Roar of 'Four Tigers' heard around the world

It would be impossible to tell the story of Chenjiagou and the rise of Chen tai chi without mentioning the "Four Tigers of Chen Village" - the tai chi masters chiefly responsible for taking the family art beyond the village walls in the later part of the 20th century.

But for the efforts of these four - Chen Xiaowang, Chen Zhenglei, Wang Xi'an and Zhu Tiancai - and the visionary teachers who cultivated them, Chen Zhaopi and Chen Zhaokui, Chenjiagou might today be merely a sleepy, nondescript farming village tucked in among the trees just north of the Yellow River.

"If it was not for tai chi, my grandfather would still be a common farmer," said Lu Dongdong, grandson of Chen Zhenglei.