T'Ai Chi Classics

While this is a great translation of the classics, and has a good history and perspective on Taichi, the jump into cultivating and applying Jing is fairly advanced. I recommend reading his new book "Chi-How to Feel Your Life Energy" first, and then Taichi Classics...whether you are a beginner or advanced practitioner. Why? Because in it, he gives a thorough overview of Chi, where it comes from, how Taichi helps strengthen and purify life energy, and why this is important for health and spiritual development, and also discusses applications of Chi -- such as martial arts and healing-- . These fundamental yet profound concepts will give you a better feel for the internal art perspective Liao is coming from. His newer books, even Nine Nights With a Taoist Master, are available here now, so you don't have to go through insiders or other websites to get them. Just do a search on this site.

SIMPLY, ONE OF THE 3 BEST BOOKS ON ORIGINAL TAI CHI AND INTERNAL POWER I'VE EVER FOUND. (The other 2 best books are Master Liao's recent works which just became widely available in '05. For example, his "Nine Nights with a Taoist Master--DSE" was life-transforming and practice-transforming. But reading this "Tai Chi Classics" essentially set the stage for me .) Tai Chi Classics gives one the definitions and conceptual understanding needed to grasp the energy dynamics of Tai Chi. (The acutal Tai Chi forms are best learned person-to-person in classes from a qualified teacher or second-best via a video.) It covers the roots of Tai Chi in Taoist wisdom, the actions of the Yin and Yang powers, and the processes for developing one's Chi, refining it into Jing, and applying it in various ways, such as transfer power. The core of the book is perhaps the best part. In addition to providing English translations of the three classic texts of Tai Chi, it offers insightful commentary on each passage---written by one who has practiced & experienced these things (as opposed to, say, commentary by a linguistic scholar who has never practiced Tai Chi). Highly Recommended.

In my view, this books stands as a work of art for the Chinese martial arts practitioner. The author's clear concise and unambiguous exploration and explanation of Tai Chi Chuan serves as a must have reference book. Few books contain so much straightforward information on martial art skill, physics, and history of Tai Chi as this one source. As a Tai Chi practitioner I highly recommend this book to people who are just starting out in Tai Chi and those who have studied the art for years

Being a student of Shaolin Tai Chi for several years and having read several books on the subject I found Tai Chi Classics to be one of my favorites. Liao explains some of the concepts covered in fee other books. This book may be a little too advanced for the novice, but is an excellent reference for those already familiar with Tai Chi concepts.I highly recommend this book.

I like Tai Chi Classics. What appealed to me immediately is the straight forward manner in which Master Liao explains chi, jing, li, and how concept relates to each other. I would not say the book was written to teach a student to mechanics of Tai Chi, but instead to be an overview of the essences of chi and jing in the Tai Chi movements. Therefore, one should already have a working knowledge of the Tai Chi Movements. The book perfects the application of the Jing in the Tai Chi movements. One of the most interest statements delivered in the book, states that a practitioner may feel chi but not jing. Meaning the practitioner of Tai Chi may go through the movements of Tai Chi without ever really understanding the full impact of the art. I feel the book focuses on how the practitioner can build Jing, and the author seems to translate this approach in to the Tai Chi Form in the latter portion of the book. Does one read the book to discover amazing stories of physical feats or rather does one read the book to improve understand of what internal energy really mean.