十 四 字 站 樁
FOURTEEN CHARACTERS ON STAKE STANDING - Posted 1/2/09
SHI SI ZHAN ZHUANG
by Tom Bisio

These fourteen Chinese characters are meant to serve as a mnemonic for remembering the essential points of Zhan Zhuang or “stake standing,” a practice common to the internal styles of Chinese martial arts. The fourteen characters are arranged in four lines which are reproduced below. In the three of the lines two possible English translations have been provided. Following this is a breakdown of the individual characters.

My thanks to Tim Regan, director of Waterwheel Tai Chi for introducing me to the 14 Character Zhan Zhuang and for providing me with his translation. Tim is  a student of the late great B.P. Chan and can be contacted at www.waterwheeltaichi.com/.

14 Characters Stake Standing:

虛靈頂勁
Xu Ling Ding Jin
1)  Empty spirit supports (carries) strength,
2)  Empty awareness and alert intelligence ascend to the crown of the head with vitality,

含胸拔背
Han Xiong Ba Bei
1)  Contain (hold in) the chest, draw up the back.
2)  Containing (like something held in one’s mouth) the chest and drawing up the back.

尾閭提
Wei Lu Ti
Lift the coccyx (tail gate),

頂頭懸
Ding Tou Xuan
1)  Support the head as if hanging suspended.
2)  Supported from the crown, the head hangs suspended.

Breakdown of the Characters:

虛靈頂勁
Xu Ling Ding Jin
       虛  Empty; Void
       靈  Spirit; Intelligence
       頂  Carry on the head; Gore; Butt; Push from below
       勁  Strength; Energy ; Effort

含胸拔背
Han Xiong Ba Bei
      含  Contain (Keep in mouth)
      胸  Chest
      拔  Raise; Pull; Draw Out
      背  Back

尾閭提
Wei Lu Ti
Lifts the coccyx (tail gate),
      尾  Tail
      閭  Gate
      提  Raise

頂頭懸
Ding Tou Xuan
       頂 Carry on the head; Gore; Butt; Push from below
       頭  Head; of head
       懸  Suspend; Hang