Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan by Cheng Man Ching

Author:Cheng Man Ching [Man Ching, Cheng]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ensayo, Deportes y juegos, Espiritualidad, Salud y bienestar
Publisher: ePubLibre
Published: 1985-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Treatise Twelve

Comprehending Creation and Destruction

The Thirteen Postures are the "eight gates" and "five steps" and they correspond to the eight trigrams and Five Elements. P’eng (Wardoff), Lu (Rollback), Chi (Press), An (Push), Ts’ai (Pull), Lieh (Split), Chou (Elbow), K’ao (Shoulder) correspond to the hexagrams Ch’ien, K’un, K’an, Li, Sun, Chen, Ken, Tui. Step forward, step back, look left, look right, and central equilibrium correspond, respectively, to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Creating and destroying is based on the theory of complementary creation and destruction [in the Book of Changes], and is confirmed by the substance and function of the martial arts. Metal in the martial arts corresponds to the saber; wood, to the staff; water, to the sword; fire, to the spear; and earth, to the form. All things come from the earth. This means the saber, the staff, the sword, and the spear all come from the form. The use of the saber is an effect of hardness; it is adroit at chopping. If the staff meets the saber, the staff will be splintered. Metal overcomes wood. The disposal of the staff is reaching; it is good for thrusting. The form is empty-handed. When it meets the staff, it will be injured. Wood overcomes earth. The form is a technique with stability. When the sword en-counters its stability, the sword will be controlled by it like the bare hand grasping the sword. The applicability of the sword is based on softness. When the spear en-counters the sword, the spear will lose its ferocity. This is water overcoming fire. The efficacy of the spear lies in its ferocity; it is good for piercing. When the saber en-counters the spear, the saber will lose its hardness. This is fire overcoming metal. All these are martial-arts terms which have been transmitted over a long period of time. They mean what they depict.

Weapons, however, only show how they overcome each other. The "five steps" contain the theory of both production and overcoming. For example, "step for-ward" has the nature of ferocity and corresponds to fire. Central equilibrium has the power of stability and corresponds to earth. When one steps forward with stability, there is no confusion and it is easy to prevail. This is fire producing earth. "Looking left" has the nature of hardness and corresponds to metal. It refers to stepping to the left while the right fist follows with stability. This is earth producing metal. "Step back" uses the quality of suppleness and corresponds to water. "Looking left" is hardness and supports the suppleness. This is metal producing water. "Looking right" has the essence of strength and corresponds to wood. "Stepping back" is suppleness, but it does not extend to the ultimate of softness. Therefore, it must be connected to strength. This is water producing wood. "Step forward" corresponds to fire and it has a fierce nature. With wood supporting it, its function is expanded. This is wood producing fire. The whole sequence is referred to as the "five steps" and it contains the function of the mutual production of the Five Elements.

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