02. History & Types Of Qigong
When and where did qigong originate? How did it come into being and who brought it into being? The truth of the matter is that it is not so straight forward to pinpoint one precise moment, event or person that brought this rich and ancient practice into existence. So, let’s take a look at some of the many different influences that have all come together to shape what is known as qigong today.
First of all, it’s important to keep in mind the definition (discussed in our previous blog) of qigong; put simply, qi being energy/breath/life force and gong meaning work/effort. When observing someone practising qigong, we can see that it involves performing physical movement in harmony with the breath and with purposeful presence. This can be said of many different practices found in many different cultures, the most famous being Yoga from India. Indeed, many of the practices of Yoga came to China when Bodhidharma (菩提達摩 - Putidamo), a 5th century Buddhist monk came to China and spread Buddhism (佛教 - Fojiao), founding Chan Buddhism (禪宗 – Chanzong). These practices spread and flourished and indeed form an important part of what qigong has become today. The practices brought to China from India however are by no means the first instances of such practices in China.
Looking to what is largely considered China’s aboriginal religion, Daoism (道教 - Daojiao), we can see that practices involving movement, breath and mindfulness have existed in China since long before Bodhidharma’s arrival. Some ascribe the creation of Daoism to Lao Zi (老子 – Laozi, believed to have lived somewhere between 6th and 4th century BCE) though he himself makes reference to “The Dao masters of antiquity” in verse 15 of the Dao De Jing (道德經 – Daodejing, a Daoist classic). Many also ascribe the origins of Daoism, Chinese Medicine and Qigong to the legendary Yellow Emperor (黃帝 – Huangdi) 2696–2598BCE. This estimate would have Qigong as being over 4,500 years old.
The earliest archaeological evidence of qigong was found depicted on a vase dating between 5000BCE and 3000 BCE. The vase shows a shamanistic practice which closely resembles what in qigong is known as ‘Embracing the Tree’. ‘Embracing the Tree’ is considered by many a master to be the cornerstone practice of qigong, some even referring to it as ‘The Mother Practice” from which all other practices have developed.
As we look back even further we start to understand that it may not be possible to trace these ancient practices all the way back to their early roots. As in many other cultures a rich oral tradition of transmission existed long before written accounts. In the case of qigong, unrecorded rituals and practices of the aboriginal Shamans of China which were only later more formally structured and recorded creating the foundations of Daoism. These predecessors of qigong are often referred to as 行氣Xingqi – Circulate qi or 導引Daoyin – Guiding and Pulling.
Undoubtedly there are many other factors that have contributed to what qigong has become today. It can be found in all of the major religions of China, in medicine, martial arts, as a social exercise, through all classes of society, within Chinese Mythology and the influences feeding into qigong come from many parts of China and even abroad.
With such a rich and diverse background it’s easy to understand why the qigong of today is equally as diverse. There are thousands of different forms and practices, each with their own characteristics and peculiarities. It is however not so difficult to distinguish 4 broad types of qigong. This is useful in understanding the purposes of qigong and which type of qigong would best suit your needs. Let’s take a look...
Spiritual Qigong
Technically speaking all types of qigong work on the spirit, but here we are referring more to practices that have the purpose to elevate consciousness and awaken the practitioner. As such it comes as no surprise that each of the three main religions of China all have their own qigong forms and practices.
Confucian (儒教 – Rujiao) qigong is largely focused on day to day application in which one works towards being centered (中Zhong – centered & unbiased) and harmonious(和 - He). Essentially a practice of learning to keep ones emotions in balance for creating greater social harmony. One could say that the ultimate purpose of Confucian qigong is working towards a harmonious society.
Chan Buddhist qigong similarly places a lot of importance on the development of objectivity, strengthening character and awakening consciousness. Most often they use a seated meditation practice and walking meditation practice. They do not refer to their practice as Qigong but instead use the terms “cultivating the heart/mind” (修心 – Xiuxin) and “tempering the character (炼性 - Lianxing). The purpose of Buddhist Qigong is moving towards enlightenment and freedom from Samsara for all sentient beings. Although these are not what Chan Buddhists themselves call qigong, we have included them here as they meet the technical definition of qigong (see previous article: “What is Qigong?”) and have been influenced by, intermingled with and evolved alongside the other schools of qigong; and the influences are mutual. One particularly famous Chan sect, the Shaolin Sect (少林派 – Shaolinpai), is a prime example of this fusion, combining Martial Qigong practices with Buddhist meditation practices.
Daoist qigong is multi-tiered. Initially ones practices are focused largely on the body with a strong emphasis on surrounding oneself in nature. Later the practices move more into the fields of training the heart and mind with a strong emphasis on unconditional love and equanimity. The practices then gradually move more and more into the fields of spirit and higher alchemy. This is summed up nicely in this Daoist adage… 炼精化气，练气化神 – Temper one’s bodily essence, transforming it into Qi. Train the Qi to become spirit. Daoists use lying, seated and standing mediation postures as well as moving and martial forms, all of which they classify as types of qigong. The purpose of Daoist qigong is to learn to move in flow with nature and the universe and to promote longevity and immortality.
These religions in China have often intermingled to the point that it’s not uncommon for someone in China to identify themselves as actively practising all three. This is captured in the Chinese idiom “Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism the three cultivations” ( 儒释道三修 - Rushidaosanxiu).
Medical Qigong
Medical qigong involves a practitioner transmitting energy to help dissolve blockages, disperse excess energy and replenish energy deficiency. Notably there has been a lot of work done on cancer patients. One school of qigong that claims to have much success in this area is 智能气功 Zhineng Qigong - Wisdom Ability Qigong. At the end of this article we have included a link to a Youtube clip of a practitioner working on a bladder cancer patient with real time video of the area being scanned. We are unable to account for the authenticity of this video but there are many thousands of cases of people reporting the efficacy of the treatment. An area worth exploring for those with a curious mind.
武术气功 Wushu Qigong - Martial Qigong
Martial Qigong can be found in the many martial arts schools of China, and indeed in other martial arts throughout Asia. In this type of qigong the practitioner learns to use his/her qi to deliver power in strikes and blows. This is a practice which is also wonderful for training discipline and intention. It is an expression of an extreme Yang form of qigong. The Yin aspect of Martial Qigong is learning to receive your opponent’s energy and transmit that energy to the Earth. In order to do this one must learn to be a perfect channel by releasing mental and physical clinging. This has tremendous benefit for healing as, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, many of our illnesses are due to tensions held in the mind-body organism.
Another aspect of Martial Qigong is raising ones internal qi pressure to be able to resist blows. The most famous examples of this are the Shaolin Buddhist Monks (少林僧人 – Shaolinsengren) of China who use their qigong training to break pieces of wood over their heads and limbs, hold their bodies suspended on spears and receive tremendous blows to all parts of their body. They also use different qigong techniques to grow resistance to other external forces such as extreme heat and cold. One good example of this is called “lighting the internal fire” in Daoism also known as Tummo in Tibetan Buddhism. This involves monks generating heat internally to be able to withstand extreme cold. The most famous western practitioner of resilience to cold training is Wim Hof.
All of these practices when trained correctly also have tremendous benefits for health and create a highly resistant immune system. But before one can train the ‘iron shirt’ techniques or the ‘inner fire’ one must train the jelly Buddha belly techniques (learn more in our next blog “The Three Regulators Of Qi”)! This brings us to our final category of qigong…
养生功 Yangsheng Gong – Nourishing Life Work/ Self-Healing Qigong
This type of qigong is focused on learning to work with the physical body and mind to promote health and well-being. It involves growing ones understanding of physical anatomy as well as mental and emotional anatomy. It includes cleansing of the physical body through healing nutrition, cultivating a standing and seated meditation practice, various qigong forms to bring the body and mind into alignment to promote strength, vitality, awareness and connection to nature. Its purpose is to create both inner and outer harmony.
These different types of qigong all share many of the same fundamentals and although they have different intentions behind them, all cultivate a similar awareness and understanding. By working on one you work on them all to greater or lesser degrees. We focus mainly on the Yangsheng Gong, though we use techniques adopted from the other three branches also.
We have included some links at the bottom of this page for the curious minded as well as our talk on the subject in the video below. Please feel free to leave comments, ask questions and get in touch.
May your journey be purposeful, healthy and joyful!
With love,
No Mi & Dawa.
Zhineng Qigong Clip, showing cancer treatment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qF5QaKGDAA
Shaolin Buddhist Monks of China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRxhlJGYe1o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbow21FKJS4
Lighting the internal flame/Tummo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNl33bFxcX0
Daoist Master, Lu Zijian, practicing martial arts at the age of 118
