So Wang Fu-lai of the Wang Shu-jin school in Taizhong has decided to put down Chen Pan-ling. In case the file goes down, here is some of what he said:
As a result of his connections with Chiang Kai Shek, Chen Pan Ling was appointed as chairman of the Chinese Martial Arts Federation in Taiwan, a government body, not because of his status as a martial artist but because of his government connections.
Chen Pan Lin was also appointed to the Congress and became a member of the Anti-Communism Committee – a body with enormous power at the time. Many innocent martial artists were accused by the police and jailed as communists. Therefore they wanted to be affiliated with Chen Pan Ling and went to train with him at the farm where he worked in the agricultural laboratory. Chen Pan Ling became powerful and rich. He wielded great political power but he was not a great martial artist.
The five leading tai chi masters at the time put together a kata that contained the advantages of each of the schools and excluded the unnecessary or harmful elements. Chen Pan Ling, who was one of Chiang Kai Shek’s deputies, documented the proceedings of the meeting and distributed an official document describing the united kata. This document also came into the hands of Grand Master Wang Shu-chin. The kata described in this document served as the basis on which Grand Master Wang Shu-chin built our system. Grand Master Wang Shu-chin, who was an expert at hsing-i and pa-kua, thought this kata too simple. He added techniques from hsing-i, pa-kua and tsan tsuan and created the kata we use today.
In 1963, after many years of training, Grand Master Wang Shu-chin took me to the place where Chen Pan Ling taught in a village near Taichung. This was an agricultural laboratory (and not a school for martial arts). There were open spaces and fresh air and many martial artists came to train there during that period.
This was the first time I met Chen Pan Ling. Grand Master Wang Shu-chin presented him to me with these words: Chen Lao Tse – Teacher Chen. In Chinese, when you add the family name, then you mean a teacher in general, like a teacher at school, and not your own personal teacher. Your own personal teacher you call Lao Tse – Teacher. This form of address indicates clearly that I am not a student of Chen Pan Ling and there is no relationship between us. Grand Master Wang Shu-chin thought that I had reached a sufficiently high level and he could present me before various martial artists and show off.
My first demonstration was the len huan hsing-i kata. Chen Pan Ling was in the audience. At the end there was applause and generally everyone was impressed by the way Grand Master Wang Shu-chin had taught me. As a courteous man and according to the norms of Chinese culture, Grand Master Wang Shu-chin asked Chen Pan Ling to offer a correction or a criticism to his student. Chen Pan Ling gave his advice: to raise the fist (it took six years before I learned to release the fist parallel to the ground so as not to be punched by the second fist, said Master Wang, demonstrating the peng chuan movement of hsing-i). I knew that the corrected height and angle of the fist were incorrect. I looked at Grand Master Wang Shu-chin and he turned away. I understood Chen Pan Ling’s intentions and felt how jealous he was off my teacher, so I did not thank him but simply ignored the correction.
All in all, Grand Master Wang Shu-chin took me there seven times. On these occasions I saw Chen Pan Ling training tai chi and hsing-i. I never saw him train pakua. His movements were not accurate and he did not impress me. The eighth time I asked not to go. As I was doing my military service at that time I had only one day a week to meet my teacher and I preferred not to waste the time on a meeting with “that man”.
Naturally, he’s entitled to his opinion. If CPL didn’t impress him, then so what? No big deal. But Wang’s taiji is so very clearly from CPL. EVERYONE that does taiji in Taiwan KNOWS that this form was put together by CPL. EVERYBODY. The only people who claim otherwise are some of Wang’s folks. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
I have no idea what Wang hopes to gain out of this, but it just makes him and his school look bad.
13 responses so far ↓
1 Q // May 12, 2007 at 3:29 am
I don’t know if CPL is good or not. Just because almost everyone says someone is good doesn’t mean much sometimes because it is Chinese custom not to burst other people’s bubbles. Often you’d have to find out the truth in private little circles. It is quite strange to see public declarations like that though. I’d like this article to at least list the names of the “five masters” to add some credibility to it. Shouldn’t be that hard if it is true.
2 Darius // May 12, 2007 at 8:54 am
Wang Shujin himself stated that he studied with CPL for almost twenty years and that he learned taiji from Chen. There are both written and oral accounts of this. Why Wang Fulai would question his own teacher’s account is beyond me.
Here’s a link to another group that follows Wang Fulai http://www.taikyokuken.co.jp/english/einfo/infotai.html
This group has a different story in which the young Wang, then 24 and a novice martial artist (having studied for six years), is a very active member of the committee of great masters who created this taiji form. This contradicts Wang Fulai’s recent statement that Wang somehow got hold of the written record of the form and built upon it to create his own style of taiji. Besides, all these points are moot since Wang Shujin himself acknowledged Chen as his taiji teacher. End of discussion.
In any case, the reason for the discrepencies is that the stories are invented and lack any historical or factual basis.
3 chessman71 // May 12, 2007 at 9:13 am
Q,
You could ask about CPL and his taiji next time you’re in class. I’m sure you’d hear how good he was. The pictures of him doing his xingyi, etc. show a very standard set of movements. Nothing wrong with what he was doing. His students and sons all exhibit good movement, as well.
Wang Fu-lai is making stories up because he’s a mouth boxer.
4 Ben // May 12, 2007 at 3:13 pm
I wonder if it’s another case of Taiwanese vs. Mainlander feud. Wang Fulai sounds like a Taiwanese in this vid.
5 Ben // May 12, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Sorry, this one,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDlBrp2hFfo
6 chessman71 // May 12, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Ha. I made a comment on that video that there is something special about WSJ’s taiji — it was well-designed by CPL. The comment has been deleted.
7 Duane Dunstan // Jan 18, 2008 at 2:35 am
I know Master Wang and studied in his school in Taiwan. And while CPL taught WSC the Tai Chi, it is true that WSC changed it by incorporating elements from Hsing yi and Ba Gua. This is fact. Moreover, the 99 form has also been changed by Master Wang since the death of Grandmaster WSC, and it is better.
8 John Kavanagh // Jun 1, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Hi,
For some reason this topic ’sprung’ up when I visited yesterday…I am intruiged as to what exact changes to CPL’s form are attributed to Wang Shu Jin and, especially, the interesting comments that Wang Fu Lai has introduced further changes again to make Wang Shu Jin’s tai ji form ‘better’…Not sure if you’re still around Duane…but could you qualify the word better please and give examples from these forms- cross match/ comarison etc of the movew would be useful…
Best wishes- John
9 Dave Chesser // Jun 1, 2008 at 3:07 pm
John,
I can’t speak about many of the changes, but I do know of one. After wild horse parts mane, many from Wang’s camp do a “dragon walking” move from bagua that involves turning and coiling the body through the up-raised hand. It looks like a bagua palm change as a transition from one wild horse parts mane to the next one.
This may get me burned for heresy, but it’s a nice transition. I like it.
10 John Kavanagh // Jun 1, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Hi Dave,
That’s an interesting and clear example- and I’ll play with it…and the improvement is…? Easier transition or health/martial application?
Take good care- John
11 Dave Chesser // Jun 1, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Eh…um….I wouldn’t all it an “improvement” per se. It’s just a nice transition. A lot of applications flow out of wild horse parts mane, many of the ones I learned have to do with neck control, etc. So doing the coiling through the up-raised hand flows naturally from the apps or vice versa. It is a nice a transition because of the coiling.
12 Denny // Jun 2, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Now, I find a real big mouth boxer.
13 rodger // Jul 14, 2008 at 6:06 pm
wow!! i cant beleive you guys have met or talked to wang shu chin!! or wang fu li!! ihave serious connections to the two as in 1985 i started training under heinz rottman in internal arts the 3 systems combined found it incredibly interesting!! i studied on and off for 11 years. Heienz and brother manfred were 2 of very few who attained expert levels from this lineage, reply asap, thanx Rodger mcleay.
Leave a Comment