Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty

I've had this book for years. When I first got it, I just wanted the "actual classics" and couldn't find my way through all the different versions I was finding, but as if repeating history, I found this while browsing a book store... First impressions were that the book is full of incredibly dense information surrounding utterly pure translations of the classics, the bibles of Tai Chi practice. I took copious notes, trying to extract the secrets of tai chi from texts that were utterly beyond my comprehension and outside my direct experience. Well, after a couple years of Tai Chi practice, I saw the book as utterly useless for Tai Chi practice. It could not help me grasp the subtle methods. Classes were the best way, but even that was not easy. Years later, I was getting better at practice, and I just wanted to learn more about the history. That's when I realized just how amazing and deep this book is. It is full of historical information that you would be hard pressed to find in online forums where people are either bickering or repeating the stories told to them by their teachers, and it puts new "theories" into context. And, after getting a basic grasp on how to practice, the poetry is lovely and provides some food for thought. While one cannot deny the importance of oral tradition, and while this book will probably not make a beginner's practice any easier, it's a must for anyone who wants to understand the art's place in the world, and begin to understand why it's taught the way it is today. But be sure to take notes and pace yourself - this information is quite dense, and it can be challenging to keep up with. That said, if you're accustomed to Pinyin Chinese romanization, you will stumble a bit through the Wade-Giles system used here. If you're not at all familiar with the difference between the two, it would be really helpful to familiarize yourself. Also, the classics which are translated here are NOT the ones most people may be familiar with; Wile only provides the "New Texts" which are from the same time period as the popular classics ("previously received texts"), but were newly released for study. However, in his analysis he does compare the different sets to attempt to answer questions regarding Tai Chi's development.

This is nothing short of great scholarly work. The sheer amount of research that Douglas Wile put into the book must have been overwhelming. The text should be of interest to Sinologists and any serious student of Taijiquan alike, for it's stern cross-examination of the political and social factors that played into the Taijiquan creation mythos (including that of Zheng Sanfeng's involvement.) Douglas Wile gives us a glimpse into the first major Classics of Taiji, an up-close look at the authors, their possible motivations and background history as based on the newspaper clippings and other records available from the Ch'ing time period. Various sources and theories are cross-examined, and held up against the records from that timeline. This questioning and cross referencing allows us better understanding of some of the strong cultural and seemingly mythological attributions that are prominent in today's presentation of the art. Wile presents the reader with the Wu and Li family's involvement, their contributions to the art, their influence, and in turn, what influenced them. The various theories and chronologies, the various newspapers and records, numerous discrepancies and inconsistencies, and other significant information that leads the reader to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the depth of Taijiquan. While we may never know with 100% certainty the exact origins of the art (the Chen's account being perhaps the most feasible,) we may certainly discount many of the theories that are currently being passed off as genuine history.

This is probably the definitive history, while saying there isn't really a definitive history: a lot of mythology and alternative facts down through the years. It's not just a history, but also a cultural reflection and an aid to teaching and practice.

The classic texts would be difficult for beginning tai chi students to understand, however,this book is an excellent choice for experienced students of tai chi. Texts of tai chi classics supplemented with the author's analysis of the signficance of the text and a detailed history of tai chi make this a book I will go back to over and over as my tai chi practice deepens.

This is priceless reading for any true tai chi pugilist. The book. Gives history, background and in depth practice detail. Tai chi theory at its highest level.

This book provides a great historical insight into the factors that influenced the evolution of taichi.

Informative.

Douglas Wile comes across as a self proclaimed expert. The book has way too much of his interpretations of history and way too little of the actual translations of the text. it quickly became clear to me that he is either not a practicing martial artist or a novice, as he misses nuances that you've learned as an advanced martial artists. His bias shows that he either doesn't respect or understand the internal martial arts. As with all the Chinese martial arts classics the reader has to have an operating understanding of the martial arts to be able to benefit from the writings. If we can't read Chinese we are at the mercy of the translator. A translator with advance knowledge of the martial arts is more likely to communicate the intent of the writer of the original text. The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan is an example of a good translation, this book is not. I get the impression the book was an outcrop of his Masters or PHD project.

Received in very time. Thanks

profound read

This book is good... very good but sometimes it seemed to follow an agenda in proscribing the invention of systems to particular people or the use of them in particular areas... Well worth the read and would recommend it.