The origin of taiji (太極) is misty and turbid; we call it wuji (無極) (no extremity). When it is extremely calm, it appears condensed and peaceful externally. However, concealed within it there exists both yin (陰) and yang (陽). These two, yin and yang, mutually transport, vary, advance, and withdraw. Consequently, there is neither void nor defect. The name we give to this hidden movement of yin and yang is “taiji.”

Application of this theory to two-person taiji pushing hands practice reveals the same twin virtues of yin and yang. You and your partner mutually harmonize and coordinate with each other, and thereby improve both your own and each other’s health. Taiji is used not only for defensive purposes. It says in the Yi Jing, or Book of Changes (易經), that “the [hidden] beginning of the misty origin [i.e., wuji] is called taiji. From the nourishment of the two poles [i.e., yin and yang], ten thousand objects were born.”l

The word “taiji” was first seen in the Yi Jing. Though the word “taiji” was also mentioned in the Han Book, it recognized that this word originated from the Yi Jing. In the Yi Jing, it says, “Taiji is the key which dominates the generations and variations. [It] is the mother of the million objects between heaven and earth. [If we] trace the beginning of the world, it is certain that it originated from this—the sole misty qi.” It also says, “Taiji, the master of the qi, is the order [i.e., rule] and the great foundation of the generations and variations is the origin of the sole qi. Therefore, it is called ‘the grand ultimate.’ Fu Xi saw taiji as the dawn of the day. It is the mother of the beginning. The origin of the million [objects] and the source of the sole qi, therefore, is called ‘grand ultimate,’ [which is] able to generate, originate, and transport without stop.”2, 3