Tai Chi vs. Xingyiquan
Quick answer
The sources place both Tai Chi (taijiquan) and xingyiquan at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, taijiquan in the Henan villages of Chenjiagou and Zhaobao, xingyiquan with Ji Jike from Shanxi and his spear fighting. Taijiquan works with slow forms and partner tuishou, xingyiquan with a straight advance from the santi shi stance and the five fists wuxing. Taijiquan is an IWUF taolu discipline and has a number of health studies, while xingyiquan is not named in the IWUF rules and in the 20th century served military training.
At a glance
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | China | China |
| Origin | Early modern (present form) | Early modern (present form) |
| Founder | Zhang Sanfeng (by tradition) | Ji Jike |
| Contact | Light contact | – |
| Sparring | Light contact | – |
| Competition format | Forms | – |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Rank recognition | unknown | unknown |
| Weapons | Weapons optional | Weapons optional |
| Forms | Forms at the core | Forms at the core |
| Relative cost | low | unknown |
| Katas and forms in the encyclopedia | 11 | 1 |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | 8 | – |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
The sources place both Tai Chi (taijiquan) and xingyiquan at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, each in a different region. The most fully documented practice of taijiquan begins in the villages of Chenjiagou and Zhaobao in Henan, the exact origin is not known, and UNESCO gives its emergence in the mid-17th century in Wenxian County. Xingyiquan is traced to Ji Jike (Ji Longfeng) from Shanxi, nicknamed Divine Spear, whose art liuhe grew out of spear fighting.
- Taijiquan: according to the sources Chen Wangting (1580–1660) may have founded the Chen style, and two theories are given about what he drew on. The dispute over the origin of the Chen and Zhaobao styles remains open.
- Taijiquan: Yang Luchan (1799–1872) studied for 18 years with Chen Changxing, then taught in Yongnian and in Beijing. The term taiji is first linked with the art in a poem by Weng Tonghe about his performance.
- Xingyiquan: for Ji Jike the sources differ, giving the years 1588–1662 or, according to Brian Kennedy, activity around 1750. His student Ma Xueli (1714–1790) founded the Henan Muslim branch.
- Xingyiquan: the founder of the modern form is considered to be Li Luoneng (19th century), who adapted the art and taught in Shanxi and Hebei. The claim that he was taught by Dai Longbang is doubtful.
- 20th century: in 1932 Tang Hao examined family documents in Chenjiagou, and Li Cunyi (1847–1921) handed down a manual of xingyiquan, published openly in 1934.
Technique
- Slow, flowing forms, and in the Chen style an alternation of slow and fast movements, silk reeling and explosive bursts of force (fajin).
- Tuishou: partner practice with the eight gates, of which peng, lu, ji and an are given as the basic ones.
- In competition, contact without strikes.
- Straight advance forward and explosive force (fajin) over a short distance.
- Five fists (wuxing) as five fighting states with terms from traditional Chinese medicine.
- The twelve animals imitate the tactics of the animals, not only their movement.
- Three branches, the Shanxi with a narrower stance and more evasion, the Hebei and the Henan.
Both arts have fajin, but in taijiquan the sources describe it only for the Chen style. We have not found partner practice similar to tuishou in xingyiquan.
Training
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Stance work | in the Chen style standing zhan zhuang and silk-reeling qigong before the forms | the main stance santi shi (three bodies), which Li Luoneng made central, zhan zhuang from two minutes to two hours |
| Partner work | tuishou | we have not found it |
| Weapons | in the Chen style spear, staff, broadsword and straight sword, shaking the pole or spear | traditionally first the spear, then bare-handed fighting, then the straight sword, sabre, staff and halberd |
The order of spear before bare hands is traditional in xingyiquan and follows the liuhe art of Ji Jike. We have not found the lesson structure or training frequency for either art.
Progression and ranks
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | we have not found a grading system | we have not found belts or grades |
| Progression in content | in the Chen style the first form Yilu and the second form Erlu (Laojia), the new frame Xinjia with smaller circles | three levels of jin: ming jin (visible force), an jin (hidden force) and hua jin (transforming force) |
The three levels of jin in xingyiquan describe the level of work with force, not examinations. We have not found a similar division in taijiquan.
Physical load and risks
- Wang et al. (BMJ 2018, 226 people with fibromyalgia): 8 adverse events were related to the intervention in taijiquan and 4 in the aerobic programme, mostly mild.
- Li et al. (NEJM 2012, 195 people with Parkinson’s disease): no serious adverse events.
- NCCIH on the review by Cui et al. (2019, 24 studies): the rate of adverse events similar to other interventions, no studies on pregnancy.
- We have not found a study of injuries or adverse effects in xingyiquan.
- According to the sources the static zhan zhuang stances last from two minutes to two hours, and data on the load are missing.
Who it suits
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Groups in studies | people aged 70 and over at risk of falling, people with Parkinson’s disease, adults with fibromyalgia | we have not found studies |
| Known practitioners | Chen Changxing, Yang Luchan | Li Luoneng, his student Guo Yunshen, Li Cunyi |
Children
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s programmes | we have not found how widespread children’s courses are | we have not found it |
| Competitions | IWUF taolu: junior groups A, B and C, the source does not give age limits | 2019 IWUF traditional wushu rules: groups A (up to 8 years) to F (from 60 years) for all styles, xingyiquan is not named |
| Studies in children | Kennedy Krieger Institute (2020): children aged 8–12 with ADHD, parents rated lower hyperactivity, a study without a control group | we have not found it |
Self-defence
- Tuishou trains contact with a partner without strikes.
- We have not found a source on use in self-defence or on tests under resistance.
- Li Luoneng and his students became famous as personal bodyguards and escorts of caravans.
- During the Second Sino-Japanese War a shortened version was taught for close combat including the bayonet.
We have not found training against full resistance for either art.
Practical use
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Falls in older people | Cochrane, Sherrington et al. 2019: 20% fewer people who fall (8 studies, 2,677 participants, high certainty) | we have not found it |
| Randomized study of falls | Li et al. (JAMA Internal Medicine 2018, 670 people aged 70 and over): over 6 months 152 falls versus 218 in a multimodal programme and 363 in stretching | we have not found it |
| Parkinson’s disease | Li et al. (NEJM 2012, 195 people): greater maximum displacement in the stability test (73.6% versus 68.0 and 61.9%) and 62 falls versus 133 and 186 in the control groups | we have not found it |
| Army | we have not found it | a shortened version for officers at the academy in Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War, close combat including bayonet and sabre |
For taijiquan the health use rests on a number of studies, for xingyiquan we have not found any, and nothing about one can be concluded from the results of the other. Francis Bateman states that in the 20th century the Nationalist government supported xingyiquan because its straightforward techniques spread among the people more easily than the more complex taijiquan.
Competition
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| IWUF taolu | taijiquan and taijijian as separate disciplines, forms of 3–4 minutes (2019 rules) | not named, after the Cultural Revolution some forms were adapted for competitive wushu, where it occurs rarely |
| Partner competition | tuishou, for example the Swedish SWKF: 2 × 2 minutes, points for lifting a foot or touching the ground, with fixed step no strikes or kicks | we have not found it |
| Major games | 1990 Asian Games with form 42 | we have not found it |
| Olympic programme | no, wushu is not Olympic | no |
Availability and organisations
| Tai Chi | Xingyiquan | |
|---|---|---|
| Divisions | family styles Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu and Sun | the Shanxi, Hebei and Henan branches |
| Recognition | UNESCO 2020, Chen style on the PRC national list since 2006 | PRC national list: the Hebei (Shenzhou) version since 2008, the Shanxi (Taigu) version since 2011, the Henan xinyi liuhe quan separately since 2008 |
Switching and combining
- The zhan zhuang stance work remains, and from the Chen style fajin as well.
- New is the straight advance, the santi shi stance and the five fists wuxing.
- New is the teaching order from spear to bare hands.
- The stance work remains.
- New are the slow forms and partner tuishou.
- New are the competitive taolu forms under IWUF rules.
On the left the transition from taijiquan, on the right the reverse. Sun Lutang learned xingyiquan from Li Kuiyuan and from 1882 from Guo Yunshen, and Wu (Hao) style taijiquan only from 1911 from Hao Weizhen. According to the sources, the xingyiquan and baguazhang he had mastered earlier sped up his progress in taijiquan.
Philosophy
- For the philosophical background Laozi is cited: the soft and yielding overcomes the hard and strong.
- The term taiji is linked with the art late, first in a poem by Weng Tonghe about Yang Luchan.
- Liuhe (six harmonies) as the original name of Ji Jike’s art.
- The five fists wuxing draw on terms of traditional Chinese medicine.
- The three levels of jin lead from visible force to transforming force.
Taijiquan carries a philosophical term in its name, xingyiquan in the layout of the five fists. We have not found an explicit comparison of the two philosophies.
Forms and terminology
Forms are the foundation of instruction in both arts. Taijiquan has the family forms of the styles, in the Chen style Yilu and Erlu, and the state simplified forms 24, 42 and 48, form 24 has 24 positions and takes about six minutes. According to the Hebei and Shanxi national listings, xingyiquan rests on the santi stance, the five fists wuxing (pi, beng, zuan, pao, heng) and twelve animal forms, and the Henan lineage of Ma Xueli knows the routines sijia quan and bashi.
Common misconceptions
- Zhang Sanfeng as the creator of taijiquan is a legend. Tang Hao challenged this myth after visiting Chenjiagou in 1932, and the historian Stanley Henning criticized it in 1994 and questioned even Zhang’s existence.
- Yue Fei as the founder of xingyiquan is a tradition in which he is revered. The works attributed to Yue Fei were created after his lifetime, and historical sources mention only his teaching of archery and spear play.
- The tale of a manual found in a cracked statue of Yue Fei is called a probable legend by Brian Kennedy, who places the Six Harmonies Manual among much later works.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Which of the two arts is older?
The sources place both at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties. For Ji Jike the dates differ (1588–1662 or around 1750), for taijiquan the exact origin is not known and UNESCO gives the mid-17th century. The order cannot be determined from this.
Do the health studies of taijiquan apply to xingyiquan as well?
No. The studies on falls, Parkinson’s disease and fibromyalgia measured taijiquan programmes. For xingyiquan we have not found a health study.
Is xingyiquan competed?
Just on the margins. It is not named in the IWUF rules for taolu or for traditional wushu from 2019, and in competitive wushu its adapted forms appear rarely. We have not found a separate xingyiquan category in the Chinese national championship of traditional wushu.