(15 Oct 1998) English/Nat
Over ten thousand people gathered on Tiananmen Square in Beijing for a mass exhibition of the traditional Chinese exercises known as Tai Chi or Taijiquan.
The late Deng Xiaoping gave his approval to Taijiquan in the 1970s.
The discipline was chosen to mark the 40th anniversary of China's Martial Arts Association and it provided Taijiquan amateurs from Chinese communities across Asia with an opportunity to show off their skills.
VOICE-OVER:
It's been China's unofficial national exercise routine for two decades.
Mao Zedong looks on, but it wasn't the Great Helmsman's idea.
One of his successors, Deng Xiaoping, stamped his approval on Tai Chi.
It's a 17th century Chinese martial art that's evolved into a therapeutic and health- building routine, mainly for China's middle aged and elderly.
One aim of the mass performance in Beijing's Tiananmen Square was to encourage younger Chinese to take it up.
Luckily for the future generations, there still exist plenty of young masters of Tai Chi.
They're usually martial art experts who engage in many different forms of Chinese boxing.
Tai Chi can be martial, but its mellow aspects are what most devotees seize upon.
They practice Tai Chi to relax -- and to find their inner serenity.
The slow movements demand a concentration which many believe gives Tai Chi a holistic power to heal -- mentally and physically.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
