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T'ai Chi Classics
The tai chi classics ( zh, c=太极拳谱, p=tàijíquán pǔ or zh, c=太極拳經, p=tàijíquán jīng, labels=no) are a collection of over 100 articles on the Chinese martial art of tai chi written by the art's master practitioners over the centuries. They cover everything from the underlying '' taiji'' philosophical principles, to methods of practice and application. Previously passed down in secret from generation to generation in whole or in parts through various lineages, they achieved classical status as they became public starting in the mid-1930s. Together they now serve as the single authoritative guide for the development and usage of tai chi skills. Written mostly in classical Chinese, they are used today mostly by the serious martial art practitioners of modern 6 Lineages that all trace their lineages to the ancient style taught by the Chen family and Yang family starting in the mid-19th century. While great antiquity is usually claimed for texts by legendary aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Martial Art
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include ''Shaolin kung fu, Shaolinquan'' () physical exercises involving Five Animals, All Other Animals () mimicry or training methods inspired by Chinese philosophies, Old Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called ''Internal martial arts, internal'' (; ), while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called ''Styles of Chinese martial arts#External styles, external'' (; ). Geographical associations, as in ''northern'' (; ) and ''Nanquan (martial art), southern'' (; ), is another popular classification method. Ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sun Lutang
Sun Lutang (1860-1933) was a master of Chinese ''neijia'' (internal) martial arts and was the progenitor of the Syncretism, syncretic art of Sun-style tai chi. He was also considered an accomplished Neo-Confucian and Taoist scholar (especially of 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 Chinese name, names, through various phases of life). He continued to use his original name in some areas, including the publishing of his books. He was also well-versed in two other neijia, internal martial arts: ''xingyiquan'' and ''baguazhang'' before he came to study tai chi. His expertise in these two martial arts were so high that many regarded him as without equal. Sun learned Wu (Hao)-s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period, a period of great development in Chinese philosophy, the Hundred Schools of Thought. He is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the '' Zhuangzi'', which is one of two foundational texts of Taoism, alongside the ''Tao Te Ching''. Life The only account of the life of Zhuangzi is a brief sketch in chapter 63 of Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian'', and most of the information it contains seems to have simply been drawn from anecdotes in the ''Zhuangzi'' itself. In Sima's biography, he is described as a minor official from the town of Meng (in modern Anhui) in the state of Song, living in the time of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi (late fourth century BC). Sima Qian writes that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book), Zhuangzi''. The name, literally meaning 'Old Master', was likely intended to portray an archaic anonymity that could converse with Confucianism. Modern scholarship generally regards his biographical details as later inventions, and his opus a collaboration. Traditional accounts addend him as , born in the 6th-centuryBC state of Chu during China's Spring and Autumn period (). Serving as the royal archivist for the Zhou dynasty, Zhou court at Wangcheng (Zhou dynasty), Wangcheng (modern Luoyang), he met and impressed Confucius () on one occasion, composing the ''Tao Te Ching'' in a single session before retiring into the western wilderness. A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is generally considered the founder of Taoism. He was cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jin Yong
Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of '' Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most popular Chinese writers of all time, with over 100 million copies sold globally—excluding widespread pirated editions. Cha’s novels, which have been adapted into numerous TV dramas, films, and video games, are esteemed for their literary quality and universal appeal, resonating with both scholarly and popular audiences. Early life Born on 10 March 1924, in Haining, Zhejiang in Republican China, Cha was named Zha Liangyong (Cha Liang-yung) and is the second of seven children. He hailed from the scholarly Zha clan of Haining (), whose members included notable literati of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties such as Zha Jizuo (1601–1676), Zha Shenxing (1650–1727) and Zha Siting (; died 1727). His grandfather, Zha Wenqing (), o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuxia
( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity has caused it to be adapted for such diverse art forms as Chinese opera, manhua, television dramas, films, and video games. It forms part of popular culture in many Chinese-speaking communities around the world. According to Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writer Ronny Yu, wuxia movies are not to be confused with Martial arts film, martial arts movies. The word "" is a compound composed of the elements (, literally "martial", "military", or "armed") and (, literally "chivalrous", "vigilante" or "hero"). A martial artist who follows the code of is often referred to as a (, literally "follower of ") or (, literally "wandering "). In some translations, the martial artist is referred to as a () or (), either of which can be i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island in 1841–1842 as a consequence of losing the First Opium War. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. The territory was handed over from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under the principle of one country, two systems. Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages,. the territory is now one of the world's most signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changsha
Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the most livable city in China, located in the lower reaches of the Xiang River in northeastern Hunan. The city forms a part of the Changzhutan, Greater Changsha Metropolitan Region along with Zhuzhou and Xiangtan, also known as the Changzhutan City Cluster. Greater Changsha was named one of the 13 emerging mega-cities in China in 2012 by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It is also a National Comprehensive Transportation Hub, and one of the first List of National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in China, National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in China. Changshanese, a kind of Xiang Chinese, is spoken in the downtown area, while Ningxiangnese and Liuyangnese are also spoken in the counties and cities under its jurisdiction. As of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Banhou
Yang Banhou (Yang Pan-hou; 1837–1890) was an influential teacher of tai chi in Qing dynasty China, known for his bellicose temperament. Biography He was the eldest son of Yang Luchan to survive to adulthood. Like his father, he was retained as a martial arts instructor by the Manchu imperial family. His disciple Wu Quanyou, a Manchu banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ... cavalry officer of the Palace Battalion, and Wu Quanyou's son Wu Jianquan, also a banner officer, became co-founders of Wu-style tai chi. Yang Banhou's younger brother Yang Jianhou was a well known teacher of Yang-style tai chi as well. Banhou adopted Jianhou's eldest son, Yang Shaohou, and put him through rigorous training. Yang Banhou's son Yang Shaopeng (1875–1938) was also a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Quanyou
Wu Quanyou ( zh, c=吴全佑, w=Wu Ch‘üan-yu; 1834–1902) was an influential teacher of the tai chi martial art in late Imperial China. His son is credited as the founder of the Wu-style tai chi. As he was of Manchu descent, and would have been named by his family in Manchu, the name "Wú" (吳) was a sinicisation that approximated the pronunciation of the first syllable of his Manchu clan name, ''U Hala''. Life Wu Quanyou was a military officer in the Yellow Banner camp in the Forbidden City, Beijing and also an officer of the Imperial Guards Brigade during the Qing dynasty. Wu wished to study under Yang Luchan, the tai chi instructor for that banner camp, but he was still a middle grade officer and Yang refused to teach him. Instead, Wu and two other officers, Wan Chun (萬春) and Ling Shan (凌山), were asked to become disciples of Yang Banhou, Yang Luchan's oldest adult son and also a tai chi instructor for the Qing military. When Wu retired from the military, h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Kung-tsao
Wu Kung-tsao or Wu Gongzao (1902–1983) was a famous Chinese teacher of tai chi. He taught in Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Hong Kong. He was the second son of Wu Jianquan, the best known teacher of Wu-style tai chi, and the grandson of Wu Quanyou, the first teacher of Wu-style tai chi. Wu Kung-tsao was the younger brother of Wu Gongyi and the older brother of Wu Yinghua. The Wu family were originally of Manchu ancestry. Biography As a young man, he studied tai chi, along with his brother, under the supervision of Yang Shaohou. There was a tradition in the Chinese martial arts of youngsters being taught by teachers of a generation older than their parents'. Since Wu Quanyou had died the same year Wu Kung-tsao was born, he and his brother were taught by Yang Shaohou, who was technically a generation senior to their father. Both Yang Shaohou and Wu Jianquan were famous for their "small circle" martial expertise. The motions of tai chi forms and pushing hands are all based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Chengfu
Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) was one of the best known teachers of Yang-style tai chi Chinese martial art. He helped develop the art into its modern form. His students would go on to found successful martial arts schools of their own and helped spread Yang-style tai chi around the world. Biography Yang Chengfu was born into the famous Yang family of tai chi practitioners, the son of Yang Jianhou and grandson of Yang Luchan. With his older brother Yang Shaohou and colleagues Wu Jianquan and Sun Lutang, he was among the first teachers to offer tai chi 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" ( zh, c=大架, p=dà jià, labels=no) with expansive movements in stepping and using large circular motions with the arms. His smooth, evenly pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
