Revision as of 11:09, 6 September 2011

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"Tai Chi Chuan" to "Taijiquan" Edits

Firstly, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for editing "Tai Chi Chuan" to "Taiji Quan" before discussing. I only discovered the rigorous discussion process after having saved the edits. I mean(t) no disrespect of any kind and actually wanted & looked for such a function, but stupidly failed to find it. I hope I have not stepped on anyone's toes, and if I have, that you will please forgive my ignorance regarding the netiquette of Misplaced Pages, and we can work together peacefully and effectively to spread accurate information.

I undid your move of the page. While it is fine to make bold edits to Misplaced Pages, there are conflicting sources for the name in English and the article title has been where it's at for many years amicably. If you can present evidence that a majority of reliable sources in English use Taiji Quan over Tai chi chuan, please do so on the talk page. Thanks, Steven Walling 04:08, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

Thank you and I am using that avenue now. Although I originally was leaning towards the name being "Taiji Quan", I learnt that the most common usage is in fact "Taijiquan" and thus am working towards consensus on recognition of this this fact. InferKNOX (talk) 09:45, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

The reason to edit to Taijiquan

The martial art is practically unanimously called such among Taijiquan masters, associations, organisations and anyone whose origins are in line with that of Taiji itself. There is a serious splintering in international Taiji schools, etc, at the moment, making it difficult for new students to effectively gather information and act upon their desire to join this spectacular martial art and the various naming conventions only add to this splintering, as the Taiji leaders call it something distinct (Taijiquan) from the majority of unlearned individuals. For these individuals, this raises questions of whether there are practical distinctions between the two and what they may be, adding confusion to something that individuals like Wu Bin, the International Wushu Federation, as well as the various Taiji associations and organisations are working to simplify and harmonise. Thus using "Tai Chi Chuan" as the term for something called "Taijiquan" by the heads of the martial art, is in a sense spreading misinformation.

I'm still a beginner in the Traditional Yang Style Taijiquan, but hope to do my part, whatever that may be, and work together with the various schools, associations and organisations to consolidate this splintering and to do my best to help promote uniformity, cohesion and a standardised hierarchy that all can appreciate and adhere to.

For references, you can review material from the various Chinese masters and I'm sure you'll see the relative unanimity I speak of.

Thank you for your efforts. The argument that needs to be made here is that the article should be labled the "correct" name of the art rather than the possibly incorrect and definitely declining "most common name in English". If anyone on Misplaced Pages argues that you must follow a convention, please note there are many guidelines that state that any guideline or perceived "rule" can and should be bent or broken if it stands in the way of improving an article.Herbxue (talk) 22:26, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Whilst I can see that you are very passionate about this issue InferKNOX, and by your own admission you are a beginner at Tai Chi Chuan, you have made various statements in favour of changing the name of the article and yet you have not presented any evidence which proves that your assertions are correct. It may be the case that your teacher calls it "Taijiquan", and that articles you read refer to it this way that is understandable. However I have been teaching Tai Chi for almost thirty years and I can assure you that most people call it by the English spelling and not the Chinese one. Changing the title of an article to a special spelling only recognised by a minority of English speakers does not improve the article or make it more accessible in any way imaginable. My teacher called the art "T'ai Chi Ch'uan", which is the spelling I would personally prefer, and I have just published a book called "The Chinese Art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan", however if I am making a poster or advertising my class I recognise that most people call it "Tai Chi" and this is the spelling I use because it is the recognisable one. Using the English language spelling is not spreading misinformation, languages are not designed by using dictionaries or even by recognised conventions set out in rule books by authorized bodies but are simply composed by the conventions and usages of the languages' speakers, in fact the same is true of the "Tai Chi" schools. Schools which emphasize links with China may favour the Chinese spelling but my school was established in Britain in 1934 and we use the English spelling, Tai Chi is international now and the English Misplaced Pages spelling of the name "Tai Chi" reflects this.--Chuangzu (talk) 23:21, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

They're both English spellings, it's just that one is using the outdated Wade-Giles translation and the other is using the standardised Pinyin translation. My argument is not based on bias, and in fact my Sifu and his school use Tai Chi Chuan; nor is it based on ignorance, despite my being a beginner of the practice. I argue for it, because of the splintering I talk of above, and the fact that standardisation is one of the key factors towards achieving cohesion. Even now it is very difficult to ascertain legitimacy of items pertaining to Taiji, what more in a generation or two, when the unchecked offshoots will be so vast that the central, 'correct' martial art is lost in the shuffle? I fear, however, that based on what you said, your argument is the product of personal preference due to teaching and habit. As someone so long in it, surely you see what I'm saying? I honestly don't see any harm it could do to anyone, having the standard name Taijiquan on Misplaced Pages, as anyone searching for "Tai Chi" or "Tai Chi Chuan" would simply be redirected there, and on the page it would be clearly stated that those spellings they were redirected from are the formerly used Wade-Giles translation, thus all those learning about the martial art would understand the current standing and from where it came. The other point is that using the Wade-Giles translation, people will always revert to the incorrect "Tai Chi" and "Tai Chi Chuan", when it should be "T'ai Chi" and "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" respectively. Is it then better that there be such rigid grasp to something for popularity's sake, that deterioration is preferable to correctness, which itself is not entirely unpopular? --InferKNOX (talk) 11:03, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

Your title change tai chi chuan

I believe you changed the article title of "Tai Chi Chuan" to "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" wrongly. I don't know how you did it but the long and important article history of the "Tai Chi Chuan" version (also from the talk page) has disappeared. Please reverse the title change and correct this, or ask an knowledgeable editor to carry out such an article change. --VanBurenen (talk) 11:09, 6 September 2011 (UTC)