Editing Cheng Man-ch'ing (section)

==Early years==

Cheng's father died when Cheng was very young.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://chengmanching.wordpress.com/biography | title=About Cheng Man-ch'ing | date=4 April 2019 }}</ref> Around the age of nine, Cheng was struck on the head by a falling object, and was in a coma for a short while. He recuperated slowly, and was apprenticed to a well-known artist, [[Wang Xiangchan]] 汪香禪, in hopes that simple jobs like grinding ink would help his health. Wang taught Cheng's aunt [[Zhang Hongwei (artist)|Zhang Hongwei]] 張紅薇, as well as fellow townsmen Ma Mengrong and Ma Gongyu, all of whom became quite well-known. Within a few years, Cheng's teacher sent him out to earn his living by painting. During Cheng's childhood, his mother took him out to find medicinal plants and taught him the fundamentals of traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

By the age of eighteen, Cheng was teaching poetry and art in Beijing and within a few years had become a successful artist whose works were in demand. His aunt's friend [[Cai Yuanpei]] gave him a letter of introduction that led him to  Shanghai, where he became acquainted with influential figures including [[Wu Changshuo]], [[Zheng Xiaoxu]], [[Xu Beihong]], and [[Zhang Daqian]]. He took a position as the Dean of the Department of Traditional Painting at the prestigious [[Shanghai College of Art]], which was headed by [[Liu Haisu]]. Cheng participated in national and international exhibitions, including one in 1933 organized by Xu Beihong, and was deeply involved with a number of art societies, including the Bee Society. These groups met to socialize, paint, and organize fundraising exhibitions. Around 1930, Cheng left the Shanghai College of Art and with [[Huang Binhong]], and other leading artists, founded the College of Chinese Culture and Art. The school was forced to close upon the Japanese invasion.

In his twenties, Cheng developed lung disease (believed to be [[tuberculosis]] partly from exposure to the chalk dust from the school blackboards). Ill to the point of coughing up blood, he began to practice tai chi more diligently to aid his recovery. Cheng retired from teaching and devoted himself for several years to the study of tai chi, [[traditional Chinese medicine]], and literature. His literary studies were with retired scholar [[Qian Mingshan]].

In addition to his childhood instruction, Cheng Man-ch'ing received formal Chinese medical training. While he was teaching art in Shanghai, one of his friends grew ill and was unable to find relief. Cheng Man-ch'ing wrote a complex prescription for his friend, who took the medicine and recovered fully. One story from his memorial book is that a retired traditional doctor named Song You'an 宋幼庵 came across the prescription. He demanded to be put in contact with the person who wrote it, as the sophistication and erudition of the prescription showed exceptional talent and competence. As war was raging across China at that time, it took several years before Cheng Man-ch'ing was able to present himself for study. With Song, Cheng received instruction and became conversant with the Chinese [[pharmacopoeia]]. Dr Song was the twelfth generation of physician in his family; his medical school had a formidable collection of traditional medicines.

In the first lunar month of 1932,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yang |first=Chengfu |title=The Essense and Applications of Taijiquan |publisher=Blue Snake Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-58394-639-8}}</ref> Cheng met the well-known master [[Yang Chengfu]] (1883–1936), with whom he began to study [[Yang-style tai chi]], until Yang died. While the exact dates of Cheng's study with Yang are not clear, one of Yang's top students, scholar [[Chen Weiming (scholar)|Chen Weiming]] wrote that Cheng studied six years with Yang.{{efn|name=inSearchOfYangChengFu|1= See Zheng Manqing's Zhengzi taijiquan shi san pian, p. i: [http://www.nytaichi.com/looking.htm In Search of Yang Cheng-Fu]}} Cheng, according to Yang's son Zhenji, ghostwrote Yang's second book ''Essence and Applications of Tai Chi'' or ''The Substance and Application of Tai Chi'' (''Taijiquan tiyong quanshu'', 1934), for which Cheng also wrote a preface and most likely arranged for the calligraphic dedications.<ref name=Yang>{{cite book| last = Yang| first = Zhenji| title = Yang Chengfu shi taijiquan| publisher = Guangxi Minzu Chubanshe| page = 250}}</ref>

Cheng taught tai chi, practiced medicine, and continued his art practice in [[Sichuan]] Province during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Sino-Japanese war]] years. In this period he taught Abraham Liu while at the Central Military Academy, China's equivalent of West Point.[Reference 1 At age 32 he taught tai chi at the Central Military Academy (formerly the Huang-po Military Academy -equivalent to West Point in the United States.)"]By 1946, he had developed a significantly abbreviated 37-move version of Yang's traditional form. He wrote the manuscript for his ''Thirteen Chapters'' during this period, and showed them to his elder classmate [[Chen Weiming (scholar)|Chen Weiming]], who gave it his [[imprimatur]].