Every Chinese is part Confucist, part Taoist, and part Buddhist. The ingredients change fluidically. At work, for career, Confucism’s strict social protocols prevail. At heart, deeply, there is the desire to be harmonical with the nature: just let it be. Lastly, for justice, the belief that everything has its cause and will be paid back bring much needed solace.
Confucius, LaoZi, and Buddha
Officially, Master ZHANG DaoLing (å¼ é“陵: 34~156) organized the ancient religion into Taoism in year 142.
There is really no telling how TaiChi Quan originated. The first official documentation appeared ~200 years ago by WANG ZongYue (王宗岳).
Taoism started about a thousand year ago to pursue longevity, even eternal life. For few hundred years, they focused on alchemy — searching for the elixir of youth. Then Taoists gradually turned their attention to Qi (氣: Chi, like the Force in StarWars): the way to achieve total harmony and to harness energy that enables teleporting, telekenetics, flying, and, of course, longevity.
Mastering Qi seems simple; it is about mind control. When you have control of your mind, you will harness universe’s energy. Grand masters can move mountains like Yoda, or any good Jedi master.
Like Buddhists, Taoists practice mind control through meditation and physical exercises: control your mind via body. Over generations, the masters developed a few exercises that work.
One of those is TaiChi Quan (太æžæ‹³) — probably the most popular exercise in China and around the world. After hundreds of years, this art branched out to many denominations. In 1956, China government simplified and consolidated them into a 24-move version (24å¼å¤ªæžæ‹³). I learned it summer of 2006 and have been practicing it. It is magical.
To an observer, TaiChi looks more like a slow dance than a martial art. The slowness heightens the precision. Moves are not motion blurs, but exact and purposeful. In actual application, i.e. fighting, TaiChi masters move in lightening speed. All you can see is the opponents flying off far away.
As I practice the moves, sometime there is a sensation as if I am holding a ball of warm air right outside of my chest. This body of energy wiggles like a water balloon — sometime leaking out and tickling my finger tips. Parts of my body — fingers, abdomen, and forehead — will get warm. I noticed the stance, moves, and the nothingness of my mind affect how strongly the sensation is. TaiChi becomes a practice of ridding all thoughts and keeping a totally blank mind.
Taoism and Buddhism are, probably not coincidentally, similar, at least for a beginner like me. Through meditation or exercises, one gets the peace of mind. With that, Nirvana and longevity become possible. Or they don’t matter anymore.