Buy a Tai Chi calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “Tai Chi” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Tai Chi” title below...
1. Tai Chi Chuan / Tai Ji Quan
3. Tai Chi Chuan Dao / Tai Ji Quan Dao
4. Tai Chi Chuan Fa / Tai Ji Quan Fa
7. Fundamental Principles of Tai Chi Chuan
太極拳 is the famous Taoist meditation and martial art exercise. The direct translation of these characters would be something like “grand ultimate fist,” but that does not quite hit the mark for what this title really means.
An early-morning walk through any city in China near a park or an open area will yield a view of Chinese people practicing this ancient technique.
A typical scene is an old man of no less than 80 years on this earth, with a wispy white beard and perhaps a sword in one hand. He makes slow moves that are impossibly smooth. He is steady-footed and always in balance. For him, time is meaningless and proper form, and technique is far more important than speed.
For the younger generation, faster moves may look impressive and seem smooth to the casual observer. But more discipline and mental strength are needed to create perfectly smooth moves in virtual slow motion.
Note: There are two ways to Romanize these Chinese characters, as seen in the title above. The pronunciation and actual characters are the same in Chinese. If you really used English sounds/words to pronounce this, it would be something like “tie jee chew-on” (make the “chew-on” one flowing syllable).
太極 is the shortened title for Tai Chi Chuan or Tai Ji Quan that is sometimes used in Western countries.
Basically just removing the last character which means fist. I don't recommend this two-character selection because it's not really a word without the third character in Japanese and Chinese.
五行太極拳 is a certain school or style of Tai Chi (Taiji).
The characters literally mean “Five Elements Tai Chi Fist.”
Notes:
In Taiwan, it would be Romanized as “Wu Hsing Tai Chi Chuan” - see the standard Mandarin method above in the gray box (used in mainland China and the official Romanization used by the Library of Congress).
The last three characters are sometimes translated as “Grand Ultimate Fist,” so the whole thing can be “Five Elements Grand Ultimate Fist” if you wish.
I have not confirmed the use of this title in Korean but if it is used, it's probably only by martial arts enthusiasts. The pronunciation is correct, as shown above for Korean.
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).
Source: https://combativecorner.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/the-8-energies-and-5-movements-of-taijiquan/
Without Limit
This is Wu Chi or Wuji in Chinese characters.
Wu Chi as a philosophy is often associated with Tai Chi (Taiji).
Chi Energy: Essence of Life / Energy Flow
This 氣 energy flow is a fundamental concept of traditional Asian culture.
氣 is romanized as “Qi” or “Chi” in Chinese, “Gi” in Korean, and “Ki” in Japanese.
Chi is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in “life force” or “spiritual energy.” It is most often translated as “energy flow” or literally as “air” or “breath.” Some people will simply translate this as “spirit,” but you must consider the kind of spirit we're talking about. I think this is weighted more toward energy than spirit.
The character itself is a representation of steam (or breath) rising from rice. To clarify, the character for rice looks like this:
Steam was apparently seen as visual evidence of the release of “life energy” when this concept was first developed. The Qi / Chi / Ki character is still used in compound words to mean steam or vapor.
The etymology of this character is a bit complicated. It's suggested that the first form of this character from bronze script (about 2500 years ago) looked like these samples:
However, it was easy to confuse this with the character for the number three. So the rice radical was added by 221 B.C. (the exact time of this change is debated). This first version with the rice radical looks like this:
The idea of Qi / Chi / Ki is really a philosophical concept. It's often used to refer to the “flow” of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings. Yet there is much debate that has continued for thousands of years as to whether Qi / Chi / Ki is pure energy or consists partially or fully of matter.
You can also see the character for Qi / Chi / Ki in common compound words such as Tai Chi / Tai Qi, Aikido, Reiki, and Qi Gong / Chi Kung.
In the modern Japanese Kanji, the rice radical has been changed into two strokes that form an X.
The original and traditional Chinese form is still understood in Japanese, but we can also offer that modern Kanji form in our custom calligraphy. If you want this Japanese Kanji, please click on the character to the right instead of the “Select and Customize” button above.
More language notes: This is pronounced like “chee” in Mandarin Chinese, and like “key” in Japanese.
This is also the same way to write this in Korean Hanja where it is Romanized as “gi” and pronounced like “gee” but with a real G-sound, not a J-sound.
Though Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters in their daily language, this character is still widely known in Vietnam.
See Also: Energy | Life Force | Vitality | Life | Birth | Soul
氣功 or Qigong is the title of a technique that is somewhere between medical practice, meditation, and in some cases, religion.
The definition is blurred depending on which school of Qigong you are following. In some cases, it is even incorporated with martial arts.
Some people (even Chinese people) mix this title with Tai Chi (Tai Qi) exercises.
Lately, in China, people will claim to practice Tai Chi rather than Qigong because the Qigong title was recently used as a cover for an illegal pseudo-religious movement in China with the initials F.G. or F.D. (I can not write those names here for fear of our website being banned in China).
You can learn those names and more here: Further info about Qigong
If you are wondering why I wrote “Qi Gong” and “Chi Kung” as the title of this calligraphy entry, I should teach you a little about the various ways in which Chinese can be Romanized. One form writes this as “Chi Kung” or “Chikung” (Taiwan). In the mainland and elsewhere, it is Romanized as “Qi Gong” or “Qigong.” The pronunciation is the same in Taiwan, mainland, and Singapore Mandarin. Neither Romanization is exactly like English. If you want to know how to say this with English rules, it would be something like “Chee Gong” (but the “gong” has a vowel sound like the “O” in “go”).
Romanization is a really confusing topic and has caused many Chinese words to be mispronounced in the west. One example is “Kung Pao Chicken,” which should actually be more like “Gong Bao” with the “O” sounding like “oh” for both characters. Neither the Romanization system in Taiwan nor the Mainland is perfect, in my opinion, and leads to many misunderstandings.
In modern Japan, you may see this written as 気功, but the original 氣功 is still recognized. If you need the Japanese version, please contact me.
This in-stock artwork might be what you are looking for, and ships right away...
Gallery Price: $87.00
Your Price: $47.88
Gallery Price: $200.00
Your Price: $98.88
Gallery Price: $200.00
Your Price: $79.88
Gallery Price: $72.00
Your Price: $39.88
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Tai Chi Chuan Tai Ji Quan | 太極拳 太极拳 | tai kyoku ken taikyokuken | tài jí quán tai4 ji2 quan2 tai ji quan taijiquan | t`ai chi ch`üan taichichüan tai chi chüan |
Tai Chi Tai Ji | 太極 太极 | taikyoku | tài jí / tai4 ji2 / tai ji / taiji | t`ai chi / taichi / tai chi |
Tai Chi Chuan Dao Tai Ji Quan Dao | 太極拳道 太极拳道 | tài jí quán dào tai4 ji2 quan2 dao4 tai ji quan dao taijiquandao | t`ai chi ch`üan tao taichichüantao tai chi chüan tao |
|
Tai Chi Chuan Fa Tai Ji Quan Fa | 太極拳法 太极拳法 | tài jí quán fǎ tai4 ji2 quan2 fa3 tai ji quan fa taijiquanfa | t`ai chi ch`üan fa taichichüanfa tai chi chüan fa |
|
Five Elements Tai Chi Fist | 五行太極拳 五行太极拳 | go gyou tai kyoku ken gogyoutaikyokuken go gyo tai kyoku ken | wǔ xíng tài jí quán wu3 xing2 tai4 ji2 quan2 wu xing tai ji quan wuxingtaijiquan | wu hsing t`ai chi ch`üan wuhsingtaichichüan wu hsing tai chi chüan |
Tai Chi Wing Chun Kung Fu | 太極詠春功夫 太极咏春功夫 | tài jí yǒng chūn gōng fu tai4 ji2 yong3 chun1 gong1 fu tai ji yong chun gong fu taijiyongchungongfu | t`ai chi yung ch`un kung fu taichiyungchunkungfu tai chi yung chun kung fu |
|
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 kào peng2 lv3 ji3 an4 cai3 lie4 zhou3 kao4 peng lv ji an cai lie zhou kao penglvjiancailiezhoukao | p`eng lü chi an ts`ai lieh chou k`ao peng lü chi an tsai lieh chou kao |
|
Wu Chi Wuji | 無極 无极 | wú jí / wu2 ji2 / wu ji / wuji | wu chi / wuchi | |
Life Energy Spiritual Energy | 氣 气 / 気 | ki | qì / qi4 / qi | ch`i / chi |
Qi Gong Chi Kung | 氣功 气功 | ki kou / kikou / ki ko | qì gōng / qi4 gong1 / qi gong / qigong | ch`i kung / chikung / chi kung |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
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.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Tai Chi Kanji, Tai Chi Characters, Tai Chi in Mandarin Chinese, Tai Chi Characters, Tai Chi in Chinese Writing, Tai Chi in Japanese Writing, Tai Chi in Asian Writing, Tai Chi Ideograms, Chinese Tai Chi symbols, Tai Chi Hieroglyphics, Tai Chi Glyphs, Tai Chi in Chinese Letters, Tai Chi Hanzi, Tai Chi in Japanese Kanji, Tai Chi Pictograms, Tai Chi in the Chinese Written-Language, or Tai Chi in the Japanese Written-Language.
53 people have searched for Tai Chi in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Tai Chi was last searched for by someone else on Nov 28th, 2024