The Most Authentic Form of Yi Jin Jing
I’m sometimes approached by people who speak as if there is a “one true form of Yi JIn JIng”–as in, the most authentic, secret version of it (and of course they are the ones who hold this secret). In reality, it is basically impossible to determine with absolute certainty what the most original and purest form of Yi Jin Jing is. Instead of bothering with that, my approach is simply look for the best versions of it that I can find in which those practicing it have achieved significant, objective results. This has lead me to two forms of Yi Jin Jing in particular, which I will discuss below, but first let’s take a look at what we do know regarding the origins of Yi Jin Jing. 45
Legend has it that Bodhidharma (Damo 达摩) brought Chan (Zen) to China and taught the monks at Shaolin Temple the Yi Jin Jing (“tendon/sinew changing” practices). I think there is little doubt that Shaolin has a long and intimate connection with Yi JIn Jing practice and has some ancient manuscripts associated with it.
On the other hand, some maintain that the original Yi Jin Jing manual was authored in the Ming Dynasty by a Daoist priest named Zongheng, also known as, Zi Ning daoren “Purple Coagulation Man.” Zi Ning daoren was from Mount Tiantai, a sacred site for both Daoists and Buddhists.1 Still to this day, there is a tradition of Yi Jin JIng practiced among Tiantai Daoists. Although this is generally accepted among many scholars, Zhou Weiliang notably refutes this by pointing out there is no evidence Zi Ning daoren wrote the full text and not just the postscript, and in the postscript he even writes “I have read the Yi Jin Jing,” which would suggest that he did not in fact create the whole text. Zhou casts further doubt by stating that there is no proof that Zi Ning daoren’s secular name was Zong Heng nor that he was in fact from Mount Tiantai.2
What is clear is that, whether associated with the famed Yi Jin JIng 12 Postures set or not, “tendon/sinew changing” neigong has deep roots in Chinese internal arts and developed over many centuries and was influenced by many lineages and masters of the “Three Teachings” (Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism). The core is not merely a set of 12 postures–although this also seems to have deep ties with “Yi Jin JIng”, but rather the principles and methods that interrelate the training of the connective tissues of the body with the qi flowing through its meridians. This integration of the outer (physical) with the inner (energetic, even spiritual) is a defining aspect of Yi Jin Jing and more broadly Chinese neigong.
The history and origins of Yi Jin Jing are interesting, but personally I’m more concerned about the quality of a practice and the effects it is capable of producing. A system of practice that is tied to a reputable lineage and teachers is often best as it has had the chance to evolve over time through trial and error, living and growing through and with the best practitioners. That said, what we want to see at the end of the day are results. This is what ultimately led me to the styles of Yi Jin Jing that I have persisted in practicing over the years, most notably, the Gengmen style of Shaolin Yi Jin Jing (and styles taught by related masters) and Master Jin’s system of Ancient Yi Jin Jing (Gu Yi Jin Jing).
Gengmen Yi Jin Jing
What we know of the Gengmen lineage is that it originated with a monk whose surname was Geng and that he passed on his teachings to a Monk named Xuan Kong. Xuan Kong was born into a medical family in 1920 and traveled to Shanghai at an early age to train in Chinese medicine and martial arts under prominent figures such as Wang Ziping and Geng Jingfeng. After travelling and practicing those arts widely, he eventually became a monk at the Shaolin Temple in the late 1930s. Xuan Kong resided at the Shaolin Monastery for close to thirty years prior to the Cultural Revolution, at which time, as was the case with many monks, he left the monastery and posed as a layman, residing in the Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) area. It was at this time that he took on several disciples, selecting young boys to whom he would pass on his teachings based on the traditional art of physiognomy (i.e. reading facial features).
Xuan Kong lived to nearly one hundred and passed away in the early 2000’s. He was remembered for a lifetime of serving others, having treated countless patients and contributed to dozens of charitable projects involving the restoration of old bridges and pavilions in the Jiangnan region. His disciples then carried on the rare form of classical Chinese medicine and Yi Jin Jing neigong that he taught them, each becoming highly sought out masters within the internal arts scene, both for their highly effective form of medical treatment as well as their neigong that was capable of producing in them skills such as the powerful electric-like qi emission, iron body, and iron palm, to name a few. Their method of medical treatment centers around their coveted huaxue dan “blood-transforming” pills–a lineage-based herbal formula made from high-grade herbs refined through stages that involve the herbs being injected with qi during the process. By using this medicine to remove stagnant and diseased blood, and applying powerful qi emission directly to the patient, they are able to achieve remarkable outcomes, often significantly faster and more effectively than typical Chinese medicine treatment. Over the years they have been known to treat many high-profile patients including celebrities, high-ranking government officials and royalty.
Master Jin’s Ancient Yi Jin Jing
Master Jin Jiazhou is a famous kung fu master in China but is not as widely known in the west outside of a few small circles. He is the inheritor of an ancient version of Yi Jin JIng that was passed down within his family, a renowned martial arts family in China. He possesses, what could be one of the oldest extant Yi Jin JIng manuals that dates to the Song Dynasty, is written in Song Dynasty scripts, and is labeled as the “Official Song Dynasty Editition” 宋衙藏版, purportedly originating as one of one hundred copies disseminated by Yue Fei who was a legendary military general of that time. Master Jin’s Yi Jin Jing is truly unique, a flowing sequence of the 12 postures that is essentially a large heavenly orbit (大周天) aka macrocosmic orbit practice interwoven with the 12 postures. Previously kept secret within his family, he began teaching it openly to preserve authentic Chinese internal arts and popularize traditional Chinese culture.
Master Jin grew up learning Yi Jin Jing and later went to live at Shaolin to also learn the Eighteen Arhats Fist. He later became the head instructor of Shaolin martial arts for a time. Afterwards, he went to Tianzhu Mountain in Anhui after hearing about a master named Liu Shaobing who was hiding amongst the mountains there cultivating herbs, and who was skilled in the art of gekong dianxue 隔空点穴 (acupoint striking from a distance). Later Master Jin opened a Martial Arts school and trained many students who became renowned martial artists themselves. He himself won over 100 gold medals in martial arts competitions and was featured on many television programs, where he demonstrated the feats of iron palm and iron body gongfu that resulted from his lifelong Yi Jin JIng training. He famously set a Guinness World Record for breaking 40 steel plates over his head in less than one minute.
He has many students who have developed high levels of neigong skill and can perform similar feats by employing the skill of yunqi 运气 (the ability to direct qi to any particular part of the body at will). Some of his students are able to even perform the demonstration in which qi is directed into a flimsy object such as a dollar bill or a leaf from a plant and then that flimsy object is used to break a handful of chopsticks or other hard object–a skill that can only be done through the advanced manipulation of qi.
Why practice two forms of Yi Jin Jing and not just one? Does it mean that one is deficient? No, I don’t think so. One reason is perhaps simply just because I am so enthusiastic about these arts in general and I can’t help myself when I discover something that motivates me to learn new practices and train harder. The other reason, is that I’ve found that these two style of Yi Jin Jing complement each other very well. One is heavily focused on standing neigong practices while the other has very little standing practice at all but rather a very developed system all based on the 12 Postures set (and both of course utilize seated meditation and not surprisingly have overlap in that area).
Regardless of the ultimate origins of Yi Jin Jing, what we can say is that it is an ancient art of Chinese internal gongfu that developed over many centuries under the influence of all three teachings (Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism), and that today, we are fortunate that a few genuine and powerful versions of this art are still openly available to dedicated enthusiasts of the internal arts.
1. Shahar, M. (2008). The Shaolin Monastery: History, religion, and the Chinese martial arts. University of Hawai‘i Press.
2. Zhou, W., (2011).《易筋经》四珍本校释 Collegiate Annotations of the Four Rare Editions of Yi Jin Jing. People’s Sports Publishing House.
