What do you think?
Rate this book
Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan
Fu Zhongwen's classic guide offers the best documentation available of the Yang style of taijiquan. The superbly detailed form instructions and historic line art drawings are based on Fu’s many years as a disciple of Yang Chengfu, taijiquan’s legendary founder. Also included are concise descriptions of fixed-step, moving-step, and da lu push hands practices. Additional commentary by translator Louis Swaim provides key insight into the text’s philosophical language and imagery, further elucidating the art’s cultural and historical foundations.
- GenresMartial ArtsNonfiction
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
33 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 9, 2020
First, to set the record straight, this is NOT “the first English translation” of Yang Style Taichichuan or “taijiquan,” as the translator prefers to use Red China’s unfathomable pinyin pronunciation, designed to force everyone to use Mandarin and eliminate other Chinese dialects). It is, however, the first English translation published in a format that anybody can buy.
I say this because an English translation was made available to all Tai Chi Chuan students in Massachusetts nearly five decades ago by students of Liang Tung Tsai (usually called T T Liang). I have a copy, complete with hand-drawn pictures based on photos of Yang Cheng Fu, typed in all capital letters and saved on a mysterious blue plastic sheet (a kind of photographic microfilm).
Points of clarification: Fu Zhongwen did not write this book. Zhou Yuan Long did. Master Fu narrated it. The original Chinese version, published in 1963 to wide acclaim, lists Fu as narrator, Zhou as “recorder,” and Gu Liu Xin as “examiner” ...i.e., the Communist Party of China had to give official approval for its publication. This explains why Tai Chi is seen primarily as a health exercise and not as a martial art (plenty of books about martial arts applications are available in English, but I haven’t seen any in Chinese...at least not Simplified Chinese, used in mainland China, due to Communist paranoia).
But all that aside, this is a very good translation and the translator’s commentary and notes are also well-done. Louis Swaim obviously knows his stuff. I only wish someone had mentioned to him the previous translation. Maybe no one on the West Coast knows of it (since Fu Zhong Wen didn’t have permission to visit the US until just before he died in the ‘90s, the copy I have — handed down from my father — was probably a translation of the original, surreptitiously and perhaps illegally smuggled out of Mao’s China into Hong Kong and then into the US). It took me a while to verify that the two texts are the same, as my copy uses Wade-Giles for names, some of which are also probably Cantonese pronunciations (Fu Chung Fan / Fu Zhongwen, Chou Yuan Lung / Zhou Yuanlong, Ku Liu Chien (or Ku Lui Hsian) / Gu Liuxin). By the way, Fu’s book was simply called “Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan,” not “Mastering...” (no need for that word, as no Tai Chi practitioner would ever suggest one could “master” the style by reading a book).
But at any rate, this is still a very good book to have in a martial artist’s collection. The new translations of the Five Tai Chi classics are accompanied by the original Chinese....I wish the Chinese characters also appeared in the rest of the book, next to the italicized original Mandarin Chinese pinyin, for purposes of comparison.
I say this because an English translation was made available to all Tai Chi Chuan students in Massachusetts nearly five decades ago by students of Liang Tung Tsai (usually called T T Liang). I have a copy, complete with hand-drawn pictures based on photos of Yang Cheng Fu, typed in all capital letters and saved on a mysterious blue plastic sheet (a kind of photographic microfilm).
Points of clarification: Fu Zhongwen did not write this book. Zhou Yuan Long did. Master Fu narrated it. The original Chinese version, published in 1963 to wide acclaim, lists Fu as narrator, Zhou as “recorder,” and Gu Liu Xin as “examiner” ...i.e., the Communist Party of China had to give official approval for its publication. This explains why Tai Chi is seen primarily as a health exercise and not as a martial art (plenty of books about martial arts applications are available in English, but I haven’t seen any in Chinese...at least not Simplified Chinese, used in mainland China, due to Communist paranoia).
But all that aside, this is a very good translation and the translator’s commentary and notes are also well-done. Louis Swaim obviously knows his stuff. I only wish someone had mentioned to him the previous translation. Maybe no one on the West Coast knows of it (since Fu Zhong Wen didn’t have permission to visit the US until just before he died in the ‘90s, the copy I have — handed down from my father — was probably a translation of the original, surreptitiously and perhaps illegally smuggled out of Mao’s China into Hong Kong and then into the US). It took me a while to verify that the two texts are the same, as my copy uses Wade-Giles for names, some of which are also probably Cantonese pronunciations (Fu Chung Fan / Fu Zhongwen, Chou Yuan Lung / Zhou Yuanlong, Ku Liu Chien (or Ku Lui Hsian) / Gu Liuxin). By the way, Fu’s book was simply called “Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan,” not “Mastering...” (no need for that word, as no Tai Chi practitioner would ever suggest one could “master” the style by reading a book).
But at any rate, this is still a very good book to have in a martial artist’s collection. The new translations of the Five Tai Chi classics are accompanied by the original Chinese....I wish the Chinese characters also appeared in the rest of the book, next to the italicized original Mandarin Chinese pinyin, for purposes of comparison.
July 31, 2025
So… I’ve been engaged with Tai Chi for two years now…still have some of the introductory and ending sections to read, but that’s all part of the journey…as I’ve practiced, I have become more interested and more attuned to what lies beneath (and what lies beyond), so I’m ready dive into those topics and I think they’ll have more meaning for me than if I had read them at the outset
I’ve used the book more as a reference to fine tune my engagement, paying attention to my sifu (I’ve had several). I’ve been through the meat of the book, working on each step; in my back yard practicing, I make it well into the 70’s before I find myself trying to recall the next step…but I’ll get there.
The physical impact can’t be overstated, leg strength, balance, coupled with warming up with some stretching, qigong and standing meditation. But the mindfulness…that’s the key
I’ve used the book more as a reference to fine tune my engagement, paying attention to my sifu (I’ve had several). I’ve been through the meat of the book, working on each step; in my back yard practicing, I make it well into the 70’s before I find myself trying to recall the next step…but I’ll get there.
The physical impact can’t be overstated, leg strength, balance, coupled with warming up with some stretching, qigong and standing meditation. But the mindfulness…that’s the key
July 5, 2019
The essay's about Tai Chi in this book are superb and in the back you will find the best translations of the five Tai Chi Classics with Chinese Characters on the opposing pages. Read my review from FrostBell 2001 for a detailed review: http://northstarmartialarts.com/blog1...
February 4, 2008
This book is a highly accurate manual for the study of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan or howeva you'd like to spell it. With very descriptive passages about all aspects from the basics to the philosophy this book also contains step by step instructions on how to position the body throughout the form.
Diagrams are included but do not attempt to learn Tai Chi from this book alone as you also need the guidance of a master. Having said that if you are interested in the Yang style of Tai Chi then this should be your chinese bible as it were.
Diagrams are included but do not attempt to learn Tai Chi from this book alone as you also need the guidance of a master. Having said that if you are interested in the Yang style of Tai Chi then this should be your chinese bible as it were.
January 17, 2012
Anyone interested in doing Tai Chi should own this book. It's the only book that describes step by step exactly how to do the form, with hundreds of detailed illustrations. I made this video using this book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aat_G1...
August 24, 2013
Anyone who follows any of Yang Cheng students will find the basics of their form in this book. Well worth the time it takes to read through. A must read for Cheng Manqing students.
September 3, 2014
easy to follow. great technique.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews