I'm trying to find a reference for how the English names were established on the T'ai Chi Sword Form. In particular Major and Minor "Literary Star."
Any ideas?
thanks,
Paul
p.s. I found this very interesting online thread for Sabre:
http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/ubb/For ... 00010.html
Sword Form Posture Name Derivation Etymology
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The names of these movements in Mandarin are, "Da Kui Xing" & "Xiao Kui Xing" which are the Big & Small stars of the dipper.
As Louis Swaim & others have noted in the thread posted above, the uses of the Seven Stars is prevasive, to say the least. What exactly Yang Luchan had in mind in choosing these names for these movements is an open question. I believe the names were chosen because of the physical shape of the movements themsleves, which can be viewed as important points on the body being in the shape of the constellation. As for a more subtle meaning, I suggest this has to do with the Daoist dieties that were believed to be these stars. One of these dieties decided the time of one's death.* In other words, swordsmen were always facing the time of their death. This is something that a swordsman should have kept in the front of his mind as a reminder that only his skill stood between them & the grave. In relation to this idea, we should note that the community of martial artists was refered to as the Jianghu in Mandarin, which literally means "river lake." This might seem an odd name for a group of men & women decaded to the profession of arms, but the idea here is that these people were always on the margin between life & death, just at the surface of the water, one slip & they sank below the surface...
*see: Wolfram Eberhard, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, pg. 72
As Louis Swaim & others have noted in the thread posted above, the uses of the Seven Stars is prevasive, to say the least. What exactly Yang Luchan had in mind in choosing these names for these movements is an open question. I believe the names were chosen because of the physical shape of the movements themsleves, which can be viewed as important points on the body being in the shape of the constellation. As for a more subtle meaning, I suggest this has to do with the Daoist dieties that were believed to be these stars. One of these dieties decided the time of one's death.* In other words, swordsmen were always facing the time of their death. This is something that a swordsman should have kept in the front of his mind as a reminder that only his skill stood between them & the grave. In relation to this idea, we should note that the community of martial artists was refered to as the Jianghu in Mandarin, which literally means "river lake." This might seem an odd name for a group of men & women decaded to the profession of arms, but the idea here is that these people were always on the margin between life & death, just at the surface of the water, one slip & they sank below the surface...
*see: Wolfram Eberhard, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, pg. 72