Early photo of Chen Boxian and Chen Xiaoxing in front of the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School
A recent ceremony in Chenjiagou marked what would have been the one hundredth birthday of Chen Boxian (1920-1989). While he might not be very well known in the West, Chen Boxian was a well-respected Taijiquan practitioner in Chenjiagou. He was a direct descendant of Taijiquan creator Chen Wangting’s nephew Chen Suole and learned from teachers including Chen Ziming, Chen Zhaopi, Chen Zhaoxu, Chen Zhaokui and Chen Kezhong. The event recognised his role in protecting a number of the old masters from the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, for the preservation of the lineage/genealogy records of the Chen family, and for collating and recording many historical events of the village.
In one of his many writings Chen Boxiang highlighted the
importance of following the middle path as the route to successful practice. At
the heart of Taijiquan training is a search for balance, centredness and
equilibrium. Outlining the essentials of Chen Taijiquan practice Chen Boxian
explained how Taijiquan shares this quality with the three great philosophies that
have shaped much of the Chinese worldview - Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism.
While each have their distinct nuances and subtleties, they can all be placed
within the category of approaches of the “middle school.” The literal
translation of his words is that, “Confucianism teaches "upholding the
middle", Buddhism teaches "emptying the middle", Daoism teaches
"observing the middle". The practice
of Taijiquan also attaches great importance to the word "middle”."
If the translation seems cryptic we can break it down to try to
get a clearer idea of the point Chen Boxian is making. The reference to
Confucianism is to grasp and withhold the centre or zhi zhong. Followers of this tradition are expected to be fair,
unbiased and impartial, unwavering and in complete control of their thoughts
and actions. The Buddhist reference of an empty centre or xu zhong points to the idea of the void. In the most simple terms we
can say it is a way of perception where experiences are interpreted in their
purest form. Where an individual neither adds to subtracts from what is in
front of them based on their own preheld ideas or expectations. The Daoist
notion of observing the centre or shou
zhong is a call to observe balance and flow in harmony with occurrences in
the environment. Based on a clear and
composed mindset and a balanced physical structure, Taijiquan’s core ideas such
as listening and following the movements of an opponent, taking advantage of
weak points and the requirement of acting from a position of central
equilibrium, follow these essential concepts.
Chen Boxian wrote: “Without thinking and without worry, calm
down and [let your mind] settle down: When you practise boxing, you should
eliminate all distractions, leave nothing in your mind, and calm down your
thoughts. Do not allow the area above the navel to fill with qi; qi sinks to
the dantian… At the beginning stage of
learning, while being aware that qi must sink down, you cannot be rigid with
this, otherwise, it’s easy to [make the mistake of] worrying about one thing
and losing the other.” [This is a common Chinese idiom – “if you hang onto one,
you overlook a thousand” - being overly fixated on any single aspect of
training you run the real risk of losing sight of the need to train the body as
a whole system]. 
Chen Boxian
Chen Boxian wrote detailed descriptions of the fundamental requirements of Taijiquan, emphasising the way that everything affects everything else. Take for example his instruction of how to hold the head:
· “Stand upright; it is not appropriate to tilt the head in any direction: The body should be straight, not bending forwards or stooping, not sticking the chest out, not leaning to the left or right sides. The head is kept straight, not bowed or tilted back, or do not shake or twist it.
· The front, back and lifting energies of the head converge; the eyes are level and look straight ahead: The front and back of the head should have the sensation of pushing out as your head lifts up (ding jin). The intention should be for the front and back of the head to be slightly extended outwards and that should be enough. Do not stiffen your neck and force your head upwards rigidly. Slightly draw in the chin, and keep the eyes level and looking forwards. This way it is not easy to lose the front and back expansion jin. If you bow your head you lose the forward ding [the front part of the overall requirement to lift the head lightly] and your spirit will not be lifted and you may feel faint when turning. If you tilt your head backwards [looking upwards and raising your chin] you lose the backward ding and your breathing becomes unnatural and your chest becomes tight as transverse qi fills the chest.
· Ears listen behind; keep the heart (intention) close to your back. Raise the tip of the tongue and place it gently between the teeth: As the eyes look to the front, they also look to the left and right [in other words the attention is not focused too narrowly]. The back seems to be imperceptible as it is outside your field of vision and sensation. Because you cannot see your back you have to compensate the deficit. This explains the need to listen behind – known as “reverse listening.” [During this process] the mind intent stays close to the back to maintain neutrality and guard against the sense of emptiness at the rear of the body. It also meets the requirements of "quietness in motion" and "the whole body follow each other".
· The mouth is kept closed, breathing is through the nostrils, and the tip of the tongue should be placed gently between the roots of the upper teeth and upper palate: In this way, fluid under the tip of the tongue (saliva - known as Huachi in Chinese medicine, or in literary figurative speech Yuyeqiongjiang– jadelike or high quality wine) is readily secreted. The saliva must be swallowed, not only for the purpose of preserving the original qi but also in practical terms to avoid the problems such as dry mouth, thirst and panting and breathlessness during Taijiquan training.”
The above are merely some of the requirements for the head. The
same degree of detail is applied to every part of the body. In the final analysis
Taijiquan has to be understood and approached with the end goal being the training
and developing every aspect of an individual – both physical and mental –
through a process of mutual integration, influence and transformation.
The first Henan Sanshou and Tuishou tournament in 1982. Chen Boxian (seated in the centre) led the team that included Chen Xiaowang, Chen Zhenglei, Zhu Tiancai and Wang Xian.
