There are a lot of Cheng Manching books – some written by the Professor himself, others by his students and some translated even after his death.

(Just in case that you don’t know yet: Cheng Manching (also Zheng Manqing) was a student of Yang Chengfu. Moving to New York in 1964 he is considered the one who brought Taijiquan to the West. He taught until his death in 1975. As some of his students are still alive and actively promoting his Tai Chi in the USA and all around the world, his 37 postures form is still very popular.)

Because there are so many books available, I decided to devide them in books written by Cheng Manching himself, by his students and by others.

Cheng Manching books (written by himself)

• Master of Five Excellences*
• T’ai Chi Ch’uan: A simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health & Self Defense*
• Master Cheng’s New Method of Taichi Ch’uan Self-Cultivation*
• Essays on Man and Culture*
• Lao Tzu: My words are very easy to understand. Lectures on the Tao Teh Ching*
• Cheng Man-Ching’s Advanced Tai-Chi Form Instructions*
• Cheng Tzu’s Thirteen Treatises on T’ai Chi Ch’uan*

Books by Cheng Manching students

• Wolfe Lowenthal: I think the books from Wolfe Lowenthal are really the most popular Cheng Manching books. They are great to read:
  • There are no secrets: Professor Cheng Man Ch’ing and his T’ai Chi Chuan*
  • Gateway to the Miraculous: Further Explorations in the Tao of Cheng Man Ch’ing*
  • Like a Long River*
• Benjamin Lo
  • The Essence of T’ai Chi Ch’uan: The Literary Tradition*
  • This book is by Chen Weiming, but Benjamin Lo translated it with Robert Smith. T’ai Chi Ch’uan Ta Wen: Qestions and Answers on T’ai Chi Ch’uan *
• Robert W. Smith
  • Cheng Man-ch’ing and T’ai Chi: Echoes in the Hall of Happiness*
  • Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods*
  • Martial Musings: A Portrayal of Martial Arts in the 20th Century*
• T.T. Liang. A well-known Taijiquan master by himself!
  • In this fun-to-read book he also talks about his years with Cheng Manching – the book is written by Stuart A. Olson: Steal My Art: the Life and Times of T’ai Chi Master T.T.Liang*
  • T’ai Chi Ch’uan for Health and Self-Defense: Philosophy and Practice*
  • Imagination becomes Reality: The Teachings of Master T.T. Liang*
  • The Tai Chi Two-Person Dance*
• William C.C.Chen: Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan*
• Kenneth VanSickle: Tai Chi Sword*
• Robert Chuckrow
  • Tai Chi Chuan: Embracing the Pearl*
  • The Tai Chi Book: Refining and Enjoying a Lifetime of Practice*
  • Tai Chi Dynamics: Principles of Natural Movement, Health & Self-Development*
  • Tai Chi Walking: A Low-Impact Path to Better Health*
• Herman Kauz
  • The Tai Chi Handbook*
  • Push Hands: Handbook for Non-competitive Tai Chi Practice with a Partner*
  • The Martial Spirit*
• Lawrence Galante: Tai Chi: The Supreme Ultimate*
• Ed Young: another Cheng Manching student, but the books I found are not about Taijiquan! He is actually an illustrator of over eighty books for children*!

More books about Cheng Manching

• Douglas Wile: he translated the following books. Until now I’ve known him from the Tai Chi Touchstones*. However I am not quite sure if he was a student of Cheng Manching.
  • Master Cheng’s Thirteen Chapters on Tai Chi Ch’üan*
  • Cheng Man-Ching’s Advanced Tai-Chi Form Instructions*
• Mark Hennessy translated these books, but again I am not sure if and how well he knew Cheng Manching. But I think the books are worth looking at:
  • Essays on Man and Culture*
  • Master of Five Excellences*

If you still haven’t got enough of Cheng Manching books, I would also like to show you Scott Meredith books! He is a student of Benjamin Lo and you might know him, because he is a blogger, too. I actually interviewed Scott here!

And after all these books, you might want to have a look at the most interesting Cheng Manching videos!

Happy Qi!

Angelika