Chen Family Rules and Commandments 

Men Gui

The Chen family Tai Ji Quan has it’s own set of rules and ethics that have been passed down through the generations. There are 3 areas considered to be important for development of martial skill and spiritual growth. These are:

The Twelve Characters
1. Duan: Dignified manners
2. Zheng: Honesty and decency
3. Hoa: Noble, broad-minded
4. Xin: Good faith, trustworthy
5. Jing: Respect for teachers and elders
6. Ren: Benevolent, kindness
7. Yong: Courageous, fight for just cause
8. Cheng: Sincere
9. Gong: Fair, impartial
10. Yi: Just, righteous
11. Zhong: Loyalty
12. De: Morality, ethics

The Twenty Prohibitions
Do not be a bully
Do not fear the strong and bully the weak
Do not be a coward, help those in danger
Do not commit unlawful acts
Do not use skill for immoral acts
Do not become arrogant
Do not sell/exhibit skill indiscriminately
Do not join illicit gangs, set up cliques
Do not waste time in idleness
Do not be conceited and boastful
Do not compete with the arrogent
Do not argue with the ignorant
Do not covet worldly possessions
Do not seek undeserved wealth
Do not indulge in alchol and prostitution
Do not be in public or personal debt
Do not use public office for personal ends
Do not hunger for power and position
Do not be a traitor
Do not neglect your training or waste your skill

The Twelve Vices, (negative character traits)

1. Xie: Immoral practices
2. Fan: Commit crimes
3. Diao: Artfulness, rascally
4: Hua: Cunning, tricky
5. She: Wasteful, Free-spending behaviour
6. Zha: Duplicity, cheating
7. Feng: Violent behaviour
8. Bei: Immorality, baseness
9. Jian: Treacherous, fraudulence, hypocricy
10. Huang: Dishonesty
11. Kuang: Overbearing, arrogance
12. Jianxian: Malicious, treacherous

“The good and upright person learns the ‘Taijiquan’ in order to keep his body healthy and strong and to defend himself – this is the core teaching of the Chen family.”

“The deviant, unscrupulous person learns the ‘Taijiquan’ in order to intimidate and harm others – this is absolutely forbidden by the Chen family”

This information was compiled from several sources and books recommended under the Chen Taijiquan menu.