Shaolin (Buddhist) and Wudang (Daoist) temples. What tied Daoism,
whether religious or philosophical, most closely to self-cultivation was its
system of meditation and medical gymnastics. These stances, postures, and
movements were designed to enhance the practitioner’sqiand improve its
circulation. This would enhance the practitioner’s health, providing for a
longer life unencumbered by illness.
Buddhist meditation was perhaps more spiritually focused and less con-
cerned with long life. Given the Buddhist goal of detachment from physical
urges and pleasures, this makes some sense. Before the late Ming Dynasty
there is no explicit connection between Buddhist meditation and martial arts
practiced by Buddhists. Meir Shahar argues that Daoist gymnastics began to
enter Shaolin martial arts in the late Ming. Lin Boyuan, in contrast, dates
the connection ofdaoyinwith the martial arts as a whole to the early Qing
Dynasty.^7 Once again, we are faced not just with a question of interpreta-
tion but also with the changing nature of the texts involved.
Possibly there was always some kind of connection between the martial
arts and meditation. Since we have nothing like Qi Jiguang’s direct discus-
sion of the martial arts until the sixteenth century, we are left attributing any
number of changes in the martial arts to the Ming or Qing dynasties. Self-
cultivation in the purely mental sense was always a part of the martial arts,
since a particular mental state was necessary for the effective use of weapons
and participation in combat. This was reflected in many Warring States
period stories as well as military texts that were concerned with motivating
and controlling men in battle. The obvious health benefits of the martial arts
were used as a selling point for the medicines sold by traveling peddlers,
providing almost a modern American notion of a pill that would have the
same health effects as vigorous exercise.
When Shahar, Lin Boyuan, or others connect Daoist medical gymnastics
with the martial arts, they are more specifically connecting the martial arts to
enhancing one’sqi.Qiis such an all-encompassing andflexible term that it
is hard to separate enhanced healthor power, mental balance, or long life
from enhancedqi. Only a very small number of martial artists looked for more
out of their training than enhancedfighting skills. At the same time, very few
people had the time or access to the training to practice any form of medical
gymnastics. There was a superficial resemblance between the postures of
martial arts and Daoist medical gymnastics; and much underlying thought
could be marshaled to discussqidevelopment, traditional medicine, and
philosophical writings in the larger cultural matrix. Both Daoist medical
gymnastics and the martial arts grew out of and remained steeped in Chinese
culture. It is difficult to parse their relationship in the absence of direct evidence.
Self-Cultivation 201