Great River Taoist Center » Wang Yen-nien

Biographic Sketch of Wang Yen-nien

grtc — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:58:01 +0000

Personal
Birth Date	December 19, 1914
Birth Place	Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, China
Styled	Fushuo, Yungkang

Education / Experience
1932 – 1934	Shanxi Province Police Academy, First Graduating Class.
1932 – 1937	Taijiquan, studied Yang style in Shanxi Province with Wang Xingwu, student of Yang Banhou.
1938 – 1945	Sino-Japanese War, fought under Shanxi Province Warlord General Yen Xisan, rising in rank from Platoon Leader to Company Commander, to Battalion Commander, to Regimental Commander, to Assistant Division Commander.
1945 – 1949	Taijiquan, received an apprenticeship with Zhang Qinling to study the Yang Family Hidden Tradition of Taijiquan. Zhang was a student of both Yang Jianho and Yang’s son, Yang Chenfu.
1945 – 1949	Civial War between the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party of China, fought under Yen Xisan, and retreated (1949) with the Nationalist government and army to Formosa (now Taiwan, the Republic of China.)
1949 – 1954	Ministry of National Defense, with a rank of Colonel, served under Yen Xisan, who was acting president of the ROX from 1949 – 1953; withdrewm from government service in 1954 after Yen Xisan stepped down.
1954	Taijiquan, began teaching the Yang Family Hidden Tradition of Taijiquan in a small park, which was later designated a war memorial to a group of Shanxi Province Communist resisters who committed suicide rather than stay under Communist rule.
1956 – 1986	Vice-Chairman and Founding Father of the National Tai Chi Chuan Associationg of the ROC. (Original name of the NTCCA is Zhong Mei Wenhua Taijiquan Xueshu Yenjiu Hui.)
1986 1989	Charinman, National Tai Chi Chuan Association of the ROC and the International Tai Chi Chuan Federation.
1989	Elected Honorary President for Life of the National Tai Chi Chuan Association of the ROC.

Wang Yen-nien ‘Famous Yang Style TaijiQuan Martial Artist’

grtc — Sat, 06 Feb 1999 17:55:50 +0000

Master Wang uses Qi to Overcome Li (muscle strength) and has Disciples All Over the World. To Preserve the Best Part of the Art he Wrote and Distributed Books to Preserve the Real Teaching.

by Zeng Huiping
Great Sports Daily, Taibei, Taiwan, December 7, 1999

At first Wang thought to practice to stay healthy. Unexpectedly, he became a Wulin Gao Shou – Highly Skilled Martial Artist. At 87, Wang Yen-nien has for 45 years used Yang Style TaijiQuan to defeat challengers all over the world. He has disciples all over the world. Once four highly skilled XingYi Quan practitioners challenged Wang. One was a very large man weighing over 100 kilos (220 pounds). Wang Yen-nien used his qi to deflect their muscle strength (li). So he conquered those who looked down on TaijiQuan. Two years ago (‘97) Wang Yen-nien was awarded Xin Chuan Jian (Spreading Teaching Award). for his devotion to spreading TaijiQuan in Taiwan.

Wang is from Taiyuan, Shanxi province (in Mainland China). He was not health as a little boy. So at eight he started learning Shaolin and XingYi Quan to make himself stronger. Wang says “These styles use to much muscle strength.” At the age of 32 he kowtowed to Zhang Qinglin and started learning the YangJia MiChuan TaijiQuan. “In the beginning, teacher (Zhang) saw I was very young and so unfit to practice TaijiQuan”. Surprisingly Zhang found Wang could follow orders and was serious about learning. So Zhang decided to teach him the YangJia MiChuan TaijiQuan. He said to Wang, “YangJia MiChuan TaijiQuan is only passed to you. You are the only one I taught (the entire systems)”.

The founder of Yang Style TaijiQuan, Yang Luchan, changed TaijiQuan into Yang Shen Quan (Raising Life Boxing). This is the most popular TaijiQuan today. Wang Yen-nien said at the time Zhang Qinglin trained with the Yang family, he could only practice the MiChuan TaijiQuan after midnight because it was so secret. One could not freely teach it to outsiders.

In 1949, Master Wang moved to Taiwan. In order to preserve the YangJia MiChuan TaijiQuan Zhen Shui (real most important part), he printed books on the Form and Martial Applications and taught inside and outside Taiwan.

When he first taught in Taiwan, many people looked down on TaijiQuan. They thought it was soft and without strength. Some people tested Wang and one by one they all admitted Wang was better than them. Not only did they learn TaijiQuan from Wang, but they also became good friends.

Master Wang smiles and says, TaijiQuan uses qi and not li. It’s more inside than outside. It looks graceful, but draws strength from the opponent to hit with strength. There are many different Martial Arts in Taiwan, but from very, very few can you learn real gongfu (skill).

Today Wang has more than 10,000 students all over the world. Now there are more than 20 countries that have TaijiQuan Associations and Institutes. So YangJia MiChuan TaijiQuan can spread around the world.

translated by Meilu Chen Rodell

Interview with Wang Yen-nien

grtc — Tue, 06 Feb 1996 17:57:24 +0000

In 1996, Wang Yen-nien visited Great River to teach Advanced Taoist Nei Gong Mediation and Basic Sword Cuts. While in DC he often had lunch with GRTC senior students. Mark Zimmer had these recollections of his talks with Master Wang.

His Military experience

The five color star worn by all warlord and Republican troops

Master Wang talked about his time in the Shanxi provincial army fighting the Japanese and later the Communists. His province was known as having the best artillery division in China and one of the most accurate in the world (1940s and 1950s). From what I could tell, he worked his way up through the ranks to command an artillery battery (eventually reaching Assistant Division Commander).

Warlord Yan Xishan

The battles he participated in were horrendous. It sounds like he mostly engaged the enemy from a distance with breach loaded pieces. He said many of the battles were standoffs where most soldiers on both sides were casualties. By the time his unit actually entered the battle, the fighting had mostly subsided. He considered himself very fortunate to have survived these bloody battles unscathed. His loss of hearing in one ear he attributes to being close to the big guns.

The head of his province, Warlord General Yan Xishan, considered Master Wang one of six influences. When they fled to Taiwan, Master Wang was considered part of this provincial leader’s elite. This same warlord had a power struggle with Chiang Kai Shek and lost. Master Wang regrets being on the losing side of this political struggle. He had held one of the key positions in Taiwan’s defense department, but felt he had to retire when his warlord lost favor. He liked his time in the army.

Master Wang considers the current tension between Taiwan and China as China testing Taiwan’s government and the people’s resolve. He is confident Taiwanese forces world repel a Chinese invasion.

He considered Chiang Kai Shek a somewhat ruthless politician. But he also said that certain extreme measures were needed during the years after the flight from the mainland.

Philosophical

I asked him about Taiji Quan and its original use in fighting and self defense. How do you get this life-and-death focus when you are practicing Taiji Quan as almost a hobby? He admitted it was very difficult to compare the urgency of martial arts in ancient times with current practice. He said Taiji Quan and the forms have evolved to be primarily a health and spirit enhancing discipline. So how do you focus and make Taiji Quan closer to the original intent? He said teachers have to be twice as hard on their students.

Lastly, he said he expected much improvement from me when he returns in two years.