The Chinese Tai Chi Institute中華太極館
Portraits of the Founding Masters and Successive Generations of Tai Chi Chuan.
楊露禪 — Yang Luchan, founding master of Yang-style Tai Chi Chuan.
楊班侯 — Yang Banhou, second-generation Yang family master.
楊健侯 — Yang Jianhou, second-generation Yang family master.
楊澄甫 — Yang Chengfu, third-generation Yang family master.
鄭曼青 — Cheng Man-ch'ing, a prominent Tai Chi master.
宋志堅 — Song Zhijian, associated with the Yi-Jian Tai Chi tradition.
It represents the transmission of Tai Chi knowledge from one generation to another.
Portraits of Tai Chi Masters and Lineage
This photograph shows a collection of ancestral portraits associated with the Yang-style and related Tai Chi traditions.
The Chinese Tai Chi Institute and Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan
History, Philosophy, Practice, and International Development
1. The Chinese Tai Chi Institute (中華太極館)
The Chinese Tai Chi Institute in Taipei is a center for the preservation, teaching, and development of traditional Tai Chi Chuan. Its history is closely associated with Grandmaster Song Zhijian (宋志堅, 1909–2000), a teacher who brought together classical Chinese philosophy, disciplined movement study, and the practical art of push-hands. A fundraising effort for the Institute began in 1978, and the Institute opened in 1981. It welcomed practitioners from Taiwan and abroad to study and exchange ideas, with the preservation of traditional supple and yielding Tai Chi as a central mission.
The Institute is more than a place to learn a sequence of postures. Its teaching treats Tai Chi as an integrated discipline of body, mind, and interpersonal sensitivity. Students study form (拳架), foundational exercises (基本功), push-hands (推手), and the principles that connect them. The emphasis is on understanding how movement arises from coordinated changes of weight, waist and legs, rather than relying on isolated arm strength.
Master Wu Ronghui (吳榮輝), a disciple of Grandmaster Song and a leading teacher of Yi-Jian Tai Chi, has played an important role in sustaining this tradition. His instruction highlights relaxation without collapse, upright alignment, attentive contact, and the intelligent use of gravity, inertia, and ground reaction force (地面反作用力). In paired practice, students learn to receive and redirect an incoming force while preserving their own balance and freedom of movement.
The Institute also helps connect generations of practitioners. Through regular classes, teacher development, seminars, demonstrations, and competitions, its community provides opportunities for experienced teachers and beginners to learn from one another. The annual Zhijian Cup (志堅盃), held in memory of Grandmaster Song, is one example of the continuing commitment to both tradition and practical exchange.
2. Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan (易簡太極拳)
Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan was developed by Grandmaster Song Zhijian, drawing on his studies of Wu-style Tai Chi, his later training with Master Cheng Man-ching (鄭曼青), and his lifelong engagement with the I Ching (易經, Book of Changes). The name Yi-Jian means “Ease and Simplicity.” It is not a promise that Tai Chi can be mastered without effort. Rather, it expresses the idea that profound skill becomes natural, economical, and free from unnecessary tension.
The philosophy of the I Ching offers a framework for understanding Tai Chi: substantial and insubstantial (虛實), movement and stillness (動靜), and hardness and softness (剛柔) continuously interact and transform. In practice, these are not abstract opposites. They are experienced in every transfer of weight, every turn of the waist, and every exchange of force with a partner. The classical ideal of “using intention rather than force” (用意不用力) asks the practitioner to replace excessive effort with awareness and whole-body coordination.
The traditional Yi-Jian form consists of six sections and sixty-four postures (六十四勢), with 365 counted movements in its full training sequence. A shorter 34-posture competition version, drawn from selected sections, has also been developed. Detailed breakdowns help students learn the movement path, timing, and relationship between the body’s center and its extremities. Training draws on the Eight Methods of Natural Movement (自然運動八法), the essentials of Yang-style Tai Chi (楊式太極十要), and systematic attention to stepping, balance, and relaxation.
An important feature of this tradition is its insistence that the hands should not act independently of the body—often expressed as “No independent arm movement in Tai Chi” (太極不動手). In push-hands, practitioners learn to stick, adhere, continue, and follow (黏、貼、連、隨), without losing contact or resisting rigidly (不丟不頂). The Eight Methods—Peng, Lü, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou, and Kao (掤、捋、擠、按、採、挒、肘、靠)—are studied as coordinated whole-body actions rather than isolated techniques.
3. Recognition in Competition and International Exchange
Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan is both a living traditional art and a recognized competition routine. It is one of the six Tai Chi Chuan bare-hand routine categories included in Taiwan’s National Games for All (全民運動會), as documented in the official 2024 technical handbook. Yi-Jian practitioners also take part in national championships and international World Cup Tai Chi and push-hands events. The exact categories and rules vary by event and year; participation in a World Cup should not be taken to mean that every event uses the same six-routine program.
Across Taiwan, Yi-Jian Tai Chi has been sustained through local classes, associations, and practitioners in multiple cities and counties. Its international reach extends to Japan, Europe, and North America. A Japanese Yi-Jian push-hands association publicly describes its connection to the Taiwanese tradition and offers training activities. Teachers associated with this lineage have also taught in France, Switzerland, and the United States. These exchanges allow Tai Chi to be shared not only as a cultural heritage, but as a practical language of movement that crosses national and linguistic boundaries.
For international students, the distinctive value of Yi-Jian lies in its union of classical ideas and observable practice. The body remains centered and responsive; movement follows intention; and force is managed through timing, alignment, and the coordinated action of the entire body. By studying the form and testing its principles through cooperative push-hands, practitioners seek not only technical proficiency, but also patience, adaptability, and mutual respect.
In this spirit, the Chinese Tai Chi Institute and the Yi-Jian tradition continue to invite practitioners from different backgrounds to study together: preserving the wisdom of earlier generations while making its principles understandable, teachable, and relevant to modern life.
The Philosophy of Qian and Kun
乾以易知，坤以簡能。 易則易知，簡則易從。Qian (Heaven) makes things understandable through ease; Kun (Earth) accomplishes things through simplicity. What is easy can readily be understood; what is simple can readily be followed. These lines come from the I Ching (易經), also known as the Book of Changes. The principle is that genuine mastery does not require unnecessary complexity. In Tai Chi, naturalness and simplicity are essential to effective movement.
易簡太極拳的歷史傳承
與哲學內涵
Historical Lineage and Philosophical Foundations of Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan
第一部分：宗師宋志堅
Part I. Grandmaster Song Zhijian
易簡太極拳宋志堅宗師字石泉，號鑑清，民國前2年（1909）生於湖南省益陽市靈坳鄉牛眠石村，民國89年（2000）12月12日仙逝，享年九十有一。從小學習易理，對大自然現象及身體各環節之陰陽變化，有其敏銳的洞察力。
Grandmaster Song Zhijian (宋志堅), founder of Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan, had the courtesy name Shiquan (石泉) and the literary name Jianqing (鑑清). Born in 1909 in Niumienshi Village, Ling’ao Township, Yiyang, Hunan Province, he passed away on December 12, 2000, at the age of ninety-one. From childhood he studied the principles of the Changes (易理) and developed a keen sensitivity to the transformations of Yin and Yang in nature and in the different parts of the human body.
宗師湖南農校畢業後，跟隨易邦正大師學習劍術，民國22年（1933）年從吳公藻大師，經過5年太極拳啟蒙訓練後。民國36年（1947）抵臺。民國41年（1952）拜入鄭曼青宗師門下，學習鄭子三十七式太極拳，對鄭子訓練要訣與哲理如：「美人手」、「太極不動手」、「吃虧即是佔便宜」、「陸地游泳」、及「吞天之氣、接地之力、壽人以柔」等等均有深切的體悟。
After graduating from an agricultural school in Hunan, he studied swordsmanship with Master Yi Bangzheng (易邦正). In 1933 he began studying with Master Wu Gongzao (吳公藻), receiving five years of foundational Tai Chi training. He arrived in Taiwan in 1947. In 1952 he became a disciple of Grandmaster Zheng Manqing (鄭曼青), studying Zheng’s 37-posture Tai Chi form. He gained a profound understanding of teachings such as “Beautiful Lady’s Hands” (美人手), “In Tai Chi, the hands do not move independently” (太極不動手), “Accepting a loss is gaining an advantage” (吃虧即是佔便宜), “Swimming on Land” (陸地游泳), and “Receive the energy of Heaven, connect with the power of Earth, and cultivate longevity through softness” (吞天之氣、接地之力、壽人以柔).
宗師生前依楊式太極拳及鄭曼青宗師的訓練法，提出「鬆持法」、「內勁回收法」、「自然運動八法」、「拳架分解動作訓練法」、「五行生剋法」、「收臀必鬆腰，鬆腰腹內鬆，腹鬆則氣斂入骨，胸必自含」等等訓練法及精闢哲理。宗師除將畢生習拳心得，編寫成《太極拳學》上、下兩冊外，並創立「易簡太極拳」傳承鬆柔太極拳技藝。另外，將太極八法配合五行相生相剋法則之推手訓練法，成為現今「指定推手對練」（套路推手）比賽項目的根基。
Drawing on Yang-style Tai Chi Chuan and Grandmaster Zheng Manqing’s training methods, Song developed the Relax and Maintain Method (鬆持法), the Internal Force Recovery Method (內勁回收法), the Eight Methods of Natural Movement (自然運動八法), Form-Movement Decomposition Training (拳架分解動作訓練法), and the Five-Element Generating and Restraining Method (五行生剋法). He also taught: “To draw in the buttocks, first relax the waist; when the waist relaxes, the abdomen relaxes within; when the abdomen relaxes, Qi can be gathered into the bones, and the chest naturally becomes contained.” He compiled his lifelong insights in the two-volume Tai Chi Chuan Studies (《太極拳學》) and founded Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan to transmit the art of relaxed and supple movement. His integration of the Eight Methods of Tai Chi (太極八法) with the generating and restraining relationships of the Five Elements (五行) became a foundation for today’s Designated Push-Hands Paired Routine (指定推手對練), also known as routine push-hands (套路推手).
轉錄註：照片中「號鑑清」、「靈坳鄉」、「吳公藻」等專名依可辨字形轉錄，正式印製前建議核對原件。
Grandmaster Song Zhijian: Life and Contributions
Song Zhijian (宋志堅), courtesy name Shiquan (石泉), was born in 1909 in Niuwomishi Village, Lingling Township, Yiyang, Hunan Province. He passed away on December 12, 2000, at the age of 91.
From childhood, he studied the I Ching and developed a keen awareness of the changing relationships between yin and yang in nature and the human body.
After graduating from an agricultural school in Hunan, he studied swordsmanship under Master Yi Bangzheng (易邦正). In 1933, he began studying Tai Chi Chuan with Master Wu Jianquan (吳鑑泉). After five years of training, he moved to Taiwan in 1947.
In 1952, he became a disciple of Master Zheng Manqing (鄭曼青), studying the 37-posture Tai Chi form. His training with Zheng emphasized important principles, including: 美人手 — Beautiful Lady's Hands 太極不動手 — In Tai Chi, the hands do not move independently 陸地游泳 — Swimming on Land
Drawing on Yang-style Tai Chi and Zheng Manqing's teaching, Grandmaster Song developed several training methods, including the Relax-and-Maintain Method (鬆持法), Internal Force Releasing and Receiving Method (內勁回收法), Eight Methods of Natural Movement (自然運動八法), Movement Decomposition Training (拳架分解動作訓練法), and Five-Element Mutual Generation and Restraint Method (五行生剋法).
He also compiled his knowledge into the two-volume The Study of Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳學) and established Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan (易簡太極拳) to preserve and transmit the art.
He integrated the Eight Methods of Tai Chi (太極八法) with the Five Elements (五行) to develop a foundational system for designated paired push-hands practice (指定推手對練).
易簡太極拳內涵
The Underlying Principles of Yi-Jian Tai Chi Chuan
易簡一辭源出周易，易有三義：不易、變易、易簡。
The term Yi-Jian (易簡) originates from the Zhou Yi (周易), or Book of Changes. Yi (易) has three meanings: constancy (不易), change (變易), and ease and simplicity (易簡).
繫辭傳說：「夫乾確然示人易矣，夫坤隤然示人簡矣。」易是陰陽交變之自然造化，簡是無為而從，易學不繁；易簡乃乾坤之大德，自強不息為化育萬物之根基。
The Xici Zhuan (繫辭傳) states: “Qian (乾) clearly shows people ease; Kun (坤) gently shows people simplicity.” Yi expresses the natural transformations arising from the interaction of yin and yang (陰陽). Jian means following the natural course without forced intervention (無為), rather than adding complexity. Ease and simplicity are the great virtues of Heaven and Earth; unceasing self-strengthening (自強不息) underlies the nurturing and transformation of all things.
孔子贊曰：「乾以易知，坤以簡能，易則易知，簡則易從，易知則有親，易從則有功，有親則可久，有功則可大，可久則賢人之德，可大則賢人之業，易簡而天下之理得矣，天下之理得，而成位乎其中矣。」
Confucius praised these principles: “Qian is understood through ease; Kun accomplishes through simplicity. What is easy is readily understood; what is simple is readily followed. Understanding brings affinity; following brings accomplishment. Affinity allows endurance, and accomplishment allows greatness. Endurance is the virtue of the worthy; greatness is their achievement. Through ease and simplicity the principles of all under Heaven are grasped, and one finds one’s proper place within them.”
易簡涵周易之義，拳勢涵周易之道，繫辭傳曰：「易有太極，是生兩儀，兩儀生四象，四象生八卦。」
Yi-Jian embodies the meaning of the Zhou Yi, and its postures embody the Dao of the Changes. The Xici Zhuan states: “In the Changes there is the Supreme Ultimate (太極), which gives rise to the Two Forms (兩儀); the Two Forms give rise to the Four Images (四象); and the Four Images give rise to the Eight Trigrams (八卦).”
卦重則六十有四，序云：「六十四卦為其體，三百八十四爻為其用。」
When the trigrams are paired, there are sixty-four hexagrams. As the inscription explains: “The sixty-four hexagrams constitute its structure, and the 384 lines constitute its application.”
又傳曰：「天數二十有五，地數三十，凡天地之數五十有五，此所以成變化而行鬼神也。乾之策二百一十有六，坤之策百四十有四，凡三百有六十，當期之日。」
The commentary further states: “The numbers of Heaven total twenty-five and those of Earth thirty; together they total fifty-five. Through them transformations are accomplished and the workings of spirits are carried out. The counting stalks of Qian number 216 and those of Kun 144, totaling 360, corresponding to the days of a year.”
又曰：「是故剛柔相摩，八卦相盪，遠則不禦，邇則靜而正。剛柔相推，變化在其中矣。」拳訣不外虛實剛柔之理，動靜變化之數，故曰太極。
It further states: “Thus hardness and softness rub against each other, and the Eight Trigrams stir one another … As hardness and softness propel one another, transformation arises within them.” The principles of the boxing art concern substantial and insubstantial (虛實), hardness and softness (剛柔), and the transformations of movement and stillness (動靜); hence the name Tai Chi (太極).
兩儀者虛與實，四象者動靜與剛柔，八卦者掤捋擠按採挒肘靠八法也。
The Two Forms correspond to substantial and insubstantial (虛與實); the Four Images correspond to movement and stillness (動靜) and hardness and softness (剛柔); and the Eight Trigrams correspond to the Eight Methods (八法): Peng (掤), Lü (捋), Ji (擠), An (按), Cai (採), Lie (挒), Zhou (肘), and Kao (靠).
拳有六十四勢，合併左右重複八勢暨末尾收勢，實以五十五勢拳名相連貫，全套拳架計三百六十五動作，三百八十四呼吸。
The form has sixty-four postures. After combining eight left-right repetitions and the final closing posture, fifty-five named postures are linked together. The complete form comprises 365 movements and 384 breathing cycles.
故拳與易數無所不符矣，是故習者乃有天人合一之效，自強不息之功。
Thus the numerical structure of the form is presented as corresponding to the numbers of the Changes. Through practice, one may cultivate harmony between Heaven and humanity (天人合一) and the virtue of unceasing self-strengthening (自強不息).
二〇二五年六月吳榮輝囑書 陳敦星書
June 2025. Inscribed by Chen Dunxing (陳敦星) at the request of Wu Ronghui (吳榮輝).
教學補充｜Teaching Notes
易簡：Ease and Simplicity；不易：Constancy；變易：Change。
Yi-Jian means ease and simplicity, not merely simplification of movements.
八法：掤 Peng、捋 Lü、擠 Ji、按 An、採 Cai、挒 Lie、肘 Zhou、靠 Kao。
The Eight Methods should be performed through coordinated whole-body movement, rather than isolated arm force.
虛實、剛柔、動靜，為拳理中相互依存、隨勢轉化的關係。
Substantial and insubstantial, hardness and softness, and movement and stillness are complementary relationships that transform with changing circumstances.
校對提示：照片局部有反光，尤其「遠則不禦，邇則靜而正」等字句，請印製前與原件核對。英譯保留原文意思，非逐字經學校勘本。
吞天之氣、接地之力 — Receive the energy of Heaven and connect with the power of Earth 壽人以柔 — Cultivate longevity through softness
Tai Chi interpretation: The three phrases emphasize the integration of breathing, grounding, and softness. 「接地之力」 can also be explained biomechanically as making use of ground reaction force (地面反作用力) through coordinated movement. 「壽人以柔」 reflects the traditional belief that softness, moderation, and reduced unnecessary tension contribute to longevity.
The bookshelves contain publications and historical materials related to Tai Chi Chuan and its traditions.
Natural Movement Methods and Yang-Style Tai Chi Principles
自然運動八法 — Eight Methods of Natural Movement
原空位、原體位、反動、帶動、盪動、沉浮、趁勢前進、運動路線。 原空位 — Original Space Position 原體位 — Original Body Position 反動 — Countermovement 帶動 — Leading Movement 盪動 — Swinging Movement 沉浮 — Sinking and Rising 趁勢前進 — Advancing with the Momentum 運動路線 — Movement Path
These eight methods emphasize natural movement, coordinated body mechanics, and the efficient use of momentum rather than muscular force.
楊式太極十要 — Ten Essentials of Yang-Style Tai Chi
虛靈頂勁 Lift the crown of the head with a light, intangible energy 含胸拔背 Contain the chest and expand the back 沉肩垂肘 Relax the shoulders and drop the elbows 鬆腰 Relax the waist 分虛實 Distinguish substantial and insubstantial 內外相合 Coordinate the internal and external 上下相隨 Coordinate the upper and lower body 相連不斷 Maintain uninterrupted continuity 動中求靜 Seek stillness within movement 用意不用力 Use intention rather than muscular force |
身手輕靈的秘訣 — The Secrets of Lightness and Agility in Body and Hands
原空位、原體位、借助地面反作用力、地心引力、慣性力、腰腿之力。
Original space position, original body position, making use of ground reaction force, gravity, inertia, and the coordinated power of the waist and legs.
This section is particularly relevant to push-hands instruction: power is not generated by isolated arm movements but through coordinated whole-body movement and interaction with external forces.
Calligraphy on Non-Competition
不爭名，不爭利，與世無爭，勝負任人。Seek neither fame nor personal gain; contend with no one in the world, and leave victory or defeat to others.
A more literary rendering: Strive not for fame, compete not for gain. Live without contention with the world. Let others decide who wins and who loses.
Philosophical meaning: This calligraphy reflects the Daoist principle of 不爭 (Non-Contention), particularly associated with Laozi's Dao De Jing.
In Tai Chi practice, it suggests that genuine mastery is not about overpowering an opponent or proving superiority. Rather, it involves cultivating humility, inner tranquility, responsiveness, and freedom from the desire to win. This is closely related to: 夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。Because one does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him. — Dao De Jing, Chapter 22.
頭正勁松：Head upright, energy relaxed (or alert yet relaxed) / Head upright, neck/energy loose and natural 註：太極拳中的「勁」通常指內在的支撐與彈性，若要精準表達頭部維持頂勁但不過度僵硬，常譯為 "Head upright with relaxed, internal alertness" 或簡潔譯為 "Head upright, energy relaxed"。足下有根：Firmly rooted underfoot / Roots deep beneath the feet 身正體鬆：Posture upright, body relaxed / Torso straight and body loose
Calligraphy — Principles of Tai Chi
風吹拂柳似柔弱 輕靈貫串勁連綿
Like willow branches gently swaying in the wind, appearing soft and yielding; Move with lightness and agility, maintaining continuous coordination and an unbroken flow of internal force (勁).
Meaning: The two lines describe softness without weakness. Tai Chi movements should be light and responsive, while the whole body remains interconnected and the force flows continuously.
Plaques Above the Bookshelves
宏揚太極文化 Promote and Advance Tai Chi Culture.
A treasury of the arts, techniques, and principles of the Dao.
