Taiji is a unique movement art based on the Taoist principle of yin and yang. Through the centuries of its development many different descriptions of it have been put forth, many that conflict with each other. In fact almost everything about Taiji is disputed; who created it, when it was created and even what the practice of the art entails. With almost every aspect of the art disputed, it becomes important to trace our way back to known and accepted masters of the art who can provide us with clues from their own understanding and practice. Surely if we can point at even one known and respected master we can extrapolate from there to see how our own understanding and practice stand up to what the ancients and the creators of the art had to say on the subject.
In aid of this we also have reference material collectively called “The Taiji Classics”. The classics are not the work of one author but of many. Several of the classics authenticity have been questioned as they do not have a provable provenance. One is even known to have been ‘found’, buried in a salt shop for years before its discovery and exposure to the public.
Zhang San Feng is hailed by many Taiji enthusiasts as not only the originator of the art but also the author of one of the classics.
In China much is made of a persons history, lineage and ancestry. Commonly on first meeting, people are asked their name (clan) and where they are from. In Taiji on first meeting we often ask one another who are teachers (lineage) are. All of this is an attempt at authenticating ourselves and our art. If we have a known and respected teacher we are given more authority and respect.
Zhang San Feng’s tomb still exists and can be visited at any time. Given the emphasis on history and lineage in Chinese culture, if Chang Zhang Feng had founded/created Taijiquan this would surely be noted on his tomb or in other official records. We have many wild history stories of Zhang San Feng but there are no factual records that point to his being anything but a Taoist priest. This of course casts doubt on the classic ascribed to him, and it is generally accepted that it was probably written by someone else using his name to add authority to the writing.
In China there are at least two histories; provable, written history and wild history. As with other peoples, Chinese love stories and fantasies. As the English love their tales of Camelot and King Arthur, so the Chinese love their tales of gong fu heroes and ferocious freedom fighters. When tracing back to real history, we have to distinguish between these two and focus on what is provable and likely, and what is merely ‘wild history.’
The Chinese government agrees that Taiji began in Chen village (Chenjiagou) Henan province and that the art was created by the Chen family.
It is an accepted fact that the creator of Yang style Taiji, Yang Lu Chan, was taught Taiji by Chen Changxing the 14th generation Master who taught Yang Lu Chan and who also synthesized the previous martial routines, created by Chen Wang Ting, into the two routines we know today, Yi Lu and Er Lu.
In our own time, the Chinese government, the Yang family and Chen Village all believe that Taijiquan was created in Chen Village, not by Zhang San Feng.
We cannot do just anything and say that it is Taiji. Taiji has principles of movement, and these are included in short descriptions of the art to help us understand more clearly what the art entails.
The earliest and clearest description of the art comes from Chen Xin (1849 – 1929).
Chen Xin’s book The Illustrated Explanation of Chen Family Taijiquan is one of the first verifiable works on Taiji and one of the first to describe the art in detail. In this book, he refers to the method of movement used in Taijiquan as Chan Fa. In English, this translates to rotation or the method of twining. Twining suggests the idea of winding a thread or some flexible substance around something else. Websters dictionary describes it as “Winding around something; twisting; embracing;”.
Taiji movement is often described as the method of Silk Reeling (chan si jin). The method of unwinding the cocoon of a silk worm requires a long, continuous and circular movement. The picture this creates in our minds is a helpful one.
Rotation and turning are two different types of movement. Rotation suggests an axis and stability that implies alignment and root. Turning, in our use implies looseness and lack of stability.
Most people practising Taiji wobble, or turn, because they have never been taught the basics of Alignment, or Rooting.
Taijiquan is a unique martial art and method of body movement. The health benefits and its martial attributes are based on an uncommon but natural method of movement that is often misinterpreted and misunderstood.
