太極拳發明於張三丰祖師。盡人知之。惟練此拳之起點。當先求一個不偏不倚。不上不下。至簡至易之道。拳經云。抱元守一。而虛中。虛空而念化。實其腹而道心生。卽此意也。太極從無極而生。為無極之後天。萬極之先天。承上啓下。能與天地合德。日月合明。四時合序。與鬼神合其吉凶。練之到至善處。以和為體。和之中智勇生焉。極未動時。為未發之和。極已動時。為已發之中。所以拳術一道。首重中和。中和之外。無元妙也。故太極拳。要純任自然。不尚血氣。以蓄神為主。周身輕靈〔。不卽不離。勿妄勿助。內天德而外王道。〕將起點之極。逐漸推之。貫於周身。無微不至。易曰。黄中通理。正位居體。卽此意也。昔年曾聞之師云。此起點之極。與丹道中之元關相同。鄙人研究數十年。不敢云確有心得。然考其本源。實與形意八卦。其理相通。不過名稱與形式之動作不同耳。至若善養氣練神。則初無少異。譬之形意。地也。八卦天也。太極人也。天地人三才。合為一體。混然一氣。實無區分。練之久。而動靜〔自如。頭頭是道。又何形意。八卦。太極之〕有哉。至峨眉派。傳之梅花八式。志公禪師亦重氣養之功。兹不必更贅也。
"Taiji Boxing was invented by Zhang Sanfeng, as everyone knows. At the beginning of practicing this art, you should first seek for the method of “neither leaning nor inclining, neither rising nor falling, acting with absolute simplicity and absolute ease”. A boxing text says [paraphrasing from the kestrel section in his own Xingyi manual]: “By embracing primal oneness, there is emptiness. With emptiness, there is transformation. Then with fullness in the abdomen, the Daoist mind is born.” It is this idea.
Taiji [“grand polarity”] comes from wuji [“nonpolarity”]. It is nonpolarity’s acquired state and the innate quality of all things, and thus the transition from nothing to everything, [again from his Xingyi manual:] “just as the sky and ground combine to make virtue, the sun and moon combine to make illumination, the four seasons combine to make the cycle of the seasons, and ghosts and spirits combine to make the foretelling of good or bad fortune.” If you practice it to a high level, harmoniousness will manifest, then from within harmoniousness, wisdom and courage will arise. Right before taking any action, there is the harmoniousness of not yet expressing. Once action is taken, there is the centeredness of having expressed.
Therefore the way of this boxing art most of all emphasizes centered harmoniousness. Without this centered harmoniousness, there would be nothing wonderful about it. Thus Taiji Boxing seeks to be purely natural and puts no value on vigor. It aims to store up spirit, making the whole body nimble, so that there is neither reaching nor separating, neither rashness nor rescuing, internally the virtue of Nature and externally the way of kings.
Right from the start, gradually work at it until a centered harmoniousness fills your whole body, reaching even to the smallest part. It says in the Book of Changes [hexagram 2 explanation]: “The gentleman takes yellow [the color associated with the center, i.e. centeredness] as his guiding principle, which corrects his behavior and affects his very being. [The beauty within this condition reaches to his extremities, making everything he does sublime.]” This is the idea.
My teacher [Hao Weizhen] once told me: “Right from the start, this art is the same as the ‘primal gateway’ of the elixirists.” I have been studying this art for several decades, but I would not dare to say that I have a true grasp of it. However, when considering its origins, it is truly interconnected with Xingyi and Bagua in terms of theory. It is only different in its movements and the names of its postures, while as for its qualities of nurturing energy and developing spirit, there is not the slightest difference.
By analogy, Xingyi is the ground, Bagua is the sky, and Taiji is mankind. The three substances of sky, ground, and mankind are merged into a single whole, mixed into a union with no meaningful distinctions. After practicing for a long time, there is fluency in both movement and stillness, and clarity as to the reasoning of the method. Ah, what a thing it is to have Xingyi, Bagua, and Taiji! As for the Emei school’s transmission of the Eight-Posture Plum Blossoms art, as well as Zen master Bai Zhi’s breathing exercises, it is not necessary to go into them here."
Translation by Paul Brennan of "A Detailed Look at the Theories of Xingyi, Bagua and Taichi" (詳論形意八卦太極之原理) by Sūn Lùtáng (孫祿堂), to be found in the Brennan Translation blog.
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