Chang San Feng, the legendary founder
of Taijiquan
NOTES
I gratefully thank my teachers for their kind instruction
and inspiration. I feel so lucky to have been able to study with such
accomplished gentlemen. You cannot truly understand the Art of Taijiquan without
a good mentor. There is no substitute for being able to see and feel the Art in
person.
This website is made available to you to help you learn about the art and
history of Taijiquan as practiced by the Dong family. It may not be used for
commercial purposes. You may not copy or reproduce this material for commercial
gain.
There is a saying among Taoist magicians, “If you use Taoist magic for your own
commercial benefit, you will go crazy.” I admonish you in a similar way, “If you
use the contents of this website for your own commercial benefit, do not blame
me for what happens to you.”
My goal with this website is to provide you with a resource that you can use to
study some of the history of Taijiquan, to enable you to see some authentic
historical images, and to give you first hand insights from a person who has
studied the Art within the same family’s school since 1974.
I have done my sincere best to give you the truth as I know it. I take full
responsibility for any mistakes or errors that may be contained in this site.
My knowledge of the Chinese language is quite poor, so
please pardon me for my misuse or poor interpretation of the language.
Regarding the transliteration of the Chinese characters: This site contains
several systems of transliteration: The older standard Wade-Giles version, a
sloppy American version which forgets some of the punctuation, and the current
People’s Republic of China version of Pinyin. In general I have used whatever
version was used by the source material.
Consequently the names of the early members of the Dong family are written
“Tung” as was the custom using the Wade-Giles system. “Dong” is used for the
modern members of the family, as that is how their name is currently spelled in
China.
If you are interested in the transliteration of the Chinese characters I suggest
that you consult references on the Chinese language. Please accept my apologies
for not being more precise here.
I hope you find this website helpful.
Sincerely yours,
Chip Ellis