Translated from an article by Grandmaster Zhu Tian Cai. Original article in Chinese could be found here: https://kknews.cc/n/e5j5glz.html
I grew up in Chenjiagou and have been practising Tai Chi for over 60 years. Through oral teachings passed down from my ancestors and my own years of experience, I believe ‘Tai Chi’ and ‘Tai Chi Chuan’ are two different concepts: Tai Chi is the Dao (the Way, the principle), while Chuan (fist) is the Shu (the art, the technique). Tai Chi Chuan is a very particular form of exercise that incorporates the philosophy of Yin-Yang, martial techniques, and cultivates both internal and external aspects.
Nowadays, many people say ‘Tai Chi’ meaning ‘Tai Chi Chuan’, so ‘Tai Chi’ has become a synonym for the martial art. Tai Chi Chuan evolved from the He-Luo culture and Tai Chi philosophy. Everyone should know that Tai Chi Chuan trains the external aspects—tendons, bones, and muscles—and the internal aspect—the breath (Yi Kou Qi). It’s not just about practising a set of movements; persistent practice can maintain health, but it must also align with the principles of health cultivation.
I remember a well-known master from Taiwan named Xu Ji whose views I find very practical. He said there are now four types of Tai Chi in mainland China.
The first type is called Tai Chi Calisthenics (Tai Chi Cao). You see elderly folks every day, carrying their swords, getting up at 5 am to go to the park, starting their practice, finishing up, and then going about their business, never questioning right or wrong. Of course, moving the tendons and bones, getting some activity, is good for the body. But if we want to inherit and promote our traditional cultural art of Tai Chi Chuan, we must cultivate both internal and external aspects. Many instructors teaching out there know this: perhaps eight out of ten people practising hope to maintain their health through Tai Chi, but there’s also a portion who want to cultivate Gongfu (skill/kung fu). What is Gongfu? Using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds is Gongfu. “Every part of the body is a hand, every part is a fist” – this is the highest level of Gongfu. But can such skill be obtained easily?
Take Xiaowang’s [Chen Xiaowang’s] grandfather, my ancestor, for example. He practised thirty sets of the form a day, unchanged for thirty years. How old are world champion athletes when they win their titles? Mostly in their twenties. So, just imagine, is it easy to reach a high level of Gongfu? It’s extremely difficult! A leader from China Central Television once asked me if Chenjiagou Tai Chi has any secrets. I said yes, two secrets. First, you must persevere in practice – this is what the teachers always said: “When skill matures through effort, cleverness emerges naturally.” The second secret is you must find a clear-sighted teacher who can explain the principles to you clearly and keep you from taking wrong paths. Once in Beijing, they asked me if practising Tai Chi Calisthenics was good. I said, some of you are elderly, some are young. For the elderly, practising Tai Chi Calisthenics is okay. Young people should put in the effort to inherit the Gongfu within Tai Chi Chuan.
When I was young, my uncle, teacher Chen Zhaopi, said to us kids: “You youngsters must practise fiercely – fierce strikes, fierce falls, fierce rising, fierce dropping – expend your physical strength. You can expend 100 jin and get back 200 jin.” Elderly people practising Tai Chi should nurture their bodies.
The second type is Tai Chi Dance. This is stage performance art; every province has it, it’s very beautiful. I think it’s okay for young people to practise this way. But when you can no longer jump and bounce, you should return to the principles of Tai Chi Chuan. You must lower your stance [work on basics]. “Relaxed (Song), Soft (Rou), Round (Yuan), Lively (Huo), Light (Qing), Agile (Ling), Sunk (Chen), Stable (Wen).” The upper body should be relaxed, soft, round, and lively; the legs should not be light and agile but sunk and stable. People age first in the legs; we must sink our Qi down to our legs.
The third type is Tai Chi “Cult“. This “Jiao” is the character used in “evil cult” (Xie Jiao). A lot is spread online now, for example, Min Fang from Hebei claiming to push a cow over from behind a wall – it’s utterly unbelievable. There are no shortcuts in Tai Chi Chuan. So, if there are any secrets, there are only two: one, you must persevere in practice; second, you must have a clear-sighted teacher.
The fourth type is genuine, authentic Tai Chi Chuan. This is the Tai Chi Chuan achieved through step-by-step, disciplined, and diligent practice. So, what Xu Ji said is very much in line with the current reality. Of course, practising Tai Chi Calisthenics is also possible; if you gain deeper understanding from it, you can continually improve.
Regarding how to maintain health, I’ll briefly explain. I believe everyone has Jing, Qi, Shen (Essence, Vital Energy, Spirit). Jing-Qi-Shen is the natural developmental law for us humans. We are born from our mother’s womb and know how to cry – this is the beginning of having Jing-Qi-Shen. If a person lacks Jing-Qi-Shen, their life is in danger. How do we protect our Jing-Qi-Shen better? I’d like to explain.
I’ve summarised it in one phrase: “Postnatal Jing, Qi, Shen; Prenatal Qi, Jing, Shen.” Why say this? The Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Classic) explains what the Yellow Court is: Huang means deep earth; Tu means centre. Where is the centre of the human body? It refers to our Dantian (elixir field). It also says: “Everyone knows how to eat food, but doesn’t know how to eat Qi.” This tells us that practising Tai Chi Chuan isn’t just external training; we must train internally. External training just moves the tendons and bones. Internal training uses the external form to lead the internal power (Neijin), and the internal power drives the external form. So how do we train Qi? Qi originates from the kidneys. That’s why there’s a saying in Tai Chi Chuan: “Use the waist as the commander.” Some say: “Practise the form without cultivating Gongfu, and you’ll end up with nothing in old age,” “Practise the form without training the waist, and you’ll never improve,” “Practise the form without training Qi, why bother learning the art?” Qi itself is a kind of breathing. According to a saying from Zhuangzi: “The true person breathes from their heels; the common person breathes from their throat.” Zhuangzi’s meaning is that Qi must sink down, sink to our feet, and then the Dantian Qi rebounds and moves. Dantian is the primordial Qi (Yuanqi). The Huangting Jing says our “eating Qi” is our opening Qi.
Within Tai Chi Chuan, there are two types of “Qi”: one is natural breathing (Huxi Ziran), the other is breathing naturally (Ziran Huxi). If breathing stops, a person’s life ends. Our everyday breathing is pulmonary breathing, also called natural breathing (Ziran Huxi). But if a practitioner aims for “Huxi Ziran” (呼吸自然), then it’s reversed – “breathing” becomes the subject. How does one breathe naturally? We must use Dantian breathing. How does this Dantian breathe? It relies on our conscious control – this is what we often hear referred to as Daoyin Tuna (guiding and pulling, inhaling and exhaling). We must guide our breathing for it to be called Daoyin Tuna. Tai Chi Chuan is Dantian breathing.
Let me also briefly touch on Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine emphasises “Train Qi to preserve Jing, preserve Jing to complete Shen.” Chinese medicine treats illness by ensuring the body’s Qi flows freely; when the Qi and tendons/bones throughout the body are unblocked, illness will improve. Then, from the perspective of our meridians and Yin-Yang: our Baihui point (GV-20 at the crown) corresponds to Heaven and governs Qi; our Yongquan points (KI-1 on the soles) correspond to Earth and govern Shen (Spirit); and the person, the Tianxin point (concept related to the heart/mind) corresponds to the Heart and governs the person (or Essence/Jing). Therefore, we must focus on Qi, Jing, and Shen.