Gymnastics 147
ternal organs. They also wrote the character “sun” on a piece of paper, which
they burnt and mixed in water. By drinking the potion it was possible to assimi-
late the luminary’s energy. Evidently, the process of absorbing cosmic qi was
not devoid of magic overtones.^26
Methods of qi circulation are enjoying renewed popularity in contempo-
rary China, where they are commonly referred to as Qigong (which could be
rendered as Qi technique, Qi efficacy, or Qi skill). The ancient Chinese tech-
niques are also becoming increasingly popular in the West. Even though the
Chinese state has attempted to couch Qigong in scientific terms, endowing it
with an aura of secular modernity, its practice is not devoid of religious hues.
David Palmer has argued that despite the party’s express aims, “Qigong became
a conduit for the transmission, modernization and legitimization of religious
concepts and practices within the Communist regime.”^27 The latent religiosity
of Qigong could even burst forth in a messianic zeal. Emerging from Qigong
circles, the renowned Falungong sect has pronounced the imminent arrival of
the apocalypse.^28
The religious aspect of Qigong is likely due, at least partially, to the histori-
cal impact of Daoism on daoyin gymnastics. Daoism embedded the ancient ex-
ercises of qi circulation in a rich vocabulary of religious transcendence. As we
will see, the religion was to exercise a similar influence on the late imperial
martial arts. When, during the late Ming and the early Qing, daoyin calisthen-
ics were integrated into martial training, they colored it with the spiritual hues
of Daoist self-cultivation. Even though the Daoist language did not shape the
aspirations of all martial artists, it did influence at least some late imperial
styles of hand combat.
The Late Ming Synthesis
All through the medieval period, daoyin literature had not been related to
fighting. Whether they are preserved in the Daoist canon or have been discov-
ered in archaeological excavations, the available manuals of gymnastics and
breathing do not presume to enhance military skills. Their avowed goals are
two only: health and spiritual liberation. When daoyin was integrated into the
newly emerging methods of hand combat, during the late Ming and early
Qing, it was thoroughly transformed. The ancient gymnastic tradition ac-
quired a martial dimension, and quan fighting techniques were enriched with
a therapeutic and a religious significance. A synthesis was created of fighting,
healing, and self-cultivation.
Tang Hao was the first scholar to note the contribution of gymnastics and
breathing techniques for the evolution of the late imperial martial arts. The
seventeenth-century Taiji Quan, he pointed out, was created by combining the
Ming styles of bare-handed fighting with the ancient daoyin methods of gym-
nastics and breathing: