“Tai chi chuan” – often shortened to “tai chi” – is an intensive and meditative internal Chinese exercise. At its original core, it is a martial arts practice, but today it is primarily practiced and taught in a way that strengthens and promotes the health of the mind and body of its dedicated practitioners.
Although many people, several million, practice it throughout the world, most do not even know what the term means. And those who think they know the translation will offer the popular canned response, “Grand Ultimate Fist.” Ask those same people what exactly that means and you’ll probably be met with silence and a blank stare.
Let’s first consider what the “tai chi” part means. To understand that, you must first understand that it is a term from Taoist philosophy. Taoism is the ancient spiritual philosophy based on nature originating in China. The Taoists sought to understand reality and how they were part of it and its natural laws. The Taoists explained that before the universe existed, everything (nothing!) was in a state of “wu chi”. Once you understand the concept of “wu chi”, you will instantly have a deeper understanding of what “tai chi” means. “Wu chi” means “without polarity”. In essence, it is the nameless and incomprehensible state of emptiness or nothingness. If there is nothing, then there can be no differentiation. It is something like the non-existence of nothing… space… emptiness… When there was a “change” in the state of wu chi, there was a differentiation: the original part of wu chi and the changing part. . That state of differentiation is a phase called “tai chi.” It means “great polarity”. The opposite poles on the continuum of this polarity are called yin and yang. Like plus and minus, or north and south, these opposites only exist because of each other’s existence. Taoists say that the existence of yin and yang (born from the state of tai chi) give rise to all things and processes in the universe.
So what does “chuan” mean? Simply put, it means “fist.” It implies the practice of martial arts and the discipline of something. For example, in Chinese kung fu, there is the practice of “bai he chuan”. “bai he” means “white skull”. So bai he chuan is the practice of martial arts the way cranes (and similar birds) fight. But it is more than that, it is also about the strategies of the cranes, how they think, how they move, how they survive… Now, in the case of “tai chi chuan”, it means the martial practice of the state of “tai chi chuan”. chi” (the change from non-polarity to great polarity). That is why tai chi chuan delves into a serious study of the balance of yin and yang, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The goal is to understand this balance in yourself and to be able to manifest a change in your balance of yin and yang. Then, if he wishes, he can extend that study to martially affect an opponent. However, martial arts do not always need to be expressed as direct combat. The same principles can be used to affect the balance of yin and yang in anything outside of your body; this includes: your lifestyle, your work environment, your opportunities, etc.
And if you really want to write it correctly, it should be written as “taijiquan”. Just type that into your internet searches and THOUSANDS more search items will show up for you! Taijiquan is the way it is written in China when people transliterate the glyphic-looking Chinese language into our Latin alphabet (like the one we use in the English language). THAT method of transliterating Chinese written characters into our alphabet is known as “pinyin romanization.” Why is that so important? Because that’s what all of China uses now. It’s what all universities now teach when you learn Chinese, and it’s what all Chinese dictionaries use. The next time you go to a bookstore, pick up a Chinese-English dictionary and see for yourself. All ancient Chinese documents are also transliterated into pinyin when translated into a foreign language. It is what all high-level Taoist scholars and researchers use. Spelling it as “tai chi chuan” is the outdated romanization of Wade-Giles that is slowly falling out of use around the world. Wu chi is also better written as “wuji” and Taoism is now written as “Taoism”. If you use the pinyin form of spelling when searching the Internet for tai chi (taiji) and Taoism (Taoism), you will have access to much higher quality material.
Pronunciation Tips: Most people pronounce Tai Chi Chuan and Taijiquan differently. That is wrong. They are both pronounced the same. The best way to pronounce it is: tie jee chwenn. Please never pronounce “quan” as “kwon”. (shrug) Pronounce it like “chwenn.” And because Chinese is a tonal language, the closest way to pronounce it as a Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese dialect) speaker is like: “tie! jee? chwenn?” The first syllable is said with a falling tone, as if it had a very slight exclamation point. And the last two words are said with a rising tone, like we do in English at the end of a question. But don’t worry about all that. I just wrote it down here because I’m sorry to see that people don’t know what taijiquan means and how to pronounce it.
Note that there are other practices that use the term “tai chi”, such as “tai chi chih” and others. But don’t confuse them with “tai chi chuan”. Tai chi chuan / taijiquan is the ancient and authentic Taoist spiritual and martial arts discipline officially recognized in China. And yes, all traditional forms of taijiquan developed in China. Taijiquan is considered by the Chinese as one of their cultural treasures. Fortunately, thanks to many generous teachers, the Western world has also been given the opportunity to partake in this treasure that has enriched the lives of many throughout the centuries. May it also enrich yours.