Greg J wrote:Hi everyone,
This somewhat heady article from the Journal of Martial Arts Studies looks at four relatively new Taiji document finds. It begins with an examination of the historical and sociological dimensions that have influenced both the practice and interpretations of Taiji's ancient origins, and then goes into the four new documents - summarizing first what they reveal and then exploring the implications they have on Taiji creation myths.
"If authentic, the four documents will, indeed, require revision of our writing of taijiquan’s history, but the bigger story may be the reigniting of the century-old culture war between traditionalists and modernizers, the commercial competition between villages claiming to be the birthplace of taijiquan, and the political struggle between official and dissident scholars..." (p 32).
https://publications.cardiffuniversityp ... ew/729/749Best,
Greg
Just read the article (
https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/ ... 017.10184/). Actually a very good summary of new materials unearthed in the last 15 years.
I personally am NOT invested in anything that happened before Chen Changxing taught Yang Luchan, as that has no impact on our practice (what real Taijiquan skill should be like). Every can agree that Chen Changxing and Yang Luchan possessed the ideal Taijiquan skill we're chasing after.
The real controversy these days is reconciling the vast difference between modern day Chen Style and everyone else's Taiji skills.
To boil the arguments down:
Everyone else's argument:
1. Oral tradition: Taiji was invented long before outside of Chen Village, then passed to Chen Village, then most of other branches died out (FACT: except the very small Song lineage).
2. Oral tradition: Chen Village has its own martial art, a lot of it invented by Chen Wangting (FACT: he mentioned he created forms, but no mention of the word 'Taiji').
3. Oral tradition: Chen Village masters practiced both.
4. known fact: Chen Changxing taught Yang Luchan pure Taiji.
5. known fact: Chen Village went through severe economic decline. Very few people practiced martial art. Chen Fake was one of the few left.
6. known fact: Chen Village went through decades more of decline. With only a few studying in secret with Chen Fake's descendants and students (Feng Zhiqiang).
7. known fact: Yang Luchan taught Wu Yuxiang (Hao), Yang (his family) and Wu Jianquan the same thing. They and subsequent offshoots (Sun, Li) all looked the same from that time to today.
8. Conclusion:
Given how basically all Yang Luchan's lineages look the same (ok Yang Cheng Fu widened the stance a bit), either Yang Luchan, upon leaving the village, immediately taught everyone a radically different style, so all the non-Chen style have changed in day 1. Or it's Chen style that changed: between Chen Changxing and Chen Fake, and to a much bigger extend between Chen Fake and 1980's, Chen style changed, as Taiji became popular elsewhere, it declined in Chen Village. That Chen Style Taiji today is a mix of what remained of its Taiji skills and native hard styles, ie Laojia yilu is 90% taiji and 10% hardstyle, Er lu is 20% Taiji and 80% hard style.
Chen Village:
1. We never changed, it's everyone who changed.
2. Post 1980 addition: we invented Taijiquan.
3. Conclusion: we are the one true way.
So this article and the 4 new sources he sights are part of the continued argument between the two camps. Everyone else is arguing see: here's the proof Taiji was invented outside Chen Village. Even if they can prove that, that doesn't get to the heart of the debate: what does the ideal Taijiquan look like, today's Chen Style, or everyone elses (since everyone agrees Chen Changxing's skill is pure Taiji)?
I don't know if we will ever know what happened before Yang Luchan's visit to Chen Village. But I do think for everyone who want to settle the pre-Chen Changxing history question, they'd be much better off tracking down info on Song Shuming. He's a much more recent historical figure (early 1900's) whose very existence proves there are lineages outside of Chen village before Yang Luchan.