Taijiquan and the Search for the Little Old Chinese Man Understanding Identity through Martial Arts

by Frank, Adam

• ISBN13: 9781403968289
• ISBN10: 1403968284
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-14
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book is an ethnographic study of the martial art of taijiquan (or "tai chi") as it is practiced in China and the United States. Drawing on recent literature on ethnicity, critical race theory, the phenomenology of race, and globalization, the author discusses identity in terms of sensual experience and the transmission or receipt of knowledge.

Author Biography

Adam Frank is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at the Honors College, University of Central Arkansas. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in International Affairs from American University, and a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Arizona. His current research focuses on Asian American heritage sites, on Asian theatre, and on anthropology history and theory. In addition to teaching anthropology and Asian studies, Frank continues to practice and teach taijiquan. He lives in Conway, Arkansas with his wife, Sandi, a teacher, and his daughter, Zabei, a taiji master.

Table of Contents

Introduction * The Body: Daoism, Qi, and the Making of Social-Sensual Identities * Bodies, Lineages, Alleys * Park Lives and Secret Spaces * Barbaric Glass and Indeipherable Causes: Taijiquan as Public Art * "Through Martial Arts We Will Become Friends:" Taijiquan as Master Symbol * Kung Fu Fantasies and Imagined Identities * Global Chinatown * Body Redux * Appendix I: Wu Style Slow Taijiquan (Wu shi taiji man quan) Posture Names * Appendix II: JTA Lineage Chart * Appendix III: Literature of Interest on Martial Arts and Critical Race Theory * Glossary * Bibliography

Introduction * The Body: Daoism, Qi, and the Making of Social-Sensual Identities * Bodies, Lineages, Alleys * Park Lives and Secret Spaces * Barbaric Glass and Indeipherable Causes: Taijiquan as Public Art * "Through Martial Arts We Will Become Friends:" Taijiquan as Master Symbol * Kung Fu Fantasies and Imagined Identities * Global Chinatown * Body Redux * Appendix I: Wu Style Slow Taijiquan (Wu shi taiji man quan) Posture Names * Appendix II: JTA Lineage Chart * Appendix III: Literature of Interest on Martial Arts and Critical Race Theory * Glossary * Bibliography