In case you have not figured out by now, Chen’s first name is pronounced Fay Key.  I just do not wish that if you ever bring his name up in conversation, well that you sounded as if you knew what you were talking about.
 
As Fake is responsible for bringing the Chen style T’ai Chi Ch’uan to the masses, I felt we should end the postings about his legacy with a look at who has, and is, carrying on this style and tradition.
 
If you will recall, in my last posting I wrote about Chen Fake’s sons’ and daughter, however there is one other close relative of Chen Fake, a distant nephew, named Chen Zhao Pi, (1893 – 1972), who’s father, Chen Dengke also taught Martial Arts. When Zhao Pi’s father was away on business, he sent his son to the Chen Village to study under Master Chen Fake. Like his master, and being but a few years younger, he also suffered greatly during the Cultural Revolution and World War II.  When he turned 21, he left the Chen Village to go to the city of Gansu to teach “boxing”. In 1928, he left Gansu and went to Beijing to teach and it was there that the Mayor of nearby Nanjing watched Zhao Pi teach and he invited Chen to come to his city, on behalf of the cities government, to teach his boxing style. Zhao Pi however did not wish to leave Beijing and as such, suggested that the mayor instead invite his Master, Chen Fake, to go in his stead.  So, in actuality, it was a distant relative that brought fate into his Masters life.  
 
Chen Zhao Pi retired at the age of 65, in 1958, and with his free time he authored four books on the Chen Style.
 
“Cases of Chen Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan”
 
“Beginner’s Guide to T’ai Chi Ch’uan”
 
“Illustrated Guide to Chen Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan”
 
“Thirteen Theories of Chen Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan”
 
In addition, four of todays top proponents of the Chen Style form, Grand Master Chen Zheng Lei, Grand Master Chen Xaio Wang, Grand Master Zhu Tian Cai, and Grand Master Wang Xi An are students who studied directly under Master Chen Zhao Pi. (As a side note, all of those I mentioned above, Master Chen Zhao Pi’s students, can be found online and even on Facebook.)
 
Following is simply a list of some of Master Chen Fakes’ most notable students for you to research on your own;
 
Jaizhen Shen, (1891 -1972)
 
Tang Hao, (1897 -1959)
 
Yang Yichen, (1904 – 1959)
 
Zhang Xuan, 1905 – 1984)
 
Pan Yong-Zhou, (1906 -1996)
 
Hong Junsheng, (1907 – 1996)
 
Gu Liuxin, (1908 – 1991)
 
Lei Muni, (1911 – 1986)
 
Zhong Minggao, (1911 – 1998)
 
Li Jingwu, (1912 – 1997)
 
Chen Yunting, (1912- )
 
Wang He-Lin, (1915 - ?)
 
Tian Xiuchen, 1917 – 1984)
 
Feng Zhiqiang, (1928 – 2012)
 
 
The list is endless…,
 
So, in conclusion, Chen Fake left the world a legacy of his Martial Arts Style of T’ai Chi, (boxing), which will carry on for centuries. He was an inspiration to all who studied under him and thankfully, his teachings and style will be left for many, many more who wish to envelope his thinking of what was , at the time, a practice meant to bring harmony and balance into peoples lives using nature as a

If you recall, in the last posting here, I mentioned Hong Jun Sheng, ( when writing about Chen’s daughter and her Sword Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan. As Hong Jun Sheng was important in Chen Fake’s life, I thought it relevant to write a little about him.
 
Hong Jun Sheng was born in 1906 in YuXian, China in 1928 so he was at least thirty years younger than Chen Fake. He was born into a wealthy Merchants family and his “Private” schooling was directed towards one day taking over the family business. However, just as with Chen Fake, he was an ailing child and to correct this, at around the age of twenty he began studying the Martial Arts under Master Liu MuSan. Liu taught the Wu Tai Chi style and was a highly regarded and much sought after teacher.
 
While studying under Master Liu, an important and historical event occurred, 1928, that would forever change Hong Jun Sheng.  Being one of Liu’s better students, Hong Jun Sheng was invited to see a Martial Arts demonstration in which the “First” form of T’ai Chi was to shown. This form, the one above all others, was supposedly the predecessor of the Yang and Wu styles. Expecting the demonstration to last hours, due to the slow style and movements they had learned from their master, the students, along with Hong, expected a long day away from their studies.
 
However, in less than twenty minutes, the demonstration was over and all those who viewed it were left baffled and in complete awe.  To them, this demonstration did not resemble T’ai Chi as they knew it. The slow fluid movements were gone and were replaced with stops, forceful stomps, changes in speed and direction and most of all.., Force.
 
Who was the Master giving this demonstration? Chen Fake.
 
Hong Jun Sheng, unlike all the other witnesses to this flurry of speed and force was not as taken aback as all the others who watched in amazement.  He thought quite opposite in that he saw the benefits and merit in Chen’s demonstration and was particularly astonished that even with all the forcefulness in the fighting, Chen remained calm and relaxed. Master Liu, Hong’s teacher also saw this in the exhibit and encouraged his students to study under Master Chen before deciding on what style of T’ai Chi they wished to study further. This advice began a long and lasting discipleship between Hong Jun Sheng and his new master, Chen Fake.
 
As Chen was not at all wealthy, quite the opposite in fact, and Hong was, he invited Chen to live with his family and even use his families house to teach the Chen style, to which Chen graciously accepted. As Hong was still not in the best of health, he would allow his fellow students to practice the Chen style while he simply sat back and observed. As such, he was able to not only see the demonstrations and hear what Master Chen was telling his fellow students, he was also able to see the routines over and over again thus when it came his time to practice with his Master, he knew the movement by rote.
 
Within a decade however things changed. The Hong family fell on hard times and at the same time, as Chen was much sought after as a teacher, situations reversed themselves. In turn it was the Master that took in the student, but only for a short period as Hong felt he was imposing on his Masters generosity and moved his family to the village of Jinan. He did however continue to study under Chen for the next fifteen years. While in Jinan Hong became a member of an Anti- Communist, along with an Anti-Japanese movement as this period in Hongs life happened during the Japanese occupation of China. His association with these groups labeled Hong as an “Undesirable” and a political dissident. As such, this caused the Hong family to suffer, which led to even more poverty for the Hong family. This sadly led to the members of the Hong family to denounce Jun Sheng and he literally lived on the streets.
 
Once again, fate stepped in as China began to slowly open up which found Hong a new life in teaching the next generation of T’ai Chi Ch’uan followers and in this period Hong also wrote a book on Chen Fake’s principles. So, in the end, not only did the student learn from the Master, the student became the Master in the long run.
 

Hong Jun Sheng in his latter years. 
 
Image credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/329959110174221095/
 

As Chen Fake is most notably known for the Chen Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan, he is also noted for raising children that went on to further his styles, techniques and name. Chen Fake had three children, two boys and a daughter, all of who followed in their father’s footsteps. Thus, the Chen style Chen Fake that begun around 1900, is still taught and practiced very much the same way it was over 100 years ago.
 
Chen Zhaoxu, (1912 – 1959), was the oldest of Chen Fake’s children, (Chen Fake had another male child but this child died quite young), and was trained by his father at an early age in the Chen Style. He was so good at what his father had taught him that, at his father’s request, he returned to the Chen Village and continued the family legacy. Sadly, he was coming of age during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which stagnated and tried to halt all Martial Art’s forms, Zhaoxu suffered greatly and died quite young. (More on T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Martial Arts in China during WW II and the Cultural Revolution to follow)
 
However, Zhaoxu did have sons that also carried on the Chen style. His second son, Chen Xaiowang, (b. 1945), is now living in Australia and is considered by many as one of the leading practitioners and teachers of the Chen style T’ai Chi Ch’uan today. His youngest son, Chen Xaioxing, (b. 1952), along with his own son Chen Ziqiang, continue to teach and practice in their home village in China today.
 
Chen Yu Xia, (1924 – 1986), was Chen Fake’s only daughter. She began studying under her father’s tutelage at the early age of eight and was soon one of the most proficient of all his students. Most notably the “Sword Form”. When students of Hong Junsheng, (a disciple of Chen who had seen the Master Chen preform the Chen style T’ai Chi Ch’uan while still in training and of whom I will speak of later), asked their Master about the Sword Forms, he immediately gave them the name Yu Xia as he said she was the “only” one who still understood the vast intricacies of the form and directed them towards her. She remained one of the utmost authorities on Chen style, and in particular the Sword style, until her death.
 
Chen Zhaokui, (1928 – 1981) was the youngest of Chen Fake’s children and it was he who trained many of the T’ai Chi Ch’uan practitioners that remain in China to this day. His son, Chen Yu, (1962 -), is to this day teaching the Chen Style around the world.
 
There are many, many students of Chen Fake and later we will look at some of the most notable however, as I do not wish to take up pages, upon pages of who was who and who taught what and where, we will simply conclude that Chen Fake has quite the enduring legacy. If it were not for he, there may not be today a Chen Style form of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, nor the Push Hands or the modern Sword Forms. If Chen Fake had not been asked to come to Beijing to teach his style of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, the form quite possibly could have been lost to the ages.
Chen Fake..,  Photo credit  “pinterest”.   https://www.pinterest.com/pin/391109548861808691/