Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Good Morning, everyone...

In China, Tai Chi is much different in consideration to what people in western countries consider it. In America for example, Tai Chi is nothing more than a kind of strange exercise, where people dress in funny, oriental clothes and practice "karate" moves in very slow motion. In China though, Tai Chi is much, much more. It is actually a philosophical paradigm and encompasses all aspects of ones' life. Everything from the food you eat, how you think and act toward others, how you treat and provide for your family, and of course, how you respect your body by taking care of it through exercise, meditation and general health care. It is actually quite interesting.

In China, there is also the "Mid-Autumn Festival", which the best way to describe it is that it is the Chinese version of "Thanksgiving". It is when the harvest is complete, and the people here are thankful for the abundance they have received over the past year. It's actual date, much like Thanksgiving, is never on a consistent date and is determined by the Buddhist calendar and falls on a full moon, typically at the very end of October or beginning of November. The most noted item during this time is the "Moon Cake", which is a delicious treat and if you have never had one, track them down and try one... they are excellent. During this week-long holiday, people in China travel enmass to visit family and loved ones. Some just travel to places they have never been. This was our situation this year, and we went to a place in between Suzhou (Sue-Joe), where we live and my wife's home of Jinghua (Ging-Wah), which is a 3 hour high speed rail trip from our home. The actual city we went to is called Wuyi (woo-yee) and is noted for having full scale replicas of many of the ancient palaces and towns in China. These are "back lots" and are used for movie making from productions within China and from all over the world. If you don't want to fight the crowds in Beijing, you can go to Wuyi and see perfect replicas of the "Purple Palace", which is a significant section of the Forbidden City. Since entertainment is such a big deal in this town, there are also some pretty spectacular shows and we went to one that was simply called the "Tai Chi Show". It went through all of the philosophy and stories related to Tai Chi and was really excellent. A first class production.

About the images... I shot all of these with a Nikon Z7 and a 70-200mm F2.8 EDIF Nikkor lens, using the provided adaptor that comes standard with the Z7. The ISO was 16,000 (yes, that's correct... 16,000) and an exposure of 1/250th @ F2.8. Post processed in Photoshop. Hope you enjoy and apologies for the length! :-)

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Great set.

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

Stunning - and thanks for the background on Tai Chi!

gener202002

Very nice

Having studied Tai Chi for about 35 years, (only part of that with a master) I agree with your assessment of Tai Chi. It can be, so to speak, almost supernatural. Of course, now I have knees operated on, and cannot move quickly or agilely as before. But I love the art.

The pictures are excellent.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Thanks for chiming in! In China, it is considered supernatural. My wife and (step) son studied under a 7th generation Master. We moved, so they can't go to him any more, but I have to say, he was magnificent. Some of these images also discussed the supernatural aspect along with Ying and Yang and Chi. All very interesting to me. Thanks again for the note and hope you can recover from your knee issues. I understand though, having surgery on my left knee end of this month.

ML

gener202002

Thanks

In American our education system has dumbed us down so much, everything is materialistic, and even when we see the spiritual we don't really see it. Even our religions are materialistic and most people don't give much more than lip service to it. There is a contingency in America, (and around the world) that would do away with all religion, first the Christian, then everyone else.

I remember Master Tao. He passed away in 2005, but in his late seventies, he weighed less than a hundred pounds, and I weighed over 200, but he moved me around like I was a paperweight. In America, even those who believe such things don't really believe in them that deeply. They always come up with some kind of rationalization. Unfortunately, because of that, we can never develop our abilities the way the Chinese do, with maybe a very rare exception.

gtilford Loc: Woodstock, Ontario, Canada

This is a fabulous set of captures thank you for sharing and thank you for the narration on Tai Chi. It is one of those things I keep saying I want to do but never get around to and now for health reasons it maybe on hold for good. With that said I believe the exercise may just be what I need, now to find someone with time to get me there.

Red Plover Loc: Andalucia

Beautiful pictures. I really appreciate your explanation of Tai Chi, it has made me want to know more, much more. I would like to know more about the significance of the individual pictures. Thank you for stirring my imagination.

Stephan G

Thank you for sharing these "visions" with us. This is one of the great services of a photographer.

Tai Chi, like so many other philosophic generations around the world, is a means for connection with the "Universe". What we see now are choreographs. Ballet based on traditions, so to speak. The one common thread that is ignored is that in each, the person is the "seed" of such visions. Art is the medium in which the "seed"-vision can be described. But, sadly, too many want to "straight-jacket" the expression into strongly regulated versions. My personal want, in the USA, is to have, no, to allow all children to develop their creative appreciation of Art into their adulthood.

Again, thank you for sharing.

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

Great shots. Thanks for posting these!

blacks2 Loc: SF. Bay area

Fantastic series.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

Excellent low light series, thanks.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

You nailed these. Good settings, good seat, good performance, great shots.

Sharon B Loc: Orlando, FL

Amazing images - thank you for sharing and for the context. The costumes are gorgeous but if I had to pick a favorite out of your set, it'd have to be the silhouette on red. Just stunning!

Here in the states, there's a touring show called Shen Yun. I've wanted to see it for a long time, but timing and finances haven't yet worked out. Some of the costumes and scenes that you shared remind me of what I've seen advertised for that show. I'm not familiar enough with it to know if they're also drawing on the Ti Chi influences - I'll be sure to look for that now.

Susan yamakawa

Beautiful pictures 🤗🤗👍👍