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CHINESE HEALING EXERCISES the Tradition of Daoyin

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CHINESE HEALING EXERCISES the Tradition of Daoyin Traditional Chinese medicine KOHN CHINESE HEALING EXERCISES CHINESE HEALING EXERCISES The Tradition of Daoyin “Livia Kohn is absolutely the Daoyin, the traditional Chinese practice of guiding the qi and stretching the body, is the forerunner of Qigong, source on the origins and the modern form of exercise that has swept through great luminaries of Qigong, China and is making increasing inroads in the West. Like other Asian body practices, Daoyin focuses on the Tai Chi, and Chinese Heal- body as the main vehicle of attainment; sees health and ing Exercises. As the world’s spiritual transformation as one continuum leading to perfection or self-realization; and works intensely and appetite for stress mastery, consciously with the breath and with the conscious wellness, and complemen- guiding of internal energies. tary medicine grows and the This book explores the di∂erent forms of Daoyin in historical sequence, beginning with the early medical fields of health promotion manuscripts of the Han dynasty, then moving into its and personal empowerment religious adaptation in Highest Clarity Daoism. After examining the medieval Daoyin Scripture and ways of explode, there is a need for integrating the practice into Tang Daoist immortality, accurate reflection on the the work outlines late imperial forms and describes the transformation of the practice in the modern world. origins of China’s ancient Presenting a rich crop of specific exercises together with power tools for well-being, historical context and comparative insights, Chinese healing, and longevity. Based Healing Exercises is valuable for both specialists and general readers. It provides historical depth and opens on sound scholarship and concrete details of an important but as yet little-known accessible to a wide audi- health practice. ence, this book fulfills that Livia Kohn is professor emerita of religion and need.” East Asian studies at Boston University. —Roger Jahnke, omd, Cover art: Detail from the Daoyin tu exercise chart, Institute of Integral Qigong and excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb 3 in the former kingdom of Changsha. Used with permission of the Tai Chi Wellcome Library, London. Cover design: Cameron Poulter University of Livia Kohn Hawai‘i Press Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-1888 Chinese Healing Exercises Chinese Healing Exercises The Tradition of Daoyin Livia Kohn A Latitude 20 Book University of Hawai‘i Press Honolulu © 2008 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 13 12 11 10 09 08 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kohn, Livia, 1956– Chinese healing exercises : the tradition of Daoyin / Livia Kohn. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8248-3234-6 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8248-3269-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Dao yin. 2. Breathing exercises—Therapeutic use. 3. Hygiene, Taoist. I. Title. II. Title: Tradition of Daoyin. RA781.85.K64 2008 615.8'36—dc22 2008009183 University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources Designed by University of Hawai‘i Press production staff Printed by The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group Contents List of Illustrations / vii Acknowledgments / ix Introduction / 1 1. Early Medical Manuscripts / 29 2. Officials, Hermits, and Ecstatics / 62 3. TheExercise Classic / 98 4. Pathways to Immortality / 128 5. Modern Precursors / 162 6. Daoyin Today / 198 Conclusion / 233 Original Sources / 237 Bibliography / 245 Index / 261 v List of Illustrations Fig. 1: Map of China. 30 Fig. 2: “Look up and shout.” 38 Fig. 3: The Bear Amble. 39 Fig. 4: The bamboo slips of the Stretch Book. 42 Fig. 5: A Daoist with magical powers subduing a tiger. 66 Fig. 6: A practitioner working with the qi while lying on the back. 75 Fig. 7: Purifying talismans of Highest Clarity. 91 Fig. 8: A Highest Clarity practitioner visualizing and invoking the gods. 94 Fig. 9: A portrait of Master Redpine dressed in leaves. 99 Fig. 10: A Daoist sitting up and stretching his arms. 112 Fig. 11: A Highest Clarity practitioner connecting to the Sun. 117 Fig. 12: Organs and energy channels in the body. 125 Fig. 13: Sun Simiao, the King of Medicines. 131 Fig. 14: The original text of On Preserving Life. 135 Fig. 15: Sima Chengzhen, the twelfth patriarch of Highest Clarity. 148 Fig. 16: A Daoist practicing healing exercises matching Sima Chengzhen’s prescription. 153 Fig. 17: The Tiger Frolic. 167 Fig. 18: The seasonal exercise for the summer solstice. 169 Fig. 19: The immortal Dongfang Shuo grasping his toes. 173 Fig. 20: The First Brocade: Beating the Heavenly Drum. 182 Fig. 21: Mao Xuanhan Conquers the Dragon and Tiger. 186 Fig. 22: A sequence of Shaolin qigong. 191 Fig. 23: The Taiji diagram. 194 Fig. 24: The white hair sequence. 208 Fig. 25: Getting ready for Sunday qigong practice at a Hong Kong Daoist Temple. 215 Fig. 26: A statue of Jigong, the mad monk. 216 Fig. 27: Advertising a Daoyin retreat through the British Taoist Association. 225 vii Acknowledgments This work grew over many years of study and practice, both academically and in various exercise traditions. I am indebted to many teachers, supporters, and fellow seekers. First, I would like to thank qigong masters Roger Jahnke, Michael Winn, Karin Sörvik, Frank Yurasek, and Paul Gallagher as well as taiji quan master Bede Bid- lack for providing pertinent instruction in Chinese physical practices—both tradi- tional and modern—in a large variety of media: in person, through video, on audiotapes and CDs. Their work over a number of years greatly increased my per- sonal experience of the Chinese modality of physical healing and enhanced my understanding of qigong and taiji quan in a way that books never could. Next, I am deeply grateful to my many yoga teachers over the years, most no- tably Patricia Walden and Annie Hoffman, who provided thorough instruction in the Iyengar method and raised my awareness of the works of B. K. S. Iyengar, an invaluable resource for understanding the medical benefits of body bends and stretches. I would also like to thank my teachers Yoganand Michael Carroll and Martha Abbot, as well as other staff members of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, for the in-depth training in yogic thinking, the thorough exposition of anatomy and physiology, and the compassionate assistance in actual practice they provided during my yoga teacher training at Kripalu in 2002. More recently, I would like to acknowledge Ana Forrest, yoga master extraordinaire, for her out- standing work in transforming bodies with apparently simple moves—something her yoga has much in common with the Daoyin practices studied in this book. On a third level, I wish to thank John Loupos, healer and martial arts in- structor of Cohasset, Massachusetts, for not only helping me with a bursitic shoulder but in the process introducing me to Hanna Somatics, thereby opening a completely new way of looking at exercise and the body that has pervaded the work on this book. By extension, I am much indebted to the late Thomas Hanna and his extraordinary work on the body. Not only transforming my own practice, his guidance—in his book and in numerous patiently recorded audio sessions— has helped to create a clearer image of what needs to be done to a body to effect relaxation and healing. His theory of the three key reflexes has been essential to ix x Acknowledgments my understanding of why Chinese practitioners do what they do and how they come to claim specific results for certain practices. In a more academic and theoretical vein, I would like to thank several of my graduate students for doing outstanding work and raising my awareness and un- derstanding of different aspects of physical practice and healing. Stephen Jacko- wicz, highly gifted acupuncturist and graduate of Boston University in 2003, did outstanding work on the absorption of qi, successfully applying information from medieval Daoist materials to a twentieth-century patient. His in-depth analysis of how medieval Chinese understood the workings of the inner body and his thorough medical and therapeutic analysis of the process of qi -absorption have greatly influenced my interpretation of this rather advanced aspect of Daoyin practice. Another graduate student whose work and help were invaluable was Shawn Arthur, who graduated from Boston University in 2006. His dissertation is on the dietary and fasting techniques of Daoists and modern qigong practitioners, ex- amining them both on the basis of traditional concepts and in terms of modern physiology and pharmacology. His work on fasting and the replacing of ordinary food and drink with qi provided me with great insights into the Chinese under- standing of the body’s structure and the role of breathing and diet in the context of healing exercises. Besides aiding this project with his knowledgeable expertise, Shawn has also been invaluable in assisting the actual manuscript preparation. A third graduate student who provided knowledge and inspiration is Heidi Nugent at the Union Institute, Ohio. She has just completed a pathbreaking dis- sertation on breath, its understanding in different cultures, and the various ways people use (and abuse) it to create health or sickness. As she moved along in her in-depth study, she has greatly increased my understanding and awareness of breathing physiology and the role it plays in traditional forms of healing. Beyond the background practice and information necessary for the completion of this book, I also received enormous support and encouragement in the course of manuscript preparation. First, in the summer of 2005, I was given the great chance to present my findings on Chinese healing exercises to experts at the annual conven- tion of the National Qigong Association (NQA) in Boulder, Colorado.
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