본문 바로가기
  • Home
Basic Search

Journey of Chinese Martial Arts Taijiquan and Taoist Qigong Practice

  • The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
  • Abbr : JSLCKC
  • 2012, (28), pp.514-526
  • DOI : 10.16874/jslckc.2012..28.020
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Published : February 28, 2012

Na, Min Gu 1

1수원대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

I simply have no idea. It is truly maddening – not knowing where I came from, why I’m here, where I’m going. I don’t know what’s what with any of these things! When I open my eyes and when I shut them, when I move, when I’m still – at every moment I feel the torment of not knowing. I decided to explore the traces of passion, emptiness and ego present within me over the course of this “harsh life” spent digging my way through what is not yet known. I have chosen two overarching themes for doing so. The first is the “body,” which sustains each human being as a biological phenomenon. Then there is the “mind,” which connects with that body to form a non-material psychological world. What I present here is my own account of a life spent passionately seeking to learn about these two aspects. It may be viewed as a kind of “training journal,” describing a process in which I have struggled with body and mind because of what is not yet known, because I do not know. The one who creates a perfectly ideal body and mind is a saint and a superman. He has reached the state of total knowing and total capability. In Chinese history, there is one master of the utmost mystery. He went by the name of Guiguzi (390—320 BC) and is referred to as “the man called God.” Guiguzi, who lived during China’s Warring States Period, spent his whole life on life-threatening military campaigns, experiencing the most extreme situations in human history. Eventually, he retired and formulated his theory into a book; he also taught pupils. The eponymous text he left behind is a “training guide for becoming an all-knowing, all-powerful holy man.” It offers the way to cultivation, discipline and training combining “body, heart and word.” Guiguzi provides guidance on how to understand all the principles of the universe and how to practice those principles oneself, in order to transform into a “superman” capable of manifesting powers in military campaigns or any other fighting – a holy man. Ironically, the Daoist method that I studied shared a deep connection with Guiguzi. It had been transmitted over thousands of years from ancient times until today, by way of Huangdi and Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Guiguzi in the Warring States Period. As an ordinary citizen living in the 21st century world, I do not know the extent to which I will be able to achieve discipline. But I am dedicating my life to working to escape from this “confusing not-yet-knowing.” Becoming an all-knowing, all-powerful superman is truly a dream of an ideal. I simply harbor another resigned irony, that you must be ignorant to go on living, and even though the unknowing drives me crazy, I live my life. Still, if there is one thing I must trust in and pursue, it can be summed up in the word “xiu (修)”: practice!!

Statistics

  • 409 Viewed
  • 102 Downloaded

Tools

Issue List

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

Basic Search Advanced Search