Tai Chi practice methods and ancient boxing table

Tai Chi practice methods and ancient boxing table

There are two sorts of sayings in Tai Chi practice methods and ancient Quan tables that compare the  “Thirteen Trends” to generated number of Tai Chi. One was Chen Ziming’s analogy of  “Thirteen” to the generated number of Tai Chi. The derivation procedure of Tai Chi was like exhibition of “Diagram of Yi with Tai Chi”, Tai Chi was the core of five Xing and the Eight Diagrams. Five Xing and the Eight Diagrams were derived from Tai Chi. The sum of Five Xing and the Eight Diagrams was “Thirteen”. So “Thirteen” contained development procedure of Tai Chi. “Thirteen” has been pronoun for “Tai Chi”. The “Trend” said here was movement composition. “The thirteen trends” were compounding of thirteen movements. “Zhe” was a measure word for scene or section in traditional opera performance” which also means folding. Thirteen Trends, Thirteen Zhe and Thirteen Zhe were one thing. This exhibited that denomination of Tai Chi was from a set of Quan Shu (Boxing) including thirteen trends comparing to derived number of Tai Chi.

The second one, in accordance with “Tai Chi Table, Terms in Tai Chi” edited by Li Yiyu: “Tai Chi, also named as Chang Quan (Long Boxing) and Thirteen Trends. So called as Chang Quan, because it was surging like Yangtze River or the Sea, which never ends. So called as Thirteen Trends, because it has postures of beating, stretching to side, hustling, pushing, getting down, putting down body in both sides, pushing elbows, depending, advance, retreat, watching, facing upward and fixing and so on.. In a word, it was thirteen trends. In this technique; each trend was composed of Yin and Yang, so it was also called as Tai Chi.” (Preserved book of Li Qixuan—“Lian Rang Tang Tai Chi Table”). Among which attacking and protecting are the Two Elements: Yin and Yang. Advance, retreat, facing upward, watching and fixing, 5 forms derived from the method of attacking and protecting, are Five Xing; with beating, stretching to side, hustling, pushing, getting down, putting down body in both sides, pushing elbows, depending these 8 gestures derived from same, reconciled in Eight Diagrams, altogether constitute “derivation Diagram of Tai Chi reconciled 13 trends”. See Figure 10.