Hun Yuan Qigong (Chi Kung): Bibliography, Links, Lists, Lessons, Resources, Notes

Primordial Chi Kung, Congenital Qigong, Mixed Circles Qigong, Mixed Rotations Chi Kung
Chi Kung, Qigong, Energy Cultivation, Inner Work, Yang Sheng Gong, Nei Gong
Body-Breath-Movement-Mind Methods

Bagua Qigong: Liang Shen Pu. Teaching by Sifu Brian Knack. N.W. Tai Chi downtown Dojo in Vancouver, Washington, 2018. Instructional DVD.

Feng Zhiquan, 1926-2012, Grandmaster, Taijiquan and Qigong, Biography and Career

Hun Yuan Qi Gong 混元氣功 , Master Giuseppe Paterniti Lupo, London, April 12, 2016. "Hun Yuan Qi Gong 混元氣功 Hunyuan (or Primordial) Qigong is a rare and powerful system from the ancient Taoist tradition as transmitted by renowned Taijiquan Master Feng Zhiqiang (冯志强). These accessible, meditative exercises cultivate, rejuvenate and revitalize one’s qi by blending the primordial forces of Yang and Yin with the internal energy & intelligence of the body/mind. Practice of this system can result in myriad health benefits and also serve as a good foundation for other internal arts including Taiji forms. Hunyuan Qigong relies on Mind Intent to direct qi and movement. In general, qigong is an excellent way to loosen our defenses and the feeling that we are separate from everything else in the world, and to circulate new qi into our systems through the meridians. Qigong is an effective practice to cleanse our internal organs, releasing toxins, stresses and other negative energies back out into the universe. Hunyuan Qigong is practiced in a series of twelve sections. Typically, each section will be practiced in multiples of 9. The number 9 is auspicious in Chinese philosophy, being the number of heaven and therefore symbolizing the fusion of Yin and Yang, and the cosmic connection of macrocosm and microcosm. Nine is the highest number before going back to zero, and in that sense, symbolizes eternity. (taken from mainetaiji.com) The video shows the entire form performed by Master Giuseppe Paterniti. Giuseppe Paterniti is Technical Director of AMHA (Alliance for Martial and Healing Arts) and of STONE TEMPLE TAO (Italian School of Qi Gong and Chen Style Taiji Quan)."

Kuan Yin Sitting Qi Gong. Teaching by Sifu Bryan Knack. N.W. Tai Chi downtown Dojo in Vancouver, Washington, 2018. Instructional DVD.

Magic Pearl Qigong A Taijiquan medicine ball exercise routine. By Mike Garofalo.

Qigong (Chi Kung): Practices, Guides, Bibliographies, Theories. By Michael Garofalo.

Special Taoist Taji Stick and Ruler Qigong. By Master Wang Fengming. He is teaching in the Physical Education Department at Helsinki University. Master Wang studied for many years with Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang, who imparted the wisdom of the Ruler arts to Master Wang. Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang learned the Taiji Ruler from the Qigong Grandmaster and healer, Dr. Hu Yaozhen, a popular Qigong author. Translated and complied by Wang Fengming. 205 pages in English and 127 pages in Chinese. "This the first book available from China that describes a system for Taiji Stick and Ruler practice to improve health, self-defense and well-being. It describes the history, theory, and training methods in 14 sections. There is a short question and answer section." This book has no publication information or ISBN. Available from the Wayfarer catalog. VSCL.

Tai Chi Academy, Canberra, Australia. Numerous instructional DVDs on Hun Yuan Qigong and Tai Chi. Featuring instruction by Fontaine Ip and Bryan Wagland.

The Taiji Ruler System By Rich Mooney. An excellent article, with photographic illustrations. A Seven Stage training system.

Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power By Yang Yang with Scott A. Grubish. Champaign, Illinois, Zhenwu Publications, Center for Taiji Studies, 2005. Bibliography, index, notes, glossary, 219 pages. ISBN: 0974099007. Emphasis upon the theory and methods of Taijiquan, exercise science, and health benefits. VSCL.

The Theory and Practice of Taiji Qigong. By Chris Jarmey. Berkeley, California, North Atlantic Books, 2003. Index, 192 pages. ISBN: 1556435541. VSCL. An excellent text to use when learning Part I of Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi. Detailed explanations of each move with many fine informative illustrations. The definitive text on Part I.

Vancouver Tai Chi and Chi Kung. Sifu Bryan Knack. Vancouver, Washington. I began to study here in 2018, and learning/practicing Hun Yuan Qigong.

Way of Hunyuan: A Personal Odyssey. By Chen Zhongwa. Edited by Jean Wong and Rita Chen. Hunyanataiji Press, 2002. 233 pages. ISBN: 979-0973004518. "According to Master Chen, the classic tenets on Qigong must be understood and accepted in order to gain the maximum benefit from this antiquated discipline. This book did just that. It provided authentic information from ancient China on the subject of Qigong. Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang's Hunyuan Qigong system is used in this book to illustrate the richness of Qigong in health, in self-cultivation and in martial arts. The book is filled with personal experiences. The Qigong glossary at the end of the book makes it a useful reference source. Master Chen Zhonghua is a famous martial artist and Qigong master. He received his training in Chian from Grandmaster Hong Junsheng and Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang, two of the greatest martial artists in China. Illustrated. Includes Qigong dictionary, references, a history chart of China, personal relationships within the discipline, and an index."

     "Hunyuan Qigong is a system of qigong (chi kung) which is part of the system of hunyuan taiji (tai chi), created by Master Feng Zhiqiang, a disciple of Chen Fake, a famous master of Chen style taijiquan. But before becoming a disciple of Master Chen, Feng was a disciple of Master Hu Yaozhen, a scholar of Chinese medicine, and master of xinyiquan and practices of Taoist and Buddhist meditation. Hu was considered the father of modern qigong in China. Master Feng used the some of the best facets of his two masters’ systems to create the system hunyuan taiji, which includes hunyuan qigong. The product was a system of taijiquan that follows the rules of qigong very well.
     The name hunyuan is composed of “hun” meaning 'mixed' (may also mean 'origin.') and “yuan” meaning 'circle'. It may also be said that the system is based on these “circles” or flows arising from the universe. These circles are part of this “original” energy that flows in the universe, nature and humans.
     Qigong systems generally fall into 3 classifications: religious (e.g. Taoist), martial and medicinal. Hunyuan qigong is classified as the martial type because in addition to health benefits, it also provides benefits useful for martial arts such as taijiquan. It is important to know that while hunyuan qigong uses concepts from Taoism such as yin and yang, this does not mean that the system is linked to religion. It’s simply a system of exercises that anyone can do to enjoy the benefits associated with this practice.
     In the system of hunyuan taiji, empty hand forms (sequences of movement) are considered important while practices with conventional weapons are considered complementary. However, hunyuan qigong is an essential element of the system of hunyuan taiji. While many systems use qigong as a complementary exercise, the system hunyuan taiji includes qigong practices so complete that they can be seen as a complete system of qigong in themselves."
- Chen Zhongwa, Hunyuan Qigong Can Improve Your Taijiquan

"Hun Yuan Qigong is often translated as meaning ‘Primordial’ or ‘Congenital Qigong’ which is an appropriate name but it really deserves further exploration. ‘Hun’ by its nature refers to something that is mixed, something that is still a composite and hasn’t been divided into various parts as in Hun Dun which is often translated as original chaos. ‘Yuan’ literally means rotations or circles. So the name of this Qigong set is actually Mixed Circles or Mixed Rotations Qigong. Why is this and what does this have to do with primordial? A state of undifferentiated rotating energy is the original state of the cosmos according to esoteric Daoism. This was the state before Yin and Yang divided. It is the potential for something but nothing manifest. The ultimate state of Wuji is supposed to be formed of various mixed circles – Wuji is Hun Yuan. Out of these mixed circles come Taiji which is the catalyst for Creation so Hun Yuan literally implies trying to take yourself, your Mind, your Energy Body to a state before Yin and Yang divided when there is still just rotational potential for something – which is why often they’ll shorten all of that and say Primordial Qigong for example. Most people will know Hun Yuan Qigong through a gentleman who died recently named Feng Zhi Qiang who was the founder of Hun Yuan Taiji, a variant of Chen style boxing. Feng also taught Hun Yuan Qigong which, prior to being part of a Taijiquan system, had alchemical Daoist origins."
- Damo Mitchell, Hun Yuan in Qigong

"The movements of Qigong exercise should be slow instead of fast because slow movements will nourish qi and combine the posture with qi. The training practice of Qigong should start with Wuji with slow movement until the closing of the training. Every movement and step must be done slowly, ipening and spreading of the body be slow, closing and sinking of the body be slow, and rising and falling of the body be slow. With slow movements, one can keep thinking whether the upper, lower, left and right of the body are followed, and whether the interior and exterior are coordinated. With the slow and gentle movements and posture, the internal qi is conducted to flow slowly in the body to integrate mindwill with qi, vitality with posture, and enter the realm of forgetting the substance and me."
- Master Wang Fengming, Special Taoist Taji Stick and Ruler Qigong, p. 115.

Sink Qi to Wash Organs
Collect Qi from Three Dantians
Double Palms Rotate the Ball
Open/Close Three Dantians
Sun and Moon Rotation
Extend and Withdraw Qi in Circular Motions
Single Leg Raising and Lowering
Double Leg Raising and Lowering
Dai Meridian Circulation
Open/Close Heaven and Earth."

"Qigong is the root of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is the flower of Qigong."
- Grandmaster Feng Zhi Qiang

     "The Hun Yuan Qigong serves three functions: 1. To build up the student's health by improving the circulation of blood and qi, massaging the internal organs and loosening and opening the joints. 2. To train the student in the basic body alignments and structure of Hun Yuan Tai Ji. Without this foundation the more complex forms are no more than empty displays and true martial power is unattainable. 3. To provide advanced training in the various forces and fa jings, most particularly to comprehensively train silk reeling force, the whole body twisting and spiraling which in Master Ma's Tai Ji is developed to a very intense level.
     The Hun Yuan Qigong is practiced at three levels. At the first level the movements are slow, large and relaxed moving in simple circles and lines. At the second level many variations are introduced with the movements increasingly emphasizing whole body twisting and spiraling. At the third level the forms become less distinct. The practitioner freely explores change: from large to small, from fast to slow, form soft to explosive.   At this level martial power generation is fully developed.
     In addition to mastering the external physical movements which in the higher levels can be intricate and complex, there are specific breathing patterns which strongly open up different parts of the body. However theses patterns are usually only taught to indoor students and Master Ma’s advice to beginners is to simply breath naturally without strain or effort.
     Each form within the Qigong activates specific qi pathways and centers. However Master Ma warns against trying to direct the flow of qi with the imagination. It is better simply to do the movements with calm relaxed awareness and let the movement direct the qi."
- Hun Yuan Qigong, Part 1, British Hun Yuan Taiji Association

"Hunyuan Gong, Primordial Qigong, is a system of twelve meditative exercises, generally attributed to the famous Daoist priest Hu Yaozhen (1879-1973) and his disciple, Chen Style Taiji Quan Master Feng Zhiqiang. Feng studied with Hu for approximately nine years. I learned this system originally from one of Master Feng's senior Taiji Quan and Qigong students, Madame Gao Fu (1916-2005) and also from Master Feng himself. Hu was equally versed in Daoism, martial arts (specializing in Liu He Xinyi), and Chinese medicine. Hu's Daoist training came primarlily from Peng Tingjun, a disciple of Shanxi Province Daoist Priest Huo Chengguang. Hu was also a student of Zhang Qinlin (born 1887), another Daoist and martial artist, who had been initiated into the Golden Elixir School of Daoism under Daoist Zuo Laipeng and trained in Yang Style Taiji Quan with Yang Jianhou (1843-1917). In 1959, when Hu was 80 years old, he added a new technique to his repertoire, reporting that he studied Taiji Ruler with Zhao Zhongdao, then age 114! (Zhao passed on four years later). Among Hu Yaozhen's famous writings are Wu Qin Xi "The Five Animal Frolics," written in 1963 (a system he learned from Peng Tingjun) and Qigong Ji Bao Jian Gong "Qigong and Health Preservation Training" (1959). The latter work, reissued as Bao Jian Qigong "Preserving Health Qigong," includes instruction in classical qigong systems, including Standing Post (Zhan Zhuang), Self-Massage (An Mo Gong), Qi Circulation (Zhou Tian Gong), Muscle-Tendon Transformation (Yi Jin Jing), Twenty Movements for Dispelling Disease and Lengthening Life (Que Bing Yan Nian Er Shi Shi), as well as advice on eating, sleeping, and spiritual cultivation ."
- Kenneth Cohen, Hun Yuan Qigong: Tracing Life to Its Roots, 2007

Lessons

Hun Yuan Qigong

1. Wuji Posture, Standing Meditation

Stand in a comfortable shoulder width stance, knees slightly bent, standing up straight.
Stand with your arms hanging down, relaxed, hands alongside hips.
Hands might also be crossed and held at the Dantien (men with right hand over left hand, women opposite).
Be still, relaxed, alert, and attentive.
Breathing soft and quiet. Observe the breath, utilize various breathing techniques.
Look forward, wide angle vision, soft eyes.
Don't dwell on your thoughts, don't attach to your thoughts, nod and then and then stop thinking. Think far less.
During meditation, observe, experience, and sense but avoid self talking, classifying, judging, thinking.

2. Pulling Down the Heavens

Draw your arms gently and slowly upward and outward from the sides to above the head.
Hands are open and facing down until they reach the shoulders then turn palms up.
Inhale as the arms move upward.
Let the arms float down, palms down, in front of the body, hands slightly turned to face the chest.
Exhale as you lower the arms from above the head until they are back down by your hips.
Look forward, wide angle vision, and include glancing at the hands with the eyes.
Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind the teeth.
Stand up straight.
Be gentle, relaxed, calm, present.
Rise up slightly by unbending the knees as arms rise up, and sinking slightly by bending the knees as the arms go down.
Root into the ground, press down into the Bubbling Springs point on the bottom of your foot.
Slightly push downward with the hands, Push/An downward and sinking feeling with hands
Repeat this movement three times, then return briefly to the Wuji posture.