“What are you talking about?” he said. “Tai chi is MUCH older than qigong!”
I raised an eyebrow at this. Probably two eyebrows since he was being so aggressive.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Earlier in the conversation, this so-called “expert” had also insisted that the “chi” in tai chi means “energy”.
And tai chi is not older than qigong — not by a long shot.
The man I was chatting with, let’s call him Dan, had presented himself as a tai chi instructor and an authority on the subject.
But his statements about qigong and tai chi were unequivocally false.
Unfortunately, untruths like this abound in the the world of qigong and tai chi, causing confusion for students.
Let’s correct some of those myths, shall we?
(Note: If you want to skip all the history, then scroll down to the video at the bottom, which will give you a super-simple 6-minute explanation, along with a few demonstrations.)
How Old is Qigong?
Qigong is an umbrella term for a variety of ancient Chinese healing arts, all of which focus on cultivating the qi, or internal energy, especially for health, vitality, and longevity.
The most important thing you need to know about qigong is that it works wonders for self healing. In that sense, it really doesn’t matter if it’s 1000 years old or 4000.
But I LUVS ME some history, and I find the history of qigong to be fascinating.
First, let’s clarify that qigong is a modern, umbrella term for various Chinese energy arts. In the past, these arts were called by many different names. Today, because they all share similar theories on energy cultivation, we lump them all together under the single term qigong.
Here are a few examples of the historical evidence we have regarding qigong:
- ca. 5000 BCE – archeological evidence (pottery) shows a qigong posture that looks just like a famous technique called “Hugging the Tree” that is still practiced and taught today.
- ca. 400 BCE – The Classic of the Way’s Virtues (The Dao De Jing, 道德經) by Lao Tzu (老子) speaks about focusing on your qi through breathing, and about cultivating softness (a hallmark of qigong).
- ca. 400 BC – Chuang Tzu (莊子) talks about how past masters breathed qi down to their feet, which is an advanced qigong technique.
- ca. 300 BC – The Circulating Qi Inscription (Xing Qi Ming, 行氣銘) basically describes the Small Universe Qigong technique, another advanced qigong method.
- ca. 200 BC – The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Neijing 黃帝內經), which is the fundamental text of Traditional Chinese Medicine, speaks about breathing qi and keeping the mind tranquil and promote longevity. It also talks about Qi Circulation Theory, the Theory of 5 Elements, and the Theory of Yin and Yang
As you can see, there’s considerable evidence suggesting that qigong is older than Jesus. And many scholars think that it might even be older than the pyramids!
But what about tai chi? How old is that?
How Old is Tai Chi?
Let’s get back to my conversation with Dan, the tai chi “expert”.
In an attempt to prove his earlier statement about tai chi being older than qigong, Dan said the following:
“The I Ching talks about tai chi, and it was published in the 9th century BC!”
If Dan could have dropped the mic and walked off stage, I think he would have.
Dan struck me as one of those guys who doesn’t let a few pesky facts get in the way of his opinions.
Despite his confidence, Dan’s statement is ridiculous.
I wouldn’t criticize a beginner for a statement like this, but an expert should know better.
Unfortunately, his opinion is shared by others. I see it popping up more and more often in the tai chi world.
Let’s bust this myth that tai chi was created in the 9th century BC.
Putting the Chuan Back in Tai Chi
The I Ching (The Book of Changes, 易經) is an ancient Chinese divination text.
And technically, it DOES talk about tai chi. But not the tai chi that Dan was talking about.
I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating:
Tai chi, the beautiful, slow-motion martial art that is good for the health, is actually called Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳).
The “chuan” at the end makes a big difference.
Look, I’m guilty too. It’s easier to just say “tai chi”. But when we leave off the “chuan,” we’re not talking about the same thing any more.
Instead, we’re talking about the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang. You already know at least one thing about this philosophy:
This symbol above is called the tai chi tu. Tu in this case just means “symbol” or “diagram”.
In other words, tai chi (太極) is a philosophy, whereas Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳) is a martial art.
Of course, Tai Chi Chuan incorporates the theory of yin and yang, thus adding to the confusion.
What The I Ching Really Says
Dan was correct that the I Ching speaks about tai chi (the philosophy)
But he was false in asserting that it speaks about Tai Chi Chuan (the martial art).
When it comes to the origins of Tai Chi Chuan, Dan wasn’t off by a small amount.
If someone said that Jesus was born 1000 years ago, that statement would be more accurate than Dan’s.
In that case, they would only be off by about 1000 years, whereas Dan was off by at least 2000!
The Actual Origins of Tai Chi
There are 2 main origin stories for the martial art called Tai Chi Chuan:
- Story #1 – Tai Chi Chuan was created by the Taoist monk Zhang Sanfeng in the 12th Century AD.
- Story #2 – Tai Chi Chuan was created by Chen Wangting in the 17th Century AD.
Many modern scholars subscribe to the 2nd story because of the lack of evidence to support the Zhang Sanfeng theory.
But even if you believe that Zhang Sanfeng created Tai Chi Chuan — that’s still 2000 years later than Dan’s origin story.
The Grandmother of Tai Chi Chuan
Okay, so we’ve established that Tai Chi Chuan was created — at the absolute earliest — in the 12th century AD.
And we’ve established that qigong was created — at the absolute latest — in 200 BC.
So that’s a difference of 1300 years — MINIMUM.
In truth, the difference is likely a lot more than that.
I like to say that qigong is the grandmother of tai chi. It’s not just one generation older, but two.
Qigong is not the parent of tai chi because there were other arts in between, notably Shaolin Kung Fu.
What About Shaolin Kung Fu?
If there is a parent for Tai Chi Chuan, it’s undoubtably Shaolin Kung Fu.
Whichever origin story you subscribe to for Tai Chi Chuan — it leads back to the Shaolin Temple in China.
If you believe that Zhang Sanfeng created Tai Chi Chuan, then you must also acknowledge that he spent time learning kung fu at the Shaolin Temple.
If you believe that Chen Wanting created Tai Chi Chua, then you must acknowledge that his home town in Henan province was quite close to the Shaolin Temple. Plus, by the the 17th century, most martial arts in China had been influenced by Shaolin Kung Fu one way or another.
Shaolin Kung Fu is generally viewed as an external martial art, like Karate. But there were secretive internal branches of Shaolin Kung Fu as well.
It’s safe to say that without the internal practices of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan would not have developed.
Similarly, it’s safe to say that, without the internal practices of Shaolin Qigong, Shaolin Kung Fu would not have developed.
In other words, Qigong is the grandmother, Shaolin Kung Fu is the daughter, and Tai Chi Chuan is the granddaughter.
Now don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love Tai Chi Chuan, and practice it every day. In fact, I prefer it to Shaolin Kung, which I practiced for many years.
But I also love Grandma Qigong.
And many people prefer qigong simply because it’s not a martial art, and because it’s simpler.
This video below was taken during a workshop that I gave in Mexico City. It will give you super simple overview of the history of qigong, Tai Chi Chuan, and Shaolin Kung Fu, along with a few quick demonstrations.
If you’re like me and you like reading about history, then the following articles will be a big help:
The Difference Between Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Chai Tea
The Difference Between Kung Fu, Gung Fu, and Gung Ho.
History of Qigong: The 18 Luohan Hands
History of Qigong: Sinew Metamorphosis
History of Qigong: Bone Marrow Cleansing From the heart, Sifu Anthony
Interesting historical research.
My own take on Qi Gong is that kinestheology and ergonomic structure is not necessarily part of the practice. It makes sense to me that the alignments and coordinations were combined in later.
Hi John. Thanks for the input.
I’m not sure what you mean by “kinestheology and ergonomic structure”, but perhaps you’re talking about the physical and visible aspects of qigong?
Techniques like the Small Universe involves almost no visible movement. The qi is moved internally using the mind and the breath.
As Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art, part of the practice is how to develop strength and stability in a posture for releasing and neutralizing physical power. Qi Gong, like Yoga, to my understanding did not develop with a component of “How do I hit someone with more effectively and efficiently.” The six coordinations as I learned them were about issuing or neutralizing power. This is an additional level of complexity; more basic than structure for power is general health and flexibility. It makes sense to me anyway that each idea would be developed separately (health, power) and then combined later.
John, your basic premise correct. For example, a Qigong exercise like Lifting The Sky is not designed for self defense.
But the history gets a bit murky because qigong and the internal martial arts overlapped a great deal. They didn’t develop separately.
In that regard, there are qigong exercises specifically designed to increase martial power, like the zhan zhuang postures, or One Finger Shooting Zen. But both of those happen to also be good for the health!
Thanks Sifu. It’s great to have a basic understanding of how these things relate to one other, I learnt a lot from this blog 😀
Thank you Sifu, great to have so much essential info and history in a condensed, easy to read form.
Thank you Sandie!
Excellent short video and description of the historical progression. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Brian!
But, but, QiGong did not exist before the 1950’s. Most exercises were known as DaoYin. Mao ZeDong urged the old masters to come up with a standardized set and they named it QiGong.
Hi Nico. Thanks for the input.
It’s not correct to say that qigong didn’t exist before the 1950s. But if you mean to say that the term “qigong” didn’t exist, then you are more correct.
The truth is that qigong is a modern, umbrella term for various Chinese energy arts. In the past, these arts were called by many different names (including qigong). Today, we lump them all together under the single term qigong.
But the various energy arts share many theories in common, like qi circulation theory, yin and yang, and the five elements. In this sense, it’s appropriate and fair to bundle them together under the term “qigong”.
Hi Sifu Anthony Korahais, Thanks! very informative..Good read for people like us who enjoyed our daily group-exercise which also includes qigong movements.👍
The school of San feng Wudang, really bridged the gap between Shaolin and Neidan, creating Taiji. If you follow that school of thought.
I learned 2 Tai Chi forms online and also practice some Qigong that I learned. Both have helped me immensely with anxiety and depression so I appreciate what you are doing bringing knowledge to people and helping them deepen their practice..
John
What is your opinion of WIng Chun Shifu Anthony?
Hi John. My opinion of Wing Chun? Like anything, it’s great if you can find a good teacher!
I briefly studied a more internal branch of Wing Chun, and enjoyed it.
But if you can’t find an internal branch, then just find a good teacher, and add a qigong routine.
Thank you very much! Are you familiar with Benny Meng? He’s also got a Wing Chun Museum in Dayton, OH that I want to visit soon. I saw a few pictures of students at his school doing single whip poses but I don’t know for sure if they look into internal arts. He said his lineage is from Ip Man’s. Anyway thank you for answering. Keep seeking balance as Mr. Miyagi says! 🙂
Thanks for the kind words, John. I’m not familiar with Benny Meng, sorry.
Hi Anthony, I would like to contact you by e-mail however, when I clicked on “click here” under Contact Me, which is at the bottom of the page, it came up as an error. How may I contact you privately?
Hi Cindy. That’s odd. Try the form here: http://flowingzen.com/contact/
What was the error?
Thanks for another fantastic column. For a fair and balanced discussion of myth, history, and philosophy, I also recommend Douglas Wile, “Lost T’ai-Chi Classics from the Late Ch’ing Dynasty,” SUNY 1996. Wiles divides the history into 3 main areas: theory, forms, and philosophy. He gives us the benefit of a lot of new materials, hidden for so long in, that are coming literally out of the woodwork in the somewhat relaxed (toward qigong and tai ji) climate in China. I spent about 40 hours constructing a summary and timeline in a Word doc, also discriminating likely myth from likely historical fact, from this book. FB me if anyone wants a copy.
Thanks Beverley! I’ve read that book, but I’d love a copy of your Word document. I think you have my email address.
Douglas Wile is a first rate scholar in this area, but if I recall correctly he has amended a great deal of his earlier work based on newer research.
Fantastic article by the way.
Thanks, Kyro! And thanks for the update.
Thanks-I’m still trying to get my history straight. I am just wondering if you go by the Zhang Sanfeng theory of the birth of Tai Chi Chuan (him replicating the movements of the snake and bird and creating a style of Tai Chi) then where do the Wudang priests come into the picture? Were they around at the same time the Shaolin monks?
Hi Pam. I think it’s hard to verify the Zhang Sanfeng theory historically, but I suspect that there is some truth to it. Whether or not he was inspired by the snake and the crane is not a big deal. The question is — was he the patriarch of what we now call Taijiquan?
It’s a question that we may never have a satisfactory answer to.
Yes, the Wudang priests were around at the same time as the Shaolin Monks. They were Taoist priests, where as the Shaolin monks were Buddhist.
SiFu I have been training in the martial arts for 35 years and have done the same thing as far as researching the historical roots. I believe you cant get to where your going with out knowing where you’ve been. Since my introduction to Qi Gong due to injuries sustained during military deployments, I am amazed at that nobody in my area knows anything about Qi Gong!. Ive been asked to teach and i find it difficult to present Qigong due to the fact that i am afraid that anything i say will be misunderstood by Tai Chi Quan practioners. The management asked me to teach side by side. I fear the mentality is the same as the martial artists in the area. But i must say you gave me a lot of food for thought.
Great blog to clarify the confusion of Qi and Chi – lots of people don’t know the difference because the meaning is lost in translation. Tai Ji Quan would be a better term over Tai Chi Chuan to prevent someone calling Tai Ji Quan as “ultimate fist” LOL.
Keep the good work.
Actually, the “ji” in taijiquan is what gets translated as “ultimate.” The literal meaning in Chinese is “extremely,” “pole” (geography, physics), “utmost,” or “top.” The lefthand ideogram is the character for tree (or wood), suggesting a pole, from whence comes the polarity of yin and yang and their representations in the black and white swirls of the familiar tai ji tu, yin/yang diagram. C.f. the “wuji,” the absence of polarity, the Great Emptiness. Wonderful essay here http://ymaa.com/articles/philosophy/meaning-of-taiji
Sigh, I like your article as there is a lot of misconceptions in the Tai chi world, you may be interested to look into the li now westernised to lee family style of tai chi chuan which has a direct liniage of family members teaching tai chi chuan to each other and now across the world supposedly for over 2000 years? And writings that say at that time it had already been going for a long time taking the style back another 1500 years, the history is blurry but puts the fighting style of tai chi closer to the development of chi gung
Not sigh, I mean sift!
LOL @ the autocorrect, Adrian. 🙂
I don’t know much about Lee family history, but I’m highly suspicious of any claims that an art named “Tai Chi Chuan” existed 2000 years ago. Other martial arts existed, and those arts might have been precursors to Tai Chi Chuan. But it’s hard enough to support the theory that the art called Tai Chi Chuan traces back to Zhang San Feng in the 12th century AD, let alone 2000 years ago.
Damn auto correct, sifu
Antony, I am not new to Qigong and Taichi, and having had 25 years in practice of Trad Acup, five element theory & meridian systems, and hypnosis. I imagine that I am very much older than many who are submitting points of view. To me seems everyone is more interested in all the physical aspects of these Chinese systems of movement ( which I believe Buddhists brought from India). None of that really matters though. Unless one is more interested in being a pugilist.
To me the fact that when one has learnt the relaxing movements and breathing, and the first stage of hypnosis is achieved (alpha brainwave level). In other words deep mental calmness. In that state the moving or stationary meditation state has been achieved. Then the channel to spirit is available. And in my opinion this is the ultimate aim . Being able to give oneself the chance to find that pathway to one’s own spiritual progress. The eastern beliefs are much better at teaching their people’s this than the western world. Western religion does not teach people how to find their pathway to their own spiritual progression, it is expected that people in the congregation rely on a member of the clergy to be a go-between. When you have put your foot on the ladder to advance your own spirituality, you never take it off again.
Hi Blueflame,
I’m not sure how old you are, or why you think that you’re older than other commenters.
My students and readers range in age from 20-95. Like you, many of them have 20+ years of experience. Others are fresh beginners.
On to your point. If I understand you correctly, I think you’re saying that the meditative aspect of qigong is of prime importance.
If so, then I agree. This is the core of my teaching, and something that I’ve been shouting from the rooftops since 2005.
Here’s an article on the subject: https://flowingzen.com/9544/the-number-1-mistake/
Best,
Anthony
P.S. It’s Anthony. “Antony” is how the Brits say it, but don’t listen to them!
太极拳 pronounced “tai ji chuan” has several translations but the last character “拳” means “fist”. 功夫 pronounced “gong fu” means time spent in skillfull training or dedicated work or practice that implies years of training. These characters, 拳 and 功夫 have different meanings and are not interchangeable.
Hi Lingwen. May I ask where you learned classical Chinese?
I don’t agree with your assessment. 拳 (quan) only means fist if you translate it literally. But 拳 (quan) is a classical abbreviation of 拳法 (quanfa). If you translate that literally, you get “fist art”. That’s a poor translation. A better translation of quanfa is “martial art”.
So 拳 (quan) means martial art, not fist.
Similarly, the way that you translate gongfu (功夫) is problematic. Yours is a literal translation, but not a good one. That’s just not how the word is used in the modern era. Today, it means “martial art”.
The following articles may be of interest:
https://flowingzen.com/9277/how-tai-chi-lost-its-mojo/
https://flowingzen.com/7966/tai-chi-qi-gong-and-chai-tea/
hi Sifu,
Im suffering from chronic pain for 3 years. I managed to feel more normal days thanks to intermittent fasting. I actually tried very few ways to self-heal, actually just too tired to learn more, my pain caught up on me. I recently got hooked with watching Chinese historical drama. I got so into it, I would dream of the actors and the scenes, and there is something with the ost’s which wires your brain to get addicted and wanting to watch the next episode, lolz! With my new interest in these drama, I could watch 90 episodes, half without English sub titles. ( Im non Chinese speaking Asian)
What I super like most in those serials are the TCM, pulse diagnosis, the herbalist, and the fight scenes and flying part they say qigong. Funny, I know those are all scripted shows, but it birthed a deeper interest in me, to learn how to self heal thru meditation and learning to harness my chi, and hopefully acupuncture.
Im checking on the courses you offer and will contact you the soonest.
In the meantime il watch again episode 10 of Legend of Yunxi..this maybe my 6th time. Lol.
PS. I first learned about Chi in Kung Fu Panda.
However funny you cite your history, I love Taichi. This is just a comical anecdote. You hardly could talk of history this way. The most important facts are just verbalized in a humorous way even comparing it with things equally out of grasp by the story teller. You claimed 12th century or 17th century without offering any basis apart from personal talk. You can even say, chi, is older than the creation of the world and it would not matter. Thanks!
I have been studying Tai Chi Gung (that’s how he writes it) with Master Lama Rasaji.
He states that it was discovered by Lao Tzu who established a Lamasari in Darshan India more than 3300 years ago. I am now discovering some discrepancies in statements that Rasaji makes and am greatly concerned. What can you tell me about him and this statement about Lao Tzu. Is Rasaji for real or a fraud that pieced together exercises from Tai Chi and made up a back story. I’m so uncertain and confused.
I would appreciate a personal message rather than it being published on this site.
I need some guidance here. Its [removed by admin]
Thank you very much for your assistance in this research of mine!
Best to you.
Lynne
Hi Lynne. I’m too busy for personal email responses, but I’ll answer your question here. I also deleted your email address because it’s not something that should be posted in the comments.
I’m not aware of any evidence that Lao Tzu established anything in India. There are no records of Lao Tzu after he went into seclusion. In any case, Lao Tzu lived roughly 2700 years ago, not 3300 years ago.
Tai Chi Gung, which I assume is written 太極功, doesn’t make much sense in Chinese. It’s not a term that I’ve seen mentioned in any of the classics. Does it look like tai chi?
I too have been wondering about Rasaji. I have some information I would share with you if you would like.
We could say that Qigong is a modern form of exercise created by Cultural Revolution. Since it was of their interest to eradicate the mysticism and promote public health and superiority of China, they kind of merged all that was out there and rebranded it. (Qigong Fever is a great scholar book)
Regarding Taichi, I think one of the misconceptions about it lays in the simple fact that the character 极，is supposed to be read “Ji” sounding more like the way you say the word “Jesus” and not chi like “Chicago”.
So not only put the “Chuan” but also put back the Ji would contribute to eradicate the issue.
Thank you for the article