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Wu (Hao)-style Taijiquan
Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'üan was created by Wu Yuxiang (, birth name Wu Heqing, , 1812?–1880?), a member of a wealthy and influential family in Yongnian, Hebei, China. Wu trained for approximately ten years with the founder of Yang-style t'ai chi, and then for over a month with a Chen-style master. Wu also obtained a manual on internal martial arts that formed the core of what are now known as the T'ai Chi Ch'üan Classics and include Wu's own writing on the subject. From these sources Wu and his family developed their own style, and may also have developed much of the cultural and intellectual foundation of t'ai chi ch'üan as well. Hao Weizhen (, 1849–1920), birth name Hao He (), was a disciple of Wu's nephew and was the first person outside the family to master their t'ai chi. Hao's contributions — in developing and spreading the art, and in training the founders of all subsequent Wu (Hao) lineages, as well as the further contributions of his son and grandson — ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. Covering an area of approximately , it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chen Qingping
Chen Qingping or Ch'en Ch'ing-p'ing (1795–1868) was a 15th generation descendant and 7th generation master of the Chen Family. He is also claimed to be the 7th generation successor of the Zhaobao style of Taijiquan. Alternatively, many Zhaobao lineages (e.g. He Baoguo of the He family, Zhang Suisheng of Hulei) treat him as the progenitor of Taijiquan in Zhaobao. He was an influential martial artist and teacher of taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan). He was married to a woman from the Zhaobao village, only a few miles north east of the Chen Village (Chenjiagou) — the home of the Chen Family famous for their martial arts. He has also been said to have learned the small-frame (Xiaojia) Chen style developed by Chen Youben, and the striking similarity of Chen Style Xiaojia and Zhaobao Taijiquan supports this assertion like nothing else. After touristic success of Chenjiagou in the early 21st century, many Zhaobao officials and some local teachers saw the commercial opportunity in d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhang Sanfeng
Zhang Sanfeng (also spelled Zhang San Feng, Chang San-Feng) refers to a legendary Chinese Taoist who many believe invented T'ai chi ch'üan. However, other sources point to early versions of Tai Chi predating Sanfeng. He was purported to have achieved immortality. History According to various accounts, he was born in Shaowu, Nanping, Fujian near the end of the Southern Song dynasty (around 1270 C.E.) and lived for over 211 years until the mid-Ming dynasty. His given name was Tong (通) and his courtesy name was Junbao (). He specialised in Confucian and Taoist studies, scholarly and literary arts. During the reign of Emperor Shizu in the Yuan dynasty, he was nominated as a candidate to join the civil service and held office as the Magistrate of Boling County (博陵縣; around present-day Dingzhou, Baoding, Hebei). While touring around the mountainous regions near present-day Baoji, Shaanxi, he saw the summits of three mountains and decided to give himself the Taoist name "S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a way of life, Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia dynasty, Xia (c. 2070–1600 BCE), Shang dynasty, Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Western Zhou, Western Zhou dynasties (c. 1046–771 BCE). Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), but survived. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" Huang–Lao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the real ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' (, 'Thoroughfare'); the ''Tao'' is generally defined as the source of everything and the ultimate principle underlying reality. The ''Tao Te Ching'', a book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (), together with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely considered the keystone works of Taoism. Taoism teaches about the various disciplines for achieving perfection through self-cultivation. This can be done through the use of Taoist techniques and by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the all, called "the way" or "Tao". Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize ''wu wei'' (action without intention), naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the Three Treasures: , compassion, , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sun Lutang
Sun Lu-t'ang or Sun Lutang (1860-1933) was a renowned master of Chinese neijia (internal) martial arts and was the progenitor of the syncretic art of Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan. He was also considered an accomplished Neo-Confucian and Taoist scholar (especially in the I Ching), and was a distinguished contributor to the theory of internal martial arts through his many published works. Biography He was born in Hebei and was named Sun Fuquan () by his parents. Years later, his Baguazhang teacher Cheng Tinghua () gave him the name Sun Lutang. (It was common in old China for people to have multiple names). He continued to use his original name in some areas, including the publishing of his books. He was also well-versed in two other internal martial arts: xingyiquan (hsing-i ch'uan) and baguazhang (pa-kua chang) before he came to study taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan). His expertise in these two martial arts were so high that many regarded him as without equal. Sun learned Wu (Hao) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changquan
Chángquán () refers to a family of external (as opposed to internal) martial arts (kung fu) styles from northern China. The forms of the Long Fist style emphasize fully extended kicks and striking techniques, and by appearance would be considered a long-range fighting system. In some Long Fist styles the motto is that "the best defense is a strong offense," in which case the practitioner launches a preemptive attack so aggressive that the opponent doesn't have the opportunity to attack. Others emphasize defense over offense, noting that nearly all techniques in Long Fist forms are counters to attacks. Long Fist uses large, extended, circular movements to improve overall body mobility in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Advanced Long Fist techniques include qin na joint-locking techniques and shuai jiao throws and takedowns. The Long Fist style is considered to contain a good balance of hand and foot techniques, but in particular it is renowned for its impressive acrobatic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weng Tonghe
Weng Tonghe (; 1830–1904), courtesy name Shuping (), was a Chinese Confucian scholar and imperial tutor who lived in the Qing dynasty. In 1856, he obtained the position of ''zhuangyuan'' (or top scholar) in the imperial examination and was subsequently admitted to the prestigious Hanlin Academy. Weng's father, Weng Xincun, was an official who had been persecuted by an influential faction in the Qing imperial court led by Sushun. Weng Xincun was a tutor of Daoguang Emperor's sons, Yihui and Yihe. However, in 1861, a coup took place, bringing about the deposition of Sushun and his faction, and the new government, led by Prince Gong, Empress Dowager Ci'an and Empress Dowager Cixi, placed the senior Weng to high office. In 1865, Weng was appointed as a tutor to the Tongzhi Emperor,Kwong, Luke S.K. ''A Mosaic of the Hundred Days: Personalities, Politics and Ideas of 1898'' (Harvard University Study Center, 1984). joining another tutor by the name of Wo Ren,Seagrave, Sterling ''Dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Chengfu
Yang Chengfu or Yang Ch'eng-fu (1883–1936) is historically considered the best known teacher of the soft style martial art of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan (Yang-style Taijiquan). Biography Yang Chengfu was born into the famous Yang Taijiquan family, the son of Yang Chien-hou and grandson of Yang Luchan. With his older brother Yang Shao-hou (楊少侯) and colleagues Wu Jianquan (吳鑑泉) and Sun Lutang (孫錄堂), he was among the first teachers to offer T'ai chi ch'uan instruction to the general public at the Beijing Physical Culture Research Institute from 1914 until 1928. He moved to Shanghai in 1928. Chengfu is known for having "smoothed" out the somewhat more vigorous training routine he learned from his family as well as emphasising a "large frame" or "Da Jia (大架)" with expansive movements in stepping and using large circular motions with the arms. His smooth, evenly paced large frame form and its hundreds of offshoots has been the standard for Yang-style t'ai chi c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Banhou
Yang Pan-hou or Yang Banhou (1837–1890) was an influential teacher of t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) in Ch'ing dynasty China, known for his bellicose temperament. Biography He was the senior son of Yang Luchan to survive to adulthood. Like his father, he was retained as a martial arts instructor by the Chinese Imperial family. He eventually became the formal teacher of Wu Ch'uan-yu (Wu Quanyou), a Manchu Banner cavalry officer of the Palace Battalion. Wu Ch'uan-yu's son, Wu Chien-ch'uan (Wu Jianquan), also a Banner officer, became known as the co-founder (along with his father) of the Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan. Yang Pan-hou's younger brother Yang Chien-hou was a well known teacher of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan as well. Yang Pan-hou's son, Yang Shao-p'eng (1875-1938) was also a t'ai chi teacher. Yang Banhou taught Wang Jiao-Yu his father's Guang Ping Yang t'ai chi ch'uan form, Wang Jiao-Yu taught Kuo Lien Ying Kuo Lien-ying (1895 in Inner Mongolia, China – 1984), was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is "" (), after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period. The name ''Shanxi'' means "West of the Mountains", a reference to the province's location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west and Inner Mongolia to the north. Shanxi's terrain is characterised by a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. Shanxi's culture is largely dominated by the ethnic Han majority, who make up over 99% of its population. Jin Chinese is considered by some linguists to be a distinct language from Mandarin and its geographical range covers most of Shanxi. Both Jin and Mandarin are spoken in Shanx ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Zongyue
Wang Zongyue was a legendary figure in the history of t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan). In some writings, Wang was a famous student of the legendary Zhang Sanfeng, a 13th-century Taoist monk credited with devising neijia in general and t'ai chi ch'uan in particular. Wang is also said to have resided in Tai-Gu County, Shan Xi Province in the middle of the 15th Century, and to have learned an early form of t'ai chi in the Jing-Tai Taoist Temple at Bao-ji County. Two who are said to be Wang's disciples, Chen Zouting and Jiang Fa, went on to make important contributions to the development of modern t'ai chi ch'uan. Wang is reputed to have authored ''The T'ai Chi Treatise'', alleged by the Wu brothers to have been found in Beijing as part of the ''Salt Shop Manuals'' in the mid 19th century. This treatise records many t'ai chi proverbs; among them: "four ounces deflect one thousand pounds" and "a feather cannot be added; nor can a fly alight". The ''T'ai Chi Treatise'' is among a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
