Zhou Zonghua Dao of Tai Chi Chuan

Zhou Zonghua

about the author

Zhou Zonghua родился 13 июля 1917 года в городке Чжуцзи китайской провинции Чжэцзян. His mother was already over 40, and the boy grew up weak and sickly, although very smart.

Zhou's father was a government official and gave his youngest son a decent education. The young man studied at the best local schools and showed great ability in mathematics. Окончив образование, Zhou Zonghua женился. Before the outbreak of World War II, when mainland China plunged into troubled times of civil war and the Japanese intervention began, Zhou fled to the island of Taiwan.

In Taiwan, he became a successful mathematics professor and wrote and published more than 30 textbooks. Развивая различные математические теории, Zhou Zonghua незаметно для самого себя увлекся азартными играми. He worked and played in the casino with the same passion, slept little, ate poorly, smoked a lot, and by the age of 47 had finally undermined his already poor health since childhood.

The best doctors in Taiwan did not help cure the heart and stomach. And then an old friend intervened, a big lover of taijiquan. He convinced Zhou to try tai chi and soon introduced the professor to his teacher, Master Yuan Dao. At the first meeting, Zhou was shocked by the fact that Yuan Dao, who was twenty years older than him, literally radiated health and vitality. Since that day, the life of the unfortunate mathematician has changed dramatically. He quit smoking, attended to the observance of the diet and sleep, and most importantly - began to practice tai chi daily.

Atже через две недели Zhou Zonghua ощутил в своем организме перемены к лучшему. Three years later, an examination showed that his stomach was completely healed. Five years later, the heart returned to normal. The practice of tai chi helped where medicine was powerless! Zhou's new hobby has grown into a passion. The professor of mathematics stubbornly mastered the art, the possibilities of which seemed limitless.

In 1971, Zhou's professional interests brought him to the United States, namely to Rutgers University. There he decided to get an American degree in mathematics. After seeing a Chinese graduate student perform strange, enchantingly slow and beautiful exercises on the lawn, colleagues began to pester him with questions. As a result, Zhou for the first time in life began to teach tai chi. At first, the classes were informal, then the university offered Zhou to teach an optional course in taijiquan. In 1975, however, the course was canceled - they say, these are "just exercises" that are not worth university funding. During these years, Zhou often traveled to China and Taiwan, where he met with various tai chi masters and learned from them. Although these meetings greatly influenced his development as a tai chi master, Zhou was also disappointed in many ways. He was not entirely satisfied with the quality of teaching the ancient and complex art of taijiquan.

Отмена курса тайцзи в Ратджерсе – точнее, ее мотивировка – очень обеспокоила Zhou Zonghua. Something was wrong in the world of tai chi, the art had a wrong reputation. Zhou has been collecting books on taijiquan for a long time. Now he decided to analyze them again carefully and came to the conclusion that all the books focused on the "external" aspects of tai chi; there was no in-depth study of the long history of art, its complex philosophy and classical literature. Книг было мало, и все они, как и имевшиеся в наличии учителя, "не дотягивали" до уровня, который представлял себе Zhou Zonghua. The conclusion suggested itself: you need to write the right book and become the right teacher!

According to Zhou's students, it was then that he began to truly study tai chi.

He "returned to the roots" and focused on the Chen-style of tai chi, which he considered the necessary basis for a correct understanding of the art. Вскоре о Zhou Zonghua заговорили как о "мастере без учителя", проповедующем странные новые теории. In 1977, in New York's Chinatown, he held the first annual Zhang Sanfeng Memorial Festival, the legendary founder of the Tai Chi school. The events were attended by 200 people. And that was just the beginning.

A few years later, Master Zhou founded the Tai Chi Foundation, a non-profit organization. In 1981, the first edition of The Way of Taijiquan was published. In 1984, Zhou bought a farm in New York State and made it the base for his own tai chi school.

Initially, he held weekly tai chi classes on a "five dollar per class or barter" basis. Over time, Tai Chi Farm began to conduct classes and seminars and other teachers of Tai Chi and other Chinese arts - Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Liuhebafa, meditation, massage, qigong, herbal medicine, calligraphy and I Ching. Master Zhou was famous as a generous, open teacher, welcoming all worthy schools, all smart ideas, all useful practices. In the first week of June, every year, the Zhang Sanfeng Festival brought together people from all over America to listen to lectures by famous masters and participate in demonstration performances. А в 1990-е годы поучиться у Zhou Zonghua стали приезжать даже люди из Китая и с Тайваня.

All those who personally knew Master Zhou note his modesty, simplicity and openness in communication, friendliness. The students truly loved him. A kind, gentle man, he was nevertheless invulnerable in sparring and flawless in tai chi forms. That is, he was a living example of what he taught in his book, at lectures and trainings.

Zhou Zonghua неоднократно заявлял, что он собирается дожить как минимум до 100 лет и на каждом шагу своего жизненного пути демонстрировать дальнейший прогресс в тайцзи. Over time, he was going to once again go to the homeland of taijiquan, to the Chinese village of Chenjiagou, in order to "show what taiji once was and what it can become again." He also planned to build a Taiji University that would revive and flourish the ancient teachings. At the age of 81, Master Zhou was full of ideas, healthy and cheerful, but fate decreed that on August 3, 1998, when he was returning from a local supermarket to the Farm, a truck that violated the rules crashed into his car at an intersection. So tragically ended the life of the Master.

Andrey Kostenko, 2009

Chen Yanlin (b. 1906) published an excellent book on Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan in the 1930s. In his book, he described tai chi qigong, sword, knife, staff forms, and tai chi sparring. He also identified various types of jinwu that no one had experienced before.

While practicing taijiquan in a Shanghai park in the spring of 1980, I met one of Chen Yanlin's students, who led me to the teacher. Master Chen gave me a new understanding of the Pushing Hand Techniques.

Master Chen, who is also a specialist in Chinese medicine, started practicing tai chi at the age of four and has practiced every day since. This picture was taken outside his home in Shanghai.

When I visited Taiwan in the summer of 1972, I had the opportunity to perform on a program with Master Zheng Manqing. This picture was taken at the hotel. Sun" in Taipei (Taiwan).

In the spring of 1980, after returning to my native Zhejiang province in China, I met Mr. Chu, a 53-year-old physician, acupuncturist and acrobat. He broke off a piece from a ceramic cup and rubbed it with two fingers into the finest dust. Mr. Chu assured me that he would give me his art if I stayed with him for half a year. At the first opportunity, I'm going to accept his offer.

In the homeland of taijiquan in the village of Chenjiagou. Chen Zhangwen and Chen Zhezi are two of the elders of the Chen clan. Although both are in their seventies, they continue to practice the traditional form of Chen Style with enthusiasm and enjoy a healthy and happy life.

Although Wu Tunan (b. 1883) is over a hundred years old, his eyesight and hearing are normal, and his memory is simply excellent. He does not bend his back when sitting or standing. His apartment is on the ninth floor, but without an elevator he goes down twice a day and goes to the park to practice tai chi. I asked him about the secret to his longevity. He replied, "Tai chi, tai chi and more tai chi!"

Older Americans are discovering tai chi as a way to rejuvenate. Throughout the United States, my students teach people to develop the spiritual jin energy, which allows them to maintain a state of relaxed alertness all day long.

These senior citizens of Piscataway, New Jersey, are doing qigong breathing exercises under the guidance of a student of mine.

Dedicated to the friendship of the Chinese and Russian-speaking peoples

Preface to the first Russian edition

I took on the task of writing The Tao of Tai Chi Chuan so that I could share the incredible benefits of Tai Chi Chuan with everyone. Thanks to him, people will be able to develop themselves and learn more about the world around them, achieve mastery in martial arts and significantly improve their health. However, all this is feasible only under the condition of constant practice - with passion and an open mind. If the student only imitates the movements of the teacher or mindlessly memorizes a lot of facts, he will never reach a high level. It is not the movements of taijiquan alone that allow students to develop themselves, but the comprehension of the philosophy of taiji. I would like tai chi students to reach their highest potential by putting into practice the basic philosophical principles.

I am happy that this book will become available to Russian-speaking people thanks