Tai Chi Glossary > Six Harmonies (六合)
Six Harmonies (六合)
Definition: The Six Harmonies (六合) are the six couplings that make a tai chi movement coordinated — an external three, in which the limbs align with each other, and an internal three, in which intent, qi and force align with each other.
六合 is the parent term. The Three Harmonies (三合) are its external three, and are often called on their own; the internal three are what the term adds to them.
Key points at a glance:
- Two sets of three. The external three (外三合) align the limbs: shoulder with hip, elbow with knee, hand with foot. The internal three (内三合) align mind, intent, qi and force
- The sources do not give the same list. The national intangible-heritage entry pairs wrist with ankle where most other sources say hand with foot, and names the first internal pairing 心与意合 where other texts write 神与意合. The disagreement is part of the record
- Not one invention. The external three is taught across several families of Chinese martial arts, not only in tai chi
- The external three is the outward form of the internal three — 外三合是内劲的外在表现, in modern teaching language
- The English headword needs a qualifier. “Six harmonies” is also feng shui vocabulary, and the site has feng shui content
- The classical sources are mixed in quality. 《太极拳十大要论》 is the most direct source and its status is disputed; the tai chi.net.cn article quotes it directly and is a good way to locate the passage, not a thing to cite
The external three
| Pairing | Notes |
|---|---|
| 肩与胯合 — shoulder with hip | the standard form in most sources and teaching material |
| 肘与膝合 — elbow with knee | the standard form in all sources |
| 手与足合 — hand with foot | the standard form in most sources; the national intangible-heritage entry gives 腕与踝合, wrist with ankle |
The external three is the Three Harmonies, and it is the visible half: the limbs move as one, so that a hand and a foot arrive together and a shoulder and a hip turn together.
The internal three, and where the sources differ
| Pairing | Where it appears |
|---|---|
| 意与气合 — intent with qi | in every source |
| 气与力合 — qi with force | the most common form |
| 心与意合 — mind with intent | 《太极拳十大要论》; the national intangible-heritage entry; the Wudang Zhao Bao line |
| 神与意合 — spirit with intent | a variant in the encyclopaedia entry on 六合 as an internal-family term |
| 筋与骨合 — sinew with bone | 《太极拳十大要论》 and the Wudang Zhao Bao line, where other sources write 力与骨合 |
The internal three is the part that varies, and the reason is worth one sentence: two different lineages are in play. The Republican-era 《十大要论》 line pairs mind with intent and sinew with bone; the more common modern teaching lineage pairs intent with qi and qi with force.
The entry should present the most common form first, then list the variants with their sources, and say plainly that the sources do not agree. It should not resolve the disagreement — the disagreement is the fact.
What the term is for
The six are the mechanism the rest of the vocabulary rests on. 上下相随 — the upper and lower body arriving together — is the same idea stated in movement terms. 内外相合 is the internal and external joining. 中定 is the state that lets the internal three hold while the external three move.
In modern teaching the relationship is usually stated as: the external three is the outward form of the internal jin, so a body whose limbs are coordinated but whose intent is scattered has the outside without the inside, and the other way round.
Two cautions
Do not make it unique to tai chi. The external three is taught across several families of Chinese martial arts. The term belongs to internal-family theory generally, and tai chi is one place it is applied.
Do not attach a practice sequence to it. Public sources offer ways of checking the couplings, not a canonical drill. Any step-by-step method without a source would be invention, and the project’s editorial rules do not allow it.
The English headword needs a qualifier. “Six harmonies” is also feng shui vocabulary, where it refers to a combination of three periods. The headword here is Six Harmonies (Liu He) in Internal Martial Arts, which keeps it apart from the site’s feng shui content.
Sources
- 中国非物质文化遗产网 · 太极拳 — https://www.ihchina.cn/ontology_content.html?anchor=one — the most authoritative wording available: 外三合 “肩与胯合，肘与膝合、腕与踝合”; 内三合 “心与意合，意与气合，气与力合”. This is the source that differs from the common list, and it is the one to quote.
- 陈长兴《太极拳十大要论》, section 六论三合 — “夫所谓三合者，心与意合，气与力合，筋与骨合，含内三合也；手与足合，肘与膝合，肩与胯合，含外三合也.” Traditionally attributed to Chen Changxing; a transmitted Republican-era text whose status is disputed. Cite as 托名/民国整理.
- 杜元化《太极拳正宗》 (1935) — a checkable publication, and the source of the 膀与胯合 variant.
- 百度百科《六合（内家拳理论）》 — the source of the 神与意合 variant. Encyclopaedia-level, to be marked as 通行说法. Cited without a link: the page refuses automated access, and a reference the reader cannot open is worse than a reference they can find in a dictionary.
- 东方发布《武当赵堡太极拳（心意开合架）行法》 — https://www.fabugov.com/html/dongfangfabuting/2021/1122/16131.html — a modern teaching article giving 筋与骨合, matching the 十大要论 line.
- 《打手歌》 (attributed to Wang Zongyue, authorship disputed) — “上下相随人难进”, the principle the couplings serve.
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