Brief Taijiquan History

Most people have seen Taijiquan, even if they did not know it at the time, usually in film of the Chinese performing a slow motion exercise in the early morning. With movements soft and light, Taijiquan, characterised by its suppleness and elegance, is one of the rich cultural heritages of China. It gets its name because most of its movements are circular and reminiscent of the symbol of the universe as seen in the theory of taiji (the Grand Ultimate), expounded in ancient Chinese Daoist philosophy. According to this theory, taiji is made up of two basic elements, yin and yang, which exist together as a unity of opposites. In Taijiquan, the concept of yin and yang refers to the movements of opposites such as opening and closing, emptiness and solidity, inhalation and exhalation, firmness and softness, extension and contraction, yielding and attacking, etc.

In the past century, Taijiquan has undergone changes with its movements tending to be more relaxed, smooth, even and graceful as increasing attention was paid to the health building and therapeutic values of the exercise.

Wudang Style: According to various popular oral traditions Taijiquan was created by Zhang Sanfeng at Wudang mountain but there is no evidence in the written historical records to connect Zhang Sanfeng to Taijiquan. However, Wudang style Taijiquan is becoming more widespread in modern China.

More reliable records claim that Taijiquan has its origin in Chenjiagou Village, Henan Province. But it was not until the mid-17th century that Chen Style Taijiquan came into being. The Chen Style Taijiquan was attributed to Chen Wangting (?-1719) who devised the exercises by absorbing the theories of yin and yang, the best elements from Boxing in 32 Forms written by General Qi Jiguang (1528-1587) and the ancient methods of Daoyin and Tuna (controlled breathing).

Yang Style Taijiquan was founded by Yang Luchan who had learned Chen style from Chen Changxing. He revised and rearranged the old frame of the Chen Style and created a new style of his own, based on a small frame and with the most difficult movements omitted.

This style was later revised by Yang Luchan’s two sons, Yang Jianhou and Yang Banhou, who together created the 108-form Taijiquan and the small frame, in addition to changing their father’s old frame into medium frame. When it came to the third generation, the style underwent even greater changes. Yang Chengfu (1883-1936) introduced more changes to the medium frame and developed it into large frame, which he gradually perfected to become the present 108-form Yang style Taijiquan.

Wu (Hao) Style Taijiquan was created by Wu Yuxiang (1812-1880) who studied the Yang old frame from Yang Luchan and the new frame from Chen Qingping. By combining the old and new frames, Wu Yuxiang created a small frame style of Taijiquan, which was later carried on by Hao Weizhen and was therefore more commonly called “Hao Style.” Today it is better known as “Wu Style,” as a tribute to the memory of its founder.

The other Wu Style Taijiquan may be traced back to its founder Wu Jianquan’s father Quan You. He learned the big frame Taijiquan first from Yang Luchan and then the small frame style from his son Yang Banhou.

Sun Style of Taijiquan was created by Sun Lutang (1861-1933) by combining the Wu (Hao) Style of Taijiquan with elements from Xingyiquan (form-and-will boxing) and Baguazhang (eight-diagram palm).

The Chanquanshu schools cover Wudang, Yang and modern Taijiquan styles.