26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 1 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Skip to content

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese InternalMartial Arts Part 1Posted on December 21, 2012

Contents [hide]

1 Symbolism in the Chinese InternalMartial Arts2 Heaven and Earth & Yin and Yang3 The Five Elements or Five Powers4 The Dragon and The Tiger5 Notes:6 You might be interested in:

Overview: Symbolism is an important and often misunderstood aspect of the Chinese internalmartial arts. This, the first installment of a three-part article, discusses the importance andrelevance of the symbols of heaven and earth, yin and yang, the five elements, and the dragonand the tiger.

Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts

Symbolism is an important and often misunderstood aspect of the Chinese internal martial arts.The symbols connected with the internal martial arts are often dismissed in the West assuperstitious cultural baggage that has little value in the practical apprehension and applicationof these arts. This attitude has increasingly been directed at the Chinese internal arts (nei jia),largely because the confusing nature of the culturally specific images used by Chinese martialarts practitioners makes it difficult for students in the West to engage with this aspect of Chineseinternal arts.

As a result, many Western teachers and students attempt to update and transform traditionalimagery, recasting the symbols to form scientific, bio-mechanical explanations with regard totraining and application. Similarly, there is a tendency in the West to re-work the circular, moreorganic learning process and curriculum of Chinese internal martial arts into a logical, step-by-step process that smoothly carries one through a series of levels, from beginner to expertpractitioner. This approach is characterized by attempting to parse out the movements, trainingmethods and principles so they can be broken into their component parts.

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#mainhttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#Symbolism_in_the_Chinese_Internal_Martial_Artshttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#Heaven_and_Earth_Yin_and_Yanghttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#The_Five_Elements_or_Five_Powershttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#The_Dragon_and_The_Tigerhttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#Noteshttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#You_might_be_interested_in

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 2 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

This more modern and scientific approach creates as many problems as it attempts to solve ultimately diminishing these arts and leading students to look elsewhere to fill in perceivedgaps. Because each aspect of an internal art interpenetrates with each other aspect, breakingthings down into their component parts can actually make learning harder, or even impossible.The Chinese internal arts have an fractal-like nature. Each aspect, each part of an art like BaGua Zhang from the most basic aspects to the most advanced is a hologramthat contains, interconnects and interacts with every other part of the system to form a complete,organic whole. This makes it impossible to isolate individual components without losing theessence of the internal arts.

The common argument put forward by the modernist camp goes something like: the realfighters were not intellectuals; they did not know this stuff. They just trained hard and kickedass. Actually, they did know this stuff. Symbolism is so embedded in every aspect of Chineselife, culture and customs that they could not avoid knowing it. The Chinese written languageitself is a collection of ideograms based on pictographs and symbols. The real fighters not onlyknew the stories, metaphors and symbols, but for them, the mere mention of a story, metaphoror symbol triggered a cascade of other associated stories, metaphors and symbols. Even themost casual statements, by the most down-to-earth fighters that I have met in China are steepedin the language of the Yi Jing, traditional Chinese medicine, Daoist metaphysics, and classicbooks like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Outlaws of the Marsh.

One necessary by-product of the scientific approach is the discarding of the rich symbolisminherent in the internal arts. This is the very aspect of these arts that expresses andcommunicates their holism to the practitioner. Symbols are the very tools necessary toexpress the highly complex organic entity, with its many manifold and culturally embeddedlayers of reality and understanding, that is Chinese internal martial arts. Symbols are like acode, a code that serves to express aspects of reality which are obscured by the limitations oflanguage and other modes of expression. In this way, symbols communicate and crystallize anaspect of direct experience, or truth, that is beyond words and beyond the symbol itself.Symbols in this context also provide a platform for self-discovery, experimentation andtranscendence.

Nei jia symbolism is a vast and complex subject, so for purposes of this article we will focus onfive manifestations of symbolism commonly found in the internal martial arts. Many of thesesymbols and concepts have overlaps with Daoist meditation, Nei gong and Chinese medicine.The five manifestations of symbolism covered in this article include:

1. Animal Symbolism and Imagery2. Cosmological Symbols: Yin and Yang and The Five Forces (Wu Xing; Wu De)3. Yi Jing Symbolism4. Movement Names in Chinese Forms5. Chinese Ideograms/Pictographs

Heaven and Earth & Yin and Yang

In Chinese thought, Heaven and Earth are considered to be the two fundamental operatingforces. Heaven is yang and earth is yin. Heaven is said to come before (xian) and Earth, after(hou). In Chinese cosmogony, Heaven and Earth develop from the Wu Ji, an undivided potentialwithout limit. Wu Ji (literally no polarity) is sometimes referred to as emptiness, or the void essentially it is matter undifferentiated, undivided, non-polarized. Movement occurs within theemptiness, within the void. The movement is like wind, like a breath. It is an inhalation and an

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 3 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

exhalation, or an opening and a closing. This movement is the Breath-Energy or the Qi/Breath.

This movement, this polarity created by the Qi/Breath is the Tai Ji, the great pole, or extremepolarity. With the Tai Ji , the lighter, transparent Qi/Breath rises, and the heavier, opaqueQi/Breath sinks down. The light and yang aspect produces Heaven, and the yin and heavyaspect produces Earth. The yang diffuses and the yin receives. The strong unbroken lines of theHeaven Trigram flow downward to be received by earths softer receptive lines. Earth in turnresponds, actualizing Heavens potential into form and sending the Qi/Breath back upward. Thisis expressed as follows:

From the interaction of Heaven-yang and Earth-yin, the world that we know as human beings,with its cyclical seasonal changes, rhythms and patterns, develops.

An alternative Tai Ji Diagram, attributed to Chen Tuan of the Song dynasty, visually conveys thespiraling, circular movement of Qi/Breath in the center initiating the movement which createspolarities of light and heavy; clear and turbid; movement and stillness; yang and yin.

In Tai Ji Quan, Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang, these concepts manifest in the importanceplaced on understanding, at an instinctive level, the power inherent in balanced, yet oppositional

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 4 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

forces, as well as the interplay of movement and stillness, emptiness and fullness, firmness andgentleness, the hidden and the obvious

The Five Elements or Five Powers

The Wu Xing (Five Elements) are also sometimes referred to as the Wu De (Five Powers). TheFive Powers are intimately connected with the life of human beings on Earth. The interaction ofHeaven and Earth, is a fixed unchanging polarity. It is timeless, and immutable. In human beingsand the natural world, the breaths of heaven and earth are experienced through the five powers,because it is through the them that life takes on material form and shape. Our senses, tastes,sounds, our ability to discriminate, even our internal organs, are all considered to beexpressions of the Five Powers. There is also the concept of time and cyclical movement andchange. The Five Powers operate within us in the same way that they operate in the worldaround us, reflected in the seasons, the weather, and the movements of the planets. Thecyclical movement inherent in the Five Powers can be seen in the diagram below:

The Five Elements can also be understood as five fundamental forces, that have inherentmovements and powers. For example, water moves downward and moistens while fire flaresupward, clinging and warming. This is particularly evident in the Five Fists or forms as they areexpressed in Xing Yi Quan. Each of these core movements creates a very different internalmanifestation of jin (strength, energy, spirit) in the body. This is diagrammed in very basic waybelow.

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 5 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

The Five Powers are sometimes obliquely referred to by using the names of the mythological oremblematic animals. The Black Tortoise/Snake is also known as Xuan Wu: Dark Warrior of theNorth. The diagram below shows the seal forms of the four emblematic animals. In the center isthe ideogram for Earth.

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 6 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

The Dragon and The Tiger

Prior to the creation of the Tai Ji diagram (in the 8th century), yin and yang were symbolized bythe Tiger and the Dragon. The Dragon was also associated with Heaven, and the Tiger withEarth. The post-heaven manifestations of Heaven (yang) and Earth (yin) are Fire and Water, twoof the Wu Xing (Five Elements). Fire is associated with the South and Water with the North. Themost prevalent manifestations of the Dragon and Tiger are The Green Dragon, which is relatedto Wood in the East, and the White Tiger, related to Metal in the West. The Green Dragon andWhite Tiger are also considered to be manifestations of the Pre-Heaven Trigram arrangementwithin the post-heaven arrangement of the trigrams. Therefore the Green Dragon is associatedwith Li-Fire and the White Tiger is associated with Kan-Water. Together they symbolizemovement and change:

Wood becoming Fire The Dragon Leaping UpwardMetal becoming Water The Tiger Pouncing on Its Prey

The Dragon is yang. It symbolizes the movement of life growing upward and outward, like aplant growing from a seed. The Green Dragon represents the spring thunder and rains thatnourish living things. In the Spring, the Dragon is said to come out of its hiding place under theearth and rise up into the sky creating thunder and rain. Hence the Dragon also represents theincitement of life and movement.

The Tiger is yin. The White Tiger represents autumn, when growing thing begin to withdraw intothe earth, when the first frost comes to kill living things. Hence the Tiger can represent death,but also the quiet and stillness of late autumn as it moves into winter. The Tiger is therefore

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 7 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

associated with the still lake whose depths cannot be seen. In this context, the Dragon and Tigertogether represent the natural cycle of life and death that moves through us and all living things.

The Dragon is associated with the trigram Zhen-Thunder excitation and movement. The Tigeris associated with the Dui-Lake trigram representing joyousness, sensibility and feeling. Thesequalities are conveyed in the Chinese saying: When the tiger roars the valley wind comes. Whenthe dragon arises great clouds appear.[1]

The Dragon has both yin and yang associations. It can be yang in that it soars through theclouds, and yin in that it hides under the earth as in the Qi Gong movement, the Black DragonEnters the Cave. As it moves through the sky, the dragon appears and disappears into theclouds. The Dragon does not have wings but flies through a yin-yang oscillation, literallyswimming through the clouds:

The dragon now lurks in watery depth, now streaks aloft to the highest heavens, and its verygait is a continuous undulation. It presents an image of energy constantly recharged throughoscillation from one pole to the other. The dragon is a constantly evolving creature with nofixed form; it can never be immobilized or penned in, never grasped. It symbolizes adynamism never visible in concrete form and thus unfathomable. Finally, merging with theclouds and the mists, the dragons impetus makes the surrounding world vibrate: it is thevery image of an energy that diffuses itself through space, intensifying its environment itsenvironment and enriching itself by that aura.[2]

Although the Tiger is associated with metal, it also has an association with Wind which is relatedto the Wood element. The Tiger is connected with both the unbridled wood energy of spring andthe refined metal energy of fall.[3] The Tigers roar produces Wind, which is associated withWood. It is also a reference to natures breath, as well as to the tigers naturalness andunrestrained manner. Like the wind, the Tiger comes and goes as it pleases, showing upsuddenly and unexpectedly, sometimes with devastating force.[4] The Tiger is sometimesviewed as a yang animal, yet it draws its power from the Earth (yin) by crouching in order tospring therefore, like the Dragon, the Tiger has both yin and yang aspects.

In Xing Yi Quan, the Dragon is the first animal form one learns, and the Tiger form the second.The Dragon form rises and falls as its body coils and uncoils. The bones and tendons of the

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 8 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

whole body extend outward and contract inward. This rising and falling movement of the Dragonopens the Ren (Conception) Channel and the Chong (Thrusting) Channel. Ren Mai, Du Mai(Governing Channel) and Chong Mai are thought to be one meridian (the Central Channel).The Central Channel must circulate freely for the other meridians to also circulate freely. If theCentral Channel opens, it is said that the hundred meridians can open and power and forcewill emanate without obstruction. The Tiger uses its back to generate power in crouching orspringing, thus, if practiced correctly, the Tiger form is said to open the Du (Governing) Channelwhich runs up the center of the spine. If the Governing vessel is opened, clear Yang-Qi canascend to the head and brain, and Ren Mai and Chong Mai will also open. When the Tiger sitsin its cave, crouching and gathering its power, the qi gathers at Cheng Qiang acu-point (DU 1).When the Tiger Pounces on its prey, The Mingmen point in the back opens and qi movesupward along the Du Channel.

In Ba Gua Zhang, the movements of the body in walking and circling are often likened to theDragon (long). Many styles of Ba Gua contain a sequence known as You Shen Long Xing BaGua Zhang or Swimming Body Dragon Shape Eight Diagram Palm. Wang Xiang Zhai, one ofthe great internal boxers of the 20th century, described Cheng Ting Huas performance of BaGua as like a divine dragon roaming-winding and twisting in the sky.[5] While moving like aswimming dragon, the Ba Gua practitioner is simultaneously advised to Sit like a Tiger bysquatting down and sitting the kua, the fold in the front of the hip. In this way one is rooted inthe earth, ready to spring and pounce with power and ferocity like a Tiger.

In the west, we have tendency to look for one-to-one correspondences between things. Thesymbols of the Dragon and Tiger serve as good examples of the many overlappingcorrespondences and relationships (some of which at first appear contradictory), that arecommon in Chinese martial symbolism.

Notes:

[1] History of Chinese Philosophy (Routledge History of World Philosophies vol. 3), Edited byBob Mou. London and New York: Routledge 2009, p. 285.

[2]The Propensity of Things: Toward a History of Efficacy in China, Francois Julien. New York:Zone Books, 1999. p151.

[3] The Lung and the Tiger Image: An Example of Decoding the Symbolic Record of ChineseMedicine. by Heiner Fruehauf, PhD. classicalchinesemedicine.org. 2008, p. 5

[4] Ibid, p. 3.

[5] Da Cheng Chuan, by Wang Xuanjie. Hong Kong: Hai Feng Publishing Co. Ltd., 1988. p.40.

TweetTweet 255 Personen gefllt das. Zeige deinen Freunden, dass dir dasgefllt.

Gefllt mirGefllt mir

You might be interested in:

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/daoist-meditation-lesson-three-theory-quieting-the-mind-gathering-the-qi/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/master-chen-quan-gong-on-xing-yi-quan-theory-and-training-part-1/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/treating-burns-chinese-medicine-ching-wan-hung-burn-ointment/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.internalartsinternational.com%2Ffree%2Fthe-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1%2F&text=The%20Importance%20of%20Symbolism%20in%20the%20Chinese%20Internal%20Martial%20Arts%20%E2%80%93%20Part%201&tw_p=tweetbutton&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.internalartsinternational.com%2Ffree%2Fthe-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1%2F

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 9 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Daoist Meditation LessonThree Theory: Quieting theMind & Gathering the Qi

Master Chen Quan Gongon Xing Yi Quan Theoryand Training: Part 1

Treating Burns in ChineseMedicine: Ching Wan HungBurn Ointment

0 Comments - Posted in Free Content Tagged with: Daoist Meditation, Nei Gong, Qi Gong

< Daoist Meditation Lesson Five Practice: Wu Ji and Song The 48 Methods of Ba Gua Zhang >

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

Comment

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

Post Comment

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/daoist-meditation-lesson-three-theory-quieting-the-mind-gathering-the-qi/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/master-chen-quan-gong-on-xing-yi-quan-theory-and-training-part-1/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/treating-burns-chinese-medicine-ching-wan-hung-burn-ointment/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/#respondhttp://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/tag/daoist-meditation/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/tag/nei-gong/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/tag/qi-gong/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/member/daoist-meditation-lesson-five-practice-wu-ji-and-song/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/48-methods-of-ba-gua-zhang/

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 10 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Login

Please login to your account!Username:

Password:

Remember Me

Log In

Register | Lost your Password?

Sign up for our Free Newsletter

Sign up today and receive a free PDF of the Zheng Gu Tui Na Product Guide + The TigersTooth from Inside Kung Fu Magazine Sign Up Now!

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/programs/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/register/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/lostpassword/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free-newsletter/

26.10.14 14:35The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Seite 11 von 11http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Members area

Beyond The Tooth (13)Premium content (82)Student's Corner (10)Videos (7)

Last Tweets

Ba Gua Zhang Instructor TrainingProgram w/ Tom Bisio - Apply Today! -t.co/MfdyNSyEbS #baguazhang #bagua#internalarts #martialarts Time ago 2Days via MailChimp

Follow @NYInternalArts on twitter.

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/tu-na-si-ba-videos/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/member/beyond-the-tooth/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/member/premium-content/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/member/students-corner/http://www.internalartsinternational.com/member/premium-videos/http://t.co/MfdyNSyEbShttp://twitter.com/search/?src=hash&q=%23baguazhanghttp://twitter.com/search/?src=hash&q=%23baguahttp://twitter.com/search/?src=hash&q=%23internalartshttp://twitter.com/search/?src=hash&q=%23martialartshttp://twitter.com/NYInternalArts/status/525652359804768256http://www.mailchimp.com/http://twitter.com/NYInternalArts