Culture makes a nation great. It brings a country to the spotlight of the world and makes its people recognizable. That is why almost every country emphasizes on continuation and development of culture. Many civil organizations also join to preserve and promote culture. The 6 Guitang Clan Network has ver 70 Chinese-speaking groups all over the world and has many outstanding members. In September this year the 6 Guitang Clan Network U.S. chairman Mr. Victor Hung gave a special reward to Dr.
Hong, Tao-Tze, Zhang-men- ren (master) of Tai Ji Men, praising that “Tai Ji Qigong cultivates yin and yang with soft power, benefiting many people in the world.” Mr. Hung recognizes that Tai Ji Men Qigong is a very positive energy that should be shared with people in the world.
Tai Ji Men is an ancient menpai (similar to school) of qigong, martial arts and self-cultivation. Tai Ji Men is a treasure trove of traditional Chinese culture and holds the key to unlock the origin of wisdom. The current Zhang-men- ren, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, established Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in 1966. And this year Tai Ji Men celebrates its 50 th anniversary. Tai Ji Men therefore carried out a series of cultural exchange trips around the world, from Taiwan, the U.S., South Korea, Portugal to the Balkans. In September Tai Ji Men cultural goodwill group visited the U.S. again. On the 16 th and 18 th of September Tai Ji Men hosted two cultural performances with the theme “Tai Ji Culture, A Precious
Treasure: Bringing Hope to the World.” Tai Ji Men dizi (similar to students) make martial arts artful, turning martial arts into peace, creating a trend of modern martial arts with conscience. In particular, Tai Ji Men dizi of old and young generations all took part in the cultural performances, preserving the culture with energy and joy, making this event even more moving and admired.
In this magnificent cultural event with people from over 20 nationalities, the opening speech of Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze received a lot of responses and appreciation. His remarks indicate that“Qi nurtures all the living creatures in the universe. Dao is the way nature functions. The oriental philosophy of Tai Ji and yin yang is the origin of universe. Every life is closely connected with the rhythm of the universe. It takes a heart of calmness and cleanness for us, especially at this time of turbulence, to get back to the state of nature and realize our full potential in order to seek the truth and meanings of life. What I have inherited from my prior grand masters and what I have been passing on to my dizi is this lesson of life, which is about the unity of heart and qi and have been practiced for thousands of years.” Dr. Hong’s are full of universe inspiration as well as life wisdom, and even the local Americans felt inspired.
In 2016 in celebration of the 50 th anniversary of Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy, over 30 of organizations and individuals in the U.S. presented certificates of recognition to appreciate Tai Ji Men’s contribution to the society, including Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom; Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Congressman Mike Honda; California State Senator Ed Hernandez, Jerry Hill, Jim Beall, Bob Wieckowski etc. Mrs. Melanie Hsu, the consultant of Overseas Community Affairs Council, Republic of China (Taiwan), expressed that she feels very proud when seeing so many young people coming here to perform such rich and diverse traditional culture, as well as the essence of the Chinese culture. Mrs. Vivian Chan, who originally comes from Taiwan and has lived for years in the U.S. stated: “the performance awaked my soul as a Chinese. I really admire that passage where the Shifu and dizi interact and practice qigong together. And most of all: the smile on the children. The director of California Performance Center, Mrs. Angela Sheng said: “Tai Ji is inheritance of our Chinese culture. We must inherit it well. Many thanks to Dr. Hong who preserves and promotes it to let more and more people know.”
About ten years ago Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze already received the award “The World Outstanding Leader Golden Medal” from the World 6 Guitang Clan Network. A thousand years ago the 6 clans were once a family. And the ancestor of clan Weng due to concern for political dangers, he changed the family name of his six sons to be: Hong, Jiang, Weng, Fang, Gong, Wang. In the Song Dynasty the six brothers all passed the national exams and became governmental officials. The emperor of that time rewarded them with a monument as “the honor of the six clans” that passes on from generation to generation. Nowadays descendants of the six clans are all over the world. It’s been many years since Dr. Hong strives to promote world love and peace, and through cultural exchange to increase understanding and friendship among nations and people. In 2000 in response to the invitation of the Sydney Olympic Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), Dr. Hong led Tai Ji Men dizi to present performance of qigong and martial arts inside the Olympic area. UN/NGO Association of World Citizens (AWC) gave the “Outstanding World Citizens Award”; UN/NGO Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation gave the “Peace Culture Award”; American Asian Federation gave the “World Outstanding Leader Golden Medal.” So far Tai Ji Men Shifu and dizi together have visited 66 countries, over 200 cities and delivered more than 2,000 cultural performances and have earned the reputation as “International Peace and Goodwill Ambassador.”
Photo: “Tai Ji Culture, A Precious Treasure: Bringing Hope to the World.” The cultural performance creates a trend of modern martial arts of conscience. Young and old generations from the martial arts family all took part it, making this event even more moving and admired.