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anonymous
Q: why call Tai Chi Chuan?
what is the history of Tai Chi Chuan? Why call Tai Chi Chuan?
What is now known as "Tai Chi Chuan" only appears to have received this appellation from around the mid 1800's. There was a scholar in the Imperial Court by the name of Ong Tong He who witnessed a demonstration by Yang Lu Chan ("Unbeatable Yang"). Afterwards Ong wrote: "Hands holding Taiji shakes the whole world, a chest containing ultimate skill defeats a gathering of heroes." This was the time when Yang Luchan made the Chen clan's martial art known to the world through his own evolved form ("Yang family style").
Before this time the Art had no name. It was simply an unusual martial art practiced by a little known clan in a small, remote village in Henan province (like hundreds of other martial arts lost to history). The Art was not taught to outsiders as such isolated clans used their family martial art skills to defend their villages from bandits and, in the case of Chen Village, to gain employment as bodyguards to wealthy merchants. Hence, before the time of Yang Luchan, the Art appears to have been generically described by outsiders as "Chen Family Boxing", "Soft Boxing" or "The Thirteen" (this last title may be an anachronism). find more information http://taichichuan24.blogbus.com
In modern times the word Chuan is not used to my knowledge. That part of the name could have derived from someone who had created the martial art. The real question then goes why did somebody get rid of that part of the name. It's called Tai Chi now or so that is what it is known by. This is the first time I heard the last part of Tai Chi which is Chuan. That name more than likely came from the founder.
Many martial arts schools include the founders name somewhere in the title. Weichi Ryu had the name Ryu in it. Gracie Jiu Jitsu had the name Gracie in it.
Tai Chi has been practiced for 1,000s of years, not since the 1800's. The word Chuan is translated into art and is the family name of a man who made it more popular. Tai Chi is the movement of energy, it was never meant to be a fighting technique.
