Yang Taiji Jian

Annotated Translation of Sword Posture Names

Zheng Manqing version

TranslationandAnnotations
byLeeFife,Summer2015

Copyright2015LeeFife
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1
The Postures

Taiji Jian

1. StartingPosture
Qsh
2. StepForwardTogetherWithSword
Shngbhjin
3. ImmortalPointstheWay
Xinrnzhl
4. ThreeRingsaroundtheMoon
Snhuntoyu
5. GreatStaroftheLiteraryGod
Dkuxng
6. SwallowSnatchesWater
Ynzichoshui
7. LeftandRight,BlockandSweepAway
Zuyulnso
8. SmallStaroftheLiteraryGod
Xiokuxng
9. WaspEntersCave
Hungfngrdng
10. AlertCatCatchesMouse
Lngmobsh
11. DragonflyDotsWater
Qngtngdinshu
12. SwallowEntersNest
Ynzrcho
13. PhoenixSpreadsBothWings
Fnghungshungzhnch
14. LeftWhirlwind,SmallStaroftheLiteraryGod

Zuxunfng,xiokuxng
15. RightWhirlwind,AwaitingFishPosture

x
Yu unfng,dngysh
16. MoveGrasstoSearchforSnake
Bcotnsh
17. EmbracetheMoon
Huizhngboyu
18. BirdsReturntotheForest
Snioguln

2
19. BlackDragonWagsItsTail
Wlngbiwi
20. WindRollsLotusLeaf
Fngjunhy
21. LionShakesItsHead
Shziyotu
22. TigerHoldsItsHead
Hbotu
23. WildHorseLeapsOverTheMountainStream
Ymtiojin
24. TurnBody,ReinInHorse
Fnshnlm
25. StepUp,TheCompass
ShangbuZhnnzhn
26. FacingTheWind,BrushingOffDust
Yngfngfuchn
27. GoingWithTheCurrent,PushTheBoat
Shnshutuzhu
28. ShootingStarOvertakesTheMoon
Lixnggnyu
29. CelestialHorseFliesOverTheWaterfall
Tinmfip
30. RaiseTheScreenPosture
Tiolinsh
31. LeftandRight,CartWheelsSword
Zuoyouchelunjian
32. SwallowHoldsMudInItsBeak
Ynzixinn
33. GreatPengSpreadsWing
Dpngzhnch
34. ScoopTheMoonFromTheBottomOfTheSea
Hidloyu
35. EmbraceTheMoon
Huizhngboyu
36. NightDemonExploresTheSea
Ychtnhi
37. RhinocerosGazesAtTheMoon
Xniwngyu
38. ShootTheWildGoosePosture
Shynsh
39. GreenDragonStretchesOutItsClaws
Qnglngtnzho
40. PhoenixSpreadsBothWings
Fnghungshungzhnch
41. LeftandRight,StepSidewaysandBlock
Zuyukuln

3
 42. ShootTheWildGoosePosture
Shynsh
43. WhiteApeOffersFruit
Biyunxingu
44. LeftandRight,FallingFlowers
Zuyuluhu
45. JadeMaidenWorksTheShuttle
Ynchunsu
46. WhiteTigerTwitchesTail
Bihjiowi
47. TigerHoldsItsHead
Hbotu
48. CarpLeapsOverTheDragonsGate
Lytiolngmn
49. BlackDragonCoilsAroundThePillar
Wlngjiozh
50. ImmortalPointsTheWay
Xinrnzhl
51. WindSweepsThePlumBlossoms
Fngsomihu
52. HoldingTheTabletPosture
Pnghsh
53. HoldTheSword,ReturnToOrigin
Bojinguyun

4
Discussion of Individual Postures

Wevereceivedmultipleversionsoftheswordposturenames.Welearnedthenamesfroma
translationusedinShrJunginNewYork.Presumably,thistranslationwasdonebyTamorEd
andwasbasedonalistfromZhengManqing(ChengManchingIveusedpinyin
transliterationconsistentlyinthisdocumenteventhoughweusuallyfollowthefamilys
preferenceandrefertotheProfessorasChengManching).Thissetofnameswaswritten
downandpassedontoShrJungstudentswereferencethislistastheReceivedTranslation
below.

AfterBataanpassedaway,wefoundcopiesofthislisttogetherwithhandwrittenchineseinhis
papers.A scannedcopyofthislistisincludedattheendofthisdocument.

Bataanalsogaveusacopyofanunpublishedworkbyafellowstudent,SaulKrotki.Saultook
thereceivedlist,includingtheChinese,anddevelopedanoriginaltranslationofthenames.
Mostimportantly,SaulhasthencapturedstillsofZhengManqingdoingtheswordformand
collectedthosetogetherwiththenames.Thisisanimpressivework,especiallyatthetime,
containinganalysisofalltheposturesandkeystillsoftheform.Saulslisthasacouple
divergencesfromtheReceivedTranslation,mostlikelytypos,andwenotethosebelow.

BarbDavistranslatedChenWeimingsbookonthesword(Davis2000).SheincludesChinese
andanoriginaltranslationforeachmove.Insomecases,ChenWeimingsnamesandorder
differslightlyfromtheReceivedlistwenotethesedifferencebelow.Ingeneral,Davisdefers
tothenamesintheReceivedTranslationevenwhenthosenamesdivergefromtheoriginal
Chinese.ThistranslationisreferencedasCWMbelow.

Finally,theYangfamilyUSorganization(basedinSeattle)hasalsopublishedalistofsword
names,inChineseandEnglish.Thisposturesarelargelyinthesameorderwiththesame
namesasourReceivedListwithsomeinterestingdifferencesasdiscussedbelow.(See:
http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/about/forms/sword67 )ThislistisreferencedasYFbelow.

Intranslatingtheposturenames,IvebasedmynamesontheReceivedTranslation,although
whereitdoesntmatchtheChinese,IvetriedtostaytruetotheoriginalChinese.Inaddition,
Iveprovidedreferencesandannotationstohelpdeepenourunderstandingandappreciationof
theworldviewbehindtheswordpostures.

Lookingattheimagesandallusionscontainedintheswordposturenamesisfascinating.The
namesweavetogetherDaoistalchemicalandtransformationalnotions,referencestothe
Chineseworldview,familystructure,andsocialrelationships,andhistorical,culturalandliterary
allusionsthatwouldbeobvioustooriginalChinesepractitioners.Intheposturebyposture
notesthatfollow,Ivetriedtodrawourattentiontotheseimagesandallusionsandhavegiven
referencestofollowforfurtherinformation.
5


Starting Posture

Chinese pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

1. Qsh StartingPosture StartingPosition

( Qi)isstraightforward:itmeansbeginning,first,initial.
(Shi )opensthedoortoabroadrangeofissuesandmeanings. Shi
isfrequentlytranslatedas
postureandoccursinoneofthealternatenames,thethirteenpostures,forourart taijiquan.

ThetaijiquanclassicattributedtoZhangSanfengdiscusses Shiinthepassageonachieving
advantage( shi)viatiming:

Thefoot,leg,and yao
mustalwaysbeintegratedbyone qi
Thensteppingforwardorbackyoucatchtheopportunityandgaintheadvantage( deji
deshi )
Failingtocatchtheopportunityandgaintheadvantage,thebodybecomesscattered
anddisordered( sanluan)
Seektheerrorinthe yaoandlegs.(mytranslation)

ZhengManqingreportsoralinstructionfromhisteacheremphasizingtheroleofachieving
timingandadvantage( dejideshi )inissuingenergy.
(http://www.rockymountaintaichi.com/zmq13139 )

Shi isoneofthecoreideasexploredintheSunzi( ArtofWar ).InRogerAmesstranslationof

theSunzi( reference) ,heprovidesanextensivediscussionof Shi.Hereareacouplenotable
excerptsfromthatdiscussion(Iveslightlyabridgedtheseextractsforclarityandupdated
transliterationfromWadeGilestopinyin):

Thekeyidea, shi,isascomplexas shen

,spirituality/divinity,and,fortunatelyforour
graspofthetradition,asrevealingoftheunderlyingsenseoforder.Wemust[consider]
how shicancombineinoneideathefollowingclusterofmeanings:

1.aspect,situation,circumstances,conditions
2.disposition,configuration,outwardshape
3.force,influence,momentum,authority
4.strategicadvantage,purchase
...
TheSunBin(arelatedwork,butnotthesameasSunzis ArtofWar, Amesstranslation)
states:

Thus,animalsnotequippedwithnaturalweaponshavetofashionthemfor
themselves.Suchwerethecontributionsofthesages.Yicreatedthebowand

6
 crossbowandderivedthenotionofstrategicadvantage(shi)
fromthem.How
doweknowthatthenotionofstrategicadvantageisderivedfromthebowand
crossbow?Anarchershootsfrombetweenshoulderandchestandkillsasoldier
overahundredpacesawaywhodoesnotevenknowwheretheboltcamefrom.
Henceitcanbesaid:thebowandcrossbowexemplifystrategicadvantage(shi)
.

....

Sunzi5.120:Disorderisbornfromordercowardicefromcourageweaknessfrom
strength.Thelinebetweendisorderandorderliesinlogistics( shu )betweencowardice
andcourage,instrategicadvantage( shi
)andbetweenweaknessandstrength,in
strategicpositioning(xing xing
).[Mynote: iswhatwedcallshapeorexpressionin
taijiquan]

....

Ifweallowthatthereareseveraldifferentwaysinwhichwecanlookat shi
,itenablesus
tobringitsclusterofmeaningstogether.Whenlookedatspatiallyfromoutsideofones
ownskin,shi
isthatsetofconditionsthatisdefiningofonessituation.Itisones
contextinrelationshiptooneself.Whenlookedatfromaninternalperspective, shi
is
onesownplaceandposturerelativetoonescontext.Whenlookedattemporally,taking
intoaccountthefullcalculusofdispositions, shi
isthetensionofforcesandthe
momentumthatbringsonepositioninimmediatecontactwithanother.

Givenallthis,thename (shisanshi)
mightbetterbetranslatedasthethirteen
advantages,thethirteenpowers,orthethirteensituations.

AndwecouldtranslatethenameofthisinitialpostureasThePowerOfBeginning,orTheInitial
Situation.

So,whataboutthewordforposture?Themorenaturalwordforpostureis( shi).
This
shi
meansposture,style,pattern,form.Anditsthewordtypicallyassociatedwiththeposturesin
theform,emptyhandedorswordform.Inourreceivedlist,wheneveraposturenamewould
otherwisehaveonlytwocharacters,thenameisfilledouttothreecharactersbyadding( shi)
totheendofthename.Thuswehave,thepostureofawaitingthefishratherthanjust
.And,thepostureofraisingthescreenratherthanjust.

TheYangfamilylistincludesonemovebefore (
QiShi: Yubeishi)
,ReadyPosture.
shi
TheYangfamilylistalsouses (advantage)insteadof shi
(posture/style)tofillouttwo
characternames.

7
Step Forward Together with Sword
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

2. Shngbhjin StepForward StepForwardMoving

TogetherWithSword SwordandHand
Together

Note:ThisnameisnotincludedineithertheCWMorYFlists.

Immortal Points The Way

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

3. Xinrnzhl ImmortalPointsthe DivinityPointsThe

Way Way

( xianren xian,
)isthetermforaDaoistimmortal.Thefirstcharacter, indicatesaperson
togetherwithmountainandreferencesstoriesofsolitaryDaoistsinthemountains.

ThewordwetranslatehereasWay, lu,
isnotthesamewordas dao.Lumeansroador
path,sotheimmortalispointingouttheroadordirection. Lu
isalsousedintaijiformsto
indicatethevarioussectionsoftheform.E.g.,thesectionwecallthefirstthirdisalsoknown
asthefirstroad( lu
).

Note:IntheCWMandYFlists,thispostureisincludedaspartofthefollowing(threerings
aroundthemoon).Inthereceivedlist,theposturenameappearstwice,nearthebeginningand
endoftheform,attachedtoslightlydifferentpostures.CWMandYFlistitonlyattheend.

Three Rings Around The Moon

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

4. Snhuntoyu ThreeRingsAround ThreeRingsAround

TheMoon TheMoon

Thisisamostpuzzlingposturename.Intheformaswevelearnedit,itisattachedtotwo
separatemoves,onesimilartopressandonesimilartowardoff.So,whythreerings?Itend
tounderstanditasleftandrightversionsofthesamemoveandassociatethethreeringswith
threecircularmotionsincludedineachmove.

IfwefollowedCWMandYFandincludedthepreviousmove(immortalpointstheway),then
wedhavethreefinalpostures,easilyassociatedwiththethreeringsinthename.
8

InYangstyletheory,thetorsoisdividedintothreerings:thebottomringisassociatedwiththe
hipsandlowerback,themiddleringwiththesolarplexusarea,andthetopringwiththe
shoulders.Theseringsarealsoassociatedwiththe sanguanorthreegatesinthespine(
weilu
mingmen
or jiaji
inthetailboneorlowerback, betweentheshoulderblades,andtheyuzhen or
jadepillowatthebasedoftheskull).Wehaveapracticeknownasthreeringsofqithat
includesvisualizationsandmovementofqiassociatedwiththethreeringsofthetorso.

InDaoistsymbolism,themoonisassociatedwiththelowerdantian.Thethreeringsaroundthe
moonmayrelatedtothethreeringsofqicirculatingaroundthedantian.

Great Star of the Literary God

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

5. Dkuxng GreatStarofthe MajorLiteraryStar

LiteraryGod

Thenamesofthispostureandtherelatedposture Xiokuxng (SmallStaroftheLiteraryGod)

arerichinallusionandsymbolism.ThedeityKuixingisassociatedwiththeconstellationwecall
theBigDipperKuixingeitherrepresentsoneofthestarsintheladlepartoftheconstellation
orsometimesallfourstarsintheladle.

Asagod,Kuixingisthegodofexaminations,andheisassociatedwithWenchang,thegodof
literature.Kuixingistypicallyrepresentedasamonsterordeformedperson:heeitherstandson
onelegholdingtheotherintheairoronlyhasasingleleg.Andhetypicallyholdsabrushover
hishead,inashapeverysimilartothisswordposture.Hisbodyisoftenrepresentedusing
Chinesecharactersandhestandsonan Aoamythicdragon/turtlecreature.

Thecharacter Kui

ismadeupofthecharacters gui
and dou . Gui
meansghostor
demon dou
isadipperandisalsousedintheChinesename, beidou (NorthernDipper),forthe
constellation.And xing isthecharacterforstar.So,KuixingisliterallyDipperStar.

Herearesomepictures.

9
Arubbingofastoneengraving:fromtheBeilinMuseuminXian:

(GodofLiteraturebyHunterAmor)

10
AporcelainbrushpotwithaglazeddrawingofKuixing(1700s).Hesholdingabrushoverhis
headandagrainmeasureordipperinhisotherhandandstandingonaverydragonlikeAo.

("BLWBrushPotwithKuiXing"byDavidJackson)

Together,KuixingandWenchangareassociatedwithliterature,cultureandtheimperial
examinations.Wen literallymeansliteratureandculture.Wenchangisalsostronglyassociated
withtheBigDipperconstellationhealsolivesintheladleorrepresentsacrescentsetofstars
rightabovetheladle.Thetwogodsareoftenshowntogether.

11
Inthispicture,WenchangistheporcelainfigureinthemiddleandKuixingisthebronzestatue
totheside:

("QuanshanTudiGongGongstatuesDSCF8317"byUser:Vmenkov
)

12
TheothergodfrequentlyassociatedwiththesetwoisGuanYu:thegodofwar.GuanYuwasa
historicalfigureintheThreeKingdomsperiodwholaterbecameapopulardeity.HeresaQing
dynastypaintingofallthreeofKuixing,Wenchang,andGuanYu.Kuixingisintheclouds
overhead,GuanYutogetherwithattendantsisontheleftside,andWenchangwithattendants
isontherightside.

(FreerSacklerGallery.AccessionnumberF1911.286)

TheBigDipperconstellation, beidou(
literallytheNorthernDipperoneof5dipper
constellations),iscloselyassociatedwithDaoism.Beinginthenorth,itsymbolizesprimordial
originandunificationofyinandyang.Withinthebody,theBigDipperislocatedinthethree
dantiensandthusrepresentsthe neidan
processofinnertransformation.Walkingthedipper

13
(bugangtadouorwalkingthepatternandtreadingonthestarsofthedipper)isthenameofa
Daoistpracticeofritualpatternedmovement.

ItmayseemsurprisingtohaveKuixingassociatedwithboththegodsofculture( wen)
andwar
(wu wen
).Butthepolarityof wu,
and thecivilandthemartial,occursfrequentlyinChinese
thought.TheYangfamilydocumentknownasthe40Chaptersincludesseveralsectionson
WenandWu.Chapter14(YangBanhou)discussesTaijisWenandWuaspectsandincludes
thispassage,castingWenandWuassubstanceandapplication:

wen
Thecivil( )isthesubstance.
Themartial(wu )istheapplication.
Theciviltraining[ gong gongfu
like ]existswithinthemartialapplicationandconcerns
jing qi
, shen
,and .
Itconcernsthesubstanceofselfcultivation.
Themartialtrainingrealizesthecivilsubstanceandconcernsthemind( xin
)andbody.
Itconcernsthemartialaffairsofpeople.
mytranslation
( )

Intheend,IchosetofollowBarbDavisandtranslatethismoveasGreatStaroftheLiterary
Godthisisntquiteliteralbutcapturessomeofthemultiplelayersofallusioninthename.

Kuixingshi
Note:YFliststhisas( )andtranslatesitasDipperPosture.

Swallow Snatches Water

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

6. Ynzichoshui SwallowSnatches SwallowBeatsthe

Water WaterWithItsWings

Thisposturenameisinterestingtheword
chaomeanstocopy,lift,plagiarize,orgrab.In
thismove,Ithinkoftheswallowgrabbingamouthfulofwaterasitswoops.

Heresavideoshowingswallowsdrinkingwhileinflight.Thepathoftheswallow,swooping
downtothewaterandbackup,issimilartotheshapesmadeinthismove.
https://youtu.be/8zwiJa2xI?t=1m7s

14
Left and Right, Block and Sweep Away
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

7. Zuyulnso LeftandRight,Block BlockAndSweep

andSweepAway RightAndLeft

ThisnameillustratesaChinesepattern:wherewewouldsayrightandleft,Chinesehasleft
andright(zuoyou ).Thisistrueinallthepostureswhichoccuronbothsides:theyrealways
calledleftandrightevenwhen,asinthismove,theformsequencehastherightsidevariant
happeningbeforetheleftsidevariant.

Acommonsayingintaijiquanisthattaijihasnoblocks,meaningthatwenevermeetforcewith
forcetryingtoblocktheothersaction.Instead,wegowiththeactionandthenredirector
transformit.So,whydoesthisswordmovehaveblock (lan)initsname?

Thesamewordblock, lan,alsoappearsintheemptyhandedform.Thepunchattheendofthe
firstsectionandagainattheendofthefullformisnamed (jinbubanlanchui)
,often
translatedasstep,parry,punch. Jinbu isoneofthefivestepsandreferencesaforwardor
advancingstep. Ban istotakeaway,remove,ormoveasideandispresumablywhatismeant
byparry.Lanistheproblematicblock,meaningtobar,block,holdback,orobstruct,andis
convenientlyleftoutofthetranslatedname. Chui
meanstobeat(withthefist),hammer,orbang
onsomething.

Inthisswordmove,thelastcharacter (sao)
meanstosweepaway,cleanup,ordisperse.

Andnotethatwithouttheleftandrightcharacters,thismovewouldbecomeatwocharacter
name(simply lansao )andsopresumablywouldbecome lansaoshi (blockandsweep
posture).Happily,ithasleftandrightvariantsandsoclearsthethreecharacternaming
threshold.

Small Star Of The Literary God

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

8. Xiokuxng SmallStarofthe MinorLiteraryStar

LiteraryGod

SeediscussionoftheGreatStartOfTheLiteraryGodabove.

15
Wasp Enters Cave
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

9. Hungfngrdng WaspEntersCave TheWaspEnters

TheCave

Huangfeng isliterallyyellowbeeoryellowwasp.Wetendtocallthemyellowjackets.Chinese
arthasalongtraditionofvisualpuns:illustratingplantsandanimalswhosenamescreateapun
onacommonsaying.

Forexample,heresaQingdynastyexample:

(myphoto,SFAsianArtMuseum.Accessionnumber:B64J5)

showingamonkey( hou) ma)

ridingahorse( (feng)
withawasp onitsside.Thevisualpunison
mashangfenghou(
thephrase mayyoubeelevatedinrank!).Beesorwaspsappeartobe
frequentelementsinvisualpunshavingtodowithgoodluck.

Thissectionoftheformhassignificantdifferencesinorderingandnamingamongthevarious
sources.CWMgivestheorderasSwallowEntersTheNest,AgileCatCatchesMouse,
DragonflyDotsWater,andthenWaspEnterstheCave(wherewehaveSwallowEntersThe

16
Nest).YFliststhissectionasSwallowEntersTheNest,AgileCatCatchesMouse,PhoenixLifts
ItsHead,andWaspEntersCave.

Therearealotofdifferentkindsofwaspsandhornetsthatliveinhivesofvarioussizesand
locations.Someliveinsmallgroupingsof10or20wasps,othersliveingiantcolonieswith
thousandsofmembers.Inourregion,yellowjacketsusuallyliveinsmallercolonies,some
buildingnestsonwallsandothersunderground.Isupposeyoucouldmakeanargumentfor
eitherthefirstorlastmoveofthissequencebeingWaspEntersTheCavedependingon
whetherthewaspisagrounddwellingwasporonethatlivesaboveground.Swallows,
however,alwaysbuildtheirnestsuphigh.Tomymind,thisarguesthatthereceivedorderwe
haveiscorrectandtheinitialdownwardmoveinthesequenceshouldbenamedWaspEnters
Cave/Hollowandthefinalupwardmovereferencingtheswallow.

Alert Cat Catches Mouse

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

10. Lngmobsh AlertCatCatches TheAlertCat

Mouse CatchesTheMouse

Lingoralert,agile,spiritedisoneofthosewordsthatreferencesawholeclusterofrelated
concepts. QingLing ,lightandnimble,isoneofthemaingoalsoftaijiquanpractice,referenced
inthefirstlineoftheclassicTaijiquanJingattributedtoZhangSanfeng:
Inmotion,theentirebodymustbe qingling
Andmostimportant,threadedtogether.

QingLing isalsooneofthepairsofwordsintheYangfamily8characterformula.(see
http://www.rockymountaintaichi.com/8wordformula )

Lingbyitselfmeansclever,spirit,nimble.InDaoistterminology,itsoftentranslatedas
numinous,eg.oneofthemajorbranchesofDaoismisLingbaoorNuminousTreasure.Inthe
termLingbao,ling( spirit,numinous)referstoHeavenand bao(treasure,gift)referstoEarth.
Thetwoareunitedinthebodyofpractitioners.

Thisposturenamealsorecallsthelinefromtheclassics(ExpositionofInsightintothe13
Postures):
Onesspiritislikeacatcatchingarat.
CWMcommentary:acatcatchingaratwaitsfortherightmomentandthenmoves
(Davistranslation)

17
Dragonfly Dots Water
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

11. Qngtngdinshu DragonflyDotsWater TheDragonflyStrikes

TheWater

Dian,dot,isoneofthefewcalledouttechniquesinourswordtransmission.Somelineages
havealistofspecifictechniquesassociatedwiththevariouspostures.Iveseenlistsof13
swordtechniques,whichseemsanobviousattempttocreateparallelismwiththe13
techniques( shi
)oftheemptyhandedform.Ourteachingcallsoutonlyafewtechniques
amongwhichisdotting.Dottinginvolvesalighttouchonthesword,with jin
senttothetipofthe
sword.Thetipandhiltoftheswordmoveinoppositedirections,asopposedtoachopwhere
thehiltandthetipmoveinthesamedirection.Thistechniqueisperfectlyillustratedinthismove
andbytheimageofadragonflydottingthewaterwithitstail.

Dianisalsoacalligraphytechniqueproducingadotofink.Thedotiscreatedusingthetipofthe
brushwithvariousshapesinvolvingthebodyofthebrush.

Dian dianxue(
alsoappearsinthemartialartofacupuncturepointstrikes, dimmak
in
cantonese).Literallydottingpoints.

DragonfliesareacommonoccurrenceinChineseartandpoetry.Theyareassociatedwith
summer,delicacy,transienceandpurity.AcommonMingdynastymotifshowsdragonflies
hoveringoverwaterandimpliespurityandstability.(Welch,pg96)

18
 qingting)
Hereisanimageofadragonfly( he)
withalotusseed(lotusis .Itrepresentsavisual
punonthephraseheqinghaiyanusedtodescribepeacefultimes. Heqing isaphrasereferring
toatimewhenthemuddyYellowRiverturnsclearand haiyan
describesthestormysea
becomingcalm.

(AsianArtMuseum,Accensionnumber:2553.)

Swallow Enters Nest

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

12. Ynzrcho SwallowEntersNest TheSwallowReturns

ToTheNest

Ru (enter)doesnothaveanyimplicationofreturning.Instead,itmeanstoenterintosomething,
tojoin,togothroughadoorway.

Phoenix Spreads Both Wings

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

13. Fnghungshung PhoenixSpreads ThePhoenixSpreads

zhnchi BothWings ItsWings

19
ThePhoenix, Fenghuang ,isabirdsymbolizingyin/yangunification.Itsnameoriginally
referencedtwobirdsthe feng
ormalephoenixandthehuang orfemalephoenixalthoughin
recenttimestheyarethoughtofasonesingle,usuallyfemale,bird.ThePhoenixistheheadof
thebirdclanandisoftenpairedwiththeDragon,headofthefishclan,asforexampleinthis
Qingdynastyplateshowingapairedphoenixanddragon:

(myphoto,SFAsianArtMuseum.AccessionNumber:B60P269)

ThismoveissimilarinshapetoDiagonalFlyingintheemptyhandedform.Itoccurstwiceinthe
swordform,withaverysimilarvariant,calledRocSpreadsWing,occurringonce.Phoenix
SpreadsBothWingsincludestheword shuang toindicatethatbothwingsopen.RocSpreads
Wingdoesnotandaswevelearnedit,onlyopensonewing.

YFlistincludesLeftandRightvariantsofthismovewithaSmallStarOfTheLiteraryGodin
between,perhapsusingtheRightvariantinplaceofRightWhirlwind(seebelow).

20
Left Whirlwind, Small Star Of The Literary God
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

14. Zuxunfng LeftWhirlwind, (missing)

xiokuxng SmallStarofthe
LiteraryGod

Xuanfeng isawhirlwind,cyclone,ortornado. Feng fengshui,

iswindorairala theartofwind
andwater. Xuan Xuanfeng
iswhirl,revolve,orspring.So,literally, iswhirlwind.

AninterestingquestionaboutthismoveandthenextiswhethertheLeftandRightWhirlwind
portionsareseparatemovesorshouldbeincludedaspartoftheprimaryassociatedposture
(SmallStarOfTheLiteraryGodandAwaitingTheFish).TheRightWhirlwindportionissimilar
toWaspEntersCavebutreallyfeelslikepartoftheAwaitingFishPosture.SimilarlyLeft
WhirlwindfeelslikethebeginningofSmallStaroftheLiteraryGod.

InChenWeimingsbook,heincludesthenamestogetherasinourreceivedlist.Davisnumbers
themseparatelyastwomoves,butthetextincludesonlyasingledescriptionforeachanda
singlepictureofthefinalposture.Supportingtheargumentforthembeingtwomovesisthe
inclusionof shi
inAwaitingFishPosture:the shiisonlyneededtofilltheposturenameoutto
threecharacters.IfRightWhirlwindwerepartoftheposturename,thenthe shi
wouldntbe
needed.

InSaulstranslation,hehasRightandLeftreversed,aneasyerrortomakegiventhediffering
rightleft/leftrightpatternsbetweenEnglishandChinese.

Right Whirlwind, Awaiting Fish Posture

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

15.
Yuxunfng RightWhirlwind, Recordedastwo
dngysh AwaitingFish moves:
Posture ClockwiseWhirling
Wind
AttitudeOfAwaiting
TheFish

Whenlearningtheswordform,wealwayswonderedwhatwasupwiththisattitudeofawaiting
thefish.Attitudeisactuallyagoodtranslationof shi.
But,itsreallynotclearwhythiswasthe
onlyshi
movecalledoutwithattitudeinthereceivedtranslation.

21
Ivebeenintroducedtoawayofunderstandingtheemptyhandedformasaseriesofattitudes
andgestures.Theattitudescorrespondtofinalposturesandpresumablyrepresent shi.
Attitudesareconnectedbyoneormoregestures.Eachgesturerepresentsaninitialenergetic
impetusandthesubsequentplayingoutofthatimpetus.Justastheplayingoutcompletes,the
nextgesturesimpetusappears.Thefinalattituderepresentsthefulfillmentofthegestures
leadinguptoit.Forexample,consideringthetransitionfromPresstoPushintheform,onecan
identify2or3separategesturesleadingtothefinalPush.SimilarlyfromPushtoSingleWhip,
onecancountupto6or7separategestures.

Ivefoundthissameapproachusefulinunderstandingtheswordform.Thislistcontainsthe
finalattitudes,theformitselfcontainsallthelinkinggestures.

Move Grass To Search For Snake

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

16. Bcotnsh MoveGrassto DividingTheGrassIn

SearchforSnake SearchOfTheSnake

Bo,move,isaverbwithrichallusionsintaijiquan.Itdoesnthaveanyimplicationofpartingor
dividingasindicatedinthereceivedtranslations. Bo
smostfamousoccurrenceisinthephrase
fromtheTaijiquanLun :4liang(ounces)bo
(moves)athousandjin
(pounds).A
numberoftranslatorsusedeflectsfor bo
inthefamousformula,butthatseemstometo
narrowthemeaningmorethanisjustified.InpersonalcommunicationwithLouisSwaim,he
indicatedthat bohasameaningofmovementwithaparticularintentionorpurpose.Zheng
Manqingprovidescommentaryonthisformulainhis13Treatises(seetranslationand
discussion: http://www.rockymountaintaichi.com/zmq131312 )

bo
Iveleft simplyasmoveintranslatingtheposturename.

CWMhasaminordifferenceinthename,using xun(search)inplaceoftan).

TheYFlistisquitedifferent.IntheChinesethemoveislistedas zuoyoulongxing
shi,buttranslatedasPokingGrassToSeekSnake.(Pokewouldbeafinetranslationof bo).
ThechineseactuallytranslatestoLeftRightDragonMovingPosture,whichdoesntmatchthe
English.

22
Embrace The Moon
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

17. Huizhngboyu EmbracetheMoon EmbracingTheMoon

ThisnameisliterallyBosomCenter/ToHoldMoon.DavistranslatesitasClasptheMoonto
yourBosom.Ivefollowedthereceivedtranslation.

Huai isoneofthosewordsthatarehardtounderstandasanenglishspeaker.Itmeans,bosom,
chest,arms.Italsomeanstocherish,keepinmind,thinkof,oryearnfor.Anditappearsin
compoundsreferencingfeelings,e.g.toholdontohardfeelings,nurseresentment,fondly
reminisce,cherishmemories.

Accordingto ADictionaryofChineseBuddhistTerms byHodousandShoothill(pg471),

Huai
meanstoholdfeelingsorthoughtsintheheartmind.ItsalsopartofaChineseBuddhistterm
fortheMoon:, huaitu.
Tuisrabbit,sotheMoonistheRabbitEmbracerorHolderofthe
Hare.ChinesecultureseesarabbitinthemoonwhereEuropeancultureseesthemaninthe
moon.ThemoonrabbitliveswiththemoongoddessChangeandpoundsherbstocreate
elixer(dan
)forherandtheotherimmortals.

Birds Return To The Forest

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

18. Snioguln BirdsReturntothe TheBirdsReturnTo

Forest TheForest

Niaoguilin Su
isstraightforward:literally,birdsreturntoforest. meansnightorovernight
lodging,sothiscouldmeanthatnightbirdsreturntotheforestorthatbirdsreturntotheforest
forovernightlodging.(Ihaventfoundaparticulartypeofbirdcalleda suniao
ornightbird.)
DavistranslatesthisasBirdsRoostingintheForest.Ivestayedclosertothereceived
translation.

Amusingly,theword niao,bird,apparentlyalsohasaslangmeaningoffuckorpenis(its
pronounced diaointhiscase).So,thisposturenamecouldalsomeanReturningToTheForest
ForAnOvernightScrew.

TheYFlisthas tou
inplaceof gui Tou
. meanstohurl,cast,orthrowoneself.Isuppose
thebirdscouldbehurlingthemselvesintotheforestatnightfall.Thisversionofthename
certainlysuggestsamoreurgentreturntotheforest.

23
Black Dragon Wags Its Tail
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

19. Wlngbiwi BlackDragonWags TheBlackDragon

ItsTail WagsItsTail

TheYFlisthasanothermovefollowingthisbeforewindrollslotusleaf:,greendragon
comesoutofwater.

Wind Rolls Lotus Leaf

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

20. Fngjunhy WindRollsLotus TheWindRollsThe

Leaf LotusLeaf

Juan istorollup,sweepaway,carryoff.Davisusescurls(WindCurlsLotusLeaf).

Iwastryingtofindmoresymbolismforthismoveandcameacrosstheexcerptfrom Kameleon
Man byKimBarryBrunhuber.Thenarratoristryingtofindaplacetolive.Heendsupoutsidea
buildingwherestheressupposedtobearoomavailableforrent:

Agreymanisdoingtaichiintheparkinglot.Irecognizeafewoftheforms:WhiteCrane
SpreadsItsWings,PushTheBoatWithTheCurrent,CloudHands,YellowBeeReturns
ToNest.Itookacoupleoftaichiclassesbymistakeincollege.BymistakebecauseI
confusedtaichiwithtaekwondo.WhenIdidn'thitanybodybythethirdclass,Idropped
outandtookkarateuntilsomebodyhitme.Themanteachingourtaichiclassalways
talkedofbeingeffortlessandyielding,quotedthe TaoTeChing,t
aughtustheproper
waytoembracetigersandrepulsemonkeys.Buthewasonlyamastersstudent,no
olderthanIwas,badpimples,andwasfailingIntroductiontoNeurobiologyand
Behavior.So,whatcouldheknowaboutyellowbeesandwhitecranes?Intheclass,all
ourmovementswererusty,jerky,asifwewerebreakdancing,poppingandlocking,
doingtheRobot.Themanintheparkinglotisacrane,actuallypossessescloudhands,I
dontwanttointerrupthim,butitsgettingdarkandIneedahome.

Sorrytodisturbyou,butdoyouliveinthisbuilding.
Hedoesntanswer.GoldenCockStandsOnOneLeg.
Maybeyoucouldtellmewhatthisbuildingsreallylike.
Iwatchhimgothroughtheforms:WindRollsTheLotusLeaves,SwallowSkimsThe
Water.MaybehedoesntspeakEnglish.Maybehesoneofthosemonkswhos
achievedtheTaoandisnolongerruledbyhissenses.Maybehestryingtoanswermy
questionanotherway.Ilookforhints,ahiddenmessagedisguisedinthemovements
24
 RoachesScuttleAlongTheFloorsperhaps,orFaucetsDripThroughTheNightbut
hesinscrutable.

Icantwaitforever.Ineedaplacetolive,andthisonelooksasgoodasanyIveseen.
Therearenopolicecarsoutsidethebuilding,nolaundrystrungfromthebalconies.The
addressis555MunchakDrive.Intaichi,fiveisamagicnumber.FiveRepulseMonkeys.
FiveCloudHands.Tome,themagicnumberis$650amonth.Thatsmybudget.

Lion Shakes Its Head

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

21. Shziyotu LionShakesItsHead TheLionShakesIts

Head

CWMsdescriptionsandpicturesofthisandthenextseveralmovesarequitedifferentfromthe
formaswevelearnedit.

Tiger Holds Its Head

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

22. Hbotu TigerHoldsItsHead TheTigerHoldsIts

Head

DragonsandTigershavebeenapairedsetofimagessinceantiquity,occurringinburial
plaques,prominentinDaoistimagery,andfeaturedincosmologicalandinternalcontexts.Here
aretwoimagesfromsarcophaguspanelsfromtheNorthernWei(paneldated~500CE):one
featuresadragon,thesecondatiger:

25

(myphoto,DenverArtMuseum)

(myphoto,DenverArtMuseum)

Forourpurposes,theroleoftigeranddragoninDaoistalchemyisprobablymostimportant.
Thephrasesubduingdragonsandtamingtigers( ) referencestheinneralchemical
processoftransformation.Dragonandtigerareassociatedwithmanyfeaturesoftheinternal
landscape:
tigerwiththelowerdantian,dragonwiththemiddle(heartarea).
fireandwater.ThistwoimagesalludetothehexagramAfterCompletionsincethe
dragon(water)isabovethetiger(fire).BeforeCompletion,thedragonbloatsthelower
dantianwithwaterandthetigerenflamestheheartandemotionswithitsfire.
shen qi
and qi
,or and
jing.

26
Heresanimageofinternalalchemy:dragonandtigercombiningessencesinthealchemical
cauldron(dantian).

(ET,pg701.)

Wild Horse Leaps Over The Mountain Stream

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

23. Ymtiojin WildHorseLeaps TheWildHorse

OverTheMountain LeapsTheStream
Stream

Thisisthesecondoftheleapsintheswordform.IntheDaoistcanon,thenotionoftaminga
wildhorseortamingthehorseofthewilloccursfrequentlyandrepresentsoneofthestepsof
selfcultivation.

DaoismandChineseBuddhismmayhavetradedideasaboutwildhorsesbackandforth.The
Daoistnotionoftamingthewildhorsemayhavearisentogetherwithorincontrasttotheclassic
ChanBuddhistpicturesofoxherding.Inbothcases,theprocessisaroadmaptointernal
transformationandcultivation.

27
Acouplelinksformoreinfo:
videolectureonDaoisthorsetaming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDLWKJMG5cE
discussionofChanoxherdingpictures:
http://www.exeas.org/resources/oxherding.html

Turn Body, Rein In Horse

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

24. Fnshnlm TurnBody,ReinIn ReinInTheHorse

Horse

Le
Afirststepintamingthewildhorseistoreininthathorse. meanstoreininortotieorbind
somethingtightly.

fanshen
TheYFlistleavesoffthe (turnbody)andthushastoaddashitotheendofthe
posturenamesinceotherwiseitwouldhaveonlytwocharacters.

Step Up, The Compass

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

25. Shangbu StepUp,The TheCompass

Zhnnzhn Compass

Theamusingpartofthisposturename,fromanAmericanpointofview,isthenameforthe
compass: Zhinanzhen literallymeansthepointingsouthneedle.WhenIintroducethismove,I
oftentellstudentsthatcompassespointsouthinChina.Whentheyresurprised,Inotethat
compassespointsouthheretoowejustputthemarkontheotherendoftheneedle.

AtypicalfeatureofChinesemapswasthattheyplacedSouthatthetopofthemap,ratherthan
Northaswedo.Ivebeentoldthattherationaleforthiswasthatthesunisoverhead,andinthe
northernhemisphere,slightlysouthofdirectlyoverhead.ThusSouthmustbetheupdirection.

OurreceivedlistandtheYFlistbothomittheShangbu, stepup,partoftheposturename.

Facing the Wind, Brushing Off Dust

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

26. Yngfngfuchn FacingTheWind, WaveTheWhisk

BrushingOffDust BroomAgainstThe
Wind

28

Therearealotofslightlydifferentvariantstothenameofthisposture:
Saulhashui(scatter,disperse)inplaceof fu
.
YFhas dan fu
(brushoff)insteadof .

Imnotsurewherethewhiskbroomsinthereceivedtranslationcamefrom:Icanonlyimagine
thatsomeoneaskedwhat fu
meantandtheanswerincludedanexampleofusingawhisk
broomtobrushoffdust.So,themovenamebecamefocusedonthebroomratherthanthe
whisking.Ofcourse,ifyouthinkabout,youdneverfaceintothewindtocleanupawhiskbroom
thatwouldjustblowallthedustintoyourface.But,youmightfaceintothewindandshakeor
brushyourclothesinordertogetdustoffofthem.

Going With The Current, Push The Boat

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

27. Shnshutuzhu GoingWithThe PushTheBoatWith

Current,PushThe TheCurrent
Boat

Thisnameisafunonetounpack. Tui ispushjustlikein tuishou,pushhands. Shunmeansto

gowithorwalkalongwith.Idiomatically, shuimeanstotakeadvantageofasituationtoones
ownbenefit. Shuiiswaterorcurrent. Shunshui asacompoundliterallymeansdownstream.

Ivekeptitasgoingwiththecurrentratherthansayingpushtheboatdownstreamtocallout
thetermshun. Shun
isakeystepinskilfulltaijiquaninteractionandrepresentsanessentialstep
inthemeet,gowith,transform,returnparadigm.

Shun appearsintheTaijiquanLun:
:
Myopponentishard( gang) ,Iamsoft( rou zou
),thisiscalledyielding( shun)
).Igowith( ,
myopponentgoesagainst( bei ),thiisiscalledsticking( zhan )

ChenWeimingscommentaryonthislinesays:
WhenIyieldandneutralize( zouhua), iftheopponentsstrengthmissesthemark,he
goesagainst( bei).
Ifmypositionfindsthemark,Igowith( shun)him.IfIgowithhimand
sticktowherehegoesagainst,thenthoughhehasstrengthhecannotuseit.
(Davis2004)

DavisaddsinhernotesthatWuTunanhas niinplaceof bei.

Andshethengoesontosay:
Theterms shun andni
areusedinmanyChinesefieldsofstudy,includingDaoist
meditation, qigong ,medicineandthe Yijing. Chinesepaintingusesthetwotermsto
describebrushtechniques: shun istobrushthenormaldirection,thatiswiththebrush

29
 Ni
hairstrailing. referstobrushstrokesthatgoagainstthehairs,whichcreateatangled
effect.

Shooting Star Overtakes The Moon

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

28. Lixnggnyu ShootingStar TheShootingStar

OvertakesTheMoon ChasesTheMoon

Gan
istocatchupwith,overtake,andrushtowards.

Celestial Horse Flies Over The Waterfall

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

29. Tinmfip CelestialHorseFlies PegasusOverThe

OverTheWaterfall SprayingWaterfall

CelestialHorses(tianma,
literallyheavenhorse)areamajorfeatureoftheJadeEmperors
court.Inthe
JourneytotheWest, whenSunWukong(MonkeyKing)arrivesinheaven,hes
giventhejobofmanagingtheJadeEmperorsstableandlater,upondiscoveringthatthispost
isalowlyoneintheheavenlyhierarchy,WukonggoesontocausehavocinHeaven.

30
Heresapictureofsomeoftheherdofcelestialhorsesfreelycavorting,paintedintheMing
dynasty(~1300):

(FreerSacklerGallery.Accensionnumber:F1909.198.Additionalviewsofthispainting
availableat
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/object.cfm?q=fsg_F1909.198 )

CWMliststhismoveas tianmaxingkong ,HeavenlyHorseTravelsTheVoid,whichis

anawfullycoolname.
Saulcallsthehorse
yema,
tianma
wildhorse,insteadof ,heavenlyhorse.Isuspectthisis
justanerror.

Raise The Screen Posture

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

30. Tiolinsh RaiseTheScreen RollUpTheScreen

Posture

Lianisscreenorcurtain.ScreenswereusedinChinesearchitecturetoseparatelargerspaces
intosmallerrooms.So,thisnamecouldbeRaisingtheScreenorLiftingtheCurtain.

ShaWujing(awakeningtopurity),alsocalledShaMonk,from JourneytotheWest was

originallyamemberoftheheavenlybureaucracyknownastheCurtainLiftingGeneral.

AscreenwasusedtocontroltheEmperorsaudiences.TheEmperorwouldcomeoutandsitin
histhronebehindascreen.Thenwhenitwastimetoreceivepetitioners,thescreenwouldbe
rolledup.WhentheEmperorwasdonewiththeaudience,thescreenwouldbedropped.

AnotherinterestingallusionforthescreenistotheEmpressRegentswhoruledfrombehind
thescreen( chuiliantingzheng)

.Thereareanumberofstoriesofpoliticallypowerful
31
womenwhofunctionedessentiallyastherulersofChinawithoutbeingdeclaredthepublicruler.
Thesewomenwouldreceiveministerialreports,listentoaffairsofstate,andissueimperial
decisionsfrombehindascreen.OnestoryisoftheEmpressWu(~625705CE)whoruled
from655to683frombehindthescreeninthenameofseveralheirapparents,whodiedunder
suspiciouscircumstancesorleftthecourtforaneventualsuicide.In690,thesoncurrentlyin
theheirapparentpositionabdicated,followingwhichWuhadthescreenrolledup,foundeda
newdynasty(theZhou)andruledasChinasfirstandonlyfemaleEmperor.(Ebrey,pg82.)

Left and Right Cartwheels Sword

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

31. Zuoyouchelunjian LeftandRight, WheelsLeftAnd

CartwheelsSword Right

Chelun isawheelofavehicle,suchasacart,hencecartwheel.

Saulslisthasthismoveas) Chlnjin(zuyursh) .Thisisessentially

thesameaswhatsinourlist.Translatedliterally:wheelingsword(leftrighttwostyles).

Swallow Holds Mud In Its Beak

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

32. Ynzixinn SwallowHoldsMud TheSwallowHolds

InItsBeak MudInItsBeak

Xian
istoholdinonesmouth.Sinceitsaswallowdoingtheholding,weveusedbeakinplace
ofmouth.

CWMdoesnotincludethismovepresumablycountingitaspartofthepreviousposture.

Great Peng Spreads Wing

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

33. Dpngzhnch GreatPengSpreads TheRocSpreadsIts

Wing Wings

Asnotedabove,thisisoneofthethreeinstancesofadiagonalflyingstylemoveinourform.
Thefirstandlastarebothnamedphoenixspreadsbothwings.Thismoveisdistinguishedin
thatthebirdspreadsonlyasinglewing.

32

Note:Chinesedoesnotdistinguishsingularnounsfrompluralnouns,sothe chi
herecould
meaneitherwingorwings.InCWMslist,themoveexplicitlyreferencesasinglewing:
d apengdanzhanchi ./ dan
issingle,solitary.

So,whatsaRoc,whichI,atleast,thinkofasaIndianorPersianmythicbird,doingina
Chineseswordform?LikethePhoenix( Fenghuang) ,thePengisabirdthatdirectlyembodies
yin/yangunity.ThefirstchapteroftheZhuangzitellsusaboutthePengsdualnatureasan
enormousbird(hencetheRoc)andasanenormousfish:

INTHENORTHERNDARKNESSthereisafishandhisnameisKun.TheKunisso
hugeIdon'tknowhowmanythousand li
hemeasures.Hechangesandbecomesabird
whosenameisPeng.ThebackofthePengmeasuresIdon'tknowhowmanythousand
li
acrossand,whenherisesupandfliesoff,hiswingsarelikecloudsalloverthesky.

TheUniversalHarmonyrecordsvariouswonders,anditsays:"WhenthePengjourneys
tothesoutherndarkness,thewatersareroiledforthreethousand li
.Hebeatsthe
whirlwindandrisesninetythousand li,
settingoffonthesixthmonthgale."Wavering
heat,bitsofdust,livingthingsblowingeachotherabouttheskylooksveryblue.Isthat
itsrealcolor,orisitbecauseitissofarawayandhasnoend?Whenthebirdlooks
down,allheseesisbluetoo.

Ifwaterisnotpiledupdeepenough,itwon'thavethestrengthtobearupabigboat.
Pouracupofwaterintoahollowinthefloorandbitsoftrashwillsailonitlikeboats.But
setthecupthereanditwillstickfast,forthewateristooshallowandtheboattoolarge.
Ifwindisnotpiledupdeepenough,itwon'thavethestrengthtobearupgreatwings.
ThereforewhenthePengrisesninetythousand li
,hemusthavethewindunderhimlike
that.Onlythencanhemountonthebackofthewind,shoulderthebluesky,andnothing
canhinderorblockhim.Onlythencanhesethiseyestothesouth.

Thecicadaandthelittledovelaughatthis,saying,"Whenwemakeaneffortandflyup,
wecangetasfarastheelmorthesapanwoodtree,butsometimeswedon'tmakeitand
justfalldownontheground.Nowhowisanyonegoingtogoninetythousand li
tothe
south!"

Ifyougoofftothegreenwoodsnearby,youcantakealongfoodforthreemealsand
comebackwithyourstomachasfullasever.Ifyouaregoingahundred li,
youmust
grindyourgrainthenightbeforeandifyouaregoingathousand li,
youmuststart
gettingtheprovisionstogetherthreemonthsinadvance.Whatdothesetwocreatures
understand?Littleunderstandingcannotcomeuptogreatunderstandingtheshortlived
cannotcomeuptothelonglived.

(BurtonWatsontranslation,slightlyabridgedandupdatedtousepinyininplaceofWG)

33
Scoop The Moon From The Bottom Of The Sea
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

34. Hidloyu ScoopTheMoon PickUpTheMoon

FromTheBottomOf FromTheBottomOf
TheSea TheSea

Oneofmyfavoritepassagesfrom JourneytotheWest isearlyinthebookwhenWukong

(MonkeyKing)isstudyingwithaDaoistmasterwantingtolearnlongevitypracticestoachieve
immortality.HismasterofferstoteachhimavarietyofDaoistpracticesthatcanleadto
enlightenmentandafterdescribingeachpractice,Wukongasksifthispracticewillleadto
immortality.Themastereachtimesaysno,likeningtheideathatthepracticecouldleadto
immortalitytoanabsurdidealikethinkingapillarwilllastlongerthanthebuildingitsinorthat
anunfiredbrickwouldlastintherain.Monkeyrefusestolearneachofthepractices.

Finally,theDaoistofferstoteachMonkeyalchemicalpractices(internalandexternal, neidan
andweidan )andwhenWukongagainasksifthesepracticeswillbringaboutimmortality,the
Masterreplies
Toobtainimmortalityfromsuchactivities,saidthePatriarch,islikescoopingthemoon
fromthesea.
Thereyougoagain,Master!criedWukong.Whatdoyoumeanbyscoopingthemoon
fromthesea?
ThePatriarchsaid,Whenthemoonishighinthesky,itsreflectionisinthewater.
Althoughitisvisibletherein,youcannotscoopitoutorcatchholdofit,foritisbutan
illusion.
Iwontlearnthateither!saidWukong.
(Yu,2ndchapter,vol1)

Saulhasanapparenttypohere.Hegivesbothtraditionalandsimplifiedcharactersforthe
moves.Inthisname,hehasthecorrecttraditionalcharacterforscoop,/ lao,butforthe
simplifiedcharacteruses/ lao
whichmeanswaterloggedorflooded.

34
Embrace The Moon
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

35. Huizhngboyu EmbraceTheMoon EmbracingTheMoon

Seediscussionabove.

Night Demon Explores The Sea

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

36. Ychtnhi NightDemon TheDragonSpirit

ExploresTheSea SearchesTheSea

YechaistheChineseversionofthesanskritterm Yaksha yakkha

( Ye
inPali). meansnightor
eveningsoIvetranslateditasNightDemon.

YakshainHinduorBuddhisttextsareusuallybenevolentspirits.InBuddhisttexts,theyarethe
attendantsoftheMedicineBuddhaortheGuardianoftheNorth.InChinesestories,theyare
Yecha
oftenmalevolentspirits. canalsoreferenceahideousorferociousperson.

TheYFlisthas Nazha yecha.Zha

inplaceof isasuffixgiventomythicalbeings.Ihavent
beenabletofindabeingcalled nazha.Thismightbeamishearingofyechaorperhaps
referencessomeotherdemon.

Rhinoceros Gazes At The Moon

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

37. Xniwngyu RhinocerosGazesAt TheRhinoceros

TheMoon GazingAtTheMoon

Inthismove,thegazeisdownward,towardsthetipoftheswordheldbehindyou.Thismakes
methinkthattheresanimpliedparentheticadditiontotheposturename:RhinocerosGazesAt
TheMoon(sReflection),whichwouldnicelyconnectwiththenotionofscoopingthemoons
reflectionfromthesea.

Whenwefirstlearnedthismove,IwassurprisedtohearaboutrhinosinChina.Asitturnsout,
rhinoswerewidespreadinChinainantiquity.Imagesofrhinosarefrequentinbronzeage
artifacts.AndtheyhavealongassociationwithmartialartsandwarfareinChina.IntheBronze
Age(ShangandZhoudynasties),rhinoswerekilledfortheirtoughhideswhichwereusedto

35
createarmorandshields.Inlatertimes,e.g.WarringStatesperiod,rhinohidesandhornswere
melteddowntocreateglueusedinmakingcompositebows.

Inlatereras(Mingdynastyandbeyond),RhinohornbecameadesiredingredientinChinese
herbalmedicines.Asaresultoftheseusesofrhinosandespeciallyrhinohorntogetherwith
huntingandwidespreadintensiveagriculture,therhinoceroswasessentiallywipedoutinChina.
Chinesedemandforrhinohornscontinuestobeamajorendangeringfactortoremaining
rhinocerospopulationsworldwide.

Herearesomerhinoimages.

Handynastybronzerhino(~200CE):

(FreerSacklerGallery,Accessionnumber:
RLS1997.48.292)

36
BurialfigurinefromaHanDynastytomb(~100CE):

(MetropolitanMuseumofArt,Accessionnumber:68.149.5)

BurialfiguringfromaWesternJintomb(~300CE):

(MetropolitanMuseum,accessionnumber:68.149.15)

37
QingdynastywaterdropperwithimageofaDaoistimmortalinaboat.Usedforcalligraphy.
Carvedfromrhinohorn:

(AsianArtMuseum,Accessionnumber:
B68M9)

Shoot The Wild Goose Posture

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

38. Shynsh ShootTheWild ShootTheFlying

GoosePosture Goose

GeeseandparticularlywildgeesecarryawiderangeofsymbolicmeaninginChineseculture.
Wildgeeseflyingoverheadareasymbolofchangingseasons,particularlyofspringand
autumn.Thevpatternofgeeseflyinginformationserveasametaphorforbothciviland
militaryorder.Geesearethoughttoformmonogamouscouplesandsotheycanstandfor
maritalrelationshipsandfaithfulness.Andcorrespondingly,asinglegooseisasymbolofloss
andloneliness.Atraditionalcourtshipofferingwasforthemantobringawildgoosehedkilled
tohisprospectivebridesfamily.Finally,wildgeesesoaringhighoverheadareasymbolof
spiritualattainmentanddetachment.

ThesethemesoccurfrequentlyinChinesepoetry.Hereareacoupleselectionsfromthepoetry
classic(BookofOdes)thatillustratethem.(Leggetranslationforall.Sourcedfrom
ctext.org/bookofpoetry)

38
 BitterGourdLeaves
:

Thewildgoose,withitsharmoniousnotes,
Atsunrise,withtheearliestdawn,
Bythegentleman,whowishestobringhomehisbride,
[Ispresented]beforetheiceismelted

ShuHasGoneHunting(GreatShuInTheField)
:




Shuhasgonehunting,
Mountedinhischariotwithfourbayhorses.
Thetwoinsidesarethefinestpossibleanimals,
Andthetwooutsidesfollowthemregularlyasinaflyingflockofwildgeese.
Shuisatthemarshyground
Thefireblazesupallatonce,
AskillfularcherisShu!
Agoodcharioteeralso!
Nowhegiveshishorsethereinsnowhebringsthemup
Nowhedischargeshisarrowsnowhefollowsit.

Goose Feathers
:



Susugothefeathersofthewildgeese,
Astheysettleonthebushyoaks.
Theking'saffairsmustnotbeslacklydischarged,
And[so]wecannotplanteitherourmilletoroursacrificialmillet
Whatwillourparentshavetorelyon?
OthoudistantandazureHeaven!
Whenshallwebeinourplacesagain?

Wevereferenced JourneyToTheWest anumberoftimes.Itdescribesamythologizedversion
ofamonksjourneyfromChinatoIndia(thewest)tobringBuddhistscripturesbacktoChina.
Thestoryisbasedonahistoricalfigure,Xuanzang,whodidindeedtraveltoIndiawherehe
collectedscripturesandotherrelicsthathebroughtbacktoChina.ThefamousGreatWild
GoosePagoda,picturedbelow,wasbuiltin652bytheTangEmperoruponXuanzangsreturn
tohousethescripturesandrelicsXuanzangbroughtback.

39

("GiantWildGoosePagoda"byAlexKwok)

Closelyassociatedtowildgeesearetheirfeathers.Goosefeathersserveasametaphorfor
(qing)
lightness .ZhengManqingusesthismetaphorwhendiscussingtheneedtobelightin
ordertoavoidreceivingtheopponentsforce:
qing
Achieve the skill of (light) as a goose feather,
then (you) wont fall when pushed!
(
http://www.rockymountaintaichi.com/zmq-13-13-8/ )

ProbablythemostfamousreferencetogoosefeathersisinSimaQiansaphorism

Apersonhasonlyonedeath.
Themeaningofthatdeathiseitherheavier( zhong)thanMountTaior
qing
lighter( )thanagoosefeather.

MaoZedongreferencedthisaphorisminaeulogyhegaveforZhangSide.Maosaid:
Allmenmustdie,butdeathscanvaryintheirsignificance.InancientChinatherewasa
scholarnamedSimaQianwhosaid,DeathmaybeweightierthanMountTaiorlighter
thanagoosefeather.TodiefortheinterestofthepeopleisweightierthanMountTai,
buttoworkfortheFascistsandtodieforexploitingandoppressingthepeopleislighter
thanagoosefeather.ComradeZhangSidediedforthepeople,sohisdeathisindeed
weightierthanMountTai.
(Schram,pg617.)

40
IfindthisparticularlyinterestingsinceMaoisexplicitlyplacinghimselfandhiscohortina
ConfuciancontextandreinterpretingSimaQiansaphorismaspartofclassstruggleandthe
revolution.

TheoriginalSimaQianaphorismcomesfromaletterhewrotetoafriendontheoccasionof
Simafacingachoiceofcastrationorexecution.Simahadoffendedtheemperorbydefendinga
defeatedgeneralandwasgiventhechoiceofdeathorhumiliationthroughcastrationandended
upchoosingcastrationashewasntreadytodieyet.Simaexplainedhischoicetohisfriend:

Amanhasonlyonedeath.ThatdeathmaybeasweightyasMountTai,oritmaybeas
lightasagoosefeather.Italldependsuponthewayheusesit...Itisthenatureofevery
mantolovelifeandhatedeath,tothinkofhisrelativesandlookafterhiswifeand
children.Onlywhenamanismovedbyhigherprinciplesisthisnotso.Thenthereare
thingswhichhemustdo....

Thebravemandoesnotalwaysdieforhonor,whileeventhecowardmayfulfillhisduty.
Eachtakesadifferentwaytoexerthimself.ThoughImightbeweakandcowardlyand
seekshamefullytoprolongmylife,yetIknowfullwellthedifferencebetweenwhatought
tobefollowedandwhatrejected.HowcouldIbringmyselftosinkintotheshameof
ropesandbondsifeventhelowestslaveandscullerymaidcanbeartocommitsuicide,
whyshouldnotonelikemyselfbeabletodowhathastobedone?ButthereasonIhave
notrefusedtobeartheseillsandhavecontinuedtolive,dwellingamongthisfilth,isthat
IbelievethatIhavethingsinmyheartthatIhavenotbeenabletoexpressfully,andI
amashamedtothinkthatafterIamgonemywritingswillnotbeknowntoposterity.
(Bary,pp272273)

41
Wild Geese Motifs
Herearesomeimagesofwildgeese.

ATangDynastyplatefeaturingawildgoose:

(myphoto.SFAsianArtMuseum.Accessionnumber:B60P330)

42
A13thcenturyjadebeltbuckleshowingafalconattackingawildgoose:

(MetropolitanMuseumArt,Accessionnumber:
1991.483)

43
AQingdynastyrankbadgefeaturingawildgoose(~1725):

(MetropolitanMuseumArt,Accessionnumber:46.133.51)

RankBadges, buzi
,wereclothingdecorationswornintheMingandQingdynastiesto
indicateonesrank.Theyarebigembroideredsquaressewnontothefrontofonesrobes.The
Emperorandfamilyworebadgesfeaturingdragonsandphoenixes.Civilofficialrankbadges
featuredbirds.Militaryofficialrankbadgesfeaturedanimals,typicallyfierceanimals.Therewere
nineparallelranksforcivilandmilitaryofficials(1strankisthehighest)andthesymbolic
animalsarecertainlyfamiliartotaijiquanplayers.

44
RanksandBadges

CivilRanks MilitaryRanks

Rank Emblem Symbolism Emblem Symbolism

1st Crane Longevity Qilin(mythic Happinessand

animalhaving goodfortune
characteristicsof
manyother
animalsincluding
dragons,tigers,
giraffes,and
more)

2nd GoldenPheasant Courage Lion Strength,courage,

fortitude

3rd Peacock Beautyanddignity Leopard Power

4th WildGoose Loyalty Tiger Courageand

militaryprowess

5th SilverPheasant Beautyandgood Bear Braveryand

fortune strength

6th LesserEgret Happiness Panther Ferocity

7th Duck Loyalty Rhinoceros Ferocity

8th Quail Courage Rhinoceros Ferocity

9th Flycatcher Longevityand SeaHorse(not Courage

goodfortune thelittleseahorse
wethinkofbuta
mythichorseable
toridethewaves)

USCsPacificAsiaMuseumhadaspecialexhibittitledRankandStyle:PowerDressingin
ImperialChina.Theonlineversionisquiteinformative.See
http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/rankandstyle/html/index.stm foradditionalinformationand
lotsofimagesofrankbadgesofallkinds.

Moreinfo:
http://krex.kstate.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/7229/LD2668R41969L42.pdf?sequence=1
(MAthesisonrankbadges)

45
Archery, Wild Geese, and Martial Arts

ShootingWildGeeseintrinsicallyinvolvesarchery.PeterLorgein ChineseMartialArts
convincinglyarguesthatarcheryisthearchetypalChineseMartialArt.Archeryhasbeenpartof
Chinesesocietyforatleast28,000yearstheoldestdiscoveredarrowheaddatesfromthat
longagoandwasakeyaccomplishmentforaristocratsfromtheShangandZhoudynasties.
ArcheryisoneoftheConfucianSixArtsinwhicheverynoblemanshouldbeaccomplished.The
SixArts, liuyi
,are:
Rites(),Music(),Archery(),Charioteering(),Calligraphy(),
andMathematics() .ArcherywasakeymilitaryskillintotheQingdynastywhenitwasfinally
supplantedbyfirearms.

TheroleofarcheryillustratesthemillennialongtensioninChinesesocietybetweenrestricting
accesstomartialskillsandmilitarypowertoelitesandbroadbaseddispersionoftheseskills
andtools.Thependulumhasrepeatedlyswungbetweenrestrictingaccesstoweaponsandthe
skillstousethemandthendistributingtheweaponsandtraininglargenumbersofnonelite
peopleintheiruse.Thecyclestartswithamilitarychallengetotheestablishedorder,followed
bymassproductionofweaponsanddisseminationoftheskillstousethoseweaponsinorderto
buildupmilitaryforcestorespondtothechallenge.Whentheexistingrulerssurvivetheturmoil
ornewrulerstakepower,inevitably,therulingclassbecomesconcernedaboutthepopulaces
accesstomilitarytechnologyandthenputsrestrictionsinplace,forbidsuseandtrainingof
weapons,etc.Whenthenextmilitarychallengeappears,thecyclerepeats.

Archeryhasfollowedexactlythispathoverthecenturies.Itwasoriginallyprimarilyfocusedon
huntingandthuswidelydistributedthroughthepopulace.Asbowtechnologyimprovedand
becamecorrespondinglymoreexpensive,e.g.thecompositebowsdescribedaboveunder
RhinocerosGazesAtTheMoon,theirusebecamerestrictedtoelites.Atthesametime,farming
becamethedominantwaythepopulationsupporteditselfandarcherybecamemuchless
prevalent.Noblesbeganusingarcheryfromhorsebackandchariots:bothofwhichrequire
capitalinvestmentbeyondthatavailabletocommonersaswellassignificanttimespent
practicingtobeabletosuccessfullyuseabowfromhorsebackorabouncingandmoving
chariot.Asaresult,inwarfare,theinfantryusedspearsandaxesandthenoblesrodearound
firingarrows.

Withtheintroductionofthecrossbowinthecenturiesbeforethecommonera,infantrycould
nowbemasstrainedinuseofthecrossbow.Andcrossbowsmadeelitesvulnerablesincethe
bowscouldpierceleatherarmor.Archerythusbecamewidelypracticedagain.Andthe
improvedtechnologyledtoelitesabandoningchariotsinwarfare.

Asthishappened,elitesbeganfocusingonothermartialartsandonperfectionofformin
archeryratherthanonthemartialfunctionofarchery.Elitearcherycompetitionsnolonger
measuredhowdeeplyanarrowpiercedthetarget,butratherhowclosetothecenteritcame
andhowwellthearcherfollowedtheappropriaterituals.InAnalects3:7,Confuciusisrecorded

46
asdescribingarcheryasthemeasureofatruegentleman:Surelyarcherycanserveasan
illustrationofthefactthatthegentlemandoesnotcompete.Beforemountingthestairstothe
archeryplatform,gentlemenbowanddefertooneanother.Afterdescendingfromtheplatform,
theymutuallyofferuptoasts.Thisishowagentlemancompetes.(Lorgestranslation).
Whetherornotacommonercouldhitandpierceatarget,nocommonercouldcompetewitha
noblemanintheritualofarchery.

Oversubsequentdynasties,archeryandotherweaponartsweretaughttothepopulaceand
theninsubsequentpeacetime,theweaponswereconfiscated,destroyedandrestrictedtouse
byelites,onlytothenonceagainbedistributedandthecorrespondingartswidelytaught.We
canseethissamepatterninthemodernmartialartspromotedinthePRCandthesubsequent
reframingofmartialartsasprimarilyperformanceartsandpersonaldevelopmentarts.Afterall,
nooneusesswordscombativelynowandthebulkofourswordpracticeisonperfectionofform
andskillinperformance,whetherindividualorwithpartnersduelingandfencing.

Thisshowsanotherexampleofthepolarityof wenwuorthecivilandthemartial.RefertoGreat
StaroftheLiteraryGodaboveformorediscussionof wenwu.

Green Dragon Stretches Out Its Claws

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

39. Qnglngtnzho GreenDragon TheGreenDragon

StretchesOutIts StretchesItsClaws
Claws

Tan meanstostretchoutaswellastoexploreorscoutsomethingout.So,thismovecouldalso
beGreenDragonExploresWithItsClaws.

Qing
InthetraditionalfivecolorschemeofChineseculture, representsthecolorswewouldcall
greenandblueandincludesallthecombinationsthereof.

CWMdoesnotlistthismoveandhasWhiteApeOffersFruitininitsplace.TheYFlisthas
xian,show/present,inplaceof
tan.

Phoenix Spreads Both Wings

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

40. Fnghungshung PhoenixSpreads ThePhoenixSpreads

zhnch BothWings ItsWings

Seenotesabove.

47


Left and Right, Step Sideways and Block

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

41. Zuyukuln LeftandRight,Step StepRightandLeft

SidewaysandBlock andBlock

Thismoveisnamedalmostidenticallytothemovenearthebeginning(LeftandRight,Block
andSweepSideways)andisperformedverysimilarlyexceptthatinthislaterposture,theLeft
andRightversionsareperformedonetowardsasideandtheothertowardsacorner,rather
thanbothversionsfacingthesamedirectionasintheearliermove.

Theword kua
,translatedhereasstepsidewaysalsomeanstostraddlesomething,tostep
oversomething,tocutacross,andtomount/straddleahorse.Chapter25oftheDaodejing
referencesstraddling:

Standingontiptoe,youareunsteady.
Straddlelegged[kua],youcannotgo.
(A.C.Mullertranslation)

Hereitdescribesasituationsimilartowhatwewouldcalldoubleweightedwhereoneisnot
abletochangeandrespond.

Shoot The Wild Goose Posture

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

42. Shynsh ShootTheWild ShootTheFlying

GoosePosture Goose

Seediscussionabove.

White Ape Offers Fruit

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

43. Biyunxingu WhiteApeOffers WhiteApeOffers

Fruit Fruit

Theassociationofapeswithfruit,especiallythepeachesofimmortality,iscommoninChinese
culture.In
JourneyToTheWest, oneofthefirsttransgressionsofWukong(MonkeyKing)is

48
stealingandeatingalltheQueenMotheroftheWestsPeachesofImmortalityshortlybeforethe
QueenMotherwasabouttothrowagrandpartyforalltheimmortalswheretheydsharethe
peaches.Obviously,therewasconsiderabledisappointmentinHeavenafterWukongstheft.

WalkintoanygiftshopinaChinatowninNorthAmericaandyourelikelytofindporcelainfruit
bowlsfeaturingamonkeyorapeholdingupthebowl,offeringyouthefruit.Andyourevery
unlikelytofindanyfruitbowlsfeaturingotherkindsofanimals.

HeresalateMingdynastypaintingshowingamonkeygatheringfruit.Notetheprominent
peachesthemonkeyhascollected.

(FreerSacklerGallery,Accession#:F1909.251e)

49


Left and Right, Falling Flowers

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

44. Zuyuluhu LeftandRight, FallingFlowersRight

FallingFlowers AndLeft

Fallingflowersevokeanimageofquiet,solitude,contemplation,andpossiblemelancholy.The
PoetryClassicincludesthefollowingpoem

FallingFlowers
Theguestsaregonefromthepavilionhigh,
Inthesmallgardenflowersarewhirlingaround.
Alongthewindingpaththepetalslie
Togreetthesettingsun,theydriftupfromtheground.

Heartbroken,Icannotbeartosweepthemaway
Frommyeyes,springsoondisappears.
Ipinewithpassing,heart'sdesirelostforaye
Nothingisleftbutarobestainedwithtears.
(ArthurWaleytranslation)

ZhongRong,apoetandscholar,wrotethe ShiPin ,ClassificationofPoetryaround500CE.In

thisworkhedescribestheidealpoetandtherelationshipofpoetryto qi.
Theidealpoetresides
insolitudeandcontemplationasindicatedbythefollowinglines

Thefallingflowerssaynothing
Thepoetisaslimpidasthechrysanthemum
(Sundararajan,pg152)

Jade Maiden Works The Shuttle

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

45. Ynchunsu JadeMaidenWorks TheFairLady

TheShuttle WeavesAtThe
Shuttle

Thisposturehasexactlythesamenameasthepostureintheemptyhandedformcommonly
Yunu
calledFourCorners. Yu
literallymeansjadewoman. orjadealsocarriesmeaningsof
purity,beauty,andpreciousnesswhichispresumablywhatthetranslationFairLadyderives
from.
50

Yunu ,jademaidens,areafrequentpartofanycelestialbeingsentourage.Inolderwritings,
yunu ofvariousagesappear,butfromtheTangdynastyon, yunuarealwaysdepictedas
youngcreaturesattiredinglitteringvestments.(ET,pg1207).Thesejademaidensareoften
pairedwith, jintong
,orgoldboyssymbolicallyindicatingpurityandinnocence.

Theshuttleispartofaloomandisthetoolusedtothreadalengthoftheweftyarninandout
betweenthefixedwarpthreadsheldbytheloom.Aftertheshuttlethreadsyarnacrossthe
widthoftheloom,alowerbarisraisedtopressthethreadedyarnupagainstthetopoftheloom
andtheshuttleisthenthreadedbackagaintointroduceanotherpassoftheweftyarn.

Chuan meanstopierce,bore,orpenetrateandindicatesthethreadingactionoftheshuttle.
So,thismovecouldalsobeJadeMaidenThreadsTheShuttle(throughthewarp).The
threadingactionmakesmeunderstandthewaythelowerhandpiercesforwardinthe
emptyhandedformorthewaytheswordisthrustforwardintheswordform.

TheimageofweavingandworkingaloomalsorecallstheclassicChinesefairytaleofthe
WeaverGirlandtheCowherd, , nilngyzhn
.Inthisstory,acelestialmaiden,
Zhinu ,
theWeaverGirl,fallsinlovewithNiulang,theCowherd.Insomeversions,theCowherd
isamortal,inothers,theybothstartoutascelestialbeings,buttheCowherdisbanishedto
earth.Inanycase,theirloveisforbiddenandtheyareseparatedinheavenacrossthewidthof
theskybytheMilkyWay.Onceayear,onthe7thdayofthe7thmonth,abridgeofmagpies
formsacrosstheskyandtemporarilyreunitesthem.(Oneversionofthestoryishere:
http://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/folklore/folklorecowherdandtheweavergirl/ )

White Tiger Twitches Tail

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

46. Bihjiowi WhiteTigerTwitches TheWhiteTiger

Tail WagsItsTail

Jiaomeanstostir,mix,orbeagitated.Ivetranslateditastwitchessincethatswhatan
agitatedtigerwoulddowithitstail.(AndthisisadifferentcharacterthanisusedinBlack
DragonWagsItsTail)

Saulhasanerrorhere:heuses lan
insteadof jiao Lan
. meanstoseizeorgrasp.So,that
wouldmaketheposturenamebesomethinglikeWhiteTigerGraspsItsTailwhichdoesnt
reallymakesense.

51
Tiger Holds Its Head
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

47. Hbotu TigerHoldsItsHead (Missing)

Seeabove.

Carp Leaps Over The Dragon Gate

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

48. Lytiolngmn CarpLeapsOverThe TheFishLeapsOver

DragonsGate TheGateOfThe
Dragon

Thecarp,liyu
,hereisanAsiancarp,quiteabitdifferentfromthecarpweseeinhouseholdand
officeaquariumsorthecarpusedtomakegefiltefishandsimilardelicacies.Asiancarparebig,
upto100lbs,andabletoleapsignificantdistances,approximately10feet,outofthewater.
Therearestoriesoffishermendrowningafterbeingknockedoutoftheirboatsbythesecarp.
Asiancarphavebecomeaninvasivespeciesinnorthamerica.

HeresacouplepicturesofAsiancarp,drawnfromwildlifeandrestorationagenciestryingto
stoptheinvasivespreadofAsiancarp.

AnAsiancarpleaping(fromtheGreatLakesRestorationInitiative):

(
http://greatlakesrestoration.us/img/jumping_carp_lrg.jpg
)

52
Andanotherleapingcarp(fromtheUSGS):

(http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/ImageWrapper.aspx?ObjectType=SlideshowItem&ObjectId=24&Imag
eScale=Large&Width=1&Height=1&Approved=True )

DragonGate, longmen ,isacommonnameforwaterfallsinChina.Afamousdragongateis

foundontheYellowRiver.And,presumablyaspartofanannualspawningmigrationsimilarto
thatofsalmon,carpgatheratthebaseofthewaterfallandattempttoleapupthewaterfall.
Whentherarecarpmanagestoleapoverthewaterfall,itissaidtotransitionintoadragon.
Dragonsaretheheadofthefishclanandimmaturedragonscanbeginlifeascarp,later
transformingintofulldragonsiftheycanpassthedragonsgate.

ThephrasecarpleapsoverdragongateisacommonandancientChineseidiomreflectinga
rareandsuddenchangeinstatusorposition.WhenascholarwouldpasstheConfucianexams,
thatwasthoughtofasbeingasrareandauspiciousasacarpleapingoverthedragongate.
Childrentodayareencouragedtodotheirhomeworkandstudiesinthehopesofbecominga
carpthatleapsoverthedragongate.

HeresaQingdynastyjadecarvingofacarpcaughtinmidtransformationtodragon:

53

(myphoto,SFAsianArtMuseum.Accessionnumber:B60J446)

Longmen, dragongate,isalsothenameofthemostcommonDaoistschoolandlineagefrom
theQingdynastyon.SomearguethatitformedastheDaoistcounterparttotheChanBuddhist
Linjilineage(knownasRinzaiZeninJapan).Longmen wasofficiallyrecognizedinthemid
1600sandquicklyacquiredaprobablyfictitiouslineofpatriarchsleadingbacktotheoriginal
QuanzhenDaoistsfromtheYuandynasty.FromtheQingdynastyon,Longmenhasbeen
associatedwithQuanzhenandtreatedasthemodernincarnationofQuanzhen.(ET,pg704).

54

yu
Thereareanumberofminorvariationsonthisposturename.TheYFlistsaysjust inplaceof
liyu. li
Saulslisthasonly .But,inanycase,theyallrefertothesamecarp.

Black Dragon Coils Around The Pillar

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

49. Wlngjiozh BlackDragonCoils TheBlackDragon

AroundThePillar CoilsAroundThe
Pillar

Jiaomeanstwist(e.g.twistingthreadstogetherintoyarn),entangle,wring,orturn.Coilseems
likeaprettygoodtranslationandhasadragonyfeel.Thecharacterfor usesthesilk
jiao

radical.

Zhu meanspillarorcolumnandusesthetreeradical.

BlackDragonCoilsAroundPillarseemstobeacommonnameformovesinmartialarts:Ive
founditinmoreacrobaticwushuartsaswellasinthesword.Theresnoobviousconnection
betweenthedifferentmoveswiththisname.

Immortal Points The Way

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

50. Xinrnzhl ImmortalPointsThe TheDivinityPoints

Way TheWay

Seeabove.

TheYFlist
addsamovefollowing:
IncenseforHeaven

Wind Sweeps The Plum Blossoms

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

51. Fngsomihu WindSweepsThe TheWindSweeps

PlumBlossoms TheFallenFlower

Plumbossoms, meihua,areaniconicChinesemotif.Theyreassociatedwiththetransition
betweenwinterandspringandthuswithChineseNewYear.Plumsarethefirstblossomto
appear,whiletheweatherisstillcold,andsoarethoughtofastheflowerofwinter.
55

Plumsareoneofthe TheThreeFriendsofWinter,, Suhnsnyu:
Plums,Pines,
andBamboo.Allthreeoftheseplantsflourishinharshcoldconditionsandthusencourage
peopletoalsothrivethroughadversityandtroubles.

Plums,togetherwithBamboo,Chrysanthemum,andOrchid,aretheFourGentlemen,:
SJnZi
.AndrepresentConfucianidealsofnoblebehavior.

HerearetwopaintingsbyZhengManqing,bothshownathisexhibitionofpaintingatthe1964
WorldFairinNewYork.ThiswastheeventthatinitiallydrewZhengtotheUSandresultedin
hisestablishingtheShrJung(ShiZhong)schoolinNewYork.

56
 TheThreeFriendsOfWinter:Pine,Bamboo,andPlumBlossoms

(SpecialExhibitionofThePaintingsandCalligraphicWorksByChengManChing)

57
 WhitePlumBlossoms

(SpecialExhibitionofThePaintingsandCalligraphicWorksByChengManChing)

58
Holding The Tablet Posture
Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

52. Pnghsh HoldingTheTablet HoldingTheTablet

Posture BeforeYourBosom

Peng
istoholdoroffersomethinginbothhands. Huisaceremonialtabletusedincourt
audiencesandindaoistritual.

Incourtaudienceswhenofficialswerereceivedbytheemperor,theofficialwouldholdastone,
jade,orivorytabletbeforehischest.Thetabletwouldbothservetointroducetheofficialandas
asurfacetheofficialcouldusefortakingnotesduringtheaudience.Ifusedfornotetaking,the
tabletwouldbecoveredinpapersothattheofficialcouldwriteonit.

InlaterDaoistceremonies,tabletswerealsousedasoneofthestandardritualtools,
particularlyforrequestingassistancefromtheDaoistpantheon.CommonDaoistritualtools
includetheAudienceTablet, huSevenStarSword swordengravedwithapattern
,qixianjian,a
oftheNorthernDipperCommandPlacard, lingpai,
anarrowandlongflatwoodplatecarved
withscripturesbrassbellssometimescalled sanqingling, BellsoftheThreeClaritiesDragon
Horn,lingjiao
,ahornfluteusedtosummonspiritsandtheWoodenFish, muyu,ahollow
woodenpercussioninstrumentstruckduringceremoniesandduringwalkingmeditation.
(ET,pg413ff)

Theresalongtraditionofusingtabletsforgreetings,toconveycommandsandbestwishes,
andasdescribedaboveincourtandritualcircumstances.See
https://www.academia.edu/2503500/_Greeting_Tablets_in_Early_China_Some_Traits_of_the_
Communicative_Etiquette_of_Officialdom_in_Light_of_Newly_Excavated_Inscriptions formore
informationontabletusage.

59
 hu
HeresanexampleofaQingdynasty tablet,madeofjade:

(FreerSacklerGallery,Accession#:F1918.18)

60
CWMhasTigerHoldsItsHeadandCompassinplaceofthismove.
,IvoryTabletPosture.

TheYFlistcallsthemove

Hold the Sword, Return to Origin

Posture pinyin OurTranslation ReceivedTranslation

53. Bojinguyun HoldTheSword, Listedastwomoves:

ReturnToOrigin EmbraceTheSword
Close
Yuanhastheliteralmeaningofbeginningororiginandsoapplieshereattheendoftheformas
Yuan
wereturntoourstartingposition. alsohascosmologicalmeaningsoftheprimordial
Yuanqi
beginnings. qi
orprimordial istheenergyofpreheavengeneratedfromprimordial
chaos.Thisposturenamethusalludestoareturntotheprimordialstate.

61
Posture List from Shr Jung NYC

62


63


64
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