Cheng Man-ch'ing (WG) or Zhèng Mànqīng (py), 鄭曼青 (1901 - March 26, 1975) was trained in Chinese medicine, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, calligraphy, painting and poetry.

He developed lung disease (believed to be tuberculosis) in his twenties and, in an attempt to rid himself of the disease, studied Yang style T'ai Chi Ch'uan with the famous Yang Ch'eng-fu from 1928 - 1935. He also was learning traditional Chinese medicine at the same time.

His focus was always on the healing aspects of the martial art, and by 1946 he developed a significantly abbreviated 37 Form version of Yang's 108 form, taking ten minutes to practise instead of the original thirty, as well as shortening the reach and modifying other physical expressions of the individual movements in the form. This allowed him to teach larger numbers of students, first in China, then Taiwan and later in North America and Europe. But his changes to the Yang style form have never been recognised by any Yang family teachers and, due to the continued popularity of Cheng's short form, are still a source of controversy among the various T'ai Chi schools to the present day.

He moved to Taiwan in 1949 and established a career as a traditional Chinese medicine physician and teacher of his new T'ai Chi form, as well as painting, poetry, and calligraphy. He published Cheng's 13 Chapters of Taiji Boxing in 1950 which has been translated into English twice.

Professor Cheng moved to the United States in 1964, where he ran the Shr Jung T'ai Chi school in New York City's Chinatown section. The Taipei branch of the Shr Jung school is still operating under the direction of Liu Shi Heng.

In 1967 in collaboration with Robert W. Smith, he published T'ai Chi, the Supreme Ultimate exercise for health, sport and self defence. Other translations of his works include: Master Cheng's New Method of T'ai Chi Ch'uan Self-Cultivation; Cheng Man Ch'ing: Essays on Man and Culture; Cheng Man Ch'ing: Master of Five Excellences, and T'ai Chi Ch'uan: A Simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health and Self-Defense

Reference

• Cheng Man-ch'ing; Master Cheng's New Method of T'ai Chi Self-Cultivation, Translated by Mark Hennessy; Frog, Ltd. Books, Berkeley, CA; ISBN 1-883319-92-7 (1999)
• McFarlane, Stewart The Complete Book of T'ai Chi. DK Publishing, New York (1997). ISBN 0789414767, paperback ISBN 0789442590. Covers only the 37 Form of Cheng Man-ch'ing's T'ai Chi; illustrated drawings.

External links

• The Tai Chi Form (http://www.patiencetaichi.com/aspects.htm): Aspects of Performance - includes the 37 Postures - from The Patience T'ai Chi Association, Inc.