English - Chinese Taiji Words  edited January 25, 2007

5

Turn Waist – Zhuan You (twaan yo)

Bend Wrist – Zou Jian  (t’so jaw)

Relax – Fang Sung

Sink – Sung

Relax Shoulder – Sung Jen

Sink Hip – Sung Kua

Practice one more time – Zai Lien Yi Ei

Practice - Ching Liang

Together – Yi Chi (E chee)

Begin - Chi

Continue – Ji

Slowly – Man Man (ma ma)

Right –You (yo)

Left – Zuo (t'so)

Move forward – Gung Tui

Step forward – Shang Bu (sham boo)

Step backward – Tui Bu (tway boo)

Sit Back – Zuo Tui (t'so tway)

Follow Step - Gen Bu

Foot - Chiao

Hold posture – Ting

Grasp Peacock’s Tail - Lan Chiao Wei (lawn chow way)

   Ward Off – Peng (pong)

   Press – Ji (gee)

   Pull Back – Lu (lee, li)

   Push (noun) – An (on)

Push (verb)  – T’ui (tway)

No one is there, but somebody is there (form) - Wu ren rou wu ren

Very Good – Hen Hao (hen how)

Close Class –  Xia Ke (Shou Kuh)

Push Hands – T’ui Shou (tway show)

Somebody it there, but no one is there (push hands) – You ren you wu ren

You don't move, I don't move- Ni bu dong, wo bu dong

You intend to move, I will move first- ni yu dong, wo xian dong

Listening Energy – Ting jing

Redirect / Change Direction Energy – Hua jing

Feeding Energy - Wei jing

Control Energy – Na jing

Explosive Energy – Fa jing

2-Man Choreographed Application Form - Dui Lien

The 13 Postures are: peng (ward-off), lu (roll-back), ji (press), an (push), cai (pull-down), lie (split), zhou (elbow), kao (shoulder stroke), jin (advance), tui (retreat), gu (look left), pan (look right) and ding (central equilibrium).

Eight Gates: peng (ward-off), lu (roll-back), ji (press), an (push), cai (pull-down), lie (split), zhou (elbow), kao (shoulder stroke)

   see details and pictures of Eight Gates

 Hi, Toni:
      I have some comments regarding "the spelling of 13 postures".
     At present there are two most popular kinds of pronunciation guide for Westerners to learn Chinese characters: Thomas Wade system of Romanization and Hanyu Pinyin system which is officially used by China.
     Although Hanyu Pinyin system can better pronounce Chinese words, the pronunciation of "c" is out of non-natives' imagination. For example, c in Cai is not pronounced as c in Cat nor c in Center. It should sound like ts in Tsunami.
     The following is the comparison of 13 postures between Thomas Wade system and Hanyu Pinyin system:
           Thomas Wade /  Tone /  Hanyu Pinyin
              P'eng / 2nd / Peng

              Lu / 3rd / Lu
              Chi / 3rd / Ji
              An / 4th / An
              Ts'ai / 3rd / Cai
              Lieh / 4th/  Lie
              Chou / 3rd / Zhou
              K'ao / 4th / Kao
              Chin / 4th / Jin
              T'ui / 4th / Tui
              Ku / 4th / Gu
              P'an/ 4th / Pan
              Ting/  4th/  Ding
                    1st tone-- high, level
                    2nd tone-- rising
                    3rd tone-- falling then rising
                    4th tone-- falling
      Tone is crucial in learning Chinese. For example, "Cai in Hanyu Pinyin system" or "Ts'ai in Thomas Wade Romanization" with 3rd tone means "pull down" and it means "vegetable" with 4th tone. Furthermore, in Thomas Wade Romanization putting apostrophe  over the consonant or not could have different meaning. For example, in 2nd tone P'eng means "ward off" and Peng means "unnecessary". However, the majority of newspaper and publications has omitted apostrophe.
     I was born in Taiwan and educated there. Up to date I am still learning how to use Chinese correctly. Email me if I can be of any help.
     Thank you for your clarifying on drill of Cai, Lie, Zhou, Kao. Keep me informed about Master Alex Dong's upcoming workshops.
     Sincerely yours,
     Gene Huang     May 18, 2003
 

 

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