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in order to boost resistance to disease. Hua Tuo taught his movements openly and they were widely disseminated, as were a much later set of well-known pieces from the Song dynasty (around the twelfth century) called the Eight Brocades, which are thought to have been developed by an army officer to maintain the internal strength of his troops. Through the centuries, however, other systems were being developed in secrecy among certain families or clans, usually centered on the Imperial Court and often developed in tandem with the martial arts.

The Six Healing Sounds was a medical Chi Kung set taught during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BCE) as a way to “nourish long life.” During the Sui Dynasty (590–618 CE), a Taintai Buddhist high priest, Zhi Zhuan, pointed out the healing potential of the Six Healing Sounds, which have been described in detail in Mantak Chia’s book The Six Healing Sounds.1

During the Tang Dynasty (618–906 CE) a medical expert and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, Sun Si-Miao, wrote in the Song of Hygiene about the Six Healing Sounds, which can be paraphrased as follows:

The liver and spring are classified as wood elements; the xu sound (pronounced “sh-h-h-h-h-h-h”) in the spring will brighten the eyes and relieve liver stagnation. The heart and summer are classified as fire elements; the ke sound (pronounced “haw-w-w-w-w-w”) in the summer will relieve fire in the heart. The lungs and fall are classified as metal elements; the si sound (pronounced “sss-s-s-s-s-s”) in the fall will nourish the lungs. The kidneys and winter are classified as water elements; the chui sound (pronounced “choo-oo-oo-oo”) in the winter will keep the kidneys at ease. The xi sound (pronounced “hee-e-e-e-e-e-e”) will regulate the Triple Warmer and eliminate annoying heat. The hu sound (pronounced “who-o-o-o-o-o”) during the four seasons will assist the assimilation of food by the spleen. The benefit is greater than miraculous pills.

Most of the styles of Chi Kung that we recognize today have developed from this illustrious past. The list of such styles is endless, and it is clear that the use of exercise for maintaining health and circulating vital energy around the body is probably one of the earliest recorded activities in the history of human civilization. It has, moreover, been in continuous use for at least four and a half thousand years.

With a few well-known exceptions, Chi Kung was traditionally a secret art, passed down through oral tradition from master to select students in unbroken lineages, practiced quietly in Taoist and Buddhist temples and monasteries and in the guarded palaces of emperors. Those fortunate enough to receive the secret transmission became members of an exclusive group of practitioners, a sort of informal fraternity of aspirants that included princes and poets, monks and martial artists, warriors and wise men, all of them dedicated to the Tao.

All that has changed in modern life; we live in a time when information is exchanged freely, and people are open and receptive to esoteric ways of thinking. In most places, we are free to practice our beliefs without fear of persecution. Like so many other teachings from the ancient world, Chi Kung is yielding its long-guarded secrets, and practices that were once revealed only to the most select circles of initiates may now be utilized by almost anyone.

The Meaning of Chi Kung

Chi (also spelled qi) means “energy” or “life force.” It can also mean “breath” and “air,” and by extension it also means “vitality.” Kung (also spelled gong) is a general term meaning “work” or “skill.” Hence, the term Chi Kung may be translated as “breathing exercise” as well as “energy work.” Putting the words together and thinking about the practice of Chi Kung exercise, the name signifies an expertise at working with life-force energy. Becoming an expert at working with our own internal energy gives us the resources to have choices and to manifest the kind of day—and the kind of life—that we want to have.

WHAT IS CHI?

The Chinese character for chi signifies vapor