A 'Taiji Zen Garden' Is The Quiet Peaceful Place Your Mind and Soul May Have Been Waiting For
Published June 25 2025, 10:46 a.m. ET
(L) A Japanese Tai-chi inspired garden captured from an indoor setiing, (R) Women practicing Tai-Chi in a house garden. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Gyro, (R) Halfpoint Images)
About six centuries ago, a Taoist monk named Zhang Sanfeng was meditating in the mountains of northwest China when he witnessed a surreal fight scene. A hungry crane had swooped down on the ground and was attacking a snake, per RisingMoonTaiChi. While the crane attacked, the snake displayed defensive postures, twisting and bending to protect itself from the assault by the bird’s beak. The fighting scene prompted him to invent a “soft fighting” art form that could depict the battles a human goes through while on a spiritual path.
Three old people practicing Tai Chi in a beautiful floral garden
Called “Tai Chi,” the ancient art of movement represents the balance between Yin and Yang, the fundamental energies of duality that Taoism talks about. Lately, gardeners have been taking inspiration from this concept to distribute elements of Tao in their garden spaces. Jet Li, the Chinese actor and martial artist, has even created a full-fledged garden inspired by Tai Chi, sometimes called “Taiji,” as he described on Facebook. “Last week, I visited the Taiji Zen Garden in Hangzhou and saw my ‘Zen Tree’. This is the tree I dedicated last year at the opening of the Garden. It’s nice to see how beautifully things grow when we provide the right environment,” Li exclaimed.