Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty

Douglas Wile is a scholar of Chinese martial arts history and a translator of Chinese, and this academic book, published by State University of New York Press, presents newly translated Qing dynasty tai chi texts alongside Wile's own historical analysis of their authorship and transmission, correcting some of the legendary attributions that had grown up around tai chi's origins. Its strength is direct translation work on primary Chinese manuscript sources combined with critical historical method, questioning received tradition rather than repeating it uncritically. Its limit is that some of the manuscripts' precise dating and authorship remain genuinely debated among specialists, and Wile is explicit about which of his conclusions are more secure than others.