Chen Fake

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.

Chen Fake or Chén Fākē or Ch'en Fa-k'e 陳發科 (1887 - 1957) was a famous Chinese Taijiquan teacher. Born and raised in Chen Family Village (Chenjiaguo, 陳家溝) in Henan province, he was the 17th generation lineage holder of Chen style Taijiquan. His great-grandfather was the famous Taijiquan grandmaster Chen Changxing.

Chen Fake made Chen style Taijiquan a known and distinct entity when he went to Beijing in 1928 and opened the Zhongzhou Institute, which taught Taijiquan.

[edit] Creator of Xin Jia

Chen Fake is also known as the creator of the New Frame (xin jia) within Chen style. Chen Fake feared that Taijiquan was being lost because some of its properties were too subtle, so he created a form that added visible external movements to internal actions. Exponents are however divided over this view, many among others his son Chen Zhaokui, regard Xin Jia to be a more refined style of Chen not previously taught in public. Xin Jia is much more ornate than the Old Frame style (Lao Jia) of Chen Zhaopi and Chen Changxing.

[edit] References

• Chen, Mark (2004). Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-55643-488-X. 
• Chen Fake Biography at Center for Taiji Studies
• Chen Style Taijiquan by Gerald A. Sharp
• There are no shortcuts - Chen Fake Biography by Nabil Ranné