Tai Ji Quan is a major division of Chinese martial art. Tai Ji Quan means "supreme ultimate fist." Tai means "Supreme," Ji means "Ultimate," and Quan means "Fist."
Tai Ji Quan has its philosophical roots in Taoism and is considered as an internal martial art, utilizing the internal energy, or Qi, and following the simple principle of "subduing the vigorous by the soft." Taoism is the oldest philosophy of China which is represented by the famous symbol of the Yin and Yang which expresses the continuous flow of Qi in a circular motion that generates two opposite forces, plus and minus, which interact and balance with each others to bring existence to the physical and metaphysical world.
Origin
The term of "tai ji" first appeared in the Book of Changes compiled during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-256 BC).
There have been different sayings about the origin of Tai Ji Quan. The traditional legend goes that the wise Taoist Zhang Sanfeng of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) created Tai Ji Quan after he had witnessed a fight between a sparrow and a snake; while most people agreed that the modern Tai Ji Quan originated from Chen style Tai Ji Quan, which first appeared during the 19th century in the Daoguang Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Different Styles
The most famous forms of Tai Ji Quan practiced today are the Chen, Yang, Woo, Wu and Sun styles. All the five styles can be traced back to Chen style Tai Ji Quan. According to historical records, Tai Ji Quan was founded by Chen Wangting (1597-1664), who lived in Chen Village, today's Henan Province in China.
Chen Wangting named his wushu routine "tai ji" because most of its movements were circular and reminiscent of the symbol of the universe as conceived by the ancients -- a circle intersected by a curved line of "s", with one half in blank and the other in black, representing respectively yin and yang, the two opposing principles in nature, the former feminine, negative or void, and the other masculine, positive or solid. And the terms of "void" and "solid" are still used for some of the Tai Ji Quan movements today.
Nowadays, when most people talk about Tai Ji Quan, they are usually referring to the Yang style, which has already spread throughout the world and is practiced by millions of people.
