Taiji Quan

t‘ai chi ch‘üan / tàijíquán
(太極拳)

The lower dantian in Taijiquan: Yin and Yang rotate, while the core reverts to stillness (wuji)
Yang Chengfu in a posture from the Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan solo form known as Single Whip c. 1931
Also known as	t‘ai chi; tàijí
Focus	Chinese Taoist
Hardness	Forms competition, Light contact (pushing hands, no strikes), Full contact (strikes, kicks, throws, etc.)
Country of origin	China
Creator	Said to be Zhang Sanfeng
Famous practitioners	Chen Wangting, Chen Changxing, Chen Fake, Yang Luchan, Yang Chengfu, Wu Ch'uan-yu, Wu Chien-ch'uan, Wu Yu-hsiang, Sun Lu-t'ang, Wang Pei-sheng
Olympic sport	Demonstration only

Tai chi
Tàijí quán in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	太極拳
Simplified Chinese	太极拳
Literal meaning	"Supreme Ultimate Boxing"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tàijíquán Wade–Giles T'ai4-chi2 ch'üan2 IPA [tʰâi.tɕǐ tɕʰɥɛ̌n] Wu Suzhounese Thǎ-jíh jʏǿ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Taai-gihk kyùhn IPA [tʰāːi kɪ̀k kʰy̏ːn] Jyutping Taai3-gik6 kyun4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Thài-ke̍k kûn Tâi-lô Thài-ki̍k kûn

Tai chi (taiji), short for t'ai chi ch'üan (taijiquan; 太极拳), is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. The term taiji refers to a philosophy of the forces of yin and yang, related to the moves. Though originally conceived as a martial art, it is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: competitive wrestling in the format of pushing hands (tui shou), demonstration competitions and achieving greater longevity. As a result, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims with differing emphasis. Some training forms of tàijíquán are especially known for being practiced with relatively slow movements.

Today, tai chi has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu and Sun. All of the former, in turn, trace their historical origins to Chen Village.

The concept of the taiji ("supreme ultimate"), in contrast with wuji ("without ultimate"), appears in both Taoist and Confucian Chinese philosophy, where it represents the fusion or mother of yin and yang into a single ultimate, represented by the taijitu symbol . Tàijíquán theory and practice evolved in agreement with many Chinese philosophical principles, including those of Taoism and Confucianism.