When Mao Tse-Tung (Mao Zedong) ruthlessly took over China he instituted a Four Olds rule that changed the lives of many Chinese people. And took the lives of millions.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the institution of The Four Olds
The Four Olds refer to categories used by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution to characterize elements of Chinese culture prior to the Chinese Communist Revolution that they were attempting to destroy. The Four Olds were ‘old ideas’, ‘old culture’, ‘old customs’, and ‘old habits’.
During the Red August of 1966, shortly after the onset of the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards’ campaign to destroy the Four Olds began amid the massacres being carried out in Beijing.
It was not only Taiji and Qi Gong that were affected by this but also any Religions including peaceful Buddhism and Taoism. Temples were burned and monks were murdered.
In our own lineage, Chen Fa-ke’s eldest son said he ‘disappeared’ during this time. Which is probably code for murder. Apparently, Chen Fa-ke’s eldest son, Chen ZhaoXu, was very good at Taiji. The best other than his father.
Taiji had two strikes against it. It was Internal, which was considered to be Superstition, and it was an effective martial art. Martial arts were all banned under Mao as anyone very good was considered ‘a hero’ which is an elevated position. Under Communism, everyone should be the same.
Qi Gong was also considered to be Superstitious as it was also considered internal.
Eventually, martial arts and Qi Gong were allowed to be practiced again ‘for the good of the people’. But with conditions.
For martial arts, no Applications were allowed. For Taiji and Qi Gong, no Internal was allowed.
All of these arts were crippled because of politics and misunderstanding.
This is why Post-Mao Taiji and Qi Gong are considered neutered, and martial arts generally has no martial content.
If you can find Pre-Mao instructors (very unlikely) they may possess the knowledge that makes these arts effective.
All of the Masters we have studied with have been Pre-Mao. We have been lucky.
