Shen Jiazhen 沈家楨

[Yeung]

A Google translation of the article on Shen Jiazhen 沈家楨and Chen Taijiquan:

https://web.archive.org/web/20191216065 ... 256170.htm

Shen Jiazhen沈家楨(1891-1972), courtesy name Weizhou, was born in Baipu Town, Rugao, Jiangsu Province. Consultant engineer of Zhejiang Construction Company. He has been studying Chen and Yang Taijiquan for more than 50 years. He has learned from the famous predecessors Yang Jianhou, Yang Chengfu and Chen Fake.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shen Jiazhen worked as a consultant engineer in the Zhejiang Provincial Construction Engineering Department and Zhejiang Provincial Construction Company. He retired in 1957 and spent his later years on the shore of the West Lake. He was a member of the Hangzhou Municipal Political Consultative Conference, the vice chairman of the Municipal Wushu Association and a Taijiquan researcher. group leader.
In order to inherit and carry forward the heritage of the motherland's martial arts, in the summer of 1961, Shen Jiazhen and Gu Liuxin were commissioned by the Beijing People's Sports Publishing House to start writing the manuscript of "Chen Style Taijiquan". According to the introduction in the "Preface" of "Chen Style Taijiquan", the first edition of the first edition in 1963, the People's Sports Publishing House commissioned Tang Hao, Gu Liuxin, Li Jianhua, Li Jingwu, and Chen Zhaokui to write this boxing in the autumn of 1958. Later, due to Tang Hao's death, Li Jianhua dropped out due to old age. In the summer of 1961, the People's Sports Publishing House reassigned Shen Jiazhen and Gu Liuxin to rewrite it. The first, second, third and fourth chapters of this book were written by Shen Jiazhen.
In the book, Shen Jiazhen explored the source and explained the routines taught by Chen Fake in those days, together with the photos of Chen Fake's demonstration movements collected more than 30 years ago, and explained one by one. The introduced boxing style does not lose its essence. At the same time, Shen Jiazhen also made a detailed study of Chen Style Taijiquan based on a large number of Taijiquan materials collected in the past, and summarized eight characteristics, which are listed at the top of this book. "Chen Style Taijiquan" will also make public all the secrets of Chenjiagou's boxing practice passed down from generation to generation, and excerpts the essential parts of Chenjiagou's modern boxing works for readers. Therefore, the book "Chen Style Taijiquan" is the culmination of Taijiquan theory and is well received by readers. The book has been reprinted many times since its publication in 1963, and has also been translated into English and Japanese for publication abroad.
Shen Jiazhen is also committed to popularising and promoting Taijiquan, holding various lectures, and preaching the scientific principles of Taijiquan's healing and longevity. Based on his own experience, he has written many books. In the 1950s and 1960s, he devoted himself to the popularisation of Taijiquan. One of the important figures in the work. The "Xinggong Taijiquan" written by him combines the essential parts of Chen and Yang's second-style Taijiquan into one. Shen Jiazhen believes that it is more appropriate to learn Taijiquan first by learning Yang style and then practising Chen style. However, it is difficult for ordinary amateurs to have more time to learn and practise the two-style boxing. Shen Jiazhen combined the two into one, and created "Xinggong Taijiquan" 行功太极拳, which has both fitness functions, silk wrapping strength and fighting effects. In his later years, Shen Jiazhen concentrated on writing the first draft of "Xinggong Taijiquan", which was about to be sorted out and published. It coincided with the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution", and he was persecuted and devastated both physically and mentally.
Shen Jiazhen's whole life of boxing was aimed at strengthening his body and preventing diseases. He followed the Yang family and his son and Chen Fake successively to learn boxing for more than ten years. However, he has a unique skill, which is hidden and not revealed. He is cheerful and tireless in teaching others. He asks him for advice, answers any questions he has, and always considers people's health. He never collects gifts, which shows his noble martial virtue.

[Appledog]

There is a great story here, but America is about 90 years behind in terms of kungfu development. The state of kungfu in america is pure chaos -- madness. A good baby step would be to reread the op and realize what a truly important person Shen Jiazhen was and to recognize and realize what important work he did. He is truly a lost hero.

[Doc Stier]

There is a great story here, but America is about 90 years behind in terms of kungfu development.

With all due respect for your opinion, that's an absurd comment. I began learning older pre-1930 versions of the Chinese IMA's in January of 1961. As a result, I was actually at least 15-20 years ahead of the curve before these styles became commonly known and popular within the martial arts community at large.

Thus, considering what I most often currently see demonstrated both in videos and in live performances, I remain ahead of the curve to this day, along with others of similar experience, since the newer, modified and simplified versions of the three sister arts pale by comparison to the older traditional systems, imo.

[Sea.Wolf.Forge]

Had to.

[Doc Stier]

Pity the poor joker! Looks like that curve took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

[Sea.Wolf.Forge]

Pity the poor joker! Looks like that curve took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

It's not about tradition, it's about sending a message.

[Doc Stier]

Pity the poor joker! Looks like that curve took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

It's not about tradition, it's about sending a message.

Unfortunately, your message is lost in obscurity. If you have something to say to me personally, please feel welcome to send me a PM.

[Sea.Wolf.Forge]

Pity the poor joker! Looks like that curve took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

It's not about tradition, it's about sending a message.

Unfortunately, your message is lost in obscurity. If you have something to say to me personally, please feel welcome to send me a PM.

Does "chill out and watch a movie, you weirdo" need to be a PM? not everything is a challenge or an insult. fuck.

[Doc Stier]

Does "chill out and watch a movie, you weirdo" need to be a PM? not everything is a challenge or an insult. fuck.

Agreed. Of course not. However, I'm not a mindreader, so I don't like to assume that I'm understanding anyone's message correctly. Thank you for clarifying.

[Yeung]

There are lots of unanswered questions about the transformation of Chen village’s cannon fist sets into Taijiquan. Shen Jiazhen worked out the links such as a silk reeling, torso directed movement, etc. from his understanding of Yang style Taijiquan without knowing Fu Zhensong, the other student of Chen Fake’s father Chen Yanxi. According to Hong Junsheng Chen Yanxi was 60 year of age when Chen Fake was born and never had the opportunity to learn the traditional Taijiquan forms. But his father must have improved his Cannon Fist sets when He return home in his eighties with his knowledge of martial arts. The 8 uniquenesses suggested by Shen Jiazhen proved the work of Chen Yanxi’s experiment with Cannon Fist Sets works.

In any case, Chen Style Taijiquan was a political invention that saved Taijiquan from destruction during the Cultural Revolution because it has a clear genealogy in the Chen Village, sort of neutered its association with religions.

[yeniseri]

Chen Xiaowang in one of his many interviews stated Chen family lost a "few" of its routines between 1950-1965/66 (I realize my date ranges may be off ) due to a combination of famine, disasters, public "struggle sessions" and some family members moving to others areas of China to survive. It even stated that he re-created the chanssujin routines (silk reeling exercises) so as to give a context to those movement pattenrs within the form sequence.
He was able to not only reformat x routine but teach it to others in the vullage until it became a standatrd of, and for practice.

It makes sense to me that the variations are only a reflection of the possibilities as opposed to what many seem to be willing to believe meaning x person teaches a routine and everyobody should play it the same way. In CMA that rarely happens, in my experience. I have been watching some comparison between Yang and Chen style and when you look at it (side by side) there are similarities that one would not believe exists.
I have even seen that the style purported to be by Yang Luchan was close to Chen but as each generation passed, Yang began to take on what we see today so the further from the origin, the variety and uniqueness of the style.

I evoke Wang Lanting to say that his input of Yang style from Yang Luchan and how it evolved to LI style is another valuable lesson of interpretation, rationality and insight!

[Doc Stier]

The endless debates here and elsewhere regarding the allegedly greater authenticity and superiority of any style lineage or form variation is ultimately relevant only in terms of the viable skills and benefits derived from them.

Regardless of any teacher's fame and style lineage, or the practice material being taught, if serious training of their curriculum doesn't consistently produce internal cultivation benefits which are clearly observable in the practitioner's general overall state of mental and physical health, in their demonstrable athletic fitness, and in the practical efficiency of their fighting skills, then all claims promising such results are obviously false and clearly have no merit.