{"id":769,"date":"2025-06-06T07:22:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T07:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norfolktaichiacademy.org\/?p=769"},"modified":"2026-03-17T10:51:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:51:50","slug":"taiji-sabre-dao-yang-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norfolktaichiacademy.org\/index.php\/2025\/06\/06\/taiji-sabre-dao-yang-set\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiji sabre (\u5200 d\u0101o) – the Yang set"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Yang sabre set does not have a list of moves as such but instead a 13 line poem (\u53e3\u8a23<\/span> k\u01d2u jue<\/span> \u201cspoken arts\u201d) which was recited during practice. Each line has seven characters. This poem is recorded in Fu Zhongwen’s 1958 treatise on the Taiji sabre<\/a> and earlier in Dong Yingjie’s Tai Chi Boxing Explained<\/a> (1948).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movements of the Yang sabre set<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. \u4e03\u661f\u8de8\u864e\u4ea4\u5200\u52bf<\/span> Q\u012b x\u012b<\/span>ng ku\u00e0 h\u01d4 ji\u0101<\/span>o d\u0101<\/span>o sh\u00ec<\/span> – Seven Stars, Mount the Tiger, Pass the Sabre Posture<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. \u817e\u632a\u95ea\u5c55\u610f\u6c14\u626c<\/span> T\u00e9ng nu\u00f3 sh\u01cen zh\u01ce<\/span>n y\u00ec qi y\u00e1ng<\/span> – Spring clear, evade and strike, Will and Spirit Raised<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. \u5de6\u987e\u53f3\u76fc\u4e24\u5206\u5f20<\/span> Zu\u01d2g\u00f9 y\u00f2up\u00e0n li\u01ceng f\u0113n zh\u0101ng<\/span> – Looking Left, Gazing Right, the Two Components Spread<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. \u767d\u9e64\u4eae\u7fc5\u4e94\u884c\u638c<\/span> B\u00e1i h\u00e8 li\u00e0ng ch\u00ec w\u01d4h\u00e1ng zh\u01ceng<\/span> – White Crane Spreads Wings, Five Element Palm<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. \u98ce\u5377\u8377\u82b1\u53f6\u91cc\u85cf<\/span> F\u0113ng ju\u01cen h\u00e9hu\u0101 y\u00e8 l\u01d0 c\u00e1ng<\/span> – Breezes Turn the Lotus Blossom, Hide it in the Leaves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. \u7389\u5973\u7a7f\u68ad\u516b\u65b9\u52bf<\/span> Y\u00f9n\u01da chu\u0101n su\u014d b\u0101 f\u0101ng shi<\/span> – Jade Maidens Work Shuttles Facing Eight Directions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. \u4e09\u661f\u5f00\u5408\u81ea\u4e3b\u5f20<\/span> S\u0101n x\u012bng k\u0101i h\u00e9 z\u00eczh\u01d4 zh\u0101ng<\/span> – Three Stars Open Close, Freely and Naturally<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. \u4e8c\u8d77\u811a\u6765\u6253\u864e\u52bf<\/span> \u00c8r q\u01d0 ji\u01ceo l\u00e1i d\u01ce h\u01d4 shi<\/span> – Strike the Tiger with Both Feet<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. \u62ab\u8eab\u659c\u6302\u9e33\u9e2f\u811a<\/span> P\u012b sh\u0113n xi\u00e9 gu\u00e0 yu\u0101ny\u0101ng ji\u01ceo<\/span> – Drape Body, Hang Aslant, Mandarin Duck Kick<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. \u987a\u6c34\u63a8\u821f\u97ad\u505a\u7bd9<\/span> Sh\u00f9n shu\u01d0 tu\u012b zh\u014du bi\u0101n zu\u00f2 g\u0101o<\/span> – With the Current, Push the Boat, Lift Whip, Use as Quant<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. \u4e0b\u52bf\u4e09\u5408\u81ea\u7531\u62db<\/span> Xi\u00e0 sh\u00ec s\u0101n h\u00e9 z\u00ecy\u00f3u zh\u0101o<\/span> – Lower Posture, Three Harmonies, Freely Move<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. \u5de6\u53f3\u5206\u6c34\u9f99\u95e8\u8df3<\/span> Zu\u01d2y\u00f2u f\u0113n shu\u01d0 l\u00f3ngm\u00e9n ti\u00e0o<\/span> – Left Right Part the Waters, Jump the Dragon Gate<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. \u535e\u548c\u643a\u77f3\u51e4\u8fd8\u5de2<\/span> Bi\u00e0n h\u00e9 xi\u00e9 sh\u00ed f\u00e8ng h\u00e1i ch\u00e1o<\/span> – Bian-He Retrieves his Stone, Phoenix Returns to Nest<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The set we practice has the same first move but then diverges; it is also the same at the end, but uses more prosaic terms for the final move. In particular, the phrases “Lower Body to Tame Tiger” and “The Beauty Runs to the Moon” do not occur anywhere. (Could the latter phrase allude to the legend of Chang’e, who stole the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West<\/a> and flew to the moon (\u5ae6\u5a25\u5954\u6708<\/span>) )? The very existence of these terms implies that the set Mr Moy modified, which came from Mr Sun (Sun Di), was not the one handed down through Fu Zhongwen. It displays a clear influence in its stepping patterns from Ba-gua. “Taming the Tiger” is the name of one of the standing postures in Yiquan; one feels the influence of Master Liang, who taught Lok Hup to Mr Moy and Mr Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Comments on the moves of the Yang set<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    7: \u4e09\u661f\u5f00\u5408\u81ea\u4e3b\u5f20<\/span> S\u0101n x\u012bng k\u0101i h\u00e9 z\u00eczh\u01d4 zh\u0101ng<\/span> – Three Stars Open Close, Freely and Naturally<\/strong>. What are the three stars? According to Zhang Yun they are the laogong<\/span> point (in the centre of your palm, PC8), the “bubbling spring” yongquan<\/span> (K-1 in your foot) and the quchi<\/span> point on your elbow (LI-11). The stars open when the arms are extended, and closed when the arms draw back together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Completely irrelevant, but interesting nevertheless, because it shows the enduring popularity of the term: in Korean, S\u0101n x\u012bng<\/span> becomes “Samsung”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9 \u62ab\u8eab\u659c\u6302\u9e33\u9e2f\u811a<\/span> P\u012b sh\u0113n xi\u00e9 gu\u00e0 yu\u0101ny\u0101ng ji\u01ceo<\/span> – Drape Body, Hang Aslant, Mandarin Duck Kick<\/strong> – what is the Mandarin duck kick? Mandarin ducks are known for forming lasting pairs, so the reference is to a pair of movements. Zhang Yun elucidates that originally there were two kicks, first a side kick and then the forward kick, but that the the first kick has been removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10 \u987a\u6c34\u63a8\u821f\u97ad\u505a\u7bd9<\/span> Sh\u00f9n shu\u01d0 tu\u012b zh\u014du bi\u0101n zu\u00f2 g\u0101o<\/span> – With the Current, Push the Boat, Lift Whip, Use as Quant<\/strong> – the sabre is lifted high as if lifting a whip, and then the handle is brought down in a two handed grip as if punting. The correct English word for a punt-pole is a quant<\/em>. No-one uses it when translating the name of this move into English but avoiding it leads to translations which are at best awkward, and at worst nonsensical (“take whip as oar”). Alternatively, one could just say “Punt<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    12 \u5de6\u53f3\u5206\u6c34\u9f99\u95e8\u8df3<\/span> Zu\u01d2y\u00f2u f\u0113n shu\u01d0 l\u00f3ngm\u00e9n ti\u00e0o<\/span> – Left Right Part the Waters, Jump the Dragon Gate<\/strong>. Here the rolling upward cuts are compared to the movement of carp, swimming powerfully like salmon up the rapids of the Yellow River known as the Dragon Gate. It was said that any carp who managed to jump the dragon gate<\/a> would be turned into a dragon as a reward for his efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    13 \u535e\u548c\u643a\u77f3\u51e4\u8fd8\u5de2<\/span> Bi\u00e0n h\u00e9 xi\u00e9 sh\u00ed f\u00e8ng h\u00e1i ch\u00e1o<\/span> – Bian-He Retrieves his Stone, Phoenix Returns to Nest<\/strong> – Bian-He found a stone which he was convinced contained a wonderful piece of jade. According to legend he presented the stone to King Wu and then (after Wu’s death) to King W\u00ean, but both men rejected him, and he had a foot cut off each time as a punishment for lying (yu\u00e8<\/span> \u5216<\/span>), one of the five punishments<\/a>. Finally the stone was brought to King Ch’\u00eang who believed his story and had the stone cut, revealing the precious jade inside. It was made into a jade annulus (bi), Mr He’s jade or Heshibi<\/em>. According to legend, this bi was so magnificent that it was turned into the Heirloom Seal of the Realm<\/a>. In the set, the words xi\u00e9 sh\u00ed <\/span>(Retrieve the Stone) are chanted as the sabre is returned to the crook of the left elbow. The name of the movement implies that the stone is returned to Bian-He.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In mythology the phoenix returns to its nest in order to be consumed by the flames which will give birth to the next phoenix. This is considered a perfect sacrifice. Referencing the phoenix at the end of the set brings to a close a set well done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here’s a video of the Yang style set being performed by Tary Yip<\/a>. There’s also a Chinese video of Fu Qingquan (grandson of Fu Zhongwen) teaching this set to two students<\/a> as if in a movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Videos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n