Huang Kuo-chung, alternate committee member at the Taichichuan Association, explains that the word quan in taijiquan, means "cultivating the hands," which in other words means "exercise," something that takes place at the level of technique. And taiji means "the natural way"-standing erect and centered, being impartial and unbiased, neither lacking nor in excess, adhering to one position-in other words the way of the natural world, and the way of the human being. Or in short: moral cultivation, the very purpose of human life. Long-lived heroes
Taijiquan originally developed out of a form of Daoist exercise for cultivating qi and attaining mental repose. It was during the late Ming dynasty that Chang Sanfeng, the founder of taijiquan, devoted himself to combining the mysterious art of controlled-breathing from qigong with a variety of established combat techniques, based around principles of "change": yin and yang, motion and stillness. The result was a set of 13 fundamental taijiquan movements: warding off, rolling back, pressing, pushing, pulling down, quick reaction, elbowing, shouldering, stepping forward, stepping back, looking round, gazing forward, and remaining stable. Designed in imitation of the cosmic "taiji principle"-as represented in the yin-yang symbol-and drawing on Daoist breathing techniques, these movements convert slowness into speed and rigidity into suppleness, using the external form of the body to exercise the innate qi within.
The object of traditional combat training was for war and self-defense. When military officers retired and moved back to their original homes, they brought their skills to a wider population, and thus martial arts began to spread. In the agricultural society of old, most people led plain lives, without time for such pursuits or the money to pay for training, which is why martial arts were generally passed down only in the families of the wealthy.
Since the late Qing dynasty, when China came under assault from the gunboats of the Western powers, techniques that were once practiced for combat have evolved into a form of fitness training. Once it was considered better to avoid risking sacrifice in unarmed combat when possible, the primary objective of taijiquan turned to fostering good health. As the Classic of Taijiquan says, it should be borne in mind that "Great heroes are not made by combat skills alone-they also enjoy long lives."
Historical records trace the emergence of several different styles of taijiquan since the late Qing dynasty, including the Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun schools. Yen Chen, himself a long-time practitioner of the art, points out that while Chen-style taijiquan emphasizes power penetration and a blend of force with gentleness, Yang-style attaches more importance to smoothness and fluidity of motion. Yet in all other essentials such as keeping centered and erect, and deploying strength symmetrically, there is little to separate the two styles.
Most of the taijiquan that is taught in Taiwan today represents traditions that originated from all over China, and came across from the mainland with the arrival of some two million soldiers and civilians in 1949.
Chen Chia-yuan, associate professor at Chinese Culture University, notes that many martial arts aficionados came to Taiwan after Retrocession, and taijiquan was also boosted by the energetic advocacy of top government officials who themselves were practitioners of the discipline, including former presidential adviser Ho Ying-chin, and former minister of justice Ku Feng-hsiang. This contributed to the rapid development of taijiquan in Taiwan through the 1960s and 1970s, in contrast to the situation on the mainland during the Cultural Revolution, when practicing taijiquan was regarded as a manifestation of deep-rooted feudal habits.
"I still recall that 20 or 30 years ago, famous taijiquan masters often gave talks in a meeting room at the Legislative Yuan," says Wang Hua-chung, a retired former member of the Examination Yuan, and currently a board member with the Taichichuan Association. It was those talks that first encouraged him to seek out a teacher and train to the level that he is at today.