Taijiquan: A key to understanding Chinese culture China’s Taijiquan - a physical expression of the Chinese mind

Recently both China and Zimbabwe heard good news from UNESCO. China’s Taijiquan and Zimbabwe’s Mbira were officially included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As a Chinese living in Zimbabwe, I feel doubly proud.

So what is Taijiquan?

To begin with, it is a physical exercise. As described by UNESCO, it is a sequence of relaxed, circular movements that works in concert with breath regulation and the cultivation of a righteous and neutral mind.

But it is by no means just a daily get-healthy training routine. In Taijiquan, one finds the key to understanding the Chinese culture.

For ordinary folks who are not history fanatics, the Chinese history and culture can be daunting. Where does one begin to grasp thousands of years of tradition? When people talk about the Chinese way of thinking, what exactly do they mean? With such a large and heterogenous population, is there such a thing called the Chinese mind?

Admittedly, the Chinese culture is a big pot that includes various schools of thoughts and regional or ethnical sub-cultures; but the teachings of Confucianism and Taoism are the most respected and practiced. And Taijiquan is a living embodiment of Taoism. For anyone interested in knowing the basics about the Chinese cultural beliefs, practicing Taijiquan is a good start.

Originated during the mid-17th century in central China, Taijiquan is named after a founding concept in the Chinese culture — Taiji, the source and union of the two primary aspects of the cosmos, yang (active) and yin (passive). The yin and yang theory explains everything in life. For example, female is yin and male is yang, night is yin and day is yang, weak is yin and strong is yang. Yin and Yang constantly interact with and convert into each another to create and strengthen life. The philosophical background of Taijiquan is too profound to be squeezed into one paper.

But some of the most critical elements in the Chinese way of thinking embodied in Taijiquan deserve a mention.

Law of the universe. A crucial belief of Taoism is that man’s existence is dependent on the laws/ways of the land, the land on heaven, heaven on Tao, and Tao on what is natural, or the root foundation for existence/life. Everything is dependent on the ultimate law, directly or indirectly; and the law is self-existing.

The doctrine warns human beings against putting on the hat of nature’s master. It basically says, beyond what is humanly capable and what is desired by the human heart, there is something more powerful and fundamental in the world. We must live in awe of this higher force. In practicing Taijiquan, one must first learn to focus intently on the inner world while relaxing his sensory organs. He cannot be manipulated by his eyes and ears, which is the trigger of human desire. Instead, he should relax all that is tense in the body and mind, calm down, and allow his limbs to flow naturally and blend into the cosmos of the world. Ultimately, Taijiquan wants a high degree of unity between the body, mind, and the universe.

Man must not be aggressive. A famous quote from Lao Tzu, the canonical text of Taoism, goes like this, “When a wo/man is born, s/he is tender and weak; at death, s/he is hard and stiff. When the things and plants are alive, they are soft and supple;when they are dead, they are brittle and dry. Therefore hardness and stiffness are the companions of death, and softness and gentleness are the companions of life.” This is the cultural DNA that has kept centuries of Chinese emperors, rulers and governments from using hard power to enslave other peoples.

Taijiquan, unlike many other martial arts that demand strength, speed, and force, looks at these elements from a dialectical perspective. It sees big and small, quick and slow, strong and weak as two sides of the same coin. It does not believe in striking first and preemptively. Instead, its practitioners stay put until the other side makes his first move. He is clear-minded and alert, watches out for his opponent to make mistakes or expose his vulnerabilities, and then neutralizes the assault. Essentially,  Taijiquan is an art of defense — its goal is not to defeat or conquer but to counter an attack and restore peace. Its daily routine is not aimed at building muscles to outpower others, but to strengthen the inner physical and mental systems and build integrity. Taijiquan masters are always gentle, soft-spoken and courteous persons.

Self-control. The principle of the golden mean is of supreme importance in the Chinese philosophy. It guides the Chinese to always find the “sweet spot” in life, where one bit more would be too much and one bit less would be too little. Going to extremes will make one lose balance and fall. The whole of the Chinese culture appreciates moderation in words and deeds and frowns upon excesses. Taijiquan believes core balance is the key to invincibility. In static posture or in motion, one must always keep the balance of his body and mind, not leaning in any direction. There is no tension, no forced positioning, no incoordination. If you lose control and allow yourself to deviate from the golden mean, you will be vulnerable to attacks.

Like all the items on the UNESCO’s list, Taijiquan tells the story a people — how they live their lives, how they conduct themselves, and how they see the world. Its calming effect on the body and mind is particularly valuable in this chaotic world we live in. I would recommend anyone stressed in their life to try Taijiquan. But more importantly, I want to encourage everyone to try to learn more about the heritage of foreign cultures, appreciate our diversity, and thus make the world a safer place.

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