GrahamB wrote:You put one possible answer below - a period of social turmoil and the Royal Court (Manchu - seen as invaders from the north) needed something to unify around and make them seem part of the native Chinese population. Tai Chi, with it's pre-made history of being created by Chang San Feng, an ancient Taoist, fit the bill perfectly.
It was really Wu Jianquan, one generation lower than Wu Quanyou and Wu Yuxiang, who spoke about Zhang Sanfeng and marketed this fiction. (He was a friend of the famous Wuxia writer Jin Yong if I am not mistaken.)
YLC was a trained security person and bodyguard. He was invited to the court to train the imperial guard. He taught combat and body guard stuff.
But was he really? That's the myth, but I suspect in reality he was there to train the Confucian elites, like Wu WuXiang and higher ups - kind of like an entertainer to the court. My suspicion is that the security guards got in on the act and learned it to, as they thought it was a good gig to get into. Money is a powerful motivator
... I'm sure YLC was good, and he had a long time to get even better at barehand by training in the Imperial Palace all the time, but he was not a trained soldier.
Two things does not automatically exclude the other. I've also heard and read things about YLC teaching martial arts to the elite who maybe not was solely interested in fighting. And I am sure there could have been money involved.
However, I have never said that YLC was a trained soldier. He didn't teach common soldiers. According o written sources, and as I wrote earlier, he was invited to train the imperial guard. Not to train foot soldiers
The Qing imperial guard (from wiki, yeah I know, not a good source but...):
Guard Corps
The Guard Corps (Manchu: bayara; simplified Chinese: 护军; traditional Chinese: 護軍; pinyin: hùjūn) was assigned to protect the imperial palace. Soldiers from the Manchu and Mongol banners would be admitted to serve in the unit. The Guard corps was about ten times the size of the Vanguard and Imperial Bodyguards, and was the largest formation of the Imperial Guards.
Vanguard
The Vanguard (Manchu: gabsihiyan; simplified Chinese: 前锋; traditional Chinese: 前鋒; pinyin: qiánfēng) corps was assigned to march ahead of the emperor when he left the palace. Soldiers from the Manchu and Mongol banners could join. The Vanguard consisted of about 1500 men.[2]
Imperial Bodyguard
The Imperial Bodyguard (Manchu: hiya; simplified Chinese: 领侍衛; traditional Chinese: 領侍衛; pinyin: lǐngshìwèi) corps was assigned to protect the emperor at all times. Only Manchu bannermen could join, and most members came from the upper three banners. Like the Vanguard, the Imperial Bodyguard consisted of about 1500 men.[2]
So those are security personnel, guards and body guards. Yang Luchan was trained in this. This is what the Chen family and YLC's teacher did. They worked on missions as hired guards and body guards. The Chen village back then was not a poor place. It has big mansions and there were rich traders, in silk particularly (yeah, the Buddhist "silk god" was and is still very popular in this area). The Chen guys were hired to do things as protecting homes, and the roads and valuable goods from robbers. So YLC followed them on their missions and was trained in this and had worked with it for a couple of decades before being invited to support the imperial palace at a time when there was a rebellion going on.
This is what many of the Taijiquan and IMA guys did. They worked with security. As Sun Lutang as another example, he had a bodyguard school in Beijing. This is where his fame comes from and why many locals in some areas remember him and stories about him. He used his people to protect the local markets from robbers. This was his own initiative and he didn't ask anyone a dime to do it.
But at that time, everyone had already started to use guns as rifles. A lot of their knowledge became obsolete and they had to close their schools and no one wanted their services. So they started to teach their things as health exercises instead, to secure their income.
Modern day Tai Chi teachers rarely teach people out of the goodness of their heart - it's usually a way to make money. Why would it be different the past?
IDK about YLC's time... But I know that many traditional teachers back in time would never ask a dime. Sun Lutang's daughter for instance, she taught many, but never asked for anything. Her students had to force gifts on her before she took anything. And this is how it usually was in the good ol' non capitalist days. Asking for money back in those days was seen as something bad. People would look on you as a beggar. Instead, people traded things or services. An old master might need someone to take care of his home and fix things. Then a student could offer himself to do so. Students to the old masters would often give their teachers gifts, help them out with practical things, make dinners and invite them on dinners. But money was very seldom exchanged. So there is certainly a big difference between commercial teachers of today, and I would believe, most "masters" and teachers of the past.