history
Zhaobao Taichi originated in the sixteenth century in the town of Zhao Bao. Located in the central Chinese province of Henan, fourteen kilometers east of Wen County, Zhao Bao boasts a picturesque setting. Throughout history, this favorable location has made Zhao Bao a hub for travel and trade.Legend has it that Zhao Bao was once the elaborate burial grounds of soldiers from the Zhao Dynasty during the Warring States Period (500 B.C.-221 B.C.), earning the town the name "Zhao Bao".
The principles of Zhao Bao Tai Chi emphasize simplicity, with practitioners aiming to be "hard as iron, soft as cotton, slippery as a fish, and tenacious as glue." Its philosophy is reflected in its stances and movements, which harmonize with the human body's anatomy. Inspired by nature, its aesthetic strives for movement as light as a cloud and as fluid as water.
For seven generations, conservative leaders in Zhao Bao confined the art exclusively within the clan, leading to the belief that "Zhao Bao Tai Chi would never leave its village." However, in the late nineteenth century, this direct lineage was broken, and new practitioners joined the school. In the 1930s, the tenth-generation grandmasters Zheng Wuqing and Zheng Boying left Zhao Bao, definitively ending the notion that "Zhao Bao Tai Chi would never leave its village." Both grandmasters settled in the nearby city of Xian, dedicating their lives to cultivating and promoting the art of Tai Chi to a wider audience.
In the 1990s, the eleventh-generation grandmaster Song Yun-Hua and Master Wayne Peng, the twelfth-generation successor of Zhao Bao Tai Chi, expanded the reach of Zhao Bao Tai Chi to other parts of Asia, Northern & Southern America and Europe, receiving acclaim worldwide for their efforts.
