The long history of China has become the major attractions for people from the world. To some extent, all the things in China have gained connection with China's culture. Tai Chi Chuan, as one of the mysterious types of Chinese martial arts, is also related with Taoism, which is a mature culture of China.
The long history of China has become the major attractions for people from the world. To some extent, all the things in China have gained connection with China's culture. Tai Chi Chuan, as one of the mysterious types of Chinese martial arts, is also related with Taoism, which is a mature culture of China.
There exists a long history of movement and exercise systems which are associated with Taoism. In some sense one can see elements of all of these as contributing to the climate from which Tai Chi Chuan emerged. However, some people may be puzzled by the question: what is Taoism? What is the connection between them?
About Taoism
Outside of Confucianism, Taoism is probably the most important and influential school of thought native to China. In almost direct contrast to the solemn gravity and social responsibilities endemic to Confucian ideals, where the rectification of human actions and interactions is paramount, the Taoists prize contemplation of the natural world. In this world, man is not a central but almost an incidental figure. The Taoist often forsakes society and worldly affairs in order to embrace the Tao or "Way" to bring himself better into harmony with the flow of nature and to pierce through the veils of illusion and artifice that human civilizations, with their many facets and complexities, seem to constantly weave.
These two schools of thought then, Confucianism and Taoism, stand in opposition to one another. Each expresses a different aspect of the Chinese psyche. While Confucius would have us dwell in the orderly world of mundane human intercourse, the Taoists offer us a more mystical and transcendental world of the spirit and promise us a deeper insight into the principles that underlie the very operation of the universe itself. Taoism stresses harmonizing the mind and body in order to attune oneself to the natural order.
Taoism and Tai Chi Chuan
The origins of both Taoism and Tai Chi Chuan are shrouded in mystery. Were Chang San- feng, the legendary creator of Tai Chi and Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, mythical figures or real historical personages? Did they exist and create as singular geniuses or were their respective arts and legacies the result of a combined effort by many talented and insightful people whose collective endeavors, over time, came to be assigned a more grandiose origin? Though we may never be able to answer fully such questions, throughout the years one thing is certain: much has been made of Tai Chi Chuan's connection with Taoist philosophy.
Many of the greatest contributors to the development of Tai Chi Chuan were simple men, not necessarily well-versed in the various philosophical schools and literature of their times. Most of them probably lacked the requisite literacy to read the salient texts of Taoism and the voluminous commentaries on them. Yet, Tai Chi Chuan has perhaps the greatest literary tradition associated with any martial practice to date. This paradox is resolved by the eventual adoption of the art by more scholarly figures as time progressed. It is known that Tai Chi Chuan was held in high esteem at the royal court (perhaps due to the efforts of the Yang family Tai Chi patriarch Yang Lu Chan). It is reasonable to assume that the Chinese literati were both entranced and impressed by the art's effortless perfection. These more scholarly practitioners might have easily concluded that the principles underlying Tai Chi were in perfect accord with the Tao Te Ching. Examples are numerous. The Tao Te Ching seems to reflect philosophically the physical movements and skills which underscore the art of Tai Chi.