Background
His great-grandfather was a famous scholar. And his mother was skilled at calligraphy.
His great-grandfather was a famous scholar. And his mother was skilled at calligraphy.
He was also known by his name Chen Zengze (陳曾則), Weiming being his hao, a pen-name. Chen came from an educated family with roots in Qishui, Hubei, China. As a boy, Chen prepared for the civil service exams by studying the Chinese classics, Chinese calligraphy, poetry, and essay-writing.
He passed the mid-level exam of juren in 1902, and received a post in the Qing History Office.
Chen began to study the Chinese martial arts in Beijing under Sun Lutang (1859–1933), with whom he studied xingyi (hsing-i) and bagua (pa-kua). Chen recorded Yang"s teachings in three books under his own name: Taijiquan shu (The Art of Taijiquan, 1925), Taiji jian (Taiji Sword, 1928), and Taijiquan da wen (Questions and Answers on Taijiquan, 1929).
These books are important not only for their content, but because they were among the first taijiquan books published for a mass audience. Chen also wrote several scholarly books under the name Chen Zengze.
He wrote prefaces to Sun Lutang and Zheng Manqing"s taijiquan books