Draft:He ZhaoYuan

He Zhaoyuan was born in 1811 and died in 1891. His courtesy name was Yu'an. He was from Zhaobao Town, Wen County, Henan Province. He Zhaoyuan was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. His father, He Yanfang, was proficient in traditional Chinese medicine internal medicine and good at treating difficult and complicated diseases. He had a certain influence in the local area. In order to enable He Zhaoyuan to inherit the family tradition and revitalize the family business, his father asked him to learn literature and medicine. When He Zhaoyuan was 15 years old, it was the late Qing Dynasty and the society was turbulent. His brother-in-law Li Tangjie advised him to learn martial arts. In the winter of 1825, He Zhaoyuan became a disciple of the famous Tai Chi master Chen Qingping and began to practice Tai Chi. Because he was naturally intelligent, lively and agile, had a talent for martial arts, respected his teachers, was diligent and studious, and had outstanding kung fu, he was deeply appreciated by Chen Qingping. After Zhang Yan (a native of Zhaobao), the teacher of Tai Chi master Chen Qingping, returned home from his travels, He Zhaoyuan received careful guidance from him and understood the principles of boxing. His kung fu became outstanding, and he was proficient in knife, spear, sword, and stick.

He Zhaoyuan fully inherited Chen Qingping's boxing skills and inner strength, and later he was invited by Li Tangjie, who was now a veteran military minister and the Prince's guardian, to go to Beijing. Under the influence of Li Tangjie, He Zhaoyuan was inclusive of the essence of martial arts, and used the Taoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi, the family of medicine, and the doctrine of the mean in Zhouyi to guide and standardize the boxing posture, so that theory and practice were perfectly combined. On the basis of retaining the essence of the boxing skills passed down by his teacher, he integrated technique and theory, with a natural and soft body, nourishing my great spirit, round internal strength, loose and natural, and the skills of Tai Chi are as smooth as fish, soft as cotton, and hard as steel. Initially, the outside leads the inside, and then the inside leads the outside. This is the first "carrying the principles posture" of Tai Chi. He Zhaoyuan was highly skilled in martial arts and was loyal and trustworthy. He was awarded the title of "Wu Xinlang" (a military official of the sixth rank) by the Qing court. After returning home, he wrote "Tai Chi Boxing Manual" and "Broadsword, Spear, Straight Sword, and Stick Manual".

He Zhaoyuan was an upright person who hated corrupt officials the most. He was compassionate to the elderly and the poor, and was highly respected by his fellow scoundrels. Once, he found a street performer from another place being harassed by two local bullies. He heard from the onlookers that the girl was performing on the street alone because her father was sick, so she could earn money for her father's medical treatment. He beat the bullies away and gave the girl ten taels of silver. When the story spread, the people of Beijing praised her unanimously.