NP-Taiji MayX 2018

Mike Jing gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com
Thu May 31 23:23:30 CDT 2018


It turns out this is due to a feature of the Wade–Giles system. From
Wikipedia:

A feature of the Wade–Giles system is the representation of the
unaspirated-aspirated stop consonant pairs using left apostrophes: p, pʻ,
t, tʻ, k, kʻ, ch, chʻ. The use of apostrophes preserves b, d, g, and j for
the romanization of Chinese varieties containing voiced consonants, such as
Shanghainese...

People unfamiliar with Wade–Giles often ignore the apostrophes, sometimes
omitting them when copying texts, unaware that they represent vital
information...

Partly because of the popular omission of the apostrophe, the four sounds
represented in Hànyǔ Pīnyīn by j, q, zh, and ch often all become ch,
including in many proper names. However, if the apostrophes are kept, the
system reveals a symmetry that leaves no overlap:

     The non-retroflex ch (Pīnyīn j) and chʻ (Pīnyīn q) are always before
either i or ü.
     The retroflex ch (Pīnyīn zh) and chʻ (Pīnyīn ch) are always before a,
ê, ih, o, or u

So "chi" in Wade–Giles was supposed to be pronounced as "ji" in the first
place. And "ch'i" is pronounced as "qi".

Very interesting.


On Thu, May 31, 2018 at 8:13 AM Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I don’t know if “very strong chi flow” is as important as simply listening
> to the body, which requires some focus and quietude.
>
> Mike, what I’m told by Chinese people is that the ch in Tai chi is
> pronounced more like a j, and that is the reason for the adoption of this
> spelling of taiji.
>
> Www.innergroovemusic.com
>
> > On May 31, 2018, at 1:03 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Cool!  Do you also teach Chi Gong?  Very strong inner Chi flow can
> provoke one's body to move (w/o volition) like Thai Chi moves. Likewise,
> body movement regimes, with mind focus, can provoke inner Chi movement.
> Flow, movement of energy in healing patterns, is the goal.  The body knows
> what it needs.
> >
> > David Morris
> >
> >> On Wed, May 30, 2018 at 11:14 PM Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Just finished teaching a three week Taiji course at Furman. 21 kids.
> They dug it, and so did I! Here’s the class performing the form we learned.
> I’m the bald one...haha
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/TStRiYTFP98hbb8U2
> >>
> >>
> >> Www.innergroovemusic.com
> >> --
> >> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>


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