TAICHI HISTORY
The most widely held belief is that Taichi Chuan was founded on Wudang Mountain in the
13th century by a Taoist monk named Zhang San Feng (some accounts date this to the 12th or even the 8th century). He is supposed to have been inspired to create Taichi Chuan after seeing a fight between a snake and a crane.
Wang Zong Yue (the alleged originator of the Taichi Chuan Treatise) is part of the lineage, as is Jiang Fa, who taught Chen Wang Ting his form.
Proven track records only begin with Chen Wang Ting. Prior to this, the subjects and timeframe are legendary and a source of much debate.
Chen Wang Ting (1580–1660) was a Ming Dynasty officer who established Chen Style (陳氏) Taichi Chuan in his hometown of Chenjiagou, Wenxian County, Henan Province when the Ming Dynasty fell.
For five generations, the Chen Family’s Taichi was kept a family secret, never to be taught to anyone else. Later, in the 1800s, Chen Chang Hsin (1771-1853) violated the norm by teaching his family’s style and secrets to Yang Lu-Chan, a devout disciple (1799-1872).
The Yang Style (楊氏) Taichi Chuan was founded by Yang Lu Chan. His disciples developed other schools of Taichi Chuan from then on, either directly or indirectly.
Wu Chuan Yu (1834–1902) and his son Wu Chien Chuan (1870–1942) created the Wu Style, Wu Yu Xiang (1812–1880) created the Wu Hao Style, and Sun Lu Tang (1861–1932) created the Sun Style.
There are dozens of new styles, hybrid forms, and offshoots of the main styles presently, but the international community recognises the five family schools as the main styles.