Issue 37 – 3/2009

Retaining the wholeness
Qigong is part of Chinese culture, not of medicine
By Foen Tjoeng Lie

In order to counter the generally noticeable trend of regarding Qigong as part of Chinese
medicine, Foen Tjoeng Lie here cites various arguments in favour of its independent
status. These are derived from the various goals of individual Qigong categories, from current practice and from the tradition, and from current training programmes in TCM. His aim here is not to question the health-promoting effect of Qigong, but rather to illuminate its additional possibilities.

Letting go of the ego
Interview with Wee Kee Jin
By Hella Ebel

In Germany Wee Kee Jin is one of the best known teachers from the tradition of Zheng
Manqing. As a direct student of Huang Xiangxian he learned both Taijiquan and Baihequan, White Crane Gongfu. In this interview with his long-standing student Hella Ebel he talked about how he came to Taijiquan and his time learning from Huang Xiangxian and also about the long-term process of development involved in learning Taiji.

The harmony of antagonistic forces
The transformational phase Metal
By Joachim Stuhlmacher

Continuing on from his article on the transformational phase »Fire« in our previous issue, Joachim Stuhlmacher now turns his attention to the transformational phase »Metal« and its energetic effects on man. The focus here is on the exchange with the cosmos both through the breath/lungs and through expulsion through the large intestine.

Developing essential strength
A biomechanical approach to Taijiquan
By Frieder Anders

The inner strength known as Jin forms a central aspect in Taijiquan, and this regularly raises the question of how this strength can be developed. Frieder Anders describes the biomechanical prerequisites which, in his view, enable Jin to develop in movements. Essential aspects here are the upright posture and the correct shifting of the body weight through one leg, which generates the ground reaction force as an antagonistic force to gravity.

The Qigong phenomenon
Emergence, development and role within the state policies of the People’s Republic of China
By David Weis

Although Qigong is based on tradition thousands of years old, it first emerged in its current form and great popularity in the second half of the last century. Since the 1960s and above all from the 1980s onwards, various forms of Qigong have spread within the People’s Republic of China in a totally new manner. David Weis describes the conditions enabling this movement and how these relate to the political framework conditions at various times, which folowing the Cultural Revolution initially promoted the spread of Qigong and from the late 1990s
onwards led to its restriction and increasing regulation.

Food, glorious food
By Wang Ning

Food occupies a primary position in Chinese culture. The characters for the mouth, for food and for eating permeate a great deal of the language and of life in general. Eating well and generously is seen as the epitome of prosperity.