陳娟：傳承這件民族瑰寶是我的使命

CHEN JUAN TO KEEP THE FIRE OF TAICHI ALIVE

Born at the right time in the right place, Chen Juan has had the most textbook-like Taichi master's career.

Having inherited the right genes from her father - Taichi master Chen Zhenglei - Juan was already able to execute a full set of Taichi moves when she was merely five years old.

Born naturally-gifted and competitive, Juan has become a national top-level martial artist, and the 12th generation inheritor of Chen's Taichi.

Text by Madeline Weng Photos by Zeng Jian and Chen Zhenglei Taichi Studio

陳娟走上傳承太極之路，是再自然不過的事情。

生在河南溫縣陳家溝武術(shù)世家的她可謂完整延續(xù)了家族基因，天生就是塊“習(xí)武的料”，五六歲時就能把一套太極拳招式順暢地打下來。異稟的天賦加之剛強(qiáng)好勝的性格，最終成就了一名武術(shù)七段的國家一級武士，不愧為“陳氏太極拳第12代嫡宗傳人”。

Chen Juan looks surprisingly radiant considering she is four months pregnant.She has a calm and zen-like aura while she sits talking about her past.

It has been 30 years since she fi rst entered the Taichi industry.Since she was seven years old, she had already begun a strict practice routine that would intimidate an adult: she had to get up before 6 a.m.and practice for at least eight hours a day under her father's strict guidance and instruction.

Chen Juan started winning champion medals when she was just 16.With a strong interest in fashion, she never dreamed that one day she was going to take over her family's tradition of Taichi.

When Chen Juan graduated from Beijing Sports University, she was allocated a job at the Guangdong Sports Bureau.This role was not challenging enough, and she began to read novels in her leisure time.Seeing her like this, Juan's father said: “You have no excuse for reading non-Taichirelated books any more.Now that you have set your mind to become a great Taichi master, you should seize your precious time and try to improve yourself in Martial arts.”

Her father's words reminded Juan of her duty for the family and for her own career.From then on, she started to spend almost all of her time on Taichi.

“I realized that teaching Taichi is what I truly enjoy the most.I'd like to dedicate all my time to Taichi, and help people fi nd balance in their life, which in turn, would do good to society as a whole,” said Chen Juan.

A phone call made by her dad in 2006 sent Juan to Japan, where she ended up teaching for three years at her father's Taichi school in Shizuoka.

At fi rst, her life abroad was not at all easy.Living in a 10-square-metre dormitory on the fi fth fl oor, young Juan had to fold up her “bed” in the daytime and put it back down before she went to sleep, every day.And her toilet was almost inhumanely tiny, with its door unable to close.

A few months later, Chen Zhenglei went to Shizuoka to see her daughter, right after he gave a master class in Osaka.When he saw the shabby room that Juan lived in, he fell silent, but still managed to provide some encouragement: “Your room is much better than mine when I was little.You hadn't experienced hardship before.This can be a good experience for you.”

Hearing what her father said, Juan felt a knot in her throat and tried hard not to cry.She was not at allupset about her poor living condition, but deeply touched by her father's profound love.Being an amiable and responsible teacher, Juan's effort and ability was eventually recognized in Japan.Her students volunteered to help her open up two more Taichi schools, one in Fuji, the other in Hamamatsu.By then, she was already able to give lectures in front of a hundred students in fl uent Japanese.

Juan's students admired her so much that one of them even got down on his knees begging her to return when she told them she had to go back to China.

However, life was not easy for Juan back home.Since Juan has always disliked earning a commercial living teaching Taichi, she had hardly any savings when she left Japan.Therefore, this time, she had to start from scratch, again.

Thankfully, with great support from her family combined with her experience in Japan, Juan managed to open up three Chen Zhenglei Taichi Studios in Guangzhou.The studios have more than 1,000 members so far.

Four years ago, Juan became a mother.This new life has added a motherly touch to Juan's martial artist's air.Every time she looks at her daughter's sweet face, she smiles with affection in her eyes.

“We all have our own missions when we come to the earth.The Creator has arranged it all.You can experience all sorts of things, but at the end of the day, there is going to be the one that suits you the best.For me, my mission is to keep the fi re of Chen's Taichi alive.”

已有四個月身孕的陳娟看起來氣色甚好。端坐上位，她語調(diào)平穩(wěn)，眉頭舒展，自內(nèi)而外散發(fā)出儼然正氣。

陳娟正式踏入太極圈已近30載?；叵肫甬?dāng)年自己七歲起早起貪黑埋頭練武的日子，陳娟竟然不覺得辛苦。在武術(shù)九段的父親陳正雷的系統(tǒng)教導(dǎo)下，陳娟在16歲那年就獲得了河南省“武協(xié)杯”兩項冠軍的好成績。

然而，年輕時的陳娟向往成為一名設(shè)計師，并沒有想到自己未來有一天會肩負(fù)家族的重望。從北京體育大學(xué)畢業(yè)后，她被分配到廣東省體育局工作，起初的生活節(jié)奏緩慢有序。有一天，父親來廣州傳拳，看到陳娟正在看小說，便嚴(yán)肅地叮囑她：“現(xiàn)在你已經(jīng)沒有資格看閑書了。既然你的專業(yè)和技能已經(jīng)將你定位在武術(shù)方面，你應(yīng)該抓緊時間多看專業(yè)書籍，練功學(xué)習(xí)，增加修為！”

父親的話一語點(diǎn)醒稍有松懈的陳娟，從此，她更加專注地在香港傳拳，工作之余鞏固專業(yè)知識，將幾乎所有的時間奉獻(xiàn)給了太極。

“自那以后，我逐漸發(fā)現(xiàn)，教育才是我最喜歡的事情。我愿意以拳育人，幫助人們找到適合他們的生活方式，從個人影響家庭，從家庭影響社會傳播正能量。” 陳娟如是說。

2006年的春天，父親的一通電話將陳娟派往了千里之外的日本。在“陳家溝太極拳館靜岡分部”傳拳的三年期間，陳娟的生活可謂甜中帶苦。由于日本房價高，年輕的陳娟只能蝸居在五樓一間10平方米的宿舍里。白天時得將鋪蓋卷起，晚上睡覺時再放下；而廁所的空間更是窄小，連門也關(guān)不住。

幾個月后，旅日傳拳的陳正雷從大阪趕到靜岡，只為見女兒一面。當(dāng)他環(huán)顧這間小屋，他沉默了片刻，隨即故作輕松地說道：“這條件，比你爸小時候強(qiáng)多了。你從小到大沒有吃過苦，體驗(yàn)一下也很不錯！”

聽罷此言，陳娟喉嚨一堵，眼眶溫?zé)崞饋怼共皇且驗(yàn)槲?，而是因?yàn)楦惺艿搅烁赣H深沉的愛。

由于陳娟為人謙和，因材施教，她的教學(xué)最終在日本得到了認(rèn)可，而她負(fù)責(zé)的拳館也由靜岡擴(kuò)展到了富士和濱松。這個時候的她，已經(jīng)能夠用準(zhǔn)確而流暢的日文給上百名學(xué)員授課。

離開日本前，陳娟的日本學(xué)員甚至跪倒在地懇求她回日本繼續(xù)教學(xué)：“拜托，您一定要回來！”——可見其深得人心。

回到廣州后的陳娟開始了同樣艱苦的創(chuàng)業(yè)過程，在家人的扶持下，最終將三家廣州陳正雷太極會館開辦得有聲有色，學(xué)員現(xiàn)已逾千名。

如今身為人母的陳娟，相比年輕時多了一抹母性的溫柔。每每看見大女兒活潑伶俐的樣子，她就不由得嘴角上揚(yáng)，萬般柔情寫在眼中。

摟著四歲的女兒，陳娟微笑著，目光仿佛看穿了一切：“每個人來到世上都各有使命，老天早已安排好了。你可以體驗(yàn)嘗試各種事情，但最終會有個最適合的使命在等著你。而我的使命，就是傳承陳氏太極拳?！?/p>

DOUBLE IDENTITY AN URBANITE AND A RECLUSE

After a long day at work, it is time to put away your daytime identity, and fi nd your relief in Taichi.During the break, take a sip of Chinese tea whilst having a heartfelt chat with other practicers D this is the oasis that Guangzhou Chen Zhenglei Taichi Studio has created for the urbanites.

Chen Juan's students in Guangzhou come from all walks of life.Among them are government of fi cials, scholars, the wife of the vice-consul of Royal Danish Consulate General in Guangzhou, culture attach? of the French Consulate General in Guangzhou, etc.Here and now, the Taichi studio has opened a window for the world to fully taste this culture heritage.

This is how Chen Juan explains her aims of teaching: “I want Chen's Taichi to not only help its practicers to become healthier and happier, but also teach them Chinese philosophy.This is how Chen's Taichi should bene fi t our lives."

小隱于太極

結(jié)束漫長一日的工作，放下身份與名利，在古雅的琴聲中站樁習(xí)拳，伸展身體的同時也敞開自己的內(nèi)心。習(xí)練之余，品一杯香茗，與同修談笑風(fēng)生，感受片刻的寧靜安閑——陳正雷太極會館為都市人提供了一個放松身心的休憩良所。

在廣州跟隨陳娟練拳的學(xué)員來自社會各行各業(yè)，他們中有政府官員、學(xué)者教授，還有丹麥駐穗副領(lǐng)事及夫人、法國駐穗文化官員。此時此地，來自中原的太極文明正與嶺南乃至世界的文化融匯交流。

桃李滿天下的陳娟是這么詮釋她的教學(xué)目的的：“我希望陳氏太極拳的習(xí)練者不僅能通過練拳達(dá)到健身養(yǎng)生的效果，還能理解太極拳所蘊(yùn)含的中國智慧，并將其中的哲理運(yùn)用于生活，優(yōu)化我們的生活質(zhì)量?！?/p>

HONOURS AND AWARDS

大師姐的獲獎榜

1996 (18-year-old)

Won the First Prize at Women's Taichi Sword and Chen's Taichi boxing Contests at ò Henan Martial Arts Association Cupó

18歲那年，在“河南省武協(xié)杯”獲得女子組陳氏太極拳第一名，及女子中青年組太極劍第一名。

1997

Won the fi rst prize at Taichi Sword Contest at the Level-Classi fi cation Competition held by Beijing University of Physical Education

在“北體大通級賽”獲得太極劍第一名。

Won the Honour Title of “National First-Level Martial Artistó

獲“國家一級武士”稱號。

1998

Won the First Prize at Taichi Sword Contest and Taichi boxing at the “Wen County International Taichi Competitionó

在傳統(tǒng)太極拳最高賽事“溫縣國際太極拳年會”獲得太極劍、太極拳第一名。

2004:

Won the World Championship at the “International Martial Art Competitionó

在“世界傳統(tǒng)武術(shù)節(jié)”獲得世界冠軍。

2013

Passed the High Level test of Martial Art State Examination– “National Martial Arts Seven Segments”

在武術(shù)國考上獲得國家武術(shù)高段位“中國武術(shù)七段”。