Abstract
This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the learning and experiencing of qigong in Norway. Drawing on ethnographic material from fieldwork among participants of a style of qigong referred to as Biyun medical qigong, I in particular explore the variety of body–mind states that Norwegian qigong students experience. I have differentiated five “stages” of Biyun practice. Using these stages as a framework, I demonstrate the gradual progression in the learning of qigong. “Body,” “concentration,” and qi (“life energy”) are all important constitutive dimensions in the practice, but as the learning progresses, qi becomes more and more prominent. Drawing on a definition of the body as “learning to be affected” and “learning to affect” (Despret, Body Soc 10:111–134, 2004; Latour, Body Soc 10:205–229, 2004), I suggest that qigong may be perceived as a practice that, at its core, involves learning to be affected by qi as well as to affect qi.
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Notes
Qi in qigong has been translated in various ways; “vital energy,” “life energy,” “breath,” “air,” “life source” and gong as “work,” “training,” “skill,” “force,” “exercise;” and qigong as “endeavors of qi,” “qi exercises,” “breathing therapy,” “breathing exercises,” and “qi skills” (see e.g., Chen 2003a: 6, Hsu 1999: 19–25; Ots 1994: 120).
Qigong, as analysed in recent studies, is a modern phenomenon, an invented tradition and a social movement growing out of political and social circumstances particular to China after the establishing of the People’s Republic in 1949. In the 1950s and 1960s, qigong was institutionalized as a therapeutic practice in state medical and rehabilitation institutions, primarily in institutions for cadres of the Chinese Communist Party. When qigong reemerged, after being officially banned during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), it was, however, not primarily a practice confined to medical institutions but had been taken up by popular mass movements in parks, on sports grounds, and at other public places. Charismatic qigong healers and masters became tremendously popular and built organizations with many followers. In the 1990s, changes in state policy towards qigong led to a decline in the popularity of qigong. The crackdown on Falungong (Falungong being a practice with its origins in qigong) in May 1999 had a negative impact on the whole qigong movement in China (Chen 2003a, b; Frank 2004; Hsu 1999; Miura 1989; Ots 1994; Palmer 2003, 2007; Penny 2003; Perry 2001; Xu 1999).
The data presented in this article are based on fieldwork that constituted part of a post-doctoral research project “New Strategies of Coping: A Qualitative Study of Strategies of Coping and Patients’ Experiences of Alternative Medicine” currently in progress at the University of Oslo (2006–2009). Data were not gathered specifically for the purpose of this article. In the research period, I attended most of the Biyun qigong courses taught by the originator of the Biyun system, qigong master Fan Xiulan. I also participated in weekly training sessions run by Norwegian Biyun instructors for senior citizens and for persons with rheumatism. In addition, I attended weekend courses and monthly come-together sessions organized by the leader of the Biyun association in Norway.
Biyun participants consider Biyun a medical form of qigong and one of the four main branches of Chinese medicine [together with acupuncture, herbs, and massage (tuina)]. For accounts of traditional Chinese medicine within the context of the People’s Republic of China, see, e.g., Farquhar (1994), Hsu (1999), Scheid (2002), and Zhang (2007). Traditional Chinese medicine, with TCM as the officially approved translation, is a term used from 1955 to label the revised, modernized forms of indigenous Chinese medicines promoted by the Chinese Communist Party (Hsu 1999; Taylor 2005).
In this article, I use the term body–mind when I write from the perspective of the author as analyzer. I use body–mind in a nondualistic, broad sense, including a wide range of dimensions commonly referred to as, e.g., physical, material, somatic, psychic, mental, emotional, sensational, and spiritual. I use body–mind in a manner that corresponds roughly to terms in common use in contemporary medical anthropology, e.g., “mindful body” (Scheper-Hughes and Lock 1987) and “embodiment” (Csordas 1990). When I refer to the Biyun informants’ viewpoints, I introduce the terminology used by them. In Norwegian, the expression kropp og sjel (translated into English as “body and soul” by the Scandinavian Biyun instructor) encompasses both the meanings “body and soul” and “body and mind,” and it also includes “emotions” and “feelings.” The Norwegian term sjelelig—from sjel (“soul”)—means “mental,” “spiritual,” and “emotional.”
As is widely recognized, biomedicine, influenced by Cartesian dualism, tends to treat human afflictions as either “in the body” or “in the mind” (Scheper-Hughes and Lock 1987: 9), although within biomedicine, there are also divisions with practitioners who promote more holistic oriented models, such as the biopsychosocial model promoted by many general practitioners (Engel 1977), as well as models advocated in other forms of psychosomatic medicine. Biomedicine does not treat the soul or any spiritual dimensions. These dimensions are considered as belonging to the domains of the church or other religious communities.
When there is a marked shift in constitutive dimensions in the practice, I call this a new stage. A shift is sometimes due to the fact that some dimensions are added or are not focused on anymore, or that some dimensions move more into the foreground or the background. Some stages are indeed more dominant in some programs than others, but there are also back and forth movements between the stages in most programs.
In Biyun circles, “life energy,” “life force,” and “vital energy” are the most common translations of qi. “Breath,” “vital force,” “energy,” “vapour,” “spirit,” “material force,” “matter energy,” and “pneuma” are among the numerous translations that have been tried as Western translations for qi.
Part of the content of some stages corresponds roughly to what other authors have categorized as “techniques,” “forms,” “styles,” or “methods” of qigong [e.g. jinggong, donggong, or “spontaneous-qigong” (Ots 1994; Palmer 2007: 5)]. I use “stage” as I want to emphasize the progression of the qigong learning process and the role of each of the stages in this process.
According to Despret, this definition of the body draws on William James’ theory of emotions (Despret 2004: 127).
Sweden has been the Biyun center in Scandinavia; the Swedish Green Dragon Association for traditional Chinese medicine was established already in 1992 and the Biyun School in 1995.
The exact number of qigong practitioners in Norway is not known. Qigong has not yet been a category in surveys conducted in Norway.
Norway’s population numbers about 4.7 million, while Sweden has a population of over 9.2 million. The Biyun association in Norway has no centre of its own. The activities take place at different rented localities. The courses and training sessions I have attended were arranged in a variety of localities; community centres, after-school activity rooms, a church communion center, and a private holistic health care centre.
Cui Yueli is known as a person who has greatly contributed to the prestige of TCM and medical qigong, both in China and internationally (Scheid 2002: 92).
The life story of Fan Xiulan, extraordinary as it is when presented in a Norwegian context, nevertheless shares many of the characteristics that are seen as typical for the biographies of the thousands of Chinese qigong grandmasters in China who “came out of the mountains” (chushan) in the 1980s and 1990s and who struggled to be recognized and accepted by the public (Palmer 2007: 86–101).
This corresponds to findings from a study among Biyun participants in Sweden (Jouper et al. 2006). The sociodemographic profile of participants of qigong courses in Norway has not been surveyed. The study from Sweden examined sociodemographic data concerning members of the Green Dragon (the Swedish Biyun Association). In this study, a total of 372 (33%) of the Green Dragon members were randomly selected and a questionnaire was mailed to them. Two hundred fifty three (68%) responded; 38 men and 215 women. The average age in the groups of responders was 58years. The majority lived with a partner (67%) and had a university degree (57%). Forty four percent were employed; 45% had retired; and 11% were students, job seekers, or working at home. On average, the qigong exercises were very physically active. The total exercise time for this group was 6h and 5min per week (including 2h and 39min with qigong). In total, 77 of the 253 were Biyun instructors.
This information was communicated in qigong classes and confirmed in interviews. Interviewees mentioned a wide range of health effects. In the study among members of the Swedish Biyun Association (a total of 372), the respondents reported the following health gains: fewer common colds and infections; better breathing (asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were specifically mentioned); gastrointestinal improvements; better maintenance of body–mind balance; fewer pains, migraines, and head-aches; less dizziness; increased blood circulation; improvements related to fibromyalgia, burnout, incontinence, drug abuse, allergies, medicine use, tinnitus, blood pressure, and depression; and recovery after cancer treatment (Jouper er al. 2006). Applying quantitative methods, one study from Norway (Festvåg et al. 2006) and a few from Sweden indicate beneficial effects after practicing Biyun (Johansson et al. 2008; Jouper et al. 2006; Linder and Svärdsudd 2006).
Cases histories, as well as evaluation reports concerning health effects after practicing Biyun, are also published on the Biyun association’s web page (www.Biyun.no). The book by Master Fan lists a series of ailments for which Biyun is seen as having beneficial effects (Fan 2008: 35–6).
Although the beginner courses always include some Chinese medicine information, it is very limited. There are, however, courses specialising in the theories of TCM open for all who are interested. For those who want to be Biyun qigong instructors, the TCM theory course is compulsory. Master Fan and other Biyun instructors do not explain to their students about the recent development of TCM within the context of the People’s Republic of China. In contrast, Master Fan and other Biyun instructors simply state that TCM has a history of several thousand years.
In Biyun contexts, it is common to talk about “five organs,” “meridians,” and “five elements” for the Chinese terms wuzang, jingluo, and wuxing. In order to emphasize that the Chinese terms are different from the Western terms organs, meridians, and elements, other translations have been suggested in the sinological literature on Chinese medicine; e.g., “five visceral systems of functions” instead of “five organs”; “tract” or “channels” instead of “meridians,” and “five phases” or “five agents” instead of “five elements” (e.g. Hsu 1999, 2007; Sivin 1987; Porkert 1974).
When I refer to the names of the Biyun courses, I follow the standard used by the Biyun Association in Norway (which is, for example, to write Jichu gong and Dong gong in two words and with a capital letter). However, when I write concerning the content of the courses, I keep to the norm I use in general in this article.
In addition to the general courses, there are several qigong programs for special groups; the elderly, children, young people, and women. There are also courses for those who want to be instructors for specific programs. All the qigong courses at level three and some at level two are taught by Fan Xiulan herself. She teaches in Chinese and her teaching is translated into Swedish by the Swedish main instructor who is the person who initially had invited Fan to Sweden. In addition to the qigong courses, there are several courses covering other Chinese methods, such as massage (tuina); acupressure; ear, hand, and tongue diagnosis; food as medicine; and a course addressing theoretical Chinese medicine issues. Master Fan is especially interested in food as medicine and she draws this issue into her lectures.
How waiqi is understood in Biyun practice will be described below in the account of the five stages (see Section 3.3 and Note 34).
This means that, although the various instructors have structured their courses somewhat differently (as weekend courses, as courses over some weeks, or as training once a week), the contents of the courses are almost the same. By this, however, I do not mean to imply that there were no differences in how the instructions were received and transmitted by individual practitioners.
While the patterns of breathing are complex in many qigong styles, in Biyun, the breathing should be natural and relaxed. In fact, the students are told not to focus on their breathing, except for the three deep breaths that normally initiate relaxation sessions. It is considered that a relaxed, deep breath will occur as a natural response to the Biyun exercises (Fan 2008: 20).
“Concentration” is often used as a translation when Fan Xiulan uses the Chinese concept yinian (“thought,” “idea”). It is not uncommon to use “concentration,” “concentrating on” in English translations of meditation practices (see, e.g., Kohn 1989: 137). “Concentration” (konsentrasjon in Norwegian) and “concentrating on” (å konsentrere seg om) as used in Biyun contexts have a broader scope of meaning than in standard Norwegian (or English), their meaning encompassing, for example, “focused awareness,” “imagination,” “affirmation,” and “visualization.” “Concentration” as used in Biyun contexts can perhaps best be considered a Biyun-specific technical term and a Biyun emic term. Biyun instructions are often phrased according to the following pattern. If the first part is: “the concentration in this exercise is…,” this can be followed by a description of an image (for example “a tree waving in the wind”). Examples of such Biyun-specific use of “concentration” are easy to understand when used in Biyun contexts (meaning: “imagine that you are a tree waving in the wind”), but the meaning is not clear in ordinary Norwegian. Other examples are: “In Biyun the concentration is very simple” (meaning: “the contents of the mental images or visualizations are very simple”), “The concentration is positive” (meaning: “the focus should be on feeling good,” or “Concentration does not imply focusing on (…)” (meaning: “the focused awareness should be relaxed”).
In Biyun classes, dantian is explained to be an energy center located a few centimetres under the navel. In the literature on Daoist practices and Chinese medicine, dantian is commonly translated as “elixir field” or “cinnabar field” (e.g., Skar and Fabrizio 2000: 465; Schipper 1993: 142). In Daoism, dantian is closely associated with the practices of neidan (“inner alchemy”), in which one is aiming at the transcendence of the individual and cosmological states of being through cultivation of the “ingredients” within the person himself (Skar and Fabrizio 2000: 464). In contrast, waidan (“external alchemy”) practices rely on external ingredients such as drugs (Akahori 1989: 73–98). Daoist texts often mention three dantian; one in the head, one in the chest and one in the abdomen (see Skar and Fabrizio 2000: 465). In Daoists texts, the three dantian are the home of divine beings, as well as the site of energy. Skar and Pregadio point out that: “While a man’s energy resides in his lower Elixir Field, many texts assert that a woman’s energy resides in a point between the breasts called qixue (Cavity of Energy, a name for the lower energy field in the man’s body)” (Skar and Fabrizio 2000: 490). Schipper (1993:142) also explains that Chinese texts locate the cinnabar field at different places in the body: “Sometimes it is said to be the spot between the eyebrows, sometimes the mouth, or the heart, or a place under the navel, or the kidney, and so on.” After having spent time with the adepts of the practices to nourish the vital principle, Schipper concludes that, according to these adepts, the cinnabar field does not correspond to any exact place in the body, but “must be found by each for himself during meditation” (1993: 142).
According to a recent survey, 28% of the population in Norway has received acupuncture treatment (Opinion 2006).
Master Fan states in her book that the “gathering” exercise has its origin from the daoyin exercises described in the Mawangdui texts from the Han dynasty (Fan 2008: 61). Fan does not provide more information on this issue. The Mawangdui texts were excavated from a tomb in Hunan province in China in 1973. The burial date is said to be 168 B.C. The Daoyin exercises have been discussed in several studies (e.g., Despeux 1989; Engelhardt 2000; Harper 1998; Kohn 2007).
The body in Chinese medicine, as well as in other forms of traditional Asian medicine, is known to be more permeable than the body in biomedicine. Moreover, body–environment interactions play a more emphasized role. The term “body ecologic” (Hsu 2007) has been suggested in order to reflect these characteristics.
These are referred to as methods of waiqi (“external qi”). Waiqi methods in Biyun encompass methods for gathering qi from nature to strengthen oneself, as well as methods for emission of qi (fa qi) to other persons for healing purposes. Master Fan explains that, in Biyun, the transmission of qi primarily involves qi from nature (da ziran de qi) and not transmission of one’s own qi. She provides two explanations for the focus on qi derived from nature: (1) she says it may be harmful for oneself to use one’s own qi and (2) the quality of one’s own qi may not be very good, and to emit it can therefore potentially cause harm to the recipients. Fan explains: “While one’s own qi may be limited, the qi from nature is unlimited.” See Hsu (1999) for an account from China concerning how qigong sessions performed by Qiu, a qigong master in Yunnan province, included both gathering of qi from the universe (yuzhou zhi qi) and emission of qi (fa qi) in order to heal clients.
This is, of course, not special for Biyun qigong, but an understanding Biyun instructors share with practitioners of many forms of qigong, medical therapies, immortality, and longevity techniques.
Qi was felt by many Biyun participants, but not by all. A few, especially among the beginners, stated that they did not want to relate to the concept of qi because, from their viewpoint, qi carries a religious or new-age connotation that they did not want to associate themselves with. Similarly, a few of the more experienced participants explained that they appreciate the practicing of the qigong exercises, but they neither appreciate nor approve of the Chinese theories and explanations. According to Master Fan, it is more difficult to feel qi if one is not able to relax, concentrate on the images, and let the analytical mind rest (“let the brain rest”).
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Acknowledgements
I am greatly indebted to Inger Altern and Ellen Kristvik for the fruitful long-term collaboration and the helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Special thanks to Elisabeth Hsu for several rounds with extensive comments and constructive suggestions for revisions. I would also like to extend thanks to the colleagues at the Section for medical anthropology and medical history at the University of Oslo for discussions and feedback on earlier versions. I am grateful for insightful comments and good suggestions from two anonymous reviewers. Thank you to the leader of the Biyun Association in Norway, Anne-Marie Giørtz, for reading and commenting on the article. I would also like to thank Biyun instructors and course participants for taking part in interviews and for giving me permission to do participant-observation in their qigong groups. Finally, I acknowledge the Norwegian Health and Rehabilitation Foundation (funding applied for through Norwegian Rheumatism Association) for financial support.
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Sagli, G. Learning and Experiencing Chinese Qigong in Norway. East Asian Science 2, 545–566 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12280-009-9071-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12280-009-9071-z