
Qigong () is an increasingly popular aspect of Chinese medicine. Qigong is mostly taught for health maintenance purposes, but there are also some who teach it, especially in China, for therapeutic interventions. Various forms of traditional qigong are also widely taught in conjunction with Chinese martial arts, and are especially prevalent in the advanced training of what are known as the Nei chia. There are currently more than thirty three hundred different styles and schools of qigong. In general, qigong schools teach their own variations of physical training routines based on coordinating different patterns of breathing with different physical motions of the body. Qigong relies on the traditional Chinese belief that the body has an energy field generated and maintained by the natural respiration of the body, known as Qi. ''Qi'' means breath or to breathe in Mandarin (linguistics) Chinese, and by extension the energy produced by breathing that keeps us alive; ''gong'' means work or technique. Qigong is then "breath work" or the art of managing the breath to achieve and maintain good health, and especially in the martial arts, to enhance the leverage and stamina of the body in coordination with the physical process of respiration. Attitudes toward the basis of qigong vary markedly. Most Western medical practitioners, many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the Chinese government view qigong as a set of breathing and movement exercises, with many possible benefits to health through stress reduction and exercise. Others see qigong in more metaphysical terms, claiming that breathing and movement exercises can influence the fundamental forces of the universe. An extreme form of the latter view was advocated by some participants in the Boxer Rebellion of the late 19th century who believed that breathing and movement exercises would allow them to ward off bullets. ==History== Qigong under various names has a long history in China. The written records referring to qi and its effects are as old as 3,300 years (Shang dynasty oracle bones, Zhou dynasty inscriptions). Numerous books have been written about qigong during the subsequent history of China. The development of Chinese qigong can be divided into three periods: * In ancient China, people came to believe that through certain body movements and mental concentration combined with various breathing techniques, they could balance and enhance physical, metabolic and mental functions. These movements were worked out over time by exploring the natural range of motion through the joints, as well as drawing on motions in imitation of various animals. This research was passed down and refined according to teacher-disciple relationships of lineage or apprenticeship. This accumulated body of traditional knowledge is known as Chinese traditional qigong. * In later centuries, these practices became more standardized, very often associated with religious practitioners. For example, incense burning was originally used to measure time and also to repel insects during qigong practice, and eventually became an important part of the meditative process itself. Over time, new forms of qigong were created and passed down through various schools; Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, Neo-Confucian, Chinese medicine, and the traditional Chinese martial arts. * In the 1970s, researchers began studying qigong using the scientific method, with peer-reviewed and controlled studies of various techniques to provide a scientific evaluation of claims for the efficacy of qigong. ==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 trained by Taoist and Buddhist monks, professional martial artists and their students. Formerly much more closely guarded, in the modern era such practices have become widely available to the general public both in China and around the world. 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. Dr. 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 that 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 U.S. More than 20 papers [http://www.accessv.com/~yuan/yansci/time/2002_YanXin_Qigong_JSE.pdf] [http://www1.elsevier.com/cdweb/views/article.htt?jnl=00243205&iss=3&vol=69&pii=S002432050101122] [http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v16n3a4.php] [http://bst.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/5/403] have been published. ==Beliefs== Qigong and its intimate relation to the Chinese martial arts are often connected with spirituality. They have thereby been considered the province of religious practitioners in the popular imagination for many centuries. This link is much stronger than with other techniques in traditional Chinese medicine. Qigong was historically practiced extensively in Taoist and Buddhist monasteries as an adjunct of martial arts training, and the claimed benefits of martial qigong practice are widely known in East Asian martial traditions and popular culture. As well, 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). Cultivating virtue could be described as a process in which one recognizes that one was never separated from nature (a Taoist metaphor for this is the "uncarved block" - which refers to a primal, undifferentiated state of being free of artificial discrimination), a process made possible with the energy made available to the qigong student after they sincerely choose and implement what they are taught as positive lifestyle choices, which will include practicing specific qigong techniques for ameliorating the effects of previous choices seen as less virtuous (see karma). It is claimed by some that the level of an individual's qigong accomplishment is fundamentally dependent upon the level of their virtue. Therefore in qigong, the practitioner's focus on virtue is an extremely important technical requirement, especially in the advanced levels. Without such continuous cultivation of virtue, one will not be able to achieve a highly relaxed and tranquil mind/body state. ==Criticism of Qigong== Much of the criticism of qigong involves its 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 movement, increasing range of motion, relaxation, blood oxygen saturation and improving joint flexibility and resilience. However, the benefits of qigong become much more controversial when it is asserted that qigong derives its benefits from qi acting as an external non-physical force. Many biologists and physicists are skeptical of these claims and see no reason to believe that qi exists in this manner. Many proponents of qigong claim that they can directly detect and manipulate this energy. Others, including some traditional Chinese practitioners, believe that qi can be viewed as a metaphor for biological processes, and the effectiveness of qigong can also be explained in terms more familiar to Western medicine such as stress management. ==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 which have been viewed in a critical light by more traditional qigong practitioners as well as skeptical outside observers. In this view, a large number of people started studying qigong under inadequate supervision, indeed, perhaps the majority of people today who study qigong study from books or video tapes and DVDs without supervision by a teacher. This 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 theory is that unbalanced circulation of inner energies eventually leads to unbalanced effects on the various systems of the body, both mental and physical. Stories of unguided practitioners developing chronic mental and physical health problems as a result of such training are not uncommon. A common term used by English language speaking practitioners for one example of this syndrome is "Qigong Psychosis" (Now included in the Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders as a culture-bound syndrome: Qi-Gong Psychotic Reaction: DSM-IV General Information: Appendix I, Outline for Cultural Formulation and Glossary of Culture-Bound Syndromes). Another function of improper training involves frauds and deliberate charlatans who promote themselves as qigong "healers" promising miracle cures of any conceivable affliction for the right amount of money. Traditionally, qigong is considered more of a health maintenance regimen, and any promises of miracle cures should be viewed with suspicion, according to more conservative practitioners. This recent popularity has also led to increased attention for quasi-religious groups teaching styles of qigong in an atmosphere of New Age-like spirituality. Qigong has been associated in China with Taoist and Buddhist meditation practices for two thousand years, and this association has recently been exploited, according to traditionalists, by many would be cult leaders. Perhaps the most notable example of a group promoting a synthesis of overt religiosity with qigong practice is the Falun Gong group, whose worldwide popularity grew to the point that the People's Republic of China government banned their practice outright in 1999. ==See also== * Buddhism in China * I Ching * Jing (TCM) * mind-body problem * placebo effect * Pseudoscience * Religion * Tai Chi Chuan * Tao Yin * Tui na * Yoga ==External links== * [http://www.nqa.org/ National (USA) Qigong Association] * [http://www.qi.org/ Qigong Association of America] * [http://www.qigonginstitute.org Scientific research from the Qigong Institute] * [http://www.orientalcollege.org International Oriental College for Qigong based studies of Chinese Medicine] * [http://www.yanxinqigong.net/aboutdryan/index.htm Dr. Yan Xin] * [http://www.wustyle.com/ Wu style T'ai Chi Ch'uan martial ch'i kung] * [http://www.canoe.ca/HealthAlternative/home.html Alternative medicine: A Skeptical Look] * [http://www.quackwatch.org/index.html Quackwatch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions] * [http://www.csicop.org/ Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal] * [http://www16.brinkster.com/xianggong/ Fragrance Qigong (Xianggong)] * [http://www.skepdic.com/chikung.html The Skeptics Dictionary] * [http://www.qigongresearch.org Detailed information about some specific qi gong practices.] * [http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html Acupuncture, Qigong, and “Chinese Medicine”] by Stephen Barrett, M.D. – an article on Quackwatch Meditation Chinese martial arts Traditional Chinese medicine Mandarin terms
Someone who (a) knows and (b) cares about Chinese culture, literature, religion, and history should work this over. This is apologetic literature for the practice of a religion which the article admits dates only (in its "traditional" form) to the 1970s (when it "reemerged"). user:MichaelTinkler The rationale for redirecting this to "Chinese Qigong" escapes me. There's nothing here to disambiguate, and the practice is always commonly referred to with only the single word. user:Eclecticology ---- ''based on Chinese religion'' strikes me as odd, since that includes several different religions that have very little in common. Can you be more specific? User:Mkweise I don't have the historical knowledge myself, but this article seems to need at least a few references to the many 'written records' of qigong thousands of years ago. The history given here is biased at best. The 'three periods' are a strange idea - why does the final period begin in the '70s? Is this when Dr. Yan Xin (a medical doctor, so the quotes should not be there) started teaching? There are books published about qigong by the '50s. 'Modernized traditional' seems to be an oxymoron to me. Besides, there are no types of qigong listed here besides Yan Xin Qigong, and no references to older names for qigong. Some comparisons with Indian and Tibetan medical practices (yoga, for example) would also be useful, perhaps. User:Edededed 06:41, 25 Sep 2003 (UTC) ---- ==Controversial content== I advise those with familiarity of this subject to go to the page history and review RK's edits. He made some ''major'' changes. Sweeping it under the carpet is useless. --User:JiangUser talk:Jiang 22:02, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Namely: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Qigong&diff=682444&oldid=681934], [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Qigong&diff=2235680&oldid=2227246]. --Jiang ==Controversial Content and Merging the Criticism of Qi gong Article with the Present Article== Thanks, I hadn't seen those. BTW, kudos to you and Roadrunner, the page is much easier to read. User:Fire Star 23:25, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) ----- Can someone explain relevance to qigong? It's far from clear to me that qigong invokes culturally universal patterns of magical thinking. The closest culturally independent pattern that qigong invokes is vitalism, but even here the concept of a universal life force doesn't seem to be culturally independent (i.e. I can't think of any analogues in Middle Eastern, Indian, or European thought.) User:Roadrunner 14:51, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Dr. Phillips Stevens writes "Many of today's complementary or alternative systems of healing involve magical beliefs, manifesting ways of thinking based in principles of cosmology and causality that are timeless and absolutely universal. So similar are some of these principles among all human populations that some cognitive scientists have suggested that they are innate to the human species, and this suggestion is being strengthened by current scientific research....Some of the principles of magical beliefs described above are evident in currently popular belief systems. A clear example is homeopathy...The fundamental principle of its founder, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), ''similia similibus curentur'' ("let likes cure likes"), is an explicit expression of a magical principle." _______________________________________________________________________________ 209.188.84.111 has put in a few edits promoting "Yan Xin Qigong," presumably a style he or she approves of. It is a relatively popular style, so I can see leaving references to it in, but this was borderline advertising. I put a greeting on 209.188.84.111's talk page with links to manuals of style, how to edit a page, etc. and reverted a few of the clumsier changes. User:Fire Star 21:30, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) Why would most traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and the Chinese government believe that qigong is only a 'set of breathing and movement exercises?' If the Chinese government has accepted qigong as a medical practice covered by their National Health Plan, doesn't this seem wrong? It also seems strange that there might be Confucian or Neo-Confucian styles of qigong. I will make changes if noone responds for a while about these things. Also, will anyone add a list of some of these hundreds, or thousands of schools of qigong? This article only mentions Yan Xin and Falungong. User:Edededed 00:40, 14 May 2004 (UTC) == About "Gong" translation == As i've leant it, "gong" means "ability", not "work". So I would traslate "qigong" as "qi ability". When chinese say "ones qigong is good", they mean the level of ability is high, not that the practitioner is working a lot. --User:Vcozma 20:37, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Why is qigong a branch of TCM ? == Qigong is very complex, it is not only breathing, it's controlling the body, mind, getting in touch with your soul and (finally ?) enlightment. I'm sure it's not a complete list. In which way does acupuncture, presopuncture or any other practice of TCM help somebody achieve this ? --User:Vcozma 20:57, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Explanations first == I would prefer it if the explanation of the 2nd paragraph would be mentioned earlier. For example first: Qigong (氣功 - pinyin: qì gōng, Wade-Giles: ch'i kung) Qi means breath or to breathe in Mandarin Chinese. Gong means work or technique. Qigong is then "breath work" or the art of managing the breath to achieve and maintain good health, and especially in the martial arts, to enhance the leverage and stamina of the body in coordination with the physical process of respiration. and in the 2nd paragraph: Qigong is an increasingly popular aspect of Chinese medicine. Qigong is mostly taught for health maintenance purposes, but there are also some who teach it, especially in China, for therapeutic interventions. Various forms of traditional qigong are also widely taught in conjunction with Chinese martial arts. == Criticism of Qigong == "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 movement, increasing range of motion, relaxation, blood oxygen saturation and improving joint flexibility and resilience." Probably the generality of this statement needs to be qualified. Does western medicine really generally support the idea of Qigong "improving and maintaining" health? The question becomes one of "Relative to what medical state?". For example "breathing" in general could be said to "maintain and improve ones medical state" since by not breathing you will die. However positing the benefits of 'breathing' in such a manner would be considered by most to be humorous if not ingenuous. So I submit that if you're going to talk about "improve and maintain x" then you need a relative reference. In the elderly? ( some evidence to suggest this but higher impact exercise proves better http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15154293 ). To someone who exercises three times per week? Quite possibly not. Perhaps we simply need to talk about it as a low-impact exercise. That way there's no confusion about it's health benefits. :Unfortunately, there are many kinds of qigong, and they vary greatly in their effectiveness. As well, the individual student's discipline and application of technique will vary greatly from person to person. Those practices associated with T'ai Chi Ch'uan have been pretty well documented, and there are some citations at that article which may interest you. User:Fire Star 22:25, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::THIS SECTION ::''Some proponents'' of qigong make the ''controversial claim'' that they can directly detect and manipulate this energy, but there are those who insist that they can only demonstrate this to ''fellow believers''. Others, including ''many'' traditional Chinese practitioners, believe that qi can be viewed as a ''metaphor for biological processes'', and the effectiveness of qigong can also be explained in ''terms more familiar to Western medicine such as stress management'' ::This section (which I have outright deleted before) is full of loaded language (italics) and is not ''about'' criticism. It IS (unfounded) criticism. QI is energy, and QiGong is about learning to manipulate this energy. To suggest that Chi Kung practitioners view qi as a metaphor is inaccurate. Accupuncture/pressure IS a manipulation of this energy, and these can be considered sub-disciplines within Chi Kung (at least the variety I was involved in). I think that the cult-like aspect of some branches is covered well in the article, and western criticisms are well covered in the other paragraph in this section. So this paragraph is not useful information, but a biased view based on the western paradigm. So although I think this section could be expanded, I've taken out this paragraph again. :::I have moved your statements to the correct place chronologically so that people may follow this discussion easier. Qigong and Qi are controversial subjects, many Westerners see them as superstitious. We don't say that their suspicions have any basis, we simply have to report them. We can't say that qigong is definitely a magical energy either. We can cite medical research that shows it helps for stress relief, as we do at the T'ai Chi Ch'uan article, if we have any studies to cite. Also, there are ''many'' different styles of qigong and many different practitioners of it. My school, for example, goes back centuries and uses qigong demonstrably as a martial art technique, yet I also believe that at its heart qigong is simply a metaphor for stress relief, if very advanced stress relief, so I am reverting your changes. I would be happy if you wanted to add that not all practitioners agree that it is a metaphor, though. My qualifications as a martial artist, qigong and acupressure practitioner are impeccable, and yet I can see a need to have differing viewpoints other than my own in the article. Wikipedia has a neutral point of view policy that we all have to adhere to. User:Fire Star 16:23, 5 May 2005 (UTC) ::A better solution then. I've removed the loaded language. My problem is that as it was, it appeared that only a few quacks in the world of Qigong viewed qigong as 'energy training' or the like. Every Qigong link off this page (and every other Chi Kung source I've seen), describes Qigong as 'energy work' or some similar thing. When I talked with my Sifu about the lack of 'energy' in many western taichi teachings, he was very clear that without learning about energy flow (qi/chi) tai chi becomes not much different than any exercise such as jumping jacks. For the article to suggest that for ''many'' practitioners chi kung is simply stress relief, while ''some make the controversial claim'' that it is so much more, is not about point of view, it is an innaccurate portrayal. I honestly find it difficult to believe that you have spent a lifetime studying qigong without feeling the chi. Which school do you learn under? It would be interesting to learn a little about it. I certainly can make no claims of impeccable mastery however; at my 25 years I am not sure I would have time left in my life to achieve it! I am doing my best to work within the neutral point of view policy ::"Neutrality does not compel us to introduce inaccuracy when something can be directly verified." - as I have said, that Qi/Chi and its cultivation is considered the most important tenant of (most?) Chi Kung can be verifed by visiting QiGong dedicated websites or reading QiGong instructional books. You could also ask many a Chi Kung Master. ::"and they should seek to improve articles by removing any examples of cultural bias that they encounter" I may be wrong, but It appears to me that western bias has removed the Qi from Qigong. This is my concern. If my edits are not satisfactory, then as compromise we should remove all the ''some'' and ''many'' modifiers and other similar language that can be suggestive and misleading. At the very least, the stress reduction POV should be given a source, such as your particular school of Qigong. It should not be suggested that a majority of QiGong practitioners accept western critisism of thier art as valid. I apologize for deleting the paragraph; your discussion has made clear my error there. However, I think it is vital to include the Chi in a description of Chi Kung, whether westerners view the idea as superstitious or not.
#redirect Qigong
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Qigong
Qigong () is an increasingly popular aspect of Chinese medicine. Qigong is mostly taught for health maintenance purposes, but there are also some who teach it, especially in China, for therapeutic interventions. Various forms of traditional qigong are also widely taught in conjunction with Chinese martial arts, and are especially prevalent in the advanced training of what are known as the Nei chia. There are currently more than thirty three hundred different styles and schools of qigong. In general, qigong schools teach their own variations of physical training routines based on coordinating different patterns of breathing with different physical motions of the body. Qigong relies on the traditional Chinese belief that the body has an energy field generated and maintained by the natural respiration of the body, known as Qi. ''Qi'' means breath or to breathe in Mandarin (linguistics) Chinese, and by extension the energy produced by breathing that keeps us alive; ''gong'' means work or technique. Qigong is then "breath work" or the art of managing the breath to achieve and maintain good health, and especially in the martial arts, to enhance the leverage and stamina of the body in coordination with the physical process of respiration. Attitudes toward the basis of qigong vary markedly. Most Western medical practitioners, many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the Chinese government view qigong as a set of breathing and movement exercises, with many possible benefits to health through stress reduction and exercise. Others see qigong in more metaphysical terms, claiming that breathing and movement exercises can influence the fundamental forces of the universe. An extreme form of the latter view was advocated by some participants in the Boxer Rebellion of the late 19th century who believed that breathing and movement exercises would allow them to ward off bullets. ==History== Qigong under various names has a long history in China. The written records referring to qi and its effects are as old as 3,300 years (Shang dynasty oracle bones, Zhou dynasty inscriptions). Numerous books have been written about qigong during the subsequent history of China. The development of Chinese qigong can be divided into three periods: * In ancient China, people came to believe that through certain body movements and mental concentration combined with various breathing techniques, they could balance and enhance physical, metabolic and mental functions. These movements were worked out over time by exploring the natural range of motion through the joints, as well as drawing on motions in imitation of various animals. This research was passed down and refined according to teacher-disciple relationships of lineage or apprenticeship. This accumulated body of traditional knowledge is known as Chinese traditional qigong. * In later centuries, these practices became more standardized, very often associated with religious practitioners. For example, incense burning was originally used to measure time and also to repel insects during qigong practice, and eventually became an important part of the meditative process itself. Over time, new forms of qigong were created and passed down through various schools; Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, Neo-Confucian, Chinese medicine, and the traditional Chinese martial arts. * In the 1970s, researchers began studying qigong using the scientific method, with peer-reviewed and controlled studies of various techniques to provide a scientific evaluation of claims for the efficacy of qigong. ==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 trained by Taoist and Buddhist monks, professional martial artists and their students. Formerly much more closely guarded, in the modern era such practices have become widely available to the general public both in China and around the world. 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. Dr. 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 that 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 U.S. More than 20 papers [http://www.accessv.com/~yuan/yansci/time/2002_YanXin_Qigong_JSE.pdf] [http://www1.elsevier.com/cdweb/views/article.htt?jnl=00243205&iss=3&vol=69&pii=S002432050101122] [http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v16n3a4.php] [http://bst.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/5/403] have been published. ==Beliefs== Qigong and its intimate relation to the Chinese martial arts are often connected with spirituality. They have thereby been considered the province of religious practitioners in the popular imagination for many centuries. This link is much stronger than with other techniques in traditional Chinese medicine. Qigong was historically practiced extensively in Taoist and Buddhist monasteries as an adjunct of martial arts training, and the claimed benefits of martial qigong practice are widely known in East Asian martial traditions and popular culture. As well, 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). Cultivating virtue could be described as a process in which one recognizes that one was never separated from nature (a Taoist metaphor for this is the "uncarved block" - which refers to a primal, undifferentiated state of being free of artificial discrimination), a process made possible with the energy made available to the qigong student after they sincerely choose and implement what they are taught as positive lifestyle choices, which will include practicing specific qigong techniques for ameliorating the effects of previous choices seen as less virtuous (see karma). It is claimed by some that the level of an individual's qigong accomplishment is fundamentally dependent upon the level of their virtue. Therefore in qigong, the practitioner's focus on virtue is an extremely important technical requirement, especially in the advanced levels. Without such continuous cultivation of virtue, one will not be able to achieve a highly relaxed and tranquil mind/body state. ==Criticism of Qigong== Much of the criticism of qigong involves its 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 movement, increasing range of motion, relaxation, blood oxygen saturation and improving joint flexibility and resilience. However, the benefits of qigong become much more controversial when it is asserted that qigong derives its benefits from qi acting as an external non-physical force. Many biologists and physicists are skeptical of these claims and see no reason to believe that qi exists in this manner. Many proponents of qigong claim that they can directly detect and manipulate this energy. Others, including some traditional Chinese practitioners, believe that qi can be viewed as a metaphor for biological processes, and the effectiveness of qigong can also be explained in terms more familiar to Western medicine such as stress management. ==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 which have been viewed in a critical light by more traditional qigong practitioners as well as skeptical outside observers. In this view, a large number of people started studying qigong under inadequate supervision, indeed, perhaps the majority of people today who study qigong study from books or video tapes and DVDs without supervision by a teacher. This 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 theory is that unbalanced circulation of inner energies eventually leads to unbalanced effects on the various systems of the body, both mental and physical. Stories of unguided practitioners developing chronic mental and physical health problems as a result of such training are not uncommon. A common term used by English language speaking practitioners for one example of this syndrome is "Qigong Psychosis" (Now included in the Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders as a culture-bound syndrome: Qi-Gong Psychotic Reaction: DSM-IV General Information: Appendix I, Outline for Cultural Formulation and Glossary of Culture-Bound Syndromes). Another function of improper training involves frauds and deliberate charlatans who promote themselves as qigong "healers" promising miracle cures of any conceivable affliction for the right amount of money. Traditionally, qigong is considered more of a health maintenance regimen, and any promises of miracle cures should be viewed with suspicion, according to more conservative practitioners. This recent popularity has also led to increased attention for quasi-religious groups teaching styles of qigong in an atmosphere of New Age-like spirituality. Qigong has been associated in China with Taoist and Buddhist meditation practices for two thousand years, and this association has recently been exploited, according to traditionalists, by many would be cult leaders. Perhaps the most notable example of a group promoting a synthesis of overt religiosity with qigong practice is the Falun Gong group, whose worldwide popularity grew to the point that the People's Republic of China government banned their practice outright in 1999. ==See also== * Buddhism in China * I Ching * Jing (TCM) * mind-body problem * placebo effect * Pseudoscience * Religion * Tai Chi Chuan * Tao Yin * Tui na * Yoga ==External links== * [http://www.nqa.org/ National (USA) Qigong Association] * [http://www.qi.org/ Qigong Association of America] * [http://www.qigonginstitute.org Scientific research from the Qigong Institute] * [http://www.orientalcollege.org International Oriental College for Qigong based studies of Chinese Medicine] * [http://www.yanxinqigong.net/aboutdryan/index.htm Dr. Yan Xin] * [http://www.wustyle.com/ Wu style T'ai Chi Ch'uan martial ch'i kung] * [http://www.canoe.ca/HealthAlternative/home.html Alternative medicine: A Skeptical Look] * [http://www.quackwatch.org/index.html Quackwatch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions] * [http://www.csicop.org/ Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal] * [http://www16.brinkster.com/xianggong/ Fragrance Qigong (Xianggong)] * [http://www.skepdic.com/chikung.html The Skeptics Dictionary] * [http://www.qigongresearch.org Detailed information about some specific qi gong practices.] * [http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html Acupuncture, Qigong, and “Chinese Medicine”] by Stephen Barrett, M.D. – an article on Quackwatch Meditation Chinese martial arts Traditional Chinese medicine Mandarin terms
Qigong
Someone who (a) knows and (b) cares about Chinese culture, literature, religion, and history should work this over. This is apologetic literature for the practice of a religion which the article admits dates only (in its "traditional" form) to the 1970s (when it "reemerged"). user:MichaelTinkler The rationale for redirecting this to "Chinese Qigong" escapes me. There's nothing here to disambiguate, and the practice is always commonly referred to with only the single word. user:Eclecticology ---- ''based on Chinese religion'' strikes me as odd, since that includes several different religions that have very little in common. Can you be more specific? User:Mkweise I don't have the historical knowledge myself, but this article seems to need at least a few references to the many 'written records' of qigong thousands of years ago. The history given here is biased at best. The 'three periods' are a strange idea - why does the final period begin in the '70s? Is this when Dr. Yan Xin (a medical doctor, so the quotes should not be there) started teaching? There are books published about qigong by the '50s. 'Modernized traditional' seems to be an oxymoron to me. Besides, there are no types of qigong listed here besides Yan Xin Qigong, and no references to older names for qigong. Some comparisons with Indian and Tibetan medical practices (yoga, for example) would also be useful, perhaps. User:Edededed 06:41, 25 Sep 2003 (UTC) ---- ==Controversial content== I advise those with familiarity of this subject to go to the page history and review RK's edits. He made some ''major'' changes. Sweeping it under the carpet is useless. --User:JiangUser talk:Jiang 22:02, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Namely: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Qigong&diff=682444&oldid=681934], [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Qigong&diff=2235680&oldid=2227246]. --Jiang ==Controversial Content and Merging the Criticism of Qi gong Article with the Present Article== Thanks, I hadn't seen those. BTW, kudos to you and Roadrunner, the page is much easier to read. User:Fire Star 23:25, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) ----- Can someone explain relevance to qigong? It's far from clear to me that qigong invokes culturally universal patterns of magical thinking. The closest culturally independent pattern that qigong invokes is vitalism, but even here the concept of a universal life force doesn't seem to be culturally independent (i.e. I can't think of any analogues in Middle Eastern, Indian, or European thought.) User:Roadrunner 14:51, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Dr. Phillips Stevens writes "Many of today's complementary or alternative systems of healing involve magical beliefs, manifesting ways of thinking based in principles of cosmology and causality that are timeless and absolutely universal. So similar are some of these principles among all human populations that some cognitive scientists have suggested that they are innate to the human species, and this suggestion is being strengthened by current scientific research....Some of the principles of magical beliefs described above are evident in currently popular belief systems. A clear example is homeopathy...The fundamental principle of its founder, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), ''similia similibus curentur'' ("let likes cure likes"), is an explicit expression of a magical principle." _______________________________________________________________________________ 209.188.84.111 has put in a few edits promoting "Yan Xin Qigong," presumably a style he or she approves of. It is a relatively popular style, so I can see leaving references to it in, but this was borderline advertising. I put a greeting on 209.188.84.111's talk page with links to manuals of style, how to edit a page, etc. and reverted a few of the clumsier changes. User:Fire Star 21:30, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) Why would most traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and the Chinese government believe that qigong is only a 'set of breathing and movement exercises?' If the Chinese government has accepted qigong as a medical practice covered by their National Health Plan, doesn't this seem wrong? It also seems strange that there might be Confucian or Neo-Confucian styles of qigong. I will make changes if noone responds for a while about these things. Also, will anyone add a list of some of these hundreds, or thousands of schools of qigong? This article only mentions Yan Xin and Falungong. User:Edededed 00:40, 14 May 2004 (UTC) == About "Gong" translation == As i've leant it, "gong" means "ability", not "work". So I would traslate "qigong" as "qi ability". When chinese say "ones qigong is good", they mean the level of ability is high, not that the practitioner is working a lot. --User:Vcozma 20:37, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Why is qigong a branch of TCM ? == Qigong is very complex, it is not only breathing, it's controlling the body, mind, getting in touch with your soul and (finally ?) enlightment. I'm sure it's not a complete list. In which way does acupuncture, presopuncture or any other practice of TCM help somebody achieve this ? --User:Vcozma 20:57, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Explanations first == I would prefer it if the explanation of the 2nd paragraph would be mentioned earlier. For example first: Qigong (氣功 - pinyin: qì gōng, Wade-Giles: ch'i kung) Qi means breath or to breathe in Mandarin Chinese. Gong means work or technique. Qigong is then "breath work" or the art of managing the breath to achieve and maintain good health, and especially in the martial arts, to enhance the leverage and stamina of the body in coordination with the physical process of respiration. and in the 2nd paragraph: Qigong is an increasingly popular aspect of Chinese medicine. Qigong is mostly taught for health maintenance purposes, but there are also some who teach it, especially in China, for therapeutic interventions. Various forms of traditional qigong are also widely taught in conjunction with Chinese martial arts. == Criticism of Qigong == "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 movement, increasing range of motion, relaxation, blood oxygen saturation and improving joint flexibility and resilience." Probably the generality of this statement needs to be qualified. Does western medicine really generally support the idea of Qigong "improving and maintaining" health? The question becomes one of "Relative to what medical state?". For example "breathing" in general could be said to "maintain and improve ones medical state" since by not breathing you will die. However positing the benefits of 'breathing' in such a manner would be considered by most to be humorous if not ingenuous. So I submit that if you're going to talk about "improve and maintain x" then you need a relative reference. In the elderly? ( some evidence to suggest this but higher impact exercise proves better http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15154293 ). To someone who exercises three times per week? Quite possibly not. Perhaps we simply need to talk about it as a low-impact exercise. That way there's no confusion about it's health benefits. :Unfortunately, there are many kinds of qigong, and they vary greatly in their effectiveness. As well, the individual student's discipline and application of technique will vary greatly from person to person. Those practices associated with T'ai Chi Ch'uan have been pretty well documented, and there are some citations at that article which may interest you. User:Fire Star 22:25, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::THIS SECTION ::''Some proponents'' of qigong make the ''controversial claim'' that they can directly detect and manipulate this energy, but there are those who insist that they can only demonstrate this to ''fellow believers''. Others, including ''many'' traditional Chinese practitioners, believe that qi can be viewed as a ''metaphor for biological processes'', and the effectiveness of qigong can also be explained in ''terms more familiar to Western medicine such as stress management'' ::This section (which I have outright deleted before) is full of loaded language (italics) and is not ''about'' criticism. It IS (unfounded) criticism. QI is energy, and QiGong is about learning to manipulate this energy. To suggest that Chi Kung practitioners view qi as a metaphor is inaccurate. Accupuncture/pressure IS a manipulation of this energy, and these can be considered sub-disciplines within Chi Kung (at least the variety I was involved in). I think that the cult-like aspect of some branches is covered well in the article, and western criticisms are well covered in the other paragraph in this section. So this paragraph is not useful information, but a biased view based on the western paradigm. So although I think this section could be expanded, I've taken out this paragraph again. :::I have moved your statements to the correct place chronologically so that people may follow this discussion easier. Qigong and Qi are controversial subjects, many Westerners see them as superstitious. We don't say that their suspicions have any basis, we simply have to report them. We can't say that qigong is definitely a magical energy either. We can cite medical research that shows it helps for stress relief, as we do at the T'ai Chi Ch'uan article, if we have any studies to cite. Also, there are ''many'' different styles of qigong and many different practitioners of it. My school, for example, goes back centuries and uses qigong demonstrably as a martial art technique, yet I also believe that at its heart qigong is simply a metaphor for stress relief, if very advanced stress relief, so I am reverting your changes. I would be happy if you wanted to add that not all practitioners agree that it is a metaphor, though. My qualifications as a martial artist, qigong and acupressure practitioner are impeccable, and yet I can see a need to have differing viewpoints other than my own in the article. Wikipedia has a neutral point of view policy that we all have to adhere to. User:Fire Star 16:23, 5 May 2005 (UTC) ::A better solution then. I've removed the loaded language. My problem is that as it was, it appeared that only a few quacks in the world of Qigong viewed qigong as 'energy training' or the like. Every Qigong link off this page (and every other Chi Kung source I've seen), describes Qigong as 'energy work' or some similar thing. When I talked with my Sifu about the lack of 'energy' in many western taichi teachings, he was very clear that without learning about energy flow (qi/chi) tai chi becomes not much different than any exercise such as jumping jacks. For the article to suggest that for ''many'' practitioners chi kung is simply stress relief, while ''some make the controversial claim'' that it is so much more, is not about point of view, it is an innaccurate portrayal. I honestly find it difficult to believe that you have spent a lifetime studying qigong without feeling the chi. Which school do you learn under? It would be interesting to learn a little about it. I certainly can make no claims of impeccable mastery however; at my 25 years I am not sure I would have time left in my life to achieve it! I am doing my best to work within the neutral point of view policy ::"Neutrality does not compel us to introduce inaccuracy when something can be directly verified." - as I have said, that Qi/Chi and its cultivation is considered the most important tenant of (most?) Chi Kung can be verifed by visiting QiGong dedicated websites or reading QiGong instructional books. You could also ask many a Chi Kung Master. ::"and they should seek to improve articles by removing any examples of cultural bias that they encounter" I may be wrong, but It appears to me that western bias has removed the Qi from Qigong. This is my concern. If my edits are not satisfactory, then as compromise we should remove all the ''some'' and ''many'' modifiers and other similar language that can be suggestive and misleading. At the very least, the stress reduction POV should be given a source, such as your particular school of Qigong. It should not be suggested that a majority of QiGong practitioners accept western critisism of thier art as valid. I apologize for deleting the paragraph; your discussion has made clear my error there. However, I think it is vital to include the Chi in a description of Chi Kung, whether westerners view the idea as superstitious or not.
Qìgong
#redirect Qigong
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