Chi Kung Demystified

by Jian Xiong©

1. Clarification of Chi as a concept

To understand what Chi Kung is, it is essential to have a correct understanding of Chi (also spelt Qi). Chi within the context of human physiology is the vital energy flowing along the energy channels called Jingluo, the meridians, or the network of pathways of Chi and blood in the human body. According to the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chi is the most fundamental element in forming and maintaining normal physiological functions within the human body. Because of the existence and movement of Chi, all the internal organs are organically connected. Naturally, the state of one’s health largely depends on the state of one’s Chi – its strength, its healthy unobstructed flow and its other mechanism such as rise and fall, expanding and contracting. The original source of such Chi comes from one’s parents and is stored in an aperture called Ming Ming (the Gate of Life) between the kidneys. This part of pre-natal Chi is called yuan qi, the Original Chi. After birth, the human body starts to absorb Chi from other sources such as food and drink and the air that’s been breathed in. This part of chi is called Zong Chi or Pectoral Chi. Yet the ancient Chinese discovered that the Chi within the human body is not isolated but is a part and particle of the cosmic Chi, the most rudimentary energy element that permeates the entire universe and connects everything together as an organic whole. They invented various ways to reconnect the human energy system with the universal whole and Chi Kung is one of them. Kung in Chinese means ‘work’ or ‘practice’. So Chi Kung means ‘energy work’ rather than ‘breathing exercise’ as understood by many westerners. In Chinese culture, one maintains good health firstly by conserving the energy (moderation in activities) and secondly by nurturing the energy. To use the analogy of environmental science, there has to be both conservation and regeneration of all natural resources to make them last longer.

In the traditional Chinese written language, different characters are used for Chi to indicate their different source. The energy from the primordial source is represented by炁 while the energy absorbed from intake of food and drink is represented by氣 [the lower part of the character米 means ‘rice’ the main staple food for the Chinese]. The simplified character气has been stripped off the extra layer of meaning and makes no differentiation between the original source of Chi as energy.

 

It must be pointed out that Chi Kung is a science, a life science, not superstition or ‘mystical nonsense’ as some ignorant and arrogant people call it. Chi not only does exist, but also holds the key to human vitality, youthfulness and longevity. The ‘elixir of life’ can only be found within in the form of Chi, not synthesized in scientists’ laboratories. Throughout Chinese history, generation after generation of Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian masters and adepts have devoted their entire life searching for ways of alleviating human sufferings in the form of illnesses and aging, and Chi Kung is one of the fruitions of their search and experiment.

2. The 3 elements of Chi Kung – mind, body and breath

Chi Kung comes in dozens, even hundreds of various forms. But in general 3 elements are rudimentary to all Chi Kung exercises – the regulation of mind, body and Chi. According to traditional Chinese medicine, mind which was believed to be a function of the heart plays an important role  in human vitality and health. The oldest medical classic, the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic of Medicine, states that ‘if one lives with detachment and quietude of mind, his chi will flow unobstructed; if one keeps his spirit withdrawn[keeps the attention within], how is possible for him to get ill at all?’

So, one’s state of mind is thought to have a direct effect on one’s chi flow. That’s why in all Chi Kung exercises, the most important prerequisite is to keep the attention within and the mind quiet and withdrawn. This is not limited to the time of practice alone. Practitioners are generally advised to go for a more relaxed style of life and exercise moderation in all aspects. In other words it won’t be advisable to practice Chi Kung and then throw oneself headlong into a whirlwind of excessive activities.

In China, Chi Kung and self-nurturing (yang sheng in Chinese) are often mentioned side by side to show they rely on each other and complement each other – one is not complete without the other just as the two sides of the same coin. One simply cannot have good Chi and vitality without taking care to nurture oneself. Chi Kang, an ancient Chinese essayist and Taoist adept said that there are five obstacles to self-nurturing: number 1 obstacle is attachment to name and money; number 2 is excessive emotions of happiness or anger; number 3 is sensual enjoyments and women; number 4 is the hanker for satisfaction of the tongue and number 5 is over-doing and self-exertion.

 

 

Sun Si-miao 孙思邈(A.D. 581- 682) was a Tang Dynasty medical and Chi Kung expert who lived to over 100 and was later revered as the King of Medicine. He composed abundance of treatises and literature on medicine, self-nurturing and Chi Kung. In one of the treatises he advocated the principles of ‘twelve less’ for anyone who wishes to maintain perfect health and gain longevity:- less thinking, less scheming , less desiring, less doing, less talking, less laughing, less worrying, less indulging, less exhilaration, less losing temper, less loving, less resenting. ‘These 12 less are the rudiments of self-cultivation. Too much thinking makes one’s spirit exhausted, too much scheming makes the mind scattered; too much desire makes the mind and spirit dull and depressed; too much doing makes the body worn; too much talking exhausts one’s chi, too much laughing damages the internal organs; too much worrying fills the heart with fear; too much indulging makes the mind overflowing; too much exhilarating makes the mind forgetful and chaotic; too much anger puts the meridians in disorder, too much loving makes one obsessive; and too much resenting makes one sallow and joyless.’ Sun further warns that anyone who have not rid of these 12 vices cannot possibly enjoy good health and long life because ‘his nutritive system and defensive system will be thrown out of balance and his Chi and blood circulations will go into chaos’.

 

The regulation of body, the second rudimentary element in Chi Kung, is achieved through physical postures in Chi Kung, normally either moving sequences or some stationary postures. Due to the multiplicity and practicality of this aspect of Chi Kung, it’s not possible to discuss it in further detail within the scope of this essay.

It suffices to say that some of these are gentle stretching exercises while others are rather harsh postures which require a great deal of flexibility, physical strength and prolonged period of holding.

As for the schools of Chi Kung, there are most prominently Taoist Chi Kung, Buddhist Chi Kung, Confucian Chi Kung, health Chi Kung & self-nurturing exercises, medical Chi Kung & healing Chi Kung, martial Chi Kung and Chi Kung within Yoga system (Pranayama).

Tuning of breath (Chi regulation) is a vital part for all Chi Kung practices; it is also the part which has caused the most confusion and misunderstanding among practitioners, especially the Western ones. Breath (Xi 息in Chinese) does not correspond to the physiological function of inhalation and exhalation though it doesn’t exclude it either. Xi –breath- is used to refer to the function of Chi inside the body, its circulation along the meridians, its rise and fall, expansion and contraction, etc. So regulation of breath [tiao xi in Chinese] is not achieved through breathing exercises such as holding the breath or deep breathing. Instead, one is required to ‘concentrate the attention on the apertures of Chi’ until nostril breathing subsides to give away to internal breathing, also called ‘foetus breathing’ [tai xi in Chinese]. The latter is also called ‘real breath’ because this is the pre-natal mode of breathing of a human foetus in the womb.  In the foetus breathing mode, lung breathing is actually reduced to the minimum. In Taoist alchemy, this is also called the mysterious breath. To use modern science to explain it, this breathing mode happens when the metabolism of the body is slowed down and oxygen intake through breathing is also reduced to the minimum. It is a state similar to hibernation when body temperature drops and heart beat and pulse rate slows down. Scientific research has shown that reducing the body’s metabolism rate may prolong life by up to 40%. Advanced yogins are said to possess the power to reduce their body’s metabolism at will which allows them to survive with minimum oxygen intake. Hence the telltale stories of yogis having themselves buried underground and emerge in good health days (weeks) after. Chuang Zi, a prominent ancient Chinese philosopher in the vein of Lao Tze said that ‘the average man breathes through his throat while a real man [self-realized man] breathes through his heels [which are extended to mean somewhere really deep]’. He was actually referring to ‘real breath’.

 

 

3. Meridians and the Celestial Cycle

 

 

Ren Meridian (Renmai) and Du Meridian (Dumai) 任督二脉周天

In order to understand how Chi Kung works, it is important to understand how Chi functions in the human body according to TCM. Chi circulates around the body along the network of energy channels called meridians (jingluo in Chinese) of which there are 12 major ones. The basic functions of the 12 meridians are to connect the external with the internal and to connect the viscera with other organs so that the whole human body functions as an organic whole. Another vital function of the meridians is to transport qi and blood to nourish the viscera and the tissues and to coordinate the yin and yang functions of qi and blood. The crucial importance of smooth function of the meridians is highlighted in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine as such: ‘’It is vital to keep the meridians running smooth as they hold the key to life and death, curing of all diseases, regulation of void and substantial’’ and ‘’the meridians are where Chi and blood is transported so that the yin and yang functions (of the organs) are performed, muscles, joints and bones are nourished’.

 

The chi flows in the 12 meridians in a timely fashion according to certain order in a 24 hour cycle, now rising now falling, now expanding now contracting. Illnesses or pain happens when there’s obstruction in chi circulation or when there’s insufficient chi flow. As the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine puts it, ‘’if chi flows unobstructed (along the meridians) there’s no pain; whenever there’s pain in the body there’s obstruction (of chi flow)’.

 

 

 

Apart from the 12 meridians, there are 8 extraordinary vessels which also facilitate qi and blood flow around the body. The most important of these are Ren Mai, the conception vessel, and Du Mai, the governor vessel. The conception vessel runs along the front of the torso and the governor vessel runs along the back of the torso. When there’s surplus qi and blood in the 12 meridians, they will flow into the 8 extraordinary vessels to be stored up; when there is insufficient qi and blood in the 12 meridians, the reserved supply in the extraordinary vessels will automatically infuse into the former to guarantee the healthy function of the organs of the body. However the functions of the 8 extraordinary vessels in adults are normally impeded because they’ve been blocked by impurities.  

 

 

 

The 3 Levels of Chi Kung practice

Jing - essence, Chi - vitality and Shen – spirit are referred to as ‘the three treasures of human body’. There are 3 levels of practice in the Chi Kung system: lian jing hua qi – cultivating essence to return to Chi, lian qi hua shen – cultivating Chi to return to spirit; and lian shen huan xu – cultivating spirit to return to void. There’s one level even further up which is called lian xu he dao – cultivating void to join with the Tao; but this is only found in Taoist alchemy practice. Only the first two levels are commonly found in Chi Kung practiced today.

Jing or essence refers to essence from food intake which would be equivalent to nutrients and calories absorbed by the body. It’s the essential fuel for the organism to perform all basic functions. In an average person, a lot of this essence gets lost through seminal fluid emission in men and menstruation in women. Through regular Chi Kung practice, sufficient Chi is cultivated and stored in Ming Men (gate of life) an aperture of chi located between the kidneys behind the naval. When enough chi is accumulated in Ming Men, warmth and heat will be felt by the practitioner in the lower abdomen region between the kidneys. This is the signal for the practitioner to guide this Chi from the dan tian downward into the perineum from which point the chi is guided up the du mai meridian at the rear of the torso all the way up into the brain. Once it reaches the brain, part of it is transformed into shen (spirit) and gets stored up in a particular aperture inside the brain called ni wan (mud ball). The residue falls down into the back of the tongue in the form of saliva which is often referred to as ‘sweet dew’. It will travel downward following the Ren Mai meridian at the front and back into dan tian again from where the cycle repeats again and again. The Minor Celestial Cycle is said to have been activated (such a cycle was operating naturally in children) and there is no more risk of essence loss through seminal fluid emission in a man. Thus far, two levels of practice have been achieved in the practitioner – transforming essence into chi and transforming chi into spirit. The practitioner will experience joy, ultimate health, stamina, resistance to either heat or cold and enhanced senses. The revitalization will naturally lead to longevity in the end.

The author would like to point out that each stage of progress in Chi Kung is always accompanied by sure signs which can be evidently experienced by the practitioner himself. It is by no means imaginary work advertised by some so-called ‘masters’ or ‘experts’ over the West. Any serious Chi Kung practice may ONLY be carried out under the guidance and preferably supervision of experienced teachers (authentic ones) and should NEVER be attempted by following book, dvd or youtube instructions alone. It is also potentially harmful to mix different practice systems together, especially those twisted and incomplete or mix-and-matched systems often practiced in the West.  

The 2 advanced levels of Chi Kung practice should be dealt with in a separate article about Taoist alchemy.

 

 

4. A brief history

Historians believe that Chi Kung has been practiced in China for nearly 5000 years although at the beginning it wasn’t called Chi Kung and it only existed in very primal forms. In Lu Shi Chun Qiu[The Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu], an ancient almanac compiled by Lu Buwei of Qin Dynasty (221 B.C. – 206 B.C.) are found the following recordings:-

“昔陶唐（尧号陶唐氏）之始，阴多滞伏而湛积，水道壅塞，不行其源，民气郁阏而滞着，筋骨瑟缩不达，故作为舞以宣导之” At the beginning of the era of Emperor Yao, stagnation of yin energy caused lakes and waterways to swell up and block up. As a result, residents living along these waterways had their Chi stagnated causing the muscles, ligaments and joints in their limbs to contract and stiffen up.  In an effort to ease his people’s suffering, Emperor Yao instructed people to perform certain dances to ease the stagnated Chi.

Dances with health benefits such as this were considered a kind of Chi Kung practice in its infancy form.

Some pottery relics unearthed from the ruins of Ma Jia-yao village in Qing Hai Province in northwest China have also been used as evidence to the existence of early form of Chi Kung.

During the eras of Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 B.C.) and the Warring States (475-221 B.C.), Chi Kung (though still not called Chi Kung then) experienced a surge of development due to the emergence of dozens of schools of philosophers represented by Lao Tze and ChuangTze of the Taoist School and Confucius and Mencius of Confucian School. The most common forms of Chi Kung practice at the time were Dao Yin (induction), Tu Na (breathing exercises), Bi Gu (abstention from grains), Shi Qi (Chi ingesting) etc.

Huangdi Neijing, the Inner Cannon of Yellow Emperor (roughly 25-hundred years old) is the bible of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s the classic that laid down the foundations of TCM. It also put forward some of the most fundamental principles for health preservation and self-nurturing. Five methods of therapy were introduced in Huangdi Neijing as ways to cure diseases. They are stone acupuncture, medicine treatment, moxibustion, needle acupuncture, Dao Yin (induction) and An Qiao (self-massage). The latter two, induction and self-massage were early forms of Chi Kung. In one of the chapters on acupuncture, there is also detailed description of a breathing exercise:-

Those who suffer from chronic kidney ailments may face south in the hour of Yin (between 3 ~ 5 am). Keeping his mind quiet and un-scattered, he may try to inhale and swallow with his neck stretched while holding his breath as if he’s swallowing a hard object down his throat. Repeat this process 7 times until abundant saliva swells up from under the tongue. Swallow the saliva as it comes.

Later many forms of Chi Kung developed based on the framework of TCM theory put down in the Neijing. The most popular and influential ones are the Five Animal Frolicking devised by Hua Tuo, a well-known surgeon who lived roughly between 2-3 A.D., and the Six Words Mantra by Tao Hongjing, a prominent herbalist and hermit who lived during Southern and Northern Dynasties (420 -589 A.D.). Five Animal Frolicking (Wu Qin Xi in Chinese) is a sequence of five moving postures imitating the moves of five animals of bear, dear, monkey, tiger and crane.  Regular practice of the sequences may keep the limbs flexible and facilitate chi and blood flow thus serving the purpose of preventing disease and keeping the practitioner in good health.

‘Six words mantra’ is a breathing exercise coupled with making six sounds of he, hoo, chui, xi, xu, si  with each sound curing ailments of six different internal organs.

 

When Buddhism was brought to China by Bodhidharma during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.), he also brought with him Zen meditation, Zhi Guan technique (a meditation technique meaning Stopping and Watching), and most notably, Yi Jin Jing (Ligament Easing exercise) which later became popular as a Chi Kung exercise. The latter, a sequence of 12 stretching postures designed to stretch the limbs and facilitate the internal Chi circulation, is still practiced in China as a health promoting exercise even this day.

Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, borrowed practice methods from Yoga which also contains many elements of Chi Kung. The practice of Pranayama in particular is an intensive form of breathing and Chi manipulating exercise aiming at awakening the Shakti (life force within human body) from the base of the spine and raising it up along the Sushumna (the energy channel running along the spinal column) through various chakras (energy centres). The practitioner experience Samadhi (total dissolution of the mind and ego and thus spiritual awakening) when the awakened prana rises to the crown chakra eventually merging with the universal prana (Chi) in the energy reservoir of the cosmos.

Another branch of Chi Kung that evolved in a rather different direction is the martial Chi Kung such as practiced within the so-called internal martial arts of Tai Chi, Xing Yi and Ba-gua and external martial art of Shaolin Kung Fu. Their main aims are increasing the Chi power of the practitioner though this doesn’t conflict with the health benefits of all Chi Kung exercises in general. The Tai Chi Chi Kung practice typically involves various standing and squatting postures which require the practitioner to hold for long period of time. Thus martial Chi Kung is much harder to perform than those popular forms of health Chi Kung in the form of gentle stretching and breathing exercises and they must be learned and practiced under the personal guidance and at the beginning supervision of adepts.  

Medical Chi Kung is a form of energy healing practiced by chi kung doctors or masters on patients. Only well-trained professionals are qualified to perform this form of Chi Kung. They have to undergo stringent training for years to first develop their own Chi potency and to learn basic TCM as well as learning the special technique for healing. Someone doesn’t become a healer or Chi Kung doctor just because he’s practiced Chi Kung for a number of years.  

What is worth special attention is the Chi Kung practiced within Taoist alchemy which is aimed at spiritual awakening or enlightenment (De Dao in Chinese which literally means ‘obtaining the Way’). Lao Tze can be viewed as the progenitor of Taoist meditation and alchemy practice though there is no detailed description of the techniques involved in his Tao Te Ching. Later Taoist adepts developed a rather evolved and extensive system of Chi Kung which is often referred to as ‘the cultivation of golden elixir’ (lian dan in Chines) , a form of spiritual alchemy. Due to the complexity and extensiveness of the system, it will be discussed in a separate article.

 

5. Chi Kung in New China

Despite the long history in the evolution of Chi Kung, the actual term Chi Kung (new spelling Qi Gong) did not come into existence until new China was founded. In 1953, the first Chi Kung therapy centre was founded in the city of Tang Shan near Beijing. Clinical trials were carried out using Chi Kung as treatment methods under the guidance of a medical expert by the name of Liu Guizhen. The positive results from these trials led to the awards from the Chinese Public Health Bureau which marked the official recognition of the practice of Chi Kung both as a therapy and health-promoting excise regime. The year 1957 saw the publication of a mile-stone book from Liu Guizhen entitled ‘Practical Solutions of Chi Kung Therapy’ which made Chi Kung popular in China. For the first time, Chi Kung as a terminology was entered into a rather authoritative dictionary, The Dictionary of Physical Education. Public interest in Chi Kung experienced surges in the 1960’s and later the 1980’s. In 1985 the biggest ever professional Chi Kung research organization was founded in Shanghai and soon afterwards hospitals across the country started to have Chi Kung treatment departments along with all the other conventional departments. Chi Kung also found its way beyond the boarder of China and started to gain popularity internationally in the 80’s.

Chi Kung practice reached its boom at the late 80’s and peaked with the emergency of Falun Gong in 1992. Falun Gong was founded by Li Hongzhi and borders between Chi Kung, spiritual cultivation, meditation and philosophy as it combines all of these elements into its practice. But the central pivot of its teaching is moral rectitude and the cultivation of virtue with Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance as its central tenets. By 1999, Falun Gong practice reached a phenomenal size of over 70 million adherents. The Communist Party of China started to see Falun Gong as a threat and imposed a ban on it followed by a nationwide crackdown. This event marked the end of the Chi Kung boom in China.

 

 

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese government started to impose more stringent regulations on the practice of Chi Kung in China. A Health Chi Kung Regulation Centre was established within the State Physical Education Bureau in April 2001. It officially defined Chi Kung as ‘a form of traditional ethnic sport which combines physical exercise, breathing techniques and self-suggestion’. Chi Kung became the number 97 national sport that’s officially recognized in China. One year later, the Centre launched four forms of Chi Kung based on ancient traditional Chi Kung as standard Chi Kung forms to be practiced in China. These are: Yi Jin Jing (Ligament Easing Exercise), Wu Qin Xi (Five Animal Frolicking), Liu Zi Jue (Six Word Mantra) and Ba Duan Jin (Eight Brocade).  Series of DVDs and VCDs were made and published in a campaign to popularize these standardized forms of health-promoting Chi Kung among the Chinese public. Beginning from 2003, these 4 forms of Chi Kung were publicly displayed in major events across the country in an effort to encourage more people to take up the official forms of Chi Kung to improve their own health.

In more recent years, these standardized Chi Kung forms have also found markets in many countries outside China, especially U.S.A. and the West. Unfortunately the true essence of Chi Kung has been greatly diluted in these modern popular forms which are now barely different to any other popular physical exercises.  

 

 

 [Resources]

Wikipedia

中国中医 www.zy.china.com.cn

中医世家www.zysj.com.cn

中华中医网www.zhzyw.org

 

《中医基础理论》BASIC THEORY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (Publishing house of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2002 edition)

《新世纪汉英中医词典》THE NEW CENTURY CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (People’s Military Medical Press 2004)

万苏建《中国传统医疗气功养生学》CHINESE TRADITIONAL MEDICAL QI GONG AND SCIENCE OF SELF NURTURING by Wan Su-jian (China’s Medical Science Press 1999)

杨峰《医学气功》MEDICAL QI GONG by Yang Feng (Central Compilation & Translation Press, China, 2008)

《佛家、道家气功精选》SELECTED BUDDHIST AND TAOIST QI GONG WORKS  edited by Yan Hai, People’s Physical Education Press 1993

《中国古代秘传气功》SECRETLY-TRANSMITTED CHI KUNG PRACTICE OF ANCIENT CHINA compiled by Wang Jing etc., Beijing Science and Technology Press 1991