The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

Skip to content

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal

Martial Arts Part 1
Posted on December 21, 2012
Contents [hide]
1 Symbolism in the Chinese Internal
Martial Arts
2 Heaven and Earth & Yin and Yang
3 The Five Elements or Five Powers
4 The Dragon and The Tiger
5 Notes:
6 You might be interested in:

Overview: Symbolism is an important and often misunderstood aspect of the Chinese internal
martial arts. This, the first installment of a three-part article, discusses the importance and
relevance of the symbols of heaven and earth, yin and yang, the five elements, and the dragon
and the tiger.

Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts

Symbolism is an important and often misunderstood aspect of the Chinese internal martial arts.
The symbols connected with the internal martial arts are often dismissed in the West as
superstitious cultural baggage that has little value in the practical apprehension and application
of these arts. This attitude has increasingly been directed at the Chinese internal arts (nei jia),
largely because the confusing nature of the culturally specific images used by Chinese martial
arts practitioners makes it difficult for students in the West to engage with this aspect of Chinese
internal arts.
As a result, many Western teachers and students attempt to update and transform traditional
imagery, recasting the symbols to form scientific, bio-mechanical explanations with regard to
training and application. Similarly, there is a tendency in the West to re-work the circular, more
organic learning process and curriculum of Chinese internal martial arts into a logical, step-bystep process that smoothly carries one through a series of levels, from beginner to expert
practitioner. This approach is characterized by attempting to parse out the movements, training
methods and principles so they can be broken into their component parts.
http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 1 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

This more modern and scientific approach creates as many problems as it attempts to solve
ultimately diminishing these arts and leading students to look elsewhere to fill in perceived
gaps. Because each aspect of an internal art interpenetrates with each other aspect, breaking
things down into their component parts can actually make learning harder, or even impossible.
The Chinese internal arts have an fractal-like nature. Each aspect, each part of an art like Ba
Gua Zhang from the most basic aspects to the most advanced is a hologram
that contains, interconnects and interacts with every other part of the system to form a complete,
organic whole. This makes it impossible to isolate individual components without losing the
essence of the internal arts.
The common argument put forward by the modernist camp goes something like: the real
fighters were not intellectuals; they did not know this stuff. They just trained hard and kicked
ass. Actually, they did know this stuff. Symbolism is so embedded in every aspect of Chinese
life, culture and customs that they could not avoid knowing it. The Chinese written language
itself is a collection of ideograms based on pictographs and symbols. The real fighters not only
knew the stories, metaphors and symbols, but for them, the mere mention of a story, metaphor
or symbol triggered a cascade of other associated stories, metaphors and symbols. Even the
most casual statements, by the most down-to-earth fighters that I have met in China are steeped
in the language of the Yi Jing, traditional Chinese medicine, Daoist metaphysics, and classic
books like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Outlaws of the Marsh.
One necessary by-product of the scientific approach is the discarding of the rich symbolism
inherent in the internal arts. This is the very aspect of these arts that expresses and
communicates their holism to the practitioner. Symbols are the very tools necessary to
express the highly complex organic entity, with its many manifold and culturally embedded
layers of reality and understanding, that is Chinese internal martial arts. Symbols are like a
code, a code that serves to express aspects of reality which are obscured by the limitations of
language and other modes of expression. In this way, symbols communicate and crystallize an
aspect of direct experience, or truth, that is beyond words and beyond the symbol itself.
Symbols in this context also provide a platform for self-discovery, experimentation and
transcendence.
Nei jia symbolism is a vast and complex subject, so for purposes of this article we will focus on
five manifestations of symbolism commonly found in the internal martial arts. Many of these
symbols and concepts have overlaps with Daoist meditation, Nei gong and Chinese medicine.
The five manifestations of symbolism covered in this article include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Animal Symbolism and Imagery

Cosmological Symbols: Yin and Yang and The Five Forces (Wu Xing; Wu De)
Yi Jing Symbolism
Movement Names in Chinese Forms
Chinese Ideograms/Pictographs

Heaven and Earth & Yin and Yang

In Chinese thought, Heaven and Earth are considered to be the two fundamental operating
forces. Heaven is yang and earth is yin. Heaven is said to come before (xian) and Earth, after
(hou). In Chinese cosmogony, Heaven and Earth develop from the Wu Ji, an undivided potential
without limit. Wu Ji (literally no polarity) is sometimes referred to as emptiness, or the void
essentially it is matter undifferentiated, undivided, non-polarized. Movement occurs within the
emptiness, within the void. The movement is like wind, like a breath. It is an inhalation and an
http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 2 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

exhalation, or an opening and a closing. This movement is the Breath-Energy or the Qi/Breath.
This movement, this polarity created by the Qi/Breath is the Tai Ji, the great pole, or extreme
polarity. With the Tai Ji , the lighter, transparent Qi/Breath rises, and the heavier, opaque
Qi/Breath sinks down. The light and yang aspect produces Heaven, and the yin and heavy
aspect produces Earth. The yang diffuses and the yin receives. The strong unbroken lines of the
Heaven Trigram flow downward to be received by earths softer receptive lines. Earth in turn
responds, actualizing Heavens potential into form and sending the Qi/Breath back upward. This
is expressed as follows:

From the interaction of Heaven-yang and Earth-yin, the world that we know as human beings,
with its cyclical seasonal changes, rhythms and patterns, develops.
An alternative Tai Ji Diagram, attributed to Chen Tuan of the Song dynasty, visually conveys the
spiraling, circular movement of Qi/Breath in the center initiating the movement which creates
polarities of light and heavy; clear and turbid; movement and stillness; yang and yin.

In Tai Ji Quan, Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang, these concepts manifest in the importance
placed on understanding, at an instinctive level, the power inherent in balanced, yet oppositional
http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 3 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

forces, as well as the interplay of movement and stillness, emptiness and fullness, firmness and
gentleness, the hidden and the obvious

The Five Elements or Five Powers

The Wu Xing (Five Elements) are also sometimes referred to as the Wu De (Five Powers). The
Five Powers are intimately connected with the life of human beings on Earth. The interaction of
Heaven and Earth, is a fixed unchanging polarity. It is timeless, and immutable. In human beings
and the natural world, the breaths of heaven and earth are experienced through the five powers,
because it is through the them that life takes on material form and shape. Our senses, tastes,
sounds, our ability to discriminate, even our internal organs, are all considered to be
expressions of the Five Powers. There is also the concept of time and cyclical movement and
change. The Five Powers operate within us in the same way that they operate in the world
around us, reflected in the seasons, the weather, and the movements of the planets. The
cyclical movement inherent in the Five Powers can be seen in the diagram below:

The Five Elements can also be understood as five fundamental forces, that have inherent
movements and powers. For example, water moves downward and moistens while fire flares
upward, clinging and warming. This is particularly evident in the Five Fists or forms as they are
expressed in Xing Yi Quan. Each of these core movements creates a very different internal
manifestation of jin
(strength, energy, spirit) in the body. This is diagrammed in very basic way
below.

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 4 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

The Five Powers are sometimes obliquely referred to by using the names of the mythological or
emblematic animals. The Black Tortoise/Snake is also known as Xuan Wu: Dark Warrior of the
North. The diagram below shows the seal forms of the four emblematic animals. In the center is
the ideogram for Earth.

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 5 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

The Dragon and The Tiger

Prior to the creation of the Tai Ji diagram (in the 8th century), yin and yang were symbolized by
the Tiger and the Dragon. The Dragon was also associated with Heaven, and the Tiger with
Earth. The post-heaven manifestations of Heaven (yang) and Earth (yin) are Fire and Water, two
of the Wu Xing (Five Elements). Fire is associated with the South and Water with the North. The
most prevalent manifestations of the Dragon and Tiger are The Green Dragon, which is related
to Wood in the East, and the White Tiger, related to Metal in the West. The Green Dragon and
White Tiger are also considered to be manifestations of the Pre-Heaven Trigram arrangement
within the post-heaven arrangement of the trigrams. Therefore the Green Dragon is associated
with Li-Fire and the White Tiger is associated with Kan-Water. Together they symbolize
movement and change:
Wood becoming Fire The Dragon Leaping Upward
Metal becoming Water The Tiger Pouncing on Its Prey
The Dragon is yang. It symbolizes the movement of life growing upward and outward, like a
plant growing from a seed. The Green Dragon represents the spring thunder and rains that
nourish living things. In the Spring, the Dragon is said to come out of its hiding place under the
earth and rise up into the sky creating thunder and rain. Hence the Dragon also represents the
incitement of life and movement.
The Tiger is yin. The White Tiger represents autumn, when growing thing begin to withdraw into
the earth, when the first frost comes to kill living things. Hence the Tiger can represent death,
but also the quiet and stillness of late autumn as it moves into winter. The Tiger is therefore
http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 6 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

associated with the still lake whose depths cannot be seen. In this context, the Dragon and Tiger
together represent the natural cycle of life and death that moves through us and all living things.

The Dragon is associated with the trigram Zhen-Thunder excitation and movement. The Tiger
is associated with the Dui-Lake trigram representing joyousness, sensibility and feeling. These
qualities are conveyed in the Chinese saying: When the tiger roars the valley wind comes. When
the dragon arises great clouds appear.[1]
The Dragon has both yin and yang associations. It can be yang in that it soars through the
clouds, and yin in that it hides under the earth as in the Qi Gong movement, the Black Dragon
Enters the Cave. As it moves through the sky, the dragon appears and disappears into the
clouds. The Dragon does not have wings but flies through a yin-yang oscillation, literally
swimming through the clouds:
The dragon now lurks in watery depth, now streaks aloft to the highest heavens, and its very
gait is a continuous undulation. It presents an image of energy constantly recharged through
oscillation from one pole to the other. The dragon is a constantly evolving creature with no
fixed form; it can never be immobilized or penned in, never grasped. It symbolizes a
dynamism never visible in concrete form and thus unfathomable. Finally, merging with the
clouds and the mists, the dragons impetus makes the surrounding world vibrate: it is the
very image of an energy that diffuses itself through space, intensifying its environment its
environment and enriching itself by that aura.[2]
Although the Tiger is associated with metal, it also has an association with Wind which is related
to the Wood element. The Tiger is connected with both the unbridled wood energy of spring and
the refined metal energy of fall.[3] The Tigers roar produces Wind, which is associated with
Wood. It is also a reference to natures breath, as well as to the tigers naturalness and
unrestrained manner. Like the wind, the Tiger comes and goes as it pleases, showing up
suddenly and unexpectedly, sometimes with devastating force.[4] The Tiger is sometimes
viewed as a yang animal, yet it draws its power from the Earth (yin) by crouching in order to
spring therefore, like the Dragon, the Tiger has both yin and yang aspects.
In Xing Yi Quan, the Dragon is the first animal form one learns, and the Tiger form the second.
The Dragon form rises and falls as its body coils and uncoils. The bones and tendons of the
http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 7 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

whole body extend outward and contract inward. This rising and falling movement of the Dragon
opens the Ren (Conception) Channel and the Chong (Thrusting) Channel. Ren Mai, Du Mai
(Governing Channel) and Chong Mai are thought to be one meridian (the Central Channel).
The Central Channel must circulate freely for the other meridians to also circulate freely. If the
Central Channel opens, it is said that the hundred meridians can open and power and force
will emanate without obstruction. The Tiger uses its back to generate power in crouching or
springing, thus, if practiced correctly, the Tiger form is said to open the Du (Governing) Channel
which runs up the center of the spine. If the Governing vessel is opened, clear Yang-Qi can
ascend to the head and brain, and Ren Mai and Chong Mai will also open. When the Tiger sits
in its cave, crouching and gathering its power, the qi gathers at Cheng Qiang acu-point (DU 1).
When the Tiger Pounces on its prey, The Mingmen point in the back opens and qi moves
upward along the Du Channel.
In Ba Gua Zhang, the movements of the body in walking and circling are often likened to the
Dragon (long). Many styles of Ba Gua contain a sequence known as You Shen Long Xing Ba
Gua Zhang or Swimming Body Dragon Shape Eight Diagram Palm. Wang Xiang Zhai, one of
the great internal boxers of the 20th century, described Cheng Ting Huas performance of Ba
Gua as like a divine dragon roaming-winding and twisting in the sky.[5] While moving like a
swimming dragon, the Ba Gua practitioner is simultaneously advised to Sit like a Tiger by
squatting down and sitting the kua, the fold in the front of the hip. In this way one is rooted in
the earth, ready to spring and pounce with power and ferocity like a Tiger.
In the west, we have tendency to look for one-to-one correspondences between things. The
symbols of the Dragon and Tiger serve as good examples of the many overlapping
correspondences and relationships (some of which at first appear contradictory), that are
common in Chinese martial symbolism.

Notes:
[1] History of Chinese Philosophy (Routledge History of World Philosophies vol. 3), Edited by
Bob Mou. London and New York: Routledge 2009, p. 285.
[2]The Propensity of Things: Toward a History of Efficacy in China, Francois Julien. New York:
Zone Books, 1999. p151.
[3] The Lung and the Tiger Image: An Example of Decoding the Symbolic Record of Chinese
Medicine. by Heiner Fruehauf, PhD. classicalchinesemedicine.org. 2008, p. 5
[4] Ibid, p. 3.
[5] Da Cheng Chuan, by Wang Xuanjie. Hong Kong: Hai Feng Publishing Co. Ltd., 1988. p.40.
Tweet

Gefllt mir 255 Personen gefllt das. Zeige deinen Freunden, dass dir das
gefllt.

You might be interested in:

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 8 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

Daoist Meditation Lesson

Three Theory: Quieting the
Mind & Gathering the Qi

Master Chen Quan Gong

on Xing Yi Quan Theory
and Training: Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

Treating Burns in Chinese

Medicine: Ching Wan Hung
Burn Ointment

0 Comments - Posted in Free Content Tagged with: Daoist Meditation, Nei Gong, Qi Gong
< Daoist Meditation Lesson Five Practice: Wu Ji and Song The 48 Methods of Ba Gua Zhang >

Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website

Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title="">
<acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del
datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Post Comment

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 9 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

Login
Please login to your account!
Username:
Password:
Remember Me
Log In

Register | Lost your Password?

Sign up for our Free Newsletter

Sign up today and receive a free PDF of the Zheng Gu Tui Na Product Guide + The Tigers
Tooth from Inside Kung Fu Magazine Sign Up Now!

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 10 von 11

The Importance of Symbolism in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts Part 1

26.10.14 14:35

Members area
Beyond The Tooth (13)
Premium content (82)
Student's Corner (10)
Videos (7)

Last Tweets
Ba Gua Zhang Instructor Training
Program w/ Tom Bisio - Apply Today! t.co/MfdyNSyEbS #baguazhang #bagua
#internalarts #martialarts Time ago 2
Days via MailChimp
Follow @NYInternalArts on twitter.

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/free/the-importance-of-symbolism-in-the-chinese-internal-martial-arts-part-1/

Seite 11 von 11