AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION TO THE EIGHT BROCADES

When I first began learning the eight seated qigong exercises known as the Eight Brocades, there was no single book written in English, or even Chinese, that could satisfy all my questions and doubts. I found only pieces to a puzzle, nothing comprehensive. This book, however, not only answers the questions I had during my initial years of attempting to learn the Eight Brocades correctly but also guides serious adherents safely into the wonderful realm of Taoist longevity theories—both their philosophies and their practices.

My practice of the Eight Brocades (in Chinese pa tuan chin, pronounced phonetically as “ba dwan jin”) began in 1974 when my younger brother bought for me, on a whim, the Taoist Health Exercise Book by Da Liu. Although this book is primarily an introduction to the Taoist practices of t’ai chi ch’uan, meditation, philosophy, and herbs, it also provides instructions on the Eight Brocades exercises and gives a brief biography of Li Ching-yun (the reportedly 250-year-old Taoist who practiced the Eight Brocades). This work was my first introduction to Chinese Taoist longevity practices, and my interest has never waned since reading it and teaching myself the Eight Brocades exercises.

It was not until 1979, during my residency at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmage, California, when I began to learn from a visiting monk, dharma master Chen Yi, how to perform the Eight Brocades correctly. Seeing him perform them confirmed that I had much to learn. His stay there was limited, as were my abilities to grasp what he was instructing. But I learned enough so that I could begin a more serious study and practice of this art.

In 1982 I was honored with the privilege of moving in with Master T. T. Liang and his family in St. Cloud, Minnesota. During my six-year residence there I translated every text on the Eight Brocades contained in his modest library. He likewise helped answer many questions I had about the Taoist arts of nourishing life. Also, he presented me with a copy of General Yang Shen’s book of Li Ching-yun’s life and practices, entitled An authoritative and authentic record of a highly respected 250-year-old man. Master Liang, who was a friend of Yang Shen, received one of the original copies of this book.

My translations of Li Ching-yun’s introduction to the Eight Brocades exercises and his line-by-line commentary on the original text, presented in this section, are translated from Yang Shen’s work. In Li’s introduction and in each of the Eight Brocades sections, I have also provided my own commentary—under “Author’s Comments”—to help clarify aspects of the text and expand on the ideas set forth in Li’s commentary. I have also included detailed instructions with photographs showing the physical movements of the exercises.

The Development of the Eight Brocades

No matter the term used for Taoist longevity exercises, the intent is always the same: to stimulate and mobilize the internal energy of qi throughout the body. Mobilizing qi is the purpose and subject of the Eight Brocades.

History claims three popular inventors of the Eight Brocades. One theory says that T’ao Hung-ching, a Taoist adept of the fifth century A.D., created the exercises. Another says that Chung-li Ch’uan, one of the Eight Immortals, also of the fifth century A.D. and a follower of T’ao Hung-ching, invented them. And still another attributes their origin to the Taoist sage Chen Tuan (also know as Chen Hsi-yi, or sometimes as just Hsi-yi) of the tenth century A.D.

The first semblance of what is now known as the Eight Brocades appears in T’ao Hung-ching’s Hsiu shou chi (Record on cultivating longevity). T’ao Hung-ching lived between A.D. 452 and A.D. 536, and he refers to the seated breath exercises (Tao yin exercises) as the Eight Forms (pa hsiang). Although the Record on cultivating longevity has been attributed to T’ao Hung-ching, it is not certain that he actually authored it. It is thought that Chung-li Ch’uan, who studied with T’ao, received the transmission of these Eight Forms and possibly revised them as the Eight Brocades, then out of respect for his teacher attributed the work to him. It was a common practice in those times for students to attribute their own work to the teacher with whom they studied. This is difficult to verify but seems the most likely reason Chung-li Ch’uan is considered a founder of these exercises.

Other theories suggest that the Eight Brocades are a collection of various Taoist breath exercises with influences coming from the Buddhist patriarch Bodhidharma’s works, the I chin ching and Hsi sui ching (Muscle changing classic and Marrow cleansing classic); or that the great Sung dynasty military leader General Yueh Fei invented the exercises. Each of these theories is very difficult to accept and prove. These two highly improbable founders serve more to validate the practice of the Eight Brocades within the Buddhist and martial arts schools.

The development of the Eight Brocades is rather clouded. All the various schools have claimed it as their own invention, and have inserted their own ideas. It has even been presented as twelve exercises, or the Twelve Brocades (shih erh tuan chin). The exercises also appear in a more dissected manner, with many additions, under the heading Internal Kung for the Four Seasons (nei kung szu ling), as twenty-four exercises for specific periods of the year. In martial arts, the Eight Brocades have become a system of not only standing postures but also sword and staff forms. They are now being presented as a form of qigong, a term that did not appear until 1910 in a book entitled Shaolin tsung fa (Shaolin orthodox methods). The author used the term generically to cover a wide range of ideas, including respiratory and meditative exercises directed at mobilizing the breath. Qigong is not in any sense a traditional Taoist term, but it has since been adapted to many Taoist works.

Since no clear evidence exists as to when the Eight Brocades were first developed, the answer as to their origin really depends on which school or thought of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, medicine, or martial art you wish to believe. Each school seems to have its own unique evidence and prejudice.

A more practical view contends that the Eight Brocades are a product, both philosophically and physiologically, of Chinese culture since about 3000 B.C., drawing their philosophy from or around the ideas presented in the I Ching (Book of Changes) and the Huang ti nei ching (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine). These exercises more likely developed over time through various phases rather than originating with a single creator, as Chinese “invented history” is so prone to suggest.

Suffice to say that the origin lies somewhere hidden in antiquity, and that until additional evidence is uncovered, it is better to view their origins as the result of a cumulative process. No matter how they developed, the Eight Brocades are unquestionably the culmination of Taoist alchemical exercises for health, longevity, and immortality.

Practicing and Finding a Teacher

If you want to be good at anything, you must do it every day. Great musicians play music every day, great writers write every day, great business people do business every day, and so on. Birds prove this as they fly every day. Birds don’t say to themselves, “I think I won’t fly for a few weeks,” nor do they ever quit altogether. Birds fly every day, because it is their nature and purpose. Human beings should be healthy physically and spiritually because it is their nature and purpose to be so.

The Chinese have a term for practice, lien hsi. Lien means to refine, like in the refinement of ore into high-grade steel. It is the process of making something the best it can be. Hsi means to repeat, and the character that represents this word depicts the wings of a bird flapping continuously in front of the sun. Just as the sun comes up daily, to practice, or “flap your wings,” should occur daily. And the inclusion of one stroke at the head of the character adds the idea of something simple and pure. So, to the Chinese mind, practice is something that retains the idea of repetition, like a bird flapping its wings to get from one place to another.

As the I Ching says, “Nature is in constant motion, so the activity of man should be to strengthen himself constantly.” An ancient Chinese proverb likewise states, “A door pivot that is used never becomes worm eaten, and moving water never becomes stagnant and putrid.”

If we want to have robust health and to prolong our life, then we must find a health maintenance practice to strengthen ourselves. Even though the Eight Brocades have a variety of health maintenance and enhancement therapies, caution must still be applied. It is wise to obtain a good teacher for supervised instruction. This is especially true if problems occur, and always if one has an illness. If the exercises are approached or practiced incorrectly, some of the following side effects can occur:

Constricted or unnatural breathing results from being hurried, anxious, or not keeping your breath out of the lung area, or from trying to be too precise and forceful with the breath. Let the breath be natural and calm and this will never be a problem.

Mental and physical exhaustion result from being too fanatical about the performance and training of the exercises. It can also result from forcing the breath to be deep and long. Again, breathe naturally and this problem never occurs.

Trance states can occur especially in the breathing exercises, and they may make you feel frozen and unable to breathe easily. The sensation is very akin to your entire body falling asleep and only the brain remaining active. Once it occurs, you may panic and struggle to shake it off, after which you might feel completely exhausted. Some people confuse this sensation with the heightened state of concentration called samadhi—it is not at all the same thing. Some practitioners can also have out-of-body experiences, which have no real value here whatsoever. You can prevent these problems by focusing on the method and not drifting off into scattered thoughts.

Increased sexual desire might result from abdominal breathing, which creates heat in the lower extremities and thus stimulates the sexual organs and the desire for sexual activity. Acting on that increased desire, however, will only result in dissipating the ching, which in turn depletes the qi and dulls the shen. One way of preventing this is by getting up and taking a walk outdoors in the fresh air and reminding yourself of the purpose of practice.

Uncontrollable reflex movement occurs from the muscles reacting to being motionless. Taoists compare this sensation to the idea that anything reaching its peak will automatically become its opposite. When yang reaches its peak, it becomes yin and vice versa. The body, when becoming too relaxed (yin), will become active (yang). Sometimes this side effect results in uncontrollable shaking or twitching. If this occurs, simply get up and take a walk or do some stretching.

Detoxification of the abdomen can provoke an increase in passing wind—which is not altogether bad because you are releasing unwanted toxins. Still, this is a side effect of a relaxed abdomen. A Chinese saying goes, “One fart to an old man is worth one gold bar.” Humorous but true. If we want to become healthier, we need to expel toxins. Another side effect can be rancid tasting saliva. Again, this is just another way in which the body extracts toxins. Don’t be too concerned; both of these phenomena pass. However, if the breath smells or the saliva tastes like ammonia, then the liver might be misfunctioning for some reason and it is wise to see a physician.

Hallucinations result from two things, negative qi in the brain and a teacher who overly emphasizes psychic experience in his students rather than actual physical sensations. Negative qi results from students training too fast and feeling anxious about the results or achieving psychic experiences. Some teachers eager to make money and to acquire students don’t provide the correct fundamentals for students and have them perform breathing exercises for too lengthy a time period, or they simply don’t know how to help them advance properly. You can prevent hallucinations by progressing gradually and finding a competent teacher.

Fanaticism is probably the most common side effect. It stems mostly from having a teacher who doesn’t keep you focused on the method rather than on your personal accomplishments. It is very easy for your ego to become inflated, and when you experience a little qi you may think you are a master or have illusionary thoughts of being spiritually superior. There are more things in this world than the Eight Brocades, and there are more things in this world than just your qi and ego. Lao-tzu understood this when he claimed that his three treasures were frugality, compassion, and humility. Avoid fanaticism by following Lao-tzu’s example.

Many teachers spend an inordinate amount of time preaching the dangers of qigong, but dangers only come from being taught incorrectly. The qigong world is filled with charlatans and you should pick your teacher with great caution. In fact, Ko Hung advised that more care should be given to the choice of a teacher than to the method. Ninety-nine percent of all qigong students fail to develop qi, not because of the method but because of their teacher’s inability to produce qi in him- or herself.

Master Liang had fifteen very competent teachers, yet he met many others who were not genuine. He always advised that you should try to get teachers to prove some of their skill before you study with them. Can they produce extreme heat in their hands? Can they hold their breath for long periods without strain? Can they transfer qi to you? Do they have physical marks of concentrated qi—reddened areas on the back of the head, on the chest, or on the hands (palms or fingers)? If a teacher has truly acquired qi, he or she can meet the above minimal requirements.

Also, do not assume seeming psychic abilities mean that true qi is also present. Too many teachers feign psychic skills to conceal their lack of genuine qigong accomplishment. As the old saying goes, “No one can give you something they don’t have.” So in the end, find a good, competent teacher and you will never suffer any of the above side effects.

Li Ching-yun

Li Ching-yun

In A.D. 1678, during the reign of Kang Hsi, the second emperor of the Manchu dynasty (which lasted from A.D. 1644 to A.D. 1908 ), Li Ching-yun was born. His birthplace was in Kuei-chou province, a mountainous region of southwestern China. His family later moved north to Szechuan province.

Li Ching-yun is probably the oldest documented man to have ever lived, living a remarkable 250 years. He is not the figment of anyone’s imagination nor part of China’s “invented history.” Yet, to ascertain his exact age at death has proven difficult. However, even if the surveys conducted by the Chinese government authorities erred to the extent of fifty years, which is not improbable, he would still be historically the oldest human being on record.

Again, Li Ching-yun is not a myth by any means. There are numerous family records and accounts of his life documented by Chinese officials, friends, and disciples. Government officials, after Li’s death, conducted investigations to verify his true age and concluded that he indeed had lived to be well over 250 years of age.

It is documented that Li married fourteen times in succession and has 180 descendants covering a span of eleven generations. Many of the oldest men in his district could remember stories of him related by their own grandfathers, some of whom were disciples or acquaintances of Li.

In 1927, General Yang Shen, upon hearing of this incredible man, sought out Li’s whereabouts and invited him to visit Wanhsien. Li accepted and remained there for nearly two years. It was during this time that Yang Shen began compiling a book based on the teachings of Li, which were contained in the transcripts of twenty-eight, three-hour lectures given by Li at the University in Wanhsien. The book in its entirety addresses many subjects, such as meditation, breathing, internal cultivation, moral deportment, and philosophy. General Yang Shen describes Li in his book in the following excerpt:

Master Li is nearly 250 years old, yet I have seen him stride spryly through the mountains, and his younger companions find it quite difficult to keep up with his quick pace. His height is well over six feet. His skin has a very rosy complexion and his head is completely bald, but very shiny. He also keeps his fingernails very long. In one meal I’ve seen him eat three or more bowls of rice, seasoned with chicken or other types of meat. For good health, Li always advised to walk lightly and avoid tension.

General Yang Shen was a very wealthy warlord from Szechuan province. It was during the year 1930 that he began compiling the lectures and teachings of Li Ching-yun into a book, publishing it under the title of Erh pai wu shih shui jen chui shih chi (An authoritative and authentic record of a highly respected 250-year-old man). This was later revised and published in 1970 by Li Huan and Yu Cheng-sheng in Taiwan. Yang Shen himself lived to be ninety-eight years old and was also a very avid mountain climber throughout most of his life.

For the major portion of his life Li Ching-yun lived in the mountainous regions of northern China, predominantly in the O-mei regions of Szechuan province. There he wandered about collecting herbs and teaching his disciples. When he could no longer comfortably carry the herbs he collected, he would take them into the local villages and sell them at inexpensive rates. He did not like being too profit minded, and his attitude created goodwill between himself and the vendors. He considered this business attitude the best, as everyone was kept happy.

Throughout his life Li had various occupations, even that of soldier. Yet for the most part, he sold medicinal herbs and taught many disciples the secrets of long life and youthfulness, some of whom lived to be more than one hundred years of age themselves.

In the year 1808, at the age of 130, Li explains that while roaming the Kung Tung mountains of Kansu province, he met a Taoist hermit who was well over 500 years old, having been born in 1270 A.D. He gives special claim to the fact that this teacher taught him a set of internal exercises that he called the Methods of the Eight Diagram Active Kun (pa kua hsing kung fa). It was these exercises that Li credited with his remarkable longevity. For nearly one hundred years he performed these exercises daily. But, as he also explained, without proper living habits and disciplines, physical as well as spiritual, all would be in vain. The mind and body, he instructed, must be cultivated as a unit, not as two separate entities.

While residing with General Yang Shen, Li permitted his photograph to be taken, and this is the only known photograph of him. The photo advanced his popularity throughout China, and soon his fame was widespread. When the populace learned of his presence in Wanhsien, many traveled there just to have a look at him. Most visitors could not speak his dialect, but they were content with having had the opportunity to gaze upon his face. Large sums of money were donated by some in order to ensure just a brief appointment with him.

Shortly after Li Ching-yun left Wanhsien in 1930, Yang Shen gave a copy of Li’s photograph to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who then requested an audience with the immortal. Unfortunately, Yang Shen’s envoy who sought out Li’s whereabouts reported that the venerable Li had passed away. It was claimed that Li died of natural causes at the age of 256. The envoy, however, felt that his death was a hoax created by his closest disciples, designed to protect Li from any further public contact. It was speculated that Li was living in a very remote part of northwestern China, under the protection of wealthy disciples and a Taoist hermitage. Li himself frequently instructed disciples not to live in cities and among worldly men, as it would shorten one’s years. Whatever the case may be, the news of Li’s death even reached the New York Times, further testimony of how widespread his fame had become.

On June 5, 1928, the Northern China Daily Newspaper of Shanghai ran the following article:

250 YEARS OLD

And still doing well! Wonder man of Szechuan!

The accompanying portrait, taken in the spring of last year, is that of Master Li Ching-yun, an old and respected resident of Shangchun Village in Kaihsien, a place to the north of Wanhsien, China. Born in the seventeenth year of the reign of Kang Hsi, the second emperor of the Manchu dynasty, Master Li is now in his 250th year. In spite of his years he is very young and vigorous in spirit and he is physically strong. His facial appearance is no different from others two centuries his junior.

A native of Chingnan, he has traveled widely, and everywhere he goes the people welcome him. Numerous military and civil leaders have conferred honors and presents upon him.

When he was only a few years old he could read and write. He traveled throughout Shensi, Kansu, Sinkiang, Manchuria, Tibet, Annam, and Siam, gathering various herbs. This continued to be his trade until he was about 200 years old. Some of his traveling companions at this time were even older than himself.

Master Li has many disciples, all of whom are men of venerable age. Some of the oldest men in his district say that their grandfathers knew him. Disciples, when questioned, say that Master Li taught them to keep a quiet heart by “sitting like a tortoise and walking sprightly like a bird, and to sleep like a dog.”

The longevity exercises of Huang Lao may have been burnt, but Master Li still lives on and his teachings may lead others to learn how to lengthen their years.

The next chapter of Part 2 contains Li Ching-yun’s introduction to the original text of the Eight Brocades, text that comes from a stone engraving by Kao Lin in Hangchou in the late 1600s. Interspersed through the introductory text by Li are my own comments and translation of the Kao Lin text. The remaining chapters in Part 2 detail each of the Eight Brocades exercises and include the original Kao Lin text, comments by Li and me, and my detailed instructions on how to do each of the exercises. The final chapter in Part 2 presents concluding exercises and Kao Lin’s comments taken from the original Kao Lin engraving. The drawings that introduce each brocade are by Master Ching Lai, and they first appeared in a text printed during the Ching dynasty (A.D. 1644 to A.D. 1908) by Cheng Kung-ying of Hsiang Shan Ssu (Fragrant Hill Monastery).1

It is strongly advised to practice in the described manner for at least three months of daily practice before incorporating the supplementary techniques outlined in Part 3 of the book (with the exception of the Externally Patting the Eight Subtle Meridians and Twelve Cavities regime). Before working through the Lesser Heavenly Circuit regime, however, make sure that you have practiced the second regime, Internally Opening the Eight Subtle Qi Cavities, paying particular attention to the comments about the Lesser Earthly and Lesser Human circuits.2