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<\/p>\nBy Dave Barrett, translated by Master Yang Jun<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Master\u00a0 Chen Zhenglei was\u00a0 born\u00a0 in 1949 into a family with over 300 years of martial arts tradition. He is widely recognized as one of the leading\u00a0 exponents\u00a0 of\u00a0 Chen\u00a0 Style\u00a0 Taijiquan\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 world today. His Uncle, Chen Zhaopei (1893-1972), was his main instructor\u00a0\u00a0 along\u00a0\u00a0 with\u00a0\u00a0 another\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Uncle:\u00a0 Chen\u00a0 Zhaokui (1928-1981), the\u00a0 son of Chen Fa-ke. Chen Zhaopei left his home village, Chenjiagou, in 1914 and established himself in Beijing as a martial arts instructor.\u00a0 The story goes\u00a0 that\u00a0 he set\u00a0 up\u00a0 a platform\u00a0 at\u00a0 one\u00a0 of Beijing\u2019s main gates\u00a0 and\u00a0 for seventeen days\u00a0 accepted all challenges,\u00a0 either\u00a0 single\u00a0 or multiple, and\u00a0 was victorious in every fight. Displaying his deep skills and magnanimous character\u00a0 in victory made his reputation and for the next 30 years he taught in a variety of places\u00a0 across\u00a0 China. In 1958 he returned\u00a0 to Chenjiagou to find the old training halls abandoned and his relatives engaged\u00a0 in a struggle\u00a0 to\u00a0 survive a series\u00a0 of natural\u00a0 and political disasters that had devastated the surrounding farmlands and reduced\u00a0 the villagers to a pitiful state. Recognizing that the future of his family\u2019s illustrious traditions hung\u00a0 in the\u00a0 balance,\u00a0 he\u00a0 moved\u00a0 back\u00a0 to\u00a0 Chenjiagou and began to revive the training regimens that had produced\u00a0 so many generations of excellent\u00a0 martial artists.\u00a0 Persevering through famines and political upheavals gradually the next generation began to emerge under his careful guidance. Out of this group of students came \u201cThe Four Tigers of Chenjiagou\u201d: Chen Xiaowang, Wang Xian, Zhu Tiancai, and Chen Zhenglei; all of whom have\u00a0 gone\u00a0 on\u00a0 to\u00a0 revive and expand the prestige\u00a0 of Chen Style Taijiquan.<\/p>\n
When we were in Handan this past September, Master Chen Zhenglei was kind enough to sit down with myself and Yang Laoshi for the following conversation. I began by asking him about\u00a0 something\u00a0 we had\u00a0 seen\u00a0 on\u00a0 our\u00a0 recent\u00a0 trip\u00a0 to\u00a0 his ancestral\u00a0 village, Chenjiagou.<\/p>\n
DB: I\u2019d like to start\u00a0 by asking\u00a0 a personal\u00a0 question. Yang Laoshi told me that you used to be a farmer. When we were driving out to Chenjiagou yesterday,\u00a0 we were surprised\u00a0 to see\u00a0 all\u00a0 the\u00a0 roads\u00a0 completely\u00a0 covered\u00a0 with\u00a0 corn\u00a0 kernels drying in the sun. Did you work the corn harvest?<\/p>\n
CZ: Yes!<\/p>\n
DB: Is this done completely by hand?<\/p>\n
CZ: Now we have some machines\u00a0 but when I was a farmer we did it completely by hand.
\nDB: So then it is spread\u00a0 out to dry?<\/p>\n
CZ: Nowadays it is a little bit easier but they still dry the corn by hand and use it through the winter.<\/p>\n
DB: How is it used?<\/p>\n
CZ:\u00a0 We\u2019d use\u00a0 it for food,\u00a0 also\u00a0 to\u00a0 brew\u00a0 alcohol,\u00a0 feed\u00a0 the chickens\u00a0 and\u00a0 pigs.\u00a0 Also\u00a0 corn\u00a0 is\u00a0 used\u00a0\u00a0 as\u00a0 a\u00a0 material\u00a0 in medicine and it can be made into oil.<\/p>\n
DB: The reason\u00a0 I ask is that at that time it must have been very difficult to work as a farmer and also train in Taijiquan.<\/p>\n
CZ: Yes, I paid double than normal people\u00a0 in time, working as a farmer and training.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n DB: So how did this\u00a0 work? Would you train\u00a0 early in the morning or after work?<\/p>\n CZ: Generally we would practice at night. The village schedule\u00a0\u00a0 is\u00a0 different\u00a0 than\u00a0 working a\u00a0 factory\u00a0 job.\u00a0 At the factory your shift starts\u00a0 at 8am, we however had to rise at dawn, go out to the fields, work hard and then come back for breakfast. After breakfast\u00a0 again we would be out in the fields all day.<\/p>\n DB: So you would farm by day and train by night. Chen style is characterized by very tough and intensive\u00a0 training. Your generation had to work the fields and then endure this diffi- cult study. In spite of this Chen Style has maintained its high standard of excellence.\u00a0 Tell us how this has\u00a0 been\u00a0 accomplished.<\/p>\n CZ: My teacher,\u00a0 Chen Zhaopei, would tell us of his training experiences\u00a0 and his 30 years of teaching in different places. He gave me a lot of ideas about my practice. He\u2019d look at our group and notice that some were not training quite so hard. He\u00a0\u00a0 would\u00a0\u00a0 tell\u00a0\u00a0 us\u00a0\u00a0 that\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 these\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 techniques\u00a0\u00a0 were\u00a0\u00a0 a treasure of our family passed through\u00a0 eighteen generations. If this transmission stopped with the nineteenth generation and\u00a0 could\u00a0 not\u00a0 go\u00a0 on,\u00a0 we\u00a0 will be ashamed to face our ancestors and we will also disappoint future generations. So everybody would be let down if we did not work hard. Because Chen Zhaopei spoke to us in this manner,\u00a0 our group, including me, felt a great\u00a0 duty. From a very young age I began\u00a0 to tell myself I must continue\u00a0 our family tradition. It doesn\u2019t matter how hard the work is, how tired I may be, everyday I cannot\u00a0 stop.\u00a0 In the early 1960\u2019s even we farmers had a hard time feeding ourselves.\u00a0 There was famine all across China. When I was young during those years many times we had not enough\u00a0 to eat:\u00a0 no meat,\u00a0 no flour for noodles.\u00a0 We ate wild vegetables and sweet potatoes. So my body\u00a0 couldn\u2019t get\u00a0 enough\u00a0 nourishment. When I\u00a0 was\u00a0 thirty I\u00a0 weighed\u00a0 only 58 kg. (127 lbs.). Very skinny.<\/p>\n DB: In spite of this you continued\u00a0 to train and we can see clearly the\u00a0 results\u00a0 of your\u00a0 dedication\u00a0 when\u00a0 you\u00a0 perform today.\u00a0 My question\u00a0\u00a0 concerns\u00a0\u00a0 the\u00a0 next\u00a0 generation\u00a0 and international students\u00a0 as\u00a0 well, how\u00a0 should\u00a0 we\u00a0 dedicate ourselves\u00a0 to training?<\/p>\n CZ: Of course,\u00a0 because China\u2019s situation\u00a0 has changed,\u00a0 not many people are willing to work this hard. On the one hand, I\u00a0 use\u00a0 the\u00a0 same\u00a0 methods\u00a0\u00a0 as\u00a0 my uncle\u00a0 to\u00a0 encourage my students.\u00a0 I\u00a0 tell\u00a0 them\u00a0 about\u00a0\u00a0 my\u00a0 training\u00a0 experiences.\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t worked this hard at Taijiquan I would probably still be a farmer. Now I travel all over the world and have many students. Also today we have many more convenient aids to our study: books and videos. It\u2019s much easier to study than before.\u00a0 In the past,\u00a0 the training was limited to only males inside\u00a0 the\u00a0 family,\u00a0 very\u00a0 restrictive.\u00a0\u00a0 My feeling\u00a0 is\u00a0 that all\u00a0 people\u00a0\u00a0 should\u00a0\u00a0 be\u00a0\u00a0 taught\u00a0\u00a0 openly.\u00a0\u00a0 Before,\u00a0\u00a0 these techniques were used\u00a0 to protect\u00a0 your life in a fight. Now it doesn\u2019t matter how good you are, anyone can use just one finger to pull a trigger and kill you. Today this is a cultural art which I\u00a0 would like to share\u00a0 with the\u00a0 world. I\u00a0 meet\u00a0 many foreign students and I can see\u00a0 their love of Taijiquan and many wish to learn. I feel a duty to develop and share these traditional\u00a0 arts.\u00a0 In the past\u00a0 fifteen years\u00a0 I have had study materials\u00a0\u00a0 translated\u00a0 into\u00a0 eight\u00a0 languages.\u00a0 My foreign students have helped with this work. What one teacher\u00a0 can do\u00a0 is\u00a0 limited,\u00a0 with\u00a0 these\u00a0\u00a0 study\u00a0 resources\u00a0 the\u00a0 effect\u00a0 is greater,\u00a0 and anyone can buy them and study.<\/p>\n DB: I think no matter what language\u00a0 or culture, the student of Taijiquan\u00a0 is\u00a0 faced\u00a0 with\u00a0 a\u00a0 problem:\u00a0 if we\u00a0 practice\u00a0 by ourselves\u00a0 sometimes the practice can be very dry, empty of content.\u00a0 Can you offer any suggestions as to how we can make our practice richer, having more content and feeling of purpose?<\/p>\n CZ: What you have mentioned\u00a0 about\u00a0 other students, I also have this problem, this same feeling. We want to create\u00a0 an ongoing interest that leads to regular practice without stopping.\u00a0 At the beginning one learns the basic forms and motion\u00a0 sequences. At that\u00a0 time if you don\u2019t have\u00a0 a good teacher\u00a0 to give you corrections and guidance it\u2019s difficult to continue\u00a0 your development. It\u2019s easy\u00a0 to\u00a0 drop\u00a0 out\u00a0 of the practice. On the other hand, with a good teacher this is less likely to happen. But if every day you practice in the same way it is natural to become bored. So what can you do? You can pick up your sword or saber, different weapons, practice a little push hands. If you eat the same meal every day you\u2019ll lose your taste for that dish. When your teacher can lead you to the level where the external techniques are combined with internal intent, when the Qi can permeate the whole body, when you have that feeling, then with each practice there will be improvement. When this feeling improves with each practice you can spend less time with your teacher and more time in self study. It will be easier to continue because you have this feeling. Without this rich feeling during practice it is easy to lose interest and drop out.<\/p>\n DB: My first teacher always encouraged us by saying, \u201cCatch the feeling!\u201d Sometimes the feeling is there for just a small part of a sequence, but maybe with the next practice a little bit more.<\/p>\n CZ: In my experience with western students I know that sometimes they only practice once a week, sometimes twice or three times a week. Because they don\u2019t practice every day this kind of feeling develops very slowly. In China we say that if you practice for one day you get one day\u2019s benefit, with daily practice you can steadily improve. If you don\u2019t practice for one day you lose ten days of development. So practice every day without stopping! Western students must understand this clearly. Practice every day! Not once or twice week.<\/p>\n DB: This is great\u00a0 advice. I don\u2019t want to take\u00a0 too much of your time,\u00a0 but\u00a0 I\u00a0 do\u00a0 have\u00a0 one\u00a0 more\u00a0 question. When you practice\u00a0 today\u00a0 and\u00a0 you hear\u00a0 the\u00a0 voice of your teacher\u00a0 in your mind, what is he saying?<\/p>\n CZ: In my younger years when I practiced I was quite serious about my work. My whole life I have followed the teachings of my uncles, Chen Zhaopei and Chen Zhaokui. When they taught I always watched very carefully. At that time my deep feeling was that I wanted to grow up to be like them. I listened to their voices and watched their motions closely. A t that time there were no recorders or video cameras. My eyes were the camera and my mind was the recorder. If I needed to check something I would sit down, close my e yes and review. If I was not satisfied with my practice I would check my memories and think about my Uncles. Sometimes I would hear them criticizing my efforts, using r ough language to spur my practice onwards.<\/p>\n DB: So you still hear this?<\/p>\n CZ: Yes, even now when I may not want to practice I hear my Uncles\u2019 voices pushing me, giving me energy to practice. It doesn\u2019t matter what difficulties I\u2019ve been through. In the 1980\u2019s when I met people who wished to challenge me I\u2019d hear my Uncles giving me confidence to win these challenges. Throughout my career I have been through five stages. Firstly, when I was a farmer up to the time I was 25 years old I was studying with my Uncles. The next ten years I was working in a factory while continuing my martial arts training. I was traveling around as a salesman and I made contacts with other teachers and I was able to benefit from these friendships and improve our factory sales. During these ten years I would often represent our village at competitions. The third stage found me working with national sports officials and I became a professional coach. I continued my training and began to teach a large number of students, some of whom won many competition honors. In the fourth stage I began to organize regional and national competitions. Now at the fifth stage I\u2019ve got a job I really like, traveling internationally and sharing my family traditions. When I was living in Chenjiagou I focused on my own training and my individual duty to our family. At the second stage I began to travel and see that perhaps there might be a career in the martial arts. In the third and fourth periods because I met many other teachers and was working as a player, coach and manager, I began to realize this could be a very good family business as well. Now that I travel internationally meeting many people who have a love of this art, now my focus is on how we can spread Taijiquan. I\u2019ve been working on books and videos and I feel a true calling to this work, it is more than just a business. I\u2019ve been fortunate to receive recognition within China as one of the top ten Masters and I\u2019m getting a lot of support from my students and no longer have to work a factory job.<\/p>\n DB: Let me close by saying I think your career may have come a full circle. Again you are a farmer and you are planting seeds around the world and cultivating your family\u2019s art. I predict that you will have a rich harvest!<\/p>\n CZ: Now that China is open I wish to spread traditional Chinese arts throughout the world so that more people can enjoy Taijiquan practice. \u262f<\/p>\n Reprinted from Journal 25 10th Anniversary Issue<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Dave Barrett, translated by Master Yang Jun Master\u00a0 Chen Zhenglei was\u00a0 born\u00a0 in 1949 into a family with over 300 years of martial arts tradition. He is widely recognized as one of the leading\u00a0 exponents\u00a0 of\u00a0 Chen\u00a0 Style\u00a0 Taijiquan\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 world today. His Uncle, Chen Zhaopei (1893-1972), was his main instructor\u00a0\u00a0 along\u00a0\u00a0 with\u00a0\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4RSsA-4O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":363,"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions\/363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"journal-25_page9_image4\"](\"http:\/\/2009.yangfamilytaichi.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/journal-25_page9_image4.jpg\")
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