![]() Starting in the late 1940s and the 1950s, the mainland Chinese government tried to integrate disparate qigong approaches into one coherent system, with the intention of establishing a firm scientific basis for qigong practice. ![]() Traditionally, qigong was taught by master to students through training and oral transmission, with an emphasis on meditative practice by scholars and gymnastic or dynamic practice by the working masses. Contemporary qigong blends diverse and sometimes disparate traditions, in particular the Daoist meditative practice of "internal alchemy" ( Neidan 內丹術), the ancient meditative practices of "circulating qi" (Xing qi 行氣) and "standing meditation" ( Zhan zhuang 站桩), and the slow gymnastic breathing exercise of "guiding and pulling" ( Dao yin 導引). With roots in ancient Chinese culture dating back more than 4,000 years, a wide variety of qigong forms have developed within different segments of Chinese society: in traditional Chinese medicine for preventive and curative functions in Confucianism to promote longevity and improve moral character in Daoism and Buddhism as part of meditative practice and in Chinese martial arts to enhance self defending abilities. The physical exercise chart a painting on silk depicting the practice of Qigong Taiji unearthed in 1973 in Hunan Province, China, from the 2nd-century BC Western Han burial site of Mawangdui Han tombs site, Tomb Number 3. The term qigong as currently used was promoted in the late 1940s through the 1950s to refer to a broad range of Chinese self-cultivation exercises, and to emphasize health and scientific approaches, while de-emphasizing spiritual practices, mysticism, and elite lineages. The two words are combined to describe systems to cultivate and balance life energy, especially for health and wellbeing. Gong (or kung) is often translated as cultivation or work, and definitions include practice, skill, mastery, merit, achievement, service, result, or accomplishment, and is often used to mean gongfu (kung fu) in the traditional sense of achievement through great effort. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. Qi (or chi) primarily means air, gas or breath but is often translated as a metaphysical concept of 'vital energy', referring to a supposed energy circulating through the body though a more general definition is universal energy, including heat, light, and electromagnetic energy and definitions often involve breath, air, gas, or the relationship between matter, energy, and spirit. Qigong ( Pinyin), ch'i kung ( Wade-Giles), and chi gung ( Yale) are Romanized words for two Chinese characters: qì ( 气/ 氣) and gōng ( 功). Main articles: Qi and Chinese martial arts
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