Who Created Taichi Chuan?

Author: Peter Tong

Translation: Stephen Tang

"一生二，二生三，三生萬物。萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。" -《老子》

“Out of Tao, One is born; out of One, Two; out of Two, Three; out of Three, the created universe. The created universe carries the yin at its back and the yang in front; through the union of the pervading principles it reaches harmony. “ – Lao Tzu (Translation by Lin Yutang)

太極拳由誰人始創﹐眾說紛紜，向無定論，有說唐代許宣平，也有說宋代張三峰 /明代張三丰，或明代陳王廷，亦有說是明代或清初之王宗 /王宗岳等，很難說清楚。

有記錄可考的是河南陳家溝及趙堡鎮所傳的太極拳，自晚清經幾代承傳，已分成陳、楊、吳、武、孫五大流派。無論各派源流如何，都以王宗岳的太極拳理論為依據。這樣問題就簡單得多，只要弄清楚王宗岳太極拳理論的思維源流，太極拳由誰始創便不重要了。

Who created taichi chuan? There are many opinions on this question, and yet it admits of no conclusive answer. Among the legendary claims are: Xu Xuanping (circa 710) of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Sanfeng (張三峰circa 1247) of the Song Dynasty / Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰cira 1384) of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Wangting (circa 1609) of the Ming Dynasty, and Wangzong / Wang Zongyue (circa 1525~1606) of the Ming and early Qing Dynasty, albeit with little or no evidence.

Nevertheless, there is documentary evidence supporting the presence of taichi chuan training since the late Qing Dynasty (1840~1912) in the villages of Chenjiagou and Zhaobao, Henan Province. The original art, while passing down through several generations, has branched out into five major schools or styles: Chen, Yang, Wu, W’u, and Sun. Regardless of their origins, all styles are based on Wang Zongyue’s theory of taichi. In this way, the problem is much simpler. Perhaps if we could figure out the source of Wang Zongyue’s idea, it won’t matter too much who actually created taichi chuan.

王宗岳的太極拳理論，一般相信在明未清初時形成，正是王夫之，方以智，黃宗羲延續「宋易」，並把易學推向經世致用的高潮的時代。王宗岳在這個時候採納了「宋易」太極思維的精華，以陰陽、八卦、五行為運動原則，以心、氣主客配合，以「中」為用，完善了太極拳的拳法和理論，是潮流趨勢與時代的產物，是自然而然的。事實上，用太極來命名這拳，已說明了其源流。

It is generally believed that Wang Zongyue’s theory of taichi chuan was developed around the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. It was at a time when a new generation of literati such as Wang Fuzhi, Fang Yizhi, and Huang Zongxi, influenced and inspired by the philosophy of Yijing of the Song Dynasty, were making their marks with putting Yijing studies into practice. Wang Zongyue had got the gist of taichi thinking from the Song Yi-ology. He applied the principles of yinyang, bagua, and five elements in the way of movements, and made the “zhong” (center) as a function of mediating between the mind (as subject) and qi (as object). As a result, he had perfected the theory and practice of taichi chuan into a coherent whole. Taichi chuan was naturally a product of the times. After all, the name, taichi, does say a lot about its origin.

太極拳的精要在陰陽相濟，陰陽相濟的精要在「中」。太極思維來自「陰、陽、中」涵三為一的整體思維。《太極圖》的出現，《河圖》、《洛書》的研究興於宋代，故太極拳最早也衹能始創於宋代，而真正完成太極拳成為獨特拳法並完善其理論的時代，則應該是清初或稍後。

根據現有的文獻，王宗岳的《太極拳論》是公認最完善、最正確的拳論，這是王宗岳對太極拳的貢獻，也是他善於總結前人的經驗理論而應用於實際的成就。

At the heart of taichi chuan is the yinyang principle of complementarity, which also underlines the important concept of zhong (center) . This theme closely parallels the holistic thinking of taichi philosophy, namely, “the trinity of yin, yang, zhong”. The remarkable “taichi diagram” was first drawn up during the Song Dynasty when research into the River Map and the Luo Chart was flourishing. Therefore, taichi chuan could not have been born before the Song Dynasty (960~1279). It follows that by the time the art of taichi chuan came to fruition, it might well be in the early Qing period (1636~), if not much later.

Based on existing literature and commentaries, the “Treatise on Taichi Chuan” by Wang Zongyue is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, orthodox theory of taichi chuan. This is Wang Zongyue's tribute to taichi chuan. It is an extraordinary accomplishment made possible by a man who excelled in turning ancient wisdom into practice.