• TAIJIQUAN DAO (POEM)
• CONVERSATIONS WITH ZHANG XIUMU
• LÎ CHÉNG YÙ: LIFE AND DEATH OF A CENTENARY TAOIST
• ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF TAIJIQUAN AND NEIGONG PRACTICES
• ZHAO BAO LONGEVOUS
• FIRST CONGRESS OF ZHAO BAO
• CHEN XIAOWANG INTERVIEW 2006

CONVERSATIONS WITH ZHANG XIUMU

From time to time, while chatting about taiji quan, I have heard from Zhang some stuff I have liked a lot and that I would like to give other people a chance to hear. This way one can know him better: I believe his way of living and thinking is quite right and in agreement with his passion, taiji quan and the Dao. But the best thing about these conversations is that I know he says it from his heart, he is honest about it. I asked him permission to include these talks in the web and, in spite he did not understand well why and what for, he agreed. To me, his way to see things has helped me to reconsider my true priorities and way in life – that is why I want to share it. I cannot remember all the conversations we have had, but find below some of them.

ABOUT FAME

I told him that having a website many people might learn about him and become famous, and he answered that in fact he would prefer not to become too famous. When I asked him what was wrong about it, he replied that is was not much in agreement with the Dao, and that for him having enough students and enough money to live when he gets older was enough. Thinking about it, he was right. When one becomes more famous, more people can raise against you, envies, etc... However, if so I doubt he would have a problem of vanity, as he has not showed it after being successful in science. The truth is that he has neither a low concept of himself, nor a feeling of superiority. I do not know how he manages!

ABOUT BEING DEFEATED

Another day I asked him about what if some day, in a tui shou meeting, one or more people were able to defeat him. To me, if I were a taiji quan master I would feel very embarrassed.

But Zhang is not worried about this possibility. He said that it is normal that this could happen. From one side, everybody can have a bad day. On the other side, he does not spend as many hours practicing tui shou as many professionals – he is only an aficionado and there are very competent people around. The most reasonable is that people who devotes more intensively to practice gets better achievements – but this does not mean that he is not all right. He believes on his level, but also knows that there is always someone better than you. In case of being defeated, there would be no problem. It would help to further encourage him to find his own mistakes and learn from whom defeated him.

ABOUT CHOOSING STUDENTS

In the old times, when guns did not exist, people in China had to rely on their own skills and force to face the many dangers and fights one may bump into, sometimes with a risk for your own life. Under those circumstances, people who had deep knowledge on the secrets of boxing and had the skills on them could become powerful and undefeatable. However, this knowledge could be dangerous if on hands of people with no moral. For that reason, taiji quan masters, due to their compromise with the Dao, had a lot of responsibility when choosing to whom pass on their knowledge, and had to verify thoroughly the moral quality of candidates.

Nowadays this is no sense. Circumstances have radically changed. Weapons more powerful that swords, broadswords, spears or our fists are used in war, and our success in life does not depend so much on knowing how to fight. There are faster ways than learning taiji quan to become powerful in life.

ABOUT TEACHING EVERYTHING

Following what is mentioned above, in present times there are not so many reasons to keep secret on the key aspects of boxing. Zhang is in favor of opening and revealing them. This way this knowledge will be useful for those with true interest; those with no true interest will get tired and quit.

In relation with the daoist saying “What the heaven gives me, everybody can share” (see the chapter Notes and sayings), Zhang told me that when meditating, sometimes he gets sudden comprehension about something, for instance taji quan, and that he thinks this knowledge does not belong to him but it has been given, and for that reason it has to be shared.

Anyway, learning is a process which requires time. You cannot teach quantum physics to someone who cannot multiply. Each thing at the right time.

On the other hand, there is this Chinese saying to illustrate the harsh reality : “Once the students have learnt, the master starves”

¿SHIFU, OR LAOSHI?

In Western countries, the instructors or advanced students of taiji quan usually name their masters shifu, as a sign of courtesy. But I always hear Zhang address to his masters with the title laoshi. Both names mean “master”. However, the first one refers to mastery on techniques or skills, not necessarily implying wisdom or intellectual knowledge, while the second one, laoshi, does. Laoshi is more academic.

Maybe before the Chinese Revolution it was common to name shifu to taiji quan masters, and some people still do, but nowadays it is more frequent to use the term laoshi, especially among educated people.

Shifu is not exclusive for taiji quan masters, but the name given to (older) people that teach apprentices in a factory, for instance. For this reason, it shows more respect to name taiji quan masters laoshi instead of shifu.

It is like when we go to a bar in Spain and ask the waiter for a beer in a colloquial way: hey, boss, a beer please. In a taxi in Beijing - I have heard it- you may say: hey, shifu,, can you give me a ride to Tian An Men?

WHAT IS THE REASON, IN CHINA, FOR LEARNING TAIJIQUAN?

In my opinion, the two more common reasons to raise people’s interest on taiji quan, at least in Spain, are health and fighting. Many people with previous experience on aikido, karate, judo, etc, shift to practice taiji quan, or study it complementary; many others start their practice as an alternative to yoga.
Taiji Quan is not ONLY a martial art, but it IS a martial art. Taiji Quan is part of the daoist Xiu Lian (sort of exercises to cultivate the being). I asked Zhang what the motivations are for Chinese to start practicing taiji quan, and he replied that most of them do it for the benefits for health and the beauty and softness of the art. However, little by little they start to find out its deep philosophical grounds and the magnitude of its martial applications, and then they want to develop the gong fu (kung-fu) of taiji quan. Some do this search through the path of qi gong (chi-kung); others look for famous masters. For Zhang, the way to increase the gong fu is just the xiu lian (meditation, zhan zhuang, qi gong, etc).

In China everybody knows that taiji quan is a martial art, and no one has trouble with that. But one must realize that taiji quan is not a martial art for hurting people, but to protect them (or yourself ).

TIME FOR THE APPLICATIONS TO BE EFFECTIVE

In relationship with the comment above, Zhang said that 10 years are required, as minimum, to use Taiji Quan for fighting with effectiveness. However, 3 years could be enough in the case of Xing-Yi Quan.

(translation from Spanish: Enric Saiz)