17/03/2026
My last webinar has raised questions in practitioners. Thankyou, that is what it was designed to do.
Here is the historical timeline that shows Taiji is niether a health system nor a martial art, but actually both and also that it needs to carry on its 4,000 yr old development journey with new practitioners that understand its true purpose;
We can now enter into that thousands year long timeline that looks a little like this…
• c. 2000 BCE:
• Taiji (great Ultimate) mentioned in the IChing. The work started with an examination of the nature of man within the environment, they called this Tian-ren-he-yi or nature-human-harmony. Practices that emphasised living within the natural patterns of the universe (Taiji).
• Early, undocumented Daoyin (guiding energy) exercises begin as dance-like movements to cure ailments.
• This was the examination of what balanced health could be developed through body alchemy and soft/hard movements.
• The examination of the whole, separated into its Yin/Yang construction.
• This examination and experimentation seems to have lasted over 2000yrs and was wholey health based.
• 168 BCE (Han Dynasty):
• Daoyin Tu (illustrated manual of 44 exercises) created.
• Discovered in a Han Dynasty tomb, the Daoyin Tu is a scroll depicting 44 figures performing various standing and sitting exercises
• This is considered to be the origin of Qigong and was still health based
• c. 145–208 CE (Eastern Han):
• Hua Tuo develops the "Five Animal Frolics".
• Developed by the physician Hua Tuo, this set mimics the movements of five animals to promote balance, health, and flexibility
• The movements are slow, conscious, and connected to the internal organs, laying the groundwork for internal energy cultivation.
• Still very much health based and now concentrated on the human microcosm
• 502–557 CE (Liang Dynasty):
• Hujingzi (a martial artist) develops Houtianfa, utilizing the eight-direction methods we see today in Taiji Quan.
• Created by Hujingzi, this is noted for having "eight directions" methods, which are considered core components of later Taiji techniques.
• Houtianfa or Method of the Later Heaven, is a system that is recognized for its similarities to tai chi quan. It is often described as an early form or a precursor to internal martial arts principles
• Now we see the beginnings of the martial element accompanying the health systems in Taiji.
• 618–907 CE (Tang Dynasty):
• Early "37 forms" or Sanshiqi and other internal styles practiced by Daoist recluses.
• A form of martial arts practiced by recluses in the mountains, focusing on combining movement with stillness.
• It was to these practitioners that Chen Wanting retreated to so that he could found Chen Taiji.
• Here we see separate people from the original scholars, exploring the original question in a martial art way, alongside over 2500 yrs of health investigation and development.
• 1368–1644 (Ming Dynasty):
• Techniques of Daoyin internal force (non martial origin) and Tuna breathing (non martial origin) become increasingly refined by martial artists, including General Qi Jiguang’s "Boxing in 32 Forms".
• The 13 Postures (Pre-16th Century):
• Often cited as the "secret key" to Tai Chi, the 13 Postures are not necessarily a specific "form" in the modern sense but a set of 13 core, underlying principles (8 techniques and 5 movements).
• These are believed to have existed in varying forms long before the Chen family solidified them
• These energies are often paired in practice: Peng/Lu, Ji/An, Tsai/Lieh, and Zhou/Kao. They are not just physical but are activated by intent (Yi) and coordinated with breath.
• This is a perfect example of the crossover between the non martial and the martial.
• It is the central portion of Taiji, without this you are not performing Taiji.
• 16th Century (Late Ming):
• The 13 Postures are adapted and integrated by the Chen family, leading to the creation of Chen-style Taiji.
• By the time Chen Wangting formalized Chen-style Tai Chi in the late 1600s, he was synthesizing these ancient, pre-1600s, slow-motion, and soft, internal methods with his own battlefield experience.
• Now we have come to modern martial forms of Taiji. Travelling the full circle from Yin to Yang, we can now see how Taiji is not one or the other, not health, not martial, but is in fact a whole that is a perfect interconnected practice for what ever you as a practitioner need it to be.
• Taiji needs to continue its journey…it needs now to use the elements found within its 4000 year exploration to combine the martial and the health into a form of Taiji that actually results in the balance within and without that the scholars started and we, as modern practitioners, can finally form into a whole.
• A Taiji that is neither health based or martial based, but a taiji that encompasses both into a jewel of human development.
Everything above is historical fact, not a made up martial fantasy...I encourage you to check it out yourself!!
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