“Chungliang Al Huang’s work with the Living Tao Foundation is the perfect blending of East/West cultural synthesis. He uses ancient Chinese Tao wisdom in creative Western ways as a world philosopher and communicates his teaching and his artistry through his expertise in Tai Ji Dance and in compassionate healing of the human soul.”
Jane Goodall,
Anthropologist, Primatologist & Social Activist
Chungliang Al Huang (黃忠良) is a notable philosopher, dancer, performing artist, author, calligrapher and internationally acclaimed educator and Tai Ji master.
“A master in the arts of living” (Alan Watts) and “a sage for the modern age” (New Age Magazine), Master Chungliang Huang is the founder of the Living Tao Foundation, an international cultural arts network for lifelong learning, and director of the International Lan Ting Institute, a cross-cultural study and conference center at the sacred and historic Wu Yi Mountain, now a UNESCO World Triple Heritage Site in the People’s Republic of China rich with historic, religious, and cultural arts traditions; and at Gold Beach on the Oregon Coast in the USA.
The basis of the Living Tao practice is Master Huang’s lifelong philosophy and East / West synthesis of the “Three Pillars of Asian Wisdom: Taoism-Buddhism-Confucianism”, made easily applicable to ‘Every-Day Living’ as a joyful daily practice.
Born in China to prominent Chinese scholars, Master Huang from an early age was immersed in the traditional study of tai ji, kung fu, brush calligraphy, and classic Chinese scholarly arts. In 1949, his family fled mainland China for Taiwan where he continued his studies, and in 1955 he went to the United States as a university student to study architecture, cultural anthropology, and dance. After a successful career in live and filmed theatrical performance, and most notably in the founding of his dance company, Master Huang returned to his roots capitalizing on the rich creative integration of his East / West studies.
His in-depth knowledge of the rich ancient wisdom traditions of his native China combined with his subsequent immersion in the philosophy and cultural arts of the West led Master Huang to begin teaching his unique re-invention of the classic Tai Ji movement meditation learned during his early training in China. With this multi-dimensional learning, and collaborations with his many mentors, such as Alan Watts, Joseph Campbell, Joseph Needham, Huston Smith, Gregory Bateson and John Blofeld, a series of perennial wisdom and living practices evolved. These living practices are expressed through his worldwide seminars, lectures, and classic books.
Master Huang’s organic style of Tai Ji is immediately accessible to people of all ages and experience levels. His approach allows students to quickly experience the joys of the Tai Ji energy flow along with the deeper sensations of stillness in motion. Master Huang uses a wide range of cultural arts to inspire his students: movement, brush calligraphy, music, poetry, mythic story-telling, and Chinese Classics. Fundamental to his work are the Tai Ji Ritual, Five Moving Forces (Wu Xing) and a series of circle forms which is the signature of the Living Tao experience. In addition, the study of poetry (of both East and West), the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), Yi Jing (I Ching), Da Xue (Great Learning), Xin Xin Ming to name a few Taoist, Zen Buddhist, and Confucian classics.
If you spend any time at all with Master Chungliang Al Huang, you immediately understand why so many people around the world choose to study with him. His passion, charm, intelligence, positive humor, tireless energy, and never-ending enthusiasm create a learning environment that is truly transformational.
