Professor Cheng Man-ch’ing (Zheng Manqing, 1902-1975) was known as a “Master of Five Excellences” for his skills in poetry, calligraphy, painting, t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan), and Chinese medicine. He was a well-known artist in Beijing and then Shanghai in the 1920s, where he headed the department of traditional painting (guo hua) at the Shanghai Art College, and was involved with leading art societi
In the 1930s, he began in-depth study of Chinese medicine, and he began studying t'ai chi with the famed Yang Chengfu. In 1949, at the fall of Republican China, he and his family moved to Taiwan, and in 1964, to New York City, where he taught t'ai chi--being one of the first masters to openly teach outside of the Chinese--and prescribed herbal remedies to students.
Sage Principles is one of his last works, translated by his long-time assistant Ed Young, assisted by Dr. Steven Cowan, a pediatrician and acupuncturist. Great River's Barbara Davis supplied an introductory biography. The book weaves together Professor Cheng's deep knowledge of Chinese philosophy, medical theory, and self-cultivation. These unique insights will be of interest to all t'ai chi students and practitioners of Chinese medicine. Sage Principles includes reproduction of Professor Cheng's original calligraphy, recollections by several patients, a lecture on health from New York, and an explanation of Chinese words used in the text.
The book is available on Amazon, and will hopefully soon be available via Redwing Books.
For a list of Professor Cheng's books, visit https://chengmanching.wordpress.com/writings/
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