Lineages...

Politics aside, I believe all Chen Style and Chen schools of Tai Chi are really awesome. It helps to know that different lineages have resulted in slight differences in practice and approach. Especially for beginners this type of knowledge helps them to comprehend and understand why they may notice differences in posture or form, as they seek out various media to learn about what they are practicing.

Chen Fa Ke was the first to start teaching the public openly in Beijing, China. Various sources have listed 1928 as the year Chen Tai Chi was taught outside of Chen Village. Chen Fa Ke had a son, Chen Zhaokui. Chen Fa Ke promoted the Xinjia as well as Laojia forms of Chen Tai Chi. The new forms were also promoted by Chen Zhaokui and Chen Fa Ke's nephew.

According to wikipedia's article on Chen Tai Chi, Chen Zhaokui returned to Chen village to assist and eventually succeed Chen Zhao Pei in teaching.

Variations in lineage appear with those trained in Beijing, to those in the Chen village that accepted the Xinjia forms, and those that chose to reject or emphasize less, the new forms of Chen Tai Chi.

I don't personally believe that one lineage is better than another. I believe that Chen Style Tai Chi, so long as it is taught by a competent instructor, offers tremendous benefits to all practitioners. Knowing the history and the lineages of what one studies can be useful, but certainly in my opinion, lineages should not be used solely to judge the "value" of a given teacher or system of practice.

Me? I always like to have options in all things in life.
J