Driving through the immense rural landscape of China by car during a recent research trip my teacher, Chen Zhonghua, and I sought diversion from the lengthy journey by entertaining each other with stories. As we were traveling from the city of Jinan to Chen village (Chenjiagou) we happened to pass Handan, a little hamlet tucked in amidst the fertile fields of central Shandong province. There is a story associated with Handan, one which is apparently so well known that you only have to mention Handan for people to knowingly smile and nod. This story does not relate specifically to Taiji, but the point of the story is most pertinent to how we practice.

Anyone who has done some form of Taiji for a while has invariably come to know the importance of sinking the shoulders.  Master Chen Zhonghua takes it a step further, however, by instucting students to "feed the shoulder to the dog!"