Cheng Man Ch'ing- Biographies, Cheng Man Ching

Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing

1901-1975

Born in the province of Chekiang in China, Cheng Man Ch'ing dedicated his life to the pursuit of medical knowledge, culture, beauty - and - perhaps the culmination of them all - Tai Chi.

In his early years, he studied traditional painting, calligraphy and poetry with some of China's finest teachers, before becoming a teacher himself at the Peking Academy of Fine Arts and later serving in several cultural institutions.

Whilst still a young man, Cheng Man Ch'ing also became immersed in several branches of Chinese medicine, including herbal remedies, orthopaedic medicine and gynaecology. It was surprising that with his wide range of traditional skills, he became known as 'the Master of the Five Excellences'.

In 1928, he began to study Tai Chi Ch'uan with the reputable Master Yang Cheng-Fu, who was to be instrumental in bringing Tai Chi to the attention of the wider world.  Ten years later, to enable him to make Tai Chi more accessible, Cheng Man Ch'ing decided to simplify the Solo exercise by condensing it into the 37 postures of the Short Form which is one of the most popular styles of Tai Chi practised around the world today. 

In 1947, he founded the Shr Jung School of Tai Chi in Taiwan, many of his students going on to become Masters in their own right.  He was one of the first to teach Tai Chi openly in the Western world and formed, in 1973, the Shr Jung Tai Chi Center in New York, which is still in existence.

  Dr. Chi Chiang Tao

1919-1994

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 Dr. Shen Hongxun

1939 -

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T.T. Liang

1900-2002

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