Ever since the year of 2001, I started learning Chen style Tai Ji Quan (shadow boxing) from my elder brother Mr. Jiang Jiajun. As my understanding of Tai Ji Quan gradually has become more comprehensive, my feelings about Master Hong Junsheng have been growing increasingly. The hardship of his life and his persistent pursuit of the art of Tai Ji Quan have left me great impression.
In Mr. Jiang's residence, I was fortunate enough to witness the handwriting of master Hong's calligraphy, and respectfully read around a thousand letters that master Hong sent to Jiang, in those letters there were mainly Hong's explanations of the theories and methods of Chen style Tai Ji Quan, together with the heartfelt communications between the teacher and student. From the letters, I also saw the warning, enjoinder, sentiment, and expectation an old father had for his went-over son. According to Mr. Jiang, it was because he didn't live with his teacher, there wasn't day-to-day communication that he turned to writing letters for enlightenment whenever he got some doubts.
I have stayed with Mr. Jiang day and night. With his formless but penetrating influence, I feel that I have known master Hong for several years. With a kind of intimacy burst out from inside, I have been keen in getting urged to know him. At our leisure, whenever time is on our hands, we would unconsciously talk about master Hong, on his experience in learning Quan (boxing), his achievement in practicing Quan, on his articles, calligraphy, life, interest and his personality, etc. Mr. Jiang's eyes would be helplessly filled with tears once something touching him had been discussed upon. From his eyes, I read his concernment, respect, admiration, and deep love for his teacher; from his eyes, I felt how kind and amiable master Hong was. My heart was overwhelmed by their affection as father and a son, as a teacher and a student. I thought I was in fact experiencing everything in person, and I would cry if they cried.
Master Hong devoted all his life in studying 'Chen Style Tai Ji Quan Theory with Picture Explanations' written by Master Chen Xin. Hong explained the essences in the book with plain and simple words helping all the readers understanding the book easily. Particularly, he provided incisive and detailed explanations on the essence of Chen style Tai Ji Quan -- Chan Fa (the method of Chan), which got us to learn the basic rules of Chart Fa and its applications in Chen style Tai Ji Quan. He applied the rule that conflicts are controversial but unified and the principle of the lever into the study on the theory of Chen style Tai Ji Quan, and consequently made the theory of Tai Ji Quan more scientific and systematic. Master Hong tried his best and exhausted all he had learned, to blend the theories and methods of Quan passed down from his teacher, with his teaching experiences and understandings accumulated by decades, to finish the Book of the Practical Usage of Chen Style Tai Ji Quan. This book, designated the direction for the later generations to learn and practise Chen style Quan Fa, and paved a shortcut for the later generations to get a handle on the theories of Chen style Tai Ji Quan. It could be comparable to Chen Style Tai Ji Quan Theory with Picture Explanations, and may be more of a masterpiece.
