Zhang Zongjun entered the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School in his teens. Today he is chief instructor of the school’s Shandong province branch and is a disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing. Among his many achievements he is Deputy Secretary-General of the World Taijiquan Association, Tengzhou Public Security Bureau Taijiquan Head Coach and consultant for the Central Multi-Ethnic University. As a competitor he won more than 30 medals in provincial, national and international competitions. Zhang Zongjun was featured on a first day cover set of six postage stamps for the Shandong region recognising his contributions to wushu.
Q: How did you first come in contact with Taijiquan? Can you give us an account of how you started your Taijiquan journey?
Zhang Zongjun (ZZJ): I was around twelve years old when I first came into contact with Taijiquan. It was through watching Taijiquan on television and in films, which showed how superior the system’s gongfu is that initially sparked my interest and made me want to pursue it. I asked around and learnt that the birthplace of Taijiquan was Chanjiagou and I felt that it was there that I ought to go. On arrival one summer at the village the villagers told me that Chen Xiaoxing had a high level of both quan (martial skill) and character so I went to his school to learn. As my family didn’t support my martial arts pursuit, I would collect money by saving part of my dinner money and by doing after-school jobs to enable me to train in Chenjiagou during all my summer and winter school vacations. My choice of university was easy, I picked Henan University and from then I had constant access to training in the village. My sincere effort, I hope, had somehow persuaded Chen Xiaoxing to accept me as his disciple.
Q: Who are the teachers who most guided and influenced you?
ZZJ: The influence my shifu Chen Xiaoxing has had upon me has been profound; on the one hand, through spoken words and direct actions he has taught me the art of the Taijiquan, so that I acquire knowledge gradually and indefatigably; on the other hand, shifu has also inspired and guided me in my personal life. I consider shifu to be a man of great wisdom. Whether it is my Taijiquan or my personal life, he can always clearly guide me on my shortcomings.
Q: Can you tell us of how training was in the early days? What would you say are the training elements that have remained unchanged?
ZZJ: In the early stage training was demanding. The training each day was often around seven or eight hours. We didn’t learn many new things but did a lot of repetitive practice. There were not many changes; the fundamental content is constant, for example, Zhan Zhuang (Standing Pole), and Chan Si Gong (Reeling Silk Exercises). These are the required core syllabus of training.
Q: What to you are the challenging aspects of your training throughout the years and how did you overcome them?
ZZJ: For me the biggest challenge is the need for perseverance and patience. The way to deal with this is to adjust one’s mentality, in the first place, by not being over ambitious and anxious and always hankering for more. There is a common Chinese saying “Tan duo jiao bu lan” or “biting off more than one can chew”, that means learning too many things may result in not learning anything in depth. In other words, it’s important to not be in a hurry. Another idiom “Yu su ze bu da” tells us that haste brings no success; more haste, less speed. We must progress slowly.
I have always been motivated by a fervent love of Taijiquan and an obsession with traditional Chinese culture and a sense of duty for its continuity. As well as the motivation that comes from the encouragement of a good master.
Q: What were your goals as a young student and how have they changed over the years?
ZZJ: At the beginning the focus is training gongfu for actual combat, to be head and shoulders above the others, to stand out among one’s peers. I took part in many competitions at provincial, national and international levels. As I grew with Taijiquan came the realisation that it is not just about gongfu. It encompasses a profound culture as well as philosophical connotations, so now it’s also about imparting cultural heritage, duty and responsibility.
Q: When did you start teaching, when did you establish your school in Shandong?
ZZJ: I started teaching in 2009 and established the Shandong branch school in 2012.
Q: We saw a report in the Chinese media about you training the police/army. Can you talk about this?
ZZJ: It was thought that the military police as well as the army could benefit from Taijiquan in several ways. Firstly, by training the art it would help them have a better psychology and healthier mindset. Secondly Taijiquan training is an effective method that can help in the development of a strong constitution, vigorous health and robust body. At the same time Taijiquan provided a way by which to improve their knowledge and understanding of traditional Chinese culture.
Q: Is the study Taijiquan theory important in order for practitioners to improve their skill?
ZZJ: That’s for sure. A lot of Taijiquan theories are the culmination and conclusions based on the practice and real experiences of our predecessors. Increasing your knowledge of the theories is of great help to the improvement of Taiji gongfu. Understand the fundamental theory, then practice in accordance with the requirements of the theory, so that you will not go down the wrong tangent in your practice. Taijiquan theories act as the guidelines for practice. Therefore learning the theory and doing the practice are equally important. I have a huge collection of Taijiquan books. In fact it’s my obsession besides Taijiquan practice. I started collecting when I was in high school and to date have almost 1000 items of Taijiquan books and magazines. I think I have almost all, if not all, the early publications from the republic period to the 1980s. If I can learn one principle from a book I’m satisfied. For example, many masters have different descriptions of power. Which one is correct? To reach master’s level they must know something. It’s just that they show different stages and different understanding of power. I have so many books so that when I want to study power at a later stage, I could do a comparative study of the different masters’ books and sum up the most suitable method for my current stage of development. Books and writings are indispensable parts of the process of transmission and heritage. A lot of precious Taijiquan books embody the life long effort of past masters. I’m doing my part in not letting them be lost forever.
Q: What is the best way to improve the quality of one’s Taijiquan?
ZZJ: To me the main quality of Taijiquan is “fang song.” Fang song is letting go of any physical and mental tension within you. Every style of Taijiquan emphasises this element to be the most important in practice. Only when fang song is achieved can one be composed and stable. You are then able to better enhance the sensations within whilst training. To be clear, you need to fang song before, during and after your quan. Preparation is important. Many people come to do Taiji in a hurry and, without mental preparation, go straight into form practice. The mind is not given time to quieten and calm now. Practice with a calm mind and the quality of Taijiquan will improve. On a bigger level it is about the mind and the heart. To be able to let go is to be broad minded and open hearted. The best way to acquire Taijiquan skill is to find a good teacher, practise diligently, and endure hardship... at the same time continuously making objective assessment and critique on the pros and cons of your training methods. To improve the quality of your Taijiquan during practice, maintain a calm mind and focus your intentions on fulfilling the criteria of every movement. Often practitioners are able to keep their intentions and focus in the beginning of their form, for example the first five to ten postures. As the form progresses the intention wanders and the form begins to unravel. Or, they begin to lose the movement principle as duration of training time increases. Training intention is a major part of improving the quality of your quan, practicing until you are able to do all your movements without divergence from the principle. You can tell the skill of a practitioner by this ability to adhere to principles in the entirety of whatever form they do, whenever they do it.
To improve the quality of one’s Taijiquan another saying worth remembering is that we should “Lift and press as if there’s substance; advance and retreat as if there’s resistance.” Movements should not be floating and weak, with no root or grounding. It’s like a building with no deep foundation, it doesn’t matter how big and tall you make the building it will collapse easily. On the other hand, you will not be able to easily pull out a small weed that has deep roots. With the combination of fang song and the use of intention, your body feels heavier than your natural weight and your feet are planted.
Q: To end this interview, can you give one piece of advice that could help and inspire students of Taijiquan?
Read more books. Deepen your understanding of the connotations and culture of Taijiquan. Realise that Taijiquan is more than a martial art. In general, be better acquainted with Chinese culture. Taijiquan has been developed from the accumulation of thousands of years of Chinese culture. If you don’t understand China and Chinese culture, you cannot better understand Taijiquan