Nèijiā (Chinese: 內家; Pinyin: nèi jīa; Wade-Giles: nei⁴ chia¹) denotes the internal or soft styles of Chinese martial arts, as opposed to wàijiā (外家; "external family"), the external or hard styles, which are associated with Shaolinquan and its many derivatives. The use of this term in this context traces back to Sun Lutang who in the 1920s identified the three arts of T'ai Chi Ch'üan, Bāguàzhǎng, and Xíngyìquán as internal (Sun Lutang himself created a system fusing principles from all three of these arts). Other styles have since claimed the designation as well (e.g. see Liuhebafa and Yiquan). Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell(ing) and yin means sound(s)). This article describes the most common variant called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Shaolin Quan or Shaolin Chüan (少林拳) (in Cantonese Siu Lum Kuen) is the term typically used to describe the Chinese martial arts that originate from the famous Buddhist Shaolin Temple and monastery at Songshan in Henan, founded in 495 by Tamo. ... Sun Lu-tang (孫祿堂, 1861-1932) created Sun style (孫家) Tai Chi Chüan He was considered expert in two other internal martial arts styles: Hsing-i Chuan (Xingyiquan) and Pa Kua Chang (Baguazhang) before he came to study Tai Chi. ... Tai Chi Chüan or Taijiquan (Traditional Chinese: 太極拳; Simplified Chinese: 太极拳; pinyin: Tàijíquán; literally supreme ultimate fist), commonly known as Tai Chi, Tai Chi, or Taiji, is an internal Chinese martial art. ... Bagua zhang (Chinese: 八卦掌; pinyin: ) (also called Pa Kua Chang, Bagua Quan, Pa kua chüan, Bagua, Pakua, Pakua boxing) is one of the three major internal Chinese martial arts, the other two of which are Xingyiquan (形意拳) and Taijiquan (太極拳). The word bagua zhang literally means eight trigram palm. The trigrams refer... Xingyiquan is one of the three major internal Chinese martial arts—the other two being Taijiquan and Baguazhang—and is characterised by aggressive, linear movements and explosive power. ... Sun Lu-tang (孫祿堂, 1861-1932) created Sun style (孫家) Tai Chi Chüan He was considered expert in two other internal martial arts styles: Hsing-i Chuan (Xingyiquan) and Pa Kua Chang (Baguazhang) before he came to study Tai Chi. ... Liu He Ba Fa (six harmonies thru eight methods), (alternately spelled: liu ho pa fa, liou ho ba fah, lyou ho ba fah, liou ho pa fah, lok hop pat fat, and abbreviated as: LHBF,LHPF), is a form of Chinese nei-gong or internal exercise with combat fighting applications. ... Yiquan (Chinese:意拳; pinyin: Yìquán; Wade-Giles: I4 Chüan2; lit. ...

Although Nèijiā was coined only in the past century, the distinction between "internal" and "external" reaches further back into Chinese martial history.

Stanley Henning presents the Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan (1669) by Huang Zongxi as the source of the dualism between the internal and external martial arts. Huang Zongxi was an opponent of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, as was Wang Zhengnan, the man the Epitaph eulogizes. The Epitaph's identification of the internal martial arts with the Taoism indigenous to China and its identification of the external martial arts with the foreign Buddhism of Shaolin (and incidentally the Manchu) may have been an act of political defiance rather than one of technical classification (Henning). Huang Zongxi (黃宗羲, 1610-1695) was the name of a Chinese political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part the Qing. ... One of the Qianlong Emperors Manchu bodyguards (1760), notice the distinctive hat The Manchu (Korean 만주, Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: 满族; Traditional Chinese: 滿族; pinyin: Mǎnzú) are a Tungusic people who originated in Korea, an area known in English as Manchuria. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: 清朝; Pinyin: Qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China, expanded into China and the surrounding territories, establishing the Empire... Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, meaning approximately Law of the Awakening) is a religion, a practical philosophy, and arguably a psychology, focusing on the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni (Siddhārtha Gautama), who lived in ancient India most likely from the mid-6th to the early 5th century BCE...

The Yang family of T'ai Chi Ch'üan is known to have possessed documents describing the distinction between internal and external martial practice at least as far back as the second half of the 19th century. Yang Cheng-fu in the Yang styles version of the form known as Single Whip 單鞭 Yang style (楊氏) Tai Chi Chuan in its many variations is the most popular and widely practised style in the world today and the second in terms of seniority among the primary five family... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the 1920s the nèijiā master Sun Lutang identified the following as the principles that distinguish an internal martial art: It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Social issues of the 1920s. ... Sun Lu-tang (孫祿堂, 1861-1932) created Sun style (孫家) Tai Chi Chüan He was considered expert in two other internal martial arts styles: Hsing-i Chuan (Xingyiquan) and Pa Kua Chang (Baguazhang) before he came to study Tai Chi. ...

1. An emphasis on the use of the mind to coordinate the leverage of the relaxed body as opposed to the use of brute strength.
2. The internal development, circulation, and expression of qì.
3. The application of Taoist dǎoyǐn, qìgōng, and nèigōng (內功) principles of external movement.

See Qi (disambiguation) for other meanings of Qi. Qi, also commonly spelled chi, chi or ki, is a fundamental concept of everyday Chinese culture, most often defined as air or breath (for example, the colloquial Mandarin Chinese term for weather is tiān qi, or the breath of heaven... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... Tao Yin (Chinese: 導引; pinyin: guide and pull) exercises were an ancient precursor of qigong, specifically practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health and spiritual cultivation, attested from at least 500 BC. Tao Yin is also said to be (along with Shaolin Chuan) a primary formative ingredient in the martial... Qigong (Simplified Chinese: 气功; Traditional Chinese: 氣功; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: chi4 kung1) is an increasingly popular aspect of Chinese medicine. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

See also

• Dantian
• Jing (TCM)
• Nei Jin
• Neo-Confucianism
• Taijitu
• Wudangquan
• Yiquan
• Zhang Sanfeng

Tanden (Japanese; 丹田; Chinese: Dāntián), which literally means red field, refers to the centre of gravity, located in the abdomen just below and behind the navel. ... JÄ«ng (Chinese: ç²¾; Wade-Giles: ching1) is the Chinese word for essence, specifically kidney essence, or semen. ... Nei jin, Wade-Giles: nei chin or Pinyin: nèi jìn, 內勁, is an internal power or coordination said to be acquired through the practise of Chinese martial arts. ... Neo-Confucianism (理學 Pinyin: Lǐxué) is a term for a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang dynasty. ... A commonly used version of the Taijitu The Taijitu of Zhou Dun-yi. ... WÇ”dāngquán (Chinese: 武當拳; Yale Cantonese: mou5 dong1 kyun4) is a family of Chinese martial arts known more generally as neijia. ... Yiquan (Chinese:意拳; pinyin: Yìquán; Wade-Giles: I4 Chüan2; lit. ... Zhang Sanfeng was a semi-mythical Chinese Taoist priest who is believed by some to have achieved immortality, said variously to date from either the late Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty or Ming dynasty. ...

External links

• | Interview with Mike Sigman on body mechanics
• Video clips of internal martial arts, SINDO