Tai Chi
Tai chi chuan (taijiquan), sometimes referred to in English as Chinese shadow boxing, is a centuries-old martial arts system. Legend holds that tai chi chuan ("supreme ultimate boxing") was first developed by Zhang Sanfeng, a Taoist monk said to live on Wudang Mountain toward the end of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Other accounts credit Chen Wanting (1597–1664), of Wen County, Henan Province, with originating tai chi chuan in a variety now known as the Chen style. Over time, four additional varieties developed: the Yang, Sun, and two Wu styles. The 1980s also saw the emergence of a radically simplified People's Republic of China twenty-four-movement form, which exists solely for the purpose of exercise.
Further Reading
Chen, Wei-ming. (1986) T'ai Chi Ch'uan Ta Wen: Questions and Answers on T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Trans. by Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo and Robert W. Smith. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Cheng, Man-ching. (1981) Tai Chi Chuan: A Simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health and Self Defense. Richmond, CA: North Atlantic Books.
———. (1985) Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Trans. by Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo and Martin Inn. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Lo, Benjamin Pang Jeng, Martin Inn, and Robert Amacker. (1986) Essence of Tai Chi Chuan: The Literary Tradition. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Lowenthal, Wolfe. (1991) There Are No Secrets: Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing and His Tai Chi Chuan. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
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