Chungliang “Al” Huang () is a notable

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

performing artist The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...

, and internationally acclaimed

taijiquan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Ta ...

master and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, having received the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

’s most prestigious award in the field of education, the Gold Medal Award, from its

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. As the Keynote speaker at the Major World Gatherings in India, Switzerland, Germany, and Bali, Chungliang "Al" Huang appeared with many notable world leaders of religion and spiritual philosophy including the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. Huang is the founder-president of the Living Tao Foundation based on the Oregon Coast of the United States, and the International Lan Ting Institute, located in the

sacred mountains Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

of China. Huang was featured in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

segment of

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...

’ renowned

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series '' A World of Ideas'' (1988, 1990). Throughout his career, Huang established many close alliances with highly regarded philosophers and scholars of our time. Notably, his colleague and collaborator, the late philosopher scholar

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...

, mythologist

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

, and his mentor

John Blofeld John Eaton Calthorpe Blofeld (2 April 1913 – 7 June 1987) was a British writer on Asian thought and religion, especially Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. Early life Blofeld was born in London in 1913.Blofeld 2008, pg. 4 In his youth, he happened ...

Biography

Huang was born in Shanghai in the 1930s. His family moved to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war. He grew up with a rich background in the classics, fine and martial arts, and the Beijing Opera techniques and moved to the United States in the 1960s to study

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Cultural Anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

, and

Choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...

. Huang became a

teacher at the encouragement of

, and became involved with the

Human Potential Movement The Human Potential Movement (HPM) arose out of the counterculture of the 1960s and formed around the concept of an extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people. The movement takes as its premise the be ...

. His 1973 book ''Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain'' greatly helped to popularize

in the West. It went on to be published in 14 languages.

Teaching and collaborations

He has taught at

Esalen Institute The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Potential ...

in Big Sur, CA since the late 1960s. Huang was a close colleague and collaborator with the late scholar

, mythologist

Gregory Bateson Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician, and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. His writings include '' Steps to an ...

Laura Archera Huxley Laura Huxley (née Archera; 2 November 1911 – 13 December 2007) was an American musician, author, psychotherapist and lecturer. She was married to author Aldous Huxley from 1956 until his death in 1963. Early life Laura Archera was born in T ...

, and

Huston Smith Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was an influential scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, ' ...

Philosopher

Huang is well known for his collaborations with philosopher

and others for his involvement with

and the

Omega Institute Omega Institute for Holistic Studies is a non-profit educational retreat center located in Rhinebeck, New York. Founded in 1977 by Elizabeth Lesser and Stephan Rechtschaffen, inspired by Sufi mystic, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and his ecu ...

. He also appeared on the

series " A World of Ideas" on

. He now is the creator and president of the Living Tao Foundation and the Lan Ting Institute, which helps promote Chinese arts.

Concerts, performing arts and dance collaborations

Huang entered the performance arena through the entertainment business and gained recognition as a dancer with the original

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

with

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, performing with

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

, and as a featured dancer in the film, ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

''. Huang was soloist with his own theater/dance company performing at

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

, in New York City and at the

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also ho ...

. In the early 1980s, Huang co-created with

Paul Winter Consort The Paul Winter Consort is an American musical group. Bassist Eliot Wadopian has been a member. Discography Films *''Canyon Consort'' (1985) References External linksLiving Music- Paul Winter's record label {{Authority control American j ...

“The Tao of Bach: A Tai Ji Musical Offering” concert series at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City and at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Collaborators in the past have included entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., pianists

Lorin Hollander Lorin Hollander (born July 19, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist. He has performed with virtually all of the major symphony orchestras in the United States and many around the world. A ''New York Times'' critic called him in 1964 "the ...

and Robert Levin, flutists Alexander Murray, Michael Faust,

Lorna McGhee Lorna McGhee (born 1972) is a Scottish flutist and teacher, currently serving as Principal Flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 2012. In addition, she is an Artist Lecturer in Flute at Carnegie Mellon University. Past positions include ...

; trumpeter Guy Few; Jazz musician, Paul Horn, Charles Lloyd; cellists David Darling and Michael Fitzpatrick; singers

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

; and harpist

Andreas Vollenweider Andreas Vollenweider (born 4 October 1953) is a Swiss harpist. He is generally categorised as a new-age musician and uses a modified electroacoustic harp of his own design. He has worked with Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Luciano Pavarotti and ...

Educator

Huang is a respected speaker in the field of human potentiality, on

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...

and creative dynamism in global business and education. Huang’s unique style of teaching individuals to fulfill their human potential has garnered accolades and nurtured students of life around the world. This enlivened body of knowledge/wisdom, accumulated and crystallized into gems of structured guiding forces for nearly four decades, are transmitted to those who truly wish to gain this knowledge, wisdom, and expertise in order to become Living Tao Practitioners – perpetual students of lifelong learning who have been, and will become mentors to others.

Scholarship and notable recognitions

* Doctoral Research Scholar:

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

, Republic of China * Fellow:

World Academy of Art and Science The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for s ...

, Stockholm, Sweden * Artist-in-residence:

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is an educational and performing arts complex located at 500 South Goodwin Avenue in Urbana, Illinois and on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Herman C. Krannert, an industria ...

, Illinois, USA * Director: Oriental Theater Program,

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, Toronto, Canada * Director:

Hong Kong Dance Company Hong may refer to: Places * Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and specia ...

* Keynote speaker, at major world gatherings in India, Switzerland, Germany, Bali * Assembly member: Cape Town, South Africa, and Barcelona, Spain, The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions

Music and dance residencies

* Yehudi Menuhim School, England *

Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival ( fi, Kuhmon Kamarimusiikki) is an international chamber music festival held every July for two weeks in Kuhmo, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordi ...

, Finland *

Oregon Bach Festival Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. About the festival The festival's programming is three-fold. It ...

Awards

* New speaker Award – Young Presidents’ Organization * New Dimension Broadcaster Award * Gold Medal – Ministry of Education of the Republic of China.

Publications

* ''Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain: The Essence of Taiji'' in co-operation with John O. "Steve" Stevens (now:

Steve Andreas Steve Andreas (born John O. Stevens; 1935 – September 7, 2018) was an American psychotherapist and author specializing in Neuro-linguistic programming. Steve Andreas was the son of Barry Stevens (therapist), Barry Stevens, a writer and gesta ...

), with a preface by Stevens and his mother Barry Stevens ( Real People Press, 1973) * '' Tao: The Watercourse Way'' with

(1975) * ''Living Tao: Still visions and dancing brushes''(1976) * ''Quantum Soup: A Philosophical Entertainment'' (1983) * ''Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Taosports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business, and Life'' with Jerry Lynch (1994) * ''Beginner's Tai Ji Book'' (1995) * ''Mentoring: The Tao of Giving and Receiving Wisdom'' with Jerry Lynch (1995) * ''Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters'' with Gia-Fu Feng (1997) * ''Working Out, Working Within'' with Jerry Lynch a (1998) * ''The Chinese Book of Animal Powers''(1999) * ''Tao Mentoring: Cultivate Collaborative Relationships in All Areas of Your Life'' with Jerry Lynch, and

(1999) * ''The Sage's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life'' with William Martin, Hank Tusinski(2000) * ''Essential Tai Ji'' (2004) * ''The Way of the Champion: Lessons from Sun Tzu's The art of War and other Tao Wisdom for Sports & life'' with Jerry Lynch Ph.D. (2006) * ''My Journey in Mystic China: Old Pu's Travel Diary'' by John Blofeld, with Daniel Reid, and Chungliang Al Huang (2008) * ''The Spirit of Dancing Warriors'' with Jerry Lynch Ph.D (2010) * ''Coaching With Heart: Taoist Wisdom to Inspire, Empower, and Lead'' with Jerry Lynch Ph.D (2013)

Music publications

* ''The Tao of Poetry'' with David Darling (2007) * ''The Zen of Poetry'' with David Darling and guest narration by Ram Dass (2009)

References

External links

Bridging Heaven & Earth Show #132
– Interview with Chungliang Al Huang
The Great Lesson
– The Great Lesson: A New Film About Mind and Body: Featuring Chungliang Al Huang
Living Tao Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Chungliang Al 1937 births Chinese male dancers Chinese dancers Republic of China philosophers Living people Taiwanese philosophers Philosophers from Shanghai Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Shanghai