Tai Chi Chuan - the origin story
An image of an older Chen Fake, Chen style Tai Chi Chuan Master, playing the form - Wikimedia
I am putting this article here partly as a reminder for me to come back and re-listen many times to this series of podcasts by Graham Barlow and Damon Smith, and to take better notes.
If you are interested in East Asian history and an alternative take on the origin story of Tai Chi Chuan, this is definitely for you.
Not for the faint hearted, this will be a time commitment!
These episodes were released between June and August 2020 and can be found here http://www.hereticspodcast.com or from the individual links provided below. Listen via your preferred podcast player or directly in-line.
#51 The Tai Chi Myth (part 1)
Did Tai Chi exist before 1850? In this episode we begin a new series of episodes on this subject by setting the scene and historical background to the mythmaking around the origins of Tai Chi that occurred starting from the middle of the Nineteenth Century in response to social turmoil and unrest exemplified by the Taiping Rebellion and Opium Wars.
https://www.hereticspodcast.com/2020/06/15/the-myth-of-tai-chi-chuan/
#52 The Tai Chi Myth (part 2) Tai Chi as a Brand
In this episode we examine the context in which the relationship between Yang Luchan, Wu Chengqing and Wu Yuxiang developed during the years of the Taiping Rebellion and the new regime of Emperor Xianfeng.
https://www.hereticspodcast.com/2020/06/30/52-the-tai-chi-myth-part-2-tai-chi-as-a-brand/
#53 The Tai Chi Myth (part 3) Wu and Chen First Contact
In this episode we look at how the effects of the Taiping Northern Expedition and the Nian Rebellion of the mid Nineteenth Century drew the confucian Wu brothers and the fighters of Chen Village towards each other for the first time.
https://www.hereticspodcast.com/2020/07/09/53-the-tai-chi-myth-part-3-wu-and-chen-first-contact/
#54 The Tai Chi Myth (part 4) The Fall and Rise of Yang Luchan
In this episode we look at the events surrounding Yang Luchan's expulsion from the imperial service in 1861 in the context of the rise to power of Empress Dowager Cixi. We also examine how the involvement of the western powers in Chinese affairs directly led to the Self Strenghtening (sic) Movement and the establishment of the first public martial arts schools in North China.
#55 The Tai Chi Myth (part 5) Modernisers vs Conservatives
In this episode we examine the Chen family's relationship with General Yuan Shikai, the friction between modernising and conservative factions within China and the events of the Boxer Rebellion.
https://www.hereticspodcast.com/2020/08/07/55-the-tai-chi-myth-part-5-modernisers-vs-conservatives/
#56 The Tai Chi Myth (part 6) The Same Form
In our last look at Tai Chi for a while, we examine the context of the times in which Chen Zhaopei and Chen Fake became prominent for their martial arts in Beijing, and then at a national level, joining the wave of commerciality that had been originally instigated by the legacy of Yang Luchan and the Wu brothers. In addition we explain why the forms are similar in general order between the Yang/Wu and Chen lineages.
https://www.hereticspodcast.com/2020/08/21/56-the-tai-chi-myth-part-6-the-same-form/
About the creators
Graham Barlow
Graham is a technology journalist working in Bath, UK. He also has a lifelong interest in martial arts including Tai Chi, Xing Yi and Brazilian Jiujitsu. Graham does his best at juggling these diverse martial arts and runs a couple of blogs called The Tai Chi Notebook and The BJJ Notebook.
- https://thetaichinotebook.com
Damon Smith
Damon has been practicing martial arts for over 40 years, studying under native Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian teachers. He studied and researched on the ground in both China and Japan, exploring the roots of the martial arts in the esoteric and shamanistic traditions of the Far East, and in 1994 was awarded an MA in East Asian Studies by the University of Leeds. Damon is the editor of both the Western White Tiger I-Ching and the Concordance to Ofudesaki, is the author of the book Xing Yi Bear Eagle, co-hosts the Woven Energy Podcast on Shamanism with Joe Sykora, and holds the Yongquan Martial Arts Association's highest teaching certification.
- http://www.xingyi.org.uk/teacher.html
- https://foxfist.com/wiki/who_we_are
- https://www.amazon.com/Xing-Bear-Eagle-Damon-Smith/dp/0954648447
Cover image An image of Chen Chan Xin, Chen style Tai Chi Chuan master (source).
