Cheng Man-ch'ing or Zhèng Mànqīng 鄭曼青 was born in 1902 and passed away in 1975 during a visit to Taiwan. He was born in Yongjia, what is now present-day Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province in China. Many regard Cheng Man-Ching (Often referred to as Professor) as the man who brought Tai Chi to the west. Cheng Man-Ching moved to the United States in 1964, where he taught at the New York T'ai Chi Association and then the Shr Jung T'ai Chi school in New York City's Chinatown section. with the assistance of his American senior students.

Cheng Man-ch'ing is best known for his "Simplified" 37 Posture Yang Style T'ai Chi Chuan. *Simplified* does not mean easier. It was simplified in it's length and complexity but not the quality or difficulty of the postures.

Cheng Man-Ching developed lung disease in his twenties which is believed to have been tuberculosis. He was coughing up blood and began to practice taijiquan diligently to aid in his recovery. He met the well-known master Yang Chengfu in 1928 and began to study his Yang style T'ai Chi Ch'uan until 1935.

Cheng Man-Ching's changes to the Yang style form were done with the permission of his teacher, Yang Cheng Fu. The changes allowed Cheng Man-Ching to teach larger numbers of students in less time. Unfortunately they are sometimes considered controversial by some second and third generation practitioners. .