Wang Zongyue

Wang Zongyue was a legendary figure in the history of Chinese martial art tai chi. In some writings, Wang is supposed to have been a student of the equally legendary Zhang Sanfeng, a 13th-century Taoist monk credited with devising neijia in general and tai chi in particular.

Wang is said to have resided in Taigu, Shanxi in the middle of the 15th Century. He learned an early form of tai chi in the Jingtai Taoist Temple in Baoji. Two of Wang's supposed disciples, Chen Wangting and Jiang Fa, went on to make important contributions to the development of modern tai chi.

Wang is reputed to have authored The Tai Chi Treatise, alleged by the Wu brothers to have been found in Beijing as part of the Salt Shop Manuals in the mid 19th century. This treatise records many tai chi proverbs; among them: "four ounces deflect one thousand pounds" and "a feather cannot be added; nor can a fly alight". The Tai Chi Treatise is among a body of literature collectively referred to as the tai chi classics.