I've been attending the Rencontres Jasnieres Tai Chi camp in the Loire Valley in France, man and boy since 1991. It's a place where you can meet Tai Chi Chuan students and teachers from all over Europe and further afield. It's even a place where you can make friends.
I usually teach at the camp and this year was no exception, but I was surprised to see that the organisers had also secured the services of one William C.C. Chen now of New York City and late of Taiwan. Prior to the camp I'd received a letter from Claudy Jeanmougin, a French Tai Chi teacher and writer, who'd befriended me at Jasnieres some years before. It was to invite me to meet his master Wang Yen-nien who was running his own camp near Angers.
These two masters appear in Robert W. Smith's ground-breaking book, "CHINESE BOXING; Masters and Methods". Smith relates how he trained under William Chen in Taiwan and in New York City. He said, "He fools you. Meek, slender and quiet, he might be a scholar or a student of the Book of Changes, never a boxer. But most assuredly he is." My teacher and Chen were the only two successful Tai Chi fighers at middleweight and lightweight respectively in the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Chinese full contact tournament held in Taipei in 1956
Of Wang Yen-nien, Smith wrote, "Until it is demonstrated, one does not realize the great difference that exists between the merely competent amateur and the expert professional. Wang Yen-nien was indeed an expert professional in T'ai -chi, standing second only to Cheng Man-ching in Taiwan."
For the first two days of Jasnieres I watched William Chen in the afternoon as he pushed hands in a very relaxed and even humorous way with a variety of partners, showing in his mid-sixties, an attitude very far from the prima donna like posturings of many less talented masters. Robert W. Smith said that William Chen did push somewhat differently from his master, Cheng Man-ching, though he had even lived with Cheng at one time. I saw him bend back and lean forward in a way that would cause apoplexy to many a Cheng Man-ching style zealot, yet Chen at all times appeared balanced and at ease. On the last day he came up to me and introduced himself and we had a brief, but pleasant chat. He told my good friend, Bob Lowey, co-organiser with Ronnie Robinson of Tai Chi Caledonia that he would be happy to come to Britain to teach at Caledonia in June 2000; quite a coup for Bob and Ron. I was most impressed by Chen's attitude; he certainly merits Smith's encomium.
The same day I left Jasnieres for Challones where Claudy met me and brought me to meet his master, Wang Yen-nien, who was sat with a table of disciples, finishing dinner. Master Wang proved to be something of a character. He toasted us repeatedly urging "Gan Bei! (Bottoms Up)", the only thing was we were drinking wine; he was drinking milk.
He told me that his Nei Kung teacher, a master Xie, had lived to more than one hundred years of age; that Xie's master had lived to more than one hundred and eighty years; and that his master in turn, from the Kun Lun Mountains had lived to more than two hundred and forty years. I expressed a wish that Master Wang (who is in his 85th year) might, like his master, live to be more than one hundred years, but he immediately replied that this was too little and that he wanted to reach at least one hundred and eighty two.
We discussed variations in the Yang Lineage curriculum. His replies were direct and to the point. He believed that Yang Cheng-fu (1883-1936), third generation of the Yang family Tai Chi lineage, did not receive the full transmission from his father, Yang Jian-hou (1839-1917), because his father died when Yang was only 34. On the other hand he considers that the reason for the big difference in ability between Cheng Man-ching and his senior students (this was referred to more than once by Robert W. Smith - himself a student of Cheng) was due to Cheng giving only a partial transmission of his knowledge to his students.
The name of Master Wang's school is Yang Jia Michuan (Yang family Hidden/Secret Transmission). From 1932-7, Wang trained Tai Chi Chuan under Wang Xing -wu, who was a student of Yang Ban-hou, son of Yang Lu-chan. Later Wang Yen-nien, like Cheng Man-ching, was a student under Zhang Qin-Ling (1883-?).
Master Wang does not now formally use Bai Shi (ritual initiation) in his Tai Chi teaching, although initiates do still bow to him to accept him as their master. However, those who wish to learn Taoist Nei Kung from Master Wang do need to go through an initiation. Indeed Master Wang emphasised to me several times the importance of Nei Kung practice; my own master also emphasised how much more important Nei Kung practice is as compared with form.
Zhang Qin-ling is another mysterious Tai Chi figure. Claudy relates in his book on Yang Jia Michuan how Zhang at the age of 14 became the gardener at Yang Jian-hou's house and trained under Yang Cheng-fu until, in place of his master, meeting the challenge of Wan Lai-sheng of Natural Boxing, he was rewarded by Yang Jianhou, who made Zhang his inside the door disciple.and taught him techniques that Yang Lu-chan had hidden from the Manchus and from his other students.
Zhang's most famous students were Cheng Man-ching who came to him to learn Tui Shou after Zhang became a champion in empty hand forms, Hu Yao-zhen, an expert in Xingyi and Wang. Wang was introduced to Zhang Qin-ling, by Zhang Mao-lin who was Wang's master and Zhang Qin-ling's brother in the Taoist sect of The Golden Pearl. Wang trained with Zhang Qin-ling from 1945-9.
It is not known what happened to Zhang Qin-ling, as Wang lost contact with his master during the Chinese Communist Revolution after the "Bamboo Curtain" had fallen. The same thing happened to my teacher and his master, Qi Min-xuan.
As is the case with Cheng Man-ching, Wang for whatever reason does not teach the Dao (sabre/broadsword). However, as well as teaching Tai Chi sword, he teaches complex fan and staff forms.
Lao Zi (or Lao tzu) is assumed to be the name of the author of The Tao Te Ching (Classic of the Way and of Virtue). Lao means old and therefore venerable; Zi means boy/son and has come to mean philosopher. These two old boys, these two venerable philosophers are a credit to their art. I've had my differences with Robert Smith, but, if you want to learn about these old boys and the good old/bad old days I recommend you take a look at Mr. Smith's writings.