Thus, taijiquan is also called “thirteen postures.” Chang, San-feng’s Tai-jiquan Treatise says, “What are the thirteen postures? Wardoff (peng, 棚), rollback (lu, 捋), press or squeeze (ji, 擠), press down, forward, upward (an, 按), pluck or grab (cai, 採), split or rend (lie, 挒), elbow (zhou, 肘), bump (kao, 靠), which are the eight trigrams. Step forward (jin bu, 進步), step backward (tui bu, 退步), beware of the left (zuo gu, 左顧), look to the right (you pan, 右盼), central equilibrium (zhong ding, 中定), and these are the five directions. Wardoff, rollback, press, and push are heaven (qian, 乾), earth (kun, 坤), water (kan, 坎), and fire (li, 離), the four main sides. Pluck, split, elbow, and bump are wind (xun, 巽), thunder (zhen, 震), lake (dui, 兌), and mountain (gen, 艮), the four diagonal corners. Step forward, step backward, beware of the left, look to the right, and central equilibrium are metal (jin, 金), wood (mu, 木), water (shui, 水), fire (huo, 火), and earth (tu, 土). All together they are the thirteen postures” (see appendix A-l). The explanation of the thirteen postures can also be found in the Old Taijiquan Classic, written in the Qing dynasty (appendix A-13).
The eight postures are the eight basic fighting moves of the art, and can be assigned directions according to where the opponent’s force is moved. Wardoff rebounds the opponent back in the direction he came from. Rollback leads him farther than he intended to go in the direction he was attacking. Split and bump lead him forward and deflect him slightly sideward. Pluck and elbow can be done so as to catch the opponent just as he is starting forward, and strike or unbalance him diagonally to his rear. Push and press deflect the opponent and attack at right angles to his motion. The five directions refer to stance, footwork, and fighting strategy. They concern the way one moves around in response to the opponent’s attack, and how one sets up one’s own attacks.
Since ancient times, many taiji masters have tried to explain the deeper aspect of these thirteen postures by using the eight trigrams and the five elements. In order to find a satisfactory explanation, various correspondences between the eight basic techniques and the eight trigrams, and also between the five directions and the five elements, have been devised. Unfortunately, none of the explanations is completely reasonable and without discrepancy. We will not attempt to find another explanation that might be just as unsatisfactory. However, in order to help the interested reader in pondering this mystery, we will include some of the available diagrams and an explanation considered the most accurate. We hope that someday someone who is a master of Yi Jing and bagua theory and also an experienced taiji researcher can untie this knot of mystery.
The directions of the eight basic techniques according to Chang, San-feng.
First, the relationship of the eight basic techniques (wardoff, rollback, press, push, pluck, split, elbow, and bump) with the eight trigrams and the taiji symbol is shown in the diagram above. This diagram is drawn following Chang, San-feng’s Taijiquan Classic. Two alternatives are found in some of the available taiji books that are shown below.
The directions of the eight basic techniques according to Tai Chi Touchstones by Douglas Wile.
The directions of the eight basic techniques according to A Study of Taijiquan by J. J. Soong.
None of the above three diagrams gives a satisfactory explanation of the connection between the bagua eight “gates” and the eight techniques. However, from the viewpoint of yin and yang one can obtain a more or less satisfactory explanation. Here we will discuss the diagram as described in Chang, San-feng’s classic. In a trigram, a straight line expresses yang and a broken line implies yin. Therefore, when two straight lines are put together, it means strong yang, and when three straight lines are put together, it means very strong yang. The same can be applied to yin. The Chinese have used the trigrams to analyze the seasons, the weather, and even the destiny of a person or a country. Initially three lines were used, but when understanding of the relationships grew, trigrams were used in pairs, allowing things to be divided and analyzed in sixty-four different ways. These sixty-four hexagrams are the basis of the Book of Changes (Yi Jing, 易經), which has exerted an enormous influence on Chinese culture.
From Chang, San-feng’s diagram above, one can see several things. Wardoff is expressed by three straight lines, which means very strong yang. This means power, aggression, and offense. The opponent’s attack is bounced back in the direction it came from. Rollback is expressed by three broken lines, which implies defense, withdrawal, or retreat. The opponent’s attack is diffused by taking away its target. Pluck, elbow, and push are constructed of one yin and two yang lines, which show that there is offense with some defense. Split, bump, and press are characterized by two yin lines and one yang line, which show that defense is more important than offense in their fighting strategy.
As is the case with the eight trigrams and the eight techniques, the various documents show different ways of matching the five elements with the five directions (forward, backward, beware of the left, look to the right, and central equilibrium). Similarly, none of the explanations is completely satisfactory. The diagram below shows the correspondence according to Chang, San-Feng’s classic and are followed by the published interpretations of Douglas Wile and J. J. Soong.
The directions of the five elements according to Chang, San-feng.
The directions of the five elements according to Tai Chi Touchstones by Douglas Wile.
The directions of the five elements according to A Study of Taijiquan by J. J. Soong.
Before going further, the reader should first know the general rules and relationships of the five elements. This is shown in the diagram below. There are two main cycles of relationships: production and destruction. One can see from the diagrams that metal generates water, water produces wood, wood produces fire, fire leads to earth, and the earth gives metal. In the Yi Jing, metal belongs to heaven and generates water and rain, rain will make wood grow, wood can generate fire, fire generates ashes (earth), and earth includes and produces metal. It can also be seen from the figure that water conquers fire, fire conquers metal, metal subdues wood, wood defeats earth, and finally earth defeats water. In the real world, water can extinguish fire, fire can melt metal, metal can cut wood, wood (roots) can break up earth (rock), and finally dirt can dam the flow of water.
As with the eight trigrams and techniques, we will only discuss the five elements and directions as they are delineated in the Taiji-quan Treatise by Chang, San-feng (see previous diagram) (see also appendix A-1). Water conquering fire corresponds to beware of the left defeating look to the right. This means that if the opponent attacks from your right, you go to the left to avoid his attack and at the same time, you can attack his right from your left. Fire conquering metal matches look to the right defending against an attack from the front. That means if your opponent attacks from your front, you can defend against him by sticking to his hand and pulling to the right to immobilize him. Metal conquering wood matches forward defeating backward. This means that when your opponent withdraws, you want to move forward and use adhere-connect and stick-follow to follow his retreat and immobilize him aggressively. Wood subduing earth corresponds to using backward to defeat central equilibrium. This refers to using backward pulling