Intermediate - Tai Chi (C0256)

太极拳不是老年人的运动吗？有什么奇妙呢？
tàijíquán bù shì lǎoniánrén de yùndòng ma ？yǒu shénme qímiào ne ？
Isn't tai chi an exercise for the elderly? What's amazing about it?

你这可是大错特错了。太极拳不仅结合了健身与搏击，还包含了深刻的中国古典哲学。
nǐ zhè kěshì dàcuòtècuò le 。tàijíquán bù jǐn jiéhé le jiànshēn yǔ bójī ， hái bāohán le shēnkè de Zhōngguó gǔdiǎn zhéxué 。
You are seriously mistaken. Tai chi not only combines exercise and fighting skills, it also contains rich ancient Chinese philosophy.

是吗？那么，“太极”这个名字是什么意思？
shì ma ？nàme ，“tàijí ”zhège míngzi shì shénme yìsi ？
Does it? So what does the name "tai chi" mean?

“太极”这个词的意思是绝对、唯一。太极拳不仅综合了明代各家拳法，还包含了丰富的中国传统文化。
“tàijí ”zhège cí de yìsi shì juéduì 、wéiyī 。tàijíquán bù jǐn zōnghé le Míngdài gè jiā quánfǎ ，hái bāohán le fēngfù de Zhōngguó chuántǒng wénhuà 。
The word "tai chi" means absolute and unequalled. Tai chi integrates different styles of martial art from the Ming Dynasty with qi gong (a system of deep-breathing exercises), Chinese medicine, and the five elements of yin and yang. Tai chi is rich with traditional Chinese cultural and philosophical thought.

为什么太极拳节奏这么慢？它到底对人体有什么好处呢？
wèishénme tàijíquán jiézòu zhème màn ？tā dàodǐ duì réntǐ yǒu shénme hǎochu ne ？
Why is tai chi so slow-paced? What good does it do the body anyways?

太极拳始终处于运动之中，动作连接紧密，流畅。打太极拳时，特别要求心静。
tàijíquán shǐzhōng chǔyú yùndòng zhīzhōng ，dòngzuò liánjiē jǐnmì ，liúchàng 。dǎ tàijíquán shí ，tèbié yāoqiú xīnjìng 。
Tai chi is perpetual motion. Its movements are closely connected and flowing. When practicing tai chi it is essential that state of mind, concentration, and breathing be inextricably connected. Tai chi particularly requires feeling and reacting through the body.

噢，听起来真深奥。太极拳分流派吗？
ō ，tīng qǐlai zhēn shēnào 。tàijíquán fēn liúpài ma ？
Oh, that sounds quite profound. Are there different schools of tai chi?

当然，太极拳有许多流派，不过最主要的是五大流派。
dāngrán ，tàijíquán yǒu xǔduō liúpài ，bùguò zuì zhǔyào de shì wǔ dà liúpài 。
Of course. There are many different schools of tai chi, but the main ones are the five key schools.

Vocabulary