Tracing the origins of Qigong fever: Mao Zedong, Jiang Weiqiao, quiet sitting, and the jingluo system, 1914–1958
- 1Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge, UK
Abstract
This paper traces the origins of qigong fever by locating Mao Zedong’s early practice of quiet sitting in 1916 within an intellectual lineage linking Jiang Weiqiao, Yang Changji, and Mao’s classmates. Deeply rooted in the Neo-Confucian tradition of self-cultivation and the circulation of jingluo, Jiang’s quiet sitting method was reinterpreted through Japanese hygienic languages during the Republican period, and later reframed in terms of Pavlovian neurophysiology in Maoist China. In 1954, Jiang’s claim that his long-term qigong practice had verified the existence of jingluo coincided with Mao’s renewed support for Chinese medicine. By legitimising the existence of jingluo through qigong practice, the circulatory jingluo system was codified into national Chinese medicine textbooks as the discipline’s core theoretical foundation, thereby laying the institutional and epistemic groundwork for the post-Mao qigong fever.
Related
- A physical activity and sitting time balance index and psychological distress in adolescents: a prospective cohort study
- Joint associations of sitting time and depressive symptoms with all-cause and heart disease mortality among adults with diabetes or prediabetes
- Interrupting prolonged sitting in classrooms for healthcare students: classroom movement breaks acceptability and perceived benefits
- Total sitting time and COPD in NHANES, with genetic evidence for leisure television watching : A cross-sectional and Mendelian randomization study
- Effects of Uninterrupted and Interrupted Sitting on Central Blood Pressure in Chronic Stroke Patients: A Randomized Crossover Trial
BibTeX
@article{gao2026tracing,
title = {{Tracing the origins of Qigong fever: Mao Zedong, Jiang Weiqiao, quiet sitting, and the jingluo system, 1914–1958}},
author = {Shanshan Gao},
journal = {Medical History},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1017/mdh.2026.10079},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/mdh.2026.10079},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Tracing the origins of Qigong fever: Mao Zedong, Jiang Weiqiao, quiet sitting, and the jingluo system, 1914–1958
AU - Shanshan Gao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Medical History
DO - 10.1017/mdh.2026.10079
UR - https://doi.org/10.1017/mdh.2026.10079
AB - This paper traces the origins of qigong fever by locating Mao Zedong’s early practice of quiet sitting in 1916 within an intellectual lineage linking Jiang Weiqiao, Yang Changji, and Mao’s classmates. Deeply rooted in the Neo-Confucian tradition of self-cultivation and the circulation of jingluo, Jiang’s quiet sitting method was reinterpreted through Japanese hygienic languages during the Republican period, and later reframed in terms of Pavlovian neurophysiology in Maoist China. In 1954, Jiang’s claim that his long-term qigong practice had verified the existence of jingluo coincided with Mao’s renewed support for Chinese medicine. By legitimising the existence of jingluo through qigong practice, the circulatory jingluo system was codified into national Chinese medicine textbooks as the discipline’s core theoretical foundation, thereby laying the institutional and epistemic groundwork for the post-Mao qigong fever.
SN - 0025-7273
SN - 2048-8343
ER -