Qi circulation. The archeologists did, however, discover stones at the dig which they believed were Bian Shi (Figure 2-1).
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Figure 2-1. Acupuncture stone probes (Bian Shi)
During the Zhou dynasty (1122-934 B.C., ), Lao Zi ()(Li Er, ) mentioned certain breathing techniques in his classic Dao De Jing (Classic on the Virtue of the Dao, ). He stressed that the way to obtain health was to “concentrate on Qi and achieve softness” (Zhuan Qi Zhi Rou, ). Later, Shi Ji (Historical Record, ) in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770-221 B.C., ) also described more complete methods of breath training. About 300 B.C. the Daoist philosopher Zhuang Zi () described the relationship between health and the breath in his book Nan Hua Jing (). It states: “The real person’s (i.e. immortal’s) breathing reaches down to their heels. The normal person’s breathing in the throat.”1 This suggests that a breathing method for Qi circulation was already being used by some Daoists at that time.
During the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C.-220 A.D., ) there are several medical references to Qigong in the literature, such as the Nan Jing (Classic on Disorders, ) by the famous physician Bian Que (), which describes using the breathing to increase Qi circulation. Jin Kui Yao Lue (Prescriptions from the Golden Chamber, ) by Zhang, Zhong-Jing () discusses the use of breathing and acupuncture to maintain good Qi flow. Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi (A Comparative Study of the Zhou (dynasty) Book of Changes, ) by Wei, Bo-Yang () explains the relationship of human beings to nature’s forces and Qi. It can be seen from this list that up to this time, almost all of the Qigong publications were written by scholars such as Lao Zi () and Zhuang Zi (), or physicians such as Bian Que and Wei, Bo-Yang.
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Let us conclude with a few important points about the Qigong in this period:
1. Historical documents for this period are scarce today, and it is difficult to obtain detailed information, especially about Qigong training.
2. There were two major types of Qigong training. One type was used by the Confucian and Daoist scholars, who used it primarily to maintain their health. The other type of Qigong was for medical purposes, using needles or exercises to adjust the Qi or to cure illness.
3. There was almost no religious color to the training.
4. All of the training focused on following the natural way and improving and maintaining health. Actively countering the effects of nature was considered impossible.
Because many Han emperors were intelligent and wise, the Han dynasty was a glorious and peaceful period. It was during the Eastern Han dynasty (c. 58 A.D., ) that Buddhism was imported to China from India. The Han emperor became a sincere Buddhist; Buddhism soon spread and became very popular. Many Buddhist meditation and Qigong practices, which had been practiced in India for thousands of years, were absorbed into the Chinese culture. The Buddhist temples taught many Qigong practices, especially the still meditation of Chan (Zen)(), which marked a new era of Chinese Qigong. Much of the deeper Qigong theory and practices which had been developed in India were brought to China. Unfortunately, since the training was directed at attaining Buddhahood, the training practices and theory were recorded in the Buddhist bibles and kept secret. For hundreds of years the religious Qigong training was never taught to laymen. Only in this century has it been available to the general populace.
Not long after Buddhism had been imported into China, a Daoist by the name of Zhang, Dao-Ling () combined the traditional Daoist principles with Buddhism and created a religion called Dao Jiao (). Many of the meditation methods were a combination of the principles and training methods of both sources.
Since Tibet had developed its own branch of Buddhism with its own training system and methods of attaining Buddhahood, Tibetan Buddhists were also invited to China to preach. In time, their practices were also absorbed.
It was in this period that the traditional Chinese Qigong practitioners finally had a chance to compare their arts with the religious Qigong practices imported mainly from India. While the scholarly and medical Qigong had been concerned with maintaining and improving health, the newly imported religious Qigong was concerned with far more. Contemporary documents and Qigong styles show clearly that the religious practitioners trained their Qi to a much deeper level, working with many internal functions of the body, and strove to obtain control of their bodies, minds, and spirits with the goal of escaping from the cycle of reincarnation.
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While the Qigong practices and meditations were being passed down secretly within the monasteries, traditional scholars and physicians continued their Qigong research. During the Jin dynasty () in the 3rd century A.D., a famous physician named Hua Tuo () used acupuncture for anesthesia in surgery. The Daoist Jun Qian () used the movements of animals to create the Wu Qin Xi (Five Animal Sports, ), which taught people how to increase their Qi circulation through
Qi circulation. The archeologists did, however, discover stones at the dig which they believed were Bian Shi (Figure 2-1).
