Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Tai chi
Summary
Tai chi (simplified Chinese: 太极拳; traditional Chinese: 太極拳; lit. 'Grand Ultimate Boxing') is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for self-defense and health. Known for its slow, intentional movements, Tai chi has practitioners worldwide and is particularly popular as a form of gentle exercise and moving meditation, with benefits to mental and physical health.
Many forms of tai chi are practiced, both traditional and modern. While the precise origins are not known, the earliest documented practice is from Chen Village, Henan. Most modern styles trace their development to the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu, and Sun. Practitioners such as Yang Chengfu and Sun Lutang in the early 20th century promoted the art for its health benefits. Tai chi was included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
The name "tai chi", the most common English spelling, is not a standard romanization of the Chinese name for the art (). The Chinese name was first commonly written in English using the Wade–Giles system as "tai chi chüan". But English speakers abbreviated it to "tai chi" and dropped the mark of aspiration. Since the late twentieth century, pinyin has replaced Wade–Giles as the most popular system for romanizing Chinese. In pinyin, tai chi is spelled taijiquan (). In English, tai chi is sometimes referred to as "shadowboxing".
The etymology of tai chi's Chinese name is somewhat uncertain because of the lack of a record of spoken usage. Before the mid-nineteenth century, it appears that outsiders generically described the art as zhanquan (沾拳, "touch boxing"), "Long Boxing"(長拳), mianquan or shisan shi (十三式, "the thirteen techniques"). In the mid-nineteenth century, the art began to be associated with the philosophy of taiji (see Conceptual background). This association may have originated in the writings of the founders of Wu (Hao)-style tai chi, perhaps inspired by a tai chi classic attributed to the semi-mythical Wang Zongyue that begins with the words "Taiji is born from Wuji; it is the mother of Yin and Yang".
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.