RIP TT Liang, 102 years
caterbro
Liang Tung Tsai, or T.T. Liang has passed away at the age of 102.
A master of taijiquan, a palimpsest of a century's worth of martial arts,
a man who knew the greatest and the worst of our times, and a
humble practioner to the end of his days, his memory will be treasured
by his students, family and friends.
Beset with difficulties in his last years, T.T. Liang met them with
equanimity and died comfortably at the end of a life that spanned
three centuries, witness to a world that changed more than any of us
could begin to imagine.
In the end, he remains, a student of the universal and the mundane,
a true "Taiji Immortal".
Carl Brooks
Rob Zilin
Thanks for mentioning Master Liang's passing. I was reluctant to be the first one to talk about this in a public forum.
I attended the small family service. Present were his son Joseph Liang, grandsons Michael and Patrick and this adopted T'ai chi sons Paul B. Gallagher, Ray Hayward, Paul Abdella, and Ayriel Germanton. In the second generation myself and Mark Deaver and about a dozen or so very lucky third generation students.
Joseph and Ariel (who has been his primary care giver for the past 7 years) agreed that the funeral service should stay small. No offense was meant to the many thousands of students in the six generations T'ai Chi practitioners who have learned through the multiplying effect of student and teacher through time. Master Liang began teaching T'ai Chi in Taiwan in the early '50s; then New York, Boston, St Cloud, LA, Florida, back to St. Cloud, and finally New Jersey. Quite a long career!
It is my hope the any of you who feel inclined will hold a small service in your school or light 3 joss sticks in his memory or otherwise remember one of the first teachers in the USA teaching T'ai Chi. Master Liang is probably the indirect reason for your interest in qigong.
Following is a note from one of my T'ai chi uncles, Lao Ma who teaches in North Carolina, then the obituary from the Twin cities paper.
Your friend in Tao
Rob Zilin
I received the following sad message yesterday from Brother Paul Gallagher:
Dear Prof. Ma,
I'm not sure if you had heard, but TT Liang passed
away on August 19th.
His funeral was last Thursday in NJ, attended by his son and family,
and a
few seniors--myself, Paul and Ray, Ayriel, and a few "grand students."
The ceremony was very touching and heartfelt. Liang
died peacefully at
age 102 with Ayriel at his side.
paul g.
I would like to add a personal message here, particularly
to those
Magic Tortoise students and friends who may not know of Master TT Liang,
and
the thread of connection he has to our school.
I have been fortunate to have had three Chinese,
Master-level teachers
(under my definition, venerability is a major criterion) in my 32 years
of
study in the art of taijiquan. Along with Jou Tsung Hwa and Ding
Hongkui,
TT Liang was the first. I was introduced to TT Liang and his
teachings in
1976 when I discovered
Brother Paul Gallagher and his Hadley, Ma., Wu Ming Academy.
Up until that
time I had been studying the taiji of Prof. Cheng Man-Ch'ing and the
T'ien
Shan P'ai System as taught by Willy Lin. After the introduction
by Brother
Paul, I
studied Mr. Liang's taiji (and that of his Taiwan classmate and friend,
William C.C. Chen), and then taught his quan (the traditional "long"
Yang
Style, as opposed to Prof. Cheng's short version), stick, staff, sword
and
san shou forms.
Although most of TT Liang's system was taught to
me by Brother Paul, I
was a small enough student of Mr. Liang's to have made a "pilgrimage"
to
visit him in St. Cloud, Minn., on the eve of my departure to live,
work and
study in China in 1985. While there, along with Paul, Kam Hitchcock-Mort,
Ray Hayward, and Jonah Friedman, my forms were reviewed by Master Liang.
In
addition, he gave me a box of his books to take and hand out to Chinese
students, and paintings of his to give to a son in Beijing. The
son, at
that time, he was not in contact with, and I was instructed to "find"
this
son, and present him with his father's art work. I did carry
and pass out a
suitcase full of his books, but, alas, I was never able to locate his
son.
I still have the paintings.
Upon my departure to China in 1985, I had all intentions
of adding to my
study of taijiquan, but, on returning home, to continue teaching the
taiji
of TT Liang. As you all know, 90 year old Grandfather Ding on
Snake Hill
changed the course of my taiji practice and instructions. However,
the
legacy of Master TT Liang lives on in the short stick/dao form in weapons
class, and the 8 gate da lu/tui shou form in push-hands class, and
in
probably more subtle ways than I'll ever know. For students in
classes at
the Community Church, he is also pictured in the small black &
white photo on
the altar, along with those Ding Ye Ye.
Although TT Liang has many detractors, I'm put in
mind of Sophia Delza
criticizing him for using "music" in his classes!, the development
of
taijiquan in America has just lost a very important, seminal figure
in its
short, but growing, history. Let us all, individually or in group
settings,
light a few joss sticks to celebrate his venerable memory. Long
live the
legacy and teachings of Master
TT Liang!! May we all live to be 102!!!
Lao Ma
Magictortoise Students & Friends!
Taijisister Jean Sullivan of Memphis Tai Chi sent
me this obituary from
a Minn. newspaper on the life of Master TT Liang. Since I recently
sent out
to you all some commentary on my personal experience with this Grandmaster
of the art of taijiquan, I thought I'd forward to you as well this
added
information on his life. As I recall, Robert W. Smith, in his
book "Chinese
Boxing: Masters & Methods," writes of meeting and studying with
Mr. Liang in
Taiwan, and all taiji players should read TT Liang's own words in his
book,
"T'ai Chi Ch'uan for Health and Self-Defense". He now resides
with the
Immortals!
Lao Ma 9/4/02
BYLINE: Nolan Zavoral
CREDITLINE: Star Tribune
HEADLINE: Renowned t'ai-chi master who taught in Minnesota dies at
102
T.T. Liang, who taught the ancient martial art of t’ai-chi ch’uan to
thousands of Americans, including several hundred Minnesotans, died
last
week at 102 in Andover, N.J.
Liang, who spent a total of 10 years in St. Cloud during two stays,
will be
remembered at a memorial service today at 6 p.m. at the Twin Cities
Tai-Chi
Chuan Studio, 2242 University Ave., St. Paul. Liang’s daughter, Anle
Wang,
will attend, said the studio’s co-owner, Paul Abdella, who studied
with
Liang.
Liang (pronounced lay-AHN) was venerated as a master of the millenniums-old
discipline that combines mental and physical elements. Developed by
Chinese
monks to defend themselves against attacks by bandits and warlords,
t’ai-chi
ch’uan has been taught as a meditative outlet as well as a self-defense
measure.
"Master Liang taught that there were four main elements to t’ai-chi
ch’uan,"
Abdella said. "There was health, self-defense, mental development and
meditation. And, he said, health came first."
Liang credited his own longevity to the t’ai-chi ch’uan, former students
said. When he was 45 and suffering from liver problems because of a
loose
lifestyle, Liang happened upon the discipline.
In his popular 1977 book, "T’ai-Chi Ch’uan," which is still in print,
Liang
wrote, "I must keep on practicing for my whole life; it is the only
way to
preserve health."
Liang, from northern China, emigrated to the United States in 1963,
along
with his renowned teacher, Cheng Man-Ching. For nearly two decades,
Liang
taught t’ai-chi ch’uan in Boston and New York at such prestigious schools
as
Tufts and MIT.
He moved to St. Cloud in 1981 -- at the age of 81 -- to live near his
daughter and son-in-law, and retire. However, his reputation preceded
him,
and he resumed a busy teaching schedule.
"A whole bunch of us scampered up there [from the Twin Cities]," Abdella
said. "We begged him to take us as his students."
In Liang, Abdella said, the Twin Citians found "the classic profile"
of a t’
ai-chi teacher -- "he was the wise old sage, a Yoda, and very humorous."
Liang left St. Cloud in 1989, to live in Tampa and Los Angeles with
relatives, but returned in 1995. By that time, his wife had died, and
he
required assisted-living. He left Minnesota for good in 1997, settling
in
New Jersey.
-- Nolan Zavoral is at nzav...@startribune.com
Ildi Szoke
Chi Master T.T. Liang", North Atlantic Books, Berkeley California, September
2002.
Rob, how come the two long-time students of T.T. Liang, Stuart Alve Olson
and Jonathan Russell, were not attending the funeral?
Rejean Lemieux
http://www.sadhana.dk/taichi/bogbutik/StuartAlveOlson.htm
Ciao
Rejean
"Ildi Szoke" <isz...@gatecom.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
unnbmn4...@corp.supernews.com...