Taiji Songquan· Promote the Dao and cultivate righteousness
“Words” remember the respected teacher
The literary dream of a young man might be getting further and further away. Although I have been traversing mountains and rivers in words every day, I am no longer the person I used to be. It was not until I met my Tai Chi master, Yang Songquan, that he not only taught me the original seventy-six movements of the old Taiji frame of Chenjiagou, which benefited my health; Moreover, it has imperceptibly guided me back to the inner spiritual world, to the peaceful and true “me”, and also allowed my youthful literary dream to flow again in the text. After I sincerely and respectfully started practicing Tai Chi from my master, it seems that I can often return to my innocent childhood, and my heart is often touched. Unconsciously, I record some short “words”. I want to use these clumsy “words” I wrote down to express my gratitude to my respected teacher, Yang Songquan.
On the morning of December 26, 2021, I had a class and practiced boxing at Jiulong Wall in Beihai Park. That night, I wrote “Listen! Listen!” And send it to the master via wechat, asking the master to correct it. The master replied to me, “Taiji nurtures the realm, the realm promotes Taiji, and the artistic conception of Taiji poetry.” The full text is as follows:
The wind in the past two days has shattered the legend of a warm winter. The cold of the coldest days of winter has come in time. The once noisy and bustling Beihai Park has become much calmer. However, it was precisely in this winter’s tranquility that the wind maiden played a beautiful tune, gently and faintly…
Listen! Listen! The ice surface on the lake is getting denser, larger and thicker. In the early morning, it looks like large and small snow patterns, but in no time, they all turn into a vast white expanse. On the lake surface, there was a rapid drumbeat that seemed to come from afar. It was the sound of the waves on the water hitting the drums on the ice surface, coming and going with a thump, thump, thump.
Listen! Listen! Amid the swaying of the treetops and the fluttering of fallen leaves, the chirping of birds on the branches seems to have vanished. However, on the ice surface, a large flock of mallards and mandarin ducks stood upright. Occasionally, they would adjust their beautiful makeup, sway their elegant postures, and lower their heads to gently peck at the cold ice beneath their feet.
Listen! Listen! A few tourists said, “It’s so cold today ~”, as if they couldn’t even utter the word “cold” before being frozen back, leaving only a white, fresh breath that vanished in an instant. It seemed as if the cold air was hissing out from beneath the feet. The tourists’ footsteps quickened, their stride became smaller, and the force with which they fell also weakened. They only felt like toddlers learning to walk, a little about to wobble.
Listen! Listen! The sunlight, like a shy young man, whispers to the wind girl, guiding the sparse tourists to a warmer place, blinding the fierce stone lions in front of the glazed archway of the Western Heaven’s Sacred Realm, and restoring the majestic white Pagoda with a holy light.
Listen! Listen! The master practicing Taiji in front of the Nine-Dragon Wall is giving instructions! The disciples were caressed by the biting wind and their hearts by the master’s words, so much so that their bodies moved freely, like flowing water and clouds, so much so that their hearts were filled with awe, respecting heaven, earth and all living beings.
Since I started practicing Tai Chi with my master, I go out with my child every day when I go to work and insist on practicing Tai Chi at Pudu Temple once. So, there are a few short poems as follows:
January 15, 2024, “The Early Morning at Pudu Temple”
It wasn’t me who/turned the sky deep blue/made the rising sun/turned the eastern area/warm red/the slow plane/dragging its long tail/flew over above
It’s not me who/quietly breaks the silence of the early morning/makes the beautiful woodpecker/get up early/work with a beeping sound/calls on the squirrel/rolls up its fluffy big tail/jumps among the branches
It wasn’t me who practiced the Tai Chi over and over again, allowing the Taiji Inner Classic taught by my master to wind and twist like silk and cross the human world. I remember what my senior sister said: It was the Tai Chi that trained us. Each practice was a new form
2024FebruaryThe 27th“Furry”
The roots of the mountain wall/the branches of the magnolia/fluffy/are the messages of the arrival of the Spring Maiden
The sun in the mist on the east side of the sky, fluffy, is the message of the cycle of days
In the universe, the practitioners who come and go in both favorable and adverse circumstances are also furry. That must be a message that touches the soul
On the morning of the Awakening of Insects/with sleet/The rain and/the snow that immediately melted upon landing/seemed to be falling more and more densely
The son cycling in front of me/slowed down the speed of pedaling/Amid the hustle and bustle of traffic/said to meDad/It’s raining heavily in a while/Remember to wear a raincoat
May 10, 2024 “This Morning I Met Pines and Cypresses”
The cold winter of last year/seems like it was just yesterday/the biting wind/the heavy snow
Today, the branches are full of vitality, lush green and tender fruits
The cycle of the four seasons/Evergreen trees/Those that come have gone/those that go have come again
Now, I can increasingly understand the true meaning of the eight words “Fate is priceless, Taiji cultivation” that my master bestowed upon me when I added him on wechat. With my clumsy “words”, I express my gratitude to my respected teacher. What my master and old Taiji have given me is far more than this. I often miss my master! But I have been struggling to put pen to paper for a long time! Mr. Ye Jiaying once composed a poem titled “Huan Xi Sha: Composed for the Lotus Flowers at Ma Ti Lake in Nankai” : “It’s time again for wild geese to fly across the vast sky, and every word in the clouds and sky expresses yearning.” When the lotus flowers wither, I’m too late. The lotus has a heart that should never die, but life is prone to aging and dreams tend to be infatuated. After a thousand years of spring, it still awaits the emergence of its rich nourishment. Perhaps it best represents my current state of mind. How I wish I could listen to my master’s teachings again! In fact, his teachings have already been deeply planted in my heart! I often read my master’s “Taiji is the Way”. All my master’s wisdom and hard work are condensed in this Taiji Inner Classic! Persist in practicing the original and authentic old Taiji taught by the master more often. The practical cultivation and insights of the master’s wife, master’s sister and other master’s brothers, as well as the articles and comments on the official account of “Beijing Chenjiagou Tai Chi World Association”, are all the models I admire and learn from!
Just like my clumsy “words”, I am also clumsily practicing Tai Chi and clumsily deeply loving this world. Whenever I can’t learn a new movement, whenever I don’t feel the connection between my waist and hands, whenever I encounter difficulties and feel powerless for a moment, I seem to hear my master say: Don’t worry! Take it slow! I would always murmur in my heart: Master, I will surely practice boxing well! I’m sure to pass smoothly! Deep autumn! Deep longing! At this very moment, it seems as if I’m hearing my master say again: “Don’t worry!” Take it slow!
The training center is always open to both new and old students for sharing their insights and experiences on learning boxing, as well as memories and commemorations of Master Yang Songquan. The genre and theme are not limited. We welcome your submissions to the email:
taijisongquan@126.com
Thank you all for your active participation.
Taiji Songquan Respectfully begins
Taiji practitioner
Born of the boundless, it is the mechanism of movement and stillness, and the mother of Yin and Yang
Tai Chi is
The rhythm of music and the connotation of philosophy
The construction of beauty, the artistic conception of poetry
Encounter Taiji, encounter the gift of life
