Zhan Qinlin
by Andrew T. Dale
At Master Tchoung’s 25th celebration of his school in
Canada, we had the honor to be in the company of some very
heavy hitters. Masters of very high quality, a group of living treasures.
Masters: Tchoung, Victor Fu, and Hsu Gong Wei to name some. It started me wondering what was it like during the practice and training sessions of
the ‘real’ masters. In Taiwan there was a group of
colleagues that would practice and share information: Zhen Manqing,
Wang Yen-Nien, Tchoung Ta-Tchen, Wang Hsu-Jin, T.T. Liang, Kuo Lien Ying, William Chen, Ping Siang Tao, Chen Pan Ling and probably a few we’ve never heard of.
Going back further under the direction of Grandmaster Yang Chen-fu there was: Dong Ying Jie, Chen Wei-Ming, Zhan Qinglin, Zhen Manqing, Fu Zhong-Wen, and Yang Sau-Chung among them. All training at overlapping times. It’s said that you’ll only get as good as your weakest links. Can you imagine being part of a class that included people of their level? The intensity, dedication and drive must have been amazing when you consider each of these individuals achieved fame for their skills as martial artists, not just in Taiji Quan.
One key influence in these groups is Zhan Qinlin. Over the years one of my constant questions to Master Tchoung has been, “Who is the best Taiji person, demonstrating real Taiji in applications/push-hands/self-defense you’ve seen or met.” His answer has always been: Zhen Manqing. When possible Tchoung traveled to different parts of China to find the best, touched hands with many masters to find his next teacher. Even at age 70 plus, he continued this when in China he met Master Wu Tunan who was in his 90’s and studied with Wu broadsword techniques. Tchoung said Zhen Manqing's applications were soft, light, quick and the best he'd seen apart from Zhan Qinglin.
Where did Cheng get this skill? He was a formal student of Yang Cheng Fu but though his class mates were excellent it’s said few of them contained the softness Cheng had. Zhan Qing lin and Chen Wei-Ming are others I’d heard about excelling in softness. According to my reading and from asking Master Tchoung, Cheng’s skill wasn’t exceptional until he befriended Zhan Qinlin. Zhan was Cheng’s older brother in the class and the two of them hit it off. Zhan instructed and worked with Cheng in tuishou. Cheng also traveled with Zhan for a a year to study with him. It’s said that after his travels with Zhan, Cheng came back to the class and was able to throw the others easily. According to Robert W. Smith in his book: Masters & Methods, the only one who could hold his own with Zhen Manqing in Taiwan was Wang Yen Nien (a formal student of Zhan Qinlin).
There are several stories about Zhan and his studies and practice. All in all his students were exceptional. Zhan, like Zhen Manqing, was a formal student of Master Yang Cheng-Fu, heir to the Yang family Taiji lineage. One story says he stood up for the Yang family when a challenger came to challenge Yang Cheng Fu and he defeated the challenger. At that point Yang Chien-hou, Yang Cheng-Fu’s father took him as a student and trained him in the ‘old’ style. Another story says Zhan was originally a student of Yang Chien-Hou and as tradition dictates became a student of Yang Cheng-Fu when Chien-Hou died. Regardless Zhan studied with Yang Chien-Hou for some time as did Chen Wei Ming.
Now, Yang Cheng Fu (referred to as the traditional Yang Taiji method) is responsible for spreading and popularizing Yang Taiji Quan more than any other. During his time, Yang Cheng Fu simplified some movements and stylized some in order to make the art accessible to many. Note I am not saying it weakened or strengthen the art. One of his achievements was emphasizing the large frame method of practicing the form. Large, expanded movements. Well my question is. . . What did the forms look like before this? Yang Ban hou was said to have large quick movements, Yang Shou hou had small, active movements. Who knows what Yang Lu Chan’s Taiji really looked like, who knows what real traditional Yang Taiji was if there can be a ‘traditional’ form. The bottom line is that all of them followed a series of principles and classics that kept whatever they did within the context of ‘internal’ martial arts and Taiji Quan.
Zhan claimed to have learned the ‘old’ style from Chien-Hou or the ‘secret’ style. The Quan Ping Taiji style is descendent from Yang Ban Hou and is sometimes called the ‘secret’ or ‘old’ style but doesn’t look like the other ‘secret’ or ‘old’ styles. Quan Ping at times looks Chen Taiji like, sometimes Wu Family Taiji like, sometimes Bagua like.
Master Tchoung, though creating the ‘Double Form Taiji’ which is a symmetrical Yang form says his ‘style’ is old Yang Taiji. Tchoung studied with Shi Dao Mei, a student of Yang Shou-hou lineage, brother of Yang Cheng-Fu. Though the forms are different the style of postures between Tchoung, Cheng, and Wang are very similar.
It’s claimed that Cheng Man Ching created his own style but there are many similarities between Cheng, Tchoung and Wang. The three of them were work-out buddies in Taiwan. Tchoung wasn’t a formal student of Cheng, he was a colleague and friend., but claimed his push hands skilled was from Cheng.
My hope is that more authentic students of Yang Ban-Hou, Yang Chien-Hou, and Yang Shou-Hou seek fame and fortune so we can get a glimpse of Taiji passed so we can get a view of all the various practice methods the Yang family really used. All in all we need to remember there was no one "Yang Taiji Style" until Yang Cheng Fu.
If we look at all the various styles of the art: Chen, Woo, Yang, Wu, Li, Hao, Sun, and Fu to name the most common, each has had great masters with high skills. The bottom line is practice, following the principles of the art, practice, and seeking to understand and perfect the art. Is it important to look like your teacher? Or their teacher, or to be able to express the art as you can. After a strong, basic foundation, like in any art form if the individual doesn’t grow and move past the basics is it art, is there possibility of skill?
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