AUTHOR · DAOIST MONK · TAI CHI MASTER
Bridging Eastern philosophy with Western accessibility.
As an ordained monk, Tai Chi master, and Ivy League-educated author of over 20 acclaimed books, Monk Yun Rou brings ancient Daoist wisdom into modern life as he empowers readers and students to connect to the heart of the world through creative acts of compassion, frugality, and humility.
Stories enlighten our reality.
Read worldwide, my award-winning fiction and non-fiction titles offer a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern life.
I hope these words speak to you.
Movement shapes our vitality.
Rooted in ancient Daoist tradition, my free Tai Chi teachings offer a powerful path to physical renewal and wellness.
I hope this practice sustains you.
Dialogue expands perspective.
Featured across global podcasts and television, these conversations explore the practical application of ancient wisdom today.
I hope these insights inspire you.
Fellowship unites our path.
Stay updated on class schedules and receive my Substack letters directly to your inbox.
I hope these updates anchor you.
Daoist Monk Yun Rou is an award-winning author and Tai Chi master offering free Tai Chi classes in Tucson, Arizona. His teaching brings together Daoism, Tai Chi, and Eastern philosophy in a practical, accessible way for modern students. His non-fiction books educate. His novels entertain.
The name Yun Rou, meaning “Soft Cloud,” was given to him during his Daoist ordination in China. Born Arthur Edward Rosenfeld in New York City, he studied at Yale, Cornell, and the University of California before traveling to China, where he was ordained as a Daoist monk at the Chun Yang (Pure Yang) Daoist Temple in Guangzhou with the approval of the Chinese government.
Now based in Tucson after decades in South Florida, he is known for teaching Tai Chi through free classes that focus on movement, breath, and Daoist principles. His approach emphasizes the connection between Daoism and Tai Chi practice as a path to balance and wellbeing.
As an award-winning author, Yun Rou has written acclaimed works exploring Daoism, Chinese history, Eastern spirituality, magical realism, and science fiction. His books have been repeatedly optioned for film in both Eastern and Western markets.
His work has been featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Parade, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, WebMD, and other national publications.
CURRENT TEACHINGS
TAI CHI, QIGONG,
& MEDITATION CLASSES
TAI CHI CLASSES
Experience the profound relaxation of authentic Chen Tai Chi rooted in the traditional Chen Fa Ke / Chen Quanzhong lineage.
Focused on natural softness and the vertical circle for true silk reeling, these meditative community classes are entirely free to attend.
To preserve a peaceful and focused environment, all sessions are held at a private studio.
Please click the button below to email us for the studio address and upcoming class times.
DAOIST
PHILOSOPHY
DAOIST PHILOSOPHY
Explore the timeless wisdom of classical Daoist philosophy, the foundational mindset that informs our authentic Chen Tai Chi practice.
Guided by a Monk Yun Rou, these free philosophy classes and discussions delve into ancient principles of harmony, balance, and living in alignment with nature.
To preserve an intimate and contemplative environment, all sessions are held at our private studio or online.
Please click the button below for session information.
FEATURED RELEASE
THE REVELATION
A Novel of Interstellar Contact
Humanity has always believed we were alone.
We were wrong.
Set in 1992, The Revelation is a prescient science-fiction thriller by award-winning author Yun Rou, told from humanity’s future – after the earth discovers it is no longer alone and no longer the same.
Extraordinary children begin to appear healing the incurable – evolving beyond known biology. At the same time governments are forced to admit the truth they had long concealed. Extraterrestrial visitors are real. Secrecy collapses and the world enters what later becomes known as the Revelation.
NEW
SCI-FI
THRILLER
RECENT RELEASES
Love Becomes Her is a fable melding ancient China and the modern world. It chronicles the unique romance between Lao Tzu, the sage who founded one of the world’s great religions, and a giant tortoise he must magically transform into his soulmate. Following the twists and turns of their forbidden love across the span of centuries, it reveals humanity’s true place in nature and offers hope for romance as nature vanishes.
The novel offers unforgettable meetings with great characters in history, and scenes of great poignancy. It is also a strong meditation on the increasing relevance of Lao Tzu’s teaching—particularly to the way that philosophy pertains to the way human beings treat each other and the rest of the sentient world. The story is a dance between Eastern and Western cultures in a world heating up both environmentally and politically.
Gears grind creakily and the head stirs. Two crusted eyelids flutter open. "Mother?" it says. Yang is a sentient boy made of jade and gold by an inventor at the court of Kublai Khan, and Teg Elliot discovers its disembodied head in the belongings of her just-deceased billionaire father in New York. Using his voice for the first time in 800 years, Yang says he wants badly to be reconnected with his missing limbs and torso and Teg decides to find a way to put him back together.
This novel of Asian magical realism juxtaposes the China of Kublai Khan with a modern world where artificial intelligence is about to change everything. Examining what it means to be human - and what we stand to gain and lose when we are human no longer - against an exploration into the nature of time itself.
Learn from martial arts Master Monk Yon Rou as he tackles tragedy and redemption on an unforgettable soul-searching odyssey.
A spiritual journey with extraordinary encounters. Yon Rou’s memoir is a kaleidoscopic ride through the upper echelons of New York Society and the nature-worshipping, sword-wielding world of East Asian religious and martial arts. Monk of Park Avenue divulges a privileged childhood in Manhattan, followed by the bitter rigors of kung fu in China and meditations in Daoist temples. Join Yon Rou’s adventure as he encounters kings, Nobel laureates, and the Mob. Witness this martial master’s incarceration in a high-mountain Ecuadorian hellhole and fight for survival in Paraguay’s brutal thorn jungle.
Meet celebrities along the way. A story of love, loss, persistence, triumph, and mastery, The Monk of Park Avenue is peopled with the likes of Milos Forman, Richard Holbrooke, Paul McCartney, Warren Beatty and now-infamous opioid purveyors, the Sackler Family.
In the latest adventure from Yun Rou, author of the best-selling thriller A Cure for Gravity, an American faces down a heady concoction of reincarnation, magical wasps and violence to save his Chinese wife, while in a parallel world in ancient China, an astonishing woman single-handedly keeps a world of warriors at bay.
This is literary magical realism with an Asian twist, and an intimate portrait of madness and love. Yun Rou has been called the "Zen Gabriel Garcia-Marquez" for his works of magical realism.
