Taichi and Tao太极与道

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The Chinese characters for Tai Chi Chuan can be translated as the 'Supreme Ultimate Force'. The notion of 'supreme ultimate' is often associated with the Chinese concept of yin-yang, the notion that one can see a dynamic duality (male/female, active/passive, dark/light, forceful/yielding, etc.) in all things. 'Force' (or, more literally, 'fist') can be thought of here as the means or way of achieving this ying-yang, or 'supreme-ultimate' discipline.
太极拳，如果用汉字来解释的话，就是终极的力，也可以说是终极的拳。这个终极的概念通常情况下是和中国阴阳的概念有关系的。所谓阴阳，就是说任何事物都可以被看作是动态的两个面（男/女，积极/消极，暗/亮，坚强的/柔顺的，等等。）‘力’（或者用书面语叫‘拳’）在这里一般被认为是实现阴阳的方法，或者叫做终极原则。
Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. There are a number of so- called forms (sometimes also called 'sets') which consist of a sequence of movements. Many of these movements are originally derived from the martial arts (and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals and birds) although the way they are performed in Tai Chi is slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them.
尽管在当今的西方国家，大部分人认为太极是瑜伽和冥想结合的一种运动方法。现在存在一些所谓的模式（也可以说是套路），这些套路是由一系列的动作组成的。尽管太极的动作连接很慢，很柔，很优雅，有很多动作起源于武术（甚至也可以说是起源于更古老的东西，例如动物和鸟禽的运动）。
For many practicioners the focus in doing them is not, first and foremost, martial, but as a meditative exercise for the body.For others the combat aspects of Tai Chi are of considerable interest. In Chinese philosophy and medicine there exists the concept of 'chi', a vital force that animates the body. One of the avowed aims of Tai Chi is to foster the circulation of this 'chi' within the body, the belief being that by doing so the health and vitality of the person are enhanced. This 'chi' circulates in patterns that are close related to the nervous and vascular system and thus the notion is closely connected with that of the practice of acupuncture and other oriental healing arts.
对于许多练习太极者来说，首要的是把它当成一种对自己身体深思的锻炼方法。对于另外一些人来说，是把太极作为格斗的锻炼方法。在中国哲学和医药学里都有‘极’的概念，极是一种激发身体的生命力。锻炼太极的目的之一就是要锻炼体内这种生命力的循环，这种观点认为，通过这样锻炼，会使人的健康和生命力都会有所提高。这种‘极’的循环模式有点和神经和血液系统循环相似，因此，这种观点也同针灸，以及东方其他的治疗手段结合在了一起。