 |
Dennis spent the month of July, 2005 travelling all over China with his eldest son, Jud (a film producer and director living in China for twelve years), and an additional cameraman, John Brunner from Hampshire College, making a film on the "Mythical, Cultural, and Spiritual Traditions of Taijiquan" based on an article Dennis published in the "Journal of Asian Martial Arts" in 1997.
The base of operations for this film was Shanghai where Jud lives. Regional preparation trips were made to Hangzhou, slightly to the South, and Suzhou, slightly to the North to accustomize ourselves to being in China. Major trips were also made to Beijing, the ancient capital of China; to the interior countryside where Taijiquan has been practiced continuously for over 400 years (Chen Village and Zhaobao Village); and to Wudang Mountain, the center of Daoist studies and practice throughout all historical eras.
There were three threads running through the film: 1) the underlying mythical, spiritual, and cultural basis of Taijiquan and their relation to world peace; 2) the common lineage of all Taijiquan styles as originating from the famous Song dynasty Daoist, Zhang Sanfeng; and 3) the impact of Taijiquan and Daoist practice and worldview on all of the participants throughout the making of the movie.
|
|
|
Hangzhou
|
|
Shanghai
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hangzhou is the tea capital of China.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our journey began in Shanghai where my eldest son, Jud, lives and works as a film director and producer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Suzhou
|
|
Beijing
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Suzhou is the silk capital of China.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beijing, an extreme blend of the old and new (like this bamboo-like scafolding on a major modern highway overpass), was a major part of the trip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chen Village Outskirts
|
|
Road of Hell
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our second major outing from Shanghai involved a three hour plane ride to Zhengzhou, followed by a week at Chen Village, Wudang Mountain, and Zhaobao Village.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Road of Hell, as we affectionately called it, was a twelve hour drive by van from Chen Village to Wudang Mountain to the East.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wudang Mountain
|
|
Taijiquan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wudang Mountain, the giant Peace Machine as we called it, was the most incredible place I've ever seen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As Taijiquan was the subject of our trip, we visited and interviewed Taiji players from Shanghai, Beijing, Chen Village, Zhaobao Village, and Wudang Mountain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yellow River
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We stopped by at the Yellow River before returning from Chen Village and Zhengzhou.
|
|
|
|
|
|
