During the last few hundred years of its development, taijiquan has evolved into many different schools and styles. Up till the founding of the People's Republic of China, the process was more or less a spontaneous one with each school or style drawing a limited number of followers. Thereafter, under the guidance of the former State Sports Commission (now State Sport General Administration), several sets of taijiquan, including those of 24, 48 and 88 forms as well as a set of taiji sword exercise, were compiled and promoted, resulting in a nationwide popularization of taijiquan. Competitions were then held to raise the standard of performance. At first taijiquan was contested as part of the annual national wushu championships. From 1985 onwards, taijiquan contests were organized as independent events. All these measures were doubtlessly conducive to the development of taijiquan.
However, many problems cropped up in the course of transforming a spontaneous activity into a formal competitive event. Among other things, there were no unified standards regarding the quality and quantity of movements, the structures of routines, and the time requirement for the performance of a routine.
Meanwhile, there has been an increase in exchanges between China and other countries in the field of wushu. Enthusiasts in many countries have come to study taijiquan in China, while a number of Chinese experts and coaches have gone abroad to help popularize the art in other countries. Exchanges have been most frequent with the neighbouring country of Japan, which according to a rough count has a million people who have learned to do taijiquan. Every year since 1988 it has sent a group of 200 taijiquan devotees to China for competition and to exchange experience with their Chinese counterparts. In the course of competition, they also strongly felt the need for standardized routines.
To meet the requirements of both domestic and international contests, the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA) and the Chinese Wushu Research Institute called together a number of taijiquan experts and professors from all over the country and took counsel with them on the standardization of competitive routines. By the end of 1988, four standard sets of the Yang, Chen, Wu and Sun styles had been produced and these were adopted as compulsories for national competitions in 1989.
These new routines were favourably received by the athletes, coaches and judges who took part in the national taijiquan meets. The consensus of opinion was that these routines, while retaining the traditional characteristic features, embody higher degrees of difficulty in technical execution, which is good for competition and for raising the standard of the sport. The movements of each routine are more reasonably arranged and structured; unlike the traditional exercises which place a higher load on the right limbs than on the left, the new routines consist of more symmetrical movements which favour a balanced development of the body. What's more important, with the adoption of standardized routines, the judges can evaluate the performance of an athlete more accurately.
About the merits of the standardized routine of each style, experts have the following comments to make.
The Yang-style routine is mainly based on the writings of Yang Chengfu, the founder of this style, with some minor modifications. Thus the new routine includes a "pat foot" movement, which is not to be found in the traditional exercise. Also, a higher degree of difficulty is imposed on the "kick with heel" and "kick to both sides" movements in which the foot must be brought up to a level higher than the waist. The movements of the whole routine are reasonably arranged according to practical needs of attack and defence, while bringing out the soft, flowing style of the Yang school.
The Chen-style routine is a merger of the traditional Routines No 1 and No 2 of this style. Emphasis is laid on symmetry of the major moves, such as The Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Rice in a Mortar, Single Whip, Cover Hands and Strike with Arm, and Firing in Rapid Succession, which are all done in both the right and left styles to promote a balanced development of the body. The whole routine consists of circular, rhythmically paced, outwardly gentle but inwardly strong movements as are characteristic of the Chen style.
The Wu-style routine is principally based on the forms created by Wu Jianquan, founder of the Wu style, while assimilating many strong points of the exercises developed by Wang Maozhai, Yang Yuting and other well-known exponents. Its well-knit, lithe movements are characteristic of the Wu style.
The Sun-style routine is characterized by quick, nimble movements, good coordination between the opening and closing of the arms, rigorous method of performance, and graceful bearing.
The production of the four standard routines of use in competitions has not only won wide acclaim at home but also aroused much interest among taijiquan followers in many other countries. Today, taijiquan is regarded both as an ancient art that has taken root in Chinese soil for several hundred years and a young competitive event that has just entered the modern sports world. The appearance of standardized routines and rules of competition has in fact opened up new vistas for the internationalization of this event.