We should stop now and again to look back to see how far we’ve come. The Heretics podcast has reached episode 100! It’s a podcast designed to challenge the way you see the world, hence the name. We cover a lot of religious topics, but also a lot of esoteric topics and martial arts. To celebrate episode 100 we’ve done a 2 hour special on Xing Yi. The first hour is a continuation of our History of Xing Yi series, but the second hour is an off the cuff discussion about Xing Yi that you might enjoy more. Expect some heretical ideas and controversy!
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The Tai Chi Notebook 
Congratulations on 100 episodes! That’s quite an achievement!
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Thanks Richard – that’s a really helpful summary!
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I had time this week where I could listen to podcasts while doing other things, so I binged all 16 Xingyi episodes plus a few more. I was surprised to find a very nice summary of the history of China and of martial arts in China. I really liked it.
Early on, Damon says that as we look at the history of China, we have to look through the lenses of each succeeding dynasty and the, often Confucian, historians and record keepers. In this case, we also have to look through the lens of Damon’s worldview. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It simplifies a lot of complexity without being simplistic, and its emphasis on the martial arts helps keep it focused.
Damon’s studies of and experiences with Mongols taught him some ideas for which there are no English words, so Damon has mapped the notions onto some words, giving them new meaning. They are shamanism, miasma, esotericism, and exotericism, He also uses Confucian, wén (文) and lǐ (理) with specific meanings or connotations that are not always standard, and he repeatedly refers to the Li Movement, which gives the notion of Li continuity through time. Please correct this if those characters are incorrect.
I picked these up as I went along, but I found myself following with effort in places and asking why and how he could say certain things or make certain claims, until I understood his vocabulary. Three episodes will help you understand the above concepts,
#68 Shamanism, Martial Arts the Miasma – part 1
#69 Shamanism, Martial Arts and the Miasma – part 2
and
#15 Xing Yi (Part 3)
If you want to listen to just the portion where he defines terms without getting the history out of order, start at 5:37, and stop when he starts the history. And, he deep dives into these topics on his Woven Energy podcast, if you want more understanding.
For my investment of time and attention, I gained a greater appreciation of Yue Fei and his compatriots and their contribution to Chinese history and culture, and why Yue Fei deserved his folk hero status. I discovered the roots of (farming) village martial arts. I also took time to listen to the episodes on the Mongols of which I knew little, so I know more and have a greater interest. The waves of knowledge that created martial culture became more defined to me. I liked it so much that I’ll be exploring more and re-listening to some of the episodes.
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Congratulations on 100 episodes!
This one has prompted me to go back and start listening to all of the Xingyiquan episodes. There’s lots of history there, but I don’t know how heretical you guys are being on this subject.
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