Qigong 42371 225266987 2008-07-12T20:01:29Z 85.225.216.216 /* External links */ {{Contains Chinese text}} {{Refimprove|date=September 2007}} {{For|the artist|Qigong (artist)}} {{Chinese|s=气功|t=氣功|p=qìgōng|w=ch'i<sup>4</sup> kung<sup>1</sup>|j=hei<sup>3</sup> gong<sup>1</sup>|l=[[Qi]] cultivation|showflag=p| pic=Hu Yue Xian.jpg| piccap=A woman performs a Qigong routine outdoors}} '''''Qigong''''' (or ''ch'i kung'') refers to a wide variety of traditional “cultivation” practices that involve methods of accumulating, circulating, and working with Qi or energy within the body. Qigong is sometimes mistakenly said to always involve movement and/or regulated breathing; in fact, use of special methods of focusing on particular energy centers in and around the body are common in the 'higher level' or evolved forms of Qigong. Qigong is practiced for health maintenance purposes, as a therapeutic intervention, as a medical profession, a spiritual path and/or component of [[Chinese martial arts]]. The '[[qi]]' in 'qigong' means breath or gas in [[Chinese language|Chinese]], and, by extension, 'life force', 'energy' or even 'cosmic breath'. 'Gong' means work applied to a discipline or the resultant level of skill, so 'qigong' is thus 'breath work' or 'energy work'. The term was coined in the twentieth-century and its currency, Ownby suggests, speaks of a cultural desire to separate 'cultivation' from 'superstition', to secularize and preserve valuable aspects of traditional Chinese practices.<ref name="Ownbyming">Ownby, David, "A History for Falun Gong: Popular Religion and the Chinese State Since the Ming Dynasty", Nova Religio, Vol. ,pp. 223-243</ref> Attitudes toward the scientific basis for qigong vary markedly. Most Western medical practitioners and many practitioners of [[traditional Chinese medicine]], as well as the Chinese government, view qigong as a set of breathing and movement exercises, with possible benefits to health through stress reduction and exercise. Others see qigong in more metaphysical terms, claiming that cosmic qi can be drawn into the body and circulated through [[Channel (Chinese medicine)|channels]] (aka meridians). ==The rise of qigong== Montreal scholar David Ownby understands qigong as a development of post-Mao China, contending that with the end of the Cultural Revolution came an implicit admission in China that Marxist ideology was useless, and that the 'totalitarian state' wherein the party leader was 'god' was all but defunct. A spiritual crisis thus ensued. Because the 'big religions' were desecrated and banned during the Cultural Revolution, to many Chinese they no longer held the attraction they once did.<ref name=”wildgrass”>Johnson, Ian. ''Wild Grass: three stories of change in modern China''. Pantheon books. 2004</ref> Qigong is said to have evolved within this historical context, as a “spiritual, slightly mystical branch of Chinese medicine.” Ownby gives a similar account of the history of qigong in China. Qigong was promoted in post-Mao China for both practical and ideological reasons, and in this period it took on "unprecedented importance."<ref name="Ownbyming" /> On a practical level, it was hoped that qigong would improve the general health of the populace and thus curtail government healthcare expenditure. Ideologically, Ownby contends that many within the Communist government were 'quite taken' with the idea of qigong being a specifically 'Chinese science', a part of the PRC's "new nationalism, a frequently chauvinistic claim to cultural greatness and superpower status."<ref name=Ownbyming>p 233</ref> Qigong was not considered religious either by the authorities or by qigong practitioners, which immensely helped its growth. Eventually the state-administered China Qigong Scientific Research Association was formed, supposed to register qigong groups and conduct 'scientific' research.<ref name="wildgrass">p 210</ref> By the time the association was established, there were already 2000 qigong organisations and between 60 and 200 million practitioners across China.<ref name="Ownbyming">p. 234</ref> Qigong quickly became a social phenomenon of 'considerable importance'; the topic was also explored by novelists and journalists, and qigong newspapers and magazines appeared in abundance to cater for the public's interest in the subject. The original small-group, master-disciple pattern was transformed into a mass experience, with qigong 'masters' organising 'mass rallies' to demonstrate to paying customers a range of qigong specific phenomena such as trance, possession, and a variety of otherworldly states.<ref name=Ownbyming>p233</ref> Qigong was practised widely in public parks and on university campuses. Demographics included both the 'old and suffering' as well as the 'young and curious'.<ref name=Ownbyming>p 234</ref> Ownby suggests that the profile of qigong practitioners during this period fit that of the Chinese population in general, “men and women, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, powerful and powerless, urban and rural, Party and non-Party.”<ref name=Ownbyming>p 234</ref> Johnson writes that the early 1990s saw a 'qigong craze', with qigong being a widely accepted part of society.<ref name="wildgrass>p 208</ref> Qigong was able to adapt itself to a scientific discourse, which allowed it to survive the suspicions of the atheist state. It was heralded as a form of physical therapy, to be supervised by doctors. Experiments were conducted which purported to show that qigong could cure chronic health problems. Claims that qigong could have some role in developing latent 'supernatural powers' also emerged, such as the ability to levitate, heal illness, telekinesis through emissions of qi, the ability to 'read via the ear', and a “host of other remarkable talents, many of which would fall under our category of extrasensory perception.”<ref name=Ownbyming /> Johnson opines that the Party was to some degree still distrustful of qigong. Qigong remained a private exercise, as opposed to formal religions which center on temples, churches and mosques. These can be run by government officials and are ensured to remain loyal to the state. Johnson's analysis here coincides with that of Chan. While qigong is focused inwardly, outside the state's control, it is performed publicly in groups: “To a government that is used to controlling all aspects of public life, this is perplexing: qigong practitioners are in public and doing something en masse, so by rights they should be formed in an organisation and this organisation should in some way be run by the government. But what they are doing together is meditating, an inner discipline that the party can't monitor.”<ref name=”wildgrass>p 209</ref> Ownby suspects that qigong's ostensible autonomy from the state is in fact partly what contributed to its great popularity.<ref name=Ownbyming>p 233</ref> Johnson writes that the 1990s saw an 'uneasy standoff'; the 'Three Nos' policy was adopted: No Promoting, No Criticizing, No Debating. Ownby comments that the emergence of qigong coincided at a historic moment where technology and means of communication—such as books, tapes, television and Internet—were greatly advanced, allowing such groups to become aware of their size and geographical reach. Ownby suggests that this is a paradoxical situation of a deeply rooted Chinese tradition now adapting to a modern setting. ==Uses== Today millions of people in China and around the world regularly practice qigong as a health maintenance exercise. Qigong and related disciplines are still associated with the martial arts and meditation routines practiced by Taoist and Buddhist monks, professional martial artists, and their students. Once more closely guarded, in the modern era such practices have become widely available to the general public both in China and around the world. {{Alternative medical systems}} Medical qigong treatment has been officially recognized as a standard medical technique in Chinese hospitals since 1989. It has been included in the curriculum of major universities in China. After years of debate, the Chinese government decided to officially manage qigong through government regulation in 1996 and has also listed qigong as part of their National Health Plan. Qigong can help practitioners to learn [[diaphragmatic breathing]], an important component of the [[relaxation response]], which is important in combating stress. In contrast, Taoist qigong employs the inverse breath of inhaling to the back of the thoracic cavity rather than [[diaphragmatic breathing]]. Improper use of [[diaphragmatic breathing]] can lead to reproductive pathologies for women. (Nan Huai-Chin, 南懷瑾(1918年——), Meditation and the cultivation of immortality, Gu lu press, Tawain 1991 p.59) Yan Xin (嚴新), a doctor of both Western and Chinese medicine as well as founder of the relatively popular Yan Xin Qigong school, suggests that in order for qigong to be accepted by the modern world it must pass the test of scientific study. Without such studies, Yan maintains, qigong will be dismissed as "superstition" (see "Criticism of Qigong" chapter below). In the mid-1980s he and others began systematic study of qigong in some research institutions in China and the United States. More than 20 papers [http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v16n3a4.php] [http://www1.elsevier.com/cdweb/views/article.htt?jnl=00243205&iss=3&vol=69&pii=S002432050101122] [http://bst.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/5/403] [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TCH-4K8NWY5-1&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2006&_alid=462413107&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=5171&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=985346c75dbe6feaa5c39d6f8877fe9c] [http://www.springerlink.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/hh43122171641116/?p=951bdc500e5a4a568b4fb1ecee59166a&pi=1] have been published. Qigong is also seen as a socially conducive warm up to the day. There is concern over some overly spiritual aspects of qigong. Many practitioners choose the early morning to practice qigong and find it an easy way to stretch and warm up the metabolism whilst connecting with others in their neighbourhood. ==Beliefs== [[Image:BRASILRIO4.jpg|thumb|right|Qigong practitioners in [[Brazil]]]] Qigong, and its intimate relation the [[Chinese martial arts]] and [[traditional Chinese medicine]], are often associated with [[spirituality]]. This link is much stronger than with other techniques in traditional Chinese medicine. Qigong was historically practiced in Taoist and Buddhist [[monasteries]] as an aid to concentration as well as [[martial arts]] training, and the health benefits of martial qigong practice have recently been confirmed in western medical studies. In addition, the traditional teaching methods of most qigong schools (at least in [[Asia]]) descend from the strict teacher-disciple relationship conventions inherited in Chinese culture from [[Confucianism]]. In some styles of qigong, it is taught that humanity and [[nature]] are inseparable, and any belief otherwise is held to be an artificial discrimination based on a limited, two-dimensional view of human life. According to this philosophy, access to higher energy states and the subsequent health benefits said to be provided by these higher states is possible through the principle of cultivating ''virtue'' (''de'' or ''te'' 德, see [[Tao Te Ching]], chapters 16, 19, 28, 32, 37, and 57). Cultivating virtue could be described as a process by which one comes to realize that one was never separated from the primal, undifferentiated state of being free of artificial discrimination that is the true nature of the universe. Progress toward this goal can be made with the aid of deep relaxation (meditation), and deep relaxation is facilitated by the practice of qigong. The debate between what can be called "[[naturalism (philosophy)|naturalist]]" and "[[supernaturalism|supernaturalist]]" schools of ''qigong'' theory has produced a considerable literature.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} Scholar Xu Jian analysed the intellectual debate, which involved both scientific research on ''qigong'' and the prevailing revival of nationalistic traditional beliefs and values. <blockquote>Taking 'discourse' in its contemporary sense as referring to forms of representation that generate specific cultural and historical fields of meaning, we can describe one such discourse as rational and scientific and the other as [[psychosomatic]] and [[metaphysics|metaphysical]]. Each strives to establish its own order of power and knowledge, its own 'truth' about the 'reality' of ''qigong'', although they differ drastically in their explanation of many of its phenomena.<ref name=xujian>Xu Jian, "Body, Discourse and the Cultural Politics of Contemporary Chinese Qigong", The [[Journal of Asian Studies]] 58 ([[4 November]] [[1999]]</ref></blockquote> At the center of the debate is whether and how ''qigong'' can bring forth “supernormal abilities” (''teyi gongneng'' 特異功能). <blockquote>The psychosomatic discourse emphasizes the inexplicable power of ''qigong'' and relishes its occult workings, whereas the rational discourse strives to demystify many of its phenomena and to situate it strictly in the knowledge of modern science."<ref name=xujian /></blockquote> The Chinese government has generally tried to encourage ''qigong'' as a science and discourage religious or supernatural elements. However, the category of science in China tends to include things that are generally not considered scientific in the West, including ''qigong'' and [[traditional Chinese medicine]].{{Fact|date=March 2008}} David Aikman wrote that unlike in America, where many may believe that ''qigong'' is a socially neutral, subjective, [[New Age]]-style concept incapable of scientific proof, much of China's scientific establishment believes in the existence of ''[[Qi]]''. Controlled experiments{{Fact|date=March 2008}} by the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s concluded that ''qi'', when emitted by a ''qigong'' expert, "actually constitutes measurable [[infrared]] [[Electromagnetic radiation|electromagnetic waves]] and causes chemical changes in static water through mental concentration." (The Hindu culture refers to this as ''[[Prana]]'', the Japanese culture uses the character ''[[ki]]'', and the Hawaiian culture calls it ''[[mana]]''.)<ref>David Aikman, American Spectator, March 2000, Vol. 33, Issue 2</ref> Theories about the cultivation of [[dantian|elixir]] (''dan''), "placement of the mysterious pass" (''xuanguan shewei''), among others, are also found in ancient Chinese texts such as ''The Book of Elixir'' (''Dan Jing''), the Daoist Canon (''Tao Zang'') and ''Guide to Nature and Longevity'' (''Xingming Guizhi''). ==Criticisms of qigong== Much of the criticism of qigong involves its claimed method of operation. Both traditional Chinese and Western medicine practitioners have little argument with the notion that qigong can improve and in many cases maintain [[health]] by encouraging [[Motion (physics)|movement]], increasing range of [[motion]], and improving joint flexibility and resilience. When it is asserted that qigong derives its benefits from qi acting as a kind of "biological plasma" that cannot be detected by current scientific instruments, many [[biologist]]s and [[physicist]]s{{who}} react skeptically and declare qi as a [[pseudoscientific]] and [[vitalism]] concept. {{Fact|date=November 2007}} though others consider it as a philosophy rather than a physical force {{Fact|date=November 2007}} Association of qigong with practices involving [[spirit possession]] have added to establishment criticism. Some experts in China{{who}} have warned against practices involving the claimed evocation of [[demon]]s, and practices involving the worship of gods during qigong practice.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Many proponents of qigong{{who}} claim that they can directly detect and manipulate ''qi''.{{who}} Others, including some traditional Chinese practitioners,{{who}} believe that ''qi'' can be viewed as a [[metaphor]] for certain biological processes, and the effectiveness of qigong can also be explained in terms of concepts more familiar to Western medicine such as [[stress management]] or neurology. ==Controversies within qigong== In the 1980s and 1990s, the increasing popularity of qigong and related practices led to the establishment of many groups and methods in China and elsewhere that have been viewed in a critical light by more traditional qigong practitioners as well as by skeptical outside observers. In their view, a large number of people started studying qigong under inadequate supervision, indeed, perhaps the majority of people today who study qigong work from books or video tapes and DVDs without supervision by a teacher. This laxness can lead to several problems, according to those who view themselves as representative of [[orthodox]] schools. Most traditional training takes many years of practice under the supervision of someone who has also learned over years, someone who can guide and prevent the student from taking an unbalanced approach to qigong practice. The orthodox practitioners warn that improperly supervised practice can cause unbalanced circulation of inner energies that can eventually lead to unbalanced effects on the various systems of the body, both mental and physical. Stories of unguided practitioners or inexpertly guided students developing chronic mental and physical health problems as a result of such training are not uncommon.<ref>Windoe, R. K., Martins, R. K. & McNeil, D. W. (2006). Anxiety disorders in ethnic minorities. In Y. Jackson (Ed.), ''Encyclopedia of multicultural psychology'' (pp. 45-51). Thousand Oaks: Sage.</ref> The term "Qi Gong-Induced [[Psychosis]]" was included in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual]], of the [[American Psychiatric Association]] in the late 1990s<ref>DSM-IV General Information: Appendix I, Outline for Cultural Formulation and Glossary of Culture-Bound Syndromes)</ref>, and is described as a culturally bound disorder with painful psychosomatic symptoms.<ref>Anthony Spaeth, [http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1999/990510/opiate_of_the_masses1.html Master Li's Brave New Age], TIME ASIA, May 10, 1999, Vol. 153 No. 18</ref> Dr. Arthur Kleinman and Dr. Sing Lee from Harvard Medical School, researchers on various psychiatric topics in China, suggest that in international psychiatry this illness would be recognized as “…a specific type of brief reactive psychosis or as the precipitation of an underlying mental illness, such as [[schizophrenia]], [[bipolar disorder]], or [[posttraumatic stress disorder]].”<ref>Sing Lee, MB, BS, and Arthur Kleinman, MD, “Psychiatry in its Political and Professional Contexts: A Response to Robin Munro”, J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, 30:120–5, 2002, p 122</ref> Lee and Kleinman both claim to have had experience with patients suffering from the condition.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} "Many kinds of qigong share certain similarities, such as the attainment of a trance state, patterned bodily posture or movement…, the practice of which could induce mental illnesses in some of its practitioners." ==Qigong and the People's Republic of China== While some historians have suggested that in the early days of rule by the [[People's Republic of China]] there was a drive to promote the [[Traditional Chinese Medicine]] aspects of qigong to a quasi-religious status (and therefore deviate from standard [[communist]] government policy on religion),<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/978023114/9780231140669.HTM Columbia University information]</ref> the PRC has most recently attempted to reposition the definition of qigong to a traditional Chinese sport involving "deep breathing exercises" rather than anything to do with [[qi]] as energy.<ref name=xinhua>[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-06/28/content_4760937.htm Xinhua News Agency article]</ref> [[Xinhua News Agency]] articles have also attempted to explain the healing 'qi emissions' of qigong masters as a type of [[hypnotherapy]] or [[placebo effect]].<ref name=xinhua>[http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-06/28/content_4760937.htm Xinhua New Agency article]</ref> This attitude to qigong may be related to [[Falun Gong]] and [[Zhong Gong]], which practice their own form of qigong which they claim to be for spiritual development. In the process of cracking down on the practice, The PRC government created a set of rules for qigong groups practicing in the country.<ref> [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/falun_066.htm Cesnur.org]</ref> ==Health Qigong== In 2001 the Chinese Government showed great interest in regulating the [[Qigong]] movement. The State Sport General Administration of China founded the Chinese Health Qigong Association, as a mass-organization to popularize, spread and research Health Qigong in cooperation with the Peking Sport University. In 2003 the organization presented the newly developed four Health Qigong Exercises on the base of excellent traditional Qigong, including * [[Yì Jīn Jīng]] (tendon-changing classic), * Wu Qin Xi (frolics of five animals), * [[Liu Zi Jue]] (the art of expiration in producing six different sounds), * [[Baduanjin qigong|Ba Duan Jin]] (eight excellent movements), to fit the people's needs of promoting their health and body, and to develop traditional Chinese national culture further. The Chinese Health Qigong Association is a member of the All-China Sports Federation. During the process of developing the exercises, strictly scientific research methods have been followed. Primary experiments took place under supervision of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Modern Medicine, Psychology, Athletic Science and other related subjects. The Four Health Qigong Exercises can be seen as the essences from the related Qigong in various schools, inherited and developed traditional Chinese national culture. The new Health Qigong represented by the Chinese Health QiGong Association is breaking with the old tradition of family-styles and close teacher-student relation. It is hoped that the new standardisation is supporting the international spread of Qigong in the western hemisphere. Starting in September 2004 the "Health Qigong Magazine" became the association magazine of the CHQA. It is the only national health qigong publication in China; edtited through China Sports Press. After the successful 1st International Health Qigong Demonstration and Exchange in 2005 the CHQA organized in August 2007 the 2nd International Health Qigong Demonstration and Exchange in Peking including an international competition and the first Duan examination on Health Qigong. At the same time there was organized the 2007 International Symposium on Health Qigong Science where all important scientific studies have been made available to the public. ==Footnotes== <references/> ==See also== *[[Traditional Chinese medicine]] *[[Hua Tuo]] *[[Internal alchemy]] *[[Empty Force]] *[[Jing (TCM)]] *[[Mind-body problem]] *[[Mindfulness]] *[[Neigong]] *[[Silk reeling]] *[[Tao Yin]] *[[Taoist Sexual Practices]] *[[World Tai Chi and Qigong Day]] *[[Falun Gong]] *[[Zhong Gong]] ==References== * Issacs, Nora [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/fashion/05Fitness.html Exercisers Slow it Down with Qigong] [[New York Times]] April 5, 2007 * Jin, Guanyuan: Scientific Essence of Qigong. Symp Proc. Intl. Conf. of Traditional Medicine, Beijing, PRC, p515, 2000. * Maciocia, Giovanni, <cite>The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists</cite>; Churchill Livingstone; ISBN 0-443-03980-1 * Ni, Mao-Shing, <cite>The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine: A New Translation of the Neijing Suwen with Commentary</cite>; Shambhala, 1995; ISBN 1-57062-080-6 * Holland, Alex <cite>Voices of Qi: An Introductory Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine</cite>; North Atlantic Books, 2000; ISBN 1-55643-326-3 * Unschuld, Paul U., <cite>Medicine in China: A History of Ideas</cite>; University of California Press, 1985; ISBN 0-520-05023-1 * Scheid, Volker, <cite>Chinese Medicine in Contemporary China: Plurality and Synthesis</cite>; Duke University Press, 2002; ISBN 0-8223-2872-0 * Porkert, Manfred ''The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine'' MIT Press, 1974 ISBN 0-262-16058-7 * Graham, A. C. (translator). (2001). ''Chuang-tzu: The Inner Chapters.'' Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, inc. ISBN 0-87220-581-9 * Lau, D. C. (1963). ''Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching.'' London: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044131-X * Graham, A.C., ''Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China'' (Open Court 1993). ISBN 0-8126-9087-7 *Blofeld, J. ''Taoism, The Quest for Immortality'', Mandala-Unwin Paperbacks London, 1989. ISBN 0-04-299008-4 ==External links== <!-- ATTENTION! Please do not add links without discussion and consensus on the talk page. Undiscussed links will be removed. --> * [http://www.worldofmartialart.com/martial_arts_blog/martial-arts-blog-taoist-reverse-breathing-exercise/chinese-martial-arts-kung-fu-wushu/martial-arts-blog-taoist-reverse-breathing-exercise.html Reverse Breathing Chi Kung - Free Instructive Tutorial ] * [http://www.csicop.org/cgi-bin/search/search.cgi?q=qigong/ Qigong articles via Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal] ([[CSICOP]]) * [http://www.skepdic.com/chikung.html The Skeptics Dictionary] * [http://www.medscimonit.com/medscimonit/modules.php?name=GetPDF&pg=2&idm=5189 Medical Science Monitor - Abstract of Scientific Qigong research] * [http://www.literati-tradition.com/qi_gong_origins.html A Study on the Origins of Qi Gong] * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzIjUR-mHCY&mode=related&search= An investigation of Qi] by [[Bill Moyers]] *[http://taoistqigong.net Taoist Qigong] *[http://www.zhinengqigong.eu/CaseListEn.aspx Personal Qigong-testimonials from 107 persons (more added regularly)] [[Category:Chinese martial arts]] [[Category:Chinese words and phrases]] [[Category:Meditation]] [[Category:Traditional Chinese medicine]] [[Category:Taoism]] [[ca:Qigong]] [[de:Qigong]] [[et:Qigong]] [[es:Chi Kung]] [[eo:Ĉigongo]] [[eu:Qigong]] [[fr:Qi gong]] [[it:Qi gong]] [[he:צ'י קונג]] [[nl:Qigong]] [[ja:気功]] [[pl:Qigong]] [[pt:Chi Kung]] [[ru:Цигун]] [[sr:Чи кунг]] [[fi:Chikung]] [[sv:Qigong]] [[tr:Çigong]] [[zh:气功]]