A Survey of Push up the Crown of the Head (頂)

My dictionary gives me multiples translations for Dǐng (頂) : it is both the crown of the head, the top and the action to push to the top. One can find the character in words like roof (屋顶), apex (頂部), peak or summit (頂端), hilltop (山頂), pillar (頂梁柱) ; but also to stand up or withstand (頂住), to face against the wind (頂風) or to answer back to a superior (頂撞). It is both the uppermost part of something and an action that goes up and out.

頂

In Internal Martial Arts it is of key importance: it is present in all guidelines about body posture from Tàijí Quán (太極拳), Xíngyì Quán (形意拳) and Bāguà Zhǎng (八卦掌). In most of them it is the first instruction given.

It is for example the first from the Ten Important Points of Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳十要) of Yáng Chéngfǔ (楊澄甫). In general in Tàijí Quán (太極拳) the concept is related to the what Féng Zhìqiáng (馮志強) mentioned as "bǎihuì (GV-20) towards the sky"(百會朝天), the fact that the head is erect and keeps its vitality. In "The Insubstantial Jin leads the Crown Upwards" (虛領頂勁) it is possible to read:

頂勁者，頭容正直，神貫于頂也。

"The crown upward Jin means the head looks upright and the spirit reaches the crown."

And again in the First Secret Song (歌訣一) of Bāguàzhăng (八卦掌):

空胸拔頂下塌腰。

"Empty the chest, lift up the crown of the head, and let the waist sink."

In Xíngyì Quán (形意拳) the concept is developed towards the inner movement of pushing towards the top. It actually is generalized to parts of the posture that lead outwards. For exemple, the second point of the "Push Up From Below (頂)" item from the "Xingyi Eight Characters Secret" (形意八字訣) reads as follows:

手掌外頂，有推山之功，則氣貫周身，力達四肢。

"If the palm of the hand is pushed outward, it has the skill of pushing mountains. The qi permeates the whole body and strength is extended to the four limbs."

Alternative Expressions and Connected Concepts

The fact that the same idea is expressed in different ways in many different texts, but systematically in the same position - i.e. in the beginning of the instruction -, indicates its importance. Among others, one can find:

• "bǎihuì (GV-20) towards the sky" (百會朝天), as mentioned above
• "the top of the head is suspended" (頭頂懸)
• "the starting point is to look upright" (起點面正)
• "the head should push upwards" (頭宜上頂)

The common idea between these different expressions are the "uprightness" and what I call the "contact" of the top of crown of the head, the sensation that it touches something - the sky on the more imaged expressions.

Almost systematically, the idea of Dǐng (頂) comes close in the text with its complement, the idea of loosening or relax - Sōng (鬆). Both together actually fix the postural instruction for two acunpuncture points central to the practice: Governing Vessel's 20th point - bǎihuì (百會) and Conception Vessel's first point - huì yīn (會陰).

Criteria

Push the top of the head - Dǐng (頂) is a key element in the postural instructions and should not be neglected. Quite the opposite, as a foundation block it should always be presente and the body needs to be trained to reach it naturally.It is also a first step for the unification of the body, in particular in relation to Loosening - Sōng (鬆).

Because of its importance, it is necessary to gauge it, which is not always evident. The criteria found in the literature are mostly visual and therefore dependent of a teacher. One that comes to mind is mentioned by Sūn Lùtáng (孫祿堂) in the Study of Bagua Sword (八卦劍學):

起點面正，身子直立不可俯仰。

"The body stands upright, it should not pitch forward or backward."

Tenth Secret Song (歌訣十) from the The Thirty-Six Songs of Baguazhang (八卦掌三十六歌)

歌訣十

掌形虎口要掙圓，
中指無名縫開展。
先戳後打施腕骨，
鬆膀長腰跟步躦。

"The shapes of the palms and the tiger mouth areas should be extended and round
The middle and ring finger are stitched together, open and stretched
First poke with the rear, then strike with the wrist bone.
Loosen the uppen arms, extend the waist towards the heels, a step to jump."

Based on the translations by Yang Jwing Ming (楊俊敏) and Liang Shou You (梁守渝) in "Baguazhang - Theory and Applications" (峨嵋八卦掌) and by Frank Allen and Tina Chunna Zhang in "The Whirling Circles of Ba Gua Zhang"

Excerpt from What comes from without (外物) in Zhuāng zi (莊子)

荃者所以在魚，得魚而忘荃；蹄者所以在兔，得兔而忘蹄；言者所以在意，得意而忘言。吾安得忘言之人而與之言哉？

莊子

"The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you've gotten the fish, you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning; once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him? "

Unless noted otherwise, all quotations of classical texts and accompanying translations come from the Chinese Text Project

Chén Xiǎowàng (陳小旺) demonstrating Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan (陳式太極拳)Demonstração de Tàijíquán Estilo Chén (陳式太極拳) por Chén Xiǎowàng (陳小旺)

The Study of the Dragon Form (龍形學) from The Study of Xing Yi Quan (形意拳學)

龍形學

龍形者，有降龍之勢，有伏龍登天之形，而又有搜骨之法。龍者真陰物也（龍本屬陽，在拳則屬陰），在腹內而謂心火下降。
丹書云：龍向火中出是也，又為云，雲從龍，在拳中而謂龍形。此形勢之勁，起於承漿之穴（即唇下陷坑之處，又名任脈起處），與虎形之氣輪回相接。二形一前一後，一升一降是也。其拳順則心火下降，其拳謬則身必被陰火焚燒矣。身體必無活潑之理，而心竅亦必不開矣。故學者，深心格緻，久則身體活潑之理，自然明矣。

孫祿堂

"Within the dragon style there are the “descending dragon” posture and the “hiding dragon ascending to heaven” form; in it lies also the method to circulate through the bones. Dragon belongs in reality to Yin, (originally it belonged to Yang, but in the boxing it belongs to Yin). It is inside the abdomen and is said to bring down the heart’s fire. The Dan Shu says it can rise from within the fire, it can also become a cloud and clouds are the substance of the dragon . This is called the dragon in boxing.
In this style, the strength begins from the point Cheng Jiang. It connects with the Qiof the tiger style. For those two styles, one is forward and ascendant, the other is backward and descendant. The boxing with the mild Qi can promote the internal fire going down: if performed erroneously the Qi will cause the body to be burnt in the Yin Fire. In the later case, the body will be with stagnation of the circulation of vital energy and a loss of flexibility. Students can realize this point through profound study and practice."

From the book The Study of Xing Yiquan (形意拳學), by Sūn Lùtáng (孫祿堂), based on the translation by Albert Liu and Dan Miller