Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TAI JI
In the early morning, in every park in the city, you'll see folk going through the mesmeriz-
ing, precise moves of
taijiquan
(
太极拳
, tàijíquán). It may not look it, but
tai ji
is actually
a martial art, developed by Taoist monks. It's all about augmenting the body's natural en-
ergy, or
qi
(
气
, qì), which supposedly circulates around the body along particular channels
- the same idea lies behind acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine.
Qi gong
- breath
skills - are used to build up an awareness of
qi
and the ability to move it around, eventually
replacing excess muscular movements and rendering all actions fluid and powerful.
Forms
- pre-arranged movement sets - are used to develop speed and power. Acute sens-
itivity is cultivated, allowing the martial artist to anticipate attacks and strike first; counter-
attacks are made with the body in a state of minimal tension, creating
tai ji's
characteristic
soft appearance. Students are taught not to directly resist but to redirect the attacker's en-
ergy, applying a principle from the Taoist
Tao de Qing
, “the soft and the pliable will defeat
the hard and the strong”.
Tai ji
was codified in 1949 to make it easier to teach, and so bring it to the masses. The
original Chen form is closely related to kung fu, but the form that you'll most often see
is a slowed down and simplified version, stripped of explicit martial content and used to
promote health.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: TIANTAN PARK AND THE TEMPLE OF
HEAVEN
Access
The temple is easiest to access through Tiantan Park's east gate, which is the only
one close to a subway station (Tiantandongmen). Walking, cycling or coming by bus, you're
more likely to enter the park from the north or west. If you're coming from the Qianmen area,
you'll be able to eat up some of the distance to the temple on the cute (and expensive) trams
which clunk down
Qianmen Dajie
.
Exiting the park via its west gate, you can head a little
north to the
Museum of Natural History
. The
Museum of Ancient Architecture
lies just about
within walking distance, further to the southwest.
Brief history
Construction of the Temple of Heaven was begun during the reign of Emperor Yongle, and
completed in 1420. The temple complex was conceived as the prime meeting point of earth
and heaven, and symbols of the two are integral to its design. Heaven was considered round,
and the earth square; thus the round temples and altars stand on square bases, while the park
has the shape of a semicircle beside a square. The intermediary between earth and heaven
was, of course, the Son of Heaven - the emperor, in other words.
