What's in our Spring 2026 Issue?
The Essential H.H. Lui
This reflective tribute explores the life, teaching, and enduring influence of Hubert H. Lui through the lens of Yang Chengfu’s Ten Essential Points of Taijiquan. Drawing on personal memories, historical context, and Mr. Lui’s own translations and sayings, the article reveals a teacher whose legacy extended far beyond form and technique. Emphasizing relaxation, harmony, community, humor, and daily practice, Mr. Lui shaped generations of students during times of cultural upheaval. Decades after his passing, his vision continues through annual reunions, retreats, and a living lineage rooted in compassion, integrity, and joy. By Dr. Nancy M. Hoffman
The Mystical Treasures of The Ancient Lingbao Talismans
This in-depth article explores the esoteric world of Daoist talismans, with particular focus on the Lingbao tradition and its rich ritual, historical, and therapeutic foundations. Tracing talismanic calligraphy to cloud imagery, sacred sound, and embodied intention, the author explains how body, breath, and mind are unified to activate spiritual power. Historical lineages, ritual construction methods, and cosmological principles are examined alongside modern clinical applications, including trauma and grief work. Bridging ancient ritual practice with contemporary healing contexts, the article presents talismans not as superstition, but as sophisticated tools of energetic transformation, compassion, and spiritual integration. By Prof. Jerry Alan Johnson, Ph.D., D.T.C.M.
How Learning Taijiquan Progresses
This reflective essay examines how Taijiquan unfolds over a lifetime, moving from early imitation toward genuine internal understanding. It explores the role of the teacher as an external reference, the importance of tradition and lineage, and the challenges of learning from elder masters whose mature expression reflects decades of refinement. Drawing on historical examples and modern training realities, the article clarifies the difference between copying outer shape and absorbing internal method. It argues that true transmission lies in principles rather than posture, and that Taijiquan remains a living art, shaped by patience, consistency, and personal insight developed over time. By Luo Shiwen
How Qigong Became Qigong
This historical essay traces how the modern term Qigong came to name practices that long predate it. Moving from early ritual movement and daoyin exercises to classical sets such as Baduanjin, Five Animal Frolics, and Yijinjing, the article shows how practical methods of guiding the body gradually became organized systems. It follows their transition through late imperial China, social upheaval, and twentieth-century reform, highlighting Guo Lin Walking Qigong as a bridge between ancient practice and modern healthcare. The article concludes that Qigong was never invented, only named, and remains rooted in lived, embodied experience. By Dr. Daniel Ming, Ph.D.
Departments:
- "What Makes a Martial Art Internal" by Allen Woodward;
- "Fire Horse: The Year East-Asians Avoided" by the journal staff;
- "Brotherhood at the Margins: Understanding Water Margin" by Dr. Carlos Mendoza, Ph.D;
- "Why Confucianism Often Feels Invisible" by Hayao Yamada, BA;
- "From Stillness to Movement" by Steven Luo;
- "The Ghost Who Repays Kindness" from the Zhiguai tradition;
- "When Spiritual Practice Goes Wrong" by Susan Lee
- And recent news and cultural tidbits.
We hope you enjoy this, our 141st consecutive issue of Qi Journal since 1991.
Subscription options available at www.qi-journal.com/subscriptions

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