Lost tʻai-chi classics from the late Chʻing dynasty
Douglas Wile translates and analyzes four collections of recently released nineteenth-century manuscripts on T'ai-chi ch'uan. These writings of Wu's older brothers Ch'eng-ch'ing and Ju-ch'ing, and his nephew Li I-yu, together with the transmissions of Yang Pan-hou, represent a significant addition to the seminal literature. The rich new texts allow us to make a fresh survey of longstanding issues in T'ai-chi history: the origins of the art; the authorship of the "classics"; the differences between Wu, Yang, and Li; and the roles of Chang San-feng, Wang Tsung-yueh, Chiang Fa, and the formerly missing link, Ch'ang Nai-chou. The original Chinese texts of the four new sets of classics have been appended for the convenience of Chinese readers and scholars
Print Book,English, ©1996
State University of New York Press, Albany, ©1996
Student Collection
xviii, 233 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
9780791426531, 9780791426548, 079142653X, 0791426548
34546989
Preface Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Note on Illustrations Introduction I Social and Historical Background of T'ai-Chi Ch'uan in the Nineteenth Century China and the Nations Rebellion at Home The North China Plain Elite Culture Late Ch'ing Intellectual Trends Reexamining the Biography of Wu Yü-hsiang Approaches to Understanding Wu and Li Involvement in T'ai-chi Ch'üan II Textual Tradition of the T'ai-Chi Classics III Analysis and Translation of the New Texts The Writings of Wu Ch'eng-ch'ing Analysis of the Texts Translation of the Texts The Writings of Wu Ju-ch'ing Analysis of the Texts Translation of the Texts The Writings of Li I-yü Analysis of the Texts Translation of the Texts Yang Family Forty Chapters 4/1 Analysis of the Texts 4/2 Translation of the Texts IV Significance of the New Texts Authorship of the Previously Received Classics Authenticity of the New Texts Dijfferences between the Wu/Li and Yang Editions of the Classics Authorship of the Bookstall Classics Historicity of Chang San-feng Historicity and Role of Wang Tsung-yüeh Period and Role of Chiang Fa Paucity of Theoretical Texts in Ch'en Village Chang Nai-chou and the Wu/Li Classics Survival of Manuscripts in the Wu and Li Families Conclusion Appendix I. Original Chinese Texts for the Lost Classics Appendix II. Textual and Biographical Studies Notes Glossary Bibliography Index
Chiefly in English; some chapters in Chinese