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Cheng Man-ch'ing (WG)
or Zhèng Mànqīng (py) (1902-1975) was born in
Yongjia (present-day Wenzhou), Zhejiang
Province (his birthday was on the 28th year of the Guangxu emperor's
reign, 6th month, 25th day, which corresponds to July 29, 1902). He
died March 26, 1975); his grave is near the city of Taipei. Cheng was
trained in Chinese medicine, t'ai chi ch'uan, calligraphy, painting and
poetry.
Because of his skills in these five areas (among some of the
traditional skills and pastimes of a Confucian scholar in traditional
China) he was often referred to as the "Master of Five Excellences."
Because he had been a college professor, his students called him
"Professor Cheng."
Cheng Man-ch'ing is best known in the West for his t'ai
chi ch'uan.
The following are some of the characteristics of his "Yang-style short
form."
- It eliminates most of the repetitions of certain
moves of the Yang long form.
- It takes around ten minutes to practice instead of
the twenty to thirty minutes of the Yang long form
- The hand and wrist are held open, yet relaxed, in
what Cheng called
the "Fair Lady's Hand" formation (as opposed to the straighter "Chinese
tile" formation of the Yang style)
- The form postures are not as expansive as Yang
Ch'eng-fu's form
- Cheng postures are performed in "middle frame" style,
which changes the movement of the feet from the Yang version.
- Cheng's concept of "swing and return" in which the
gathering momentum from one movement powers the next (smoothly, with
connection); moving from substantial to insubstantial (yin to yang)
and back again - one metaphor is of a series of interlocking gears,
whose tiniest movements cannot be initiated independently of one
another. For one gear to move all must move.
SRC: Wikipedia
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