Liu Guizhen

History of Qigong “In the war-torn China of 1947, a 27 year old clerk working for the Communist Party was sent home on sick-leave. His name was Liu Guizhen and he had been suffering from nervous disorders, tuberculosis, and severe gastric ulcers for years.

He weighed less than eighty pounds and was expected to soon be dead.” Article by John Voigt, “The Man Who Invented Qigong,”

The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness Autumn 2013 Liu Guizhen went home and engaged in qigong exercises taught to him by his uncle, Liu Duzhou. “After 102 days Liu regained his health (and thirty pounds). He returned to work. Surprised by his unexpected recovery, Communist officials wanted to know how this happened.”

“Eventually Uncle Liu Duzhou revealed the most important ‘secret’ of qigong and how it benefited a person’s health:

By silently repeating a phrase while focusing mental awareness below the navel, brain activity was slowed and the inner organs were strengthened. Doing this improved mental and physical well-being which consequently prolonged life.”

During the Cultural Revolution in China, Liu Guizhen was imprisoned for 11 years as “The creator of the poisonous weed of qigong.” “During the years of his imprisonment, under the threat of torture, even death, he continued to treat and teach qigong to his fellow prisoners. His wife pleaded with him to stop. But he refused, telling her: ‘The future will confirm our work. One day the science we call ‘qigong’ will be known and judged as a precious legacy and treasure benefiting all humanity.’”

Liu Guizhen died at age 63, weakened by long years of imprisonment. Today his daughter, Liu Yafei, is the director of the Beidaihe Qigong Hospital in China.