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{{short description|Chinese martial art}}
{{About|the Chinese martial art|the philosophical concept|Taiji (philosophy)|other uses of tai chi|Taiji (disambiguation){{!}}Taiji}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Context|date=April 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2021}}
}}
{{Infobox Martial art
| logo            = Yin and Yang symbol.svg
| logocaption     = The lower {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[dantian]]}} in tai chi:<br />{{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taijitu]]}} ([[yin and yang]]) rotate, while<br />the core reverts to stillness ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Wuji (philosophy)|wuji]]}}).
| logosize        = 100px
| image           = Yang-single (restoration).jpg
| imagecaption    = [[Yang Chengfu]] ({{circa|1931}}) in ''[[Single Whip]]'' posture of [[Yang-style tai chi]] solo form
| imagesize       =
| name            = Tai chi<br />{{lang|zh-Hant|{{nobold|太極拳}}}}
| aka             = ''See [[#Etymology|etymology]]''
| focus           = [[Taoism]]
| hardness        = Forms: {{horizontal list|Competition|Light contact ([[pushing hands]], no strikes)|Full contact (strikes, kicks, throws, takedowns etc.)}}
| country         = [[China]]
| creator         = [[Chen Wangting]] or [[Zhang Sanfeng]]
| formation       = late 16th century
| famous pract    = {{Unbulleted list|[[Chen Wangting]]|[[Chen Changxing]]|[[Chen Qingping]]|[[Chen Fake]]|[[Yang Luchan]]|[[Yang Chengfu]]|[[Cheng Man-ch'ing]]|[[Wu Quanyou]]|[[Wu Jianquan]]|[[Wu Yuxiang]]|[[Sun Lutang]]}}
| parenthood      =
| ancestor arts   =
| descendant arts =
| olympic         = [[Demonstration sport]]
| website         =
| meaning         =
| martialart      =
}}
{{Infobox intangible heritage
| Name = Taijiquan
| Image = 
| Caption = 
| Country = China
| ID = 424
| Region = APA
| Year = 2020
| List = Representative
| Session = 15th
| Below = [[File:Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg|100px]]
| Note = UNESCO Cultural Heritage
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| t = 太極拳
| s = 太极拳
| l = "[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]] Fist"
| p = Tàijíquán
| w = T'ai<sup>4</sup>-chi<sup>2</sup> ch'üan<sup>2</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|t|ai|4|.|j|i|2|-|quan|2}}
| bpmf = ㄊㄞˋ ㄐㄧˊ ㄑㄩㄢˊ
| lmz = Tha-ciq jioe
| j = Taai3 gik6 kyun4
| y = Taai-gihk kyùhn
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|t|aai|3|-|g|ik|6|-|k|yun|4}}
| poj = Thài-ke̍k kûn
| tl = Thài-ki̍k kûn
}}

{{Chinese martial arts}}
{{Taoism}}

'''Tai chi'''<!--Please note that "tai chi" is now an English term and does not require transliteration italics", and that the Chinese characters for these words are in the Chinese infobox and are further explained in the Etymology section--> is a [[Chinese martial art]] initially created for [[combat]] and [[self-defense]]. For most practitioners, it has evolved into an [[exercise]], a [[relaxation technique]], and a [[sport]]. As an exercise and relaxation technique, tai chi is practiced in set sequences known as "forms" ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taolu (martial arts)|taolu]]}}), usually in gentle flowing motions that are often described as "[[meditation]] in motion," and may also be performed in faster and more vigorous routines. As a sport, competitors are judged on their performance in forms, [[pushing hands]], and free [[sparring]]. As a martial art, practitioners master the applications of forms and partner work for effective self-defense.

Many styles of tai chi are practiced, both traditional and modern. While the precise origins are not known, the earliest well-documented practice began during the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|Ming-Qing transition]] at [[Chen-style tai chi|Chen Village]] and [[Zhaobao tai chi|Zhabao Village]] in [[Henan]] on the [[North China Plain]], a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of the [[Shaolin Monastery]] on [[Mount Song]] at the western edge of the plain.

Most modern styles trace their development to five traditional schools: [[Chen-style tai chi|Chen]], [[Yang-style tai chi|Yang]], [[Wu (Hao)-style tai chi|Wu (Hao)]], [[Wu-style tai chi|Wu]], and [[Sun-style tai chi|Sun]]. In the early 20th century [[Yang Chengfu]], [[Wu Jianquan]], [[Sun Lutang]], and others promoted and standardized the art for its health benefits in programs supported by the [[Nationalist government]], an approach that was further expanded and institutionalized by the [[Government of China|PRC government]] after 1949. In 2020, tai chi was included in the [[Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage elements|UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].

== Etymology ==
The name "tai chi", the most common English spelling, is not a standard [[Romanization of Chinese|romanization]] of the Chinese name for the art ({{lang-zh|s=太极拳|t=太極拳|l=[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]] boxing|links=no}}). The Chinese name was first commonly written in English using the [[Wade–Giles]] system as "{{tlit|zh|t{{wg-apos}}ai chi ch{{wg-apos}}üan}}". But English speakers abbreviated it to "{{tlit|zh|t{{wg-apos}}ai chi}}" and dropped the mark of aspiration. Since the late twentieth century, [[pinyin]] has been officially adopted in China and replaced Wade–Giles as the most popular system for romanizing Chinese. In pinyin, tai chi is spelled {{tlit|zh|pinyin|tàijíquán}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bacher |first=Bob |date=2022 |title=Tai Chi? T'ai Chi? or Taiji? |url=https://dochenstyletaichi.com/tai-chi-chuan-tai-chi-chuan-taijiquan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628062017/https://dochenstyletaichi.com/tai-chi-chuan-tai-chi-chuan-taijiquan/ |archive-date=28 June 2023 |access-date=28 June 2023 |website=Wang Xi'an Taiji International}}</ref><ref name="fox">{{Cite news |last=Margalit Fox |date=14 January 2017 |title=Zhou Youguang, Who Made Writing Chinese as Simple as ABC, Dies at 111 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/world/asia/zhou-youguang-who-made-writing-chinese-as-simple-as-abc-dies-at-111.html |access-date=17 March 2026}}</ref> In English, tai chi is sometimes referred to as "[[shadowboxing]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Defoort |first=Carine |date=2001 |title=Is There Such a Thing as Chinese Philosophy Arguments of an Implicit Debate |url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/538453 |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=51 |issue=3 |page=404 |doi=10.1353/pew.2001.0039 |s2cid=54844585 |quote=Just as Shadowboxing (taijiquan) is having success in the West|url-access=subscription }}{{pb}}{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2010-06-17 |title=Wudang Martial Arts |newspaper=[[China Daily]] |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/hubei/2010-06/17/content_9985740. |quote=Wudang boxing includes boxing varieties such as Taiji (shadowboxing)}}{{pb}}{{Cite book |last=Bai Shuping (白淑萍) |title=Taiji Quan (Shadow Boxing), Bilingual English-Chinese |date=2009 |publisher=Beijing University Press |isbn=978-7-301-05391-1|translator-last=Luo Bin (罗斌)}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" width="auto" style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
|-
! [[Chinese Characters|Characters]] !! [[Wade–Giles]] !! [[Pinyin]] !! Meaning
|- style="text-align:center;"
| {{linktext|lang=zh|太極}}||t{{wg-apos}}ai chi|| tàijí|| {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]]}}, the cosmological relationship of Yin and Yang
|- style="text-align:center;"
| {{linktext|lang=zh|拳}}|| ch{{wg-apos}}üan || quán || fist, or boxing
|}

The etymology of tai chi's Chinese name is somewhat uncertain because of the lack of a record of spoken usage. Before the mid-nineteenth century, it appears that outsiders generically described the art as {{zhp|p=zhanquan|c=沾拳|tr=touch boxing}}, "Long Boxing"({{lang|zh|長拳}}),{{refn|group=note|"Long" as in "Continuous"; not to be confused with the external martial art also known as Long Fist or [[Changquan]].}} {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[mianquan]]}} {{citation needed span|date=July 2023|1=("Soft/Cotton/Neutralizing Boxing"; {{lang|zh|軟/棉/化拳}})}} or {{zhp|p=shisan shi|c=十三式|tr=the thirteen techniques}}.<ref name="egreenway">{{Cite web |last=Michael P. Garofalo |date=2021 |title=Thirteen Postures of Taijiquan |url=http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/powers13.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416140636/https://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/powers13.htm |archive-date=2023-04-16 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=Cloud Hands blog}}</ref> In the mid-nineteenth century, the art began to be associated with the philosophy of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taiji (philosophy)|taiji]]}} (see [[#Philosophical background|Conceptual background]]).<ref name=":0" /> This association may have originated in the [[Wu (Hao)-style tai chi#TJQC|writings of the founders of Wu (Hao)-style tai chi]], perhaps inspired by a tai chi classic attributed to the semi-mythical [[Wang Zongyue]] that begins with the words "{{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]]}} is born from {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Wuji (philosophy)|Wuji]]}}; it is the mother of [[Yin and Yang]]".{{refn|group=note|Original text: {{lang|zh|太極者. 無極而生. 陰陽之母也.}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Wang Zongyue (attributed) |title=[[:zh:s:太極拳經|Taijiquan Jing]] |script-title=zh:太極拳經 |author-link=Wang Zongyue}}</ref>}} However, as the Wu (Hao) founders had no financial need to promote their art, their contributions to the "tai chi classics" were not distributed widely for many years. The first public association between {{tlit|zh|pinyin|taiji}} and the art was a poem by Imperial Court scholar [[Weng Tonghe]] describing a tai chi performance by [[Yang Luchan]].<ref name="Davis2004-3840">Davis 2004, p. 38-40</ref><ref>Wile 1996, p. 20</ref><ref name="LJQ37">Li Jianqing, p. 37-38</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Yang Zhenji ({{lang|zh|杨振基}}) |title=Yang Chengfu Style Taijiquan |date=1993 |publisher={{lang|zh|广西民族出版社}} (Guangxi Minzu Publishing) |isbn=7-5363-1984-3 |at={{lang|zh|前言}} (Introduction) |script-title=zh:杨澄甫式太极拳}}</ref> It is not clear whether Weng was making a new connection or whether the new name was already in use. Written evidence for the Yang family's adoption of the name {{tlit|zh|pinyin|taiji}} first appeared in a later text, possibly completed in 1875 by Yang Luchan's son, [[Yang Banhou]], or no later than the first decade of the twentieth century by one or more of Yang Banhou's disciples.{{sfn|Davis|2004|loc=3840}}<ref name="YBH1875">Yang Banhou 1875</ref>{{sfn|Wile|1996|pp=57–89, 135–153}}<ref name="LJQ37" /> By the second decade of the twentieth century, [[Yang Chengfu]]'s disciples and [[Sun Lutang]] were using the term {{tlit|zh|pinyin|taijiquan}} in their publications, including in the titles of some of the tai chi classics. It then appeared in a book by a Chen family member, Chen Xin, published after he died in 1929.<ref name="Davis2004-3840" /><ref name="SLT1921">Sun Lutang 1921</ref>

== Philosophical background ==
{{See also|Tai chi philosophy}}
[[File:Zhou_Dunyi_Taijitu_English.png|thumb|Zhou Dunyi's {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taijitu]]}} diagram which illustrates the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Taijitu}} cosmology.]]
[[Chinese philosophy]], particularly [[Taoist philosophy|Taoist]] and [[Confucian thought]], forms the conceptual background to tai chi.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Wile |first=Douglas |date=2007 |title=Taijiquan and Daoism: From Religion to Martial Art and Martial Art to Religion |url=http://blackmoonharbor.com/uploads/1/1/5/3/115363763/taijiquan_and_daoism_.pdf |publisher=Via Media Publishing |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=8–45 |issn=1057-8358 |periodical=Journal of Asian Martial Arts}}</ref> Early tai chi texts include embedded quotations from early Chinese classics like the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[I Ching]]}}, ''[[Great Learning]]'', ''[[Book of Documents]]'', ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', and {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]}}, as well as from famous Chinese thinkers like [[Zhu Xi]], [[Zhou Dunyi]], and [[Mencius]].<ref name=":1" />

Early tai chi sources are grounded in {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]]}} cosmology. {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Taiji}} cosmology appears in both [[Taoist]] and [[Confucian]] [[Chinese philosophy|philosophy]], where it represents the single source or mother of [[yin and yang]] (represented by the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[taijitu]]}} symbol [[File:Yin yang (fixed width).svg|16px|☯]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cheng Man-ch'ing |title=Cheng-Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan |publisher=North Atlantic Books |year=1993 |isbn=0-938190-45-8 |page=21}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Tai chi also draws on Chinese theories of the body, particularly Taoist {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[neidan]]}} (internal alchemy) teachings on {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[qi]]}} (vital energy) and on the three {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[dantian]]}}. [[Cheng Man-ch'ing]] emphasizes the Taoist background of tai chi and states that it "enables us to reach the stage of undifferentiated pure yang, which is exactly the same as [[Laozi]]'s 'concentrating the qi and developing softness'".<ref name=":1" />

As such, tai chi considers itself an "internal" ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[neijia]]}}) martial art focused on developing {{tlit|zh|pinyin|qi}}.<ref name=":1" /> In China, tai chi is categorized under the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Wudangquan|Wudang]]}} group of Chinese martial arts<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sun Lutang |title=Xing Yi Quan Xue |publisher=Unique Publications |year=2000 |isbn=0-86568-185-6 |page=3 |author-link=Sun Lutang}}</ref>—that is, arts applied with internal power.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranne |first=Nabil |date=2010 |title=Internal power in Taijiquan |url=http://www.ctnd.de/wissenswertes/36/88-kraft-taijiquantqj-2010.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107000736/https://ctnd.de/wissenswertes/36/88-kraft-taijiquantqj-2010.html |archive-date=2018-11-07 |access-date=2011-01-01 |publisher=CTND |language=de}}</ref> Although the term {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Wudang}} suggests these arts originated in the [[Wudang Mountains]], it is used only to distinguish the skills, theories, and applications of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|neijia}} from those of the [[Shaolinquan|Shaolin]] grouping, or {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[waijia]]}} (hard/external styles).<ref name=":1" />

Tai chi also adopts the Taoist ideals of softness overcoming hardness, of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[wu wei]]}} (effortless action), and of yielding into its martial art technique while also retaining Taoist ideas of spiritual self-cultivation.<ref name=":1" />

Tai chi's path is one of developing naturalness by relaxing, attending inward, and slowing mind, body, and [[Breathing|breath]].<ref name=":1" /> This allows the practitioner to become less tense, to drop conditioned habits, to let go of thoughts, to allow {{tlit|zh|pinyin|qi}} to flow smoothly, and thus to flow with the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Tao]]}}. It is thus a kind of moving meditation that allows us to let go of the self and experience no-mind ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[wuxin]]}}) and spontaneity ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[ziran]]}}).<ref name=":1" />

A key aspect of tai chi philosophy is to work with the flow of [[yin and yang|''yin'' (softness) and ''yang'' (hardness)]] elements. When two forces push each other with equal force, neither side moves. Motion cannot occur until one side yields. Therefore, a key principle in tai chi is to avoid using force directly against force (hardness against hardness). Laozi provided the [[archetype]] for this in the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Tao Te Ching]]}} when he wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laozi (attributed) |title=Tao Te Ching |title-link=Tao Te Ching |date=249 |editor-last={{nowrap|Wang Bi}} |editor-link=Wang Bi |chapter=[[:zh:s:道德經 (王弼本)#老子《道德經》下篇|七十六章]] |quote=強大處下柔弱處上 |author-link=Laozi |orig-date=400s BCE}}</ref> Conversely, when in possession of leverage, one may want to use hardness to force the opponent to become soft. Traditionally, tai chi uses both soft and hard. Yin is said to be the mother of Yang, using soft power to create hard power.

Traditional schools also emphasize that one is expected to show {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Chinese martial arts#"Martial morality"|wude]]}} ("martial virtue/heroism"), to protect the defenceless, and to show mercy to one's opponents.{{sfn|Wile|1996}}

In December 2020, the 15th regular session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage included tai chi in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.<ref>{{Citation |last=((Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage)) |title=Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 15.COM 8.b.21 |date=2020 |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/Decisions/15.COM/8.b.21 |access-date=2023-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530151143/https://ich.unesco.org/en/Decisions/15.COM/8.b.21 |url-status=live |publisher=UNESCO |archive-date=2023-05-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tai Chi now on Unesco's intangible heritage list |url=https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3114494/chinese-martial-art-tai-chi-added-unescos-intangible-cultural-heritage-list |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref>

== Practice ==
Tai chi uses 'song' (鬆) to ground the practitioner's centre of gravity, which is harmonised with the rising of the head to produce a central equilibrium and the movements of the forms through asymmetries in balance. Often described as "[[meditation]] in motion," tai chi aims to cultivate harmony, maintain health, and improve efficiency of movement through relaxed alignment of the body’s structure.

Traditionally, the foundational tai chi practice consists of learning and practicing specific solo forms or routines ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Taolu (martial arts)|taolu]]}}).<ref name=":1" /> This entails learning a routine sequence of movements which follow a strict set of mechanical rules, [[abdominal breathing]] and a range of motion restricted to oblique angles and which are not 'double weighted' (双重). Tai chi relies on correct alignment in response to oncoming forces, by so called 'yielding' or 'rotation' a practitioner manipulates an attack with the 'Eight Gates' (Bā Mén 八門).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wong Kiew Kit |title=The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan: A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles |date=1996 |publisher=Element Books Ltd |isbn=1-85230-792-7}}</ref> depending on how the opponent force is expressed. This practice is supplemented with [[Silk reeling|Silk Reeling]] exercises, but these are only found in Chen and Wu(Hao) Style of Tai chi.

There are also numerous other supporting solo practices which are not directly linked to tai chi such as:<ref name=":1" />
* Sitting meditation: to empty, focus and calm the mind and aid in opening the [[microcosmic orbit]].
* Standing meditation ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[zhan zhuang]]}}) to raise the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|yang qi}}
* {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Qigong]]}} to mobilize the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[qi]]}}
* [[Acupressure]] massage to develop awareness of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|qi}} channels

There is no scientific evidence for the existence of qi,<ref name="Dunning">{{Skeptoid|id=4411|number=411|title=Your Body's Alleged Energy Fields|access-date=3 September 2016}}</ref>
nor any demonstrating the effectiveness of acupressure<ref name=Dent>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dent HE, Dewhurst NG, Mills SY, Willoughby M | title = Continuous PC6 wristband acupressure for relief of nausea and vomiting associated with acute myocardial infarction: a partially randomised, placebo-controlled trial | journal = Complementary Therapies in Medicine | volume = 11 | issue = 2 | pages = 72–7 | date = June 2003 | pmid = 12801491 | doi = 10.1016/s0965-2299(03)00058-x }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Colquhoun D, Novella SP | title = Acupuncture is theatrical placebo | journal = Anesthesia and Analgesia | volume = 116 | issue = 6 | pages = 1360–3 | date = June 2013 | pmid = 23709076 | doi = 10.1213/ANE.0b013e31828f2d5e | s2cid = 207135491 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | title = Evidence-based Non-pharmacological Therapies for Palliative Cancer Care | author = William Chi-Sing Cho | publisher = Springer Science & Business Media | date = 2013 | isbn =  978-94-007-5833-9}}</ref> beyond that of [[placebo]] treatment. However, they can have an [[Instrumentalism|instrumental]] function in interpreting culturally embedded information for modern practitioners.{{Clarify|date=December 2025}}

Further training entails learning {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[tuishou]]}} (push hands drills), {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[sanshou]]}} (striking techniques), free sparring, grappling training, and weapons training.<ref name=":1" />

The fundamental training concepts of the art are detailed in a few dozen classical texts originally written in [[classical Chinese]] by tai chi masters, the "[[tai chi classics]]". In these texts, it is noted that the physiological and kinesiological aspects of the body's movements are characterized by the rotation of the pelvis ('kua'), based on the metaphors of the pelvis as the hub and the arms and feet as the spokes of a wheel. Furthermore, the respiration of breath is coordinated with the physical movements in a state of myofascial release (MFR), rather than held muscular tension.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zhang|first=Yun|year=2016|title=The Taijiquan Classics|asin=B071DT7NZ7}}</ref>

Tai chi is a complete martial art system with a full range of bare-hand movement sets and weapon forms, such as the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[jian]]}} (straight sword), {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Dao (Chinese sword)|dao]]}} (curved sword), and {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[qiang (spear)|qiang]]}} (spear), which are based on the dynamic relationship between {{tlit|zh|pinyin|yin}} and {{tlit|zh|pinyin|yang}}. While tai chi is typified by its slow movements, many styles (including the three most popular: [[Yang-style tai chi|Yang]], [[Wu-style tai chi|Wu]], and [[Chen-style tai chi|Chen]]) can be practiced at a faster pace when the practitioner has correct alignment after enough slow form practice. Some traditional schools teach martial applications of the postures of different forms ([[Taolu (martial arts)|taolu]]).

=== Solo practices ===
{{Further|List of tai chi forms}}

[[File:Taijiquan forms - Chenjiagou.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Painting in {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Chen-style tai chi#Chen Village (Chenjiagou)|Chenjiagou]]}}, illustrating {{tlit|zh|pinyin|taolu}} according to the [[Chen style]] of tai chi]]

{{tlit|zh|pinyin|Taolu}} (solo "forms") are choreographed sets of movements practiced alone or in unison as a group. Tai chi is often characterized by slow movements in Taolu practice, and one of the reasons is to develop bodily awareness. Repeated and correct practice of the solo routine is said to retrain posture to align ones centre of gravity which is harmonised with the rising of the head to produce a central equilibrium and the movements of the forms through asymmetries in balance. This awareness and healthy exercise encourages controlled breathing, flexibility, strength, stamina, balance and coordination. Practice familiarizes students with the martial sequences implied by the forms to develop 'spontaneity' ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[ziran]]}}) in application<ref name=":1" /> from muscle memory. Usually performed standing, solo forms have sometimes been adapted for seated practice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Quarta |first=Cynthia W. |url=https://www.healingtaichi.com/ |title=Tai Chi in a Chair |date=2001 |publisher=Fair Winds Press |isbn=1-931412-60-X |edition=first |access-date=2018-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820172557/https://www.healingtaichi.com/ |archive-date=2018-08-20 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Weapon practice ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| header            = ''Taijijian''
| width             = 175
| image1            = Two Jian.JPG
| caption1          = A pair of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[jian]]}} with their [[scabbard]]s
| image2            = 10th all china games Jian pair 406 cropped.jpg
| caption2          = {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Wushu jian}} pair event at the [[Wushu (sport)|10th All China games]]
}}

Tai chi practices involving weapons also exist. Weapons training and [[fencing]] applications often employ:
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[jian]]}}, a straight double-edged sword, practiced as {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[taijijian]]}};
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Dao (Chinese sword)|dao]]}}, a heavier curved saber, sometimes called a broadsword;
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[tessen|tieshan]]}}, a folding fan, also called {{tlit|zh|pinyin|shan}} and practiced as {{tlit|zh|pinyin|taijishan}};
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Gun (staff)|gun]]}}, a {{convert|2|m|ft|sp=us|frac=8|adj=on}} long wooden staff and practiced as {{tlit|zh|pinyin|taijigun}};
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Qiang (spear)|qiang]]}}, a {{convert|2|m|ft|sp=us|frac=8|adj=on}} [[spear]] or a {{convert|4|m|ft|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} [[lance]].

Tai chi principles may be applied to any kind of melee weapon which can include:
* the large {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Dao (Chinese sword)|dadao]]}} and {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[podao]]}} sabres;
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Ji (halberd)|ji]]}}, or halberd;
* the [[Stick-fighting|cane]];
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[three sectional staff|sanjiegun]]}}, or three sectional staff;
* the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[Wind and fire wheels|feng huo lun]]}}, or wind-and-fire wheels.
{{clear right}}

== History ==
[[File:Chen Wanting.jpg|thumb|A statue of [[Chen Wangting]], an early pioneer of tai chi]]

=== Early development ===
Tai chi developed during the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|Ming-Qing transition]] period, and may have been based on [[Styles of Chinese martial arts#External and internal classifications|internal martial arts]] practices of the [[Ming dynasty]], though the exact details are controversial and subject to much conflicting historical research and debate.<ref name=":2">Wile, Douglas. 2016. '<nowiki />''Fighting Words: Four New Document Finds Reignite Old Debates in Taijiquan Historiography''<nowiki />', Martial Arts Studies 4, 17–35.</ref> The earliest practice documented in widely-accepted historical records began during that period of dynastic transition, in [[Chen-style tai chi|Chen Village]] and [[Zhaobao tai chi|Zhabao Village]] in [[Henan]] on the [[North China Plain]], a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of the [[Shaolin Monastery]] on [[Mount Song]] at the western edge of the plain.{{sfn|Wile|1996|pp=5–9}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Shahar|first=Meir|author-link=Meir Shahar|year=2008|title=The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts|publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-3349-7}}</ref>

Tai chi has a strong association with [[Taoism]] and traditional Chinese culture, which was increasingly emphasized during the late Qing, and by the early twentieth century was integral to any discussion of the art. Some scholars place it within the broader syncretic context of Chinese Taoism, [[Confucianism]], and [[Buddhism]], but most point to stories of the transmission of the art through a legendary twelfth-century immortal Taoist sage, [[Zhang Sanfeng]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Modern historians point out that the earliest reference indicating a connection between Zhang Sanfeng and martial arts is actually a 17th-century piece called ''Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan'' (1669), composed by [[Huang Zongxi]] (1610–1695).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Aside from this single source, the other claims of connections between tai chi and Zhang Sanfeng appeared no earlier than the 19th century.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Henning |first=Stanley |year=1994 |title=Ignorance, Legend and Taijiquan |url=http://www.nardis.com/~twchan/henning.html |journal=Journal of the Chen Style Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii |volume=2 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101075956/http://www.nardis.com/~twchan/henning.html |archive-date=2010-01-01 |access-date=2009-11-23}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> According to Douglas Wile, "there is no record of a Zhang Sanfeng in the [[Song Dynasty]] (960–1279), and there is no mention in the [[Ming]] (1368–1644) histories or hagiographies of Zhang Sanfeng of any connection between the immortal and the martial arts."<ref name=":1" />

Historical documentation for the development of tai chi as it is practiced today begins with [[Chen Wangting]], who retired from military service and returned to Chen Village after the fall of the Ming dynasty.<ref name="MarkChen2004">{{Cite book |last=Chen |first=Mark |title=Old frame Chen family Taijiquan |publisher=North Atlantic Books (Distributed to the book trade by Publishers Group West) |year=2004 |isbn=1-55643-488-X |location=Berkeley, California}}</ref> Based on some of the terminology used in the art Chen and his descendants developed, it appears to draw from the ''Quanjing'' (Classic of Pugilism) by the Ming general [[Qi Jiguang]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wile |first1=Douglas |date=2020 |title=Manufacturing Martial Spirit: Ethos, Ideology and Identity in the Chinese Martial Arts |url=https://mas.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/103/files/submission/proof/103-1-272-1-10-20200323.pdf |journal=Martial Arts Studies |volume=9 |issue= 9|publisher=Cardiff University Press |pages=93–114 |doi=10.18573/mas.103 |access-date=2026-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wile |first=Douglas |date=1999 |title=T'ai Chi's Ancestors: The Making of an Internal Art |publisher=Sweet Ch'i Press |isbn=978-0912059044}}</ref> Early twentieth-century martial arts historians agreed with this, though Xu Zhen claimed that Chen tai chi was also influenced by the {{tlit|zh|pinyin|Taizu changquan}} style practiced at nearby [[Shaolin Monastery]], while [[Tang Hao]] emphasized the connection to the writings of Qi Jiguang.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Jarek |last=Szymanski |date=1999 |title=Origins and Development of Taijiquan |url=http://www.chinafrominside.com/ma/taiji/TJQorigins.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617015457/http://www.chinafrominside.com/ma/taiji/TJQorigins.html |archive-date=2016-06-17 |access-date=2016-08-20 |website=Chinafrominside.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Jarek |last=Szymanski |date=2000 |title=Taijiquan – Brief Analysis of Chen Family Boxing Manuals |url=http://www.chinafrominside.com/ma/taiji/chenboxingmanuals.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115172616/http://www.chinafrominside.com/ma/taiji/chenboxingmanuals.html |archive-date=2016-11-15 |access-date=2016-08-20 |website=Chinafrominside.com}}</ref>

[[Yang Luchan]], the founder of the popular [[Yang-style tai chi|Yang style]] of tai chi, trained with Chen Changxing in Chen Village for 18 years before returning to teach in his hometown of [[Yongnian]] and later in [[Beijing]]. The other traditional tai chi styles, [[Wu (Hao)-style tai chi|Wu (Hao)]], [[Wu-style tai chi|Wu]], and [[Sun-style tai chi|Sun]], also trace the source of their tai chi through Yang Luchan back to the Chen village in the nineteenth century.{{sfn|Wile|1996}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wile |first=Douglas |title=T'ai-chi Touchstones: Yang Family Secret Transmissions |publisher=Sweet Ch'i Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-912059-01-X}}</ref>

=== Standardization ===
[[File:Taoist Tai Chi demo Push.jpg|thumb|Taoist practitioners practising]]
In 1912 the [[Nationalist government]]-supported Beijing Physical Education Research Institute ({{lang-zh|c=京師體育研究社|p=Jīngshì Tǐyù Yánjiùshè|labels=no}}) published tai chi manuals, possibly brought to Beijing by Yang Luchan himself, for the first time under the title ''[[Taijiquan Classics]]'', as [[Yang Chengfu]], [[Wu Jianquan]], [[Sun Lutang]], and others began teaching classes for the general public there. Based on that experience, by 1914 they began standardizing and modifying the art, removing most fast and jumping movements, and focusing primarily on health results.{{sfn|Wile|1996}}

This work was continued by the [[Central Guoshu Institute]]. In 1936 the Institute's Deputy Director, [[Chen Panling]] ({{zhi|[[:zh:陳泮嶺|陳泮嶺]]}}), created a 99-posture unified form called Guoshu Tai Chi ({{lang-zh|c=國術太極|p=Guóshù Tàijí|labels=no}}) drawing on his research into the Chen, Yang, Sun and Wu styles, with most movements derived from the Yang and Wu forms. After the retreat of the Nationalists to Taiwan in 1949, Chen Panling established and served as chairman of the Chinese Martial Arts Advanced Studies Association ({{lang-zh|c=中華國術進修會|p=Zhōnghuá Guóshù Jìnxiūhuì|labels=no}}), where he taught his combined tai chi sequence, which became known worldwide as the 99 Tai Chi Form, as well as the internal martial arts [[Baguazhang]] and [[Xingyiquan]]. Chen trained many prominent masters, including [[Wang Shujin]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Robert |title=Chinese Boxing Masters and Methods |publisher=Blue Snake Books |year=1990 |isbn=1-55643-085-X |pages=68–72}}</ref>

After 1949 the [[PRC government]] continued standardization of the art with a focus on health. In 1956, the Chinese Sports Committee (CSC) brought together a group of tai chi masters to create a shortened tai chi form that could help improve the health of the general public, because the long traditional forms were considered too difficult for most people to learn. The result was the [[24-form tai chi|24-posture simplified form]], developed from the traditional Yang-style long form.<ref name="Luo2023">{{cite magazine |last=Luo |first=Shiwen |date=Autumn 2023 |title=The 24-Posture Simplified Taijiquan |url=https://www.qi-journal.com/taijiquan/taijiquan-t-ai-chi/3256-the-24-posture-simplified-taijiquan |access-date=5 May 2025 |magazine=Qi: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness |volume=33 |issue=3 |publisher=Insight Publishers |issn=1056-4004}}</ref>

In 1976, as part of a post-[[Cultural Revolution]] initiative to rehabilitate martial arts as a modern sport, the "Combined 48 Form" was created for the CSC by a group of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wushu}} coaches headed by [[Men Huifeng]]. That form integrates movements from the traditional Chen, Yang, Wu, and Sun styles.<ref name="Liang">{{cite book |last1=Liang |first1=Shou-Yu |last2=Wu |first2=Wen-Ching |date=2014 |title=Simplified Tai Chi Chuan: 24 Postures with Applications & Standard 48 Postures, 2nd Edition |publisher=YMAA Publication Center |isbn=978-1594392788}}</ref> By the 1980s the CSC had also begun organizing other groups of {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wushu}} coaches to standardize longer competition forms for the major styles, including the 56-posture Chen-style national competition form published in 1988,<ref name="56chen">{{cite book |last=Ma |first=Chang |date=January 2015 |script-title=zh:陈式太极拳标准56式 |url= |trans-title=Chen-Style Taijiquan Standardized 56-Postures |language=Chinese |location= |publisher=Chengdu Times Press |page= |isbn=978-7-546410-99-9 |access-date=}}</ref> and in 1989 the Combined 48 Form was shortened into the "[[42-form tai chi|42 Form]]", also known as the "Competition Form", for competition timing and scoring.<ref name="42form">{{cite book |last=Men |first=Huifeng |date=May 1993 |script-title=zh:门惠丰 42式太极拳·剑 (附竞赛规则) |url= |trans-title=42-Posture Taijiquan, Jian (with Competition Rules) |language=Chinese |location=Beijing |publisher=Beijing Sport University Press |page= |isbn=978-7-810037-29-7 |access-date=}}</ref> This work of developing shorter forms for competition and for exercise convenience has continued through the present day, for example two short forms based on Yang style, the "8-Posture Tai Chi" form officially announced in 1999<ref name="8form">{{cite book |last=Yang |first=Yan |date=October 2015 |script-title=zh:8式太极拳 |url= |trans-title=8-Posture Taijiquan |language=Chinese |location= |publisher=Anhui Science and Technology Press |page= |isbn=978-7-533766-73-3 |access-date=}}</ref> and the "Eight Methods and Five Stances" form first published in 2018.<ref name="8methods">{{cite book |last=Lu |first=Chaojun |date=2018 |script-title=zh:太极八法五步 (中英双语）|url= |trans-title=Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi (Chinese-English Bilingual Edition) |language=Chinese |location= |publisher=Beijing Sport University Press |page= |isbn=978-7-5644-3147-1 |access-date=}}</ref>

At the 1990 11th [[Asian Games]], {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wushu}} competitions were included for the first time, with the 42 Form representing tai chi. That year the [[International Wushu Federation]] (IWUF) also submitted an application for {{tlit|zh|pinyin|wushu}} to become a permanent part of the [[Olympic Games]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2006 |title=Wushu likely to be a "specially-set" sport at Olympics |url=http://en.olympic.cn/08beijing/bocog/2006-10-17/945504.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311001132/http://en.olympic.cn/08beijing/bocog/2006-10-17/945504.html |archive-date=2007-03-11 |access-date=2007-04-13 |publisher=[[Chinese Olympic Committee]]}}</ref>

In 2020, tai chi was included in the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] after the Chinese government submitted it for this recognition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Taijiquan |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/taijiquan-00424 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218080430/https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/taijiquan-00424 |archive-date=2020-12-18 |access-date=2021-03-06 |publisher=UNESCO Culture Sector}}</ref>

== Styles ==
{{See also|Chinese martial arts#History|l1=History of Chinese martial arts}}
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}

=== Chinese origin ===
[[File:Eddie Wu Grasp Bird's Tail 1998.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Wu-style tai chi|Wu-style]] master [[Eddie Wu]] demonstrating the form "Grasp the bird's tail" at a tournament in [[Toronto, Ontario]], Canada]]

The five major styles of tai chi are named for the Chinese families who originated them:

* [[Chen style]] ({{lang|zh|陳氏}}) of [[Chen Wangting]] (1580–1660)
* [[Yang-style tai chi|Yang style]] ({{lang|zh|楊氏}}) of [[Yang Luchan]] (1799–1872)
* [[Wu (Hao)-style tai chi|Wu/Hao style]] ({{lang|zh|武郝氏}}) of [[Wu Yuxiang]] (1812–1880) and [[Hao Weizhen]] (1842–1920)
* [[Wu-style tai chi|Wu style]] ({{lang|zh|吳氏}}) of [[Wu Quanyou]] (1834–1902) and his son [[Wu Jianquan]] (1870–1942)
* [[Sun-style tai chi|Sun style]] ({{lang|zh|孫氏}}) of [[Sun Lutang]] (1861–1932)

The most popular is Yang, followed by Wu, Chen, Sun, and Wu/Hao.<ref name=":1" /> The styles share underlying theory, but their training differs.

Dozens of new styles, hybrid styles, and offshoots followed, although the family schools are accepted as standard by the international community. Other important styles are [[Zhaobao tai chi]], a close cousin of Chen style, which is recognized by Western practitioners; Fu style, created by [[Fu Zhensong]], which evolved from Chen, Sun and Yang styles, and incorporates movements from {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[baguazhang]]}};{{Citation needed|date=August 2014}} and [[Cheng Man-ch'ing]] style, which simplifies Yang style.

Around the world in the 20th and 21st centuries, some Chinese emigrants who had learned tai chi in China continued to practice it together in their new communities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-30 |title=This Arcadia tai chi master teaches people how to stretch, fight with 'kinetic' style |url=https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2017/07/30/this-arcadia-tai-chi-master-teaches-people-how-to-stretch-fight-with-kinetic-style/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=Pasadena Star News |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== North America ===
==== United States ====
{{ill|Choy Hok Pang|qid=Q134710950|s=1|v=sup}}, a disciple of [[Yang Chengfu]], was the first known proponent of tai chi to openly teach in the United States, beginning in 1939. His son and student {{ill|Choy Kam Man|qid=Q134710952|s=1|v=sup}} emigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1949 to teach tai chi in [[Chinatown, San Francisco|Chinatown]]. Choy Kam Man taught until he died in 1994.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gilman |first=Michael |title=108 Insights into Tai Chi Chuan: a String of Pearls |location=Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts |publisher=YMAA Publication Center |year=1998 |isbn=1-88696-958-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Ting: The Caldron, Chinese Art and Identity in San Francisco |publisher=Glide Urban Center |year=1970 |isbn=0-912078-14-6 |editor-last=Nick Harvey |location=San Francisco}}</ref>

[[Sophia Delza]], a professional dancer and student of [[Ma Yueliang]], performed the first known public demonstration of tai chi in the United States at the New York City [[Museum of Modern Art]] in 1954. She wrote the first English language book on tai chi, ''T'ai-chi Ch'üan: Body and Mind in Harmony'', in 1961. She taught regular classes at [[Carnegie Hall]], the [[Actors Studio]], and the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunning |first=Jennifer |title=Sophia Delza Glassgold, 92, Dancer and Teacher |date=July 7, 1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/07/nyregion/sophia-delza-glassgold-92-dancer-and-teacher.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320190321/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/07/nyregion/sophia-delza-glassgold-92-dancer-and-teacher.html |url-status=live |archive-date=March 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Inventory of the Sophia Delza Papers, 1908–1996 |date=February 2006 |url=https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/dandelza.pdf |access-date=2014-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616225549/http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/dandelza.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=Jerome Robbins Dance Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]] |archive-date=2016-06-16}}</ref>

[[Huang Wenshan]], a Chinese-American scholar and pioneer of cultural studies, has been called "the father of Tai Chi in the America."<ref name="ohara">{{Cite book |last=Ho'o |first=Marshall |title=Tai Chi Chuan |date=1986 |publisher=Ohara Publications, Inc. |isbn=978-0897501095}}</ref> A student of [[Dong Yingjie]] and a lifelong advocate of tai chi, in 1962 with the help of [[Marshall Ho'o]], a former student of Choy Hok Pang, he founded the [[National Tai Chi Chuan Institute]] in Los Angeles, and the first nationwide organization of tai chi schools in the USA, the [[National Tai Chi Chuan Association]].<ref name="blackbeltnov76">{{cite magazine |last1=Kroll|first1=Paul William|title=The World's Most Popular Martial Art Comes to America |magazine=Black Belt Magazine|date=November 1976|volume=14|issue=11|issn=0277-3066}}</ref> In 1973 Huang wrote one of the earliest comprehensive and popular books on the topic in English, ''Fundamentals of Tai Chi Chuan''.<ref name="ftcc">{{cite book |last=Huang |first=Wen-shan |date=1973 |title=Fundamentals of Tai Chi Chuan |location=Hong Kong |publisher=South Sky Book Company |oclc=11939381}}, revised editions {{OCLC|164796638|966113835|1002312809}}</ref> From 1973 to 1974 Marshall Ho'o hosted a television show on tai chi broadcasting from Los Angeles, which began weekly, grew to four times per week,<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 14, 1973 |title=KCET offers everything you ever wanted to know about anything |work=Daily News-Post |pages=22}}</ref> and was picked up by other stations across the country as its popularity grew.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 5, 1975 |title=Exercise and Wisdom of the Orient |work=The Atlanta Journal |pages=34}}</ref> Ho'o also promoted the art in Black Belt magazine, authored a book on tai chi, and co-founded the Aspen Academy of Martial Arts.<ref name="cook">{{cite magazine |last1=Smalheiser |first1=Marvin |last2= Cook-Nelson |first2= Doria |date= December 1993 |title=Marshall Ho'o, Innovative Teacher, Dies at 83 |magazine=T'ai Chi |volume=17 |issue=6 |publisher=Wayfarer Publications |issn=0730-1049}}</ref>

[[Tung Hu Ling]], son of Dong Yingjie and a pioneer in the spread of tai chi outside of China, was invited for a teaching tour of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, and Hawaii organized by Huang and Ho'o from 1966 to 1967<ref name="blackbeltnov76" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last= DeLeonardis |first= Anthony |date= July 1967 |title=The 'Grand Ultimate Fist' of Tai Chi Chuan |magazine=Black Belt Magazine |issn=0277-3066}}</ref> During that tour Tung taught for a term at Huang's Los Angeles school assisted by Ho'o, who said that was "the first time a tai chi master came to us."<ref name="blackbeltnov76" /> Within a year Tung returned to found a school in Hawaii later led by his son Dong Zengchen and now by his grandson Alex Dong who is based in New York, while in 1971 his son Tung Kai Ying founded a school in Los Angeles now run by Kai Ying's son Tung Chen-wei, and from those centers the family has grown a global network of schools and workshops.<ref>{{cite book |last= Dong |first=Zeng Chen |date=2016 |title=Dong Style Tai Ji Quan |publisher=CIPP |isbn=978-1535460774}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Tung |first=Kai Ying |date=2012 |title=Learning Tai Chi Chuan |publisher=Common Ground Publications |isbn=978-0-9849582-0-7}}</ref>

[[Cheng Man-ch'ing]] opened his Shr Jung Tai Chi School after he moved to New York from Taiwan in 1964. Unlike the older generation of practitioners, Cheng was cultured and educated in American ways,{{clarify|date=July 2017}} and thus was able to transcribe Yang's dictation into a written manuscript that became the de facto manual for Yang style. Cheng felt Yang's traditional 108-movement form was unnecessarily long and repetitive, which makes it difficult to learn.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}} He thus created a shortened 37-movement version that he taught in his schools. Cheng's form became the dominant form in the eastern United States until other teachers immigrated in larger numbers in the 1990s. He taught until his death in 1975.<ref name="Lowenthal1991">{{Cite book |last=Wolfe Lowenthal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ayJG1GU5Y4C |title=There Are No Secrets: Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing and His Tai Chi Chuan |publisher=North Atlantic Books |year=1991 |isbn=1-55643-112-0}}</ref>

==== Canada ====
Chen Zhonghua arrived as a Chen style practitioner, teacher, and author from [[Shandong]], [[China]]. He studied under two experts of the eighteenth generation of [[Chen-style tai chi]], [[Hong Junsheng]] and [[Feng Zhiqiang (tai chi)|Feng Zhiqiang]] (冯志强, 1928–2012). In 1985 he and his family emigrated to Canada, where he began to promote Hong's version of Chen-style tai chi to a western audience.

Another is [[Moy Lin-shin]] who arrived in [[Toronto, Canada]], from China in 1970, where he started teaching tai chi and related internal arts.<ref name="Scrivener">{{Cite news |last=Scrivener |first=Leslie |date=September 9, 2007 |title=Marshalling praise for art of Tai Chi |work=The Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/254609 |access-date=2008-02-11}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
==== Italy ====
M°[[Chang Dsu Yao]] (1918–1992) was the first Chinese Master to introduce Traditional Chinese martial arts to Italy. After a military career and teaching martial arts in Taiwan, he moved to Italy in 1975. There, he began teaching Tai Chi Chuan, that he had learned from [[Yang Chengfu]], and Shaolin Kung Fu. His teachings attracted numerous students, among them {{ill|Roberto Fassi|it}}, with whom he co-authored several martial arts publications.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chang Dsu Yao |first2=Roberto |last2=Fassi |title=Tai Chi Chuan |language=it |publisher=De Vecchi Editore |year=1989 |isbn=88-412-8026-3 |location=Milan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chang Dsu Yao |first2=Roberto |last2=Fassi |title=L'enciclopedia del Kung Fu Shaolin |language=it |volume=1 |publisher=Edizioni Mediterranee |year=1986 |isbn=88-272-0016-9 |location=Rome}}</ref>

==== United Kingdom ====
Norwegian [[Pytt Geddes]] was the first European to teach tai chi in Britain, holding classes at [[The Place (London)|The Place]] in London in the early 1960s. She had first encountered tai chi in Shanghai in 1948, and studied with Choy Hok Pang and his son Choy Kam Man (who both also taught in the United States) while living in Hong Kong in the late 1950s.<ref name="geddes-telegraph">{{Cite news |date=21 March 2006 |title=Pytt Geddes (obituary) |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/21/db2101.xml |access-date=16 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204075831/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F03%2F21%2Fdb2101.xml |archive-date=4 December 2007}}</ref>

== Yin and yang ==

In Daoist philosophy motion cannot be manifested without inertia, in tai chi this is yin and yang. There must be a functionally unmoving aspect for there to be any manifestation of motion. In absence of a yin/yang demarcation (i.e when motion is completely unobstructed) 'wuji' (無極) is apparent, it is just as one cannot walk without a floor to push against. This absence of yin/yang separation is applied practically as 'double weightedness' (双重). This error is what practitioners train to remove in themselves by form and push hands practice and to exploit in their opponents when applied in martial contexts.

Some practitioners interpret yin and yang as the two aspects of health and martial arts The "family" schools present their teachings in a martial art context, whatever the intention of their students.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Woolidge |first=Doug |date=June 1997 |title=T'AI CHI |journal=The International Magazine of T'ai Chi Ch'uan |publisher=Wayfarer Publications |volume=21 |issue=3 |issn=0730-1049}}</ref>

== Health ==
{{See also|World Tai Chi and Qigong Day}}
[[File:Tai Chi1.jpg|thumb|Outdoor practice in [[Beijing]]'s [[Temple of Heaven]]]]

Tai chi's health training concentrates on preservation through correct alignment relieves stress on the body and mind, it can relieve joint pain by allowing weight to transfer properly through good posture, and as an aerobic exercise requiring flexibility, strength, stamina, balance and coordination. In the 21st century, tai chi classes that purely emphasize health are popular in hospitals, clinics, community centres and senior centres. Tai chi's low-stress training method for seniors has become better known.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yip |first=Y. L. |date=Autumn 2002 |title=Pivot&nbsp;– Qi |journal=The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness |publisher=Insight Graphics Publishers |volume=12 |issue=3 |issn=1056-4004}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Slow and Steady: The Health Benefits of Tai Chi |date=2023-09-05 |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi |issue=Health essentials |publisher=Cleveland Clinic}}</ref>

[[File:Lady does Tai Chi.jpg|thumb|A Chinese woman performs Yang-style tai chi.]]

Clinical studies exploring tai chi's effect on specific diseases and health conditions exist, though there are insufficient studies with consistent approaches to generate a comprehensive conclusion.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Yang GY, Wang LQ, Ren J, Zhang Y, Li ML, Zhu YT, Luo J, Cheng YJ, Li WY, Wayne PM, Liu JP |date=2015 |title=Evidence base of clinical studies on Tai Chi: a bibliometric analysis |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=3 |article-number=e0120655 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1020655Y |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0120655 |pmc=4361587 |pmid=25775125 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Tai chi has been promoted for treating various ailments, and is supported by the [[Parkinson's Foundation]] and [[Diabetes Australia]], among others. However, [[Evidence-based medicine|medical evidence]] of effectiveness is lacking for these conditions.<ref name="Lee2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=M. S. |last2=Ernst |first2=E. |year=2011 |title=Systematic reviews of t'ai chi: An overview |journal=[[British Journal of Sports Medicine]] |volume=46 |issue=10 |pages=713–8 |doi=10.1136/bjsm.2010.080622 |pmid=21586406 |s2cid=206878632}}</ref><ref name="aus17">{{Cite web |last=Baggoley C |year=2015 |title=Review of the Australian Government Rebate on Natural Therapies for Private Health Insurance |url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/0E9129B3574FCA53CA257BF0001ACD11/$File/Natural%20Therapies%20Overview%20Report%20Final%20with%20copyright%2011%20March.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094721/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/0E9129B3574FCA53CA257BF0001ACD11/$File/Natural%20Therapies%20Overview%20Report%20Final%20with%20copyright%2011%20March.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2015 |access-date=12 December 2015 |publisher=Australian Government – Department of Health}}
* {{lay source|template=cite web|author=Scott Gavura|date=November 19, 2015|title=Australian review finds no benefit to 17 natural therapies|url=https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/australian-review-finds-no-benefit-to-17-natural-therapies |website=Science-Based Medicine}}</ref> A 2017 systematic review found that it decreased falls in older people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lomas-Vega |first1=R |last2=Obrero-Gaitán |first2=E |last3=Molina-Ortega |first3=FJ |last4=Del-Pino-Casado |first4=R |date=September 2017 |title=Tai Chi for Risk of Falls. A Meta-analysis. |journal=[[Journal of the American Geriatrics Society]] |volume=65 |issue=9 |pages=2037–2043 |doi=10.1111/jgs.15008 |pmid=28736853 |s2cid=21131912}}</ref>

A 2011 comprehensive overview of [[systematic review]]s of tai chi recommended tai chi to older people for its physical and psychological benefits. It found positive results for [[fall prevention]] and overall [[mental health]]. No conclusive evidence showed benefit for most of the conditions researched, including [[Parkinson's disease]], [[diabetes]], [[cancer]] and [[arthritis]].<ref name="Lee2011" /> However, clinical reviews compiled by the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs]] demonstrate that tai chi provides positive health benefits for individuals with conditions such as Parkinson's disease, hypertension, and joint pain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VA.gov {{!}} Veterans Affairs |url=https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/cih/Tai_Chi_and_Qigong.asp |access-date=2026-06-01 |website=www.va.gov |language=en}}</ref>

A 2015 systematic review found that tai chi could be performed by those with chronic medical conditions such as [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]], [[heart failure]], and [[osteoarthritis]] without negative effects, and found favourable effects on functional exercise capacity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Yi-Wen |last2=Hunt |first2=Michael A. |last3=Campbell |first3=Kristin L. |last4=Peill |first4=Kortni |last5=Reid |first5=W. Darlene |date=2015-09-17 |title=The effect of Tai Chi on four chronic conditions – cancer, osteoarthritis, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analyses |url=http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2015/09/04/bjsports-2014-094388 |url-status=live |journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine |language=en |volume=50 |issue=7 |pages=bjsports-2014-094388 |doi=10.1136/bjsports-2014-094388 |issn=1473-0480 |pmid=26383108 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016043910/http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2015/09/04/bjsports-2014-094388 |archive-date=2015-10-16 |access-date=2015-10-09 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2015 the [[Department of Health (Australia)|Australian Government's Department of Health]] published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to identify any that were suitable for coverage by [[health insurance]]. Tai chi was one of 17 therapies evaluated. The study concluded that low-quality evidence suggests that tai chi may have some beneficial health effects when compared to control in a limited number of populations for a limited number of outcomes.<ref name="aus17" />

A 2020 review of 13 studies found that tai chi had positive effect on the quality of life and depressive symptoms of older adults with chronic conditions who lived in community settings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Choo |first=YT |date=2020 |title=Effectiveness of tai chi on quality of life, depressive symptoms and physical function among community-dwelling older adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=International Journal of Nursing Studies |publisher=Elsevier |volume=111 |article-number=103737 |doi=10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103737 |pmid=32891966 |s2cid=221523402}}</ref>

In 2022, the U.S.A. agency the [[National Institutes of Health]] published an analysis of various health claims, studies and findings. They concluded the evidence was of low quality, but that it appears to have a small positive effect on quality of life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=((National Center for Complementary and Intrgrative Health)) |date=March 2022 |editor2-last=Lanay Mudd |editor3-last=David Shurtleff |title=Tai Chi: What You Need To Know |url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/tai-chi-what-you-need-to-know |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012201905/https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/tai-chi-what-you-need-to-know |archive-date=2022-10-12 |access-date=2022-10-12 |publisher=National Institutes of Health |editor1=Inna Belfer}}</ref>

== Sport and competition ==

In addition to its health and meditative aspects, Tai Chi is practiced as a competitive sport in several formats. The most common is {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[tuishou]]}} (推手; pushing hands), in which two participants attempt to unbalance, move, or throw one another while maintaining sensitivity and control. Competitions may use fixed-step or moving-step rulesets, depending on whether foot movement is restricted. Scoring typically rewards the ability to displace the opponent through weight shifting, yielding, and redirection.

Tai Chi form routines (tàijíquán tàolù, 太極拳套路) are also performed competitively.<ref>{{cite web | title=武术套路 - Iwuf | url=https://www.iwuf.org/sport-wushu/competitive-wushu/taolu/ }}</ref> These performances are evaluated using criteria such as balance, smoothness, and technical difficulty, sometimes incorporating movements from multiple family styles.

Some organizations promote {{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[sanshou]]}} (散手; free-hand) or light- to full-contact sparring events intended to show Tai Chi's combative efficacy, though these are less common and often overlap with broader wushu competition formats.

Tournaments are held annually in Europe, Asia and the Americas,<ref>https://taichiheroes.org/</ref> with some drawing over 1000 competitors.

== Self-defence and martial application ==

In its martial aspect, tai chi emphasizes defence as attack, by practicing the forms to develop muscle memory ({{tlit|zh|pinyin|[[ziran]]}})<ref name=":1" /> and using the forms' asymmetries to express the 'Eight Gates' (Bā Mén 八門). Depending on how the opponent uses force, the practitioner allows a rotation through the creation of a fulcrum by yin/yang demarcation thus creating a continuous lever as the perimeter, giving all applications maximum leverage no matter what the opponent does, hence the famous aphorism that "4oz moves 1000lbs" (四两拨千斤). This also requires the maintenance of 'peng' (掤) to underlie 'lu' (捋), 'ji'(挤) & 'an' (按). Further, 'cai' (採), 'lie' (挒), 'zhou' (肘) & 'kao' (靠) can be applied through the various shapes and configurations in the form. These are all done by exploiting the opponents structural flaws like balance from 'double weightedness' (双重) which allows for joint breaks as well as; leg sweeps, kicks, jabs and throws.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lu|first=Shengli|year=2006|title=Combat Techniques of Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua: Principles and Practices of Internal Martial Arts|publisher=Blue Snake Books |isbn=1-58394-145-2}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Martial arts}}
* [[Qigong]]
* [[Self-healing]]
* [[Wushu (sport)|Wushu]]
* [[Yangsheng (Daoism)]]

== Other names ==
*Tai Ji Quan
*Taijiquan 
*Taichi
*Tʻai chi
*Tʻai chi chʻüan

== References ==
===Notes===
{{reflist|group=note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Barbara |title=Taijiquan Classics: An Annotated Translation |publisher=North Atlantic Books |year=2004 |isbn=1-55643-431-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wile |first=Douglas |title=Lost T'a-Chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty |date=1996 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=0-7914-2653-X}}

== Further reading ==

=== Books ===
* {{cite book |last=Agar-Hutton |first=Robert |year=2018 |title=The Metamorphosis of Tai Chi: Created to kill; evolved to heal; teaching peace |publisher=Ex-L-Ence Publishing |isbn=978-1-9164944-1-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bluestein |first=Jonathan |title=Research of Martial Arts |publisher=CreateSpace |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4991-2251-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bond |first=Joey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3YPZ8qbRLdQC |title=See Man Jump See God Fall: Tai Chi Vs. Technology |publisher=International Promotions Promotion Pub |year=1999 |isbn=1-57901-001-6 |author-link=Joey Bond}}
* {{Cite book |last=Choy |first=Kam Man |title=Tai Chi Chuan |publisher=Memorial Edition 1994 |year=1985 |location=San Francisco, California}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite book |last=Eberhard |first=Wolfram |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofchin00wolf |title=A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |location=London |year=1986 |isbn=0-415-00228-1 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Frantzis |first=Bruce |title=The Power of Internal Martial Arts and Chi: Combat and Energy Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi and Hsing-I |publisher=Blue Snake Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58394-190-4}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Gaffney |first1=David |title=The Essence of Taijiquan |last2=Sim |first2=Davidine Siaw-Voon |publisher=CreateSpace |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-5006-0923-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Lǐ |first=Jiànqīng |year=2006 |script-title=zh:永年太极拳志 |trans-title=Yongnian Taijiquan Gazetteer |publisher=People's Sports Publishing House |isbn=7-5009-3044-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Sūn ({{lang|zh|孫}}) |first=Lùtáng ({{lang|zh|祿堂}}) |year=1921 |title=Tàijí quán xué |script-title=zh:太極拳學 |trans-title=A Study of Taiji Boxing |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/312654562/The-Taiji-Manual-of-Sun-Lutang}}
**{{cite book |last=Sūn ({{lang|zh|孫}}) |first=Lùtáng ({{lang|zh|祿堂}}) |language=zh-Hant  |title=Tàijí quán xué |script-title=zh:太極拳學 |trans-title=A Study of Taiji Boxing |year=2018 |publisher=Dazhan Publishing House |isbn=978-986-346-201-9}} 
**{{cite book |language=zh-Hans |year=2016 |script-title=zh:孙禄堂武学集注 太极拳学 |trans-title=Sun Lutang Martial Theory Collection: A Study of Taiji Boxing |location=Beijing |publisher=Beijing Science and Technology Press |isbn=978-7-5304-8625-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wile |first=Douglas |title=Tai Chi Touchstones: Yang Family Secret Transmissions |publisher=Sweet Ch'i Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-912059-01-X}}
*Yang, Banhou ({{lang|zh|楊班侯}}, 1875*), {{lang|zh|太極法說}} (''Explaining Taiji Principles''), available online in Chinese and English translation at [https://www.scribd.com/document/343601299/Explaining-Taiji-Principles Scribd] and also included in Chinese and English translation in Wile, Douglas (1996) (*Scholars estimate the publication date to be between 1875 and 1910, and believe the author(s) to be Yang Banhou and/or his disciples)
* {{Cite book |last1=Yang |first1=Yang |title=Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power |last2=Grubisich |first2=Scott A. |publisher=Zhenwu Publication |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-9740990-1-9 |edition=2nd}}

=== Magazines ===
* ''Taijiquan Journal'' {{ISSN|1528-6290}}
* ''T'ai Chi Magazine'' {{ISSN|0730-1049}} Wayfarer Publications. Bimonthly.

{{Qigong}}
{{Wushu (sport)}}
{{Martial arts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tai chi}}
[[Category:Tai chi| ]]
[[Category:Taoism]]
[[Category:Chinese martial arts]]
[[Category:Chinese swordsmanship]]
[[Category:Meditation]]
[[Category:Neijia]]
[[Category:Qigong]]