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Author: Bret Gordon  In previous articles, and my book "The Secrets Guard Themselves," I’ve already explored how Taiji philosophy forms the foundation of many internal martial and healing arts, providing a framework for understanding balance, flow, and the interplay of complementary forces. To deepen that understanding, it is essential to look at the source from which Taiji emerged: Taoism, one of the oldest and most influential philosophical traditions in East Asia. Although Aiki Jujutsu arose within the Japanese cultural context centuries later, the underlying concepts that shaped Japan’s understanding of Ki, and by extension the worldview in which Aiki was born, trace back to the Taoist exploration of harmony, polarity, and natural order. Understanding Taoism does not require adopting it as a religious belief system; rather, it offers invaluable context for how Eastern internal arts came to interpret the body, breath, and human experience. Taoism began not as a religion, but as a way of observing the world. Early Chinese sages noticed that nature moved through patterns: cycles of growth and decline, stillness and motion, heat and cold. From these observations arose a worldview centered around the Dao (Tao), often translated as “the Way.” In the classical Taoist texts such as the Dao De Jing, traditionally attributed to Laozi, and the Zhuangzi, attributed to Zhuang Zhou, the Tao is described as the underlying principle of all creation. It is not a deity but the natural order woven into the structure of reality, the quiet rhythm that manifests in all things. Several foundational ideas emerge from early Taoist philosophy:
 These ideas laid the groundwork for Taiji, the “Supreme Polarity,” which describes how yin and yang interact to create movement, transformation, and harmony in the universe. By the 2nd century CE, Taoism began to take on more organized forms. What was once a set of philosophical observations developed into a religious and cultural tradition involving healing practices, meditation, community rituals, and ethical teachings. As Taoism spread across China, two major branches emerged that would shape its development for centuries. The Zhengyi (“Orthodox Unity”) lineage grew primarily out of the older Celestial Masters movement. Its practitioners served as community priests, healers, and ritual specialists. While its philosophical foundations remain Taoist, Zhengyi’s orientation is unmistakably spiritual.
A millennium after the classical texts were written, Taoism underwent a major transformation with the founding of the Quanzhen (“Complete Reality”) school in the 12th century by Wang Chongyang. While Zhengyi shaped communal religious life, Quanzhen reshaped the internal practices that later influenced martial arts, meditation systems, and healing methods. Quanzhen is deeply monastic, ascetic, and focused on inner transformation through practical training. The hallmark of Quanzhen is neidan, a system of internal cultivation that views the human being as a microcosm of the universe. Neidan, the Chinese equivalent of tanren (the solo forging exercises of Aiki), includes:
The neidan of Quanzhen included Qigong (movement and breathing exercises) and Neigong (isometric postures), described previously in Japanese as Kiko and Naiko respectively. These practices were not metaphysical but experiential, using breath and awareness to influence physiological states. Where Zhengyi works through ritual, Quanzhen works through the body. Its practitioners believed that restoring harmony internally leads to clarity of mind, emotional stability, and health. These methods directly influenced several internal martial arts. Chen Wangting, a warrior during the Ming Dynasty, would combine the Quanzhen practices of neidan with his martial arts experience to create Taijiquan, “Supreme Ultimate Fist.” Chen-style Taijiquan is the oldest style of Taijiquan and would later influence Yang, Wu, and Sun.  One particular division of Quanzhen, the Longmen Pai (“Dragon Gate Sect”), emphasizes teaching of the Bagua (“Eight Trigrams”), pictured here. Each trigram corresponds to a specific phenomenon: Heaven, Earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, mountain, and lake. Each trigram is located across from its natural opposite, joined in the center by the Taiji, the interplay of opposing forces. As part of their Bagua meditation, the Longmen Pai would engage in circle walking. This involves moving continuously around a circle with a low, rooted stance while the torso spirals and the hands shift through coordinated postures. The practice trains whole-body connection, fluid stepping, and internal rotation, creating a smooth, coiled energy throughout the body. Just as Chen Wangting went on to develop Taijiquan, circle walking became the foundation of Baguazhang (“Eight Trigram Palm”) when Dong Hai Chuan combined the internal energy cultivated through neidan with his prior martial arts experience. Quanzhen monks embraced celibacy, simplicity, and meditative discipline. Their focus was not on interacting with spirits but on quieting the internal turmoil that clouds perception. Rather than ritual intervention, Quanzhen taught that healing arises from:
This parallels modern understandings of nervous system regulation, somatic release, and the importance of internal balance for whole-body health. The interplay between Zhengyi and Quanzhen contributed to the development of Taiji thought:
Together, they produced a worldview in which health and harmony are understood as the natural result of balancing complementary forces, both inside the body and within one’s way of life. This article is part 1 in a series on how ancient religions influenced the development of internal martial arts across both China and Japan. Stay tuned for future installments. Note for Christians: The Bible is clear that all things that exist were made by God and for God. As Colossians 1:16 states, “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things were created through Him and for Him.” Likewise, John 1:3 affirms, “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
This means that any natural pattern we observe, whether balance, cycles, polarity, or the interdependence of opposing forces, exists because God designed it into creation. If Taiji is viewed merely as a descriptive framework for these natural relationships and as a practical method for developing whole-body integration and power, then it falls under the category of observing God’s craftsmanship, not invoking another spiritual power. The spiritual danger arises when Taiji is treated as an ultimate source or a cosmic power independent of God. Taoist cosmology presents Taiji as the origin of heaven and earth, a generative force from which all things emerge. This directly contradicts the Christian confession that God alone is Creator and Sustainer. To ascribe creative power to Taiji is to place a philosophical construct in the position that belongs only to the Lord. Thus, it is wise to approach the topic with discernment, appreciating what reflects God’s design while rejecting any worldview that replaces Him as Creator.
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