The Tao Te Ching and the Principles of Tai Chi Chuan

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu is the most well known and authoritative Taoist text and it can be said to be the guiding philosophy of Tai Chi. Typical principles of Tai Chi Chuan are frequently mentioned in the Tao Te Ching. For example, not struggling, not initiating an attack and non aggression.

Reader recommendations from Amazon.com. Hover your pointer over the links for details. Tao Te Ching, 25th-Anniversary Edition Tao Te Ching (Skylight Illuminations) Tao te Ching

The Tao Te Ching is regarded as one of the classics of Taoist philosophy. The 81 verses of the Tao have been translated and interpreted in many ways. Though a consideration of the full text is beyond the scope of this article, I plan to provide a complete interpretation on this site in the near future. Here are a few extracts from the verses. It can clearly been seen how the practice and strategies of Tai Chi have been influenced by this philosophy. Some of the great figures in the history of Tai Chi have been scholars of the Tao Te Ching.

For reference, the extracts are followed by their verse numbers. 

The wise fighter does not start an attack.
The wise warrior is not aggressive.
The wise soldier does not meet the enemy head on.
The wise administrator cares for his subordinates.
This is the virtue of non struggle.
Tao Te Ching (68)

In places where armies have marched,
thorns and weeds grow abundantly.
The time after war is always a time of suffering.
The wise use the army for defence,
never for aggression.
Tao Te Ching (30)

Yield and overcome.
Bend and be straight.
Tao Te Ching (22)

He who stands on tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace.
Tao Te Ching (24)

Returning is the motion of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.
Tao Te Ching (40)

What is firmly established cannot be uprooted.
What is firmly grasped cannot slip away.
Tao Te Ching (54)

Stiff and unbending is the principle of death.
Gentle and yielding is the principle of life.
Thus an Army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
Tao Te Ching (76)

Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Tao Te Ching (22)

The softest thing in the universe
overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.
Tao Te Ching (43)

Of the softest things in the world,
nothing is softer than water.
Any hard objects in the way
will be defeated by water.
Water never changes.
Hence, soft defeats hard,
weak defeats strong.
Everyone knows this
but few practice it.
Tao Te Ching (78)

The heavy is the root of the light.
The still is the master of unrest.
To be light is to lose one's root.
To be restless is to lose one's control.
Tao Te Ching (26)

 That which shrinks must first expand.
That which fails must first be strong.
That which is cast down must first be raised.
Tao Te Ching (36)

The softest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
Nowhere can the soft not enter the hard.
Tao Te Ching (43)