Seven Stars Martial Arts Academy GB White Crane Tai Chi

THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF TAIJIQUAN

TAIJIQUAN is one of the rich cultural heritage’s of China. Many tales have been told about its origin. One of which says that about 800 years ago there was a certain elixir maker named Zhang Sanfeng who lived in the Wudang Mountains. One night he dreamt that he was taught Chinese boxing by Great Emperor Xuan Wu, after which he went about disseminating the art among the common people.

Thus, TAIJIQUAN was said to have been presented by a deity and handed down by supernatural beings - a hardly plausible story.

What then is the real origin of TAIJIQUAN? From available historical data, it appears that TAIJIQUAN was first devised in Chen Jiagou, Wenxian County in Henan Province, some 300 years ago in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Among the representative figures who made outstanding contributions was Chen Wangting, a garrison commander in Wenxian County. In subsequent years foreign invasions and domestic peasant uprisings stimulated the diffusion of martial arts among the people, by which time a new form of boxing had evolved. While previous boxing styles emphasised quick movements and strong, vigorous punches, this new style followed the principle of 'subduing the vigorous by the soft,' ' adapting oneself to the style of others' and ' overcoming a weight of 1,000 catties by four ounces.' In general, some movements were energetic while others were gentle, some rapid while others slow, and one movement followed another in uninterrupted rhythmic harmony, like a flowing stream.

As this style of boxing consisted of eight primary hand postures and five major changeable postures, it was initially called '13 Forms.' Furthermore, as this series was also often very long, like an endless flow of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, it was also called CHANGQUAN (Long Boxing).

From the age-old boxing manuals of 13 Forms and Changquan, many of which have been well preserved, it can be seen that much of their content was similar to the QIJANJING (Boxing Text) written by Qi Jiguang (1528-1587), a famous general of the Ming Dynasty, who had collected and collated 16 boxing styles. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that this new boxing style was evolved by assimilating selected aspects of styles popular among the people.

Late in the 18th century, a teacher and great master of martial arts Qang Zongyue systematically summed up this new boxing style and related his findings to the classic Chinese philosophy of 'YIN and 'YANG' (meaning the two opposing principles in nature, the former feminine and negative, the latter masculine and positive). In his book, boxing was given the formal name of 'TAIJIQUAN'.

Up until 100 years ago, TAIJIQUAN was practised mainly in the countryside of Henan Province. In 1852, Yang Luchan (1799-1872) of Hebei Provlnce brought TAIJIQUAN with him to Beijing and thereafter it spread rapidly throughout China.