Being one of the more famous products of Chinese culture, Taiji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan) has a vast, rich history. There are multiple theories of how the art came into being. Conflicting stories and oral traditions, different geneologies and family records show different dates and sources. The few surviving records strongly favor Chen Village as the source, but even that is not 100% conclusive. Presented, are several theories of how Taiji Quan came to be, as well as the overlying issues that exist within those theories.

Notes:
These are some of the contributing factors to the confusion surrounding the art of Taiji Quan, making the tracing of it's history a difficult challenge to modern scholars and historians alike.

Certain Chinese characters have similar phonetics despite being written differently, which may account for the names of various persons being mistaken for others.¹

Much of what is written today was originally part of oral tradition, making it difficult to cross reference with written records.¹

The principles employed by Taiji Quan have been known to exist prior to inception of the art.³

Prior to Yang Luchan's arrival in Beijing around 1852, Taiji Quan was not used to describe the art. The more common terms were: Long Boxing (Chang Quan,) Cotton Boxing (Mian Quan,) Neutralizing Boxing (Hua Quan,) Thirteen Tactics (Shi San Shi,) and Internal Family Boxing (Nei Jia Quan.)¹

It was common practice to attribute writings/teachings to famous heroes/figures for added credibility/authenticity.

All books written about Taiji Quan are from more recent times.²

Resources:

1. Docherty, Dan, Complete Tai Chi Chuan, Crowood Press, 1998, 33
2. Little, John, Ultimate Guide To Tai Chi Chuan, Best of Inside Kung Fu, Contemporary Books, 2000, 3
3. Chen, Mark, Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan, North Atlantic Books, 2004, 18

Some say the art of Taiji Quan was passed down by the Taoist Immortal Cheng San Feng Immortal Cheng San Feng

of Wudang Shan, who later passed it down to Wang Zhongyu who passed it to Jiang Fa who later passed it on to the Chens.

Problems:
-Cheng San Feng chronology:
According to Dan Docherty's research, Cheng San Feng was said to live in the Ming Dynasty between the Yen Yu Period (1314- 20) to Yung Lo ( 1419.) The historian Won Shiu-hon, however, places the Taoist Immortal's birthday on 1247C.E.

In 1431C.E., he is mentioned by Ren Ziuan in the Annals of Supreme Summit of Mt. Wudang, as having taught during the Hung Wu period (1368-98.) This is one of the earliest references available.⁵

In 1372 the Emperor Tai Tzu requested Cheng San Feng's attendance. In 1407, the Emperor Cheng Tzu sent out a search party for Cheng, under Hu Yong. They spent 9 years searching for Cheng. Another expidition was sent in 1419-1423, but Cheng was never found. In Cheng's memory, the Emperor erected a stone tablet within the Golden Pavillion Temple at Bao Ji. In In 1669, Huang Zong-xi (Huang Tsung-hsi) wrote an epitaph which depicts Cheng as the founder of nei jia (internal arts.) He further added that the emperor Hui Zong (1101-1125C.E.) rather than Tai Tzu sent for Cheng. Since overwhelming evidence points to a Cheng San Feng being active in the 14th century, it is possible that Huang either made a mistake, or might be referring to a different Cheng San Feng.⁵

-Cheng San Feng as Multiple People:
Due to the timeline discrepancies and the different writing for his name, there is enough evidence to lead to the conclusion that Cheng (much like Lao Tzu) may have been, in fact, two or more people, who's actions have been attributed to a mythical figure that is now Cheng San Feng.

Cheng San Feng, depending on the writing, could have either been Cheng of the Three Sacrificial Altars, Cheng of the Three Abundances, or Cheng of the three Mountains.^1,5 Various epitaths dedicated to the Immortal, have his names written differently. One Cheng San Feng was attributed with expertise in Shaolin, while another in Taoist nei jia, while others claim that he was simply a Taoist sage.

An official history of the Ming Dynasty, lists a Cheng San Feng (of the Three Abundances) who was a resident of the Yi district of the Liaoning province, as a Taoist leader between the end of Yuan, and the beginning of Ming dynasty.¹ In a book published by Taoist Master Wong Hsi-ling in 1723, this particular Cheng San Feng was not mentioned as having knowlege of Taiji or any other martial arts.

-Cheng San Feng as a Fictitious Scapegoat:
According to Mark Chen, the third Ming Emperor Yong Le (Later known as Cheng Tzu, reigned 1403-1424) usurped the throne from his nephew Jian Wen (reigned 1399-1402.) To ensure that there would be no counter insurgency, he sent out his troops to track down and assasinate the deposed Jian Wen. Since he did not wish to announce his intentions to kill the rightful heir to the throne, he crafted a story about a Taoist Sage, Cheng San Feng. Many years later when Jian Wen was still not found, Yong Le consumated his fraud by erecting a monument on Wudang Shan.²

-Cheng Sanfeng as a Political and Cultural Alegory:
One of the validations for the existence of Cheng Sanfeng is the Epitath of Wang Cheng-nen, which describes a Cheng San Feng of Wudang as the founder of “internal arts.” When taken out of its historical and political context, it can be seen as a rational assumption. However, when analyzed closer, we see that the epitaph itself may not be as literal in its meaning as some would choose to believe.

During the late Ching Dynasty, China was facing a crisis. The Yung Nien county at the intersection of Hebei (河北, location of Yongnian, home of Yang Luchan) and Henan (河南,location of Chen Village) provinces was trapped between the influences of local peasant rebels, and the Manchu government (seen as an occupying force, desperate to maintain power.) Unable to relate to or support either side, the residents faced yet another more general problem: the overwhelming influence of Western culture, and the impact it was having on Chinese culture and economy.

It was during this time that the Yung Nien gazette published Huang Tsung-hsi’s epitaph of Wang Cheng-nen, (a 17th century folk hero who resisted the Manchu occupation and became a vegetarian as a sign of his devotion to the cause,) depicting the man as an anti-Manchu hero to be emulated. This is of significance to Taijiquan due to the fact that the epitaph attributes the development of “Internal” arts to a Cheng Sanfeng.

When analyzed within the context of political background and current events in which it was printed (taking into account that Huang was not a superstitious man who believed in legends,) we can see this epitaph as a political allegory, depicting Cheng as the face of the Chinese people, a rallying point of Chinese traditions and values, the “internal” vs. “external” a metaphor for the Chinese nationalists vs. the Manchu occupation and the invading West, the “hundred bandits” that Cheng defeated as another reference to the Manchu and the spreading Western influence.⁶

-Lack of Official Records:
Cheng San Feng is not in any of the registers of ordained Taoist priests of that period. His biography was only written 400 years after he supposedly died.⁴

-Jiang Fa as a Chen Family Servant:
According to Chen family records, Jiang Fa was a fellow soldier to Chen Wangting under the command of Li Chi-yu. At the death of Li Chi-yu, both Chen Wangting and Jiang Fa returned to Chen Village. The Chen ancestral temple has a picture of the two, with Jiang Fa standing by Chen, holding a sabre.¹

This would mean that Jiang Fa was a contemporary of Chen Wangting, 9th generation Chen. Chen Chiangxing, Yang Luchan's teacher was 14th generation Chen. This would make it improbable that Jiang Fa was Chen Chiangxing's teacher. Furthermore, this invalidates the theory that a supposed Wang Zhongyue passed his art on to Jiang Fa, since various claims have placed Wang at the end of the 18th century.¹

-Wang Zhongyu Identity:
Some have said that Wang Zhongyu is the same person as Wang Zong, a said disciple of Cheng San Feng. However, Wang Zhongyue was from Shan You, in Shanxi (山西) province. Wang Zong was from Guan Zhong, where the major city is Xian (西安.) The names sound similar, but the characters are different.⁵

-Wang Zhongyu as Chen Contemporary:
The Chen family places Wang as a contemporary of Chen Bing-wang, a 13th generation Chen family member, who taught Pao Chui (cannon bashing) to Chen Changxing.⁵

Resources:

1. Huang, Alfred, Complete Tai Chi, Tuttle Publishing, 1993, 46-47
2. Chen, Mark, Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan, North Atlantic Books, 2004, 9
3. Wells, Marnix, Naizhou Cheng, Scholar Boxer, North Atlantic Books, 2005
4. Little, John, Ultimate Guide To Tai Chi Chuan, Best of Inside Kung Fu, Contemporary Books, 2000, 4
5. Docherty, Dan, Complete Tai Chi Chuan, Crowood Press, 1998, 41-44, 46-49
6. Wile Douglas, Lost Tai-Chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty, 25-26

Chen Wangting and Jiang Fa This theory states that Taiji Quan was originated in the Chen Village by Chen Wangting (1600-1680 C.E.), a 9th generation Chen family member, Ming Dynasty Knight, and Wenxian County magistrate.^{1, 5} Upon his retirement, he devoted his time to Taoist practices and creating his own martial art.

Chen family records state that he derived his martial theories from General Qi Jiguang’s New Book Recording Effective Techniques (繼效新書)^{2, 3, 4} and the Yellow Emperor’s Classic (黃帝內經.) In several Taiji classics, the terminology and the concepts are outright identical to General Qi Jiguang's. He combined these theories with various other martial arts, and created the synthesis that is today known as Taiji Quan.

Problems:

-Jiang Fa Dispute:
While Chen historians place Jiang Fa as a student of Chen Wangting around 1650, the Yang lineage lists him as a teacher of Chen Changxing (1771-1853.) A 150 year discrepancy. ^{3, 4} There are also speculations that Jiang Fa may have been a Chen family servant, and fellow military officer to Cheng Wangting during the defeat of the Ming dynasty.^{4, 5}

-Wang Zhongyue:
The Chens openly accept the fact that a Wang Zhongyue, an outsider to the Chen family, was credited with authoring major works on Taiji Quan, including the Taiji Quan Lun (Treatise.)³

-Taiji Classics:
The Chen family does not claim authorship of the five major family classics attributed to Cheng San Feng, or Wang Zhongyue³ (all of which were likely authored bu Wu Yuhsiang.) In fact, there seems to be an acceptance that many of the concepts employed by Taiji Quan, have existed prior to, and outside the art. (Qi Jiguang and Cheng Naizhou being primary examples.)

Resources:

1. Little, John, Ultimate Guide To Tai Chi Chuan, Best of Inside Kung Fu, Contemporary Books, 2000, 258
2.Wells, Marnix, Naizhou Cheng, Scholar boxer, North Atlantic Books, 2005, 7
3. Docherty, Dan, Complete Tai Chi Chuan, Crowood Press, 1998, 39-41, 44, 46
4. Huang, Alfred, Complete Tai Chi, Tuttle Publishing, 1993, 49-52
5. Chen, Mark, Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan, North Atlantic Books, 2004, 13, 16

There are also theories that the art originated from the Shaolin Tai Tzu Chang Chuan, Emperor Tai Tzu’s (960 C.E.) Long Fist Boxing.¹ This system contained the elements of Taiji Quan, Xingyi Quan, and Bagua Zhang. The system was refined and developed by the Chao family some time after 984 C.E. This clearly predates all given Cheng San Feng chronologies.

It is further evident that several Chen style techniques such as stamping, jumping, and Warrior Attendant Pounding Mortar, are quite similar to those of Shaolin. A Shaolin link is further confirmed by Mark Chen in his book.³ Furthermore, Chen Jia and Shaolin Temple were both within the Henan province, only hours apart by road.^{2, 3} Interestingly, the Luohan 13 forms are strikingly similar to some of Chen style movements, and bare the same number as Taiji Quan's 13 postures. This shows a possible link between the Shaolin Rouquan (Soft Fist) and Taiji Quan.

Resources:

1. Little, John, Ultimate Guide To Tai Chi Chuan, Best of Inside Kung Fu, Contemporary Books, 2000, 7
2. Docherty, Dan, Complete Tai Chi Chuan, Crowood Press, 1998, 39
3. Chen, Mark, Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan, North Atlantic Books, 2004, 16

There are many theories, and we may never know with certainty. There are a multitude of records and oral traditions, some verifiable, some less so to such an extent, that even the works of the Chinese historian Tang Hao in the 1930 have found it difficult to provide a definitive conclusion to the history of Taiji Quan, although he certainly cast doubt on some of the existing histories and lineage claims. However, it is my personal view that the Chens did indeed originate the synthesis of what is today known as Taiji Quan.

Since the principles used in Taiji Quan existed prior to the art (Qi Jiguang,) it is not that far fetched to consider the fact that certain Shaolin techniques combined with medicinal principles of Yellow Emperor's Classics, General Qi Jiguang's theories, elements of Taoist Internal Alchemy, and various local arts were combined to form a new martial art containing elements of hard and soft, yin and yang. Various other martial arts contain similar principles, and in fact, are often mistaken for, or passed off as Taiji Quan for the sake of marketing and added credibility.

In conclusion, it is my belief that theories 2 and 3 are the most likely candidates, with Cheng San Feng and Wang Zhongyue being monickers for transmission of theories under a more flamboyant and authoritative guise, and Jiang Fa possibly contributing knowlege of his own martial arts to the genesis of what is now Taiji Quan. Nevertheless, Taiji Quan shows a solid link to Shaolin, which is what cements my opinion towards theories 2 and 3, both of which tend to uphold each other. As an example, the Shaolin Rouquan (Soft Fist) contains the Luohan 13 Forms, which hold some similarity to the Taiji 13 Forms in whole body movement and application of jing. The jumping and stomping of the Chen style are further evidence that Shaolin was to some extent a factor in the creation of the new form.