Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty

Douglas Wile is Associate Professor at Brooklyn College. He is the author of The Art of the Bedchamber: The Chinese Sexual Yoga Classics, Including Women's Solo Meditation Texts, also published by SUNY Press.

• Preface Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Note on Illustrations Introduction I Social and Historical Background of T'ai-Chi Ch'uan in the Nineteenth Century China and the NationsRebellion at HomeThe North China PlainElite CultureLate Ch'ing Intellectual TrendsReexamining the Biography of Wu Yü-hsiangApproaches to Understanding Wu and Li Involvement in T'ai-chi Ch'üanII Textual Tradition of the T'ai-Chi Classics III Analysis and Translation of the New Texts The Writings of Wu Ch'eng-ch'ingAnalysis of the TextsTranslation of the TextsThe Writings of Wu Ju-ch'ingAnalysis of the TextsTranslation of the TextsThe Writings of Li I-yüAnalysis of the TextsTranslation of the TextsYang Family Forty Chapters4/1 Analysis of the Texts4/2 Translation of the TextsIV Significance of the New Texts Authorship of the Previously Received ClassicsAuthenticity of the New TextsDijfferences between the Wu/Li and Yang Editions of the ClassicsAuthorship of the Bookstall ClassicsHistoricity of Chang San-fengHistoricity and Role of Wang Tsung-yüehPeriod and Role of Chiang FaPaucity of Theoretical Texts in Ch'en VillageChang Nai-chou and the Wu/Li ClassicsSurvival of Manuscripts in the Wu and Li FamiliesConclusionAppendix I. Original Chinese Texts for the Lost Classics Appendix II. Textual and Biographical Studies Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

"This book contains an enormous amount of information concerning all aspects of T'ai-chi ch'uan not available before. To say that the work is a major contribution to the field is an understatement; it dwarfs all other works so far published in the English language. This is a first-rate, scholarly book that will have a great bearing on the academic views concerning T'ai-chi ch'uan's history and value for present-day study. Because of his meticulous research and profoundly articulate text, Wile has redefined 'T'ai-chi ch'uan' for the academic world with clarity and, for the first time, with accuracy." — Michael A. DeMarco, Journal of Asian Martial Arts