| Xie Bingcan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 謝 炳 燦 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 谢 炳 灿 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Xie Bingcan 謝炳燦 | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 September 1934 Yuyao, China |
| Died | 29 April 2020 (aged 85) |
| Style | Yang-style tai chi Wu-style tai chi |
| Part of a series on |
| Chinese martial arts (Wushu) |
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Xie Bingcan or Xie Bingshan (1934 - 2020) was a notable expert and teacher of Qigong, Tuina, and tai chi.
Xie Bingcan was born in Yuyao, China. At twenty years old, he traveled on foot from Yuyao to Shanghai, to find work at the Shanghai Mechanized Construction Group. While supporting himself there as a mechanic, Xie devoted his spare hours to the study of Daoist qigong and martial arts. His workmates were so impressed by his dedication, they assigned him the nickname "Maoshan Dao Shr."
In 1958, Xie joined the Yongnian Taijiquan Association, led by the tai chi master Fu Zhongwen. Xie focused all his efforts on this martial art. Following the instructions of his teacher, [1] Xie repeated the traditional Yang style form ten to twelve times in a row without rest. He performed this feat twice daily, morning and evening, for many years. During this period in his life, Xie often slept only three to four hours each night.
With the support of Fu Zhongwen, Xie started to assist in teaching push hands at the Yongnian Association. Xie made a point to spend one or two minutes with each student, and to give feedback on their performance. During a typical class, he would tutor sixty to eighty pupils. Xie also traveled with Fu inside China, and as his senior student, occasionally answered challenges on his behalf. [2]
Gradually, Xie's reputation grew, and in 1980 he was invited to join the faculty at East China Normal University. He offered teaching in Yang-style tai chi sword and saber, as well as the hand form and push hands. Xie also served as a competition judge for the Shanghai Wushu Association, and as a contributing member of the International Qigong Research Association, among other posts and honors. [3]
Despite having built a reputation as an expert himself, Xie continued to seek new insights and perspectives. Starting in 1987, Xie advanced his long-established study of Wu-style tai chi under the personal instruction of Ma Yueliang and Wu Yinghua.
After a favorable mention by Zhang Luping in the April 1990 issue of T'ai Chi Magazine, [4] Xie was recognized in the English-speaking tai chi community. Students began traveling from the United States and elsewhere to seek his instruction. Four years later, he moved to Bothell, Washington, joining an active Chinese martial arts community in the greater Seattle area. [5] [6]
Xie Bingcan continued teaching his beloved art, and preparing the next generation of tai chi masters, until his death at age 85. [7]
Xie, Bingcan (December 1995). "The Eight Power Strokes and Five Steps of Tai Chi Chuan". T'ai Chi Magazine. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049.
Xie, Bingcan (December 1996). "Mental Discipline in T'ai Chi Practice". T'ai Chi Magazine. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049.
Xie, Bingcan (December 2003). "How to Improve T'ai Chi Form Practice". T'ai Chi Magazine. Wayfarer Publications. ISSN 0730-1049.
Neijia is the collective name for the internal Chinese martial arts. It relates to those martial arts occupied with spiritual, mental or qi-related aspects, as opposed to an "external" approach focused on physiological aspects. The distinction dates to the 17th century, but its modern application is due to publications by Sun Lutang, dating to the period of 1915 to 1928. Neijing is developed by using neigong or "internal changes", contrasted with waigong or "external exercises".
Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for self-defense and health. Known for its slow, intentional movements, tai chi has practitioners worldwide and is particularly popular as a form of gentle exercise and moving meditation, with benefits to mental and physical health.
Wu Jianquan was a famous teacher and founder of the neijia martial art of Wu-style tai chi in late Imperial and early Republican China.
Hao Weizhen (1842–1920) was a Chinese tai chi teacher. Hao became a well known and influential teacher of Wu Yuxiang's style of tai chi, his teacher Li Yiyou was Wu Yuxiang's nephew. Hao passed the art of Wu Yuxiang's style of tai chi to his son and grandson, who became respected teachers in their own turns, so that the style is sometimes now known as Wu (Hao)-style. One of Hao's most famous students was Sun Lutang.
Sun Lutang (1860-1933) was a master of Chinese neijia (internal) martial arts and was the progenitor of the syncretic art of Sun-style tai chi. He was also considered an accomplished Neo-Confucian and Taoist scholar, and was a distinguished contributor to the theory of internal martial arts through his many published works.
Wu Gongyi was a well-known teacher of the soft style martial art tai chi in China, and, after 1949, in British Hong Kong. He was also the "gate-keeper" of the Wu family from 1942 until his death in 1970.
Wu Kung-tsao or Wu Gongzao (1902–1983) was a famous Chinese teacher of tai chi. He taught in Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Hong Kong. The second son of Wu Jianquan, he was the grandson of the first teacher of Wu-style tai chi, Wu Quanyou. Wu Kung-tsao was the younger brother of Wu Gongyi and the older brother of Wu Yinghua. The Wu family were originally of Manchu ancestry.
Fu Zhongwen (1903–1994) was a respected tai chi teacher and author from China. From an early age, he had been a disciple of Yang Chengfu, and later a family member as he married Zou Kuei Cheng, the great-granddaughter of Yang Chien Hou.
Yang Banhou was an influential teacher of tai chi in Qing dynasty China, known for his bellicose temperament.
Wu Quanyou was an influential teacher of tai chi in late Imperial China. His son is credited as the founder of the Wu-style tai chi. As he was of Manchu descent, and would have been named by his family in Manchu, the name "Wú" (吳) was a sinicisation that approximated the pronunciation of the first syllable of his Manchu clan name, U Hala.
Yang Shaohou was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu, represents the third generation of Yang-style tai chi. Grandmaster of his generation and known for his compact "small frame" techniques, he was a ferocious fighter and a demanding teacher.
Wu Daqi or Wu Ta-ch'i (1926–1993) was the descendant of the famous Wu-style tai chi founders Wu Quanyou (1834–1902) and Wu Jianquan (1870–1942). He directed Wu-style tai chi instruction outside of Mainland China after the death of his father Wu Gongyi (1900–1970) and brother Wu Ta-kuei (1923–1972) from the Wu-style tai chi headquarters in Hong Kong internationally.
Shi Mei Lin is a teacher of Wu-style tai chi. She is the adopted daughter of Wu Yinghua and Ma Yueliang
The tai chi classics are a collection of over 100 articles on the Chinese martial art of tai chi written by the art's master practitioners over the centuries. They cover everything from the underlying taiji philosophical principles, to methods of practice and application. Previously passed down in secret from generation to generation in whole or in parts through various lineages, they achieved classical status as they became public starting in the mid-1930s. Together they now serve as the single authoritative guide for the development and usage of tai chi skills. Written mostly in classical Chinese, they are used today mostly by the serious martial art practitioners of modern 6 Lineages that all trace their lineages to the ancient style taught by the Chen family and Yang family starting in the mid-19th century.
Yang Zhenduo, a native of Yongnian, Hebei, was born in Beijing, China, into the famous Yang family of martial artists. A son of Yang Chengfu and a great-grandson of Yang Luchan, Yang Zhenduo was a fourth-generation descendant of the Yang Family of tai chi, and was the fourth lineage-holder of the style.
Yang Jun is a Wushu master who was born in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China in 1968 into the famous Yang family of martial artists. A son of Yang Daofang and a grandson of Yang Zhenduo, he is a direct descendant of Yang Chengfu and of Yang Luchan, the creator of Yang-style tai chi. Yang Jun is a sixth-generation descendant of the Yang Family of tai chi, and is the fifth lineage-holder of the style.
Wudangquan is a class of Chinese martial arts. In contemporary China, Chinese martial arts styles are generally classified into two major groups: Wudang (Wutang), named after the Wudang Mountains; and Shaolin, named after the Shaolin Monastery. Whereas Shaolin includes many martial art styles, Wudangquan includes only a few arts that use the focused mind to control the body. This typically encompasses tai chi, xingyiquan and baguazhang, but must also include bajiquan and Wudang Sword. Although the name Wudang distinguishes the skills, theories and applications of the internal arts from those of the Shaolin styles, these arts did not originate in the Wudang Mountains: the name Wudang comes from a popular Chinese legend that purports the genesis of tai chi and Wudang Sword by an immortal, Taoist hermit named Zhang Sanfeng who lived in the monasteries of Wudang Mountain. Wudang quan is often used synonymously with Neijia, but Neijia is a broader term that also encompasses Aikido and Qigong, which are not Wudang quan.
Dong Huling was a master of tai chi, known for teaching Yang style and Dong style, and an early leader in the spread of tai chi worldwide. Born in Ren County, Hebei, China, his father Dong Yingjie was a top disciple of Yang Chengfu and famous for his fighting skills. Also highly skilled and creative himself, Dong Huling taught in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. He then emigrated to Hawaii, founding a school in Honolulu, continued teaching workshops around the world, and carried on the Dong family legacy.
Wu-style tai chi is one of the five main styles of tai chi. It is second in popularity after Yang-style, and the fourth-oldest of the five major tai chi styles. It was developed by Wu Quanyou and Wu Jianquan.
Zhang Luping was a Chinese martial artist and mathematician born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. He was best known in China for his exceptional skill at tai chi's push hands, and for an incident in his hometown in which he accidentally broke a weightlifting champion’s forearm during an arm wrestling match. He was a student of Cai Hong Xiang (蔡鸿祥), Wang Zi-Ping, and Xie Bingcan. He was also a descendant of Zhang Jun and of Zhang Jiugao (張九皋), who was the brother of Zhang Jiuling. He was noted for his deep knowledge of the five styles of tai chi, his superb application of the principles, and his highly developed internal power. In an age when many great martial arts teachers remained reluctant to share their highest insights and techniques, Zhang championed in his teaching an attitude of openness and a strong desire to ensure the continuation of Chinese martial traditions.
