Mainstream Chinese historiography counts five orthodox styles of Taijiquan. All five trace, directly or indirectly, to the Chen lineage of Chenjiagou.
The progenitor style. Alternates slow continuous movement with explosive fa-jin (release of power), spiral silk-reeling (chánsijìng), low stances and pronounced stamping. The most overtly martial of the five.
The most widely practised style globally. Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) standardised the slow, expansive 'large frame' that today represents Tai Chi in most public parks; even tempo, gentle weight transfer, vertical posture.
A small-frame, scholarly synthesis. Wu Yuxiang studied with both Yang Luchan and the Chen-style master Chen Qingping, and is associated with the canonical theoretical essays that anchor modern Tai Chi pedagogy.
Forward-leaning, compact 'middle frame'. Emphasises subtle joint work and parallel-footwork stepping, derived from the Beijing Manchu Bannerman tradition of Wu Quanyou.
An integration of the three internal arts. Sun Lutang — already a master of Xingyiquan and Baguazhang — folded their stepping, agility and internal mechanics into Hao-style Taiji. High stances, lively footwork, follow-step movement.
Chen Wangting's 17th-century synthesis is the trunk. Yang Luchan carried it out of the village; Wu Yuxiang refined it into theory; Wu Jianquan softened the frame; Sun Lutang fused it with the other two internal arts. Five styles, one transmission.
Dates given here are the conventional ones used in mainstream Chinese martial-arts historiography and lineage records published by the respective family associations. Where dates remain contested, the UNESCO 2020 dossier is treated as the canonical reference.