The following translation is from Helmut Wilhelm, the
son of Richard Wilhelm who translated the "I-Ching" and
"Secret of the Golden Flower".
"With breathing proceed as follows: The
breath should be held and it will be gathered. If it is
gathered, it becomes magic. If it becomes magic, it
descends. If it descends, it quiets down. If it quiets down,
it solidifies. If it is solidified, then it germinates. If
it germinates, it grows. If it grows, it is attracted
upward. If it is attracted upward, it reaches toward the
heaven. In heaven, it ascends upward still. At the lower
end, it descends still. Those who follow this will live,
those who act contrary will die."(22)
The great Taoist poet/philosopher Chuang Tzu stated,
in 300 BC, "the ancients breathed down to their heels". This
suggests that the breath, in the form of the Qi, is
projected and circulated throughout the body. In 1973 an
archeological excavation of a Han dynasty (220 BC-220 AD)
tomb in Hunan Province revealed a series of over 40 figures
painted onto a silk scroll doing various Qigong
movements.(22) It is reported that while many of the
inscriptions have become unreadable one is clear which says
"look skyward and exhale".(22) In this same period one of
the first great acupuncture and herbal medicine
practitioners, Bien Chieuh, taught breath practice to
enhance the circulation of the Qi.(15)
It is a strong tradition in oriental medicine to teach
a person to maintain health and many famous physicians
developed systems of exercise. In the third century AD, Hua
To, whose place in the history of oriental medicine is so
illustrious that a series of important acupuncture points
bear his name, developed a series of Qigong exercises called
the "five animal forms". In the sixth century, Da Mo, a monk
in the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, also known as
Bodhidarma, came from India and found the monks of Shaolin
Temple weakly and undisciplined. He introduced a combination
of movement forms with Buddhist meditation that invigorated
the monks and increased their power. This was the beginning
of the tradition of the superior martial artists of the
Shaolin Temple.
Many lineages of Qigong have developed over the
centuries. The martial Gong enhances the the strength,
endurance and spirit of the warrior. The medical Gong can be
used to heal diseases. Confucian Qigong is focused on self
cultivation, ethical development and refinement of personal
temperment. The Taoist Gong is aimed at alchemical
transmutation, merging with nature, longevity and
immortality. The Buddhist Gong seeks refinement of mind,
transcending the world of illusion and salvation of all
living things.
In the "New China" following the revolution in the
1940's Qigong briefly disappeared. One elder practitioner
reported through a 1986 LA times article that "At that time
it (Qigong) was witchcraft, so I chanted Maoist slogans like
everyone else." The article continues "since then Qigong has
qualified for official patronage and a national society has
been formed to classify and describe the Qi". In the 1970's
and 80's numerous institutes for the study of Qigong have
sprung up in China. Many hospitals now have Qigong doctors
on staff and Qigong classes as regular allied treatment with
acupuncture, herbs and western medical modalities. There is
a genuine renaissance of Qigong occuring in China. The
western world, with its tremendous breakthrough of quantum
physics, has taken up a sincere fascination with the
bio-energetics of Qigong.(7,11)