Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

by **JerryKarin** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 4:13 pm

"My Settings - In User function section two options are ON (selected), In Conversion mode section I selected "Word". In Candidate option section I selected "Row style". So I can't figure out the problem."

Where do you find these (conversion mode and row style)? Also which browser do you use and what settings do you have for View/Character Encoding?

by **Yuri Snisarenko** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:12 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by JerryKarin:
Where do you find these (conversion mode and row style)? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Right-click on the language pictogram on the toolbar below, then click "settings". Choose Chinese, and then click properties.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Also which browser do you use and what settings do you have for View/Character Encoding?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I use Explorer. I tried various encodings – western European, GB, Unicode.

by **bamboo leaf** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:25 am

For those translating, can you do what you are translating?
Just wondering.

by **Yuri Snisarenko** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:26 am

谢谢

by **Yuri Snisarenko** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:35 am

eventually! Mozilla Firefox rocks!

by **JerryKarin** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:46 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Yuri Snisarenko:
 I use Explorer. I tried various encodings – western European, GB, Unicode.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In that properties window for QuanPin:
For 编码查询 I have the value 无. All the square boxes are checked (probably irrelevant) and the round radio button is set to GBK. This is windows 2000 Server but xp is probably very similar. All these are the out-of-the-box defaults; I never changed anything.

by **Yuri Snisarenko** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:48 am

I am trying to cut and paste

太极拳论

太极者无极而生阴阳之母也

works!

[This message has been edited by Yuri Snisarenko (edited 10-22-2006).]

by **JerryKarin** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:51 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Yuri Snisarenko:
eventually! Mozilla Firefox rocks! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep. There are a few occasions where I open up MSIE in order to do something I can't in firefox, but it's rare. I love the tabs feature of firefox. Keeps your task bar clean while showing all the things you have open in firefox.

by **Louis Swaim** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:31 am

Greetings bamboo leaf,

Regarding your question: "For those translating, can you do what you are translating?"

I suppose a correlative reply might be: Can you translate what you are doing?

Take care,
Louis

by **bamboo leaf** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:37 am

Haha,

Not yet!

by **JerryKarin** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:49 am

Please glance through Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess and come back when you've won the title. No need to translate into Chinese.

[This message has been edited by JerryKarin (edited 10-22-2006).]

by **bamboo leaf** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:46 am

Don’t like chess

Just found it interesting reading the translations, and wondered how much of what was written was actually experienced by those who translated. To those who do translate such things I thank you all for your effort and time.

by **Louis Swaim** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:33 pm

Greetings bamboo,

I always appreciate your perspective. Years ago when I first endeavored to try translating some taiji materials, what motivated me was the prospect of gaining access to genuine sources about this art which I had been exploring since the early 70s. I continue to get excited by a feeling of discovery when I encounter sources from authoritative masters that have not otherwise been made available to Westerners. In most cases, the terminology, descriptions, and formulae of early masters do a much better job of explaining taijiquan skills and objectives than I could do myself, and in many cases their writings confirm and clarify my own practice experience. There are, to be sure, many things written about by authoritative masters that are well beyond my current level of skill and understanding.

For all intents and purposes, I am self-taught as a translator. In translating any taijiquan materials, I rely on my own taijiquan practice and somatic experience, my training in Chinese historical research, my language training, and my personal research into a wide range of areas I find relevant, including Chinese philosophy, Western science, bird watching, bebop, and muffin recipes.

Take care,
Louis

by **Audi** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:22 am

Greetings all,

I noted that he doesn’t mention jing (essence) speaking about the core of his system, namely shen, yi, qi. This is the difference and peculiarity of his style in my view. Hence probably there is no needle in cotton in his writings.

Yuri, who are you referring to here? In other words, who is "he"?

though jingshen usually is translated as "vital spirit", I see it more as a psychological state of person, ie uplifted jinshen to me means just sort of "good mood".

This is sort of the impression I have as well, except that jingshen seems to be really, really important to those who talk about it. To some it seems to be the object of the whole exercise. If someone has some references, I would be appreciative.

"Empty mind", xuling is a big and not easy topic. I would suggest you to do your own translation of the first part of "An explanation of the essence and application of taiji" from the Yang 40. In Wile's translation it's on the page 70. From the beginning to the "Both of this are….(including)".

I have looked at this passage, but I am not sure I see the immediate connection to "empty mind." Could you be more specific?

There is an interesting discussion of these concepts in the essay of Spiritual Experience: Shen in Neo-Confucian Discourse" by Joseph A Adler. Louis brought this to my attention to this writing sometime ago; however, anyone reading it should be forewarned. The essay discusses hard-core philosophy and is not for the faint of heart.

By the way, if any fellow poster reads German, I would be curious to know whether you know anything about the author or context of the eBook Taijiquan - eine neue Interpretation. It seems like an interesting summary of many Chinese philosophical concepts relevant to Taijiquan; however, since my fluency in German is limited, I am wondering if it is worth struggling through it.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>For those translating, can you do what you are translating?
Just wondering.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I am not a student of Wei Shuren and so cannot say that I understand what exactly he is talking about in the passage I quoted. I think part of the problem is that it can be hard to share if we have shared different experiences and have different frames of reference. Let me try to describe some exercises that might create some commonalities.

1. Have two people face each other in shoulder-width horse stances or in complementary bow stances, each with the right foot forward. Each person places the right hand on the left side of the opposite person's chest. Each person tries to push the other.

In the above exercise, you have to work with full and empty to succeed most effectively. You cannot be wholly full or wholly empty.

2. Stand at the end of Step up to Seven Stars. Try to emit short energy and punch effectively.

3. Stand in the final transition of Deflect Downward Parry and Punch with the right fist roughly half way between the right hip and its final position. Have someone hold a book or something solid right against your fist with no gap. Try to emit short energy and punch effectively.

4. Stand as in bow stances as described in exercise one. Have one person place his or her hand on the other person's chest. Have the other person not use his or her hands or arms at all. See if the person using the hand can push the other. See if the other can avoid being pushed out of his or her stance. Can the person who does not use any hands even push the person who is using hands?

If find the concepts of empty and full useful in all of the above. Particularly in the last exercise, I also find useful the full gamut of sticking-adhering-connecting-following. In fact, I find that if your opponent has some skill, it is impossible to succeed in this exercise without using some Taiji skill, particularly as the person who is not allowed to use hands.

Take care,
Audi

by **bamboo leaf** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:28 am

Neither am I, my teacher and those that I have worked with can do all that has been shown by Master Wei and the others.. My understanding comes from, is based on this experience. Having also studied tung/dong and cheng man ching styles I can compare and say that from my perspective its quite different.

Mmmm, where to begin. Jingshen, as used by my teacher one can be moved or knocked down by it, that is with out touch. It’s a very real feeling that can not be explained but felt. It’s the highest method that one can reach in this practice.

He had eight people lined up including me, with our hands placed on the others back, common for these types of demos. In most demos the teacher then causes the whole line to fall back. he can selectively make any one in the line fall out. to include the whole line.

Even those native Chinese can not understand what, is done even though they can hear and understand the words. There really are none to express this. he says this is yi, and you feel it, this qi ect. Each very distinct

The practice, his and mine based on his, are very much working with these concepts according to our own levels deepening the experience. So while my Chinese is very poor to none, my understanding and usage is based on something that dose not lend itself well to translating in any language. IMO

There are 3 levels. The ones we use are

Sung, qi, shen which said in another way come out as water, wind, and dragon wind. Weather these are historical or not I do not know but they are the conventions that he uses.

When I work with people I try to get them used to the idea that before one is touched by the body, the mind (yi) has touched first. The idea of empty and full are basically where the intent is in the body. The main idea is to separate the mind out of the body. This is what I call separating the yin from the yang. As some may see this might be a little different then other practices.

i don't mention much, nor talk much about it, or use it directly as a basis for discussion on line for the reason that most of it is to far out of most others experiences, which i respect and value. i don't mind sharing thoughts from time to time, but trying to reduce it to some science , or prove it really has little interest for me

[This message has been edited by bamboo leaf (edited 10-24-2006).]

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