www.Longfei-Taiji.co.uk	Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain
		Longfei Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 3

Spear in China: training with Grand Master Chen Xiao Wang

My second trip to China was to involve a great deal more travelling than the first visit I made with Longfei in 2004. The main attraction this time was visiting Chenjiagou, the place where taiji originated, to learn the Spear Form with Grand Master Chen Xiao Wang.

Our first stop was Beijing. A party of 27 of us left a snowy Heathrow Airport to land on 23 February in an equally snowy Beijing. We checked into our hotel and were then whisked off to our first Chinese meal and some serious sightseeing around Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. As we were all still reeling from the sleepless night on the plane and the time difference, most of the information relayed by the very informative guide was a blur. My main impression at this stage was how cold it was and that Id made a mistake coming out without my thermals on!

After a good nights sleep I was looking forward to our trip to the Great Wall. Although I had seen it before, it was very different going there this time. Everywhere was covered in snow and there were fewer people than the last time. The air was clear and the climb exhilarating.

The next visit was a stroll through the Summer Palace, where the lake was completely frozen over. Then on to the park around the Temple of Heaven which had already closed. There was a full moon as we wandered through the quiet evening.

After a meal of Beijing duck we left for the station and our first overnight sleeper train. There were four bunks to each carriage a chance to get to know our fellow travellers more intimately!

At 7am the next morning we arrived in Zhengzhou, a busy, bustling city. After breakfast in a hotel we boarded our coach to go to the Yellow River scenic area, where we went on an ancient hovercraft along the river. After lunch we continued our journey to Wenxian. It had been decided that we would stay in a hotel in Wenxian, rather than in Chenjiagou. Master Chen was at the hotel to greet us. He seemed very pleased to see us.

Our next six days were structured around the training sessions. We left the hotel by minibus to start the training at 10am. Lunch was at 12.30 and then the afternoon training session was from 2pm-4.30pm.

The first days training was not too daunting as I was already familiar with the martial flower, a movement which recurs throughout the form. Simon Watson had shown me the first few forms from the 72 that make up the full spear routine.

As always Master Chen took time to organise the class so that people had enough room to move. We had all been given poles to use in training so there would be no chance of spearing someone inadvertently. None of our party was familiar with the form and so we went very slowly to begin with but we did manage to go through the whole form in the six days. There was even one lady who had never done any taiji before.

Most afternoons the local villagers would come to watch us as we were training outside. There were television cameras around filming Master Chen, interviewing him and others. They also filmed demonstrations, which took place in the main training hall. These were very impressive and included forms I had never seen before such as double broadsword and some pushing hands routines. The demonstration with the most aaaah factor was by Master Chens 3 year-old, great-nephew, who performed the 19 Form and finished his demonstration by doing the splits!

One impression that will stay with me was how gracious Master Chen was to all the people who came to greet him. Even when he was teaching, locals would come up to shake his hand and he took the time to exchange a few words with them.

At lunchtime on our third day of training we were taken to the place where Yang Lu Chan, the founder of Yang style taijii, was reputed to have been taught by Chen Chang Xing. There was even a sign in English directing you to the site.

Each evening after dinner we would all go into the car park outside the hotel to practice what we had learned. Some of the locals who were about watched us curiously I think they found us quite amusing. At the end of the six days I was struggling to remember the form but determined to keep on practicing during the rest of the trip.

We were all presented with a certificate by Chen Xiao Wang to say we had trained in Chenjiagou, which was a nice memento.

The following day, after saying our goodbyes, we boarded the coach for Luoyang, which apparently is the most polluted city in the whole province. From here we visited the Shaolin Temple. It was a beautiful journey through the hills and also a bit scary when the coach driver decided to overtake on blind corners. However we got there safely. There were many martial arts schools in the area and we were greeted by the sight of many young people and children training.

There is not very much left of the original Shaolin Temple because most of it was burnt down. What we saw was a reconstruction built in the original style. We went to the Pagoda Forest where there are many stone pagodas, which contain the ashes of former monks. We visited a forge where there were swords and sabres for sale as well as shoes and suits.

After lunch some of us went to watch a demonstration at one of the local schools. We watched as the students demonstrated their skills. These included lying on spears, and one boy who could contort his body into some very painful looking positions.

The next morning, looking out from the hotel window, it was nice to see locals practicing their taiji forms in the park outside.

As we had travelled further south the weather was much warmer and so visits to temples and gardens were very pleasant. They all had a peaceful, quiet atmosphere.

The Longmen Grottoes were especially impressive. These are a spectacular example of Buddhist cave art. The statue of Vairocana Buddha stands 17.14 metres high and there are 1,352 caves and more than 97,000 statues of Buddha.

Our next sleeper train took us to Suzhou, a green and pleasant city. We had only one night here so just a limited time to explore. Our main visit was to the Humble Administrators Garden. This was a prime example of a Chinese garden, with ponds, pagodas and natural stone sculptures. We spent a restful visit here, pausing before leaving to buy a selection of green tea.

Our final stop in China was Shanghai. Shanghai is a huge, bustling city. Here there was the opportunity for people to do some serious shopping in the numerous markets and department stores.

On my last morning in China I walked to the park to do some practice. Out on the streets, in the shopping malls people were practicing dancing, taiji, playing badminton and other forms of exercise a very different scene to an English city early in the morning.

Our last day was spent visiting a museum and shopping in markets for final gifts and bargains. Then we boarded our coach for the final trip to the airport.

We returned tired but with many memories of a full and fruitful trip heres to the next one!

Anne Gathercole

Longfei Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 3 Table of Contents