Chinese Qigong

One of my students introduced me to Dr. Yang's book The Root of Chinese Qigong.  According to Dr. Yang here is the history of Chinese Qigong.  Chinese Qigong started before 1122 BCE.  Little is known about this period.  

The Han dynasty (206 BCE) brought about the second period known as the religious Qigong era when Buddhism from India influenced the development of Qigong in China.  During the religious period Qigong was practiced by Buddhists and Daoists for religious purposes.  

The third Qigong era was during the Liang dynasty (502-557 CE) and saw the practice of Qigong used for martial purposes.  Many styles of martial Qigong were developed based on Buddhist and Taoist principles and theories.  

​The fourth period occurred after the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in 1911 until  current times.  

Chinese Qigong has continued to be influenced by Qigong practices from India, Japan and other countries.  In China the concept of internal energy or vital essence is referred to as Qi.  In India this life sustaining energy is known as Prana and in Japan as Ki.  Dr. Yang goes in-depth explaining the theory and practice of Qigong in this informative book.  

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