An Interview with Dr. Zhou Hong

Dr. Zhou Hong is a QiGong master and doctor of TCM. He resides in the Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain) area in the Anhui province of Southern China. He is the seventh generation in his family lineage to practice traditional Chinese medicine.

QUR: To start, based on your experience & opinion, what is qi? What is QiGong?

ZH: Qi is a kind of energetic matter. It is the sign of the energy level of the physical body. It drives blood circulation and other movements of life. Qi is the governor of blood circulation, and blood is the tenor / carrier of qi power. Qi pushes the movement of blood circulation and whenever qi pauses, the blood stagnates.

Qi originates from the plants of nature--from heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon. Human beings breathe it to survive. If it is guided and controlled by yinian (will power), it will transform to qi energy. QiGong is an important part of the traditional Chinese way of healthcare. It refers to any of the various ways of healthcare practice, including neigong (the practice of internal energy), waigong (the external energy), tuna (breathing practice), za-zen, jinggong, and donggong.

All of these have three features in common: the first is to train the physical body (postures), the second is to practice breathing, and the third is to train the mind. It takes a lot of effort, but constant effort produces success. To send qi is to concentrate the sender’s life energy in ten minutes and give it off in one second. The receiver will respond in different ways ranging from feeling hot, tingling, cool, pinched, jumpy, to slightly painful. These different reactions correspond to the energy power sent by the giver to the receiver and the physical conditions of the receiver. So the practice of QiGong is very beneficial. A high level of qi means a better life quality.

QUR: In what circumstances did QiGong enter your life? Was there something that particularly fascinated you with this practice? What keeps you motivated to continue?

ZH: I started QiGong practice at eight years of age. Children are blessed with their innocence, and thus they easily concentrate on what they are taught. After four years of constant practice, I began to feel the benefits of QiGong practice. I felt my physical strength grow daily, and the energy levels went higher and higher. Since I was extremely interested in QiGong and martial arts, I kept practicing it; that is to say, interest is my motive to keep going on with my practice.

QUR: Can you tell us about your teacher or teachers? Does your QiGong come from a particular lineage?

ZH: I have been apprenticed to three masters. The first one was an old monk from the Shaolin Monastery. He was a friend of my grandfather. He taught me Shaolin QiGong and martial arts when I was eight. My second teacher is Master Li Xueyan, a great martial arts master, QiGong master and healer. Master Li Xueyan learned his gongfu from Master Chen Zhiyou, widely known as the Great Master in the Southern Yangtze Region. He spends most of his time traveling abroad. Master Chen’s teacher is still alive. His name is Shi Daolong, and he now living a reclusive life in the mountains. To go one more generation further, Master Shi has followed Master Wang Jinbiao, whose traces are hard to find now. My third teacher is Dr. Ge Mingtan, director of the massage section of the National TCM Healthcare Center.

In China, altogether we have all ten schools of QiGong and martial arts. The school that I belong to is the largest, the Gen Jia school, and its estimated membership amounts to between 20,000 and 30,000. Each school is loosely organized. Not much contact is maintained among them except for the annual meeting in Huangshan. Of course, only the representatives of each school and great master’s delegates attend the meeting. Usually they discuss issues of common interest and bring to justice those who have violated the rules.

QUR: As a QiGong master, how does your level of energetic cultivation affect your daily life? What can QiGong do for the public?

The high energy level in my body does me no harm, and instead benefits me a lot. I firmly believe that QiGong is an integrated part TCM. It has unique functions as distinct from other TCM methods. The QiGong cultivation can help improve the immune system of the practitioner. It emphasizes first cultivation of the mind, which corresponds to the nurse of nerve system, especially the central nervous system. Then it emphasizes breathing exercises, which correspond to the strengthening of neiqi (vital energy). The smooth movement of neiqi will increase the energy level and thus, consequently, the driving force is empowered.

QUR: What complaints can be treated with your QiGong treatments? Is there a particular set of syndromes or symptoms that this kind of treatment is more suited to?

ZH: My QiGong treatments can help heal insomnia, convulsions, gout, headaches (migraine), prostatitis, dysmenorrheal, frozen shoulders, neck and spine pains, lower back pain and leg pains. I would say that my treatments for insomnia and headaches are particularly effective.

QUR: Also, could you describe your theory on what the qi is actually doing to the patient’s body both on a physical as well as energetic level?

ZH: The TCM theory holds that the disharmony of yin and yang, biao and li, xu and shi, re (heat) and han (cold), huo (fire) and shui (water) will result in excessive storage of xie (evil), du (poison), blood stagnation and virus. They block the normal movements of qi and blood. Consequently, the patients will lose their balance, resulting in the outbreak of ill health. If the patient’s root cause for the loss of balance is found, I can help smooth qi movement and blood circulation, adjust his/her energy level and improve the immune system. Then the patient will recover on his / her own.

QUR: Have you been involved in any kind of QiGong research studies?

ZH: I used to be a member of the National Physical Training Organization on QiGong Studies, but the increasing demand of patients has taken up my time. And now I am no longer a member of that organization.

QUR: Please give an example of any case studies you would like to share regarding research, or patient histories with your QiGong treatments.

ZH: Here is a case of successful healing of chronic insomnia with QiGong and herbs. A wealthy middle-aged Indonesian woman suffered for 26 years of insomnia because of an unhappy marriage arrangement at the age of 18. She came to me through a friend of mine. At first glance, I knew she had something hidden in her heart and that she felt it was hard to reveal it to others. She told me that she had been on medication for her insomnia for the past 26 years, and she that she had to keep increasing the dosage every few months. Without them, she could barely sleep at all.

I examined her and noticed that she had been severely addicted to these sleeping pills. In her acupoints such as dazhui, zhiyan, ganyu, danyu, shenyu, and weiyu, heavy blood stasis / stagnation and poison were found. Having found the root causes, I cupped her on these points for 20 minutes first to take out the poison qi. When the cups were removed, the cupped area was deep dark and tough. Then I sent my qi worthy of 10 days life energy into her body in a couple of seconds; she did not show apparent response. Then I sent her again qi worthy of 20 days of life energy, and she started to respond. And finally I sent her qi for the third time, worthy of 30 days, and she reacted very strongly. After sending her qi, I cupped her again on the point where I sent her qi. In another ten minutes when the cup was removed, the cup was filled with dark poison and blood stasis. I covered the point with a black plaster, a mixture of 36 kinds of herbs. By this time, she said she was feeling tired and sleepy. I let her lie down and she slept soundly for 2 hours. And for the first time, she did not have to take any sleeping pills.

QUR: These treatments appear to be extremely strong. Do your patients ever experience negative side effects?

ZH: Different patients react to my treatments differently. Some react very strongly, some very peacefully, and some even feel shocked. But none has been reported having negative side effects.

QUR: At what point did you start studying forms of Chinese medicine other than QiGong?

ZH: TCM has a long history. Our ancestors have left us invaluable legacies over the centuries, including The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, Shanghan Za Bin Lun by Zhang Zhongjin in the Han Dynasty, Qian Jin Yao Fan by Sun Simiao in the Tang Dynasty, and Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty. Many of these great medical masters are also masters of literature, martial arts, and QiGong. Their high morality serves as a great guidance in their diagnosis and healing practices with herbs and QiGong. As a descendent of Chinese dragon, how could I turn a deaf ear to these legacies?

QUR: You treat visiting foreigners with acupuncture, herbs, and QiGong. Could you tell us more about your current activities?

ZH: Yes, I am running two tuina clinics in China. I opened the first one three years ago, and it was an immediate success. So I decided to open the second one the very next year. Now both of them run well. Apart from my time I spend collecting and cultivating my own qi, I now spend some time training TCM massage skills to my technicians. and I treat patients from home and abroad.

QUR: What is the difference between your QiGong treatments compared to your regular acupuncture treatments? In your opinion, is one modality generally more effective than another? Or do you usually combine different therapies during one treatment?

ZH: There is no fixed way in my treatment. When needling and cupping does not produce the desired healing effects, I will resort to herbs and QiGong, which will usually bring out surprisingly good results. I would compare treating patients to fighting a battle. To win the war is our goal. In this sense I have no prejudice against any treatment, whether it is Western medicine, Chinese medicine, Indian medicine, or Tibetan medicine. It is good if it helps healing the patients.

QUR: You have current plans to come to the Unites States. Please let us know more details about that.

ZH: In 2002, I visited the United States and stayed there for 2 months. The limited time I spent left me with many regrets behind because quite a few people I did not have a chance to meet. So this time I plan to stay longer. First, I will check out my old friends and help get rid of their unsolved health problems. Then I hope to know more people and introduce to them the mysterious QiGong treatment.

It is my wish that my service to the American people can contribute to the natural health movement. Thanks to Dr. William Wood who has been helping us with the tour. We will arrange activities like demonstration treatments, QiGong performances, QiGong treatments, TCM tuina, TCM foot massage, TCM guasha, cupping, and needling. Special thanks to Charles Wang for translating this interview.