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

The first book-length ethnography of a Chinese martial arts association, the book tackles the general question of how human beings form viewpoints of themselves and others through the practice of an art–in this case, the art of taijiquan (a.k.a. “tai chi”). The first half of the book focuses on the author’s own experience of studying taijiquan with teachers in the People’s Republic of China and the United States, then expands the discussion to include taijiquan as national symbol, taijiquan in the context of urban China, and the globalization of “Chineseness” through taijiquan.