Out of respect for Wang Yen-nien, Westerners reserve the English term Master orMaître for him, although the Taiwanese more commonly addressed him simply asLǎoshī 老師 teacher (lǎo literally as old , shī itself translates as teacher,so perhaps more figuratively venerable or esteemed teacher in English) and Teacher Wang is more appropriate usage in English.* There are two Chinese homophones shifu that are commonly translated as master ,師傅**and 師父,; the former a qualified skilled worker in certain professions [master chef, master carpenter, master Taijiquan practitioner]; the latter is more serious than 師 傅 because it expresses the deeper relationship between disciple and his teacher by performing bàishī 拜師:either swearing to him or in front of God. An adept with specific recognized skill might be referred to as 師傅, only one to whom one has performed bàishī should be called 師父 . Wang Laoshi signed certificates simply as 師 Teacher .

There are references to him that might loosely be translated as Grand-Master in the sense of grandmother or grand uncle (zōngshī 宗師  or dàshī 大師  [zōng, ancestor, and dà, big, have similar connotations to lǎo]); the more traditional 師公shīgōng is probably only appropriate in a bàishī lineage relationship which may be used by his students' students who have also performed bàishī. Some of his Taiwanese inheritors may use the term 師父 in the more formal way. But again, he was most normally referred to simply as Lǎoshī 老師 teacher or 師爺 shiyé which translates as one's teacher's teacher or Grand Teacher.

Wang Laoshi was not the lineage holder or gatekeeper (Zhangménrén 掌 門人), since Zhang Qinlin had eight senior students and did not appoint any as such. Some of Wang Yen-nien's students might refer to him as Zhangménrén (掌 門人) because he was the only one available who knew and brought YMT to Taiwan, yet he referred to both Zhang Qinlin and himself simply as 傳人 Chuánrén or lineage transmitters. Wang Laoshi specifically did not appoint a Zhangménrén (掌門人 ) to succeed him; he stated many times that there was not going to be one person to carry on the lineage but that everyone who practiced and learned Yangjia Michuan , adhere to and do not stray from his teaching had a role to play in their own ways; all those who teach and transmit the tradition as passed on by him may be termed lineage transmitters (傳人 Chuánrén).*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps this is why teachers such as Chen Man Ching and Hou Chi Kwang preferred to be addressed asprofessor in the United States.

**師 shī is translated as either teacher or master depending on the context and the other character in the word. The two terms overlap and have a common reference in Chinese: dàshī could be either great teacher or great master. And there are some words where neither translation applies: 師姑shīgū a term of respect for a nun; 一師軍隊 yī shī jūnduì. one division of an army

Note by George Lin: Taiwanese who were brought up in older times, such as 50 years ago, might call Master Wang either shifu 師傅 or 師父 in front of him because it is much more formal and polite. But times have changed , so instead of being so formal and rigid , Taiwanese students would call Wang Yen-nien Laoshi 老師 when they saw him face to face or talk about him to each other. For example , just as the cases in America:

1) When a friend refers to me , he addresses me as George rather than Mr. Lin.

2) My son would call me Dad rather than father when he was in front of me.

Therefore, if students referred to Wang Yen-nien when he was not present , they might either refer to him as Laoshi 老師 or Shifu 師父 , or use zōngshī 宗師 or dàshī 大師 when they wished to express the highest regards for him to other people