Qigong History

The origin of Qigong can be traced back to ancient China, as far back as 2,500 B.C. More than a thousand years later, Qigong was listed as one of the Traditional Chinese Medicines for principal methods of treatment. It became very popular among the general public as a form of health maintenance exercise.

During the 6th century an Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma or Damo, the 36th Patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism, brought the Tripitaka, the Three Sutras or scriptures to China and traveling throughout the country finally settled at the Shaolin Temple in Henan province. He was the founder of ch'an buddhism, later known as Zen in Japan.

Legend has it that Bodhidharma spent nine years in meditation in a cave. During these years of meditation he discovered that the lack of movements of his body and limbs over a long period of time, plus the bitter cold and wind around his mountain retreat, caused fatigue and body aches and pains. His disciples also suffered the same problems and often dozed off during meditation. To combat those hazards Bodhidharma devised a set of exercises, based on Indian Yoga exercises, Chinese health and longevity exercises and his observations of the natural movements of wild animals. This set is known as the "18 Lohan Hands" and is considered to be the source of Shaolin qigong and Shaolin martial arts.

It seems to be a contradiction that a group of Buddhist monks living a contemplative life are also renowned for their expertise in the fighting arts. The reason lies in ancient times when imperial power was weak and corrupt, bands of bandits would terrorize the population, and people became the victims of oppression and injustice. It fell on the shoulders of the monks to be champions of justice and protectors of the people. Often people who fell foul of corrupt officials would seek sanctuary at the temple and become monks. Some of them were expert martial artists. In this way the range and skill of the Shaolin monks increased.

Two hundred years ago the Ching Emperor felt so threatened by the power of the Shaolin Temple that he ordered it destroyed. Choy Fook, one of the few surviving monks, fled to the Kwangtung province in the south of China.

When Chan Heung sought out monk Choy Fook in his mountain retreat at Law Fo Shan to be his disciple, Choy Fook taught Chan Heung the entire system of Shaolin Kung Fu as well as the rare set of internal qigong forms. Each form has its own characteristics. All use breath control and the mind to manipulate the flow of qi along the meridians. Four are moving exercises and one uses stationary postures.

There is an interesting story of how lohan qigong has played an important part in the continual survival of a traditional family style. After all, there are few styles nowadays that can trace its direct family descendants back to the original founder. Two of the more famous exceptions are Master Chen Xiaowang of Chen style Taiji, and Master Chen Yong Fa of Choy Lee Fut.

Master Chen Yong Fa, the great, great grandson of Chan Heung, was born just after the Communist Chinese revolution. Because of the nutritional problems in the country at the time, Yong-Fa was born a sickly child. His grandfather, Master Chan Yiu-Chi, worried about his chance of survival, started to teach Yong-Fa "Lohan Kung" when he was only four years old. His health improved, he became stronger, and has never suffered any major illness. Of all the children (three boys and one girl), he was physically the smallest, but through his early training in the lohan qigong and his diligent practice of the fighting arts, he surpassed his larger brothers to become the most skillful in Choy Lee Fut kung fu. He is presently the accepted "keeper of the style", jeurng mun yeng of Chan Family Choy Lee Fut.

Master Chen Yong-Fa did not forget the benefit of lohan qigong when he left China to settle in Australia. He realized that the only way for Choy Lee Fut to survive as a genuine traditional martial art was to open up its teaching to the outside world. Traditional knowledge should be used to serve and benefit humanity. In its selfless service, Choy Lee Fut will survive. Before Yong-Fa’s generation, lohan qigong was taught only to the members of the Chen family. It is historic that the secret is now made available to the world thanks to Master Chen’s wish to share this life-saving health treasure with as many people as possible.

(Editor’s note: The surnames "Chen" and "Chan" have the same character and meaning in Chinese. The former is a Mandarin translation and the latter is a Cantonese translation. Likewise, the names "Choy Lee Fut", "choy li fut", "choi lay fat", and "cai li fo" all refer to the same style of martial arts in different Chinese dialects and pronunciations.)

The Lineage of Lohan Qigong

Da Mo (Bodhidharma) the 36th Patriarch - Arrived in China from India in the early 6th century. Generations of Shaolin monks and disciples, the most famous being monk Gok Yeun, who enlarged the exercise to 72 movements, and Lee Sau and Bak Juk Fung, who further enlarged the 72 movements and transformed the original "Lohan 18 Hands" into an effective fighting system.

• Monk Choy Fook (died in 1840)
• Chan Heung, founder of choy lee fut, 1806-1875
• Chan Koon Pak, son of Chan Heung, 1847-1920
• Chan Yiu Chi, grandson, 1888-1965
• Chan Wan Hon, great grandson, 1919-1979
• Chen Yong Fa, great, great grandson, born in 1951 (Fifth and present generation "keeper of Choy Lee Fut")

by Howard Choy

reprinted from IKF June 1992