Victim of the Cultural Revolution Martial Arts (Qigong)

The development and appreciation of Qigong continued unabated until 1966, when the Cultural
Revolution began and most of China's traditional culture was outlawed. All study of Taoism,
Confucianism and Buddhism, for instance, was prohibited; some monks and nuns were forced to
abandon the religious life and were only allowed to study Marxism. Anything relating to the old way
of life in China, including Qigong, was condemned or 'sent to hell', as the Chinese would say.
But Qigong survived these terrible years: it is a diamond -even after it has been attacked it lets the
light shine through it into the darkness. In 1978, when the Cultural Revolution came to an end, I was
living in Hong Kong. I remember seeing the 'heat' spreading throughout China. Qigong was still
being practised and within three years at least five magazines devoted to Qigong were being
published there.
Once the 'Gang of Four' was overthrown the ancient culture began to grow back, like grass sprouting
up through the bare earth after spring rain. At first most people did their Qigong just for exercise,
although some combined it with their Taiji Quan and other martial arts practice. Then doctors of
traditional Chinese medicine started to join in, because their work is based on traditional medical
principles like the flow of Qi, the Five Elements, and Yin and Yang (see Chapter 2). Their patients
were introduced to Qigong to help them recover from their illnesses, and many improved more
quickly than if they had been treated with Western medicine or even Chinese herbs. Old masters of
the craft such as Yang Mei Jun, Gou Lin, Ma Li Tang and Que Ya Shui shared their families' skill to
help unhealthy people, especially those who had suffered under the Cultural Revolution. At the same
time, Taoist and Buddhist monks and nuns came forward to help and to perpetuate their knowledge.