Echoes Of Taijiquan

The Daoyin Tu (Guiding and Stretching Chart). Between 1972-74, during exacavations at the Mawangdui (King Ma's Mound) Tombs in Changsha, Hunan Province, a silk painting now known as the Daoyin Tu was discovered. The painting was found in the tomb of Xin Zhui (Tomb 1), the wife of Chancellor Li Cang who was also buried at the site in Tomb 2. Dated to the end of the 3rd century BCE, the Daoyin Tu is believed to be one of the earliest depictions of 'health movements' - ancestors of modern qigong - and shows around 40 postures, animal movements, and gymnastic movements aimed at treating pain and improving health. In addition to the Daoyin Tu, a wealth of other silk documents were found in the third tomb at the site. This tomb contained the burial of the son of Xin Zhui and Li Cang and included very early versions of the Dao De Jing, I Ching, and Zhan Guo Ce. [Credit: Daoyin tu - chart for leading and guiding people in exercise for improving health and treatment of pain, contain

 Intent. In a number of places the Classics talk about 'where' movement occurs first (translations: Barbara Davis): "first in the xin [heart-mind], then in the body" and "xin is the commander". (Wu Yuxiang, 'Exposition of Insights into the Thirteen Postures'.). "In all these cases, it is yi [intent], and not from externalities." ('Taijiquan jing'.) "Yi and qi are the lord, the bones and flesh are the subjects." ('Shisan shi ge'/'Thirteen Postures Song'.) This got me thinking about the process and the relationship between Xin (心, heart-mind) and Yi (意, Intention). Fortunately there's a fairly succinct explanation offered by Chen Yan-ling's (1943) 'Taiji Compiled: Boxing, Saber, Sword, Pole and Sparring' (Ch.5: On Intention and Energy): "As for intention, some say the intention is the same as mind and mind is the same as intention, but there is actually a slight distinction between mind a

 "Smoke over the hill indicates fire, horns over the fence indicate an ox. Given one corner, you grasp the other three; one glance, and you discern the smallest difference. Such quickness, however, is only too common among robed monks." Engo's Introduction to Case 1: Emperor Wu Asks Bodhidharma. Hekiganroku. Translated by Katsuki Sekida (1977) 'Two Zen Classics'. This struck a chord with me. How often do I go through my forms working towards the next movement rather than focussing on the one at hand? 'Grasping the other three' rather than 'being present'. [Image: Emperor Wu of Liang]

 "Your body, with awareness of its different parts, all comes together as a center in moving circular motion. All the different movements of the tai ji chuan are variations of this flowing circular movement. Sometimes it is a small circle, sometimes it is large, sometimes the circle becomes a long elliptical curve, returning back in a double loop like a figure eight." Chungliang Al Huang in 'Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain: Essence of T'ai Chi' (1988, 30) [Image: Chungliang Al Huang]

 “Do not be afraid to work. If you are afraid of hard work, you have no hope of making progress. The “Tai-chi ch’uan Classics” say that, “the root is in the feet.” If one is afraid of hard work, the feet will never develop root. This is why there is no doubt that working the feet hard is beneficial to the heart and brain.” ‘Cheng Man-Ch’ing’s Advanced T’ai-Chi Form Instructions’, compiled and translated by Douglas Wile (1985), pp.23-4. [Image: Cheng Man Ching, from Cook Ding’s Kitchen blog: https://cookdingskitchen.blogspot.com/2017/05/cheng-man-ching-biography.html]

 “This is the only way to practice T'ai Chi. If you have nothing in your mind in which to base your practice, your forms will gradually and unconsciously change. The functional uses of T'ai Chi will eventually be lost. Prof. Cheng Man Ch’ing told us this often. He said, 'When practicing T'ai Chi alone, you must imagine that there is an opponent in front of you. This is one of the secret techniques I learned from the Yang family.' It is very important that you do this."  T. T. Liang, in 'Steal My Art: The Life and Times of T'ai Chi Master, T. T. Liang' (Stuart Alve Olson, 2002) How are you all coping with lockdown? My form practice has increased massively but I'm missing push hands and application practice! Keep safe. [Image: Cheng Man-ching and T. T. Liang, from https://sanctuaryoftao.org/]

 "One of the best images for tai ji is nature, and the movement of nature. The different branches on the same tree do not move the same but they are moving in unity. When you look at nature, everything has its own motion: the tree and the rock and the water running - they somehow tie together without making a point to fit. When you watch the waves coming over the rocks, you see that the wave has wave-nature, rock has rock-nature. They do not violate each other's nature. That's a Tao concept, a Zen concept that exactly fits into tai ji practice." Chungliang Al Huang in 'Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain: Essence of T'ai Chi' (1988) [Image: Chungliang Al Huang]

"You must relax and eradicate every thought of using force. If you are not relaxed, you are crooked. If you are crooked, you are using force. We must learn to be tender, soft, and peaceful." Liu Xiheng, quoted in Mason, R et al (2010) 'Liu Xiheng: Memories of a Taiji Sage'. Journal of Asian Martial Arts 19(2), pp72-107.