Chinese Culture is a featured curriculum at ECNUAS, which helps students identify with Chinese culture and cultivates successful learners and excellent world citizens. Chinese Culture has been listed as the compulsory course for our students, leading students to experience the iridescent traditional culture from various angles. 

Based on the needs of social development and rooted in traditional classic books, this school-based curriculum aims to deepen students’ identification towards traditional culture and encourages students to compare and think about the difference among different cultures critically. 

As one of the Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi has absorbed the essence of traditional Chinese culture, combining the art of being strong and flexible at the same time. 

Since Grade 1 students are more active in physical movements, we set Tai Chi as the curriculum for Grade 1 students. Li Jixing, the guest teacher from the fourth generation of Tengluo Tai Chi, comes to our school to give the students lessons. Teacher Li takes students on a culture journey to experience the charm of Chinese martial art.

The name of “Tai Chi” originates from I Ching: The Book of Change. As one of the traditional martial arts, Tai Chi has been influenced by traditional Chinese philosophy. Based on the theory of Yin and Yang, its moves show the unity of opposites. 

Unique in its own style, Tengluo Tai Chi is an ancient school in Tai Chi, highlighting in a set of moves aimed to combine the strength and flexibility. 

After 5 classes, students learn 5 moves, which are beginning posture (qi shi), Buddha’s Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar (jin gang dao dui), Lazily Tying One’s Coat (lan zha yi), White Crane Spreading it’s Wings (bai he liang chi), Single Whip (dan bian). Under Teacher Li’s instruction, students followed along every move. 

Tai Chi is all about self-control. At the very start, students need to form good habits. Teacher Li combines the physical characteristics of students and instructs in a systematic way. He encourages students to challenge themselves and strengthen their mind in the process of learning from each other. 

Students can benefit from the physical balance and the cooperation of different parts in the body in Tai Chi while their observation and awareness gettinig heightened during this process. The cooperation between left part of the brain and the right part one improves students’ spatial thinking and creativity. 

Tai Chi focuses on straight posture, building up students’ mind and body. 

Tai Chi contains the etiquette of traditional Chinese culture. At every class, students would express their respect for the teacher by bowing to the teacher first. Students learn to respect each other with this sense of ceremony.  

As a part of Chinese Culture curriculum, Tai Chi enriches students’ horizon and enables students to experience the charm of Chinese martial art while reading the classics. As a world school rooted in Chinese culture, ECNUAS aims to help our students gain a sense of cultural identity with this curriculum.