CTN Academy / Practice & transmission
Four Decades Alongside Chen Yu
A Firsthand Account of Chen Yu’s Family-Transmitted Gongfu Frame
Chen Yu's wife Siyu recalls four decades alongside Chen Yu: the first encounters, the discipline of daily practice, and the hardships behind a family’s living martial tradition.
Translation by Linda from Chen Taijiquan Nairobi.
By 思雨 Siyu
家传功夫架 jiāchuán gōngfu jià · Five episodes and a continuation
Episode One
Our First Meeting in the Summer of 1985
10.08.2026
Original publication: Chen Yu Taiji · Issue 1222
My connection with Chen Clan Taijiquan goes back to 1976.
A courtyard in Donghuashi
At the time, I lived in a traditional courtyard residence at No. 36 Xia’ertiao, Donghuashi, behind Beijing Railway Station. The courtyard stood above street level, reached by a flight of steps. Four courtyards were arranged at different levels along the slope, and my family lived in the small one furthest in, on the western side.
It was not a large courtyard, yet even after all these years, every plant and tree, every room and building, remains vividly etched in my memory. Six households lived there. My family occupied the southeastern rooms. Teacher Tian Xiuchen lived in the southern rooms, while his son lived in the western rooms. The eastern room of the northern wing was home to Tian Xiuchen’s elder brother and sister-in-law, the parents of the four Tian brothers: Tian Qiutian, Tian Qiukun, Tian Qiuxin, and Tian Qiumao. Tian Qiukun, the second of the four brothers, occupied the central room of the northern wing. Another household lived in the northwestern corner.
A double wooden gate opened into the courtyard. Just inside, an old water pipe stood in the middle, with a square patch of open ground beyond it. It was here, in this small space, that my nine-year-old older brother became Tian Xiuchen’s disciple. Day after day, they practiced Taijiquan and push hands together. At the time, I called Tian Xiuchen 二爷 èr yé—“Second Grandpa.” I would often stand quietly to one side, watching the movements rise and fall. Through this daily exposure, the first seeds of my interest in Chen Clan Taijiquan took root.
A summer visit
The years passed, and before I knew it, the height of summer had arrived in 1985.
One day, my brother and several of his fellow students practiced Taijiquan and push hands in Beihai Park with Teacher Chen Yu, Teacher Yang Wenhu, and a group of other practitioners. After training, they came to our home. It was on that sweltering summer day that I first met Chen Yu.
He was in his early twenties, with a striking head of thick, naturally curly hair. He wore a yellow tank top with a dragon design across the chest and black pants with crisp, neat creases. His clothes were modest, but he was clean and smartly dressed. He had an open, forthright manner, a distinctly masculine bearing, and a powerful presence.
At our first meeting, he said little and was not particularly at ease with small talk. In the summer heat, I brought out a plate piled high with freshly cut watermelon for our guests. Everyone helped themselves except him. He did not eat any. That small gesture has stayed with me ever since.
The memory of a first encounter
The atmosphere in the room was relaxed, and on the spur of the moment I played “Melody of the Four Seasons” (《四季调》 Sìjì Diào) for our guests. The music flowed gently through the room, easing the heat of the summer day and becoming a distinctive part of the memory of that first meeting.
It was only a brief encounter; we did not speak at any length. All I knew was that our visitors practiced Chen Clan Taijiquan. I knew nothing of Chen Yu’s background, nor did I know that his father had died and he was living on his own. Everyone who visited was older than I was. To my younger self, they were all older brothers.
None of us could have imagined that this short summer encounter would mark the beginning of our shared path in Taijiquan. Over the four decades that followed, I remained by his side, witnessing firsthand how the family-transmitted Gongfu Frame of Chen Clan Taijiquan was carried forward and continued to develop.
Related article: Chen Yu Taiji, Issue 981, “A Century of Unbroken Transmission: Passing On the Flame and Its Glory.”
Back to the chapter menuEpisode Two
1986: Meeting Again and Beginning Our Martial Connection
11.08.2026
Original publication: Chen Yu Taiji · Issue 1223
Continued from the previous episode.
Our first meeting in the summer of 1985 was no more than a passing encounter. I was young and inexperienced then. I knew only that our visitors all practiced Chen Clan Taijiquan. I knew nothing of Chen Yu’s life and background, much less of the burdens he had shouldered from a young age or his unwavering commitment to martial practice. That first meeting was brief and unassuming, yet it planted the seeds of a deep connection through Taijiquan (拳缘 quányuán).
Before long, it was 1986. By then, our family had moved from No. 36 Xia’ertiao in Donghuashi to a home outside Zuo’anmen.
That year, Chen Yu came over by bicycle to sit and chat. I listened as he spoke about his work and daily training. During our conversation, he mentioned that, as a child, he had visited our old courtyard at No. 36 Xia’ertiao with his father, Chen Zhaokui, the son of Chen Fake. They had come to see Tian Xiuchen. At that time, however, we did not yet know one another.
Making a living on his own
Chen Yu had originally lived with his father at No. 25 Nan Dajixiang, off Luomashi Street in Caishikou. When his father died in 1981, he suddenly lost the support on which he depended. Without a steady income, he took temporary work as a porter to make ends meet.
I remember when I looked at the manuals of old it always seemed to me that the postural details found in the descriptions were somehow a bit arbitrary. It didn't seem easily understandable how they really linked up and thus they lost their importance and relevance to me back then. Of course, the books (like Chen Xin's here on the right) were not really meant to be easily understandable "do it yourself" books in the first place.
Summary: This is about communication and miscommunication when teaching Taijiquan or writing about (internal) martial arts. Also how language and concepts (proverbs and such) shape our practice, how we can relate to that while learning or teaching the arts and how to separate, connect and integrate your body experience and hone skills.