, an early pioneer of tai chi
Early development Tai chi developed during the
Ming-Qing transition period, and may have been based on
internal martial arts practices of the
Ming dynasty, though the exact details are controversial and subject to much conflicting historical research and debate. The earliest practice documented in widely-accepted historical records began during that period of dynastic transition, in
Chen Village and
Zhabao Village in
Henan on the
North China Plain, a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of the
Shaolin Monastery on
Mount Song at the western edge of the plain. Tai chi has a strong association with
Taoism and traditional Chinese culture, which was increasingly emphasized during the late Qing, and by the early twentieth century was integral to any discussion of the art. Some scholars place it within the broader syncretic context of Chinese Taoism,
Confucianism, and
Buddhism, but most point to stories of the transmission of the art through a legendary twelfth-century immortal Taoist sage,
Zhang Sanfeng. Based on some of the terminology used in the art Chen and his descendants developed, it appears to draw from the
Quanjing (Classic of Pugilism) by the Ming general
Qi Jiguang. Early twentieth-century martial arts historians agreed with this, though Xu Zhen claimed that Chen tai chi was also influenced by the style practiced at nearby
Shaolin Monastery, while
Tang Hao emphasized the connection to the writings of Qi Jiguang.
Yang Luchan, the founder of the popular
Yang style of tai chi, trained with Chen Changxing in Chen Village for 18 years before returning to teach in his hometown of
Yongnian and later in
Beijing. The other traditional tai chi styles,
Wu (Hao),
Wu, and
Sun, also trace the source of their tai chi through Yang Luchan back to the Chen village in the nineteenth century.
Standardization In 1912 the
Nationalist government-supported Beijing Physical Education Research Institute () published tai chi manuals, possibly brought to Beijing by Yang Luchan himself, for the first time under the title
Taijiquan Classics, as
Yang Chengfu,
Wu Jianquan,
Sun Lutang, and others began teaching classes for the general public there. Based on that experience, by 1914 they began standardizing and modifying the art, removing most fast and jumping movements, and focusing primarily on health results. This work was continued by the
Central Guoshu Institute. In 1936 the Institute's Deputy Director,
Chen Panling (), created a 99-posture unified form called Guoshu Tai Chi () drawing on his research into the Chen, Yang, Sun and Wu styles, with most movements derived from the Yang and Wu forms. After the retreat of the Nationalists to Taiwan in 1949, Chen Panling established and served as chairman of the Chinese Martial Arts Advanced Studies Association (), where he taught his combined tai chi sequence, which became known worldwide as the 99 Tai Chi Form, as well as the internal martial arts
Baguazhang and
Xingyiquan. Chen trained many prominent masters, including
Wang Shujin. After 1949 the
PRC government continued standardization of the art with a focus on health. In 1956, the Chinese Sports Committee (CSC) brought together a group of tai chi masters to create a shortened tai chi form that could help improve the health of the general public, because the long traditional forms were considered too difficult for most people to learn. The result was the
24-posture simplified form, developed from the traditional Yang-style long form. In 1976, as part of a post-
Cultural Revolution initiative to rehabilitate martial arts as a modern sport, the "Combined 48 Form" was created for the CSC by a group of coaches headed by
Men Huifeng. That form integrates movements from the traditional Chen, Yang, Wu, and Sun styles. By the 1980s the CSC had also begun organizing other groups of coaches to standardize longer competition forms for the major styles, including the 56-posture Chen-style national competition form published in 1988, and in 1989 the Combined 48 Form was shortened into the "
42 Form", also known as the "Competition Form", for competition timing and scoring. This work of developing shorter forms for competition and for exercise convenience has continued through the present day, for example two short forms based on Yang style, the "8-Posture Tai Chi" form officially announced in 1999 and the "Eight Methods and Five Stances" form first published in 2018. At the 1990 11th
Asian Games, competitions were included for the first time, with the 42 Form representing tai chi. That year the
International Wushu Federation (IWUF) also submitted an application for to become a permanent part of the
Olympic Games. In 2020, tai chi was included in the
UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity after the Chinese government submitted it for this recognition. == Styles ==