Emperors Long Fist (Tai Tzu Chang Chuan)

Emperor's Long Fist (Ba Gua Chan "Tai Chi Chuan" Hsing-I)

The internal arts Tai Chi, Ba Gua, and Hsing-I are taught collectively at our school as the Emperor's Long Fist system. Emperor's Long Fist (Tai Tzu Chang Chuan) was created in Sung dynasty China by Emperor Chao Kuang Yin in 960 A.D., and is the root of all other Tai Chi styles. Ba Gua and Hsing-I, the sister arts to Tai Chi, were also incorporated. These internal arts emphasize the cultivation of Qi (a.k.a. Chi, Ki, life energy, etc.) for use in combat rather than external muscular force. Thousands of Chinese and a growing number of Westerners practice internal arts (especially Tai Chi) for health and longevity.

Emperor's Long Fist History

Chao Kuang-yin, founder and ruler of the Sung Dynasty from 960-976 A.D., reunited war torn China following the division of the Five Dynasties. He also brought an end to the militarism which characterized China during that era.

Chao came from a northeastern military family, the kind that had dominated politics since the late ninth century. Large of stature and an able warrior, he rose to become commander of the Palace Corps of the Chou Dynasty in 959, the last of the Five Dynasties under the Emperor Shih-tsung, whose death the following year left a seven-year-old child on the throne. During this episode and an invasion from the north, General Chao had been sent north to repel the Khitan. It is said that the army officers, after a few days out, came to the thirty-two-year-old Chao Kuang-yin who was asleep in his tent. Awakening him at dawn by swordpoint, they insisted he wear the yellow silkrobe, a symbol of imperial authority, and lead the army to take possession of the capital.

After the Emperor, also known as Sun Tai-tzu, came reluctantly to power and having achieved this great victory, he called together his army chiefs and hosted a grand banquet. When everyone had drunk plenty and were in a festive mood, the Emperor told them, "I do not sleep peacefully at night." The generals all inquired why and the answer came that if any one of the generals had been forced by swordpoint to don the imperial robe unwillingly and overthrow the Chou Dynasty, how would they feel? The generals proceeded to protest, commenting that they were not talented enough. When all was said and done, the Emperor talked of life and happiness, and said: "If you, my officers, will renounce your military authority and retire to the provinces and choose the finest of lands to pass the rest of your days, living your lives in peace and happiness, wouldn't this be far more desirable than the peril of war? So that there be no suspicions, we will ally our families with marriages and thus ruler and subject will be linked in friendship and amity." The following day the army commanders turned in their resignations, reporting (imaginary) illnesses, and withdrew to the country districts. Once there, the Emperor gave them magnificent gifts and appointed them to high official positions.

Like all Chinese imperial regimes, the Sung government was absolute in principle and hierarchical in organization. It differed from the previous governments in achieving a new degree of centralization and of civilian control over the military. Comparing this to the earlier and later governments, it provided an open forum for discussion and criticism.

Under the Emperor's influence, the Sung dynasty also became known as the Golden Age. It was during this period that the Sung featured remarkable economic, technological, intellectual and artistic growth and is often taken as the truly formative period for the late imperial era, lasting to 1911.

Chao Kuang-yin was a celebrated scholar who had a keen interest in the martial arts. He is credited with being the first one in Chinese history to comprehensively collect and document all available manuscripts on the subject of martial arts, especially those from the Shao Lin Temple. Studying the available information, he kept those records hidden in a library in a tower behind the Temple. The tower was eventually destroyed and the manuscripts scattered.

Creating his own complete system of martial art, the Emperor Tai-tzu encompassed health and the self defense aspects, calling his art tai tzu chang chuan, meaning "great ancestor's long fist." This system is so uniquely composed that it covers all aspects of tai chi, hsing yi and ba kua, the original internal systems of Northern China. Tai tzu is the root from which most northern styles originated, and since the southern styles originated from the north, hence, the southern styles of martial arts stem from tai tzu chang chuan as well. Tai tzu chang chuan was perfected in 960 and journals published in 984. The Chao family inherited this system, passing it down from generation to generation, refining it and preserving the secrets. Only those in the Chao family who qualified had access to this art. Not all members possessed the basic requirements of good moral character, sincere spirit of inquiry, and the most important requirement--the status of being next in line to carry on the legacy of inheritance.

Historical chronicles record the birth of Chao Kuang-yin during 927, while the recorded birth of Chang San Feng is dated 1247. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, Chang San Feng was not the founder of tai chi, and the term tai chi is generic as far as we are concerned. In 1618, General Chen Wang Ting studied the basics of tai tzu chang chuan, incorporating it as the first form in his style. Later, he abandoned the form because of its length, although kept the essence, calling his "new" art chen tai chi chuan. In 1799, Yang Lew Shen created the yang style of tai chi, deriving it from the chen style and passing this art on to Yang Cheng Fu in 1833. He was famous for his ability in tai chi, and his forms became known as tai chi. Master Chao Yuh Feng knew the famous Yang Cheng Fu who had learned this ancient style of long fist. To date, Grandmaster and inheritor of the system, Chao Yuh Feng is the 35th-generation descendant, the last inheritor of the same family lineage as the Emperor and, for posterity, the keeper of the books on tai tzu chang chuan.