Along with Chinese art, medicine, and philosophy, taijiquan has left the confines of its original culture, and offers health, relaxation, and a method of self-defense to people around the globe. Using the early texts now known as The Taijiquan Classics which have served as a touchstone for t’ai chi practitioners for 150 years, this book explores the fundamental ideas and what they mean to practitioners, students, and scholars. It also incorporates newly discovered sources that address the history of taijiquan and newly translated commentaries by Chen Weiming.

Taijiquan is one of the most widely practiced and least understood martial arts in the world. Many people no longer practice Taijiquan as a martial art. Of those who do, few outside of China have had the opportunity to read and understand the Classics of Taijiquan as the canon of the art. If there were scriptures pertaining to Taijiquan, the Classics would be those. Accounting for nearly five-hundred years of the teachings of great masters of Taijiquan, the Classics serve as a fundamental reference for all serious students of Taijiquan. For non-Mandarin speakers, this book is the first complete compilation of the Classics in English, including clear and precise explanations of the essential concepts of Taijiquan. Even for those who are not students of Taijiquan, the Classics provide deep insight into Chinese culture generally, with descriptions of the teachings of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism that have guided a people over millennia. We hope that readers of this material will appreciate the depth of its content and the effort that was required to bring it to the level of clarity provided within.

Douglas Wile translates and analyzes four collections of recently released nineteenth-century manuscripts on T'ai-chi ch'uan. These writings of Wu's older brothers Ch'eng-ch'ing and Ju-ch'ing, and his nephew Li I-yu, together with the transmissions of Yang Pan-hou, represent a significant addition to the seminal literature. The rich new texts allow us to make a fresh survey of longstanding issues in T'ai-chi history: the origins of the art; the authorship of the "classics;" the differences between Wu, Yang, and Li; and the roles of Chang San-feng, Wang Tsung-yueh, Chiang Fa, and the formerly missing link, Ch'ang Nai-chou. The original Chinese texts of the four new sets of classics have been appended for the convenience of Chinese readers and scholars. The book reconsiders the world of the Wu, Yang, and Li families of Yung-nien and reconstructs it against the background of the Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, and the decline of the Manchu dynasty. New biographical sources illuminate the domestic and political lives of the Yung-nien circle and their orientation to the late imperial intellectual trends. The development of T'ai-chi ch'uan in the nineteenth century is explored in the context of China's cultural response to the challenge of the West and the role of body-centered arts in Asia during the drive for independence and the ongoing search for national identity.

Tai Chi Chuan - Decoding the Classics for the Modern Martial Artist is the first book in English to provide a detailed, illustrated explanation of the Tai Chi Chuan Classics, the Classic of Boxing and the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation.

Your go-to illustrated guide to the practices, history, and philosophy of the popular Yang style of taijiquan Fu Zhongwen's classic guide offers the best documentation available of the Yang style of taijiquan. The superbly detailed form instructions and historic line art drawings are based on Fu’s many years as a disciple of Yang Chengfu, taijiquan’s legendary founder. Also included are concise descriptions of fixed-step, moving-step, and da lu push hands practices. Additional commentary by translator Louis Swaim provides key insight into the text’s philosophical language and imagery, further elucidating the art’s cultural and historical foundations.

Martial arts master Yang Chengfu’s seminal work on the techniques and applications of Yang-style taijiquan—now available to Western practitioners for the first time The publication in 1934 of Yang Chengfu's book, The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan (Taijiquan Tiyong Quanshu) marked a milestone in the modern evolution of the art of taijiquan. Using what is best-termed demonstration narrative, the author presents form postures and suggested applications from his own perspective, as he performed them. This methodology renders Yang Chengfu's direct, hands-on teaching of the art with such immediacy and liveliness that the reader experiences the master’s teaching much as his students did. This English translation finally makes Yang Chengfu's classic work available to taijiquan enthusiasts in the West. It includes notes and commentary that clarify the author's frequent classical and literary turns of phrase and elucidate the philosophical and political underpinnings that shape the text. The translator investigates and compares several early taijiquan books in order to help explain the roles played by two of Yang Chengfu's students, Dong Yingjie and Zheng Manqing, in bringing Yang Chengfu's words and teachings into print. Serious students of taijiquan, and those wishing to deepen their knowledge of taijiquan history and theory, will find this seminal work indispensable to their study and practice.

In this book, Master Jan Silberstorff, a leading Chen practitioner, shares his expertise and insights into Chen style Taijiquan, explaining its background and key principles. He discusses the different Chen forms and the importance of each, as well as the place of competition and the effect on participants.