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== Romanization / Naming Revisited ==

I apologize if this has been discussed to death but pinyin has really become the standard for phonetic spelling of Chinese words. Taijiquan, Taiji Quan, or Tai Ji Quan should be the spelling for the article.

I would recommend putting corrected Wade-Giles in parentheses after Pinyin: "Taijiquan (T'ai Chi Ch'üan)"

''If Wade-Giles is preferred by consensus'' then we should at least use correct Wade-Giles: "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" (the current title of this article would be pronounced "daijizhuan" which is incorrect).[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 18:23, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

::So I checked the archives and numerous editors have brought this same question up. An attempt to switch to a more "correct" version of Wade Giles seems to have failed based on the use of an umlaut, which differentiates the pinyin "quan" (as in 拳 "fist") from "chuan" (as in 川 "river"). It seems people objected to the umlaut making it too complicated.

::To me this just highlights the need to switch to the more correct and clear pinyin system. If nobody objects, I will edit the title to "Taijiquan (T'ai Chi Ch'üan)"

::Wikipedia should attempt to accurately portray the subjects in the articles, not to survey the most popular misconceptions and portray them as true. The subject of this article is from China, China uses pinyin, so the title of the article should be the most correct name for the art, Taijiquan.


:::It seems that nobody is actively watching this talk page. Although I do not want to unilaterally decide on a name change, I think the only way to get the issue, which I see as important, talked about is to go ahead and make the change, which I believe is a needed improvement. I welcome any debate that may ensue.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 01:48, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

:I'm in total agreement here that the name should be adjusted to the pinyin system, not only on a sentence or two, but on the page itself and all the references (unless they are direct quotes, of course). The Chinese gvt endorsed the pinyin translation when they started promoting the 24-form in 1956, so I see it as a further reason to form concensus on this and create uniformity and end this splintering with all these endless name variations to the same thing. The majority of practitioners, as well the [http://www.iwuf.org/index.asp International Wushu Federation] refer to it as Taijiquan. A further proof is that just about ''any'' Modern Chinese English dictionary will be in pinyin, so it is definitely more relavent to us now than the Wade-Gilles. As such, I motion that all the references to in the form "Tai Chi" & "Tai Chi Chuan" be amended to the pinyin "Taiji" & "Taijiquan" respectively and that the page itself be placed under "Taijiquan" and redirects be placed from the "Tai Chi" & "Tai Chi Chuan" pages to it.[[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 12:16, 23 June 2011 (UTC)
::So some of the options are:
:::Pinyinish short, 2 words: [[Tài jí]], [[Tài Jí]]; [[Tai ji]], [[Tai Ji]]
:::Pinyinish short, 1 word: [[Tàijí]]; [[Taiji]]
:::Pinyinish long, 3 words: [[Tài jí quán]], [[Tài Jí Quán]]; [[Tai ji quan]], [[Tai Ji Quan]]
:::Pinyinish long, 2 words: [[Tàijí quán]], [[Tàijí Quán]]; [[Taiji quan]], [[Taiji Quan]]
:::Pinyinish long, 1 word: [[Tàijíquán]]; [[Taijiquan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish short, 2 words: [[T'ai chi]], [[T'ai Chi]]; [[Tai chi]], [[Tai Chi]]
:::Wade-Gilesish short, dashed: [[T'ai-chi]]; [[Tai-chi]]
:::Wade-Gilesish short, 1 word: [[T'aichi]]; [[Taichi]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 3 words, 2 apostrophes: [[T'ai chi ch'üan]], [[T'ai Chi Ch'üan]]; [[T'ai chi ch'uean]], [[T'ai Chi Ch'uean]]; [[T'ai chi ch'uan]], [[T'ai Chi Ch'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 3 words, 1st apostrophe: [[T'ai chi chüan]], [[T'ai Chi Chüan]]; [[T'ai chi chuean]], [[T'ai Chi Chuean]]; [[T'ai chi chuan]], [[T'ai Chi Chuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 3 words, 2nd apostrophe: [[Tai chi ch'üan]], [[Tai Chi Ch'üan]]; [[Tai chi ch'uean]], [[Tai Chi Ch'uean]]; [[Tai chi ch'uan]], [[Tai Chi Ch'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 3 words, no apostrophes: [[Tai chi chüan]], [[Tai Chi Chüan]]; [[Tai chi chuean]], [[Tai Chi Chuean]]; [[Tai chi chuan]], [[Tai Chi Chuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, dashed, 2 apostrophes: [[T'ai-chi ch'üan]], [[T'ai-chi Ch'üan]]; [[T'ai-chi ch'uean]], [[T'ai-chi Ch'uean]]; [[T'ai-chi ch'uan]], [[T'ai-chi Ch'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, dashed, 1st apostrophe: [[T'ai-chi chüan]], [[T'ai-chi Chüan]]; [[T'ai-chi chuean]], [[T'ai-chi Chuean]]; [[T'ai-chi chuan]], [[T'ai-chi Chuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, dashed, 2nd apostrophe: [[Tai-chi ch'üan]], [[Tai-chi Ch'üan]]; [[Tai-chi ch'uean]], [[Tai-chi Ch'uean]]; [[Tai-chi ch'uan]], [[Tai-chi Ch'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, dashed, no apostrophes: [[Tai-chi chüan]], [[Tai-chi Chüan]]; [[Tai-chi chuean]], [[Tai-chi Chuean]]; [[Tai-chi chuan]], [[Tai-chi Chuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 2 words, 2 apostrophes: [[T'aichi ch'üan]], [[T'aichi Ch'üan]]; [[T'aichi ch'uean]], [[T'aichi Ch'uean]]; [[T'aichi ch'uan]], [[T'aichi Ch'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 2 words, 1st apostrophe: [[T'aichi chüan]], [[T'aichi Chüan]]; [[T'aichi chuean]], [[T'aichi Chuean]]; [[T'aichi chuan]], [[T'aichi Chuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 2 words, 2nd apostrophe: [[Taichi ch'üan]], [[Taichi Ch'üan]]; [[Taichi ch'uean]], [[Taichi Ch'uean]]; [[Taichi ch'uan]], [[Taichi Ch'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 2 words, no apostrophes: [[Taichi chüan]], [[Taichi Chüan]]; [[Taichi chuean]], [[Taichi Chuean]]; [[Taichi chuan]], [[Taichi Chuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 1 word, 2 apostrophes: [[T'aichich'üan]]; [[T'aichich'uean]]; [[T'aichich'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 1 word, 1st apostrophe: [[T'aichichüan]]; [[T'aichichuean]]; [[T'aichichuan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 1 word, 2nd apostrophe: [[Taichich'üan]]; [[Taichich'uean]]; [[Taichich'uan]]
:::Wade-Gilesish long, 1 word, no apostrophes: [[Taichichüan]]; [[Taichichuean]]; [[Taichichuan]]
:::Wrongish short: [[Tai-Chi]]; [[Tai qi]]; [[Thai Chi]]; [[Tao Chi]]
:::Wrongish long: [[Tai Chi Quan]]; [[Tai ji chuan]]; [[Tai Ji Chuan]]; [[Taiji Chuan]]; [[TaiJiQuan]]; [[T’ai Chi Chuan]]; [[T’ai-chi ch’uan]]; [[T’ai chi ch’uan]]
::I vote for '''either''' [[Tai chi]] (as the most common, I believe), '''or''' [[Tàijíquán]] (as the most correct, I believe).--[[User:Nø|Nø]] ([[User talk:Nø|talk]]) 14:57, 23 June 2011 (UTC)
::Should we make a formal move proposal now - I'd suggest [[Tàijíquán]]?--[[User:Nø|Nø]] ([[User talk:Nø|talk]]) 09:08, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

::I formally submit the Pinyinish long 1 word: "Taijiquan" as it is, as I said earlier, used by the highest and closest thing to being the authoritative body, the International Wushu Federation (IWF). It is also used by [[Jwing-Ming Yang | Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming]] (who is formally recognised by the IWF) and numerous other Taiji Masters.
::* The name has to be stated as it is used in reality, not as it's prescribed to be used in a perfect world scenario. I would personally prefer the 2 word "Taiji Quan", however, my preference does not supersede the usage as "Taijiquan" by all the relevant authorities who do so.
::* Another point is that using the name in the form T'ai Chi Ch'uan or Tàijíquán, will always have people reverting to the incorrect Tai Chi Chuan, and the normal usage, Taijiquan, respectively. As such, using special characters will be, as is already the case, something that is generally not done and is not particularly necessary, as Taijiquan is correct. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 15:27, 5 July 2011 (UTC)

* '''Support''' I agree that we should change the title to '''Taijiquan'''. Yes, [[WP:NC-CHN]] says pinyin titles should be without tone marks. [[User:Keahapana|Keahapana]] ([[User talk:Keahapana|talk]]) 22:58, 9 July 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''' --[[User:Nø|Nø]] ([[User talk:Nø|talk]]) 09:10, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''' Taiji quan or Taijiquan, with the tone-marked version mentioned in the lead paragraph, and the older name(s) made into redirects; my instructor prefers the first (two word) version over my earlier preference for the single word version. [[User:OtterSmith|htom]] ([[User talk:OtterSmith|talk]]) 18:44, 10 July 2011 (UTC)[[User:OtterSmith|htom]] ([[User talk:OtterSmith|talk]]) 21:08, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''' for Taijiquan. Although I think Taiji Quan is more a appropriate as it wouldn't have to be 'broken' for the informal, Taiji.[[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 14:56, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

* '''Oppose''' The [[Wikipedia:Article titles|policy on article titles]] is crystal clear. Wikipedia should use the most common and accessible name in English. "Tai chi" is ''by far'' more common the spelling in literature outside martial arts circles. <font style="font-family: Georgia">[[User:Steven Walling|Steven Walling]]</font> 03:31, 12 July 2011 (UTC)
::Indeed, but "Tai chi ''chuan''" isn't "by far the most common"!--[[User:Nø|Nø]] ([[User talk:Nø|talk]]) 07:55, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
:::Agreed. That is definitely the case, thus nullifying "Tai Chi Chuan" as the prime candidate, but at the same time having the ambiguous "Tai Chi" being invalid, leaving "Taijiquan". Second most used to "Tai Chi" is "Taijiquan".[[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 14:56, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

* '''Support''' Glad to see so many weighing in on this. I would like to repeat my support for pinyin or "pinyinish" Taiji/ Taijiquan. The problem with the still common "Tai Chi" is that the public is less and less familiar with Wade Giles (most have never been familiar) and so it encourages the incorrect pronunciation "tie chee". It also confuses it with the philosophical concept of Taiji. The problem with the "most common" convention (such as "Bill Clinton" rather than "William Jefferson Clinton") is that in this case it is ''incorrect'' so it would be like saying that Zhang San Feng was the real creator of Taijiquan because most Americans believe that he was, even though it is legend rather than fact.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 15:27, 15 August 2011 (UTC)

:With all the current support (5) and only a single opposition, is it not now sufficient be concluded that consensus has been reached to have the page and non-quote references be changed from "Tai Chi Chuan" and "Tai Chi" to "Taijiquan" and "Taiji", respectively?[[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 12:44, 16 August 2011 (UTC)
::I say go for it. People searching for "Tai Chi" can be redirected to "Taijiquan", therefore there is no disservice to those who use the term Tai Chi. I do not know how to "move" the article or change the name of the title, so if someone else could do that I am happy to help edit within the body of the article.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 22:20, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

* '''Oppose''' Ordinary people looking for information will be more familiar with the term "Tai Chi" which is the most commonly used term in the English language for this subject, only specialists in the field will be familiar with the Pinyin term "Taiji" or "Taijiquan" and they are less likely to be looking for Wikipedia articles on this subject. A Google search of the term "Tai Chi" returns 54,600,000 results and even "Tai Chi Chuan" returns 51,600,000 results, whereas "Taiji" returns only 10,700,000 results and "Taijiquan" a mere 2,190,000, therefore the term "Tai Chi" is the more commonly accepted one. A similar sort of pattern emerges if you search Google books. What is most important here is the common usage in English and not the way it is spelled in a foreign language however correct some minority of people may feel this to be. For example the Wikipedia article on [[China]] is called "China" and is not called "Zhōngguó". If it ain't broke don't fix it. --[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 23:13, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
:: Firstly, "Tai Chi" already got an disambiguation page, so it is irrelevant to speak of it at this point.
:: If we are to talk of using the Wade-Giles form for the full name (Tai Chi Chuan), then it should also be recognised that Wikipedia's policy on article titles also states that it is "crucial" that the [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Chinese)#Apostrophes|apostrophes be used]]. That is to say, it should be "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" which only registers ~460,000 hits on Google, far lower than Taijiquan's ~2,190,000.
:: It should also be noted that in Google Translate (using English to Chinese (simplified)), "Taijiquan" translates to "太极拳" (as stated on the this article), which translates back to English (again using Google Translate) as "Tai Chi". However, "Tai Chi Chuan" translates to "太极拳港", which translates back to "Tai Chi i Hong Cong". [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 14:43, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
::These are minor issues compared to the proven fact that the most commonly used term in the English language is the current title of the article for a very good reason, this is not an oversight but a consensus of opinion of users and editors which addresses the needs of the majority of English speaking Wikipedia users.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 23:46, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

* '''Oppose''' Expanding on what [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] wrote, the [[Wikipedia:Article titles|policy on article titles]] gives specific guidance on this issue: "The choice between anglicized and local spellings should follow English-language usage" and "Established systematic transliterations, such as Hanyu Pinyin, are preferred. However, if there is a common English-language form of the name, then use it, even if it is unsystematic". The common English form of the name is Tai Chi. Tai Chi entered the English language while Wade-Giles was the more popular romanisation system. You'll find 'Tai Chi' in an English dictionary but not 'Taiji'. [[User:Nev7n|Nev7n]] ([[User talk:Nev7n|talk]]) 08:49, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

* '''Oppose''' Concurring with Nevyn, Chuangzu, and earlier Steven Walling when discussing the subject of Tai Chi Chuan in the UK it is always "Tai Chi" or "Tai Chi Chuan" that is referred to. I think it detrimental to people wanting to learn more to change the title to Taijijuan on the grounds that it is a specialist semantic term, and regardless of whether it is more or less 'correct' (a term which is relative in itself) it is certainly less accessible. [[User:Always Happy 11|Always Happy 11]]([[User talk:Always Happy 11|talk]]) 11:10, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

:These last 2 submissions are very suspicious to me, considering the proximity of each to the other within which they were posted and how neither [[User:Nev7n|Nev7n]] nor [[User:Always Happy 11|Always Happy 11]] exist on Wikipedia. Can they be disregarded? [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 13:41, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
:They make valid points, regardless of whether they're long-standing editors or not. Unless you've got conclusive evidence (such as IP logs) that they're sock puppets, perhaps we should treat their comments at face value -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 19:37, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

* '''Oppose''' I checked the [[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]] and they list it as "T'ai Chi" as the main heading and also in all but the earliest citations (one from 1736 spells it "t'ai ki" and another from 1845 spells it "t'hai-ki"); at no point does the form "taiji" appear. So if (as appears to be the case) Wikipedia policy is to favour common English usage even in cases when it's not technically correct, then I think we should to follow the OED. (I'd be happy for the article to be renamed "T'ai chi ch'uan", but not "Taijiquan".) -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 19:37, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

It is not "specialist" or "semantic" to want to call something by its real name. Taijiquan is from China, where the majority of practitioners and respected masters live. China is becoming a more important world power and pinyin terms are more and more prevalent. I think some people are emotionally attached to the innocently ignorant time from which the incorrect anglicized name comes from. WP should educate people, not just make them feel good about what they think they know. I understand the argument about most common usage in English, but we live in a global world now and if the UK usage argument above is acceptable then most common usage in China should be acceptable too. If not, this would be a case of Orientalism, which is unfortunate.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 15:05, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
:Yes, T'ai Chi Ch'uan/Taijiquan is from China, yes we live in a global world, yes China is becoming more influential as a world power, and yes perhaps in the future the Pinyin form will supplant the Wade-Giles form in the English-speaking world too (just as "Beijing" has supplanted "Peking" since I was at primary school). But none of that matters in this case: this is the ''English'' version of Wikipedia, not the Chinese one, and as Steven Walling says above, the [[Wikipedia:UE|policy on article titles]] is very clear and unambiguous that although Pinyin is the preferred transliteration scheme for Chinese languages, if a non-Pinyin form is more commonly used than a Pinyin form, then the former should take precedence. In this case, surely the OED (which is the definitive record of English usage) settles the matter?
:(Also, you now appear to have voted twice in support of the Pinyin form - perhaps you'd like to delete one of them to avoid inadvertent unfairness?) -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 20:30, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
::Duly noted Nicholas, I actually did not add the "support" to my earlier statement, but used it today because I did not see it as a vote but a heading for the statement. I can live with whatever happens, I just think an encyclopedia should use the most correct term. I speak Chinese and practice Chinese Medicine so I may be biased towards technically correct usage, but I think WP should strive for correctness because people use it to learn.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 04:34, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
::This is not about UK usage but about the international English language usage, the Google search is not UK based but a search of all English language websites and therefore returns the most popular term. You have chosen to define correct in your own special terms, something you read in a book written in a foreign language, but in actual fact what is correct in this case is what is defined by the English Wikipedia users and this in turn is defined by what most English speakers have correctly chosen. [[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 21:47, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
:::I suppose if a Texas governor convinces the world global warming doesn't exist then WP should say it doesn't exist? This is an encyclopedia and should educate people as best as it can. This is not about a "special term" that I read in a book, it is about the correct spelling of Chinese words. [[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 02:11, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
:::The OED isn't just a dictionary of UK English, it contains citations for US and other usage too - but since you bring it up, Webster uses the "t'ai chi" spelling as well. Also, I don't think we're arguing that Pinyin isn't preferable to Wade-Giles in the majority of cases, and I at least am not arguing one way or the other about the technical "correctness" of the spelling "taijiquan" over the spelling "t'ai chi". Maybe at some point the spelling "taiji" will supplant "t'ai chi" in common English usage as well - but the OED and Webster entries (together with the Google search results) indicate that this has not yet happened. (Remember that a dictionary is a record of current and past usage rather than a self-appointed rulebook of "correct" English.) Yes, an encyclopaedia should educate people as best it can, and I don't think any of us are suggesting that it shouldn't at least mention the "taiji" spelling and its context. But Wikipedia articles should follow consistent policies, and the policies currently in place are very clear that regardless of technical correctness, article headings in the English edition should prioritise current English usage whether or not that might be less "correct" in some other senses. Your point about idiotic and/or dishonest Texan politicians is not quite relevant - I'm not saying that the spelling "taiji" doesn't exist, just that most English-speaking people don't use it. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 06:55, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
::::Your arguments are convincing. I suppose as long as the article mentions the various spellings I am fine with Wade Giles as the title (though would prefer the accented "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" if Wade Giles is the choice we stick with).[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 23:33, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
:::If the world became convinced that global warming didn't exist then yes Wikipedia should have an article stating this regardless of who stated it. Encyclopaedias are here to reflect the world the way it is and not to make political statements intended to convince people about a particular viewpoint. "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" is unlikely to make it as the popular choice because most people cannot remember where the various apostrophes go, like it or not languages change to reflect the needs of the users and over time it's undeniable that overcomplicated things tend to get simplified.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 05:46, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
:: Nicholas, I'm sorry to say it quite so bluntly, but your and others' seeming insinuation of "Taijiquan" being more Chinese, whilst "Tai Chi Chuan" being more English, strikes me as absurd. "Supreme Ultimate Fist" is English. We're talking here about a current standard of ''transliteration'' from Chinese to English versus an outdated one. Alright, so if the title remains as "Tai Chi Chuan", then can we at least have it that on the article itself, it is immediately highlighted that Pinyin is the new standard and thus it aught to preferentially be referred to as "Taiji" & "Taijiquan", then from there have all non-quote references to it as such in the article? At least that way the direction of transition will be clear to those learning from the article, while the title is maintained. Can we at least all settle on that? I think that way every objective will be achieved towards being 'accurate'. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:08, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
:::I'm sorry you feel the need to be blunt - I intended no such insinuation (that "Taijiquan" is "more Chinese" than "T'ai Chi Ch'uan"). My argument is that whether or not "taijiquan" may or may not be technically correct (whether from a linguistic or martial arts perspective), Wikipedia's current policies clearly state that in English Wikipedia, we should use the most common English form of phrases of non-English origin, even when that differs from alternative forms that might be more technically correct in some linguistic or other way. You're correct that "Supreme Ultimate Fist" is an English phrase, but so are "T'ai Chi" and "T'ai Chi Ch'uan", and have been for a good couple of centuries now, because English has a very long history of absorbing words from other languages. For example: "agenda" (Latin), "criterion" (Greek), "moussaka" (Arabic via Greek and various Slavic languages), "pasta" (Italian), and hundreds of thousands of others. And "T'ai Chi" ''is'' the most common form in current English, unless you can provide dissenting sources of a similar stature to the OED and Webster. Regarding your other suggestion (that "T'ai Chi" be used only in the heading), well I'm not sure about that, either. It's clear to me from this discussion (as well as a wealth of material out there on the web, and in printed books) that there are substantial numbers of practitioners in both camps, and I'm not at all convinced which way the balance is at present, or whether one counts as "more correct" than the other. This is a complicated linguistic issue that seems to be tied up with strongly-held views within various schools, and whether or not one spelling/transliteration is actually supplanting the other in widespread usage I don't know, but I hope that we can find a compromise that will keep everyone happy, and I'm willing to keep trying for a bit longer if the rest of you are. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 14:50, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
Chuangzu- It is not a political statement and it is not a personal viewpoint. It is about correct spelling. Even if Tai Chi is most common it is still not correct because it is a lazy use of Wade Giles. Similarly your user name, if referring to Zhuang Zi, would be an odd mix of WG and pinyin, but its your personal name so who cares? Taijiquan is not just your personal art or an art practiced only in English-speaking countries, so its name should reflect the reality. We aren't posting an add for our local YMCA Tai Chi classes, this is an encyclopedia. And btw, for those that like to quote policies, it is clearly agreed that any "rule" should be broken if it stands in the way of improving the article. So if you are settling for "Tai Chi" because it is most common in your circle of experience (the West), you are ignoring not only a larger population of practitioners but also the source population, which just seems silly to me. I do think there is an emotional connection to "Tai Chi" because it is comforting and familiar to, really, a minority of the worlds practitioners.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 13:59, 22 August 2011 (UTC)
: I'm entirely in agreement with what you say. It's unfortunate that progress is halted over such impractical vetoes. Perhaps it is a product of the failure to see the bigger picture and the collective impact that such impasses have on the art as a whole via fragmentation & dilution. It is my hope that my last suggestion will, at the very least, direct attention properly and shift the balance entirely, as to nullify this, frankly, ridiculous popularity counter-argument. However, if provision can me made for this policy to be bent/broken, then I think that the complete change over aught to indeed be done. I however don't think it's bending or breaking the policy in the first place, because the Wade-Giles name is "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" ('''not''' the titled "Tai Chi Chuan"), with the appostrophes, which is far less popular than "Taijiquan", as I stated in response to Chuangzu's opposition, which was referencing Google. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 10:57, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
::You say "impractical vetoes", I say "legitimate expression of dissenting opinion". Let's all take a deep breath and assume [[WP:AGF|good faith]]. We're all having this discussion because we're interested in the subject and want this article to be as well-written as possible. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 14:50, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
:::Agreed, it is easy to get excited and I for one can occasionally go a bit overboard. I am not unable to compromise on this point (willing to go with T'ai Chi Ch'uan rather than my preferred Taijiquan or Tai Ji Quan with the pinyin mentioned as the more contemporary usage) but I still consider "Tai Chi" to be inadequate.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 17:59, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
:::btw, although I can compromise on that, I would like to address Nicholas' comment in the "blunt" thread above: Pinyin is ''definitely'' the predominant romanization of Chinese language and has been since the early 90's. The only holdouts are some Taiwanese naming conventions (proper names) and a decreasing number of Western university sinologists trained in Yale or Wade Giles, and they are steadily moving towards complete adoption of Pinyin. As an example, Paul Unschuld, one of the most respected sinologists, now publishes using pinyin whereas he used Wade Giles in his publications from the late 80's. There are many examples like this, such as the work of Livia Kohn, a respected Daoism scholar. For more context on this, please read the WP articles on pinyin and Wade-Giles. [[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 18:12, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
::: Please forgive me if my passion is seemingly aggression, that is definitely not my intent. So, proceeding with the discussion, I have so far not heard any opposition to what I said above, of changing non-quote references in the the content of the article to Taiji & Taijiquan, while making clear from the start that these spellings are the now preferred according to the Pinyin standard. Can I take this as a positive response and press forward? Also, on the table is Herbxue's proposal to at least use T'ai Chi Ch'uan for the title. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 13:24, 24 August 2011 (UTC)
::::I'm glad we're all still happy and calm. I've been thinking about this and trying to understand the various sides of the discussion, and I think that part of the conflict comes from the need to provide an encyclopaedia article which is accessible and as accurate as possible for both practitioners and non-practitioners alike. Looking at things from the practitioners' point of view, it seems that some people prefer the "taiji" spelling while some prefer "t'ai chi", and although it may well be the case that the former is gradually supplanting the latter, I'm not yet convinced that this is happening as quickly or as widely as is claimed. Looking at things from the interested non-practitioners' point of view, I'm pretty sure (from things like newspaper articles and also more authoritative sources like the OED and Webster) that "t'ai chi" is more widely used. I'm concerned that if we mostly or completely remove the "t'ai chi" spelling from the article, we might confuse or otherwise put off people who don't currently practice t'ai chi but want to know more about it. I think some of the rest of the conflict comes from this interesting question about the absorption of non-English words into the English language. At the moment, the major dictionaries agree that "T'ai Chi" is how it's spelled in common English, and although we've seen this sort of thing change in the past (what we used to call Peking we now happily call Beijing, for example) I haven't seen it happening yet with T'ai Chi, and Wikipedia's own policies say that we should favour common English spellings even when they might not be technically correct. So my preferred approach is:
::::# '''The title to be "T'ai Chi Ch'uan", with redirects from "Tai Chi Chuan" etc, and also from "Taijiquan" etc.'''
::::# '''The (correctly apostrophised) English spellings "T'ai Chi" and "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" (which, as we know, derive from the Wade-Giles transliteration) to be used mostly throughout except where there's a specific reason for using the "Taiji" and "Taijiquan" spellings.'''
::::# '''To include a paragraph or two, very early in the article, noting that some practitioners now prefer the spelling "Taiji" and "Taijiquan", and explaining the various reasons why.'''
::::I appreciate that not everyone might be willing to go along with this approach, so let's see how close to a compromise we can get. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 08:41, 25 August 2011 (UTC)
::::* '''Accepted''' Sounds like a good approach. Eventually we should get to critical mass on the pinyin spelling, but looks like we are not there yet. I do appreciate the willingness to use the apostrophes which are essential for the Wade Giles spelling. btw- there is an interesting WP article on the "Daoism vs. Taoism" issue which I think discusses some of the word-absorption issues Nicholas mentioned.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 14:26, 25 August 2011 (UTC)
::::* '''Accepted''' I believe that your approach is probably the best at this point in time, as long the correct Wade-Giles spellings are used and the direction of progression of the name's spelling towards "Taiji" & "Taijiquan" is clearly evident. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:21, 26 August 2011 (UTC)
::::* '''Accept''' A reasonable, balanced approach, that allows for later changes as the situation changes ... how like Taijiquan. [[User:OtterSmith|htom]] ([[User talk:OtterSmith|talk]]) 21:43, 26 August 2011 (UTC)
:::::Splendid - thanks to all of you for being willing to compromise on something I realise we all feel quite strongly about. (And thanks to Herbxue for the pointer to the Daoism vs Taoism article, which I found very interesting.) -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 22:47, 29 August 2011 (UTC)
:::::: I have but a single request, however, that the very first word in the article remains Taijiquan, and from there the understanding is immediately built about the naming, then all further references be as you outline in your 3 points. I'm prepared to handle that writeup, and will of course do so in accordance with all we've discuss and in an impartial manner. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 12:56, 31 August 2011 (UTC)
<br />

I do not teach at the YMCA. However I have taught thousands of people at various classes around Britain and on the Continent for over twenty five years, studied Chinese medicine in depth, and I have published five books about the Taoist arts including T'ai Chi, kung fu, Chi Kung, Chinese Medicine and Taoist philosophy. I searched Google for references to Tai Chi which proved that it was the most common usage of the term on websites throughout the entire world using the English language (including China), a similar pattern emerged when I searched Google books which showed five times the amount of books with this spelling over the Pinyin version. You have chosen to define correct in a particular way as being spelled in some way connected with schools in China who use a particular style of transliteration, however it is not the most popular or commonly used one as of this point in time on websites around the world or in book titles on the web. The title of the article should be "Tai Chi" because this is the most common English language use of the term and unless you can provide evidence to the contrary then this is the correct term because it is the actual term in current use. Speakers of languages choose terms in this way and their choice is by definition correct, any other interpretation of how languages work is really academic and I'm sure fascinatingly interesting and supremely relevant in some small circles of discussion, but in reality irrelevant to actual language users in the real world. Personally I vote for the Wade-Giles transliteration because this is what I have used for more than thirty years, but practically speaking I recognize that the correct common English usage must stand.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 16:38, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

:Sorry for the misunderstanding: the YMCA comment was not directed at you (I teach as well) but was intended to say that accessibility or ease of use is not the only factor driving the name. Many books on the subject are published using correct Wade Giles (your preference) and increasingly more with pinyin (my preference). Is T'ai Chi Ch'uan a Chinese word? I say yes but I am willing to accept that the English usage is the convention here at WP. Still, we must educate the readers. OED and Webster's give very wishy-washy incomplete definitions, by the way, showing that the broad public knowledge on the subject is miniscule in the west. Should under-informed popular opinion drive the content of this article? I say no. Still, please recognize that I am compromising from a previously rigid pinyin-only position, and supporting Nicholas' proposal. I hope you will also.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 16:56, 25 August 2011 (UTC)
<br />

The term "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" only returns 1,090,000 hits on a Google search compared to 54,600,000 for the term "Tai Chi" and 51,600,000 results for "Tai Chi Chuan", a ratio of more than fifty to one suggests that it is those people who use apostrophes who are under informed. I do not agree that apostrophes should be used in this case because it will be misleading to the majority of people searching for information about the subject.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 23:10, 27 August 2011 (UTC)

:How would it be misleading? Can you give a scenario in which a person searching for (and redirected from) "Tai Chi" is ill-served by the article being titled "T'ai Chi Ch'uan"?[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 00:42, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

::Can you give a scenario where Wikipedia users are best served by article titles which are called by names only used by a very small percentage of English language users?--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 04:14, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

:::The rest of us are in agreement. Your post is unhelpful - I was really asking a question in good faith - how would anyone be disadvantaged by a title that combines the familiar spelling with a technically correct depiction of an accepted (though declining) transliteration system, Wade Giles? People come here to learn - is it bad for them to learn that the "Chi" (極) is not the same as Qi / Ch'i (氣)? No, it is beneficial. But since you continue to be obstructionist - to answer your question, yes - the Mao Zidong page educates people who mostly read "Mao Tse Tung" in their school history books. They are better served by contemporary transliteration on WP because they will know how to have access to reliable sources of info in the future. I believe we have consensus to go with Nicholas' proposal even without your acceptance.[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 04:55, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

:::If we set up a redirect from the unapostrophised "Tai Chi" form, then people who don't know where the apostrophes are supposed to go (or weren't aware that they were even there) will still find themselves reading the article they were expecting, so I'm not sure it's actually going to cause any confusion in practice. At the moment, we seem to have arrived at a compromise position that, while it might not be absolutely ideal from everyone's perspective, seems at least to be acceptable to (almost) everyone. "Tai Chi Chuan" is strictly incorrect; "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" is correct Wade-Giles, and is also the spelling used by the OED and Webster, but might be a little old-fashioned; "Taijiquan" is correct Pinyin and in some circles appears to be supplanting the Wade-Giles form but seems not to have completely done so yet. As I see it, there isn't really a strong case for the first of these alternatives when compared to either of the other two. Sorry. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 22:47, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

::::My view is that you wish to change the title of an article that has already been decided by a consensus of Wikipedia users and editors to be the best solution, yet you have produced no compelling evidence that there is any need for this change. What is most correct in this case is to follow standard Wikipedia guidelines: as <font style="font-family: Georgia">[[User:Steven Walling|Steven Walling]]</font> has pointed out: "The [[Wikipedia:Article titles|policy on article titles]] is crystal clear. Wikipedia should use the most common and accessible name in English. "Tai chi" is ''by far'' more common the spelling in literature outside martial arts circles." I have provided clear evidence to back up this statement, the article title as it stands is the best one to use because that is the term most English speakers use to denote this subject, other spellings although they conform to some specialised factions' transliterations are simply not in common usage. This is the choice of the majority of internet users by a factor of fifty to one. This is not a matter of compromises or choosing one view or another because it is the least unpopular alternative in a particular debate, Wikipedia is here to educate by representing the way language is used by most people, not to change the way people use language by imposing special spellings that are not commonly used, this would constitute original research rather than reporting on an already accepted standard. Look at the question in the section below for example, the guy refers to "tai chi", we all know and have come to accept - whatever our personal preferences - that this is the term that refers to this subject that most people use and commonly recognise. The best title is the one we use now and until another term becomes more commonly used there's no reason to change it.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 23:03, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

:::::I see your point, Chuangzu. However, I would argue that it is not original research to use the correct transliteration of a Chinese word. Also, it might be construed as original research to say that a google search is the best way to establish word usage (do all T'ai Chi masters have web pages? My teacher did not). Your own book even uses the correct Wade Giles spelling, right?
:::::Changing to "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" is most likely beneficial, has not been shown to be potentially detrimental, and any guideline or policy should be ignored if it stands in the way of improving the article, per WP:IAR. Looking back on the history, this topic comes up over and over. Lets enact this well-planned and thoroughly discussed compromise, which most of us have agreed to, so this issue can rest at least until pinyin gains more acceptance. [[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 02:03, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

The transliteration you have chosen to advocate is not correct, and just repeatedly using the term "correct" does not make it so, what is correct is what is defined by the majority of speakers in a language whether you personally approve of this or not, and in this case in particular the correct use has already been chosen after a prolonged debate on many occasions as you have pointed out yourself. Using Google is not original research but is a published report by a recognised authority which is used by many millions of people on a daily basis and reflects the actual usage of a word at any point in time, I also searched Google books as is recommended in the guidelines on choosing article titles. People use Google, and indeed Wikipedia, so often exactly because they are known to reflect the way things are in reality precisely because they are so popular, they tell it like it is. Some few Tai Chi masters may not have web pages but people searching for information certainly will have and it is their needs we are catering to, and anyway whether people have the internet or not this does not change the fact that internet users are still reflecting the way language is used by a vast majority of people speaking the English language. My own book uses the Wade-Giles spelling not because it is in any way correct but purely for sentimental reasons: my master died in 1994 and I chose to publish it under the title he chose which was in 1976 when the Wade-Giles spelling was more common and accepted. The book is searched for under this title and it does not reflect the way people actually refer to the art, it is the historical name of the book and not the correct name of the subject that people commonly use on a daily basis. If I changed the name of the book now I would have to take out a new ISBN number and people would think it was a different book. In my own literature if I am publishing anything about the subject I would use the term people expect to read and understand to be the name of the subject so as not to confuse them.

Changing the article is beneficial only in your own personal viewpoint and you have not proved it to be beneficial in any other way, it is detrimental because people will look at the article title as they are reading the article and think that this is how most people currently spell the name whereas this is untrue. By calling the article by a term not usually used it will confuse people and will introduce a special spelling into the language which is beyond the remit of a Wikipedia article which is designed to reflect the way things are and not how a minority view things. Wikipedia guidelines and policies are not made to be ignored unless there is a good reason to do so and you have not demonstrated any good reason in this case. Adopting a policy of ignoring policies cannot be construed as a policy in itself it is simply a balancing factor that should be taken into consideration and it is not appropriate in this case to use it to over-rule well established guidelines. Your view has not been well planned or thoroughly discussed and most people have not agreed with you, it has simply been repeated over and over again that it is somehow correct even though that does not represent the view of most other people. Personally I agree with you, but I bow to the [[Wikipedia:Article titles|policy on article titles]] because they seem to me to be the guidelines which provide the best working solution for the majority of ordinary people. The main thrust of your argument is that you advocate change, but the current article title has already gained acceptance, it is the best way to refer to this subject as has already been chosen by many many people and it should stay the way it is.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 07:29, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

:I don't believe readers will be confused by the addition of an apostrophe, which satisfies the repeatedly raised concern about transliteration of the Chinese word. As far as "minority" views are concerned, yours is currently the minority argument in this discussion. Is google really considered an authority on language usage? That seems odd to me. [[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 15:44, 30 August 2011 (UTC)
::I, personally, have always been confused by the apostrophes (or lack thereof) in the various book titles and within their texts, wondering which, if any, was correct. I do not read, write, speak, or understand any spoken form of Chinese. If T'ai Chi Ch'uan is the correct Wade-Giles spelling, then that is what Wikipedia should use for now, with redirects from the other Romanizations, correctly spelled or no, and a paragraph or two explaining (probably not in the lead) the differences. [[User:OtterSmith|htom]] ([[User talk:OtterSmith|talk]]) 21:59, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

:::Your saying "specialised factions" in reference to "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" is quite incorrect. Although I agree that "Taijiquan" is used by the more learned among those connected to it, "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" is simply the correct spelling for the commonly misspelled "Tai Chi Chuan" and as such is in no way distinct from it, other than being correct. Just because "OK" is more commonly used that "okay", doesn't mean that it's the new spelling, nor would it imply that those using the correct spelling are some sort of "specialised faction". For me, at least, it seems like your making such a strong drive against this is inspired by your books that you mentioned earlier, ie, it is personal/biased and thus hinders productivity in the debate. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 12:56, 31 August 2011 (UTC)
You misunderstand my point, I am not advocating the spelling I use in my books but the conventional English spelling which is most commonly used. Languages are not constructed by dictionaries or authorities on the subject but by the users and this is what is correct, if a term falls out of common usage it becomes incorrect to use it. An encyclopaedia like Wikipedia reports on the way people denote a subject and should not try to enforce a deprecated or unused term just because a small but vociferous minority of people choose to call it correct. Someone is not more learned or correct because they are using an outdated term they are simply not using up to date language. If you truly are practitioners of Tai Chi you should understand that balance is the key here, the Wade-Giles term is outdated, the Pinyin term has not yet gained acceptance, the solution is to accept the way people commonly spell the word, it has gained popularity for a very good reason.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 22:58, 31 August 2011 (UTC)
:"Languages are not constructed by dictionaries" – Yes, exactly, dictionaries merely record current usage of a language (and some, like the OED, also show how it has changed over time) rather than prescribing how a language should work. (Compare with the work of the [[Académie française]], who actually do attempt to prescribe how the French language should be written and spoken, although I'm not sure a majority of French people actually listen to them.). There was a case a couple of years ago where the latest supplement to the OED included the word "McJob", which it defined to be a low-paid job with few or no prospects for advancement. McDonalds complained and demanded that the OED remove the definition; the OED collectively shrugged and said "you've misunderstood what a dictionary is - the word is in there because people are using it, not the other way round" and left it in. Personally, I'm inclined to attach more weight to what the OED and Webster say than the Google search results, because the former are carefully compiled by experienced lexicographers from a phenomenal range of written and spoken sources, and the latter is a vague count of random web pages of unknown provenance, returned by a search algorithm which is agnostic about punctuation anyway. We seem to have a broad consensus for "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" at this point, so can we go with that? I know it's not quite what you'd prefer, but everybody else has compromised on details that they feel strongly about, and this is a relatively minor point in comparison. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 08:29, 1 September 2011 (UTC)
Are you seriously disputing that "Tai Chi" is the common English usage?
Do you use [[Google]]? If so perhaps you would care to explain why. [[Google]] is probably the most commonly used search engine in the world, it reflects the use of the language which is why so many people use it, dictionaries are not up to date and I doubt they can directly reference 54 million uses of a word the way [[Google]] can. A dictionary cannot give us an accurate statistic about how many people are using a word in a real world scenario. I agree that [[Google]] may not be completely accurate, but it's just as likely that it's skewing the picture in favour of the Pinyin or Wade-Giles terms as it is of the common usage isn't it, unless you have real evidence to the contrary? Even so it seems highly improbable that websites have really given a false picture in ninety five percent of cases doesn't it? Anyway I searched [[Google books]] too which gives all public book titles if they have an [[ISBN number]], this reflects a more authoritative use of the term, the results were the same, an overwhelming majority of publishers have chosen the terms "Tai Chi" and "Tai Chi Chuan", other terms are not in current use by a very big margin.
My personal preference is for "T'ai Chi Ch'uan", but I think it is more important - given the overwhelming evidence - that we stick to the clearly defined Wikipedia guidelines and respect the decision of a consensus of Wikipedia editors over previous years. I do not think it is a minor point to choose an article title which has fallen out of use in the language and only appears in one in fifty of web pages. The problem seems to be that you favour an academic based approach, however the majority of Wikipedia users are not academics they are simply ordinary people searching for basic information about the subject. We should stick with what has already been decided and keep it the way it is.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 09:41, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

I propose that we change the title of the article to 'Tai Chi' to reflect the fact that this is the way the overwhelming majority of people refer to the subject, with redirects from 'Tai Chi Chuan', 'Taijiquan' and any other spellings such as Wade-Giles etc. There should also be a paragraph early in the article to explain that the title of the article reflects the common English usage and that there are other spellings such as the Wade-Giles and Pinyin terms.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 10:34, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
:'''Disagree'''. We'd already arrived at a consensus that was acceptable to everyone else, and I don't understand why it's not acceptable to you as well, especially since you say that your personal preference is for the apostrophised form. In the early centuries of the Christian church, there was an extremely heated argument between two factions (the [[Homoousian]]s and the [[Homoiousian]]s) about an abstruse point of theology that literally came down to whether one specific Greek word had an iota in it or not. (This is where the phrase "not one iota" comes from.) You're outdoing them: you're arguing with the rest of us about ''punctuation''. -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 10:55, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
The reason it is unacceptable to me is because it goes against Wikipedia guidelines and proposes to call the title of the article by a term which has fallen into disuse. Why do you think that the overwhelming majority of people have chosen to call this subject 'Tai Chi', and why do you prefer an archaic term? Hasn't a clear consensus already been reached in the real world about how this subject should be referred to, not only by members of the public but by also by authors and publishers around the world? Surely if encyclopaedias chose terms which are only used by 2% of people then wouldn't they fail in their basic premise of helping people to gain accurate and up to date information about subjects and the way people communicate about them? I believe that my personal preference is outweighed by the need for article titles to reflect common English usage and this is clearly the case as is shown by the evidence.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 17:24, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
:'''Disagree''' [[Tai Chi]] is a DAB page. The cosmological [[Taiji]] (T'ai Chi or [http://www.pinyin.info/romanization/wadegiles/bastardized.html bastardized] Tai Chi) and the martial art [[Taijiquan]] are two different words. [[User:Keahapana|Keahapana]] ([[User talk:Keahapana|talk]]) 21:01, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
:'''Disagree''' Taijiquan/T'ai Chi Ch'uan without the "Fist" is, as Keahapana mentioned, a philosophical term. Similarly, "Bagua" gives 12 million hits, while "Baguazhang" only yields 500,000. Yet, the WP article on the martial art is '''correctly''' titled "Baguazhang". We don't know how many google hits are referring to Taiji the philosophical concept vs those that refer to the martial art. This is the problem with Chuanzu's approach - resorting to the most "popular" google result used by a population that is mostly ignorant of the subject leads to distortions. We have already reached a majority consensus on the non-bastardized "T'ai Chi Ch'uan".[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 03:18, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

It is clear that Chuangzu is the only one in opposition at this point and the rest of us have agreed with Nicholas Jackson's proposed renaming, thus let us proceed. If other authors of this article disputed the proposed actions, then they have had ample time to respond and it is no disrespect to them to act upon the consensus we have reached.
Shall I make the change, or is there someone in particular that aught to make the move from this page to "T'ai Chi Ch'uan"? I know how and am prepared to put my time into doing so.
I also want to re-iterate my request that the very first word remain "Taijiquan" (to check this, refer to the bottom of the discussion by Nicholas Jackson's proposed terms that are bolded, slightly above). [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 12:35, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Ok I agree in the interests of co-operation, make the change of the article title to 'T'ai Chi Ch'uan' even though it isn't the commonly accepted term. I don't think the first word should be 'Taijiquan' though, that will only cause confusion, the article should be consistent throughout. If [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] doesn't know what he's doing I suggest a more experienced editor handle the matter.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 13:08, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

:I think you'll find me quite capable at this point, Chuangzu. Thank you for your cooperation. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 09:48, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

:Thank you Chuangzu, I would say go ahead InferKNOX and move the article name. It would probably be best to put the pinyin term in parentheses with the article title as the first word. We can include the short list of used spellings as it currently is in the first line, but then add a bit more detail under the section titled "The Name".[[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 18:52, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

::Alright, I will proceed with building it on the "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" page, then turning this one into a redirect. I will also move the entire discussion page. Please could you clarify this statement though, "It would probably be best to put the pinyin term in parentheses with the article title as the first word." I don't quite understand exactly what you mean. Thanks. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 09:48, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
:::Move complete, now correcting other redirects (that I can think of) to this page instead of "Tai Chi Chuan". [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:09, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
:::: The following redirects have been edited to point to [[T'ai Chi Ch'uan]]: [[Tai chi chuan]], [[Taijiquan]], [[Taiji Quan]], [[Taichichuan]], [[Taichi Chuan]], [[Tai Chi Chuan]] & [[T'ai chi ch'uan]], as well as edits made to the disambiguation pages: [[Tai Chi]] & [[Taiji_(disambiguation)|Taiji]].
:::: A minor conflict has arisen in my mind, however. Is it preferable to have the entirely capitalised "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" or "T'ai chi ch'uan" with only the first part capitalised? I have moved everything to the fully capitalised version, as was suggested, but it's seeming to me that the popular convention is to have only the first part capitalised. If need be, I can simply move everything to the lower case version and re-edit the redirects.
:::: I have not made the suggested edits to the contents of the article, but can if everyone would prefer I do so. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:09, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
:::: '''CORRECTION''', in order to maintain the edit histories, I've undone the manual move I made. The only way to make the move and preserve the edit histories would be to make a [[Wikipedia:REQMOVE|request to move]], which has a [[Wikipedia:Requested_moves#Backlog|backlog]] of requests pending. The reason for this is that the "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" already existed prior to the move request, and thus the move would act as an overwrite. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 13:35, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
::: He means use the title 'T'ai Chi Ch'uan' as the first word of the article and then include your other term in brackets'()'.--[[User:Chuangzu|Chuangzu]] ([[User talk:Chuangzu|talk]]) 12:11, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
:::: Alright, as in within the brackets already present? If so, the Pinyin "Taijiquan" is already included there. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 12:38, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
<br />

=== Page Move to "T'ai chi ch'uan" ===

After debating having the page renamed to "Taijiquan", which is according to the Pinyin transliteration standard now preferentially used by learned practitioners, from the current name, we have settled on [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson's]] proposal to compromise in which:
# '''The title to be "T'ai Chi Ch'uan", with redirects from "Tai Chi Chuan" etc, and also from "Taijiquan" etc.'''
# '''The (correctly apostrophised) English spellings "T'ai Chi" and "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" (which, as we know, derive from the Wade-Giles transliteration) to be used mostly throughout except where there's a specific reason for using the "Taiji" and "Taijiquan" spellings.'''
# '''To include a paragraph or two, very early in the article, noting that some practitioners now prefer the spelling "Taiji" and "Taijiquan", and explaining the various reasons why.'''
This reflects on the fact that the Wade-Giles transliteration is still the most commonly used, but still endeavors to maintain accuracy in the spelling of the name, which will aid in being informative for those learning about the subject and also make clear the progression of the standard naming from the Wade-Giles to the Pinyin.<br />

In accordance with this, I tried a manual move (copy, paste), which worked, but wasn't the preferred method as it does not maintain the edit histories, so I reverted the Article and Discussion pages back to the original.
I'm now prepared to make the move properly (with all edit histories remaining intact), however, '''''<span style="font-family: Papyrus">[[User:Wikipelli|<font color="#01796F">Wikipelli</font>]] ''[[User talk:Wikipelli|<font color="#7b68ee"><sup>Talk</sup></font>]]</span>''' would like to have it clear that we've reached consensus on moving the page from the current to "'''T'ai chi ch'uan'''" (in that exact lettering, punctuation and case), so would everyone please place their 'votes' below before I proceed. Thank you. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 09:47, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support'''. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 09:47, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''' -- [[User:Nicholas Jackson|Nicholas Jackson]] ([[User talk:Nicholas Jackson|talk]]) 15:38, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''' [[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 15:59, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''', with a request you pull all from "Alright, here are the state" just above, into a new section for ease of !voting. [[User:OtterSmith|htom]] ([[User talk:OtterSmith|talk]]) 04:28, 9 September 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support''', go ahead.--[[User:Nø|Nø]] ([[User talk:Nø|talk]]) 15:39, 9 September 2011 (UTC)
* '''Support'''. I'm mostly retired from Wikipedia these days, but I do prefer "T'ai Chi Ch'uan." This is how us old timers have read it in English since the 1970s. That isn't scientific, granted, and I can easily see that it will someday be moved to "Taijiquan." --[[User:Bradeos Graphon|Bradeos Graphon Βραδέως Γράφων]] ([[User talk:Bradeos Graphon|talk]]) 03:44, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Attempted the move, but unfortunately was presented with the following: "The page could not be moved: a page of that name already exists, or the name you have chosen is not valid. Please choose another name, or use [[Wikipedia:Requested Moves|Requested moves]] to ask an [[Wikipedia:Administrators|administrator]] to help you with the move."
I'll request that '''''<span style="font-family: Papyrus">[[User:Wikipelli|<font color="#01796F">Wikipelli</font>]] ''[[User talk:Wikipelli|<font color="#7b68ee"><sup>Talk</sup></font>]]</span>''' handles it. <small><span class="autosigned">— Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/InferKNOX|contribs]]) 11:21, 12 September 2011 (UTC)</span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
:The page has been moved. Please visit this page [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/Tai_chi_chuan&limit=500]. It lists the pages in Wikipedia that link to the old page (now a redirect). Those links should be changed so they point to the new page. I'll work on that some today, but there are quite a few and I'd love some help! :) '''''<span style="font-family: Papyrus">[[User:Wikipelli|<font color="#01796F">Wikipelli</font>]] ''[[User talk:Wikipelli|<font color="#7b68ee"><sup>Talk</sup></font>]]</span>''' 09:36, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
::Thank you Wikipelli, however there's a minor edit necessary: please refer to my [[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]] page. I'll begin working on the links once the edit is done, as from the start of the coming week. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:39, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
::: I have finished correcting all the links from the former page (as well as all variations I could think of) to this current one. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 21:24, 31 October 2011 (UTC)<br />

=== Moving Respective Family Style articles to "t'ai chi ch'uan" ===
Now that the move of the former "tai chi chuan" page is complete (to [[T'ai chi ch'uan]]), I believe that we can move forward with moving the pages (one at a time to allow for link correction) of the respective family styles ('''also note the case of the destination pages'''):
* Chen-style tai chi chuan to "[[Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Yang-style tai chi chuan to "[[Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Wu (Hao)-style tai chi chuan to "[[Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Wu style tai chi chuan to "[[Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Sun-style tai chi chuan to "[[Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
as well as:
* Lee style tai chi chuan to "[[Lee-style t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Wudang tai chi chuan to "[[Wudang t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Zhaobao tai chi chuan to "[[Zhaobao t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan to "[[Guang Ping Yang t'ai chi ch'uan]]" {{done}}
* <s>[[Taoist Tai Chi]] to "Taoist t'ai chi"</s> (let me stick to the tri-syllable named styles, as this seems ambiguous)
* etc...
I'm prepared to contribute my time to correcting the links from the former to the new pages after each move, then report it done to do the next. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 21:24, 31 October 2011 (UTC)
:I have no opinion on the moves at all, but just wanted to say that moving those pages really shouldn't just be decided here. Notice of the proposed moves should be made on each of the pages listed above. I really have no knowledge so I'm sure you know best, but I think that some notice on each talk page is appropriate. Good luck! '''''<span style="font-family: Papyrus">[[User:Wikipelli|<font color="#01796F">Wikipelli</font>]] ''[[User talk:Wikipelli|<font color="#7b68ee"><sup>Talk</sup></font>]]</span>''' 22:08, 31 October 2011 (UTC)
::Will do. It is merely creating uniformity with the main page by propagating what is established here, not any sort of outright change, thus doesn't really need to be re-discussed, however, notices will be placed on each page's talk before the change. I've already started with the [[Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan]] page, but will be sure to put up the notice as soon as possible. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:31, 2 November 2011 (UTC)
Sorry everyone, life had gotten me out of touch with Wiki for quite a while, but am getting back to finishing the edit. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:31, 27 March 2012 (UTC)


== Styles / Lineage Table ==
== Styles / Lineage Table ==
Line 390: Line 178:
Well it seems there's silence on this now. So, unless there are any objections/additions, I'll be replacing the tree on the main page with this one soon, and the same for the respective sub-pages, putting the family-style centric trees on the family-style pages and their appropriate sub-pages. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:10, 26 July 2012 (UTC)<br />
Well it seems there's silence on this now. So, unless there are any objections/additions, I'll be replacing the tree on the main page with this one soon, and the same for the respective sub-pages, putting the family-style centric trees on the family-style pages and their appropriate sub-pages. [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 11:10, 26 July 2012 (UTC)<br />
:I asked for additional assistance from individuals on a [https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheKwoon/426740557364224/ Facebook group called The Kwoon] and with their contributions have allowed me to make significant changes to the tree. Please review it and give me feedback. I've also added [[Wudang t'ai chi ch'uan|Wudang]], [[Zhaobao t'ai chi ch'uan|Zhaobao]] and Zhaobao He style. I'm very unsure about the Zhaobao branches because everywhere I look, I'm finding conflicting information, so I need particular help there. I think [[Talk:T'ai chi ch'uan#Suggesting New Articles: Li-style (Li Ruidong) and Zhaobao He-style (He Zhaoyuan)|from what I've read]], they are quite relevant and I even think some articles aught to be made on them. Please give me any and all feedback. I've also made major changes on all the family trees that I linked a few comments above, which I'll be updating on the respective pages in a moment. ~ [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 21:05, 28 July 2012 (UTC)
:I asked for additional assistance from individuals on a [https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheKwoon/426740557364224/ Facebook group called The Kwoon] and with their contributions have allowed me to make significant changes to the tree. Please review it and give me feedback. I've also added [[Wudang t'ai chi ch'uan|Wudang]], [[Zhaobao t'ai chi ch'uan|Zhaobao]] and Zhaobao He style. I'm very unsure about the Zhaobao branches because everywhere I look, I'm finding conflicting information, so I need particular help there. I think [[Talk:T'ai chi ch'uan#Suggesting New Articles: Li-style (Li Ruidong) and Zhaobao He-style (He Zhaoyuan)|from what I've read]], they are quite relevant and I even think some articles aught to be made on them. Please give me any and all feedback. I've also made major changes on all the family trees that I linked a few comments above, which I'll be updating on the respective pages in a moment. ~ [[User:InferKNOX|InferKNOX]] ([[User talk:InferKNOX|talk]]) 21:05, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

== Essay style of "fighting effectiveness" section ==

I read from the above that this is a delicate subject, so I'll try to promote a discussion on the talk page rather than defacing the section with citation tags and so forth. I believe the style has some room for improvement, to make it more encyclopedic and less personal, less speculative, less subjective. That's the intention of the "essay-style" tag on that section.

Some of the aspects which I think could be modified include phrases like these:
*"Yang style practitioners seem to reply..." (to whom do they seem to reply? to the author of the section?)
*"Tai chi chuan's effectiveness is nowadays sometimes not acknowledged" - needs to be replaced by something like "expert XYZ claims (here) that the effectiveness is sometimes not acknowledged..."
*"A lot of instructors are ignorant of what tai chi chuan really is" - emotional phrase needs to be removed.
*"there are many self-appointed gurus, whose sessions give zero if not negative results and should be avoided" - again, just one person's personal opinion unless there's a good quote.
*"perpetuate the vicious circle of ignorance about tai chi chuan's fighting elements." - too heated, sounds just like personal grievance.
*"One could counter-argue this by referring them to the hard facts" - wikipedia isn't a how-to on winning arguments, it should present the facts as they are.
*"Oyama gave up admitting that he could win over Mr Chen." - does this mean he gave up and admitted he '''couldn't''' win, or he just gave up, or what?
*"Oyama was learning quickly being the genius that he was." - ouch. Either find a quote claiming that he was a genius, and quote it, or remove the sentence.
*"it is also said that Hu Yuen Chou was once contacted by Bruce Lee" - useless without a quote,
*"But Hu Yuen Chou turned down Lee, on the basis that he was not interested in teaching anyone who would take tai chi chuan aspects in order to feed them into another martial art as it was known that Bruce Lee was trying to develop jeet kune do at that time and on top of that he would make these skills known to a much wider audience as a martial arts movie star that he used to be." - apart from being a terribly long sentence, it's also attaching reasons to an unsourced rejection, without basis.

The whole of the last three paragraphs is in my view nothing more than personal opinion and speculation, especially the final paragraph. Is it possible to reach any consensus on this? [[User:Thrapper|Thrapper]] ([[User talk:Thrapper|talk]]) 20:41, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
:Sure, please post your suggestion for new wording, Thrapper. [[User:AgadaUrbanit|AgadaUrbanit]] ([[User talk:AgadaUrbanit|talk]]) 21:34, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
::Agreed, edit to your heart's content![[User:Herbxue|Herbxue]] ([[User talk:Herbxue|talk]]) 23:14, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

:::Editors have improved the style considerably since the original post in this thread. However, the section remains unsourced. I added an "unreferenced" tag. Does anyone have any reliable sources on this? [[User:Sunray|Sunray]] ([[User talk:Sunray|talk]]) 19:32, 14 April 2012 (UTC)


== Redirect of [[Tai chi]] ==
== Redirect of [[Tai chi]] ==

Revision as of 03:05, 11 August 2012

Former good article nomineeTai chi was a good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
December 8, 2006Good article nomineeNot listed
March 11, 2007Good article nomineeNot listed
Current status: Former good article nominee

Styles / Lineage Table

I just noticed the table gives the impression that the Chen styles do not continue past the first few generations. Would someone handy with tables be willing to extend the Chen lineage perhaps to the point of Chen Fa Ke?Herbxue (talk) 20:37, 22 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Please list the lineage so that I see where the branch that Chen Fake comes from. I've looked around, but am not finding anything conclusive. I'll work on it and post it here to be assessed. InferKNOX (talk) 17:24, 3 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I did the best with collecting data single-handedly and built upon the current tree to come up with this tree that is more comprehensive and (I think) better shows continuation of the various styles. I can't entirely vouch for it's accuracy & need it to be double-checked please. It's mostly information I gathered whilst editing the various taijiquan related articles. InferKNOX (talk) 13:15, 30 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Zhang Sanfeng*
c. 12th century (?)
NEIJIA
Legendary figuresVarious Daoists
Wang Zongyue*
1733–1795
T'AI CHI CH'UAN
(TAIJIQUAN)
Chen Wangting
1580–1660
CHEN-STYLE
Jiang Fa (蒋法)
Zhaobao Taijiquan
Xing Xihuai (邢喜怀)
2nd gen. Zhaobao
Zhang Chuchen (张楚臣)
3rd gen. Zhaobao
Chen Jingbo (陈敬伯)
4th gen. Zhaobao
Zhang Zongyu (张宗禹)
5th gen. Zhaobao
Chen Changxing
1771–1853
2nd gen. Chen
Chen Old Frame
Chen Youben
c. 19th century
2nd gen. Chen
Chen New Frame
Zhang Yan (张彦)
6th gen. Zhaobao
Yang Luchan
1799–1872
YANG-STYLE
Chen Qingping
1795–1868
7th gen. Zhaobao
Chen Small Frame,
Zhaobao Frame
Chen Fake
1887–1957
3rd gen. Chen
Chen New Frame
Yang Jianhou
1839–1917
2nd gen. Yang
Yang Banhou
1837–1892
2nd gen. Yang
Yang Small Frame
Wu Yuxiang
1812–1880
WU (HAO)-STYLE
He Zhaoyuan (他招远)
1810–1890
8th gen. Zhaobao
Zhaobao He Taijiquan
Yang Chengfu
1883–1936
3rd gen. Yang
Yang Big Frame
Wang Jaioyu
1836–1939
Guang Ping Yang-style
Wu Quanyou
1834–1902
1st gen. Wu
Li Yiyu
1832–1892
2nd gen. Wu (Hao)
He Qingxi
1857–1936
9th gen. Zhaobao
Kuo Lien Ying
1895–1984
Wu Jianquan
1870–1942
2nd gen. Wu
WU-STYLE
108 Form
Hao Weizhen
1849–1920
3rd gen. Wu (Hao)
He Xuexin
Yang Zhenduo
1926–Present
4th gen. Yang
Wu Gongyi
1900–1970
3rd gen. Wu
Hao Yueru
1877–1935
4th gen. Wu (Hao)
Sun Lutang
1861–1932
SUN-STYLE
He Youlu
Cheng Tinhung
1930–2005
Wudang Taijiquan
Wu Dakui
1923–1972
4th gen. Wu
Hao Shaoru
1908–1983
5th gen. Wu (Hao)
Sun Jianyun
1913–2003
2nd gen. Sun
Yang Jun
1968–Present
5th gen. Yang
Wu Guangyu
1946–Present
5th gen. Wu
Liu Jishun
1930–Present
6th gen. Wu (Hao)
Sun Yongtian
?–Present
3rd gen. Sun
Chen-styleYang-styleWu-styleWu (Hao)-styleSun-style

Key:

Dotted lines – Partial influence / taught for a limited time / taught informally
Dashed lines – Not direct teacher-student [some individual(s) between have been ommited]
Solid lines – Direct/Formal teacher-student relationship
Dashed Cross (+) – Passed onto various individuals / branch continues


This tree is very useful and helps the reader to see how the classical styles evolved. However, I agree with the comment above that it seems to imply that Chen style is no longer extant. It suggests that the other styles grew out of Chen (which I understand to be the case), but that Chen didn't carry forward to the modern era. t know that isn't the case, so can the tree be modified to show that Chen still exists, along with Yang, Sun and Wu styles? Sunray (talk) 19:30, 14 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Genealogy trees are always both useful and misleading. This one, while not incorrect, it is incomplete. There are several currently recognized Grandmasters of all styles around, but they do not appear in the tree. You'd think the art is dead because of this. For instance, there is no mention of the other brothers of Yang Shou-Chung, like Yang Zhen Duo. Neither is there mention of Chen Zhenglei or Chen Xiaowang, Eddie Wu, Ma Hailong, Wu Wenhan, Sun Yongtian or Yang Jun. These are all the torch bearers of the major styles, and all (and others too!!) have done tremendously important work around the world to keep their styles vibrant and accessible to all.
Also, since the are life dates, per force, the reader is led to believe that the tree is also time-related, giving the impression that there are no other branches that continue to exist after the represented person is dead.
Consequently I ask: is there a better representation of a tree that will not mislead people into believing that "this is all there is"?
Bruno talk 13:54, 15 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
@ Sunray & Bruno : My point is to expand upon the current lineage tree, which (another editor made &) creates an even stronger illusion of the styles coming to an end at certain individuals, as Herbxue (talk) said. I made this tree have downward branches beyond the teachers to give a greater impression of continuation. However, I need assistance in gathering information on who each branch connects to, so please specify; ie, Yang Chien-hou connects to Yang Shao-hou & Yang Chengfu, Yang Chengfu connects to.... Also, please be specific on how to arrange it in order to make the continuation of each style clearer, etc. That way I'll add in the extras and build a more comprehensive and straight-forward tree.
The tree needs to be a reasonable size, however, so logically I think it would be better to add in the consecutive torch-bearers/gate-keepers for each style, with minimal contemporaries, then make more contextualised trees that shows the connection of a particular teacher, on the pages of those significant individuals, with links pointing back to the major tree on the taijiquan page. That way, it'll show this tree which will be a main stem of sorts, with zoomed in view on particular branches on the relevant pages. Does that sound okay? InferKNOX (talk) 22:00, 15 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Comments to my changing of the shape & colour-coding of the tree would be very welcome. Thanks. InferKNOX (talk) 00:17, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The new tree looks better. Here are some points for consideration:
  1. Chen Fake is the grandson of Chen Changxing. Chen Fake's father is Chen Yanxi. Chen Fake should be in the same Taiji generation as Yang Pan-hou.
  2. The tree suggest that that Yang Chien hou studied with Chen Qingping but that is not the case Yang Chien hou only study with his father. Only Wu Yu Yu-Hsiang studied with both Yang Lu Chan and Chen Qingping. So the tree should reflect that.
  3. Wang Jaio-Yu should be Guang Ping Yang Style not Original Yang because that is how the Guang Ping stylist refer themselves.
  4. The Zhaobao Frame continues today. The tree suggest that it only continued through the Wu (Hoa) Style.
  5. Cheng Man-ch'ing, a student of Yang Cheng Fu, established his own style and can be considered a variant of the Yang style. ottawakungfu (talk) 03:05, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The new, colored tree is much easier to understand. Could you add leaves to the end of each branch with the labels (Chen) (Wu) (Yang) ... so that a reader could trace upwards easily? htom (talk) 04:40, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Alright, I added the leaves you spoke of htom. Is there any other beneficial edits to the tree you'd like me to make?
I made adjustments you mentioned in 1, 2 & 3, ottawakungfu, but need you to please elaborate on where exactly to add the branch for Zhaobao and the details of (or at least links to) the individuals in the lineage. About Cheng Man-ch'ing; would it be of benefit to add him, considering the focus is the major family styles? I only ask this because the tree could get too big & not display nicely in browsers. I think it'd be better to limit the lineage of the major styles' through the gate-keepers, eg, for Yang-style: Yang LuchanYang JianhouYang ChengfuYang ZhenduoYang Jun (according to the Yang family tree), etc. With this in mind, I'd like to propose removing the (seemingly redundant) Yang Shao-hou branch from this tree on the main page and instead having it present on a more zoomed in tree I can build on the Yang-style page (and the related sub-pages) that focuses on the Yang-style related branches. It's my intent to make such zoomed in trees on each family style's page & it's sub-pages. Does that sound acceptable?
I would also like to reiterate that I need help in the form of people giving me the gate-keeper lineages for each style, including the generation each individual represents in that given style. Remember that the relevance is on the lineage of the style, not necessarily the family members. Thanks for the feedback. InferKNOX (talk) 11:42, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Great work InferKNOX. I have no other suggestions. The reason I mentioned Cheng Men Ch'ing is due to his popularity but you are correct - he is not one of the major family styles. Forms of Zhaoboa taiji exists in China, Taiwan and US but it could be considered as a form of Chen (but not to the Zhaboa practitioners). So not having an extension is ok. I will go to the Zhaoboa article to provide more details. I will drop the Yang Shao hou lineage since it is not very well known. I will go to Yang Shao Hou page to find more information on this branch. I would suggest dropping Guang Ping Yang Style at the end to be consistent since it is not a major family style. The color is a good addition as well. ottawakungfu (talk) 12:19, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks ottawakungfu, I'm really glad the there's positive progress. I've reduced the colour intensity for better readability and the horizontal size of the tree by cutting down the Yang lineage to the gate-keepers, but I can't find definitive information on who is the 5th generation Yang, since shifu Yang Jun is meant to be 6th generation (please correct me if I'm wrong). Since the size is smaller, Zhaobao should now fit better, so please give me or point me to the lineage information for it, then I'll add the branch. Have a look at this unusual lineage tree on Zhang Sanfeng article that I found, which may help (it didn't really make sense to me). Now I also need more comprehensive Chen, Wu, Wu (Hao) and Sun lineage and generational information to fill in the blanks. InferKNOX (talk) 14:03, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
InferKNOX, point of information: Yang Jun is 6th generation direct blood descendant of Yang Luchan, but is the 5th generation gate-keeper of the Yang Family style. Yang Jun was raised by his grandfather Yang Zhenduo, and never mentions his parents; I speculate it is because they were lost to the terror of the Cultural Revolution.Bruno talk 13:25, 19 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that Bruno. I amended it to 5th generation on the tree now, since the relevance is the martial art not necessarily the family lineage. InferKNOX (talk) 14:34, 19 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Great work, InferKNOX. I would suggest One Giant Tree (OGT) (perhaps as its own page) with pointers into it from the various articles, displaying only the relevant parts,levels, and detail desired at that link, but I don't know of a way to do that in wiki-display. The OGT might be useful as a building and maintenance tool, if there's a way to snip copies of branches of that OGT and paste them into the articles with only the appropriate detail showing. If not, it would be a mountain of work to little use. htom (talk) 17:20, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for taking this on, InferKNOX, the table looks great. I like the format and colors. The difficulty will be deciding what NOT to include. I would agree with others that a Zhaobao branch may be unnecessary. Within Chen, there is so much detail that could be included, though I favor simplicity. Would like to hear if others think that there should be a separate branch for "Chen Village" Taiji vs. "Xin Jia" Taiji of Chen Fake and his successors?Herbxue (talk) 17:42, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I wouldn't want to overdo it htom. Let's first get this one in order, then see about the tree-on-it's-own-page idea. Your idea sounds great, but I've not seen any way in which to point into the tree, only a way to link out of it. I also don't know how to make only certain branches of a tree display on a page, other than manually building those branches of the tree on the page. Read my response to Herbxue below though, it's quite similar to your suggestion and if there is a way to do what you say and agreement to do so, my suggestion can be the interim place-holder that builds towards that end.
Thanks Herbxue, my current proposal is to have this tree just show the successive generations of each family style, with perhaps other lesser styles like Guang Ping Yang, Zhaobao & He styles included if they don't over-enlarge the tree. I think it would be better to focus for the time being on filling in all the information regarding the lineage of each family style and deploying the tree, then think about expanding it with lesser branches, it'll probably come together better. For the individual styles, I will build more detailed branches depicting the particular style's origin and lineage detail within the style (and also add those trees to the pages of individuals found on the tree), while referencing the larger more generalised tree on the main page. On the main page, a note can be put that more details on any given family style can be found by following the link to the specific style and seeing the detailed family-style specific branches on the respective style's page. That way both the core origins and the detailed propagation information will be available to readers without making any single tree overwhelmingly large. This will quickly address the issue of deploying the core information that should be available, then all the peripheral data can be filled in as it's decided upon and made available.
All that being said, can someone post information on each successive generational gate keepers firstly for Chen-style, please.
This is probably too controversial because Chen Fake have many students. You can proceed according to family relationships then you follow his second son - Chen Zhaokui (1928-1981) and then his son Chen Yu (1962 - ). However, there will be objections from the Chen village who follow the first son, Chen Zhaoxu and his son Chen Xiaowang. Then there are other students of Chen Fake all teaches a variation of Chen Taiji. So I think the issue should be addressed in the Chen Tai chi article rather in the general Tai-chi article.
Also, who is the 5th generation for Yang-style to complete that branch in the tree? Thanks. InferKNOX (talk) 21:06, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
This issue should be address in the Yang-style article. The lineage for Yang style become complicated after Yang Cheng Fu. He had many students and they are all well known proponent of Yang Style and all have great reputation. According to family relationships, his oldest son Yang Sau Chung was the most well known since was based in Hong Kong. He has three daughters (Amy, Mary and Agnes) so they could be considered to be the next generation for Yang Tai Chi (5th generation). However, according to Chinese tradition, lineage holders should be male so the students of Yang Sau Chung could be the fifth generation holder. It is only recently with the opening of China that other sons of Chen Fu (Yang Zhen Duo, Yang Zhen Ji, Yang Zhen Guo) promoted the art internationally. Yang Zhen Duo is the most organized in the West. His grandson (Yang Jun) learned from Yang Zhen Duo and now lives in Seattle. So according to this history, there is no fifth generation between Yang Zhen Duo and Yang Jun. Yang Jun is considered sixth generation based on family ties and not based on teacher-student relationships.

In general, family trees in martial arts are very complicated and can be very political so in an introductory article for Wikipedia, the latest edition provides a non-controversial overview. Hope this helps. ottawakungfu (talk) 02:45, 17 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed it is. Thanks for the information and advise. It is indeed helpful. I'll start building the trees for the individual styles then take the discussion there when I have something present on those pages, so that we can build on those trees, then add what's appropriate to this one. Any additional feedback, etc from anyone is welcome and requested. Thanks. InferKNOX (talk) 09:50, 17 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I got a question. Shall I attach the legendary figures to the top of this tree? I think it would be prudent to do so, considering that they are the true origin. I could make a "{" of sorts at the top stating that those are legendary figures. I made a Yang-style oriented branch that you can check to give you an idea of what I did, although there I didn't add names of individuals or a 'legendary figures' tag, because it's not immediately relevant to the article, but it is here on the main article. InferKNOX (talk) 20:54, 17 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps the legendary figures in another color? htom (talk) 02:38, 18 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
How's that? I think a neutral tone is better than overdoing things with even more colours. I got the "various daoists" from Zhaobao_taijiquan#History and Lineage. Hope you all like it, and everyone, please keep the suggestions on what to add coming in. Thanks. InferKNOX (talk) 18:46, 18 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Well I've completed all the preliminary branches for the family styles:

Everyone please input where you can. Thanks. InferKNOX (talk) 14:34, 19 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like there's a bit of a mix-up regarding talk of generations of the respective individuals in the lineage tree between generations of family descendants & generation of practitioner in relation the founding of the respective style. I propose having the lineage tree reflect the generation of the practitioner in regard to the style, not his/her personal family tree, since the focus of this tree is the martial art, not the individuals' families, eg, Chen Wangting, (may be 9th generation in the Chen family, but) is the founder of Chen-style taijiquan, so the tree aught to just show that he's the founder, Chen Changxing and Chen Youben are 2nd generation teachers (despite being 14th generation in the Chen family), etc. This will allow greater clarity on how taijiquan was passed down and who each gate-keeper was, irrespective of the fact that some styles have gate keepers that are not from the same family & will avoid confusion. A write-up can simply be made indicating that the generations mentioned are of the styles' gate-keepers, not which generation they represent in their respective families. InferKNOX (talk) 13:11, 7 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Also, the tree lacks the information on Chen-style gate-keepers to the current date, so help there would be appreciated; then I think you all can agree that this tree can be deployed and any further additions, which would be minor at that point, can then made on the deployed tree. InferKNOX (talk) 13:11, 7 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Lastly, I would still like feedback on what should be done with the tree regarding Zhaobao taijiquan. Should I build a tree only for Zhaobao & it's subpages that is more focused on the branch of that style, the way I've done with each family style, and omit it from this main tree? If I should include it in this tree, who in the tree does it branch from & what is the lineage? Other than that, I think Guang Ping Yang-style gate-keepers to-date would also help to enrich the tree. InferKNOX (talk) 13:11, 7 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Well it seems there's silence on this now. So, unless there are any objections/additions, I'll be replacing the tree on the main page with this one soon, and the same for the respective sub-pages, putting the family-style centric trees on the family-style pages and their appropriate sub-pages. InferKNOX (talk) 11:10, 26 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I asked for additional assistance from individuals on a Facebook group called The Kwoon and with their contributions have allowed me to make significant changes to the tree. Please review it and give me feedback. I've also added Wudang, Zhaobao and Zhaobao He style. I'm very unsure about the Zhaobao branches because everywhere I look, I'm finding conflicting information, so I need particular help there. I think from what I've read, they are quite relevant and I even think some articles aught to be made on them. Please give me any and all feedback. I've also made major changes on all the family trees that I linked a few comments above, which I'll be updating on the respective pages in a moment. ~ InferKNOX (talk) 21:05, 28 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Redirect of Tai chi

Although T'ai chi redirects here, Tai chi redirects to Taiji. I feel it should redirect here on the English Wikipedia (Tai chi -> T'ai chi ch'uan), as this is what English-language-using searchers of 'tai chi' are likely to be looking for (this article acknowledges that in the West, "tai chi" refers to the martial art). I started a discussion on Talk:Taiji. ~ Kimelea (talk) 12:53, 25 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There are dozens of possible spellings of taiji and taijiquan that make some degree of sense in English. We may discuss each of these separately and argue whether a person using each spelling is most likely to be looking for the philosophical concept, the symbol, or the martial art. But I think only one principle consistently makes sense of this: Any spelling EXCLUDING the word/syllable quan/ch'uan/... should redirect to the concepts, and any spelling INCLUDING this word/syllable should redirect to the martial art. And then, of course, the article on the concept should display briefly explained links to the martial art and to the symbol in top-notes - and perhaps in the lead, too.-- (talk) 14:23, 25 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I see where you're coming from, and I agree that that's a smooth way of organising the words, but my understanding of redirects is that they should predict what a user is actually looking for - which may not be so elegant. I think a person looking for the taiji concept is likely to be aware how it is spelled, and unlikely to enter "tai chi" as a search term, whereas someone looking for the martial art is highly likely to enter "tai chi". What links here suggests the same - the links to Tai chi seem to be referring to it as an activity, sport or martial art. But if you feel strongly, and nobody else comments, we can compromise. ~ Kimelea (talk) 15:12, 25 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I don't feel strongly about it, but I think any changes made should reflect the fact that the following are all redirects to T'ai chi ch'uan and Taiji, respectively:
I've only included those redirects that represent attempts at spelling taijiquan resp. taiji. The boldfaced ones presently redirect to the wrong article, according to my consistent principle. The italicised ones are unfortunat too, I think, though I'm not sure what to do about them. Some may feel that these two list of redirects are ridiculously long - and I'm one of them, though, for consistency, I actually created some of them.-- (talk) 08:17, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
PS. I've now changed the italicised ones to redirect to Taiji (disambiguation) instead; I think that makes more sense.-- (talk) 08:25, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Jeeeeez. Who had the patience to create all those?? Some of them don't need to exist at all - T'ai Chi Ch'üan (pin-yin article) for example is an orphan and nobody's going to enter that in the search box. Likewise the two dab redirects you changed - nothing links to them, and nor should it. :) I'm not convinced that anyone is going to enter special characters like ü and à on the English Wikipedia either. Maybe we'd better take this to Redirects for Discussion - neither of us are happy with how it is at the moment, and this is gonna need a bigger broom. :p ~ Kimelea (talk) 14:22, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
If you scroll up to what presently is the first section of this talk page, you'll find a list of possible (and impossible) spellings of taiji and taijiquan. There are still red links among them... and I definitely agree: many of the redirects are pointless. Apart from the ones with parentheses, I'm not sure which ones we should delete, though. "Chüan" seems frequent enough to stay, where as I don't recall seing "chuean" elsewhere. The accents in pinyin "Tàijíquán" should not warrant a redirect, I guess, but that's a question of general principles for pinyin in wikipedia. I'm not quite sure how things work when you look something up in Wikipedia - are some of the redirects unnecessary simply because one will be redirected anyway? Like, searching for peter pan (or even pEtEr pAn) sends you directly to Peter Pan, even in absence of a redirection page. (Incidentally, someone went through the trouble of creating the redirection pages Peter Pan (literature character), Peter Pan (person), Peter Pan (fictional character), Peter Pan (character), Peter Pan (lierature character), and Peter Pan (literary character) -- whatever the purpose!)-- (talk) 15:44, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
(I guess some of the Peter Pan redirects are leftovers from a series of rename-over-redirect's.) I see my link peter pan is a redlink - however, as I stated, searching for "peter pan" in the search box leads to Peter Pan, and that is what matters.-- (talk) 16:08, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

...So I looked up [[1]], and following those principles there seems to be no reason to delete ANY of the weird redirects. Which brings us back to your original suggestion about WHERE to redirect. Here's all I really have to say about that: As long as ANY of the spellings of "taiji" (including Wade-Giles spellings) redirect to T'ai chi ch'uan, that article must have a hatnote pointing back to Taiji -- which I will now add.-- (talk) 17:06, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There's a case for deleting all the weird spellings on 'reasons to delete' #1 and #8, spamming up the search engine and being unlikely typos respectively, but it does seem most redirects are kept unless there's a convincing reason why they shouldn't be. And I think you're right, the search engine corrects capitalisation if it doesn't find an article with the capitalisation you entered, so it's unnecessary to have T'ai Chi Ch'uan as a redirect for T'ai chi ch'uan for example. I would say all those Peter Pan fans have too much time on their hands, but here we are debating obscure spellings of Chinese words, so. :D
Good call with the hatnote on T'ai chi ch'uan. I added one back to Taiji for the same reason, it's clearer than the one you deleted. And now I'll start an RfD - I'll link here when I've finished, but it might take a while for me to sort through all those titles to make my suggestions. ~ Kimelea (talk) 21:32, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Lots of the redirects are now under discussion at RfD. Thank you for your help identifying the ones that needed to be discussed, Nø. ~ Kimelea (talk) 02:46, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Opposed: "Spamming up" the search engine? This has nothing to do with WP:SPAM. I agree with User:Nø, both that there was no reason to mass delete these and that the concept should not be redirected to the martial art.
In isolated cases, perhaps there are unlikely typos, however, you've been indiscriminate with your "suggestions" and you've failed to follow guidelines. There was already a hat note on Taiji, and to use your example, T'ai Chi Ch'uan: regardless of whether a full search might turn up something somewhere, it would needlessly break every one of these links:
  • Talk:T'ai chi ch'uan ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Petersam ‎ (links)
  • Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Fire Star ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Taichiseeker ‎ (links)
  • Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Taikyoku nidan ‎ (links)
  • Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2004 December 28 ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Tai chi chuan/Archive 1 ‎ (links)
  • User talk:206.54.145.254 ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Reiki/Archive 1 ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Roble ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Hilikp ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Joan of Arc/Archive 1 ‎ (links)
  • User:Bradeos Graphon/temp ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Tyciol/2006 ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Qi/Archive1 ‎ (links)
  • Talk:T'ai Chi Ch'üan/Archive 2 ‎ (links)
  • Wikipedia:WikiProject Taoism/Assessment ‎ (links)
  • Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Taoism articles by quality log ‎ (links)
  • User talk:PRehse/Archive 1 ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Tai chi chuan/Archive 3 ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Ghostexorcist/Archive2 ‎ (links)
  • User talk:Shell Kinney/Archive 8 ‎ (links)
  • User:Showers ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Wing Chun/Archive 1 ‎ (links)
  • Talk:Qigong/Archive 1 ‎ (links)
  • User:BullRangifer/List of alternative medicine subjects ‎ (links)
  • User:Yunshui ‎ (links)
  • User talk:InferKNOX ‎ (links)
  • International Chinese Kuoshu Federation ‎ (links)
  • Wikipedia talk:Articles for creation/T'ien Ti Tao Ch'uan-shu P'ai ‎ (links)
Please self-undo your precipitous mass deletion as consensus is weighing against you.
  • 02:46, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+395)‎ . . Talk:T'ai chi ch'uan ‎ (→‎Redirect of Tai chi: Nominated for RfD) (top)
  • 02:44, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+325)‎ . . Talk:Taiji ‎ (→‎Redirect of Tai chi: Nominated for RfD) (top)
  • 02:36, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+16,597)‎ . . Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2012 March 27 ‎ (Nominating Tai chi and related redirects) (top)
  • 02:05, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tài jí ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:05, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tài Jí ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:05, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai ji ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:04, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai Ji ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:04, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tàijí ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:02, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai Ji (disambiguation) ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:02, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai Chi (disambiguation) ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:01, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai-Chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:01, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . T'ai Chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 02:01, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . T'ai chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:57, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Thai Chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:57, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tao Chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:56, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai qi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:56, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . T'aichi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:55, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . T'ai-chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:55, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai-chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:55, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Taichi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:54, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai Chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
  • 01:54, 27 March 2012 (diff | hist) . . (+255)‎ . . Tai chi ‎ (Nominated for RFD: see Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion) (top)
Thank you.—Machine Elf 1735 03:01, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know where to start with this, Machine Elf. You've massively jumped to conclusions. Although Nø and I both talked about the long list of spelling variations redirecting to T'ai chi ch'uan, we both agreed that they were probably excessive and could do with a trim. But the RfD isn't even about that. I haven't proposed deletion of a single redirect, let alone the 'mass delete' you're talking about. Nor have I suggested redirecting the concept to the martial art! Please see my reply on the RfD.
'Spamming up the search engine' was an informal reference to WP:R#DELETE, reason #1. Nothing to do with WP:SPAM. ~ Kimelea (talk) 03:37, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Tisk tisk… regarding the unfortunate ones in italics, User:Nø clearly stated "I've now changed the italicised ones to redirect to Taiji (disambiguation) instead; I think that makes more sense" (emphasis in the original). However, at the RfD, you claim Nø's "elegant" solution "hasn't held up due to the Western usage ambiguity, and now we have a mess."
RfD is a euphemism for deletion. Notice, they each say: "keep/delete"… not to mention: “Redirects for discussion (RfD) is the place where Wikipedians decide what should be done with problematic redirects. Items sent here usually stay listed for a week or so, after which they are deleted by an administrator, kept, or retargeted”.
That's 214 links pointing at the 17 different redirects you've nominated, a mass deletion which I did recommend that you self-revert (unless it really is your intention, of course):
You leave out “all the many, MANY weird spellings of taijiquan / t'ai chi ch'uan pointing to T'ai chi ch'uan” (emphasis in the original). That is, you only nominated Taiji-permutations, none of which would go to your desired location, per User:Nø's recommendation.
Please be honest: you most certainly do "suggest" that Tai chi, Tai Chi, Taichi, Tai-chi and T'ai-chi be redirected to T'ai chi ch'uan and that T'aichi, Tai qi, Tao Chi and Thai Chi be redirected to disambiguation.
Although you claim User:Nø “tried to create some consistency by directing all spelling variations of taiji and t'ai chi to Taiji and all spelling variations of taijiquan and t'ai chi ch'uan to T'ai chi ch'uan” you "suggest" Keep because that's these currently do point to your desired location: T'ai chi, T'ai Chi, Tai-Chi. You'll also inexplicably !vote keep for the disambiguation pages, (very thoughtful of you), and the following rarely linked Taiji permutations (35 out of 214): Tàijí, Tai Ji, Tai ji, Tài Jí and Tài jí, which does nothing to clear anything up.—Machine Elf 1735 05:59, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Point by point then...
  1. Yes, Nø changed the ones in italics yesterday. It was an improvement. The mess was caused long before yesterday, by other editors redirecting some of the tai chi spelling variations in good faith, but not being aware of all the others. Nobody deliberately made a mess. My description of his solution as 'elegant' was not sarcastic. It was elegant. Unfortunately, the usage of the words in English is not so elegant, and redirects should reflect the most likely usage. (See WP:PRIMARYTOPIC - I am saying that the English primary topic of the term tai chi, for example, is the martial art and not the concept.)
  2. RfD is not a euphemism for deletion. It's called discussion for a reason. This was made clear to me on the Help Desk when I first raised the possibility of RfDing a (different) redirect.
  3. Once again, there is no 'mass deletion'. I do not want any of the redirects I nominated to be deleted, except possibly Tai Chi (disambiguation) and Tai Ji (disambiguation) - deletion is not the purpose of my RfD. I am well aware how many internal pages link to these redirects. That's why it's so important that we get them pointing at the right targets.
  4. Yes, I did only nominate "Taiji-permutations", because they are the only ambiguous ones. Anybody searching for Taijiquan, Tài Jí Quán, T'aichi ch'üan or even Taiji Chuan is going to be looking for T'ai chi ch'uan, not Taiji or even Tai chi chih.
  5. Yes, I do suggest that Wade-Giles variations on tai chi be retargeted to T'ai chi ch'uan, and confused spellings go to the dab. That is not the same as 'redirecting the concept', which implies redirecting Taiji and similar Pinyin spellings - something I have suggested we do not do. No matter the etymology - terms like tai chi refer to a martial art in English, not a concept.
  6. I don't even understand your last point. I don't have a 'desired location'. My 'desire' is for our redirects to cause minimum confusion to our readers, by correctly anticipating what users of a particular search term will be looking for.
  7. If you want to nominate some of the redirects for deletion, by all means do so. Nø and I were entirely in agreement that there are too many pointless ones - he remarked on the ones with parentheses and the unnecessary capitalisations. But as I explained, I didn't nominate anything for deletion because it would have confused the important matter at hand - the frequently used redirects such as Tai chi. If you nominated the likes of T'ai Chi Ch'uan (pin-yin article), T'ai Chi Ch'uan (unnecessary capitalisation), Tai Ji (disambiguation) etc etc for deletion, I'd support it. But it needs someone with more understanding than me of Chinese romanization, to know which are likely search terms and which are not.
  8. Your points on the RfD: you said Nø was not in favour of my proposed redirects. He actually declined to state an opinion, saying he didn't feel strongly. He just asked that any changes made were consistent, and provided the list, helping me to identify which redirects needed discussing. Please do not put words in his mouth by framing him as being in opposition.
  9. I am circumventing nothing. WP:FORUMSHOPping is raising an issue "on multiple noticeboards, or to multiple administrators". This is raised on exactly one noticeboard. That is the purpose of RfD: asking for community-wide discussion on the purpose of redirects.
I have no nefarious agenda here. Please stop assuming such bad faith. ~ Kimelea (talk) 15:42, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Nefarious? Who said anything about nefarious, you? Who said anything about an agenda, you? Who proposed "Redirect of Tai chi" on both article talk pages, you? Those aren't forums? Don't pretend like you could care less; just stand by what you've explicitly said you want to do. The sooner you stop accusing me of bad faith, the sooner I can forego pointing out that you were the one making false accusation about me right from the start: I did not claim you were being uncivil, and FYI, I did not imply that you were sarcastic. I have no idea why it strikes you as "elegant" that different transliterations of the same word mean the same thing. Unfortunately, you think you're being accused of something nefarious, so you carry on with denials and counterattacks:
8. “Your points on the RfD: you said Nø was not in favour of my proposed redirects. He actually declined to state an opinion, saying he didn't feel strongly.” (here's what Nø actually said) “He just asked that any changes made were consistent, and provided the list, helping me to identify which redirects needed discussing.” (and you just won't admit you're arguing against making it consistent… "needed discussing" eh? here we go then) “Please do not put words in his mouth by framing him as being in opposition.”
You've got some nerve! Quit lying, you're the one shamelessly putting words in Nø's mouth and you're the one crying bloody murder as if you're being framed… for a tactical end-run. LOL, fiendish.—Machine Elf 1735 21:20, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Machine Elf has removed a comment that I placed here. I don't agree with that removal and it is being discussed, but anyone interested can check the history to find out what was said. ~ Kimelea (talk) 05:10, 29 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
WP:LETGOMachine Elf 1735 14:07, 29 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I think that in the interests of maintaining accuracy in the articles/searches while not disregarding usual usage, spellings in the short form "Taiji/T'ai chi" should redirect to the respective disambiguation pages, or if not, then to the Taiji article page, with hatnotes to the T'ai chi ch'uan page the disambiguation page(s). Honestly, I'm undecided about the matter, but in a way think the disambiguation pages should be consolidated (I won't pursue that though). Additionally, I agree on deletion of redirects based on variations in capitalisation, with only one of each respective variant left, since the search engine compensates, but have no comment on deletion of spelling variations as I'm not aware of much of the WP guidelines regarding such. (I've also posted this in the RfD page, since I'm not totally sure where the post aught to be.) InferKNOX (talk) 12:23, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your input InferKNOX and welcome back to Wikipedia! Your comments are very welcome, however please note that the current RfD does not propose deletion of anything - even the capitalisations and so on - it would have got too complicated. The RfD is just talking about where to redirect Tai chi and similar Wade-Giles spellings, based on the English use of such terms to mean T'ai chi ch'uan, the martial art. As I've said to Machine Elf, I would welcome it if someone else with better knowledge of Chinese would nominate some of the weird ones like Taiji Chuan for deletion. ~ Kimelea (talk) 15:50, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you too for your warm welcome back. I understand that deletion of anything isn't the point, but I was just adding my opinion on it. I don't see the point of redundant capitalisation redirects of the same spelling. in the point of hybrid WG-Pinyin spellings, I wholeheartedly believe they are a blight that should be purged and seeing as they are simply the product of misspelling, need not even have a linguist intervene. Back to the main point though, I reiterate my belief that the various T'ai chi's & Taiji's should point at their respective disambiguation pages. Reason is, as you say, Kimelea, most of the time people will be referencing the martial art, but it should rightfully be pointing to the concept. Pointing to the disambiguation page will make sure people become aware that there are two different meanings to the one term rather than force them to the (technically correct) concept, which they probably aren't after, or the (technically incorrect) martial art. InferKNOX (talk) 17:18, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough. :) I think I'm going to stay out of this whole debate once the RfD is done, though. I really admired the way you and the others came to consensus last year about the naming of this article (T'ai chi ch'uan) but it hasn't gone that way this time. I'll voice support of deleting the excess redirects if somebody else nominates them. ~ Kimelea (talk) 17:28, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
No, don't do that. Reading through what has been discussed about this topic, it is my opinion that Machine Elf is being unnecessarily confrontational & hostile, despite being at quite a tangent to what you're actually talking about, in my view. Debate is definitely necessary on the naming of this art & I strongly believe that the various names people are attaching to taijiquan are hindering yet other peoples' understanding of it & by proxy, it's propagation. Thus it is vital that individuals like yourself participate in clarifying what the name truly is and shaking off these... abominations for names that are popping up like "Tai qi", "T'ai ji", etc. If it is not done, then the art will continue to sync ever deeper into obscurity as each erroneous interpretation builds upon prior errors. Besides, I (and I'm sure others) found it quite cumbersome to develop some semblance of consensus here regarding the name, but it happened eventually... kind of & so I hope to press forth to do the same as best I can in the institutions teaching taijiquan so that some form of unity can be achieved for the solidification of the art as a whole. InferKNOX (talk) 21:12, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Confrontational and hostile? Comment on content.—Machine Elf 1735 21:30, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry if I offend Machine Elf, as it is not my intent to do so, but I stand by my assertion due to the tone with which you've been addressing Kimelea. It is the manner & not the content of your argument I speak of. It seems unduly harsh despite Kimelea's earnest attempts to have you understand that he/she is not after deletion, but rather to develop continuity on which redirects are pointing where, as stated in an example, Tai-chi redirects one way, yet Tai-Chi another, despite being virtually the same, if not so. InferKNOX (talk) 23:14, 27 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
My tone and not the content. Then let's WP:comment on content, not on the contributor.—Machine Elf 1735 03:40, 28 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
My comment has neither been a personal attack, nor is about you, but is rather about the aggressive manner in which your content has been presented to Kimelea. My comment is not directed at you, that this topic need be deviated off course by discussing it with you, but is directed at Kimelea, who is opting towards ceasing contributions to this topic as a result of you apparent offensive. Please let's say no more on this and deal with the matter at hand. Thank you. InferKNOX (talk) 09:06, 28 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not asking you to discuss it with me. I'm asking you to drop it.—Machine Elf 1735 13:49, 28 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for your moral support InferKNOX. To clarify, no uncivil editor would scare me off participating in something that interests me (and I trust in good faith that that is not Machine Elf's intention), it's just a question of whether the taijiquan-related redirects matter enough to me to go to the trouble of nominating them and then the drama of defending the nom. If the current RfD results in some progress with the inconsistency, we could possibly work together to produce a list of those we think could stand to be deleted, and co-nominate them? ~ Kimelea (talk) 05:24, 29 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed. I would love to help in whatever way I can to sort through this mess that is taijiquan naming. I've very passionate about it and will do my utmost to achieve progress. Remember though that I'm relatively new, as far as WP editing goes, so it may take quite some... guidance to get me familiar with methods, tools & policies, so that I contribute effectively without putting a spanner in the works. ;-) InferKNOX (talk) 09:51, 29 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I'm newer than you! :) I just have a great mentor and dive into the WP documentation a whole lot! Maybe sometime (at your leisure) you can produce a list of the three-syllable redirects that you think need to go, and we can discuss them. ~ Kimelea (talk) 15:56, 29 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Well I guess I'm just bad at reading then, LOL. Sound great, will do. :-) InferKNOX (talk) 21:12, 16 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Tai chi chuan in popular culture > Games

in Shenmue II there is some of this T'ai chi ch'uan -- 60.241.153.201 (talk) 13:51, 30 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Suggesting New Articles: Li-style (Li Ruidong) and Zhaobao He-style (He Zhaoyuan)

I've come across information regarding these styles while gathering information for the lineage tree I'm working on above, and have heard of their significant presence. I would like to recommend making articles on them as sub-topics of taijiquan. For Zhaobao He-style, if a full topic is excessive, at least a section within the Zhaobao Taijiquan article to refer to.
Li-style
Zhaobao He-style
They seem relevant and I believe could have reason to be part of the lineage tree. ~ InferKNOX (talk) 20:35, 28 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Shen-style?

During my re-building of the taijiquan lineage trees, it has been suggested to me that Tian Zhaolin also had the tudis (special students) Shen Yongpei and Shen Jingling. Shen Yongpei then fathered Shen Zaiwen, who was taught by both Yongpei and Jingling, then formed "Shen-style" and passed it on to Steve Higgins. This is apparently denied by the Tian family records, thus I would like to ask for input on it here, as it seems premature to consider it's inclusion into any tree(s) before proper discussion. It is now taught in Canada and Japan as an Old Yang middle-frame deriving from Yang Jianhou through the Tians.... ~ InferKNOX (talk) 11:23, 10 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I would not considered it to be a separate style of Yang. Shen Zai Wen (沈再文) is the son of Shen Jin Lin (沈金林). Shen Zai Wen published and promotes qigong and the internal martial arts. He is currently living in Japan. According to my searches, other martial arts authorities do not refer to Shen's Taiji performance as a separate style. This lack of recognition suggested to me that it is not a separate style. ottawakungfu (talk) 16:27, 10 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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