLE 1877-1935 1861 -1932
I I
I I
HAO STYLE SUN STYLE

More recent combined styles and competition forms such as 24 step (based largely on Yang Style), 42 step and 48 step (based on a combination of Yang, Chen, Wu and Sun styles) have been developed since the end of the Cultural Revolution in China.

Detailed recent lineages of the various schools and styles can be found on many websites. Just type in "Tai Chi Lineage Charts" and see what comes up.

There are various ways to spell Chinese words, which can make it confusing at first. For example Hsing and Xing are the same word spelled two different ways. These variations come from different methods of translating Chinese characters into English.

* Chang San Feng was a legendary wandering Taoist Sage from Wu Dang mountain who is generally credited with inventing Tai Chi Chuan after witnessing a fight between a snake and a crane.

Further interesting notes

Marnix Wells, in his book "Scholar Boxer" has written about his extensive research on the origin of Tai Chi. He discovered that Chang Nai Zhou, an 18th century Chinese martial artist, philosopher and writer, documented the different styles of martial arts and weapons techniques of his day and most of his writings contain language and descriptions which you would find in contemporary Tai Chi. Although not called Tai Chi at that time, the internal boxing methods that were widespread in the 18th century had moves with names that Tai Chi practitioners around the world are familiar with today, giving credence to the ancient roots of the system.

There is documentary evidence of a female general – a great swordswoman - who combined the subtleties of yin and yang in her combat over two thousand years ago. This may mean that she was the great grandma of Tai Chi or that this type of fighting was already commonplace even then, or that she was just doing the intelligent thing when wielding a sword and since the concept of yin and yang is a fundamental philosophy underpinning Chinese culture, the person who wrote down what she was doing chose to describe it in this way.

Thinking of taking up Tai Chi and not sure which style to study?

Try looking on YouTube at some footage of the different styles. The performances will vary from excellent to frankly awful but if you look at enough examples of each you will come to recognise the characteristics of style and decide which best suits your own needs and level of fitness.

In general:

Cheng Man Ching Style has a very upright, vertical posture and the movements are soft and self-contained. Often a great place to start for beginners because it is very easy to do but this does not undervalue it as a martial art as it allows the training of high level skills at grappling range.

Yang Style is usually practiced with upright stances but some schools adopt a forward-inclined posture as in Wu Style. The movements and stances are more expansive than in the Cheng Man Ching style as it trains skills at a longer range.

Chen Style has upright, low, deep stances requiring the development of strong, powerful legs. It also involves high leaps and explosive fa jing movements, including its characteristic "canon fist", making it the most physically demanding of all the styles.

Wu Style looks a bit different to the other styles because it has forward-inclined postures, which can make it a little more physically demanding than the more upright styles.

Wu Hao Style is characterised by an upright, vertical spine and very compact, minimal movements as if you are doing Tai Chi inside a box the size of an old phone kiosk. It is easy to do from a physical point of view, therefore great for beginners, but its outward appearance is deceptive as it allows the development of vast reserves of internal power.

Sun Style is upright and fairly compact and is accessible for beginners as it is not too physically demanding. It includes follow-stepping, which is useful for getting in close to an opponent.

All of the above is offered for your interest,
with respect to all members of the global Tai Chi family,
whatever their style or system.

In the end, what matters more than lineage is the understanding of the
Tai Chi principles which are common to all and allow the evolution of the art
and the development of masters.

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