Cheng Man-ch'ing
| 郑曼青 Cheng Man-ch'ing |
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|---|---|
| Born |
29 July 1902 Yongjia, Zhejiang, China |
| Died | 26 March 1975 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Style |
Yang-style taijiquan (4th gen. Yang-style) |
| Spouse | Juliana Ting Cheng |
| Notable relatives | Patrick Cheng, Marina Cheng, Katy Hsieh, Ellen Cheng, Wayne Cheng, Jennifer Ueng, Helena Ueng, Karen Cheng, Vivian Cheng, Charlie Cheng, Mei-lin Cheng, Yuen-de Cheng |
| Notable students |
(in Taiwan:) Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo Liu Hsi-heng Hsu I-chung Dr Qi Jiang Tao Robert W. Smith T. T. Liang William C. C. Chen Huang Xingxian (黃性賢) (in United States:) "Big Six": Tam Gibbs Lou Kleinsmith Ed Young Mort Raphael Maggie Newman Stanley Israel "Little Six": Victor Chin Y Y Chin Jon Gaines Natasha Gorky Wolfe Lowenthal Ken VanSickle |
| Cheng Man-ch'ing | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhèng Mànqīng |
| Wade–Giles | Cheng Man-ch'ing |
Cheng Man-ch'ing or Zheng Manqing (29 July 1902 - 26 March 1975) was born in Yongjia (present-day Wenzhou), Zhejiang Province (his birthday was on the 28th year of the Guangxu emperor's reign, 6th month, 25th day, which corresponds to July 29, 1902). He died March 26, 1975; his grave is near the city of Taipei. Cheng was trained in Chinese medicine, t'ai chi ch'uan, and the three perfections: calligraphy, painting and poetry. Because of his skills in these five areas (among some of the traditional skills and pastimes of a Confucian scholar in traditional China) he was often referred to as the "Master of Five Excellences." Because he had been a college professor, his students called him "Professor Cheng."
Cheng's father died when Cheng was very young. Around the age of nine, Cheng was struck on the head by a falling brick or roof tile, and was in a coma for a short while. He recuperated slowly, and was apprenticed to a well-known artist, Wang Xiangchan, in hopes that simple jobs like grinding ink would help his health. Within a few years, his teacher sent him out to earn his living at painting. Cheng's aunt Chang Kuang, also known by her artist's name of Hongwei Laoren, was a well-known painter. During Cheng's childhood, his mother took him out to find medicinal plants and taught him the fundamentals of traditional Chinese herbal medicine.
Cheng taught poetry and art in several leading colleges in Beijing and Shanghai and was a successful artist. At the age of nineteen, he was a professor of poetry at an esteemed art school in Beijing. Later in Shanghai, he became acquainted with influential figures including Wu Changshi, Cai Yuanpei, Zheng Xiaoxu, Xu Beihong, and Zhang Daqian.
In his twenties, he developed lung disease (believed to be tuberculosis partly from exposure to the chalk dust from the school blackboards). Ill to the point of coughing up blood, he began to practice t'ai chi ch'uan more diligently to aid his recovery. Cheng retired from teaching and devoted himself for several years to the study of t'ai chi ch'uan, traditional Chinese medicine, and literature.
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