Peng, Lu, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou, and Kao are the eight fundamentals or forces of Tai Chi Chuan or Taiqiquan.
棚 (Peng) refers to the outward (or upward) expansion of energy.
履 (Lu) is often referred to as “rollback.” Lu is the ability to absorb, yield/deflect incoming force.
擠 (Ji) is often thought of as a “forward press.” However, it is also best described as a “squeezing out of space.”
按 (An) is a downward movement of energy, best translated as “(relaxed) sinking.”
採 (Cai or Tsai) translated as “downward pluck.” Cai is a combination of Lu and An.
列 (Lie or Lieh) is “Split” and is a combination of Peng and Ji.
肘 (Zhou) Elbowing.
靠 (Kao) Shouldering (for when the arms are bound/distance is too close to punch).
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title
Characters
Romaji (Romanized Japanese)
Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan
棚履擠按採列肘靠棚履挤按采列肘靠
péng lǚ jǐ àn cǎi liè zhǒu kàopeng2 lv3 ji3 an4 cai3 lie4 zhou3 kao4peng lv ji an cai lie zhou kaopenglvjiancailiezhoukao
p`eng lü chi an ts`ai lieh chou k`aopeng lü chi an tsai lieh chou kao
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size" single-character wall scroll. We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days. Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also
attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over
6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers
in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt
such a feat.
Some people may refer to this entry as Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Kanji, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Characters, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in Mandarin Chinese, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Characters, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in Chinese Writing, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in Japanese Writing, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in Asian Writing, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Ideograms, Chinese Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan symbols, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Hieroglyphics, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Glyphs, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in Chinese Letters, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Hanzi, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in Japanese Kanji, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan Pictograms, Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in the Chinese Written-Language, or Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan in the Japanese Written-Language.
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