Most of the following translations were based initially on The Essence of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: The Literary Tradition by Lo, Inn, Amacker, and Foe. (I recommend this book as one of the must have volumes in an enthusiast's library.) By comparing and contrasting with other translations, I have made changes in the English wording, but not in the underlying ideas. I've been collecting commentary from a variety of sources, both written and oral, as well as my own thoughts/observations. Maybe in a few years I'll be ready to post them also.
The Classics frequently use prehistoric mystic terminology from T'ai Chi Ch'uan's philosophical roots in Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine. For the beginner, the use of these specialized terms may seem to compound the difficulty of understanding some concepts. After long study and practice, however, it eventually becomes clear that there is no English language vocabulary for expressing some of the important ideas for moving towards mastery in T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Borrowing terms from Chinese/Taoism may actually be less cumbersome than trying to attach new meanings/connotations to English words.
Sometimes a passage will refer to the practice of the Solo Form, sometimes to application, and sometimes to the internal aspects of the art. Not every passage necessarily relates to all aspects of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.
The Classics are generally cited as the authoritative source on T'ai Chi Ch'uan principles by Yang, Wu and other styles that have branched off from the original Chen Family Styles. The authenticity of any documents prior to Yang Lu-chan is questioned, and there appears to be a sense among some Chen stylists that the attribution of some of the Classics to historical/quasi-mythological figures was an attempt by early practitioners to avoid giving full credit for the development of T'ai Chi Ch'uan to the Chen Family. There is apparently a tradition in Chinese writing to attribute works to ancients, so questions about authenticity cannot be discounted.
Please e-mail me if you have any suggested improvements to the translations I've researched so far.
Classics · Table of Contents
· T'ai Chi Ch'uan Ching attributed to Chang San-feng
· The Treatise on T'ai Chi Ch'uan attributed to Wang Tsung-yueh
· Expositions of Insights into the Practice of the Thirteen Postures by Wu Yu-hsiang
· Song of the Thirteen Postures by Unknown Author
· Songs of The Eight Postures attributed to T'an Meng-hsien
· Song of Push Hands by Unknown Author
· Five Character Secret by Li I-yu
· Essentials of the Practice of the Form and Push-Hands by Lee I-Yu
· Yang's Ten Important Points by Yang Cheng-fu
In motion the whole body should be light and agile, with all parts of the body linked as if threaded together.
The ch'i [vital life energy] should be excited, The shen [spirit of vitality] should be internally gathered.
The postures should be without defect, without hollows or projections from the proper alignment; in motion the Form should not become disconnected.
The chin [intrinsic strength] should be rooted in the feet, generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and manifested through the fingers.
If correct timing and position are not achieved, the body will become disordered and will not move as an integrated whole; the correction for this defect must be sought in the legs and waist.
The principle of adjusting the legs and waist applies for moving in all directions; upward or downward, advancing or withdrawing, left or right.
All movements are motivated by I [mind-intention], not external form.
If there is up, there is down; when advancing, have regard for withdrawing; when striking left, pay attention to the right.
If the I wants to move upward, it must simultaneously have intent downward.
Alternating the force of pulling and pushing severs an opponent's root so that he can be defeated quickly and certainly.
Insubstantial [empty; yin] and substantial [solid; yang] should be clearly differentiated. At any place where there is insubstantiality, there must be substantiality; Every place has both insubstantiality and substantiality.
The whole body should be threaded together through every joint without the slightest break.
Chang Ch'uan [Long Boxing] is like a great river rolling on unceasingly.
Peng, Lu, Chi, An, Ts'ai, Lieh, Chou, and K'ao are equated to the Eight Trigrams. The first four are the cardinal directions; Ch'ien [South; Heaven], K'un [North; Earth], K'an [West; Water], and Li [East; Fire]. The second four are the four corners: Sun [Southwest; Wind], Chen [Northeast; Thunder], Tui [Southeast; Lake], and Ken [Northwest; Mountain]. Advance (Chin), Withdraw (T'ui), Look Left (Ku), Look Right (Pan), and Central Equilibrium (Chung Ting) are equated to the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth All together these are termed the Thirteen Postures
A footnote appended to this Classic by Yang Lu-ch'an (1799-1872) reads: This treatise was left by the patriarch Chan San-feng of Wu Tang Mountain, with a desire toward helping able people everywhere achieve longevity, and not merely as a means to martial skill.
Back to Table of Contents
T'ai Chi [Supreme Ultimate] comes from Wu Chi [Formless Void] and is the mother of yin and yang. In motion T'ai Chi separates; in stillness yin and yang fuse and return to Wu Chi.
It is not excessive or deficient; it follows a bending, adheres to an extension.
When the opponent is hard and I am soft, it is called tsou [yielding].
When I follow the opponent and he becomes backed up, it is called nian [sticking].
If the opponent's movement is quick, then quickly respond; if his movement is slow, then follow slowly.
Although there are innumerable variations, the principles that pervades them remain the same.
From familiarity with the correct touch, one gradually comprehends chin [intrinsic strength]; from the comprehension of chin one can reach wisdom.
Without long practice one cannot suddenly understand T'ai Chi.
Effortlessly the chin reaches the headtop.
Let the ch'i [vital life energy] sink to the tan-t'ien [field of elixir].
Don't lean in any direction; suddenly appear, suddenly disappear.
Empty the left wherever a pressure appears, and similarly the right.
If the opponent raises up, I seem taller; if he sinks down, then I seem lower; advancing, he finds the distance seems incredibly long; retreating, the distance seems exasperatingly short.
A feather cannot be placed, and a fly cannot alight on any part of the body.
The opponent does not know me; I alone know him.
To become a peerless boxer results from this.
There are many boxing arts.
Although they use different forms, for the most part they don't go beyond the strong dominating the weak, and the slow resigning to the swift.
The strong defeating the weak and the slow hands ceding to the swift hands are all the results of natural abilities and not of well-trained techniques.
From the sentence "A force of four ounces deflects a thousand pounds" we know that the technique is not accomplished with strength.
The spectacle of an old person defeating a group of young people, how can it be due to swiftness?
Stand like a perfectly balanced scale and move like a turning wheel.
Sinking to one side allows movement to flow; being double-weighted is sluggish.
Anyone who has spent years of practice and still cannot neutralize, and is always controlled by his opponent, has not apprehended the fault of double-weightedness.
To avoid this fault one must distinguish yin from yang.
To adhere means to yield. To yield means to adhere.
Within yin there is yang. Within yang there is yin.
Yin and yang mutually aid and change each other.
Understanding this you can say you understand chin. After you understand chin, the more you practice, the more skill.
Silently treasure knowledge and turn it over in the mind. Gradually you can do as you like.
Fundamentally, it is giving up yourself to follow others. Most people mistakenly give up the near to seek the far. It is said, "Missing it by a little will lead many miles astray."
The practitioner must carefully study.
This is the Treatise
The hsin [mind-and-heart] mobilizes the ch'i [vital life energy].
Make the ch'i sink calmly; then the ch'i gathers and permeates the bones.
The ch'i mobilizes the body. Make it move smoothly, so that it may easily follows the hsin.
The I [mind-intention] and ch'i must interchange agilely, then there is an excellence of roundness and smoothness.
This is called "the interplay of insubstantial and substantial."
The hsin is the commander, the ch'i the flag, and the waist the banner.
The waist is like the axle and the ch'i is like the wheel.
The ch'i is always nurtured without harm.
Let the ch'i move as in a pearl with nine passages without breaks so that there is no part it cannot reach.
In moving the ch'i sticks to the back and permeates the spine.
It is said "first in the hsin, then in the body."
The abdomen relaxes, then the ch'i sinks into the bones.
The shen [spirit of vitality] is relaxed and the body calm.
The shen is always in the hsin.
Being able to breathe properly leads to agility.
The softest will then become the strongest.
When the ching shen is raised, there is no fault of stagnancy and heaviness. This is called suspending the headtop.
Inwardly make the shen firm, and outwardly exhibit calmness and peace.
Throughout the body, the I relies on the shen, not on the ch'i. If it relied on the ch'i, it would become stagnant.
If there is ch'i, there is no li [external strength].
If there is no ch'i, there is pure steel.
The chin [intrinsic strength] is sung [relaxed], but not sung; it is capable of great extension, but is not extended.
The chin is broken, but the I is not.
The chin is stored (having a surplus) by means of the curved.
The li* is released by the back, and the steps follow the changes of the body.
The mobilization of the chin is like refining steel a hundred times over. There is nothing hard it cannot destroy.
Store up the chin like drawing a bow.
Mobilize the chin like drawing silk from a cocoon.
Release the chin like releasing the arrow.
To fa-chin [discharge energy], sink, relax completely, and aim in one direction!
In the curve seek the straight, store, then release.
Be still as a mountain, move like a great river.
The upright body must be stable and comfortable to be able to sustain an attack from any of the eight directions.
Walk like a cat.
Remember, when moving, there is no place that does not move. When still, there is no place that is not still.
First seek extension, then contraction; then it can be fine and subtle.
It is said if the opponent does not move, then I do not move. At the opponent's slightest move, I move first."
To withdraw is then to release, to release it is necessary to withdraw.
In discontinuity there is still continuity.
In advancing and returning there must be folding.
Going forward and back there must be changes.
The form is like that of a falcon about to seize a rabbit, and the shen is like that of a cat about to catch a rat.
* Scholars argue persuasively that the use of the word li here is a mistransc...
WAKON