Keep the Tradition Alive: Contextualizing the Development of Tai Chi in the Chinese Diaspora in Ottawa, Canada

Abstract

Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese practice rooted in ancient philosophy, traditional medicine, and martial arts. Since the 1970s, the Chinese diaspora has played an important role in transmitting and adapting Tai Chi in Canada. However, little is known about its development and sociocultural significance within Ottawa's Chinese diasporic community. This study used Burdsey's (2008, 2016, 2017) and Van Gorp and Smets' (2015) theoretical concepts of diaspora and leisure, a historical descriptive analysis of the Ottawa Tai Chi Chuan Association (OTCA) and the Taoist Tai Chi Society (TTCS), and semi-structured interviews with seven Chinese diasporic practitioners to examine the development of Tai Chi and its meaning for the Chinese diasporic practitioners in Ottawa. The historical analysis revealed that OTCA and TTCS uniquely reconstructed and developed Tai Chi practices, created diasporic yet inclusive leisure and cultural spaces, and fostered social integration and cohesion among their members. The findings suggested that all participants were motivated to practice Tai Chi for mind-body health, well-being, social connections, and martial arts techniques, with varying levels of emphasis. Moreover, the modalities of individual practice were closely adapted to the local socio-geographic space and personal circumstances. Last, the study illustrated how Tai Chi practitioners navigated multiple layers of attachment and embeddedness to their homeland and their present lives in Ottawa through embodied practices. This study highlighted that Tai Chi, as a living tradition, resonated with both collective shared experiences and personal significance in the midst of diaspora and multiculturalism. Through practicing Tai Chi, the Chinese diasporans did not merely carry their bodily heritage; they reinterpreted and expanded the meanings of this art, weaving it into a fabric of the process of building a healthy and meaningful life, making a "home," and creating the mind-body practice communities in Canada.