The meaning, usage and functions of the Thirteen Tai Chi Styles!
To explore the origin of Tai Chi based on the principles of boxing is to observe the changes in yin and yang based on the hexagram paintings, hexagram names, hexagram positions, hexagram images, and the interlaced line positions of hexagrams and hexagrams in the "Book of Changes" Growth, yang disappears and yin grows, yin does not separate from yang, yang does not separate from yin and yin and yang coexist, and the Tao of one yin and one yang, as well as its endless movement characteristics and significance, Taihua popular, apply and penetrate it in the meaning and theory of boxing. Among them, the "Thirteen Postures" of Tai Chi were created. It is crucial to clarify the overall meaning of the thirteen postures to deepen the understanding of the connotation of Tai Chi.
How to understand the entirety of the Thirteen Movements. Wang Zongyue, the ancestor of Tai Chi, in his article "An Explanation of the Name of Tai Chi" explained the overall content of the Thirteen Movements for later Tai Chi practitioners from a macro perspective. "Shiming" said: Tai Chi - a Changquan, also known as the Thirteen Positions. Those with long boxing skills are like the endless flow of the Yangtze River. The thirteen postures are: 掤, stroke, squeeze, press, pick, push, elbow, lean, advance, retreat, look, hope, and settle. Pushing, stroking, squeezing, and pressing are the four squares of Kan, Li, Zhen, and Dui; picking, pushing, cubiting, and leaning are the four oblique angles of Qian, Kun, Gen, and Xun. This is Bagua. Advance, retreat, concern, hope, and concentration are the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Taken together, they are called "Thirteen Potentials". Mr. Wang Zongyue clearly explained the overall content of the Thirteen Movements to unify the boxing method, boxing theory, structure and operating framework. The Eight Doors (Eight Jin) of Tai Chi and the Five Steps are the structure and content of Tai Chi; the Eight Diagrams and the Five Elements are the operating framework of Tai Chi. This framework can be said to be the source of its thirteen movements. The top and bottom must be unified. If there is a frame but no content, the frame is empty; if there is content but no frame, then the content is undirected. Because it lost its source (the source of the Eight Diagrams and the Five Elements), the name of the Thirteen Powers became an attached word. Only by combining the above two aspects can we achieve the true content of the Thirteen Potentials. This article only refers to the Thirteen Movements described in "Explanation of Names". As for the "Thirteen Movements" songs and the "Thirteen Movements" actions, the treatises that add other words after the word "Thirteen Movements" should be written separately. Never mind.
As the name suggests, "Thirteen Positions" is made up of the addition of eight and five. The eight gates (eight Jin) of Tai Chi form five steps to become thirteen; the Bagua and the Five Elements combine to form the thirteen. It is called the Thirteen Potentials. The requirements of the Thirteen Potentials theory are that in principle, the eight gates and five steps must correspond to the eight trigrams and the five elements, and cannot be ignored. The following is a brief description of how to correspond:
The Eight Jins of Tai Chi are divided into four positive Jins and four corner Jins. The four positive Jins should correspond to the four positive hexagram positions. The four corner Jin should correspond to the four oblique hexagram positions. The five steps should correspond to the five elements. In principle, the correspondence should be in place. Let’s take the Four Positive Jins as an example. Pushing, stroking, squeezing, and pressing belong to the Four Positive Jins. They should correspond to the four positive hexagrams of Kan (North), Li (South), Zhen (East), and Dui (West); Cai, The four corners of Qi, elbow, and lean should correspond to the four oblique angles of Qian (northwest), Kun (southwest), Gen (northeast), and Xun (southeast); the five steps of advance, retreat, look, hope, and concentration are related to metal. (West), Wood (East), Water (North), Fire (South), and Earth (Middle) correspond to each other. One-to-one correspondence is a characteristic of the "Thirteen Potentials". If you don't combine the Bagua and Five Elements and only use one end to talk about the "Thirteen Potentials" using techniques, this is only half of understanding the "Thirteen Potentials". Because the term "Thirteen Powers" comes from the Bagua and Five Elements, it has lost its source, abandoned its roots and pursued its branches, and sacrificed its roots for the end. This half is still difficult to identify.
Here, Tai Chi and "Thirteen Postures" are synonymous. It can be called Tai Chi or "Thirteen Postures". The name "Thirteen Potentials" comes from the Bagua (the acquired Bagua) in the Book of Changes and the Five Elements in the Yin and Yang theory. The Bagua can be divided into the Innate Bagua and the Acquired Bagua. The Innate Bagua is the Fuxi Bagua; the Acquired Bagua is the Wenwang Bagua. "Thirteen Potentials" is said to be the Eight Trigrams of King Wen. How can we see it? The hexagram paintings and names of the innate and acquired trigrams are the same, but their hexagram positions are different. The innate Bagua facing south is called Qian Gua and the north facing is Kun Gua; the acquired Bagua facing south is called Li Gua and the north facing is called Kan Gua. The eight hexagrams have different positions. According to the hexagram position marks in Wang Zongyue's "Tai Chi Explanation of Names": Li Gua is facing south and Kan Gua is facing north. They are positioned according to the hexagram names. Based on this argument, it is said that the source of the "Thirteen Powers" comes from the Bagua of King Wen, that is, the Bagua of Zhouyi.
The five steps should correspond to the five elements. The five steps of moving forward, retreating, looking left, looking right, and centering should be combined with the fixed positions of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. In five steps, try to cover all five elements positions even once. This is also an important content of the "Thirteen Movements". According to the "Old Records of the Yang Family of the Qing Dynasty", when referring to the five elements and the five steps in the Eight Gates and Five Steps, it says: "Progress (fire), retreat (water), look left (wood), look right (gold), and be in the middle of concentration. Earth”. "The husband's advance and retreat are the steps of water and fire, and his gaze is the step of metal and wood. The middle earth is the axis of the cardinal, holding the Eight Diagrams and stepping on the five elements. The eight and five hand steps and the tenth and third are natural." The above is what was passed down to later generations by the founder of Yang Style Tai Chi. You have to abide by this rule.
When practicing Tai Chi, you must abide by two rules: First, you must inherit the tradition. This tradition should have written evidence and is not self-made without evidence. In particular, the "Thirteen Postures" are the sum of eight and five, and are the general framework of Tai Chi. Failure to adhere to the general framework means losing the rules. Second, during practice, we must pay attention to the laws of physiological movement and combine boxing theory with physiology to achieve good exercise effects. On the premise of keeping these two points, let's use our respective skills.
Tai Chi exercise A complete understanding of the thirteen postures is crucial. Understanding the overall meaning of the "Thirteen Movements" can open up new ideas for deepening the inner exploration of Tai Chi and open up new worlds for in-depth exploration. In order to help beginners understand the layout of the Zhengyu hexagram positions and the positions of the five elements discussed in this article, the author has produced a diagram of each of the eight trigrams and five elements for reference. The hexagram paintings, hexagram names, hexagram positions, hexagram images and other specific contents in the eight trigrams are included for those who are interested. One reading will make it clear.
As for the inheritance of traditional culture, we should approach it from a dialectical materialist point of view: we cannot simply copy it, nor can we completely deny it. We must remove its dross and absorb its essence. The Tai Chi culture created by the ancestors of Tai Chi for future generations has been practiced for hundreds of years. It is scientific and the essence of traditional culture. Using the Bagua and Five Elements of ancient culture to determine the direction of the Tai Chi walking frame, it can enable practitioners to broaden their thinking about the ups and downs, opening and closing, and the changes in yin and yang. In order to improve the understanding of boxing theory, boxing skills, physiology and experience the connotation of boxing, strength and the relationship between offense and defense. To achieve the purpose of promoting Tai Chi culture from the past to the present.
When combining Bagua and Five Elements, you can prevent yourself from going astray mentally and falling into the maze of fortune-telling, Feng Shui and fortune-telling, as well as witchcraft and divination.