2020 Blog Posts

"Mulan" (1998) Retro Film Review (12/26/2020)

The classic 1998 animated film of "Mulan" was a surprising success. The animated film explored the unfamiliar territory of ancient China, displayed visual beauty, and a spirited heroine. The live-action film "Mulan" (2020) is joyless and heavy handed in comparison. Read More

Wang Zongyue – T'ai Chi Chuan Legend (11/22/2020)

Wang Zongyue (Traditional Chinese: 王宗岳; pinyin: Wángzōngyuè) was a fabled t'ai chi chuan master. He is often considered to be the principal and most famous student of Grand Master Chang San-Feng (張三丰), a long-lived 13th century Shaolin monk/Taoist sage/alchemist ascribed with founding neijia (internal martial arts) as a whole and t'ai chi chuan especially. Read More

Yang Shaohou – Creator of Shaohou Small Frame Yang Style T'ai Chi Chuan (10/25/2020)

Yang Shao-hou or Yang Shaohou (1862–1930) (楊少侯) was a prominent teacher of Yang style T'ai Chi Chuan (楊氏太極拳). He was part of the third generation of the Yang T'ai Chi Chuan family along with his younger brother Yang Chengfu (1883–1936). Read More

"Mulan" (2020) Film Review (9/27/2020)

The live-action film "Mulan" is the latest remake of an animated classic by Disney. Originally scheduled for theatrical release in March 2020 and then summer 2020, "Mulan" went to streaming on the Disney+ subscription service due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak that occurred in the United States in March 2020. The film is a retelling of a young Chinese woman discovering her strength, but is clumsy and joyless compared to the animated 1998 classic. Read More

Yang Chengfu – Creator of Modern Yang Style T'ai Chi Chuan (8/23/2020)

Yang Chengfu (杨澄甫; 1883–1936) or Yang Ch'eng-fu (楊成富) was born into the third generation of the famous Yang T'ai Chi Chuan family. Chengfu systematized the features of the modern Yang school and spread it throughout China. Read More

Yang Jianhou – The Kinder Master of the Yang Family Second Generation (7/25/2020)

Yang Jianhou (杨健侯, Wade–Giles: Yang Chien-hou; 1839–1917) or Yang Jian (楊鑒) was of the Yang Family second generation along with his older brother Yang Banhou (1837–1890). He was a prominent teacher of Yang family-style T'ai Chi Chuan (Traditional Chinese: 楊氏太极拳; pinyin: Yángshì tàijíquán) during the late Manchu Qing Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 大清; pinyin: Dà qīng; Manchu: Daiqing gurun; 1636–1912). Read More

Yang Banhou – Best of the Yang Family Second Generation (6/28/2020)

Yang Banhou (楊班侯) or Yang Pan-hou (楊盤厚, 1837–1890) was a noted teacher of Yang family-style T'ai Chi Chuan (Traditional Chinese: 楊氏太极拳; pinyin: Yángshì tàijíquán) during the Manchu Qing Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 大清; pinyin: Dà qīng; Manchu: Daiqing gurun; 1636–1912). He was known among his contemporaries for his belligerent character and had few students. Read More

Yang Luchan – Founder of Yang Style T'ai Chi Chuan (5/23/2020)

Yang Luchan (楊露禪) or Yang Lu-ch'an (楊祿纏), also known as Yang Fu-k'ui or Yang Fukui (楊福魁) (1799–1872), was an influential teacher of the internal style martial art tai chi chuan, or t'ai chi ch'üan (pinyin: tàijíquán; 太极拳) in China during the second half of the 19th century. He is known as the founder of Yang family-style T'ai Chi Chuan (Traditional Chinese: 楊氏太极拳; pinyin: Yángshì tàijíquán), the world's most popular and practiced style today. Read More

Chen Changxing – Breaking From Tradition (4/26/2020)

Chen Changxing, also called Ch'en Chang-hsing, (Traditional Chinese: 陈长兴; pinyin: Chén Zhǎngxìng; 1771–1853) was a 14th generation descendant of Chen Bu and 6th generation master of Chen family-style (陳家 Chén jiā; 陳氏 Chén shì; or 陳式 太極拳 Chén shì tàijí quán) T'ai Chi Chuan founded by Chen Wangting (Traditional Chinese: 陈王庭; pinyin: Chénwángtíng; 1580–1660). He was a mysterious yet influential martial artist and t'ai chi chuan teacher who broke with tradition. Read More

Chen Wangting – Founder of Chen Style T'ai Chi Chuan (3/30/2020)

Chen Wangting (Traditional Chinese: 陈王庭; pinyin: Chénwángtíng, 1580–1660) was a Ming Dynasty general who created Chen family-style (陳家 Chén jiā; 陳氏 Chén shì; or 陳式 太極拳 Chén shì tàijí quán) T'ai Chi Chuan. Chen-style is the oldest and parent of the five family styles of T’ai Chi Chuan. Read More

Chen Bu – Founder of the Chen Village (2/29/2020)

As the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 元朝; pinyin: Yuán Cháo; 1271–1368) came to an end, China was beset by poverty, famine, lawlessness, political unrest, and nationalist uprisings by Han Chinese nationalists. The warrior Zhu Yuanzhang (Traditional Chinese: 朱元璋; Wade–Giles: Chu Yuan-chang) eventually put down the uprisings and united China and became Emperor Taizu, also the Hongwu Emperor, (r. 1368–1398) founder of the Ming Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 明朝; pinyin: Míng Cháo; 1368–1644). Against this backdrop, Chen Bu (陳仆; 陈卜) brought the Chen Family from Shanxi Province in North China to Wen County (溫縣) in the neighboring province of Henan, which lay southward. There Chen Bu and his clan founded Chen Village, birthplace of T'ai chi ch'üan or Tàijí quán (太極拳). Read More

White Horse Temple – The Cradle of Chinese Buddhism (1/28/2020)

Buddhism first came to China during the first century AD through missionaries or ācāryas (preceptors or instructors) from India during the Han dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàncháo; 206 BC–220 AD), who arrived well before Buddhabahdara and Bodhidharma. The White Horse Temple (Traditional Chinese: 白馬寺; pinyin: Báimǎ Sì; Wade–Giles: Pai-ma Szu), the first Buddhist temple in China was built in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming near the Eastern Han dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 東漢; pinyin: Dōnghàn; 25 AD–220 AD) capital of Luoyang in Henan Province. It predated the Shaolin Temple (founded in 495 AD) by 427 years. Read More