Qigong · Prediction · Remote Sensing · Special Abilities

1991

Divine Skills and Martial Arts Series Editor-in-Chief: Mo Wendan Qigong Prediction · Remote Sensing Special Abilities Compiled by Huang Ming, Yu Guang ● Guangxi Normal University Press

[illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] [illegible] First printing in April 1991 Print run: 00001-10000 ISBN 7-5633-0978-0/G·817 Price: 2.80 Yuan

Table of Contents

Theoretical Exploration of Special Abilities

Do Special Abilities Exist? — An Interview with Zhang Zhenhuan, Chairman of the China Society for Human Body Science … Liu Xiaohe (1) Reflections on Ten Years of Research on Special Abilities … Liu Shuhuang, Liu Huiyi (8) How Do Special Abilities Come About? … Tao Zulai, Lin Zhongpeng, Pang Heming (14) Human Special Abilities Should Be a Bio-electromagnetic Field Effect … He Wei (17) Associations with “Paranormal Mechanics Phenomena of the Human Body” … Dai Yuehua (20) Gleanings on Special Abilities … Shao Tianren (23) Manifestations of the Human Special Ability State — The Screen Effect … Shao Laiquan, Zhu Yiyi (26) ” Developing Qian Xuesen’s Comprehensive Discussion on Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Special Abilities … (33) An Exploration of the Types, Characteristics, and Theories of Special Abilities … Qin Shide (35) Why Can’t Modern Science Explain Chinese Qigong and Human Special Abilities? (I) … Probing the Mystery of Human Special Abilities … (48) Records of Special Abilities in Ancient Texts … Liu Yanhua (53)

Special Abilities Practice Methods and Applications

Special Abilities and Earthquake Prediction … Tao Zhangyuan, Ji Yan (63) 1

Special Abilities and Qigong in Clinical Practice … Mi Xin (68) Application of Qigong and Special Abilities in Geological Prospecting … Pan Shizhong (70) The Wonderful Art of Unlocking … Zhu Yiyi (74) Why Do Flowers Bloom? And Where Do They Come From? … Zhu Runlong (76) Witnessing Special Abilities … Wen Hengjin (78) I Practice Qigong to Improve Special Abilities … Xie Zhaohui (87) The Reflection of Human Special Abilities in the Ears … Wang Bomang (92) Also Discussing Special Abilities … Mo Wendan (95) Human Special Abilities Repair Broken Plant Leaves … Wang Chongyuan, Shou Zhumin, Piao Xianggen (99) Qigong and Special Abilities … Baisha (101) Viewing Qigong and Special Abilities Through the Life of Sakyamuni … Huang Yaping (103) The White House and Special Abilities … (112) Thoughts Triggered by a “Special Ability Experiment” … Xiao Ling (116) Believe It or Not — Ding Weixin’s Personal Experiences (Two Accounts) … Li Guohua (119) A Paranormal Phenomenon of an American Girl … (129) Emitting “External Qi” and “Clairvoyance” … Wang Yonghuai (133) Why Can Qu Chunhua See Through the Internal Organs? … Zhang Hua (135) Reflections on Qigong and Special Abilities … Guo Kuan (138)

Introductions to Famous Figures with Special Abilities

The “Number One Seed” Among Chinese Marvels — Zhang Baosheng … (139) Record of Zhang Baosheng’s Marvelous Healing … Qiu Yang (150) The Marvel of the “Ghost City” … Xiao Lan (154) She Is Not a Sorcerer … Yao Lisheng (169) Child Prodigy — An Observation Record of Chen Xin’s Special Abilities … (192) Record of Engineer Quan Guanliang’s Experiment Site of Gathering Clouds and Rosy Clouds to Reflect a Solar Eclipse … Qian Xinsha (197) 2

• An Eyewitness Account of Mr. Quan Guanliang’s “Parting the Clouds to See the Moon” … Kang Jian (200)
• A Magical Girl … (202)
• Wang Liping on Summoning the Wind and Calling the Rain — An Interview with the Famous Qigong Master Mr. Wang Liping … Lu Hong (207)

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Do Special Abilities Exist?

— An Interview with Zhang Zhenhuan, Chairman of the China Society for Human Body Science

By Liu Xiaohe

We live in a three-dimensional world, and our views on space and time are easily confined by three-dimensional thinking. There are still many phenomena in the study of human special abilities waiting for us to understand.

On an early winter day, the author had the privilege of visiting the home of Mr. Zhang Zhenhuan, Chairman of the China Society for Human Body Science. At 72 years old this year, Mr. Zhang is full of spirit, talking and laughing cheerfully. He enthusiastically answered the author’s questions regarding the current status and progress of China’s human body science research.

— I heard that the China Society for Human Body Science was established just over a year ago?

— To be precise, it was in May 1986, although the preparatory committee was formed five years earlier.

— Was it full of twists and turns?

— Of course. However, with the implementation of the Party’s political policy of reform, opening up, and invigorating the economy, as well as the efforts of many dedicated individuals in the scientific community, the cause of science always moves forward. Here, we must especially thank Mr. Qian for his leading research achievements.

— Are you referring to the famous scientist Qian Xuesen?

— Yes. Of course, journalists also deserve credit. On March 11, 1979, Comrade Zhang Naiming of the Sichuan Daily conveyed a message to the nation and even the world: Comrade Yang Chao, Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, had personally investigated a child in Dazu County, Tang” [the] domain unfolded before people. The ninth issue of Zixue (Self-Study) magazine in 1984 published Liu Xiao

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chuan’s article “Modern ‘Sorcerers’,” which expanded the field of human special abilities. Using palm reading to diagnose illnesses and determining the past and future broke through the traditional concepts of time and space. However, I disagree with the word “sorcerer”; even with quotation marks, it is easily confused with feudal superstition.

— So that means our country’s research into human body science has only been going on for eight years?

— Correct. I once made a summary, dividing the research of human body science in our country into roughly three stages: The first stage began with the publication of the news about “recognizing characters with ears” in Sichuan Daily. Through the news media, it told people that the human body indeed possesses certain special functions. But the good times didn’t last long. Two months later, People’s Daily published a signed article titled “From ‘Sniffing Text with the Nose’ to ‘Recognizing Characters with the Ear’,” insisting that “recognizing characters with the ear” was not a fact at all and completely violated “scientific common sense.” For a time, the press was “struck dumb,” and none dared to publish news on this subject anymore. Thus began the second stage, as scientific researchers stepped up. Uninfluenced by public opinion, they adhered to the principle that “practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.” They employed strict scientific methods to eliminate all kinds of illusions, repeatedly testing and arriving at absolutely true facts, and they wrote many highly valuable academic reports. In January 1980, the First National Symposium on Human Special Abilities was held in Shanghai, and the proper term “human special abilities” officially entered academia. In May of the following year, the Second National Symposium on Human Special Abilities was held in Chongqing. However, the debate did not end. A certain leading comrade in the scientific and technological community made remarks at various meetings and published articles in newspapers and magazines such as People’s Daily and Knowledge is Power, accusing human special abilities of being “not facts at all,” and claiming that the research and reporting of human special abilities were “spiritual pollution” and “propagating feudal superstition,” etc., adopting certain administrative measures to suppress the research. In response to these issues, Mr. Qian wrote a letter to the leading comrades of the Central Propaganda Department, offering his opinions on policy issues related to the research of human special abilities. The Secretariat of the Central Committee attached great importance to it and gave specific instructions. The Central Propaganda Department once again issued a notice stating that research into human special abilities could continue, and that printing and distributing materials and publications for academic exchange was also permitted. In this way, human special

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abilities research entered its third stage — vigorous development, which continues to this day.

Mr. Zhang appeared somewhat excited. He hurried to his study and brought out two books. One was My Special Abilities, a hardcover published by the Scientific and Technical Documents Publishing House; the other was a worn-out copy of A Critique of the So-Called Human Special Abilities, published by Knowledge Publishing House. They seemed to symbolize the arduous journey of human special abilities research.

— Mr. Zhang, I heard you have also written some rebuttal articles.

— One cannot remain silent in the face of philosophical criticism. In the magazine Research on Human Special Abilities, I published an article titled “On Practice or On Rationalism,” laying out the arguments of both sides of the debate over human special abilities. One side advocated applying the principle that “practice is the sole criterion for testing truth,” verifying whether human special abilities are real or fake through repeated scientific experiments. The other side advocated making judgments without the need for experiments. Once we analyze this using Marxist philosophy, the essence of the problem becomes very clear.

— Does the opposing side not also claim to be orthodox Marxist-Leninists?

— That is precisely what is laughable. Some phenomena among those with special abilities, such as “recognizing characters with the ear,” X-ray vision of the human body, psychokinesis (moving objects with the mind), etc., sound incredible at first. But as Marxists, we should test them in practice and use scientific methods to verify whether they are true or false. If they exist objectively, they should be acknowledged rather than denied out of thin air. Putting labels on them without even looking or listening — is this materialism? Looking only at one side while ignoring the other — is this dialectics?

Mr. Zhang took a sip of tea, closed his eyes slightly, and fell silent for a long time.

— Could you talk about the status of human special abilities research within the scientific community?

— On this point, my view is consistent with that of Comrade Qian Xuesen. Through a series of scientific studies, he reached the conclusion that all previous scientific disciplines can generally be summarized into natural science, mathematical science, and systems science. From the current perspective, beyond these three major parts, noetic science (science of thinking) and human body science are rising. Human body science is

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Research on human body functions, on how to protect the functions of the human body, and the science of further developing latent human functions and unleashing human potential. The content of human body science research encompasses three aspects: our motherland’s traditional medicine — traditional Chinese medical theory; closely related to this, our motherland’s medical treasure — qigong research; and research on human special abilities. Recently, Comrade Qian Xuesen specifically mentioned that research on human special abilities will lead to a scientific revolution in the twenty-first century, perhaps an even greater scientific revolution than quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity of the twentieth century.

— I once read that paper by Senior Qian that caused a sensation in the science and technology community; I believe the title was something like A Specter of Human Body Science Is Wandering Among Us.

— Yes, that phrase was borrowed by Comrade Qian Xuesen from The Communist Manifesto, meaning that human body science and communism share certain similarities. You absolutely must not think of this as a simple matter — it involves a revolution in people’s thinking and consciousness.

— In that case, human body science is not an isolated science.

— On one hand, the objects it studies involve the human spirit and consciousness. To solve such problems, it is certainly insufficient to conduct research solely from the perspective of traditional physiological concepts. On the other hand, the consequences produced by human body science research also differ from those of general biological science. Current practice has already proven that human special abilities can be induced, and the boundaries of special abilities cannot be clearly demarcated. Starting from this fact, it shows that research on human body science inevitably involves social issues. Therefore, when we approach these problems, we must consider things with the utmost thoroughness and must not be careless in the slightest. We must carry out our work actively and prudently, and must not be afraid to act for fear of taking risks.

— In terms of theory for the study of human special abilities, there are many hypotheses with divergent views. Could you explain these?

— This is quite natural. A hypothesis is both the forerunner of theory and the basis for practical design. Engels once said: “As long as natural science is thinking, its form of development

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is the hypothesis.” Abroad, there are the electromagnetic wave transmission hypothesis, the particle transmission hypothesis, the psychic resonance hypothesis, the “field” hypothesis, the quantum theory hypothesis, the space-time topological wormhole hypothesis, the morphogenetic field hypothesis, and so on. Domestically, in addition to proposing hypotheses similar to those above, some have also proposed the “altered state” hypothesis, the “vessel” and “qì” field hypothesis, the negative energy state hypothesis, the matter-state transformation hypothesis, the multidimensional space hypothesis, and others. At present, some of these hypotheses are relatively crude and lack experimental basis; some hypotheses have received support from certain experiments but are far from able to account for more experiments; and some hypotheses themselves are not yet sufficiently complete in their descriptions. Therefore, further efforts are needed before the majority of people can accept them.

— I have heard there is a recently developed phenomenological theory.

— Oh, that was also proposed by Comrade Qian Xuesen. Last February, it was he who proposed phenomenological qigong studies — that is, to organize and elevate the many qigong phenomena and systematize them. I believe that the perspective of establishing phenomenology is not only applicable to current qigong research but is also highly appropriate for the current state of human special abilities research. In research on human special abilities, there are still many phenomena awaiting our recognition, observation, and in-depth exploration. Some of these experiments involve a research process of distinguishing truth from falsehood, which requires us to pay a greater price in exchange for correct understanding.

— Then, what is the relationship among traditional Chinese medicine, qigong, and human special abilities?

— They are consistent. The three are unified and form a complete field of scientific research, and this field is very broad in scope. Recently, Comrade Qian Xuesen further elevated this theory. He believes that the human being (the human body) is an extremely complex system, which we call a giant system — a system even larger than a large system. Moreover, this giant system is also open, interacting with the entire environment and even the universe, so it can be regarded as an open giant system. How should we describe this giant system? We need to employ the methods of systems science. A giant system exists in a specific functional state during a certain period of time. And traditional Chinese medicine, qigong, and human special abilities are all related to the human functional state in which the person exists.

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The functional state is not fixed; it can transition from one functional state to another.

— It sounds rather difficult to understand.

— Yes. We all live in a three-dimensional world, and our conception of space and time is easily constrained by three-dimensional thinking. Some individuals with special abilities possess four-dimensional, five-dimensional, or even higher-dimensional modes of thinking. They can not only understand but also easily experience these scientific mysteries. It seems that we must dare to break free from the constraints of the three-dimensional world in order to deepen our research.

— Hearing you say this, I feel that research on human body science is extremely important, and the prospects are also optimistic.

— Extremely, extremely important! When I visited Japan in 1986, I felt that they attached great importance to research in this area. Nakasone was the first to propose the so-called “Human Frontier Science” research program to counter the United States’ SDI plan, Mitterrand’s Eureka plan, and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance bloc’s Eastern Eureka plan. It is said that they plan to invest 500 billion US dollars over twenty years! This is enough to shock us. We must accelerate our pace of research. Because what we are researching involves a great many elements of ancient tradition, the reason these things still feel very fresh to us today is that we have not properly summarized them, nor have we inherited them, let alone innovated upon them. But this is our unique advantage, and we must act urgently, otherwise we will fall behind!

— These views of yours constitute an important contribution to the development of traditional Chinese culture.

— I often think that the Renaissance, which arose in the sixteenth century beginning in Italy, was a momentous event. It continued for two hundred years, and by the eighteenth century the capitalist system was established, with the Industrial Revolution beginning in the latter half of the eighteenth century. This Renaissance received high praise from Engels. In the introduction to Dialectics of Nature, Engels wrote: “It was the greatest progressive revolution that mankind had ever experienced, a period which called for giants and produced giants — giants in power of thought, passion, and character, in versatility and wide learning.” Marx

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It has been one hundred years since Engels founded scientific socialism. We must continue to advance along the path opened by Marx and Engels, and the result will be a new scientific revolution and a new cultural revolution. Would this not be another Renaissance?

Reflections on Ten Years of Research into Special Abilities

Liu Shuhuang, Liu Huiyi

The renowned scientist Qian Xuesen has repeatedly pointed out that human body science research “may lead to a new scientific revolution in the twenty-first century.” A number of facts now established by human body science are already difficult to explain within the framework of modern science, which signals that in the field of human body science, profound changes will also occur in the natural outlook and methodology. However, what constitutes the fundamental point of this transformation remains a major topic still under exploration. Drawing on our practice and reflections over the past ten years, this article attempts to put forward some preliminary views and conjectures on several issues bearing on the natural outlook and methodology of human body science, in the hope of stimulating in-depth research and discussion.

I. The Basic Viewpoint of Human Body Science

Qian Xuesen has pointed out: “The human body is an open complex giant system.” This is the basic viewpoint of human body science. The so-called openness means that the giant system of the human body exists in an inseparable, unified connection with the super-giant system of the cosmos. Between them there are exchanges of matter, energy, and information; they form one whole (the human-cosmos outlook). The so-called complexity means that the giant system of the human body possesses high-level structures and functions, whose hallmark is the functional state of the human body and whose core is the role of human consciousness. Our practice in the field of research into human special abilities has confirmed this basic viewpoint.

(i) On the Sources and Modes of Transmission of Energy and Information

We have examined the phenomena of “remote sensing,” “remote control,” “remote healing,” “spontaneous special [abilities]” and other such phenomena. Through comprehensive and integrated analysis, we have come to realize that one cannot examine the human body only in isolation; one must simultaneously examine the super-giant system composed of “human” and “cosmos”:

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Not only must we detect the “human body field,” we must also investigate the “cosmic field”; not only must we consider the macroscopic, but also the microscopic; not only must we consider traditional modes of energy and information transmission, but also the possibility of “resonant coupling” between human and heaven.

We conjecture that when “human” and “heaven” enter a state of deep resonant coupling at a high level, this may be an important marker that the human body has entered a high-level special-ability state. The emergence of these phenomena is determined by the overall state of the “human–heaven” system. Here, the so-called “coupling parameter” is extremely important. Human–heaven coupling has different depths and levels: the deeper the coupling, the stronger the special effect; the higher the coupling level, the higher the functional level. This “coupling parameter” may be as important as the “speed of light” in the transition from Newtonian mechanics to relativity, or “Planck’s constant” in the transition from classical physics to quantum physics. It can be said that a specific object of study in somatic science is precisely the “human–heaven system” in a tightly coupled state. We maintain that exploring “human–heaven resonant coupling” is an important subject in somatic science. Deepening our understanding of this point may lead to a transformation in our view of nature.

(2) On Measurement in Somatic Science

Our practice indicates:

1. It is more reasonable to consider simultaneously the interactions among the human body, the measuring instruments, and the target being measured, treating the three as one large system for study. It is further necessary to examine the super-giant system formed by these three together with the cosmos in order to explain the variety of phenomena and problems arising within a broader scope.

2. The role of consciousness should be considered. One must consider both the consciousness state of the functioner and the consciousness states of other participants in the “human–heaven system.”

3. Given the multi-parameter description and multi-factor influence of the “human–heaven system,” tests should comprehensively and dynamically observe and record all factors and conditions. For example: the functioner’s physical condition, self-reported symptoms, and state of consciousness; the experimental environment, instrument layout, weather, time of day, and the status of observing personnel; and all outcomes including success, failure, doubtful results, and fraud. Some of the phenomena we recorded were difficult to understand at the time, and often only became clear years later. Therefore, one must never take it for granted and discard or ignore those experimental results that are subjectively deemed

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“useless.”

4. The diversity, instability, and probabilistic character of measurement results are inevitable consequences of the multi-parameter description and multi-factor influence of the human giant system. One must avoid oversimplifying the complex giant system of the human body, and at the same time the measurement methods must be adapted to this characteristic (for example, multi-probe, multi-parameter, multi-point synchronized testing, and methods combining qualitative and quantitative approaches).

5. Adopt a comprehensive systems analysis method. Only in this way can we penetrate the chaotic and complex phenomena to discover their integrative characteristics and essential nature. For example, in detecting “human body radiation,” effects have been found on detectors for magnetic fields, infrared, microwaves, neutrons, optical quantum amplifiers, and biological probes, making it very difficult to determine the nature of the human body field from these alone. But through overall comprehensive analysis, one can discover that these different measurement signals share common features in space and time. As another example, relatively speaking, a qigong master’s signal is generally slow, whereas a special-ability functioner’s signal is rapid and pulsed. By penetrating to these commonalities, it may be possible to reveal the essential characteristics of the human body field.

6. Since somatic science is humanity’s study of itself, in addition to objective measurement and other outward-seeking cognitive methods, one must also adopt the introspective, inward-seeking cognitive method, so as to achieve a high degree of unity between subjective and objective.

From this alone, one can already appreciate the profound guiding significance and rich connotations of the fundamental viewpoints of somatic science.

II. On the Role of Consciousness

The hallmark of human beings is the possession of consciousness, and consciousness can in turn exert a feedback effect. This is the fundamental point that distinguishes somatic science from general life sciences. Therefore, somatic science must study the dialectical relationships between matter and spirit, between object and subject, and between brain and consciousness. This is one of the core ideas of somatic science. Accordingly, exploring the role of thought and consciousness is one of the major topics of somatic science.

(1) Basic Viewpoints

The human body is a material giant system, and spirit is a function of this material giant system.

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is a manifestation, and that the mind can exert a reciprocal effect upon the material human body. Thinking and consciousness are expressions of the highest level of activity in the human brain, and can in turn act upon the lower levels of the human body.

(2) The Levels and Structure of Consciousness

From the relationship among the human body—the brain—and consciousness (thinking), we can see that:

1. The giant system of the human body possesses a complex structure and hierarchy. The multi-level complexity of the human body and its multi-level integrity are dialectically unified. c
2. The brain, as the control center of the human body, is itself a complex giant system; its activities are also hierarchical. At the same time, thinking and consciousness themselves are multi-levelled and possess complex structures and states. For example, explicit consciousness, subconsciousness, and so forth display different states of consciousness; logical thinking, imagery-based thinking, intuitive insight thinking, anomalous thinking, and so forth display the hierarchical nature of thinking and consciousness.

(3) The Role of Consciousness

1. Consciousness may be the most important control variable for regulating the functional states of the human body.

2. Anomalous effects are closely related to conscious activity, and consciousness may participate in “controlling” and “triggering” the occurrence of anomalous effects. Abroad, there is a quantum mechanical theory of consciousness which holds that special abilities originate from the human brain and consciousness. The consciousness referred to here is not only the consciousness of the function itself, but also includes the consciousness of other participants in the human-cosmos system. Moreover, one must pay attention not only to “explicit consciousness” but even more so to “subconsciousness.” We conjecture that any material process involving consciousness may require a fundamental transformation in its mode of description.

(4) Consciousness and the Information Field

Some researchers believe that, from a physics perspective, consciousness is the information density carried by the brain’s electrical energy. Since this information uses brain electrical energy as its carrier, it may be measurable, transmissible, receivable, and decodable. Abroad, there have already been reports of decoding thoughts through brainwaves, controlling biological behavior via electromagnetic waves, and conducting synchronous brainwave tests for remote thought transference. In China, from synchronous strain–EEG

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signal testing, two types of signals have been found to be extremely significantly correlated. These facts suggest to us that thinking and consciousness are linked to certain material processes and can manifest in some form of material motion. Therefore, studying thinking and consciousness from the perspective of the information field is a research direction worth noting.

III. On Structure and Hierarchy

There are indications that, when dealing with the fundamental physical quantities of the cosmos—matter, energy, information, time, and space—exploring questions of their structure and hierarchy is of great significance.

(1) The View of Matter and the View of Energy

Indeed, researchers have proposed various hypotheses regarding the forms, levels, and structures of matter. For example, the hypothesis of “manifest states” and “hidden states” of matter; explorations of the “many-worlds theory” and “multi-state physics,” and so forth.

Based on the complexity and subtlety of certain human special ability phenomena, we have discussed the structure and hierarchy of energy and fields. We believe that it may be reasonable to hypothesize that fields possess complex levels, structures, and functions, and possess advanced capabilities for receiving, storing, and processing information. The electromagnetic and gravitational fields with which we are currently familiar are very likely only the simplest and most fundamental forms among them.

(2) The View of Information

What is information? What is the relationship between information and energy? What is the relationship between information and life? Is it reasonable to introduce the concept of an information field? Does the information field possess levels and structure? What is the relationship between consciousness and the information field? … This series of questions is by no means fanciful speculation, but has arisen from the practice of somatic science research. Of course, the resolution of these questions is still far off, but we hope that the questions raised here can serve to advance the future development of somatic science.

(3) The View of Space-Time

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The many anomalous phenomena of “cognition” have already touched upon the view of space-time within the framework of modern science. Does space-time also possess levels and structure? What are the similarities, differences, and connections between macroscopic and microscopic space-time structures? What is the relationship between continuous space-time and discrete space-time? … There have already been some studies and explorations of these questions both domestically and internationally, though they are still very preliminary. But it can be foreseen that somatic science research will surely greatly advance our understanding of the structure and levels of space-time.

Over the past ten years, the primary goals of our work have been: to establish facts and to reveal contradictions. Practice has compelled us to change our ideas, and contradictions have prompted us to think. The path of exploration is tortuous and difficult, and the key to success lies in having correct guiding principles. In this article we have boldly raised questions without being able to arrive at definitive answers. We hope that this may serve as a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions, and we welcome criticism and correction from fellow researchers.

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How Are Special Abilities Produced?

Tao Zulai, Lin Zhongpeng, Pang Heming

Human special abilities include: psychokinetic phenomena—the influence of consciousness on the properties of inanimate objects; extrasensory vision—“seeing” distant or hidden objects without using the eyes; extrasensory hearing—“hearing” without using the ears, remote listening; precognition—foreseeing future events; telepathy—direct thought transference between persons.

Research into special abilities can be traced back to the late nineteenth century. Many highly respected scientists, such as Einstein and others, speculated on both the reality of psychic phenomena and the methods for studying them. However, whether it constitutes science or pseudoscience has been fiercely debated for many years. Since the 1960s, special abilities have attracted the attention of an increasing number of scientists. As W. Nault, editor-in-chief of the American Science Yearbook, pointed out, this “represents a growing trend: to examine, with a serious and conscientious scientific gaze, phenomena that are inexplicable but genuinely exist.”

Clearly, the physical effects of external qigong are a type of special ability. However, many special abilities and external qi effects, apart from the word “consciousness,” we do not know what else is at work; at present we cannot attribute them all to the movement of “qi.” For example, E. Green and his wife, under rigorous laboratory conditions, monitored by seven people, conducted an experiment on the yoga expert Swami. Swami wore a mask, breathed through a rubber tube, and a baffle was placed around the tube opening to eliminate the influence of breath from the mouth and nose. A 14-inch-long aluminum knitting needle was mounted horizontally on an axle. As a result, Swami used “the power of thought” to rotate the needle by 10°. In the physical world currently known to us, there are four forces—gravitation, electromagnetic force, the strong interaction, and the weak interaction. Gravitation is not that strong; the strong interaction and the weak

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effects only operate within the microscopic world; a magnetic field does not affect the movement of an aluminum needle. Others have conducted similar experiments, using a broadband electromagnetic wave detector to make measurements, and recorded no electromagnetic information whatsoever. Throughout the entire process, the only known acting factor is the subject’s consciousness. From this perspective, there may be two possible causes of special abilities: first, the movement of external qi under the control of consciousness; second, consciousness (or spirit) directly interacting with surrounding matter through a materialized space-time. On the other hand, the so-called external qi effects of qigong are not entirely due to qi alone; a portion of them is very likely the direct action of consciousness strengthened through qigong practice. This is fundamentally consistent with external qi effects of qigong. Moreover, special ability effects can be elicited not only in qigong masters but also in ordinary people. R. G. Jahn, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University, once conducted a series of experiments—for example, asking randomly selected subjects to use their consciousness to raise the temperature of a thermistor by one-thousandth of a degree, or to use their intent to change the distance between two mirrors in an interferometer by one-hundred-thousandth of a centimeter. The experimental results were positive. Even more noteworthy is the experiment by H. Schmidt, who used the beta decay of a radioactive element as a random event source. The decay was recorded by a Geiger counter, and the counter was connected to a rapidly oscillating switch; whether the switch pointed up or down was displayed by the rotation direction or color of a light spot. Physicists have not yet discovered any force that can determine the occurrence of beta decay. Therefore, the probability of the switch pointing up or down should be 50% each. However, the experimental results showed that when randomly selected subjects focused their minds entirely on the thought: “the switch goes up, not down,” the probability of going down decreased. This indicates that: although physicists have not discovered any force that can influence the occurrence of beta decay, human will can exert a weak but detectable effect upon it. That is, human consciousness can directly influence the microscopic motion of matter.

The existence of human special abilities raises a fundamental question: how can consciousness (or spirit) interact with surrounding matter? Xu Hongzhang, Zhao Yongjie, and others from the Institute of High Energy Physics once conducted a very interesting experiment. A young girl possessed astonishing clairvoyant ability and had accurately identified slips of paper sealed inside aluminum cans with walls 5 cm thick, yet instruments could not detect anything she emitted. Zhao, Xu, and others placed a slip of paper together with a nuclear emulsion film inside an opaque, sealed plastic ink cartridge. When she identified the slip of paper in the box, the emulsion film was exposed, leaving the impression of the characters she had discerned, but the emulsion films surrounding the cartridge were not exposed. From this, it appears that she did indeed emit some kind of substance (external qi) when identifying the slip of paper—its energy was not very high, but it was under the conscious control of the emitter, able to pass through the internal gaps of shielding materials and actively seek out the target, with extraordinarily strong penetrating power. Moreover, it did not release energy until reaching the target; hence the surrounding nuclear emulsion films were not exposed. Upon reaching the target, it immediately released energy triggered by consciousness, scanning the characters to expose the film, while simultaneously transmitting the scanned results back to the emitter’s brain, thereby confirming the characters. This experiment demonstrates that this girl’s clairvoyance is a material process controlled by consciousness, and is also an external qi effect. It also demonstrates that consciousness can exercise effective control over the movement of qi outside the body. However, in this world, only interactions between matter can control the movement of matter. Since qi is material, then the consciousness that directly controls its movement outside the body must also be material. In sum, regardless of the specific mechanism, the existence of special abilities demonstrates that consciousness is not merely a reflection of existence—it itself possesses materiality.

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When she identified the slip of paper, the emulsion film was exposed, leaving the characters she had discerned, but the emulsion films surrounding the cartridge were not exposed. From this it appears that she did indeed emit some kind of substance (external qi) while identifying the slip of paper—its energy was not very high, but it was under the conscious control of the emitter, able to pass through the internal gaps within the shielding material and actively seek out [the target], with extraordinarily strong penetrating power. Moreover, it did not release energy until reaching the target; therefore the surrounding nuclear emulsion films were not exposed. Upon reaching the target, it immediately released energy triggered by consciousness, scanning the characters, exposing the film, and simultaneously transmitting the scanned results back to the emitter’s brain, thereby confirming the characters. This experiment shows that this young girl’s clairvoyance is a consciously controlled material process, and is also an external qi effect. It also shows that consciousness can exercise effective control over the movement of qi outside the body. However, in this world, only interactions between matter can control the movement of matter. Since qi is material, then the consciousness that directly controls its movement outside the body is also material. In short, regardless of the specific mechanism, the existence of special abilities demonstrates that consciousness is not merely a reflection of existence—it itself possesses materiality.

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Human Special Abilities Should Be a Biological Electromagnetic Field Effect

He Wei

A field is a kind of matter invisible to the human eye. It is precisely this invisible characteristic that cloaks fields in a layer of mystery, and human special abilities are one such category.

We know that the most widespread class of field matter in nature is the electromagnetic field. Not only do electromagnetic fields exist around the familiar charged objects, but both general visible light and invisible light (such as infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, etc.) all belong to electromagnetic field matter at certain frequencies. All matter in nature contains the fundamental factors that give rise to electromagnetic fields, because the electrons orbiting the nucleus within the atoms that compose matter are the most fundamental units that produce electromagnetic fields—magnetic dipoles. But why do ordinary materials not manifest electromagnetic properties externally? This is because the matter’s own thermal motion and disordered arrangement cancel out its electromagnetic effects. Once it acquires a certain amount of energy, the disordered arrangement becomes ordered, and it then exhibits electrical and magnetic properties externally. Humans are biological matter governed by an advanced nervous system, and are inevitably composed of atoms and molecules, and therefore also harbor the mechanisms for producing electromagnetic fields. A person who has undergone certain training can, under the control of the nervous system, aggregate their own energy in a particular local tissue, causing the atomic and molecular currents to produce an ordered arrangement, thereby externally displaying the properties of an electromagnetic field. We provisionally call this the first type of biological electromagnetic field source. Furthermore, from modern physiological research, it can be seen that several types of human cells, such as skeletal muscle fiber cells and nerve cells, are all engaged in high levels of electrical activity. When an electrical impulse occurs, the human body’s own aggregated

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The released biochemical energy causes charged ions inside and outside the cell membrane to migrate, depolarizing some muscle fibers and nerve cells, and forming a transmembrane current (also a kind of magnetic dipole) of circulating flow far more macroscopic than molecular currents, along with a dynamic electric double-layer source; together these constitute the second type of source of the human body’s bio-electromagnetic field. These two types of bio-electromagnetic field sources, which are controlled by human intention and formed by consuming the body’s own energy, generate electromagnetic energy with a certain emission power. The field effect it produces in the surrounding space is one type of human special ability—Qigong. (Editor’s note: Qigong is typically regarded as a transitional state between the normal functions and special abilities of the human body.)

The phenomena of human special abilities seem extremely miraculous, but when analyzed from the perspective of fields, they do not seem so miraculous. A field is a special kind of matter; it also cannot be separated from the two most basic attributes of general matter: first, its spatial distribution, and second, its materiality. A field is diffusely distributed within a certain spatial range according to certain laws. At a certain distance from the field source, the action of the field still exists; this is the so-called “action at a distance.” Secondly, a field is a special kind of matter that the human eye cannot distinguish. Its materiality is manifested in the fact that other matter introduced into the field will be subjected to a force. For example, a charged body introduced into an electromagnetic field will be subjected to an electromagnetic force. When the field source increases, the acting force also increases accordingly. Therefore, explaining human special abilities from the perspective of fields can lead to some inevitable conclusions. For instance, when a Qigong master emits Qi, an object at a certain distance from them will experience a force. As another example, when a Qigong master emits Qi, it is accompanied by a large amount of physical exertion and a certain degree of skin burning sensation. This is due to the aggregation of a large amount of energy in a certain part of the body, causing the molecular currents within the tissues to reorient and the transmembrane currents to strengthen; the intensified collisions between molecules and the resistivity of human tissues will both cause a burning sensation in the local skin. In addition, the efficacy of human special abilities to exert force through obstacles is not mysterious either, because electromagnetic waves will not be blocked by objects such as glass bottles or wooden boxes. Because except for electromagnetic shielding materials, general materials cannot block the transmission of electromagnetic energy, therefore, individuals with human special abilities possess the capacity to exert force on objects inside certain vessels. Regarding the ability to expose sealed photographic film, this is even easier to explain. Judging from the current spectrum of bio-electromagnetic waves,

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it encompasses frequency ranges such as ultraviolet and infrared light, which will inevitably expose photographic film. However, for special abilities such as reading with the ears or recognizing objects with limbs, the perspective of fields alone cannot explain them. We can only explore whether the human body has a special sensory receiving apparatus capable of receiving electromagnetic signals fed back from other matter, and whether there is a special neural translation function, so that these electrical signals can be translated into electrical signals similar to those of human visual perception. Achieving this requires in-depth and meticulous research into the brain’s nervous system and the rich nerve endings of the human body.

In short, the reason why human special abilities seem miraculous is simply that people do not understand them; once this mystery is unveiled, they will no longer be miraculous. At present, many researchers interested in human science have put forward various views on the causes of human special abilities. This article is also an attempt to propose a new viewpoint based on the structural relationships of the human body and the perspective of electromagnetic fields.

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Reflections on “Human Special Mechanical Phenomena”

By Dai Yuehua

Editor’s Note: In recent years, newspapers and periodicals have frequently reported some incredible special ability performances by Qigong masters. We do not rule out that there may be some exaggeration or fabrication among them, nor do we rule out that some are acrobatic, skill-based, or even magic-like performances that can be explained by mechanical principles. However, do there truly exist some phenomena that cannot be explained by the principles of mechanical mechanics? And how can we scientifically explain these phenomena? This is a question of widespread interest. We welcome the scientific and technological community to actively explore and debate this.

In recent years, various Qigong magazines have continuously presented many rare news items about Qigong to the public, such as levitating a person on paper, levitating a person on a balloon, sitting cross-legged in suspended meditation in mid-air, and the art of walking in the air. Although the manifestations of these phenomena differ, they are all practiced by well-trained Qigong masters (including foreign yoga practitioners, etc.); furthermore, they are difficult to explain by the principles of mechanical mechanics in modern physics. Therefore, the author tentatively terms these phenomena “human special mechanical phenomena.”

According to Newton’s laws of mechanics, all things on Earth are subjected to the force of gravity. When an object leaves the ground without support, a force is needed to overcome gravity. For example, airplanes, artificial satellites, spacecraft, and various flying birds are all able to leave the ground because they possess a force that overcomes gravity. But a human body with a mass of tens of kilograms—by what force does it leave the ground to sit quietly or walk in the air, or stand on eggs or balloons without breaking them? The principles of mechanical mechanics in physics simply cannot explain this.

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In fact, if we consider and analyze from the essence of gravity, we may be able to find an answer. We know that the Earth itself is an enormous magnet, and what we call gravity is in essence a kind of magnetic force by which the Earth attracts objects on its surface. We also know that magnets (including the Earth) have two poles — the North Pole and the South Pole. Like magnetic poles repel each other, while opposite magnetic poles attract each other. This leads people to make the following association: the human body is attracted by the Earth, just as a piece of iron is attracted by a magnet. If the iron piece is magnetized and then a magnet is placed nearby, when the magnetized iron piece and the magnet it contacts are brought close together with the same poles facing each other, a repulsive force is generated. If the human body, after qigong training, produces a human magnetic field, it would behave just like a magnetized iron piece with respect to a magnet. When the magnetic pole of the human body facing toward the ground is the same as the magnetic pole of the hemisphere in which the human body is located, the human body will — like a magnetized iron piece toward a magnet — generate a repulsive force and leave the Earth’s surface.

Research in qigong science has also prompted people to deepen this line of association: electrostatic detection devices measured that when Cheng Zhijiu emitted qi from the Yintang acupoint on his forehead, there was a negative charge accumulation at the level of 10⁻¹⁴ coulombs. Instrument measurements also revealed that at certain parts of the practitioner’s body, electrical resistance decreased noticeably during qigong practice compared to before practice, while electrical potential increased noticeably. All of this demonstrates that qigong practice can cause the human body to generate bioelectricity. Moreover, the electrical potential at various points on the human body differs, and these distinct points of electrical potential constitute a human bioelectric field. The electromagnetic theory in physics tells us that a magnetic field is generated around a current-carrying conductor. Then, could the bioelectricity within the human body also generate a magnetic field under the specific conditions of qigong practice? Experiments such as the electromagnetic wave measurement of external qi conducted by Zhang Zuqing and others indicate that internal qi is a form of electromagnetic wave in a broad sense, and that the essence of meridians is a “biological dielectric waveguide.” If what travels through the meridians is truly electromagnetic waves, then qigong is an effective method for adjusting and controlling electromagnetic waves. This provides strong evidence for explaining the phenomenon of human special mechanics using the theory of bio-electromagnetic fields.

The magnetic poles of the Earth’s Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere are different; therefore, when qigong practitioners in different hemispheres produce the “phenomenon of human special mechanics,” the magnetic lines of force emitted toward the ground

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also have different magnetic poles. However, qigong practice is an act of intention. Whether the human body generates a magnetic field, and which magnetic pole’s lines of magnetic force the human body projects toward the ground, are both controlled by intention. Regardless of whether one is in the Southern Hemisphere or the Northern Hemisphere, as long as the qigong master — through intention — emits lines of magnetic force with the same magnetic pole as the hemisphere in which he or she is located, the “phenomenon of human special mechanics” can occur. Therefore, the results of the association arising from the “phenomenon of human special mechanics” are: first, will these phenomena, which cannot be explained by mechanical theory, eventually be explained by bio-electromagnetic theory? Second, will such phenomena bring about a significant development in bio-electromagnetic theory?

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Miscellaneous Notes on Special Abilities

Shao Tianren

In recent years, the various special abilities of the human body have increasingly attracted public attention. Some people believe in them; others do not. Opinions are divided, with each side holding to its own arguments, and it seems difficult to reach a unified understanding in the short term. In fact, human special abilities have existed since ancient times. It is only because those who possess such abilities are unwilling to easily demonstrate them to others, keep them secret and do not transmit them externally, and because the means of dissemination were lacking, that they have not been widely known. In recent years, along with the upsurge in learning qigong, some qigong masters have publicly demonstrated certain special abilities, turning them into novelties and arousing people’s astonishment, skepticism, and bewilderment.

As for examples of special abilities, the author has personally encountered a number of them, and I will now briefly cite a few.

Around the 1930s, my family once employed a wet nurse. Her husband was named Liu Maosen, a farmer from Renhe Town, Qingguo Machang, Hebei Province. In earlier times, in the Cangzhou and Qingguo areas of Hebei Province, the practice of martial arts and qigong had become a widespread custom, and many renowned masters had emerged. Liu Maosen was one such qigong master of profound skill who was famous far and wide for treating people’s illnesses free of charge. He never accepted a single penny for treating illnesses. His method of treatment was as follows: the patient would bring a small packet of tea leaves, and after coming to describe the symptoms to Liu, he would open the packet, point his sword fingers¹ toward the tea leaves and emit qi for a moment, then rewrap the tea leaves and hand them back to the patient to take home and brew with boiling water in several portions to drink. Some patients’ conditions were alleviated; others recovered completely.

At that time, every year after the autumn harvest and the busy farming season, Liu would come to stay at our house for a period of time to reunite with his wife, and he also cured many illnesses for my family members. I was around ten years old at the time, and he cured me of stomachache, colds, diarrhea, toothache, fish bone stuck in the throat, and other ailments. However, the treatment method differed from that in the countryside: he would use a tea bowl filled halfway with plain boiled water

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water, Liu would emit qi at the water using sword-finger mudra for a moment, and then I would drink the water. The illness would be alleviated, and after drinking it once or twice more, it would be cured — this never failed.

In addition, Liu Maosen also possessed remote sensing and remote viewing abilities. After sitting in meditation briefly in the countryside, he could know the situation of my family members (at that time my family was in Tianjin). After he came to Tianjin, upon sitting in meditation briefly again, he could also know the situation of his family back in his hometown. This period of experience left a very deep impression on me. It was not until 1975, when a friend was traveling on official business in the Qingguo area, that I asked him to inquire about Liu Maosen’s situation. I subsequently learned that Mr. and Mrs. Liu had long since passed away, but some elderly people could still recall the past events of Liu Maosen treating people’s illnesses free of charge.

In the early 1940s, Wang Zhuyu, a columnist and famous reporter for the Beijing newspaper Shi Bao (The Truth Post), could also use remote diagnosis to prescribe and treat patients, which caused a sensation in the Chinese medicine community of the Beiping-Tianjin area. At that time, Shi Bao, managed by Guan Yixian, had the highest circulation among newspapers in North China because it possessed a group of renowned writers and scholars such as Zhou Zuoren, Xu Lingxiao, Xuan Yongguang, Gong Baiyu, Huanzhulouzhu, and Chen Shenyan who contributed manuscripts. And Wang Zhuyu’s “Conversation” column was especially popular with city residents because it was close to everyday life. Later, Wang used his column to serve the public: patients seeking treatment only needed to send him their name, age, gender, and address along with a return postage stamp, and Wang could perform remote diagnosis, prescribe accordingly, and mail the prescription back to the individual. At that time, there were many famous Chinese medicine doctors in the Beiping-Tianjin area, and from the prescriptions published in the newspaper by Wang, one could tell that Wang’s remote diagnosis therapy was not deceptive. According to Wang Zhuyu himself, his qigong method was learned from Pan Yugui, who was deeply versed in internal cultivation.

A few years ago, I met a female doctor who, after practicing qigong for less than half a year, developed a kind of precognitive ability. Every morning upon waking, a premonition would come to her, allowing her to foresee events that would happen around her that day. Yet she herself had never sought any special abilities, nor could she figure out how this precognitive power had developed.

There is no need to give many more examples, because I myself am a beneficiary and witness of special abilities, and I have no grounds whatsoever to disbelieve their existence. However, in previous years some people kept saying that special abilities were “magic tricks,” and in recent years they have called them “pseudoscience,” and

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it is said that they intend to invite experts from multiple disciplines, equipped with various advanced instruments, to conduct on-site monitoring, with the aim of thoroughly exposing this astonishing “pseudoscience.” The author believes that various forms of detection and research into special abilities are necessary. Regarding the special abilities that have already been demonstrated, whether there is absolutely no phenomenon of “magic tricks” — given the vastness of China and the diversity of circumstances, no one can take responsibility for everything and affirm it all. What I do believe is that if special abilities are uniformly dismissed as “pseudoscience,” I am afraid this inevitably falls into subjective presumption. The problem also lies in this: using the scientific detection methods currently available, plus the cognitive abilities people currently possess, to probe all the mysteries occurring within the human body — this small universe — whether this is within our capability or still beyond our competence, remains an unknown. It is very likely that after detection, there will be neither grounds to negate special abilities nor scientific basis to explain their origin and essence, and the matter will be left unresolved. Ultimately, the reason is that human cognitive abilities and existing scientific means still have very significant limitations. Within the life sciences, there are still very many untilled virgin lands and unexplored peach blossom springs. Here, people’s existing knowledge is still far from sufficient, and the prospects for development remain very distant.

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Signs of the Human Special Ability State — The Screen Effect

Shao Laisheng, Zhu Yiyi

Starting in 1980, we successively carried out work on inducing and training special abilities among people of different ages, occupations, and educational levels, including children, adolescents, university students, workers, and peasants. Over long-term practice, we found that the majority of subjects reported: they saw the content of test samples and the processes of actions on a “screen” appearing in their forehead area. In research reports by other scientific workers, there have been similar self-reports, but further specialized reports on this topic have not yet been seen.

In order to experience the sensations of this special state that arises when human special abilities manifest (the human special ability state), the author conducted self-induction training and truly experienced the process of the “screen” appearing. At the same time, it was discovered that before the “screen” appeared in the forehead, there must be a brief state of profound mental quiescence. To verify the universality of this process, we separately surveyed eight adult special ability possessors, and the results were consistent with the author’s own sensory experience.

This paper first introduces first-hand accounts from Chinese and foreign special ability possessors describing the “screen” phenomenon, then introduces the results of the survey of eight special ability possessors, and finally discusses the similarities and differences between the quiescent state of special abilities and the quiescent state of qigong.

(I) First-Hand Accounts from Chinese and Foreign Special Ability Possessors Describing the “Screen” Phenomenon

1. “When a playing card is placed on the palm, at that moment you must concentrate your attention on your hand and fully intend to perceive what the playing card is… then a white screen appears in the mind’s eye, and on the white screen there appears the outline of a playing card reduced to approximately three-quarters of the actual object, and subsequently the pattern on the playing card along with the Arabic numerals and colors

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colors.” — Xu Mei

2. “I felt and saw that this was a reflection, before my eyes, of a pattern recognized in the brain. Recently I tried twice to ‘see’ with the brain — that is, I first concentrated the forebrain on the sample, then thought of nothing at all. As a result, the image of the sample popped into my mind, and both times it succeeded.” — Wang ××, teacher at Shanghai Fisheries College

“At first I just felt something flickering in front of my forehead, like looking at a kaleidoscope spinning very fast. After a while it disappeared. Then quickly a bright patch flashed (there were characters on it, but the strokes varied in depth and shade of color). When I wanted to look more carefully, it had already passed by. Afterward it reappeared several times, but because it came so suddenly and vanished so quickly, it was very difficult to see clearly.” — Chen ×, Shanghai Second Medical College

3. “There is something like a television screen in my mind, upon which answers are projected — just as my mother’s thoughts are often projected on it when she comes home from playing cards. I can never feel these things, but I can see them. These things appear in the front part of my mind, where there is a grayish screen. On it I can see these things. If someone thinks of a picture, a number, or some words, I can see them projected on that screen in my mind.” — From Uri Geller’s own account

The first example above is a young girl with relatively strong clairvoyant ability. The second example consists of two young teachers and a medical student who are beginners in special abilities. The third example is a world-renowned special abilities practitioner. Although their levels of ability differ, their descriptions of the screen appearing before the forehead are largely the same.

(2) Results of a Survey of Eight Special Abilities Practitioners

Our survey subjects were eight young men and women ranging in age from 20 to 27, all of whom possessed relatively strong special abilities. Six of them had over two years of history as experimental

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subjects. Since their educational level was relatively low (junior high school level), we drew on our own experience to formulate 23 written questions on the topic, including both positive and negative ones. Before answering, each subject was required to use special abilities to identify a set of three-digit numbers hidden inside a plastic film canister. Then they were asked to answer the questions based on the special perceptual experience they had just undergone. The relatively convergent answers are listed below:

1. Precursors before the screen phenomenon occurs — sensations upon entering a deep state of special-ability stillness: (1) External sounds seem to be shut out, as if isolated. (2) The eyes can still see surrounding objects. (3) The mind feels hazy and blurry, focused only on the goal to be accomplished. (4) The body feels as though floating in the air. (5) There is an indescribable feeling of discomfort, which disappears only after the screen flashes forth.

2. When the screen flashes before the frontal lobe, it is as if one sees within the mind: (1) The screen is rectangular, white or luminous, roughly the size of a small picture book (1/64 format). (2) The screen mostly flashes from left to right; occasionally from right to left. (3) The numbers seen on the screen appear one by one, though sometimes they appear all at once.

3. Other sensations: (1) Before each appearance of the screen, the above sensations of entering stillness are always present. (2) After each experiment concludes, the body feels fatigued; sometimes there are headaches and a swollen feeling in the head.

Although the material provided above is relatively rudimentary, it is sufficient to demonstrate the phenomena described above. The relationship between the two is like a form and its shadow — inseparable. We collectively refer to this

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as the “Screen Effect.”

(3) Similarities and Differences Between the Stillness of the Special-Ability State and the Stillness of the Qigong State

If we compare the sensations of the special-ability stillness state described above with the sensations of the qigong stillness state, we may gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the two. Here is a passage describing the sensations of qigong when it reaches a profound state of stillness:

External disturbances no longer provoke any response; the breathing is continuous, deep, and long, as if present yet as if absent; the use of intention is effortless, as if existing yet as if vanishing; sensation deepens, the entire organism feels like an empty framework — light, relaxed, and floating; the mind is clear and joyful. After practice, it is as if one has just taken a bath — the mood is comfortable, and the spirit is full.

Comparing this with the sensations of entering the special-ability stillness state, two notable differences emerge:

1. In the qigong stillness state, the mind is clear and joyful, whereas in the special-ability stillness state, the mind feels hazy and blurry, accompanied by an indescribable feeling of discomfort that is only relieved after the screen flashes forth.

2. Through qigong stillness, after practice it is as if one has just taken a bath — the mood is comfortable and the spirit is full — whereas after the special-ability state concludes, one feels fatigued, sometimes with headaches and a swollen feeling in the head.

From this we can see that qigong practice is beneficial to physical health, and is therefore warmly welcomed by the general public. The practice of special abilities, however, consumes the body’s internal energy. The effects it manifests lie beyond our current scope of understanding and have, since ancient times, been regarded as sorcery. This may perhaps explain why qigong has survived among the Chinese populace for thousands of years without dying out, and is now increasingly welcomed and valued by people of all walks of life around the world.

This article merely attempts, from the perspective of direct sensory experience, to demonstrate the objective existence of the “Screen Effect” phenomenon. It still lacks rigorous experimental verification. We hope that scientists interested in this area — particularly those in physiological psychology and electroencephalography — will further explore the secrets of the “Screen Effect.”

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The “External Qi” of Qigong as Seen by Individuals with Special Abilities

Wang Ximin

In the spring of 1980, the author successively performed demonstrations of emitting qigong “external qi” for over a hundred undergraduate students at Jiamusi Medical College. When the author emitted “external qi” toward the subjects, 80–90% of the people experienced sensations such as heat, coolness, numbness, and an electric-like sensation, and some even experienced a sensation of pain. In addition, the author was astonished to discover the phenomenon that qigong “external qi” has the effect of stimulating propagated sensation along the meridians. In the summer and autumn of that same year, the author and our college’s special abilities research group conducted an interesting experiment in the physiology teaching and research office: two children with special abilities (Wu ×× and Tian ××) were separately blindfolded in turn. One was brought into the room to sit down, and then the author stood at a distance of one meter and began to marshal qi. At this point, a miracle occurred: the author had only just begun to marshal qi without yet emitting it, when the child with special abilities screamed in alarm: “Oh! There’s electricity! There’s electricity!” “Both my legs and hands are numb.” As she spoke, she swiftly pulled her left hand back from her legs — in reality, the author’s hand was three chi away from her. The people present said to her: “Don’t be afraid, there is no electricity.” But she did not believe them, and proceeded to tear off her blindfold and search the author’s two hands and the surroundings. Only when she confirmed that the author’s hands were indeed completely empty did she desist. Then the other child was blindfolded and called into the room to sit down, and the child who had just completed the experiment was told to temporarily go outside and wait elsewhere. As a result, this child also said “there’s electricity!” This phenomenon left the comrades present utterly astonished and dumbfounded.

One day in May 1981, Mu Fengqin, a 26-year-old special abilities practitioner from Huanan County, Heilongjiang Province, came to our college again for experimentation. The author found her at the home of senior lecturer Li Xinye. When the author used his index finger to “emit qi,” Mu saw a beam resembling white light. Among the three people present, two others could also see (an elderly lady and a female comrade in her thirties) this white light. By then it was already dark and the lights had been turned on. The following morning, the author was at the Scientific Research Office,

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and at the request of those present (Director Wang of the Scientific Research Office, two department chairs, and other staff members — eight people in total), the author once again emitted qi with his index finger. The people present watched with wide-open eyes. Among them, Shao ××, at a distance of four meters, received the “external qi” as an impact sensation. Mu described it as a kind of white light, colored like steam with a wavering quality. This white light was denser in color and brighter near the fingertip, gradually fading beyond one meter to become faintly visible. When everyone tried hard to look in the direction she indicated, half the people saw nothing at all, while the other half could only see a glowing area about one cun long in front of the index finger. The author himself could also see the glow in front of the finger. At that time, Qigong Master Bao from Liaoning (who had practiced the Daoist “Jiedan Gong” for over twenty years and had come to our college to conduct experiments on “the effects of the qigong practice state on EEG”) was present. Qigong Master Bao also extended his finger to emit qi, and Mu Fengqin saw something resembling white light extending about one chi in front of his finger. The author, riding high on enthusiasm, performed emitting qi from the palm of his hand. Mu described a column of light about three centimeters in diameter shooting forward from the center of the author’s palm. Bao, upon seeing this, also became interested and likewise used his right palm to emit forward, but Mu said she did not see any white light emerge. Two days later, the author asked Tang, a dependent’s child at our college who possessed special abilities but not strongly, to look at the “external qi.” When the author had marshaled his qi but not yet emitted it, Tang said “there’s nothing.” When the author emitted qi, Tang said “it’s come out.” The author secretly increased his power, and Tang, following the direction of the qi emitted from the author’s right index finger, stared wide-eyed at the qi column while walking forward, until at a distance of over ten meters, Tang said: “It ends here, there’s no more.” He described it as follows: “This beam of white light at the fingertip is like the beam of a flashlight, with scattered, paler residual light around it. In the middle there is a column of light,喷射 forward in a wavy manner. Its tip is enlarged and curls backward.” Over the following days, Tang was asked to look again on multiple occasions, and his description remained the same as before.

In July 1981, Shi ×× from the nursing class saw the author emitting “external qi” from the Yintang point that could pass through walls; in the corridor outside the wall, sheet-like “qi” could be seen. In April 1982, the author went to Jiamusi No. 1 Middle School and found Wu ×× and Tian ××, special abilities practitioners with relatively strong abilities whom the author had not seen for over a year and who had now advanced to middle school, and asked them to watch the author emit qi on the main road. The author used maximum power and forcefully emitted eastward along the road. Wu and Tian described it as a beam of light shooting straight to the second utility pole.

In March 1983, as the representative of the Jiamusi Medical College Special Abilities Research Group,

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I participated in the “National Joint Testing of Special Abilities” work at Beijing Normal College. There, Siqin (twelve or thirteen years old). One afternoon, I asked Siqin to look at the “Heart Meridian qi” I emitted. Siqin described seeing a beam of “red light.”

In November 1985, I attended the Third National Symposium on Biological Holography in Jinan. At the invitation of Professor Zhang Yingqing, Chairman of the China Biological Holographic Law Research Society, and Comrade Zhu Yiyi, editor of Nature Magazine and deputy editor-in-chief of Research on Human Special Abilities, I performed a “qi emission” demonstration for the audience during the conference. When the author channeled “Heart Meridian qi” and emitted it outward, two female comrades present saw a beam of pink light shooting straight toward the ceiling.

In September 1987, when the author again performed the “external qi luminescence” demonstration for over a dozen doctors at our college, a female doctor from the ultrasound department saw a beam of red light. The author then directed the emission toward a wall, and master’s degree student Wang Shiqing could see the “external qi” from outside the wall.

In addition, over the past eight years, the author has performed qi emission demonstrations for comrades on multiple occasions and in various settings. Among normal individuals, a certain portion of people can indeed see the “external qi.” Whether this light is a visible development caused by the “external qi” arranging microscopic particles in the air in an orderly manner, or whether it is a true portrayal of the “external qi” itself, remains unknown and awaits verification by scientific instruments.

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Qian Xuesen Expounds on Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Special Abilities

On April 5 this year, the renowned scientist Qian Xuesen received an interview with Hong Kong journalists in Beijing. During the meeting, Qian Xuesen told the Hong Kong reporters that human special abilities are real, not fake. He believed that human special abilities, qigong, and traditional Chinese medicine are three things that are consistent with one another. Although they are not yet recognized by people or incorporated into the modern scientific system, through understanding and research, once they are truly transformed into scientific theory, they will themselves break through the modern scientific system, advance one step further, and ultimately bring about a scientific revolution.

Qian Xuesen made these remarks when reporters asked for his views on human special abilities.

Qian Xuesen said: Human special abilities should not be dismissed lightly; in recent years I have been studying this issue. At first I did not believe it either. A child in Sichuan named Tang Yu — “recognizing characters with the ear” — is real. He gave another example: I personally saw a person with special abilities hold a bottle of unopened medicine in their hand and shake out 23 pills from it. Then, after opening the bottle seal and counting the 100 pills in the bottle, exactly 77 remained, and the medicine bottle was completely intact. Qian Xuesen said: I am trained in science, and facts are facts; I was convinced.

Qian Xuesen said: Of course it requires research, and the scope involved is very broad; physics cannot explain it. Some people have tried to explain it, but I think it will not work, because it far exceeds the scope of modern science. We have conducted some experiments and found that people with special abilities are similar to traditional qigong. During demonstrations, their faces flush and they sweat; EEG measurements reveal that the brainwave patterns during qigong energy emission and during special ability demonstrations are similar, and sometimes even stronger than those of qigong masters. This connects it to gong (energy practice), and traditional qigong is in turn connected to traditional Chinese medicine. He believes

that these three things are one integrated whole. The most prominent is special abilities, the second is qigong, and the third is traditional Chinese medicine — the three are consistent. This explains why our traditional Chinese medicine has a tradition spanning thousands of years.

Qian Xuesen said: The understanding, practice, and theory of special abilities, qigong, and traditional Chinese medicine cannot be fully incorporated into the modern scientific system. Some people feel that because they cannot be incorporated, they shake their heads.

Qian Xuesen said: I support research into special abilities. But I believe that when it truly becomes scientific theory, it will itself break through the modern scientific system, advance one step further, and ultimately bring about a scientific revolution.

Then, Qian Xuesen stated: I want to say one final sentence: Human special abilities are real, not fake.

A Discussion on the Types, Characteristics, and Theories of Special Abilities

Qin Shide

Human special abilities are defined relative to ordinary functions. The human body has a complex structure and diverse functions, among which sensation and movement are physiological functions of the nervous system. If one can perceive external things without going through ordinary pathways, this constitutes a special ability in the domain of sensation; if a person’s motor ability or skill exceeds the limits of ordinary people, this constitutes a special ability in the domain of movement and skill.

Types of Special Abilities

In recent years, the types of special abilities have emerged in endless variety and can be broadly divided into ten categories. The first five pertain to perception, and the latter five pertain to movement and skill. They are introduced separately below:

1. Penetrative Perception: Such individuals can perceive images, writing, figures, structures, colors, etc., through shielding materials. This is the most familiar type of special ability, commonly known as “recognizing characters with the ear” or “reading characters under the armpit.” Some people can also penetratively perceive the writing on any designated volume, page, or line among a stack of books, or perceive figures through walls, contraband inside parcels, underground pipelines, the layout of underground palaces, scars covered by clothing, diverticula on the esophagus, the gender of a fetus in the womb, fracture lines in bones, silver-colored steel needles inside bone marrow, the red heart, yellow tumors, and so on. Although various shielding materials such as iron boxes, lead canisters, and copper sheets can sometimes increase the difficulty of penetrative perception, there are successful cases of penetrative perception with all of them.

2. Telepathic Transmission: Such individuals can transmit

thought content without the use of any known communication tool. For example, content perceived by one child can be sensed by another child standing several meters away; a mathematical problem or image that a father is thinking about can be perceived by his son. In addition to one-way transmission, two-way transmission is also possible, in which two people with this ability can simultaneously transmit to each other the content each is thinking about. One person can even transmit to six people simultaneously. As for longer-distance telepathic transmission, it is most commonly observed between twins or direct family members, with transmission distances reaching over 4,000 kilometers.

3. Remote Perception: Such individuals can perceive distant targets beyond visual range or minute objects. Examples include small characters far away, scenes in distant locations, the surface landscape of the planet Mercury, fugitive criminals on the run, kidnapped persons, the number of blood cells and dust particles on a blood cell counting chamber, and so forth.

4. Hyper Perception: Such individuals can directly perceive specific physical phenomena without instruments, such as infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, the South Pole, the North Pole, ultrasound, infrasound, holographic photographs, radio broadcasts, dynamic magnetism, static magnetism, or recognize invisible characters written on magnetic tape by induction with a metal needle. Some people can also see the brilliant colors emitted by special ability practitioners that are invisible to ordinary people.

5. Visionary Perception: Such individuals can recreate past scenes or foresee future historical events. For example, some people can clearly “see” the figure of a deceased female teacher whom they had never met in person. Some people can accurately describe the appearance and name of a criminal in an unsolved case, which was later verified as correct. Others can concretely foresee certain future contingent events without relying on reasoning or analysis.

6. Special Intelligence: Such individuals possess special memory, calculation ability, or comprehension ability. For example, some people can accurately memorize sequences of many numbers and words with dozens of digits after seeing them just once, and not forget them for decades; some people can rapidly master several foreign languages with astonishing efficiency; some people have special calculation ability — computing 1.455 = 2.117025 in only 0.6 seconds, computing 8772 ÷ 42 ≈ 208.857142857 in only 1.1 seconds, computing

639×33+√884736 — the correct answer was obtained in only 4.1 seconds.

7. Special skills: People in all walks of life possess a vast array of special skills. From outstanding athletes to circus performers, from cooks to shop assistants, from carpenters to painters, many have extraordinary techniques. Aside from praising, boasting about, envying, and marveling at them, people rarely classify these skills as special abilities, generally explaining them merely as “practice makes perfect.” However, for example, China’s micro-carving and hair-engraving artist Shen Weizhong, without using his eyes, could engrave more than thirty characters of the Tang dynasty poem “A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge” on a single hair half a centimeter long, and over three hundred characters on a piece of ivory the size of a grain of millet. Mere reliance on “practice makes perfect” cannot account for mastery of such a skill; this can only be regarded as a type of special ability.

8. Qigong: There are many types of qigong, but all share the ability to use mental intention to regulate the body’s internal physiological activities. Although people can generally practice qigong exercises, some of the special abilities within it cannot be developed by everyone. For example, the soft skill, also called internal nourishing qigong: after circulating qi, the practitioner can perform distance massage without touching the patient, exerting multiple therapeutic effects including hypnosis, lowering blood pressure, lowering intraocular pressure, pain relief, anesthesia, hibernation, and acupoint therapy. The hard skill, also called strengthening qigong: after circulating qi, the practitioner can burst forth with supernormal energy — smashing stone tablets with the head, chopping through steel spikes with the hand, drilling through bricks with a finger, or having a car drive over the body, supporting a thousand catties on the abdomen, or withstanding a spear thrust to the throat without injury. As for the light skill, after circulating qi, the practitioner can reduce the body’s weight, supporting over a hundred catties of body weight on a single matchbox; a person weighing over a hundred catties can walk along the rim of a hollow sieve; the fingers can lift a matchbox seemingly without support; the body can adhere to a wall or even meditate while suspended, or lie flat while suspended. The heavy skill, also called the immobilization method: after circulating qi, the practitioner stands fixed in one spot and even three young men cannot lift them.

9. Telekinesis: Such individuals can use intense concentration to cause objects to move, change, break, and shatter. This ability is also called psychokinesis, and it can accomplish highly difficult, highly skillful actions. For example: without contact, one can open or lock a lock inside a container, cause a flower bud to open or close, or cause a safety pin to thread through a clasp, load or unload a nut, break a willow branch, a spoon, or a plastic cord, peel open a tangerine skin, or set a watch fast or

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slow, and during a television performance, even cause the watches in viewers’ homes to run fast or slow. Some can point at skin from a distance to cause severe pain, resulting in burns and blistering. Others can cause illness in a person through mental cursing.

10. Yoga: This is a form of qigong practiced by Indian yogis. The practitioner is buried in a tomb for eight days; the electrocardiogram indicates the heartbeat stopped for six days. Upon excavation, although body weight had decreased by four and a half kilograms and body temperature had dropped to 34.8°C, the practitioner was still able to return to normal.

In addition to the special abilities listed above, some people can breathe fire, some can discharge electricity, some can spend the winter naked, and some can coexist peacefully with venomous insects and fierce beasts… Such special abilities are too numerous to enumerate.

Common Characteristics of Special Abilities

1. Special abilities are ordinarily latent and unknown to others. Once discovered, they are often considered inconceivable, or are thought to be related to magic, deception, or suggestion.

2. The types and intensity of special abilities often vary by person, by age, and by body region. In the general population, the frequency of occurrence of different special abilities also differs. They can be elicited through induction and strengthened through training. They are greatly influenced by emotion, age, and environment, and are often found among relatives, with the clairvoyant function being the most common. A single individual may possess one or several types of special abilities.

3. All special abilities manifest as special perceptions or skills. They can easily occur only in a state of clear consciousness, concentrated attention, and calm, pleasant mood. They are influenced by many psychological factors; therefore, they are not merely physiological functions of the nervous system but rather its psychological functions, and should be studied within the domain of psychology.

Theoretical Exploration of Special Abilities

At present, opinions about special abilities are widely divided. Some consider them tricks not worth a glance; others exaggerate their contents, leaving people half in doubt. Because more and more people with special abilities have been discovered recently, the scope of research and discussion has grown ever larger. Combined with publicity through film, television, and the press, most people can now acknowledge the existence of these phenomena. Some have even applied them in practice to medical diagnosis and treatment, public security investigations, construction

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surveying, archaeological excavation, and so forth. However, opinions on the mechanisms behind their occurrence remain diverse and inconclusive. Below I offer several personal views.

1. The reason special abilities are considered special is, on the one hand, because their rarity makes them seem strange, and on the other hand, because their mechanisms are unusual — they seem to have no material basis, appearing out of thin air, impossible to measure clearly with instruments, impossible to imitate with tools. It seems that things which ought not to exist do exist, and things which ought not to appear do appear. Here, the first question to clarify is whether special abilities have a material basis.

The forms of matter in the universe are divided into two major categories: one is discontinuous physical objects, and the other is continuous fields. People always treat visible, tangible objects as matter, while regarding invisible, intangible fields (with the exception of light) as illusory, nonexistent things. Yet fields are continuous matter that permeates the entire universe — this is the so-called “the vacuum is not empty.” Fields exist objectively, develop and change, and are interconnected. Although invisible and intangible, they are an important form of matter. Take the electromagnetic field, for example: like physical objects, it has different levels and different properties. Corresponding to every atom, every molecule, every cell, every organ, and every human body, there are “radio stations” at various levels — that is, biological fields — which on the one hand emit their own inherent fields and on the other hand receive influences from external fields. Fields are the most vivid illustration of the universal interconnection among things. The existence of fields is sufficient to show that the production of special abilities at least has fields as their material basis. Among the four known fundamental fields, the gravitational field and the electromagnetic field are two long-range fields capable of long-distance connection. Recently, someone conducted three experiments demonstrating that the information carrier of clairvoyance possesses the reflective, refractive, and polarizing properties of an electromagnetic field. It appears that the electromagnetic field is most likely the information carrier of special abilities.

2. For a long time, people have regarded the perceptual process merely as the body’s passive response to external stimuli — whatever stimulus comes from outside and stimulates the senses, the corresponding sensation is produced within the body — completely overlooking the fact that the human brain or the entire human body is a “radio station,” constantly and actively emitting its own inherent biological field. This

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Some of these fields may be reflected by objects and directly perceived again by the human brain, manifesting as clairvoyance, remote perception, or super-perception. They may also be directly perceived by others, manifesting as telepathy (thought transference). Just as bats or dolphins can actively, albeit unconsciously, emit information to probe their environment, humans may also actively emit probing biological fields. Under the control of intention, they locate through scanning, resonate through resonance, and amplify through focusing. Certain perceptual special abilities are very likely the result of electromagnetic waves (biological fields) emitted by the human body being reflected back, then resonating or focusing within the brain to be perceived. And certain skill-based special abilities are very likely the result of the human body’s biological field exerting its force through conscious focusing.

3. Matter at any level possesses both its characteristic physical form and its characteristic field form, each with corresponding and complex structures and functions. Current research on physical substances is very deep. For example, the more than 100 known chemical elements belong to 7 periods and 8 groups, and a unified periodic table of elements has long been established. The chemical structures of the vast majority of the currently known 4 million compounds have been clarified; the quaternary structure of certain proteins and the helical structure of certain nucleic acids are fully understood, with profound knowledge even of the position, sequence, distance, size, and physiological function of each atom in their structures. However, nothing whatsoever is known about the field characteristics of these complex structures. At present, people have only a rough understanding of four fundamental fields—the gravitational field, electromagnetic field, strong interaction field, and weak interaction field—yet the work on a unified field theory remains incomplete. Just as before Mendeleev there was no unified periodic table and little was known about the chemical structure of matter, currently very little is known about the fine structure of fields. Take visible light, for instance: it is merely an electromagnetic field within the range of 0.30–0.76 micrometers, yet within this extremely narrow electromagnetic band there exist inexhaustibly many mixed colors, presenting before us a dazzlingly colorful world. One can then imagine how much more complex information must be contained within the entire electromagnetic spectrum, with the various combinations and integrations of waves, plus differences in spatiotemporal sequence! As for the most complex biological fields possessed by nerve cells or brain

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tissue—these most complex of material structures—it is virtually impossible even to imagine them. These biological fields surely possess a complexity comparable to that of macromolecules, cells, or brain tissue, yet there is currently no precision instrument capable of measuring them. Some individuals with special abilities, however, can directly observe the brilliant colors emitted by qigong masters when they perform their practice. Some physicists have proposed that the foremost task of physical science in the future is to devote efforts to improving detectors—a view that shows considerable insight.

4. In a broad sense, it is not only humans who possess special abilities; other organisms also possess special abilities to varying degrees. For example, dogs and cats can find their way home from great distances; certain birds and fish can migrate over long distances; bees and ants can form colonies—all of which may be related to interactions among biological fields. Even ordinary humans or animals can, under specific circumstances, burst forth with extraordinary energy—the way a desperate dog can leap over a wall, or a desperate person can summon “divine” strength—demonstrating that biological potential is vast and complex. In addition to electromagnetic fields, the generation of special abilities may also be linked to other physical mechanisms. For instance, some have proposed the idea of tachyons and a tachyonic universe traveling many times faster than the speed of light, which may be related to phantom perception; some have proposed the idea of anti-gravitons, which may be related to lightness skills (qigong) and levitation meditation; others have researched the ultra-transmission properties of ultra-short laser pulses and neutrinos, which may be related to clairvoyance and remote perception. As for the roles that the currently known three or four hundred elementary particles may play in special abilities, this will only become clear as physics continues to advance.

5. The study of special abilities will further deepen people’s understanding of the infinite diversity and high unity of the structure and function of matter. It suggests to people that what is common sense may not accord with science, what is habitual may not be entirely reasonable, and what is traditional may not be wholly correct. It will have far-reaching effects on the progress of physics, physiology, psychology, and philosophy, propelling the ship of human science and technology into a new sea.

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Why Modern Science Cannot Explain Chinese Qigong and Human Special Abilities?

Liang Ronglin

In the twentieth century, science and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds. Humanity has long since been able to stride across the… “era,” the “electronic computer era,” the “space era,” and is about to enter the “information age” predicted by Westerners. However, it must be pointed out that, on the other hand, all these advances are shrouded in a dark layer of “fog.” People have already asked: “Can all of this science and its development truly be used to explain the world in which humanity exists?” Science was introduced into China from the West, yet now it is precisely in the West that many scholars wish to turn back to that page of ancient Chinese civilization in the Eastern human historical record and to take notice of China today. They seem to have already discovered something. It is worth noting that their endeavor is perhaps not unrelated to the attempt to dispel the aforementioned “fog.”

According to earlier reports, Westerners have taken note of ancient China’s Book of Changes (Yijing), Cantongqi, the “Eight Trigram hexagrams,” and the “Taiji diagram,” considering Chinese ancient thought to be consistent with modern schools of thought. They also hold that it was Leibniz who first discovered the binary number system within the ancient Chinese “Eight Trigram hexagrams,” and that this number system, after being introduced to the West, played an enormous role in modern electronic computers and artificial intelligence. They are puzzled as to why many elements of modern science were already being applied in ancient China. They seek to unravel what they consider the mystery of “Oriental mysticism,” attempting to use…

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modern science to explain them.

However, apart from this, neither the West nor the modern East has been able to provide a satisfactory explanation for these ancient Chinese civilizations. The reasons may be that the guiding principles and methodology behind these ancient Chinese civilizations have long been lost, or that their mysteries are so profound that they lie beyond the reach of today’s superficial scientific understanding. Therefore, many people have taken note of—and begun studying—the therapeutic methods that have been practiced in China from ancient times to the present (Traditional Chinese Medicine), the wondrous qigong, and the remarkably deep and inconceivable phenomena of Chinese human special abilities, with the aim of incorporating them into modern science and advancing scientific development.

Questions such as how to understand Traditional Chinese Medicine through Western medicine, or how to evaluate the “Westernization of Chinese medicine,” fall outside the scope of this discussion and will be omitted. However, this article offers some perspectives on Chinese methods as a humble attempt to spark broader discussion among readers.

We state outright: qigong and human special abilities run counter to today’s modern scientific theories. In other words, it is impossible to use modern scientific understanding to explain the phenomena of qigong and special abilities. The reasons are as follows:

First, the theories of modern science were derived from experiments conducted under non-qigong and non-special-ability conditions. Not a single scientific law was formulated by scientists while emitting qi during experiments, nor was any scientific law derived from experiments conducted under a qigong master’s qigong state or a special-ability practitioner’s functioning. Therefore, there is no justification for asserting that what these scientists have summarized must also be able to explain qigong or human special abilities.

Every theorem or law in modern science has its conditions for validity and scope of application. “Not being in a state of qigong or special ability” is the common, most fundamental condition of validity and limitation of application for these theorems and laws. If someone believes this is not a condition or limitation, then their view is merely a “conjecture” and can be tested through practice. If events that violate common scientific knowledge arise due to qigong or special

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abilities, then this “conjecture” has failed.

Practice has proven that miraculous and inconceivable things—that is, anomalous phenomena—do occur during qigong and special abilities, thereby validating the above argument.

Second, the theorems and laws recognized by modern science “do not change with human will.”

The theorems and laws recognized in modern science “do not shift with human will (i.e., intention).” The vast majority of those who established these theorems and laws were unaware that qigong and human special abilities even existed in this world. They often attributed inexplicable special-ability phenomena to “tricks” of sorcery and deception. A few individuals, though willing to take a look, also had no idea what these things were. Their conviction that laws do not shift with human will was firm.

Yet qigong and special abilities powerfully manifest the subjective capability of human intention (will); they can directly transform the world and disrupt certain things taken as common sense and dominant.

attempting to use human special abilities in this way would be futile. It can even be said that using scientific definitions and terms—such as physics terms, chemistry terms, or biology terms—applied to qigong phenomena and human special abilities is also inappropriate. To illustrate this, let us discuss a concrete example.

In science and technology, the emission and reception of electromagnetic waves can both be carried out using instruments. A certain electromagnetic wave transmitter emits electromagnetic waves, which are received by an electromagnetic wave receiving device. Modern science holds that, once the equipment is properly set up, the process is independent of the will of anyone present. It would never happen that someone present, through sheer intention, could cause the electromagnetic wave receiving device to receive electromagnetic waves without the transmitter even operating. Science does not permit such “absurd” events to occur. However, the fact

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is that certain qigong masters or special-ability practitioners can, solely through their focused attention or intentional activity, cause an electromagnetic wave receiving device to obtain signals, with corresponding displays and recordings. If in such a case we were to say that the qigong master or special-ability practitioner can emit electromagnetic waves, as described above, this would be extremely absurd from a scientific standpoint. This is because the electromagnetic phenomena studied in modern science are considered objective, and electromagnetic waves therefore possess objectivity. Yet now we are told that someone’s subjective will alone can produce electromagnetic waves—does this not amount to a wholesale denial of the objective reality of material motion?! Therefore, no matter how people may argue that such qigong and special abilities possess a very obvious materiality, as long as one admits that subjective intention can produce what is called “objective reality,” this is logically untenable in any case. Hence, the proposition that “qigong is not science” is established.

In fact, if we find that qigong or special abilities can cause an electromagnetic wave receiving device to receive signals, we may adopt a phenomenological theory and regard this as “subjective radiation” emitted by the human body, as distinct from the “objective radiation” emitted by an electromagnetic wave transmitting device—one subjective and one objective, not to be confused with each other. As long as the facts exist, science cannot negate them. Whether this “subjective radiation” truly exists can be verified through practice, without wasting words on debate. In this way, we both respect the science of our predecessors and respect the facts of the qigong and special abilities community—is this not the best of both worlds?

Thus, “objective radiation” is distinguished by its materiality (physical object), while “subjective radiation” is distinguished by its spirituality (intention and focused attention, etc.). Both types of radiation possess materiality and spirituality, each with its own characteristics. The approach of seeking only commonality in materiality and thereby merging two different things into one will yield no results. Therefore, do not imagine that merely sprinkling more modern scientific terminology over the field of qigong or human special abilities will make the study of these abilities more scientific. In reality, this is merely a counterproductive approach.

The third reason why modern science cannot explain qigong and human special abilities is perhaps difficult for people to accept, but it is a reality. As long as we earnestly

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…wait, the matter will be clarified.

Third, modern scientific theory is a theory that pursues proof of the existence of ghosts and gods.

No matter which branch of science in modern science, it belongs to the theory of laws. In the theory of laws, there is an important principle, which is the “Law of Causality.” It states that everything inevitably has a cause for its occurrence. From this, people will inevitably ask: what is the cause for all the laws in science? That is, who arranged or governs these laws? To raise this question is wise, necessary, and serious. Since everything must have a cause, and according to the reach of human thinking activities, the arranger of laws can be defined as “God.” Regardless of whether that “God” has “three heads and six arms,” has no human form at all, or whether we simply do not use the word “God,” in short, according to the law of causality, laws cannot be without a cause (an arranger). The result of this emphasis on the theory of laws has produced various religious theologies, creators or Gods, and other inevitable products.

Modern science’s pursuit of proof of the Creator’s existence is closely related to the religious beliefs or worldviews of the scientists who establish scientific theories. According to statistics, among famous scientists such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Euler, Faraday, Maxwell, Volta, Ohm, and Ampère; inventor Edison, radio inventor Marconi, X-ray discoverer Roentgen, geneticist Mendel, stethoscope inventor Pasteur, and so on. In the 19th century, theists accounted for 96% of 137 scientists. In the 20th century, scientists researching nuclear physics, such as Compton and Fermi, are all theists. The famous scientist Einstein once stated that he did not believe in a “God who is entangled with the fate and behavior of human beings,” but he did believe in a “God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of existing things,” and so on. However, these historical facts are not the fundamental reason that leads today’s modern science to pursue proof of God’s existence; they are merely a superficial appearance. The real reason is the inevitable extremization of one side of the contradictory aspects of things by human thinking. The result of this inevitably produces an insurmountable paradox, and “ghosts and gods” are one such origin.

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If we are content with the status quo, the straightforward “ghost and god” doctrinal explanation of qigong and special abilities is much cleverer than modern science, because modern science is still on an arduous journey to prove the existence of God and is far from reaching the other shore.

Many special ability possessors who have not received middle school or college education and have not mastered modern scientific theories can frankly and straightforwardly tell our scientists and certain national leaders (superiors) that they saw and relied on the help of “ghosts and gods,” such as a “white-bearded old man” or “fairies,” to accomplish their (common-sense-defying) functions. This is a manifestation of the extremization of thought they have accumulated in normal times, so it is not surprising.

Summarizing the above, we understand that there is only one reason why modern science cannot explain qigong and human special abilities: the very fact of the existence of qigong and human special abilities is a manifestation of the dialectical essence of the world we live in. It is impossible to explain this world using extremized, meaning anti-dialectical, reasoning; therefore, it also cannot explain qigong and human special abilities. Modern science inevitably contains some isolated dialectical content, but its theory is fundamentally anti-dialectical. In other words, when modern science is classified into a type of function, it belongs to the “ordinary human functions,” which are distinct from “qigong functions” and “human special abilities.” Obviously, these three types of functions stand like the three legs of a tripod, each with its own different essence and characteristics, and they cannot be arbitrarily mixed up.

From this, it can be seen that it is not qigong and human special abilities themselves that possess some “magical power” capable of dispelling the “fog” of modern Western science. Rather, it is through the study of qigong and human special abilities that we can gain a deeper understanding of the dialectical essence of the world. This is also the importance of human research on qigong and human special abilities.

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Exploring the Mystery of Human Special Abilities

(1)

After testing the “child prodigy” Chen Xin, we went to Di Rong’s home on June 1st.

Rongrong was only 10 years old. Her large eyes were bright and full of spirit. Her loose hair was tied with a red silk ribbon, floating behind her head. She was quiet, shy, intelligent, and lovable.

For “secrecy,” we had pre-placed the test object into a black leather bag with a zipper. It was a slip of paper folded several times. Rongrong clamped the leather bag under her armpit, frowning tightly from time to time. Twenty minutes later, she said, “What is written on it is ‘Happy Holiday to Children.’ I don’t quite recognize that character for ‘holiday’ (节).” It turned out that the person who wrote the question had deliberately written the character “节” (jié, festival/holiday) as “竿” (gān, pole).

The second time, a white paper package was placed into the leather bag. Ten minutes later, Rongrong reported: “There is a small black button, a leaf, and a two-cent coin” inside the paper package. She got all these physical objects right.

The third time, a flat, square hard cardboard box was stuffed into the leather bag. Rongrong felt the leather bag with her hands. After nine minutes, she said, “There is a work ID card with a red plastic cover, and also an 8-cent stamp. On the stamp, there is a string of circles overlaid in five colors: yellow, red, blue, black, and green.” It turned out to be a commemorative stamp for the Olympic Games. Her answers were entirely accurate.

So, what was Rongrong’s own sensation when these extraordinary functions occurred? We asked Rongrong this question. Rongrong told us that tests on different parts of the body all produced different sensations. She said, “When recognizing characters with my hand, I first feel a red dot in the palm of my hand. The red dot quickly travels up the arm, passes through the neck, and reaches the brain…”

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At this time, it is like a light bulb flashing in the mind, and then I see it. When recognizing characters with the ear, first it is like seeing a small dot far away in the mind; the small dot rapidly gets closer and closer, and finally it can be seen clearly. After seeing it clearly, the ear heats up. When recognizing characters under the armpit, the armpit heats up first, and then it is seen in the mind.”

Chen Xin’s ears can “see” the characters on a crumpled piece of paper, and her armpit can “see” the colors and patterns on both sides of a shopping voucher. Rongrong says she can do it too. So how does she “see” it? Rongrong told us that no matter what shape the tested object becomes, and regardless of what body part is used for the test, the deformed tested object will automatically restore to its original shape in the mind. She said: “When testing a paper ball, the paper ball will automatically unfold in the mind. If both sides are tested, the paper will flip back and forth in the mind. When testing torn paper with characters, the torn pieces will piece themselves together in the mind. If some shapes are drawn to compare sizes, squares and circles, or some lines are drawn to compare lengths and thicknesses, they will stack together in the mind to be compared.”

(II)

Who knew that when Di Rong was tested again on July 18, it would be extremely disappointing. Over the course of a morning and an evening, she even had considerable difficulty recognizing a few ordinary folded pieces of paper. What could be the reason for this?

Rongrong’s mother said that for the past month or so, Rongrong had been busy reviewing for her finals, preparing for the final exams, and had not been tested again. Presumably, her ability had not fully recovered for the time being. From this, it seems that if training is interrupted for a relatively long period of time, the ability will weaken or regress.

Coincidentally. Not long ago, we made a special trip to visit Tan Tianshu, a third-grade girl at a school in the eastern suburbs. She was the first person in Xi’an discovered to possess this kind of character-recognition ability, right at the time when newspapers were publishing article after article criticizing Tang Yu from Sichuan for “absurdly” recognizing characters with his ears. Although her ability was also denied by some people in Xi’an, Tianshu and her parents did not deny their own feelings and understanding just because others poured cold water on them. They persisted in continuing testing and training. Precisely because of this, Tianshu’s ability got better and better. For the characters we wrote, she could recognize them correctly in as fast as 3 minutes, and in no more than 20 minutes at the slowest. 49

minutes, and recognized them all correctly.

(III)

Ultimately, Rongrong was a child with the “solid foundation” of nearly a thousand practice sessions. After that day, her mother stepped up her training, and sure enough, her ability recovered. When we visited Rongrong’s house again, Rongrong was in an especially good mood, and we decided to immediately begin more advanced testing.

The first test item was a tightly crumpled paper ball. Rongrong clamped it in the crook of her thigh. After a minute, she said: “This is a torn piece of paper with the three characters ‘Little friend good’ written on it.” Originally, we had written the four characters “Little friends good”. After the paper was torn, the character “friends” was lost, and the character “good” was torn in half from the middle. Even so, Rongrong still recognized it.

The second test item was remote sensing. Rongrong sat opposite a small stool with an upside-down enamel mug over it, half a meter away, and no part of her body was allowed to touch the mug. She stared at the mug from a distance. It seemed that the difficulty was much greater than sensing an object in contact; for a full hour, her face was covered in sweat, but she remained silent. We suggested she go outside to play for a while. Apart from us, no one else knew the details of the test item under the mug. However, when Rongrong returned to the room and sat down, in less than a minute, she shouted: “I know, it’s a crumpled slip of paper with ‘I love science’ written on it. ‘I love’ is written with a blue ballpoint pen, and ‘science’ is written with a red ballpoint pen.” “Correct!” We were so happy we clapped and cheered.

Regarding the remote sensing test, Rongrong’s mother once told us an interesting story. Once, Rongrong was remote-sensing to identify a paper ball covered under a lead basin from a distance of more than 5 meters. Rongrong’s father felt so sleepy that he just wanted to doze off, and Rongrong’s mother felt a fluttering discomfort in her heart. She repeatedly said: “Forget it, forget it, let’s not test!” Right at that moment, Rongrong recognized the characters on the paper ball under the lead basin. Explaining this phenomenon, Rongrong’s father said that this might be a very powerful electromagnetic wave. Rongrong’s father is a science and technology editor of the Jiaotong University journal. 50

Following the success of two consecutive “high-energy” tests, Rongrong’s mood was like that of an excellent athlete in peak competitive form; she was determined to scale even greater heights.

Use: Without flipping the pages of the book, state the characters on the designated page number.

We handed Rongrong a book of nearly 200 pages and asked her to state the characters in the first line of page 3.

Rongrong pressed her hand on the lower corner of the cover, and in just a few minutes, stated that it was “Lu Xun on Dream of the Red Chamber”.

We then asked her to state the text in the first line of page 19 of the same book.

A few minutes later, Rongrong said it was “Dream of the Red Chamber Commentary”.

She was right both times. How did she “see” it?

She said: “The book flipped through page by page in my mind according to the page numbers until it reached page 3 and page 19. There was a beam of light in my mind; this beam of light first ‘saw’ the page number, and then searched upwards along the book page, and thus saw the first line.”

To verify, we casually asked her to “recognize” what the first 5 characters on the last line of page 50 of the same book were.

We thought that if the functional “beam of light” pierced straight to the bottom, it would inevitably be difficult to clearly see the characters on this even-numbered page facing downwards.

However, 4 minutes later, she said these 5 characters were “Research on Dream of the Red Chamber”. Opening the book to look, there was not a single discrepancy.

Over these past few days, after multiple tests, we have gradually become “insiders”. Compared with several “child prodigies” such as Chen Xin, Tan Tianshu, Di Rong, and the recently discovered 4th-grade elementary school girls Zou Huiping and Li Jinhui, currently, not only are there differences in the strength of the abilities, but there are also differences in types. Tan Tianshu can only “listen” to characters with her ears; when “listening” to characters, there is a “hissing” sound in her ears. When these characters appear in her mind, they are reproduced according to her conceptual understanding of stroke order. However, she has no reaction at all to printed matter. Zou Huiping and Li Jinhui, on the other hand, are highly sensitive to printed matter and such. They 51

recognize characters with their hands and armpits, which also appear in their minds according to stroke order. As for Chen Xin and Di Rong, the crowns of their heads, chins, palms, armpits, abdominal muscles, backs of the knees, and soles of their feet all possess such a function. At present, the abilities of Di Rong and Chen Xin are relatively stronger. The characters and pictures they “recognize” all flash in their minds at once, suddenly. This ability can also be controlled by consciousness. Rongrong says that when she touches a leather wallet containing the tested object, it is as if a beam of light penetrates the wallet in her mind, illuminating the situation inside the wallet, and the beam of light only disappears after everything about the tested object has been completely figured out. 52

Records of Special Abilities in Ancient Texts

It was not until March 1979, when the Sichuan Daily published a report on “Tang Yu recognizing characters with his ear,” that the term “special abilities” gradually became familiar to the public. In fact, “special abilities” are not something new that has only emerged in recent years; they have existed on the land of China for at least three thousand years. Therefore, in the vast sea of ancient texts, there have long been extensive records and descriptions. After sorting through them, the author has found that records of “special abilities” in Chinese ancient texts can be divided into ten categories, namely: 1. Diagnosing and treating illness; 2. Naked-eye透视 (X-ray vision); 3. Remote viewing and remote sensing; 4. Precognitive ability; 5. Psychokinesis; 6. Wondrous hypnotic arts; 7. Apprehending criminals and solving cases; 8. Miraculous qigong; 9. Summoning wind and rain; 10. Other abilities (including night vision, resistance to cold and heat, divine strength, subduing fierce beasts, and warding off water and fire, etc.). Here I have selected several examples for the reader’s enjoyment; truth and falsehood are intermingled among them, and I invite the discerning to judge for themselves.

Diagnosing and Treating Illness

In the Gujin Tushu Jicheng: Complete Record of the Medical Section, there is a piece titled “The Shaman of Jinjiang Performs a Heart Replacement,” which describes the use of special abilities to perform a “heart transplant” on an insane child. The text states: According to the Jishen Lu, Chen Zhai was a female shaman in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, skilled in the wondrous arts of the “Zhuyou branch” of medicine, and she used this to treat people’s illnesses, curing quite a few patients. Su Meng, who ran an inn in Zhangzhou, had a son who suffered from madness. He had sought treatment from many people without success, and through an introduction, he went to invite Chen Zhai. After Chen arrived, Su Meng’s son saw her and began cursing furiously. Chen said, “Your son’s illness has already entered his heart.” She then set up a ritual altar in the main hall and told everyone that they must not peek while she “performed the ritual,” otherwise it would not work. That evening, she cut open the patient’s abdomen and removed

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his heart, hanging the body on the east wall of the main hall and suspending the heart beneath the north eaves. Just as she was concentrating on performing the ritual, to her surprise, the heart under the eaves was snatched away by a dog. Chen could not find the heart and felt both alarmed and afraid. Holding her knife, she thought hard about what to do, and then went out. The host did not know she had left, assuming she was still performing the ritual. After roughly the time it takes to eat a meal, Chen returned carrying a heart. She placed it into Su Meng’s son’s chest, then loosened her hair and shouted incantations repeatedly. The cut-open belly closed up on its own, healing in an instant, and the patient immediately revived and regained consciousness. After the heart replacement, the madness was completely cured.

Telepathy

The Runan Xianxian Zhuan records: During the Eastern Han dynasty, in Runan Commandery, there was a scholar named Cai Shun who lived with his widowed mother, dependent on each other for survival. He frequently went out to work and was rarely at home. Whenever a guest came to visit and he was not at home, his mother would place her finger into her mouth. No matter how far he was from home, whenever this happened, he would feel his heart stirring ceaselessly, knowing that his mother was calling him, and he would immediately rush home. This proved effective every time it was tried.

Psychokinesis

The Yuzhang Ji records: During the Jin dynasty, in Zhaochang County, Yuzhang Commandery, there was a man named Xing Ling. From childhood, he did not like to talk, and even when bullied by others, he would not lose his temper. His neighbors all called him an idiot. Once, the county magistrate conscripted commoners to build boats and ordered each person to additionally make a pair of oars. Just as Xing Ling had finished making the pair of oars, they were stolen by someone. The crime of delaying official labor service was no small matter, and Xing Ling finally lost his temper. The thief suddenly felt an unceasing pain in his heart. Unable to endure it, he had no choice but to confess to Xing Ling that he had stolen his pair of oars, and returned them. The heart pain immediately ceased. There was an old woman surnamed Huang who had suffered from hemiplegia for over ten years. Hearing that Xing Ling knew “magical arts,” she begged Xing Ling to treat her illness. Xing Ling sat a few feet away from the old woman, closed his eyes, and said nothing. After a while, he opened his eyes and told Old Woman Huang to try whether she could walk. Astonishingly, she was able to stand up and walk.

Naked-Eye “X-Ray Vision”

The Licheng Zhi, contained in the Daoguang-era edition of the Jinan Prefecture Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty, records: Wang Shu,

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also known as Wang Jiqing. As a child, this man was very slow-witted. When he was eight or nine years old studying at a private school, if the teacher taught him three lines, even after reading them for an entire day, he could not recite them. However, after hearing his teacher explain the principle of “stillness and tranquility,” he gained new inspiration from it. A few days later, when he recalled the books he had previously read, he could suddenly recite them all and understand the principles within them. Later, hearing that the Daoist priest Liu Yangzheng was highly accomplished in the Way, he took him as a master to study the Dao. One night, while Wang Shu was sitting quietly by himself, he suddenly felt the room become bright. Examining the lines on his own hands, they were so clearly visible that he could count them. After continuing his cultivation, he could even see objects on the other side of walls. Not understanding what was going on, he sought instruction from Liu Yangzheng. Liu explained: “This is an innate ability of the human body; it has come about because you have cleared and opened your qi, blood, and meridians.” Thereafter, when Wang Shu was teaching his students, whenever a guest was about to arrive, he would tell his students to open the door in advance and wait by it. (After cultivating qigong, Wang Shu not only gained x-ray vision but could also foresee events.)

Remote Viewing and Remote Sensing

In Volume 159 of the Shanxi Tongzhi (Shanxi Provincial Gazetteer), there is a record titled “Meng Bida Is Skilled at Tracing Whereabouts”: Meng Bida, also known as Taijiao, was a native of Qinzhou. He possessed the extraordinary abilities of remote viewing and remote sensing. Someone who had lost something came to find him, asking where to look for it. Bida said: “The thing you lost has four legs; it is neither an ox nor a dog, but a cat.” The owner smiled upon hearing this and said, “Yes.” Bida said, “You should look toward the southeast.” Following the direction he indicated, they indeed found the cat. When the son of Wang Zonglu, the prefect of Qinzhou, returned to Jiangnan and exceeded the expected time without coming back, Wang feared that his son might have encountered problems on the road and was very worried. He therefore sought out Meng Bida to inquire. Meng said: “You are asking about someone on a journey — he is about to arrive.” Just as Wang Zonglu was doubting his answer, Meng added: “He has already entered through the north gate.” Wang thought to himself: My home is in Jiangnan, so he should be coming from the south. How could he enter through the north gate? He became even more doubtful. But before the two had even finished talking, Wang’s son had already returned to the residence. When Wang Zonglu asked about the reason for his late return, his son reported: “Because I took a detour through the capital, I entered the city through the north gate.” After experiencing this, Wang Zonglu considered Meng Bida to be a person of miraculous powers.

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…tested, the aide Yan Qilu said: “He does indeed have the abilities of remote viewing and precognition!”

Miraculous Hypnosis

An article in the Jishen Lu (Records of Investigating the Supernatural) states: During the Five Dynasties period in Luoyang of the Later Liang, there was a man named Liu who was friends with Zhang Yi. Once, the two of them went to find a local rogue to collect a debt. The rogue not only refused to pay but also gave them a severe scolding. Liu said to Zhang Yi: “This rogue is truly hateful; we must teach him a lesson!” That night, Zhang Yi and Liu slept in the same room. Before Zhang Yi had fallen completely asleep, he seemed to see Liu brewing medicine over a stove, forcing the rogue to blow desperately at the fire nearby. When he woke up in the morning, Zhang Yi felt very strange, so he went to check on the rogue and saw that his lips were swollen and his breathing was weak. Upon asking, the rogue said: “Last night in a dream, I was summoned by someone to blow the fire. I blew all night long and felt unbearably miserable. When I woke up, I was like this.”

Precognition

The 30th volume of the Jiaqing edition of Henan’s Runing Prefecture Gazetteer contains an article stating: Yang Budai’s place of origin was unknown. He was seen with tangled hair and bare feet, and scars on his body, but his posture appeared young and handsome. Regardless of winter or summer, he always wore a sack-like shirt; therefore, people called him “Yang Budai” (Yang Sack), and he didn’t mind it at all. Yang Budai practiced medicine in various villages in Runan. To treat people’s illnesses, he only massaged with his hands or emitted external qi, and the illness would be cured. Prince Zhuang Hui of Huai’an once tested Yang Budai’s magic (actually “special abilities”) with his retainers: they saw that he could go without eating for a hundred days, or eat a lot of food in one day; he could not be drowned in water or burned by fire; when asked to fetch fresh peaches in winter, fresh peaches with branches would fall from the sky, which he used to wish the Prince a happy birthday. When the Prince ate the peaches, he felt his mouth fill with sweetness. A general named Wu Ru Zhong suffered from abdominal distention and blockage in childhood, which was very dangerous. His family invited Yang Budai to diagnose and treat him. After examining him, Yang said: “This child will not die. In the future, he will wear a jade belt across his waist and become a high official!” Then he treated the illness. His treatment method was very peculiar: he slept together with the sick child, and the next day the illness was completely cured! Later, Wu Ru Zhong held the position of Guerrilla General in Ningxia. Yang’s prediction was accurate down to the finest detail. One day, Yang said goodbye to Prince Zhuang Hui. The Prince did not agree, but he unexpectedly left overnight. After Prince Zhuang Hui found out, he sent someone on horseback to catch up with him at Langling and offered him a hundred taels of gold, but he firmly…

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…refused to accept it. Yang said: “I have my own surplus.” After saying that, he walked away quickly. A brilliant golden color was seen all along the road, and since then, Yang Budai’s whereabouts have been unknown. (Author’s note: Yang Budai alone possessed five miraculous abilities: healing, fasting (bigu), immunity to water and fire, apportation, and precognition. What a rare talent!)

Subduing Fierce Beasts

According to the Guangxu edition of the Revised Dengzhou Prefecture Gazetteer: Yu Ziren was a native of Wugang Prefecture, Huguang. His father was skilled at sculpting statues of deities. When Ziren was seven or eight years old, because of his cleverness, he was loved by the military officers of this prefecture. He was named “Ziren” (Carpenter) after his father’s woodworking skills. When he grew up, he had great talent and possessed multiple miraculous abilities. During the Yichou year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, he passed the imperial examination as a Jinshi and was sent to Dengzhou to serve as a county magistrate. Someone in the prefecture reported to him that their family member had been bitten by a tiger. Ziren ordered someone to take a talisman into the mountains and burn it. As soon as the talisman was burned, the tiger arrived, obediently followed the runner into the city, and crouched in the main hall. It was given 100 lashes by Ziren before being released. This incident was reported to the imperial court by a subordinate who held a grudge against him, accusing him of “using sorcery to deceive the public.” Ziren was thus arrested and imprisoned. After being locked up in prison for several months, he unexpectedly starved to death. His corpse was thrown out, and his family carried it back to arrange the funeral. One night, someone suddenly knocked on the door of Ziren’s house. A family member asked: “Who is it?” The person outside said: “I am Ziren. I took the opportunity to escape. My death last time was faked.” The family did not believe it. Having heard that the clothes of ghosts have no seams, they asked him to pass his clothes in for inspection. Only then did they believe that Ziren had returned, and they immediately opened the door to let him in. After that, Ziren no longer hid. Every day he drank and composed poetry with his friends. Sometimes he would boat on the water; without needing to row with oars or poles, the boat could travel upstream, which he did for amusement. There was a man named Liu in the village who was his enemy. He ran to the capital to report him, and the imperial court sent people to arrest him, but they couldn’t catch him. This informant could not explain it clearly, so he committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and was severely punished. Since then, Yu Zuiren left Dengzhou and his whereabouts became unknown.

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The Magical Science of Prediction and Remote Sensing

——An Interview with the Explorer of Chan-Yi Gong and Associate Professor at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, Li Yan

Zhang Xuezhen, Wang Lingshu

Inside the auditorium of the All-China Women’s Federation, a middle-aged man who is not a doctor is examining a female comrade.

This method of “examination” is very special. The male comrade stands in front of the podium, his left palm raised upward to his waist, and his right hand extended forward and swaying slightly. The entire movement looks as if he is catching a kind of information invisible to the naked human eye. Twenty meters away, a female comrade stands facing him, receiving his remote-controlled “diagnosis”.

“Your innate constitution is good, and your acquired nutrition is also not bad, but your current health is not as good as it looks. The main issue is a deficiency of qi.”

The man swayed his right hand a few more times, and continued: “You have neurasthenia. The sciatic nerve in your left waist and leg often hurts. You have a hard nodule in your left breast…”

“How is it? Is he right?” the people around her asked immediately. “Absolutely right, it’s truly miraculous, even more accurate than a doctor.” This female comrade praised him endlessly on the spot.

Another male comrade came before this middle-aged man, who was being watched with magical eyes by everyone in the audience.

“Professor Li, my mother is in Shanxi. Can you examine her health?”

“Yes.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he used the same movements to conduct the reading facing this male comrade.

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“Your mother’s health is not bad, but she has a certain degree of cerebral arteriosclerosis, and there is something wrong with her eyes.”

“That’s absolutely right. My mother suffers from glaucoma and has had surgery.”

The entire audience was even more astonished, and everyone vied with one another to ask this miraculous professor to “diagnose” themselves or their family members.

This was Li Yan, associate professor at the Central Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, performing Zen-Yi Gong on the spot. His miraculous performance aroused our great interest, and so, after making an appointment, we finally knocked on Professor Li’s door.

After exchanging pleasantries, Professor Li told us in response to our questions that he could not only remotely diagnose illnesses for people within the country, but also for those abroad—he was not limited by space. On one occasion, a French visitor asked him to remotely examine the health of his father, who was far away in Paris. His very first sentence was: “Your father had a problem with the tendons on the right side of his neck, and it was quite inflexible…” At the time, this astonished the foreign guest beyond words, and he repeatedly said, “Correct!” He could not only diagnose illnesses, but also remotely appraise antiquities to determine which dynasty they belonged to and whether they were genuine or fake. He was also attempting to use this skill to remotely detect underground water sources, mineral deposits, natural disasters, machinery malfunctions, and so forth. He could not only remotely sense but also make predictions. Who would win or lose in sports competitions, what favorable or unfavorable situations might arise in a given place, whether a certain unit’s project could be completed on schedule, whether a certain person’s goal could be achieved—all of these he included within the scope of his prediction experiments. Most people who had sought his readings were won over by the facts. Professor Li told us that his accuracy rate in different categories could reach between 70% and 90%. He did not deny that sometimes, due to his physical condition and other factors, there were errors.

The conversation naturally turned to getting to the root of the matter.

“Why can Zen-Yi Gong perform remote sensing and prediction?” we asked.

Professor Li spoke at length: “The research and practice of Zen-Yi Gong has not departed from the domain of epistemology. As people know, human beings perceive things through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. But what is used more often are the visual and auditory organs, followed by the organs of taste, while

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the body is very underutilized. I believe this is the result of the development of human civilization. On the one hand, humanity has been evolving; on the other hand, it has also been degenerating. Before the emergence of language and writing, our ancient ancestors lacked tools for social interaction and communication, let alone communication devices. To survive and to connect with one another, they relied more on the body’s sensation and the mind’s intention. At that time, these functions were particularly well developed. The I Ching (Book of Changes) represents a disclosure of one such scientific achievement. Later, with the emergence of language and writing, and especially with the emergence of communication devices, these functions in human beings degenerated greatly. But what is gratifying is that the various qigong methods passed down from ancient times, along with the theories of I Ching studies, Zen studies, and Daoist studies, can induce this dormant latent potential in humanity, once again stimulating and manifesting a high-level phenomenon of atavism.”

Professor Li then turned to the forms of material existence: “It is generally believed that matter exists in four states: solid, liquid, gaseous, and ionic. In reality, beyond these four states, there are many other broad forms of material existence, such as field states and so on. What qigong perception studies are precisely those forms of material existence beyond the four states, including field states. People and things all possess their own fields of existence, and these fields are virtually unlimited by time and space—their signals can travel very far and last very long, except that ordinary people in their normal state of perception cannot detect them. Those who have practiced qigong methods such as Zen-Yi Gong can use their bodies to receive the signals emitted by these fields. These signals manifest in the receiver as different sensations such as soreness, numbness, heat, swelling, coursing, heaviness, coolness, and pain (mild pain). By analyzing and evaluating these sensations received in sequence, one can perform remote sensing and prediction regarding matters.”

We then asked further: “Having heard your explanation, we can understand remote sensing fairly well, but prediction is still puzzling to us. How can you predict the outcome of something before it has happened?”

“Because before a matter produces its result, many omens and signs appear. By comprehensively analyzing and evaluating these perceived signs, one can predict the outcome. The more methods one has for perceiving these signs, the more basis there is for prediction, and the more accurate the result. The perceptual range in the qigong state is much broader than

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in the normal state—this is the basis for predicting outcomes,” Professor Li replied with ease.

“Why is it called Zen-Yi Gong?” we asked again.

“One uses Zen gong to emit energy, and only then can one generate sensations regarding things that exist at a distance. To analyze and evaluate these sensations, one uses the thought of the Zhouyi (I Ching). Without either one it will not work, so it is called Zen-Yi Gong.”

“If that’s the case, then the Zhouyi is a branch of science?”

Professor Li said: “Yes. In the past, due to insufficient research on the Zhouyi, this profoundly erudite work was simplistically regarded as a fortune-telling book and classified as feudal superstition. This is truly regrettable.” Professor Li then told us:

“Human mental states are also divided into levels: the first is the normal state, the second is the qigong state, which some also call the super-static state or the special-ability state. Because the two states differ, the degree and range of perception of the same matter also differ. When the study of the Zhouyi is conducted using the normal state, what is obtained is the philosophical content within it and the calculations of image and number. Under the qigong state, what is obtained is the part that inspires intuition. This kind of intuition can use philosophy and image-number as a catalyst to induce a kind of sudden-enlightenment thinking. Most people, however, use logical thinking or imagistic thinking. What Laozi said—‘A skilled diviner does not use counting rods’—refers precisely to a manifestation of a predictive form under the condition of sudden-enlightenment thinking. The Xici (Appended Remarks) section of the Zhouyi also clearly confirms this point: ‘The [Yi] has no thought and does nothing; it is silent and motionless. When stimulated, it comprehends all the affairs under heaven…’ And it is precisely this kind of sudden-enlightenment thinking that Zen-Yi Gong relies upon for remote sensing and prediction of matters.”

Research on the Zhouyi is international in scope. The International Zhouyi Conference has been held four times: the first in the United States, the second in Japan, the third in Taiwan, China, and the fourth from December 5–9, 1987, convened in Jinan, China. More than 200 Zhouyi researchers from six countries and regions—including the United States, Japan, Yugoslavia, and Denmark—attended the conference. I had the honor of speaking at the conference as one of its initiators and organizers. After the conference concluded, preparations were made in our country to establish the China

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…Yi Research Center, and provided it with an official staffing quota. It also founded and distributed a journal on Zhouyi research. I believe that there is great potential in Zhouyi research.”

In the end, we also learned that due to Associate Professor Li Yan’s achievements in researching and exploring Chinese national studies as well as in painting, he has been included in the 1988 edition of Who’s Who in the World published in the UK. He is also a member of the “International Zhouyi Society” and a specially invited associate research fellow at the “China Zhouyi Research Center.”

Coming out of the interview at Professor Li’s house, it was getting late. Looking at the bright moon in the sky and the endless stream of people, we suddenly felt a burst of emotion: the field of science is truly vast, yet what people know is so little. In particular, the understanding and excavation of human’s own potential is so limited. So many scientific topics are like the countless stars in the sky, waiting for humanity to advance.

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Special Abilities and Earthquake Prediction

Tao Zhangyuan, Ji Yan

Using human special abilities to predict earthquakes is still a new topic, and no definitive reports have been seen. The authors analyze and explore several earthquake prediction cases from recent years, hoping to attract attention, and earnestly hope that colleagues with special abilities will develop their abilities in the field of earthquake prediction, capture pre-earthquake information, and make new contributions to mitigating the hazards of earthquake disasters and benefiting humanity.

I. Examples of Predicting Earthquakes with Special Abilities

One of the authors, Tao Zhangyuan, is a native of Dongning County, Heilongjiang Province, and is 25 years old this year. He has practiced martial arts since the age of 6, reached a certain level of qigong by the age of 15, and has been able to emit qi to treat illnesses since the age of 20. He currently holds a medical practice certificate issued by the National Qigong Society. He mainly practices Xuan Yin Gong (Profound Yin Qigong) and Hushen Hunyuan Yinggong (Body-Protecting Primordial Hard Qigong). In the process of continuous and unceasing practice, his skill has become increasingly profound. By the end of 1986, special abilities emerged, including X-ray vision, remote sensing, predicting the evolution of events, and tracking information. His practice times are during the Zi (11 PM–1 AM), Mao (5 AM–7 AM), and Wu (11 AM–1 PM) hours each day. During his practice, he focuses his intention on underground activities, absorbs the earth’s Yin qi, gradually figuring out a set of qigong methods for predicting local weather changes, and gradually exploring some special ability responses that can predict earthquake disasters. The following are several examples introduced for discussion by earthquake prediction workers and fellow individuals with special abilities.

Example 1: At 10:00 PM on January 23, 1988, while practicing in Benxi City, Tao Zhangyuan was facing south. After directing his intention into the ground, his body seemed to rotate together with the Earth. He immediately felt a strong hot stream lifting and supporting his rotation. Suddenly, a green light screen appeared before his eyes, displaying a string of numbers: 88713249267. The characters for Haicheng and Yingkou also appeared. After concluding his practice, he did not understand what this reaction meant. A month later, Tao suddenly realized that this might be earthquake information.

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One day at the end of April, during his practice, a similar numeric display appeared again, and there was a clear intention that an earthquake was about to occur. Tao interpreted this to mean: a magnitude 6.7 earthquake would occur in Haicheng between July 13 and 24, 1988, and in Yingkou on September 2. On May 3, while attending a Crane Qigong Second Step training class in Shenyang, he reported this earthquake prediction to Master Zhao Jinxiang and Comrade Gu Wenbin of the Provincial Insurance Company. Subsequently, he also reported it to the Liaoning Provincial Seismological Bureau and the Benxi City Earthquake Office. Between July 13 and 24, 1988, a swarm of earthquakes with M5 magnitudes of 2.7–3.2 occurred consecutively in Haicheng. At 4:55 AM on September 3, 1988, an earthquake of Ms 4.9–5.3 magnitude occurred in Qijiakou, Yingkou.

Example 2: While practicing between 5:00 and 7:00 AM on November 1, 1988, facing south, a pillar of red, green, blue, and purple light suddenly appeared before his eyes. He also saw a flying saucer-like object in the north, followed by the appearance of the numbers: 742308. At the time, he felt agitated and his mood was very unstable. After concluding his practice, Tao considered that this might be a reaction to an impending earthquake, so he reported it to Zhang Shurong, Secretary-General of the Benxi City Qigong Research Association; Dong Haijiang, Logistics Director of Unit 81065 (who extracts earthquake research); the Benxi City Earthquake Office; the Provincial Seismological Bureau; the National Earthquake Prediction Center; and President Zhang Zhenhuan of the National Qigong Research Association. Tao interpreted the numbers to mean that a magnitude 7.4 earthquake would occur on November 8, 1988, in the Yunnan region at 23° North Latitude. In reality, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred in the Gengma and Lancang regions of Yunnan on November 6, 1988.

Example 3: While practicing on the evening of December 2, 1988, several people wearing yellow-and-white clothes suddenly appeared walking down from the west. Then the numbers 78124602 and the characters for the Soviet Union appeared. Afterward, a phenomenon of a massive fire burning appeared in the south. After concluding his practice, Tao deduced using the previous interpretation method that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake would definitely occur somewhere in the Soviet Union within the next few days. Tao reported this to the Benxi City Qigong Research Association and wrote letters to President Zhang Zhenhuan and Comrade Zhuo Mingbao of the National Earthquake Prediction Center. Tao predicted that the earthquake would occur before December 28, 1988, located on the seismic belt at 46° North Latitude within the Soviet Union, with a magnitude of 7.8. In reality, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred in Armenia, Soviet Union, on December 7, 1988. The reaction regarding the massive fire burning in the south could never be deciphered.

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Example 4: While practicing qigong in Shenyang on December 25, 1988, facing southeast, feeling agitated, dizzy, and nauseous at the time, the numbers 645433 appeared on his forehead, followed by February 25, March 3, and March 25. After more than 10 minutes, “Nanfen—Fengcheng—Dandong” and the numbers 54325333 appeared. After closing the exercise, Tao analyzed the information obtained during the practice, confirming it was earthquake precursor information. Based on previous decoding experience, the earthquake might occur in the Fengcheng—Dandong area of Liaodong. The first two digits might represent the earthquake magnitudes as 6.4 and 5.4; February 25, March 3, and March 25 might indicate the dates of occurrence. However, how to decode 5433 and 325333 remained completely unclear. Tao immediately reported these phenomena and his decoding conclusions to the Liaoning Provincial Seismological Bureau and the Benxi City Seismological Office. When he went to Wuhan in mid-January, he also told Professor Ye Junlin of the China University of Geosciences. The actual situation was: at 6:01 a.m. on February 24, 1989, an earthquake with Ms 4.0 occurred in Dalat Banner, Yikezhao League, Inner Mongolia; on the same day, an earthquake with Ms 3.3 occurred in Hayehutong Township, Baotou City; also on this day, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in New Zealand. On March 4, a small swarm of over 40 earthquakes with a maximum magnitude of 2.6 occurred around Zhuanghe, southwest of Dandong. On March 26, an earthquake with Ms 1.5 occurred within the borders of North Korea.

Example 5: While practicing qigong on December 25, 1989, words such as May 1, magnitude 7.2, Sichuan, July 27, September 9, and October 1 appeared, but no strings of numbers appeared. After closing the exercise, Tao predicted that an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 would occur somewhere in Sichuan around May 1, and that earthquakes might also occur in late July, September, and early October. This prediction was reported to the Liaoning Provincial Seismological Bureau. The actual situation was: an earthquake with Ms 6.7 occurred near Batang County, Sichuan on April 16, 1989, followed by continuous aftershocks, and another 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurred. On July 21, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake occurred again, and aftershocks have not ceased to date.

II. Preliminary Exploration of the Mechanism of Special Abilities in Predicting Earthquakes

Before an earthquake occurs, animals and plants have abnormal reactions; humans also have abnormal reactions. However, different people have different premonitions about earthquakes. Experience shows that, 65

women are more sensitive than men, children are more sensitive than adults, patients are more sensitive than healthy people, and people with special abilities are more sensitive than ordinary people. Moreover, some people with special abilities have a qualitative difference in earthquake premonitions compared to ordinary people. Ordinary people’s pre-earthquake reactions are: some people become agitated and develop inexplicable fear; some patients, especially those with heart disease and high blood pressure, experience worsening conditions, the incidence rate among psychiatric patients generally rises, and some children cry and fuss loudly. However, some people with special abilities can often predict all or one of the three elements of an earthquake (time, location, and earthquake intensity) before it occurs.

There may be several causes for abnormal human reactions before an earthquake occurs: first, high-frequency electromagnetic waves and infrasound waves are emitted during the earthquake preparation process; second, the earthquake preparation process causes rapid changes in the local electromagnetic field; third, the migration of matter and energy during the earthquake preparation process causes the movement and change of geochemical elements. Due to the impact of high-frequency electromagnetic waves and infrasound waves on the human body, physiological, psychological, and even pathological reactions are triggered, causing them to experience abnormal sensations.

People with special abilities generally possess functions such as remote sensing, remote viewing, and X-ray vision. Before a strong earthquake, smaller earthquakes usually occur. A large amount of information emanating from the seismic source propagates outward at extremely fast speeds. Some information cannot be detected by instruments, but has already been sensed by those with special abilities. Some people with special abilities can even predict earthquakes that will occur months later from thousands of miles away. This is because the electromagnetic and infrasound waves emitted by the seismic source resonate with the same frequency as the electromagnetic vibrations of the human body of the person with special abilities. The human nervous system and meridian system can receive, amplify, and feed back the information emitted from the seismic source. Comparing Comrade Tao Zhangyuan’s predictions with the actual earthquake situations, some were complete and relatively accurate, some were misses, and most had some elements predicted accurately while others were inaccurate. At the same time, for a large number of earthquakes, there were no premonitions beforehand, resulting in missed reports.

III. Prospects for Special Abilities in Earthquake Prediction

1. Existing data indicates that from now until around the year 2000, the Earth will enter a new peak period of seismic activity, and celestial motion will also enter a new cycle of variation, 66

Therefore, humanity will face a period of frequent earthquake disasters and other natural disasters. Our country is situated between the Eurasian seismic belt and the Circum-Pacific seismic belt, making it the largest continental seismic region in the world. Among them, the area around the Bohai Bay, the Sichuan-Yunnan-Tibet region, and the northwestern provinces are strong seismic zones. In this century, a total of 1,273 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above have occurred globally, with China accounting for 10%. The energy released by earthquakes in China accounts for 20-30% of the global total.

2. Because people have not yet deeply understood the true process of earthquake preparation, the methods for predicting earthquakes are still being explored. Therefore, we can only comprehensively utilize current various methods and means to predict earthquakes. For example, using seismological theory for medium- and long-term earthquake prediction, using various testing instruments for short-term monitoring, and using special abilities for prediction, etc. To predict earthquakes accurately and without error, it is necessary to strengthen the intersection of relevant disciplines, mainly the intersection of somatic science (human body science) and natural science.

3. According to foreign experience, forming an earthquake prediction network composed of people with special abilities, while continuously monitoring various geophysical parameter changes with instruments, can predict earthquakes quite accurately. Our country can further utilize the superiority of the socialist system to organize a good earthquake prediction network in strong seismic zones, identify individuals with special abilities, provide them with professional training and exchange, offer them materials on medium- and long-term earthquake trend, incorporate them into the ranks of full-time or part-time earthquake prediction personnel, and clarify their work tasks. As long as we persevere in the long term, accumulate systematic data, and conduct in-depth analysis and research, we will certainly be able to effectively improve our country’s earthquake prediction level and elevate the research level of our country’s somatic science to a new height.

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Special Abilities and Qigong in Clinical Practice

Author: Mi Xin

Every time I read the records of Bian Que diagnosing and treating the Crown Prince of Guo, and observing the complexion of Duke Huan of Qi, I have never failed to sigh with admiration and praise his abilities. Today, the government and civic organizations guide people to study and practice qigong, conduct research into latent human abilities, and publish qigong journals, through which many contemporary Bian Ques and living Ji Gongs have been discovered. In recent years, the author has integrated the methods of renowned masters, fingerprint analysis, and the esoteric techniques of childhood teachers. Fortunate to have pursued advanced study at the Mawangdui Qigong Academy founded by Mr. Tong, and to have studied Chinese medicine through a television university, I have guided qigong diagnosis and treatment of diseases. After comparison with modern medical instruments, I present the following summaries for the guidance and critique of fellow practitioners.

Case One: Liang Xiu, female, 44 years old, employee of Shaanxi Knitting Factory No. 1. On November 28, 1987, she and her good friend Professor Li came to my office out of curiosity. Inadvertently, I discovered a walnut-sized mass in her left lower abdomen and informed her. She subsequently underwent ultrasound examinations at Xi’an Electronics Hospital and Xi’an Central Hospital, which confirmed the finding.

Case Two: Xiao Yiming, female, 28 years old, pharmacist at a certain military hospital. On November 21, 1988, she requested a qigong diagnosis out of curiosity. Upon examination, I discovered inflammation in both lungs and trachea, with widened lung markings. An immediate X-ray comparison confirmed the same findings as the qigong diagnosis.

Case Three: Tan Bao, male, 46 years old, working at the Yibiao Middle School. On May 8, 1988, he came to our outpatient clinic. Upon examination, I discovered a soybean-sized mass in his liver. After the examination, Mr. Tan confirmed that a hospital examination one month prior had yielded the same result.

Case Four: Li Min, female, 27 years old, nurse at a certain People’s Hospital in Tibet. On December 8, 1988, she was accompanied to the outpatient clinic by Li Anhua, president of the Qigong Scientific Research Association of the former Xi’an Cement Factory. Upon examination, I discovered a mass in the uterine cavity of the left lower abdomen, and inflammation of the appendix in the right lower abdomen. After the examination, Ms. Li stated that before and after traveling from Tibet to Xi’an, she had undergone ultrasound examinations at several major hospitals, and the results were consistent with the

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qigong diagnosis. She had experienced appendicitis half a year earlier and suffered from frequent dull pain.

The above are some of the more complete medical records retained in my outpatient practice. I have come to understand that qigong special-ability diagnosis of disease involves a consumption of material energy. Some of these abilities are latent physiological capabilities of the human body that may manifest as special abilities when activated by qigong. This requires a certain grasp of foundational medical knowledge such as gross anatomy and the meridian system. From ancient to modern times, both in China and abroad, qigong special abilities have been welcomed by people for their merits of treating the illnesses of rulers and relatives, rescuing common people from peril, preserving one’s own health, and nourishing life. During the Warring States period, Bian Que was renowned throughout the world for being able to “see through to the other side of a wall and see all the internal organs and their lesions.” At present, there is still debate regarding qigong special-ability diagnosis, but where there is life, these things will endure. Those who possess qigong special abilities should respect themselves and not use them carelessly or indiscriminately, so as to avoid diminishing their functions.

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The Application of Qigong and Special Abilities in Geological Prospecting

Author: Pan Shizhong

The so-called application of qigong and special abilities in geological prospecting refers to applying the extraordinary perceptual functions possessed by qigong masters and individuals with special abilities to the field of geological mineral exploration. In this article, these are collectively referred to as special-ability prospecting.

Over the past two years, I have collaborated with 11 qigong masters and individuals with special abilities, conducting 12 strictly designed experiments and a large number of impromptu experiments. The experimental results indicate that special-ability prospecting is effective. During the experiments, 23 individuals with special prospecting abilities were evaluated. Apart from 4 who had no interest in this area and cooperated poorly, yielding no results, the number of people who produced effective results accounted for 82.6%. Below, the experimental methods and results are introduced.

I. Indoor Remote Sensing Experiments

Indoor remote sensing refers to prospecting on maps. The principle is to fully utilize the remote sensing, remote viewing, and other long-distance detection capabilities of qigong masters and individuals with special abilities. The method is first to have them make contact with a mineral specimen, thereby perceiving the mineral’s information. Then, on maps of different scales and different types, they remotely sense a given area, capturing the informational reflection pattern of this mineral, much like scanning. In this way, the mineral locations can be marked on the map and the boundaries of the mineralized zone delineated.

In this set of experiments, 11 individuals remotely surveyed on 23 maps of different scales and types, covering two lead-zinc mines, six gold mines, one diamond mine, three geothermal areas, and one oil field. Apart from two geothermal areas that have not yet been verified,

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the verified results showed an average accuracy rate of 75%. For example, when Xiao Tong remotely surveyed a gold mine in a certain county of Hebei on a 1:200,000 geological map and a 1:175,000 administrative map, she delineated all six known mining areas in the county and discovered a new area at the border with Inner Mongolia (on the other side of the mountain adjacent to this area, the Inner Mongolia region was actively mining gold).

Another example: when Xiao Sun remotely surveyed a diamond mine in a certain location in Liaoning on a 1:50,000 topographic map, she delineated 14 areas in total. Upon verification, 4 of these were kimberlite pipes, 2 were veins, 4 were anomalous zones (containing associated indicator minerals), and 4 were new areas. Furthermore, the first and second ore-bearing belts were displayed.

II. On-Site Measurement Experiments

The principle of on-site measurement is to fully utilize the clairvoyant and sensory abilities of qigong masters and individuals with special abilities. The main method is to go to the mine site to determine the direction of the ore belt, the richness or poverty of the minerals, the grade level, and so forth. Additionally, mineral specimens collected from various parts of the mine area are placed before them to determine the richness or poverty of the contained minerals and the grade level.

A total of 8 individuals participated in these experiments. None of these individuals had studied geology or mineral sciences, nor did they possess specialized knowledge in this field, nor had they ever visited any mine area. They had only received brief training prior to the experiments. They visited one lead-zinc mine, four gold mines, one oil field, and one geothermal area. The experimental results confirmed that all were consistent with the actual conditions of the mine areas:

1. They were relatively accurate in distinguishing the richness or poverty of mineral specimens. For example, when visiting the diamond laboratory in Liaoning, geologists brought out three kimberlite specimens and asked Xiao Wei and Xiao Sun to “appraise” their richness. They immediately arranged the mineral specimens in order of their diamond content, and all rankings were consistent with the actual conditions. At the same time, Xiao Sun sensed diamond information on the velvet cloth of the laboratory bench, and as a result, a small diamond grain that had been dropped by the appraisal personnel was found on the velvet cloth.

2. When inspecting mineral sites, they could indicate the direction of mineral deposits. For example, when inspecting mineral sites in Hebei, Beijing, Liaoning, and other areas, the geothermal points indicated by Xiao Zheng were all within the Beijing geothermal belt. Xiao Tong, Xiao Wei, and others, upon entering a mountain valley, immediately pointed out the mountain range where the gold mine was located at the mouth of the gully.

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Young Wei and Young Sun, at the diamond ore prospect, correctly identified which valley contained diamonds and which did not. At the same time, within gold-bearing mineralized zones, they could also indicate which sections had higher grades and could determine the direction of the ore belt. 4. By seeing through the ground, they could inspect tunnels and describe the condition of ore bodies. For example, at a certain gold prospect in a county in Hebei Province, Young Tong pointed out that the mine tunnel had been driven off course, deviating from the gold-bearing vein. On-site verification confirmed that this matched the actual situation. At a certain gold mine in Liaoning, Young Zhao pointed out that the underground tunnel was disconnected in the middle, which also matched the actual situation. At a certain lead-zinc mining area, they perceived the position of the underground ore body through clairvoyance and drew the shapes of three ore bodies; the mine’s engineers confirmed that all matched reality.

Through two years of practice, it has been proven that using special abilities for prospecting is entirely feasible. It has become a new and special method in China’s geological exploration. Through research and comparison, in certain respects it is superior to conventional geophysical surveying and aerial surveying:

1. Using special abilities for prospecting, in the general survey of mineral resources, can narrow the search area. This not only saves human and material resources but also enables the discovery of mineral deposits in a short period of time, potentially eliminating a large amount of work content and workload.

2. Special abilities can be used to verify geologically predicted target prospecting areas and help geologists classify the grades of target prospecting areas. For areas where signal perception is particularly strong and geological conditions are favorable, preliminary prospecting can be deployed.

3. Special abilities can be used to inspect underground tunnels, guide the search for concealed ore bodies, and check whether ore bodies are connected.

4. Compared with aerial surveying, prospecting by special abilities is not affected by weather and does not require precision instruments, thereby saving a large amount of financial resources.

5. Prospecting by special abilities can both conserve energy and avoid environmental pollution.

Our preliminary experiments have demonstrated that qigong and special abilities have two obvious effects in geological prospecting: first, mineral prediction can be carried out indoors on maps of different scales and different types; second, in the field, they can guide geological prospecting. Although positioning and quantification cannot yet be achieved, there are broad prospects for application, and at the same time

there is also broad scope for use in other geological work, such as geological structures, engineering geology, hydrogeology, and the forecasting and prediction of geological disasters. All of these await the development of multifaceted experimental research.

In our experimental work, we received strong support from the China Qigong Science Research Association and the China Human Body Science Research Association. In particular, Comrade Zhang Zhenhuan, president of both associations, frequently inquired about this work despite his busy schedule, and personally visited the site twice to provide guidance. In addition, over the past two years we collaborated successively with the Geological Society of China, the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Liaoning Province, and other organizations. In particular, Chief Engineer Ma Yuantao of the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Liaoning Province, despite being over sixty years old, accompanied us on field experiments twice and provided technical guidance during the actual fieldwork.

The Marvelous Art of Unlocking

Zhu Yiyi

After reports of psychokinetic human abilities, we continuously received reports of similar new functions. In order to verify the reliability of these new abilities, we went separately to various provinces and cities to conduct experiments and investigations.

At the end of 1980, we traveled from wintry Shanghai to the spring city of Kunming. The moment we set foot in this city overflowing with life, we were immediately captivated by the beautiful scenery and fresh air, and the fatigue of the journey quickly dissipated. I first went to Yunnan University, where together with their researchers we began a series of investigations.

Xiao Li first performed “unlocking” for us. Old Yang told me that one day the key to the pin tumbler lock on his door could not be found. On a whim, he asked his daughter Xiao Li, who possessed special abilities, to open the lock without a key — and to his surprise, she succeeded. When we heard this, we found it very novel and began the experiment with keen interest. There were two ways to conduct this experiment: one was to leave the key inserted in the lock; the other was to remove the key.

We first did the first method. I personally locked a padlock onto the “eye” on the door, with the key still inserted in the keyhole. Xiao Li stood together with me, 1.5 meters away from the door. The experiment went on for 30 minutes, and the lock still had not opened. According to Old Yang, Xiao Li normally needed only 5 to 15 minutes to open a door lock. I thought that perhaps Xiao Li felt unaccustomed to — and therefore nervous about — the presence of a stranger who had come from afar participating in the experiment, so I suggested taking a break. Taking this opportunity, I made friends with Xiao Li, and we became more familiar with each other. The atmosphere became much more harmonious. We began the experiment again, and everyone took their respective positions.

Xiao Li looked quite nonchalant. After 8 minutes, Xiao Li said, “It’s open.” I hurried over to look, and indeed the lock on the door had been opened, with the key still in the keyhole. Seeing this, Old Yang suggested striking while the iron was hot and doing the second type of experiment.

The second experiment began. Again, I personally locked the lock, then removed the key, and I personally kept the key. Standing 2 meters away from the lock, Xiao Li began her performance. This time it took only 5 minutes before Xiao Li said again, “The lock is open.” I subconsciously felt the key I was keeping and found that it was still safely on my person. When I went up to check, the lock was indeed open.

Throughout the entire experiment, everyone carried out monitoring very carefully and rigorously, without the slightest oversight. Yet I still could not bring myself to believe it, because the experiment had gone too smoothly. So I turned my suspicion to the lock itself — only the lock could possibly be a fake! As it happened, I had a pin tumbler lock in my handbag that day. I suggested whether we could use my lock to do one more experiment. Old Yang noticed my suspicion and knowingly nodded at Xiao Li. Xiao Li calmly accepted my proposal.

This time, not only did I personally lock my own lock onto the door, but after removing the key, I placed it in my jacket pocket and gripped it tightly. Xiao Li, as if nothing were the matter, chatted and laughed with her father and other uncles about 2 meters away from the lock. After about 12 minutes, Xiao Li suddenly stopped talking and lowered her head in deep thought. After another 2 minutes, she looked up and said, “It’s already open.” My hand, which had been gripping the key the whole time, gripped even tighter. The strange thing was that the only key to this lock was perfectly intact in my pocket, yet the lock had been opened! Moreover, the bottom of the lock had also rotated 90°. Faced with such facts, what more could I doubt?

Why Do Flowers Bloom? And Where Does It Come From?

Zhu Runlong

People with special abilities can perform many delicate actions without touching physical objects, using only mental intent — such as opening locks, turning screws, and so on. But can they have an effect on living matter in nature?

Common knowledge of modern biology tells us that living organisms have rhythms and are regulated by biological clocks. For example, the natural phenomenon of flowers opening in nature is closely related to the physiological state of the flower. So can special abilities violate biological rhythms and cause fresh flowers to bloom prematurely?

We collected many azalea flower buds of roughly the same size and similar maturity, then placed them separately into individual plastic film canisters. Several of us researchers each held a plastic canister as well, imitating their actions. Xiao Pan reported after seven minutes, “They’re all open”; after ten minutes, Xiao Zhang said, “Half open,” and the others also all completed this experiment within eleven to fourteen minutes. We first opened Xiao Pan’s plastic canister and saw — a fully blooming azalea flower suddenly appeared before our eyes. Opening Xiao Zhang’s canister, the azalea bud was indeed only “half open” as she had said. The buds held by the other individuals with special abilities had also opened to varying degrees. Opening the canisters held by us imitators was truly disappointing — there was not the slightest change; they were still buds. We then placed these buds at room temperature and continued to observe. One day passed, two days passed, and these buds not only failed to open but gradually wilted and dried up, never blooming at all. We also tried using mechanical force to pry them open, but the petals ended up scattered in pieces — another failure.

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In order to observe with the naked eye the process of special abilities causing flower buds to open, at one public testing session, someone handed Xiao Pan a carnation bud. The bud was tightly wrapped, and it appeared that it would still take quite some time to open naturally. Xiao Pan held the stem of the carnation bud in her right hand, gazing at the bud with intense concentration, while the entire audience watched breathlessly. After more than ten minutes, murmurs arose from below; most people believed the bud was now much larger than before. But this was still not convincing enough. Just then, Xiao Pan took a deep breath. The audience thought she was tired, but Xiao Pan said she was about to succeed. So everyone quieted down and stared fixedly at the bud in Xiao Pan’s hand. Just as everyone was watching with full attention, they saw the flower suddenly burst open on both sides, just like a slow-motion shot in a film. At that moment, everyone present was so astonished that they exclaimed in unison: “Oh, it’s opened! It’s opened! The flower has come alive!” Unfortunately, no camera was brought along to capture this remarkable scene.

We have conducted flower bud forcing experiments on many varieties. With certain training, most individuals with special abilities can achieve the expected results. According to them: “Small flowers (single-petaled flowers) such as winter jasmine and peach blossoms are easy to open, while large flowers (double-petaled flowers) such as carnations and roses are relatively more difficult.”

What exactly is the force that gives such great vitality to flower buds that have already been picked? This is undoubtedly another very interesting question.

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A Firsthand Account of Special Abilities

Wen Hengjin

Do human special abilities truly exist? I was once a stubborn skeptic, but the facts I personally witnessed and heard have made me believe in the reality of special abilities as firmly as I believe in my own existence.

On the morning of June 20, 1981, an excited and hoarse voice came over the telephone: it said that Huang Xiaorong, a fifth-grade student at Gulou Second Central Primary School in Fuzhou, could recognize characters with her ears. That evening, I hurried to Xiaorong’s home.

At first, she was inevitably a bit nervous. After the little one regained her innocent and carefree nature, my testing of her began. My cigarette case contained seven small paper wads. I had prepared these well in advance at my own home. At this moment, even I myself could not distinguish what was written on any particular paper wad. I randomly picked out one and placed it in her small hand. She immediately stuffed it into her ear, pressing it with one finger, tilting her head, and listening with total concentration. From the moment the paper wad was handed to her, my colleague and I had been staring at her without blinking, devoting our full attention. I watched as the childish innocence on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a serious and earnest expression. Suddenly, her brow relaxed, she found a pen and wrote the character “同” on paper, then took out the paper wad and placed it in the palm of my hand.

When I unfolded the paper wad, many people suddenly crowded around before my eyes. Only then did I realize that, apart from Xiaorong’s parents and younger sister, quite a few spectators had entered at some unknown time.

Indeed, the characters on the paper wad were in my own handwriting. But I was far less delighted than the spectators. I asked myself: during the process of her recognition, had my eyes —

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Had there been a blink? Perhaps in that very instant, some improper behavior had occurred? Or was it entirely coincidental?

I continued handing her, one by one, paper balls on which were separately written “回” (return), “国” (country), “福州” (Fuzhou), “幅员” (territory), “4 + 3 = 1,” and “8 + 5 = 15,” for her to “listen” to, and I strove to keep my eyes fixed on her like that 100-watt light bulb. I dare say that under my close surveillance, any subtle act of rule-breaking was impossible.

After all seven character balls had been identified, I had to admit: apart from mistaking the character “员” in “幅员” for “负,” every other one was identified accurately and without error. The room filled with waves of joy; even the brilliant light seemed to be dancing.

At this point, little Rong complained of thirst and a dry throat, and felt her whole body burning hot. I had already noticed that after every test, she wanted to drink water. Now she also said she was hungry. Her father hurriedly brought two pieces of cake, and she devoured them in no time.

“Added a little oil¹, now you can tell us, right?” I said.

The little one put on an adult’s tone: “My mommy and daddy connected the wrong nerves. Yes, yes, that’s how I ‘listen’ it out!”

Her father pretended to be stern: “Stop the smart talk! Why don’t you tell Uncle properly!”

She straightened her waist and indeed became “proper,” stuffing a finger into her ear, tilting her head, and saying: “I listen and listen like this, and slowly, I feel the paper ball unfolding right here on my forehead, and the characters appear, just like watching television…”

After this, leaders, experts, professors, and scientific and medical researchers from organizations including the District General Hospital, the Provincial Hospital, the Fuzhou Municipal Education Bureau, and the Fuzhou Gulou Public Security Sub-bureau conducted more than twenty test demonstrations. The items demonstrated, besides ear recognition of characters, included human body X-ray vision and the solving of hypothetical cases. Almost all testers and eyewitnesses

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believed their own eyes.

Thus, the special care of the Party and government descended upon this extraordinary little flower. On September 16, 1981, the General Office of the Provincial Party Committee issued a document forwarding the report of the Provincial Association for Science and Technology, putting forth four points regarding Huang Xiaorong’s intellectual development, special abilities training and research, nutritional subsidies, and safety protection.

However, before this document could be implemented, a biting cold wind blew in: authoritative figures, from authoritative platforms and in authoritative publications, successively issued authoritative speeches and articles, categorically denying the existence of special abilities. For a time, iron-clad facts were dismissed as “tricks” and “deception,” innocent children became “little liars,” the newly begun research into special abilities was branded as “spiritualism” and “pseudoscience,” and the scientific and technological workers engaged in this research became “renegades” who had “departed from dialectical materialism.” A far-reaching research endeavor in human body science was frozen beneath the icebergs of the Arctic Ocean — “In our country’s scientific work, it should not have a place!” (Chinese Social Sciences, 1982, No. 2, pp. 39–40).

For the purpose of denial, those who claimed they were afraid of “dirtying their eyes” even by looking, actually began conducting “investigations and research.” Thus, predetermined purposes yielded predetermined results, and Materials from the Investigation and Research on the Question of Human Special Abilities were manufactured one after another, exclusively publishing reports of “cheating” while refusing to face the large body of objectively existing facts.

In Fuzhou, “investigations and research” with the same purpose also began. Thus, Huang Xiaorong was treated roughly, given the ultimatum that “if you can’t recognize it within five minutes, it’s fake.” Her young spirit suffered an unbearable insult; as soon as the “investigators” left, she burst into sobbing tears. Subsequently, Internal Reference published a report serving its intended purpose, claiming that Huang Xiaorong’s special abilities were “tricks” — deception trained and cultivated by her father from childhood.

From then on, Huang Xiaorong developed a “special” sense of the environment she was in:

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Eyes like cold stars, faces like frost, contemptuous smiles, winking sneers and mockery… Although all of this was as formless and traceless as the wind, she felt it truly and tangibly — cold and chilling.

Winter had come. The seasons in the southern region had never been clearly distinguished, and a child who had always bathed in the sunshine and dew of the Party could not tell spring, summer, autumn, and winter apart at all. In her young heart, the sky was so bright, the sunshine so brilliant, the air so fresh, the dew so nourishing; flowers bloomed year-round without fading, and seedlings stayed green from spring through winter. A child who had never suffered any bumps and did not know how to protect herself inevitably had her young spirit wounded by the sudden change. For an honest child, the words “deceiving people” seemed to carry an especially grave meaning. She felt a belly full of grievance and truly wanted to cry out to people: “Uncles, aunties, I didn’t deceive anyone, really, I didn’t deceive anyone…” But children’s words were often ignored by adults; her voice was too faint — who could hear it, who would listen? Fortunately, her parents had never scolded her; otherwise, she truly might not have been able to bear it. Parents were a wall against the wind; let them withstand the storms.

The blow did not cause little Rong’s special abilities to disappear. One day, she stared straight at the wall opposite her. She suddenly cried out in alarm: “Dad! Look, what’s that for?” Her father followed the direction of her finger, bewildered, gazing at that solid wall, looking at his daughter in puzzlement. Little Rong pointed again: “On the other side of the wall, in the next room!” Her father was about to ask her something, but saw his daughter seem to suddenly realize something; she covered her flushed face with both hands, rushed into another room, buried her head in the quilt, and was so embarrassed she didn’t know where to hide. Not long after, the neighbors quietly moved away.

Time was passing; flowers had bloomed and faded through three autumns.

In March 1984, when the Fujian Provincial Association for Science and Technology commissioned the Provincial Qigong Science Research Association to hold a symposium, Xiao Tangyu’s special abilities had long since disappeared. Spring had come, but those extraordinary flowers discovered in years past did not seem to bloom in season. Someone

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Comparing it to the epiphyllum bloom, it is actually even more delicate and fleeting than the epiphyllum. The denialists, targeting this transience and instability, adopted a strategy of turning a blind eye, leaving it to survive or perish on its own. This tactic seemingly proved effective. They could confidently and emphatically say, “You see? It never existed in the first place!”

So, what became of Huang Xiaorong? Did her special abilities disappear as well? The symposium decided to invite her to conduct a test demonstration.

A full three years had passed. Huang Xiaorong was already a third-year junior high school student at Fuzhou No. 18 Middle School. During these years, apart from her teachers and parents, no one in society mentioned her name. Among a large group of lively, bouncing children, she truly possessed nothing that drew attention. Her classmates didn’t even know that she once had any special abilities.

At Huang Xiaorong’s home, when Cong Yongchun, Director of the Fujian Province Qigong Science Research Association, requested that Xiaorong conduct a test demonstration, her father, Huang Chengpei, appeared very impatient: “So what if she demonstrates? So what if she has special abilities? It’s truly meaningless!” He was full of grievance and resentment. This was hardly surprising; past test demonstrations had merely needlessly depleted the child’s physical energy, affected her health and studies, and provoked endless, baseless annoyances. Aside from that, what good had it done? Cong Yongchun persuaded him earnestly and tirelessly, and Huang Chengpei eventually agreed. The tests, after a gap of several years, began once again.

Someone handed over a small wad of paper. Huang Xiaorong casually stuffed it into her ear, tilted her head, and “listened” with full concentration. At this moment, she seemed entirely transformed into an adult, “listening” so intently, so earnestly and seriously. All eyes were fixed on her, and the room was dead silent. After about a minute, Huang Xiaorong dictated while picking up a piece of chalk and wrote the character “川” (Chuan) on the small blackboard, followed by the character “四” (Si), noting the color of the font and the type of pen used. Then the host unfolded the paper wad in front of everyone. At this point, many people left their seats and surged forward to vie for a look at the characters on the paper. Suddenly, someone excitedly shouted: “That’s right! It’s ‘四川’ (Sichuan), recognized completely correctly!”

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Before the voice had even trailed off, a storm-like burst of applause erupted in the venue, mixed with jubilant cheers and clicks of admiration. Next, Huang Xiaorong “listened” to and identified the characters in the second and third paper wads as “蓝红” (blue-red) and “普西” (Pu Xi).

After the first test item was completed, the second item—the test demonstration of human body perspective—took place.

The first person to be透视ed (perspectived) was Chen Saiying, a cadre from the Fujian Provincial Planning Commission. Xiaorong said that she had: enlarged tonsils, an enlarged liver, and an enlarged right kidney; the liver also had other pathological changes, but she didn’t know exactly what the problem was. After hearing this, Chen Saiying nodded repeatedly and complained: “I have caught a cold recently, so having enlarged tonsils is entirely possible. The liver pathology has been diagnosed by several hospitals, and my lower back also aches frequently.” As she spoke, she brought out her “Medical Record Sheet,” which read:

July 10, 1982, Provincial Hospital B-ultrasound discovered gallbladder stones 2.2 × 2.2 cm; August 2, 1983, Provincial People’s Hospital B-ultrasound discovered a space-occupying lesion in the liver 6.2 × 5.5 cm; October 19, 1983, Provincial Hospital B-ultrasound examination could not rule out a liver tumor 4.6 × 4.9 cm; February 28, 1984, Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital B-ultrasound examination suspected liver hemangioma 71 × 53 mm².

The second person to be透视ed (perspectived) was named Lai Yue, a cadre from the Fujian Provincial Building Materials Bureau. Huang Xiaorong said of him: “There are calcification spots in the left lung, inflammation in the stomach and duodenum, the left shoulder joint is abnormal, and there is hyperostosis (bone proliferation) in the cervical and lumbar vertebrae.” Lai Yue then volunteered: After examination by doctors, his duodenum and lumbar vertebrae indeed had pathological changes; his left shoulder joint was dislocated, caused by an injury from a TNT explosion in 1946; although no pathology was found in the left lung, he had subjective symptoms.

As soon as Lai Yue finished speaking, the venue immediately erupted into an uproar. People looked at each other in astonishment: Such a young child who had never studied medicine, relying solely on her magical senses,

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could actually describe the medical conditions almost perfectly. It was truly extraordinary!

How could people know that her tiny body had already consumed an immense amount of energy. Beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, her cheeks were flushed hot red, and her whole body was burning up. Even though the weather was quite cool, she demanded ice water to drink! The meeting host quickly told her to rest for a while.

As soon as Huang Xiaorong stepped out the door, she started running and jumping, acting exactly like a fawn just released from its pen. At this moment, only at this moment, did she regain a child’s true nature.

When she re-entered the venue, people led her to the door of a room in another building and asked her to see what had happened there. Through the wide-open door, people saw three desks placed side-by-side against the window in the room. On the desks sat a telephone and some scattered books, newspapers, teacups, and other items; it was clearly an office. Xiaorong stepped lightly, entering the room slowly, observing carefully and searching attentively, pointing and gesturing with both hands, looking exactly like a detective. After pacing back and forth a few times, she suddenly stopped in front of a desk and stared at it for a long time. After about 20 minutes, she began to dictate intermittently: Three people had entered this office, and another person wearing dark clothes stood at the door. Among the three who entered, one was a middle-aged woman in her thirties; the other two were men, one wearing glasses, and the other seemingly without a hat. They “stole” an object from this desk. The top of this object was round, and the bottom was square, bearing multiple colors such as red, green, light yellow, and coffee color. The object was originally placed right here on the desk (pointing with her hand). When the “thief” took it away, he bumped into this chair and touched this book on the desk. The person who “stole” the item was a man in his thirties, wearing blue clothes, of medium height, wearing glasses, and his face was a bit square…” Returning to the meeting room, Xiaorong drew the general shape of the “stolen” object on the small blackboard; the rough outline was a square object with a handle. Xiaorong said she had never seen this kind of object before and didn’t know what it was called.

At this time, Director Luo of the Provincial Veteran Cadres Bureau stood up and said: “Just now, the four of us went to ‘commit the crime.’ I stood outside the door. Of the other three who went in, one was a female comrade. Here, this is the one wearing glasses; he is the one who ‘stole’ the object. ‘Stolen’

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When [she was] taking the things, she had touched that chair and other objects. As for the “stolen” item — it was a number stamping machine, in all sorts of colors. What she described was generally correct!” Instantly, the auditorium erupted! People exclaimed in chorus: “Amazing! Truly amazing!” They surged forward and surrounded Xiao Rong. A white-haired old professor grasped her small hand, patted and stroked her back and shoulder affectionately, and said: “Good child, what a truly good child!” Xiao Rong was quite embarrassed; she blushed and lowered her head, just like a sensitive plant.

News of the extraordinary spread at an extraordinary speed to the second session of the fifth Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the second session of the sixth Provincial People’s Congress, both then being held in Fuzhou. Those delegates and committee members who regarded special abilities as something bizarre wished to see and hear for themselves. From March 14th to 19th, Huang Xiao Rong was invited to give four test demonstrations, one after another, before some of the delegates and committee members of both conferences. The continuous round of test performances consumed a great deal of her physical energy; over the course of about ten days, she appeared to have lost considerable weight, and her complexion turned somewhat sallow. This led me to reflect that, up to the present, all test demonstrations had been conducted merely to verify whether or not special abilities existed, whereas nothing that could truly be called “scientific” research had ever been undertaken even once. If things continued this way, even if Xiao Rong and others like her were to dissolve their very bodies into formless and invisible special abilities, it would still be impossible for all one billion people to see and hear for themselves. There was no need to keep consuming time and energy on the question of “existence or non-existence.” Even counting from 1979, the history of human body science in our country was only five years old, and during that period it had nearly been stillborn. Nevertheless, the vitality of a new thing is resilient. The central leadership had issued specific instructions regarding human body science, enabling this new shoot of human body science to thrive vigorously in the scientific garden of our motherland.

In just five short years, human body science research in our country had already made some progress: Professor Qian Xuesen put forward the theory of human functional states; Comrade Pan Xianjue put forward a five-point theoretical exposition. Some preliminary scientific experiments had been conducted, certain supporting evidence had been obtained, and a batch of academic papers had been published — all of which signified that human body science in our country had gotten off to a good start. Of course, a five-year-old child is still young, but she has already learned to walk, and people have already heard the patter of her footsteps. Even though the road ahead is exceedingly long, with no ready-made path to follow, requiring one to carve out a way forward and scale sheer cliffs and precipices, up there — 85

at that summit soaring into the clouds, in that lofty and distant sky, the light of hope is already clearly discernible. By persistently advancing in that direction — one generation, two generations, three generations, generation after generation without halting — we will surely reach that glorious summit! 86

Practicing Qigong to Enhance My Special Abilities

Xie Zhaohui

In April 1979, when I had just turned ten years old, I discovered through a chance occurrence that I had the ability to “recognize characters with my ear.” Since my parents were medical professionals, they first conducted systematic observations of my “ear character recognition” and wrote A Summary of Observations on Xie Zhaohui’s Use of the Ear to Recognize Characters, Distinguish Images, and Identify Colors. Later, the Human Special Abilities Research Group of the Affiliated Hospital of the Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medicine conducted a summary of my “naked-eye fluoroscopy” of the human body, producing A Summary of 105 Cases of Patients Examined by Fluoroscopy Through Special Ability Child Xie Zhaohui and Human Special Abilities Bulletin, thereby confirming the objective existence of this supernormal ability. In 1987, after graduating from health school, I was specially admitted as a student in the Qigong program at the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, under the guidance of the renowned senior qigong master Xia Shuangquan, primarily practicing the “Thirteen Guardians Six-Movement Qigong.” After nearly two years of study, I achieved a certain improvement in qigong, which also further enhanced my special abilities, improved the effectiveness of “fluoroscopic” examination of the human body, and played a mutually reinforcing role.

Practicing Qigong Transformed Special Abilities from Spontaneous to Deliberate

As is well known, special abilities are an innate potential that manifests after being stimulated. They are spontaneous and difficult to control by will. Therefore, previously, when I performed or examined patients, I could often only passively wait for this potential to emerge, unable to adjust or direct it through my own volition. Since practicing qigong, the degree of ordering in my cerebral cortex activity has increased, gradually transforming this potential from spontaneous to deliberate. Over the past two years, I have performed “fluoroscopy” on more than 300 patients; as long as my physical and mental condition at the time was normal, I could generally examine them on the spot and usually obtain satisfactory results. 87

Practicing Qigong Can Replenish the Energy Consumed by Special Abilities

The reason special abilities can “see through” the human body is that their energy source comes mainly from the consumption of one’s own true qi. If this potential is consumed excessively, one will feel fatigued, and may even experience symptoms of kidney deficiency such as general soreness and weakness, headache, dizziness, frequent urination, and lower back pain. Therefore, when using special abilities, on the one hand one must act according to one’s own physical condition and leave some energy in reserve; on the other hand, one must persist in practicing qigong. Through the combined action of regulating the mind, regulating the breath, and regulating the body, fatigue is eliminated, righteous qi is replenished, and the body’s qi mechanism becomes harmonized and true qi becomes abundant. From my own experience, there is a great difference between practicing and not practicing. With the same number of patients, in the past when I had not been practicing, I would feel very tired after completing “fluoroscopy,” whereas now I remain full of energy.

The Qi-Directing Mechanism Has Improved the Diagnostic Level of Special Abilities

Before I perform “fluoroscopy” on a patient, I first calm my mind and take several medium-speed abdominal breathing cycles in the sequential mode (exhale first, then inhale), filling the abdomen with qi and allowing the qi to diffuse from the Dantian throughout the entire abdomen. Then I slowly inhale about 30% of air into the abdomen; the diaphragm rises, and while holding the breath, I perform three diaphragmatic movements, mentally guiding the qi — as the diaphragm presses down and lifts up — through the abdomen, chest, shoulders, and neck to the entire head, concentrating mainly on the Tianmu acupoint (because when I perform “fluoroscopy,” the image is displayed in the frontal lobe of my brain). During the process of focused “fluoroscopy,” I can adopt the slow-speed sequential abdominal breathing method, reducing the breathing frequency to provide more sustained energy. Part of the qi is retained in the head and at the Tianmu acupoint; another part of the qi, together with a type of biological ray emitted when I perform “fluoroscopy,” is distributed to the area being examined. If I feel insufficient energy, I can, guided by intention, perform several additional diaphragmatic movements. The number and frequency of diaphragmatic movements are determined flexibly by oneself.

When using this qi-directing mechanism in conjunction with special-ability “fluoroscopy” of the human body, accuracy has increased to approximately 90%. Previously, when I performed “fluoroscopy,” the images were sometimes not very clear, whereas now the images are somewhat clearer, though the changes are quite subtle. The most noticeable sensation is that after “fluoroscopy” I am less fatigued, and it is easier to enter the special ability state. 88

The “fluoroscopy” of the whole body, which previously took 8–10 minutes, has now been shortened to 2–3 minutes for localized areas, and 5–7 minutes for the whole body.

Practicing Qigong Enabled Me to Emit External Qi to Relieve Patients’ Suffering

For many years, my special abilities could only be used to “fluoroscopically” diagnose illnesses for patients, but could not relieve their suffering. I often felt deeply regretful about this. Through qigong practice, I made up for this deficiency and have now developed the ability to emit external qi. On October 30, 1988, Teacher Liu Yongfeng from our institute tested the external qi I emitted. When I emitted qi from a distance of 15 meters, he felt a numbness and warmth in his hands and saw paroxysmal yellowish-white light being emitted. When I emitted qi from a distance of 28 meters, he felt a qi sensation in his hands and saw light coming in circular patterns.

Some patients, after being examined by “fluoroscopy,” requested qigong treatment, and I was able to meet their requests. Although the number of patients treated was not large, and systematic records were lacking, all patients reported qigong effects of soreness, numbness, distension, and warmth. For some functional disorders, especially certain pain conditions, there were often immediate results. For example, a patient with chronic prostatitis had four ”+” signs for pus cells in the prostate fluid smear; after nine treatments from me, a re-examination showed two ”+,” and other laboratory indicators also showed marked improvement.

Testing the Internal Bodily Changes When Entering the Special Ability State

In the course of special abilities research, I actively cooperated with the Biology Department of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and the First Staff Hospital of the General Logistics Department to conduct a number of scientific experiments, such as finger plethysmography measurements and nailfold microcirculation observations, all of which yielded very meaningful results. The above experiments all shared a common methodological feature: measuring a baseline state before emitting qi, a functional state during the qi-emission process, and a recovery state during the qi-withdrawal process. The following experiments document the process of change when I performed “fluoroscopy” on the human body.

Time-domain analysis of finger plethysmography:

• Normal state: Heart rate 75 beats/minute.
• Fluoroscopy state: Heart rate 50 beats/minute, wave amplitude increased.
• Recovery state: Heart rate 50 beats/minute, waveform irregular → regular → returned to

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normal.

Frequency-domain analysis of finger plethysmography:

• Normal state: Power spectrum with 7 peaks.
• Fluoroscopy state: Main peak shifted forward, number of peaks decreased, all peaks shifted forward, high-frequency components decreased.
• Recovery state: Main peak returned to normal, heart rate gradually returned to normal.

Three measurements of nailfold microcirculation:

• First time: Clear → unclear, vessel length increased by 50%, blood flow slowed, linear flow → granular flow.
• Second time: Turned blurry, blood flow improved, granular flow → granular-linear flow, RBC aggregation moderately reduced.
• Third time: Blood flow dotted → flocculent, fast to slow; when receiving external qi, blood flow improved again, becoming granular flow.

20-second timed measurement of pulse changes before and after qigong practice. During qigong practice, nearly one hundred data points on pulse changes before and after practice were collected. Statistics showed that the pulse rate after practice generally decreased compared to before practice. In occasional cases where the rate increased compared to before practice, it was mainly due to insufficient relaxation to enter the functional state.

Exploring the Mechanisms of Qigong and Special Abilities

Qigong and special abilities are closely linked. What is consumed in both is a type of energy, a type of true qi, a type of biological radiation, and the energies can all be mutually converted and mutually utilized. When practicing qigong and entering the qigong state, the pulse shows a decelerating trend compared to the normal state. This point shares commonality with the slowed heart rate in my functional state during “fluoroscopy.”

The image display when special ability practitioners perform “fluoroscopy” is, according to their own accounts, located in the frontal lobe area at the front of the head, which neurophysiologists call the “blind zone.” However, experiments conducted by some researchers have shown that during the qigong state, the electrical activity of frontal lobe cells in the cerebral cortex becomes ordered, and the activities of various regions of the cerebral cortex tend toward enhanced synchronization. The frontal lobe is precisely the location of the higher nerve

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centers.

In summary, based on my personal experience, through practicing qigong, my latent potential was further developed, thereby proving: for special ability practitioners to consolidate and develop their abilities, they must practice qigong and persevere in doing so — there is no other path besides this. This is my personal view.

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Gong Ban

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Reflections of Human Special Abilities on the Ears

Wang Bomang

Tang Yu’s “ear reading” in Dazu County, Sichuan, aroused our great interest. In our motherland’s traditional theory, “the twelve meridians ascend to the face and pass through the orifices,” and “the lungs govern qi — the qi of the entire body penetrates the ears.”

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During the Human Special Abilities Science Symposium, we used a probe-type detector to measure the ear acupoints of 14 children and youths: Tang Yu, Jiang Yan, Wang Qiang, Wang Bin, Yu Ruihua, Xie Zhaohui, Xu Qian, Xiong Jie, Huang Hongwu, Hu Lian, He Xiaoqin, Zheng Hong, Zhang Xuemei, and Nian Fengqin. Based on their respective non-visual organ image recognition sites, we proposed the following acupoints on the ear: Heart, Shenmen, Small Intestine, Tongue, Brain Point, Brain Stem, Cortex, Lung, Dao Kou, Eye, Shoulder, Finger, Toe, External Ear, Internal Ear — and conducted probing at these 15 acupoints. On one occasion, Wang Qiang and Wang Bin from Beijing showed no resistance changes at any of the above acupoints, while the remaining 12 children all showed “positive” responses at all 15 acupoints — that is, resistance changes and accelerated sound wave frequencies. On the second probing, Wang Qiang and Wang Bin likewise exhibited the above responses, and at some acupoints they showed tender point responses. After analyzing and studying the above data, we selected four acupoints — Heart, Shenmen, Lung, and Brain Stem — and additionally added the Kidney acupoint. We selected 42 children with special abilities and conducted probing at these 5 acupoints. To our astonishment, we found that every one of the 42 children showed responses of lowered resistance and accelerated frequency at all five acupoints — Heart, Shenmen, Lung, Brain Stem, and Kidney — and some children still showed tender point responses at the acupoints. After analyzing and studying the above statistical data, we offer the following preliminary views:

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People with special abilities may possess varying degrees of meridian sensitivity, and it is hypothesized that the twelve meridians have routes running through areas of the ear such as the concha, cymba conchae, scapha, and antihelix. Furthermore, among the twelve meridians of the human body, six yang meridians are related to the ear, and after the routes of the six yin meridians reach the vicinity of the neck, the yin and yang meridians merge and all ascend along the yang meridian pathways to the ear region. In such a large area of the ear, without meridian sensitivity, how could there be “positive” responses at so many acupuncture points? How could over a dozen points show decreased electrical resistance? For another example, a child with special abilities named Zhu Kai suffered a torn patellar injury to his right knee joint when he fell. When ear acupuncture was applied to the corresponding area on his right ear, he immediately felt a sensation of numbness and distension traveling from the ear to the right leg bone. When the corresponding acupuncture point on the left ear was needled, Zhu Kai again felt a sensation of numbness and distension from the ear to the patella, demonstrating that ear points are connected to the organs, limbs, and all bones of the body. People with special abilities may well be meridian-sensitive individuals.

2. Acupuncture, ear manipulation, and electrical testing of ear points cause no harm to the human body’s special abilities; on the contrary, they may have the potential to enhance such functions. In the past, when these children fell ill, we often worried. We feared that giving them the wrong medicine or the wrong injection would affect their abilities. Practice has proven that excessive consumption of certain drugs with heavy chemical content can bring them lasting adverse effects. We also know that there are two acupuncture points on the left and right sides of the ankle of the human lower limbs that, when pinched and pressed, cause special abilities to disappear. However, using ear acupuncture to test fifty-six children did not impede their functions. On the contrary, in one case, the abilities actually improved correspondingly after ear acupuncture stimulation. Therefore, we believe that for the health care and treatment of children with special abilities in the future, it is best to adopt the method of ear manipulation—that is, to massage and knead the reflection points of disease within the ear points. This can not only treat illness but also prevent disease, and protect and enhance special abilities.

3. Based on the fact that the electrical resistance of five ear points (namely Kidney, Heart, Shenmen, Lung, and Brainstem) decreases and the frequency of the detection instrument accelerates, we can propose utilizing the pattern of potential differences and decreased electrical resistance at these five points to conduct mass screening for inducing human special abilities. Of course, in this process, the true positive points on the above five ear points must be distinguished.

4. The discovery and research of human special abilities have provided new topics for the study of “ear medicine,” a part of the precious

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heritage of Chinese medicine. “Ear acupuncture therapy” has already been promoted in twenty countries worldwide for the treatment and diagnosis of diseases. At present, there have been multiple reports in our country on the use of ear acupuncture for diagnosing and treating cancer. Abroad, there is the World Association of Ear Acupuncture Therapy Science. In 1987, the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Region, in Seoul, South Korea, approved the international ear acupuncture standardization proposal put forward by China, which consists of seventy-nine ear points, of which forty-three are identical between China and France. If we do not know that special abilities have reflection points on the ear, this would bring adverse consequences for the accuracy of our ear acupuncture diagnoses and affect the development of the ear acupuncture field.

At present, research on human special abilities has brought renewed prosperity and new topics to the scientific research of ear acupuncture. Tang Yu, a young person with special abilities, is currently devoting himself to exploring the diagnostic principles of “ear medicine” in Chinese medicine.

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Also Discussing Special Abilities

Mo Wendan

In recent years, some functions not possessed by ordinary people have been discovered in adolescents and a small number of adults, such as non-visual recognition of figures and writing, remote viewing, mental lock-opening, teleportation of objects, and so forth. To distinguish them from ordinary human functions, these are called human special abilities.

The discovery of human special abilities has opened a new chapter in the study of the mysteries of human life. On the one hand, special abilities can serve as a means for studying the mysteries of human life; on the other hand, special abilities have also revealed new dimensions of the mysteries of human life. Therefore, research on human special abilities will, like research on Chinese medicine and qigong, powerfully propel the developmental progress of human life science.

Results from several years of research indicate that the capacity of special abilities has gradually strengthened and their scope has progressively expanded, from non-visual recognition to fluoroscopy of the human body, remote viewing, telepathy, psychokinetic object movement, and so on. As for the limits of these abilities, it is still difficult to determine at present.

Human special abilities are called “parapsychology” abroad, also known as “psychotronics,” which includes psychokinetic phenomena—the influence of consciousness on the properties of inanimate objects, abbreviated as PK; clairvoyance—the ability to see distant or shielded objects without using the eyes; clairaudience—the ability to hear sounds from far away without using the ears; precognition—the ability to know future events by means of information sources not yet known to people at present; and telepathy—direct mental communication between people. All of these phenomena are contrary to common sense and cannot be explained by existing scientific knowledge, and have therefore been dismissed as sorcery, trickery, and pseudoscience. However, since the nineteenth century, many highly respected scientists have carried out investi—

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…test, and it also attracts more and more scientists to design and conduct various kinds of experiments to determine whether these phenomena actually exist. For this reason, I have specifically introduced the “Tianyan” (Heavenly Eye) qigong method for the reference and research of those who are interested. The so-called “Heavenly Eye” is what people often call the “third eye.” The ability it manifests is the striking and mysterious phenomenon known as “clairvoyance” (Qianli Yan). There are two distinctions in the form and function of “clairvoyance”: one is transparent vision (Toushi), and the other is transparent sensation (Toujue). However, at present, people very easily confuse the two. Regarding the difference between transparent vision and transparent sensation, Li Jianhua says in his book New Compilation of the Ancient and Mysterious Spirit-Substance Arts (Lingzi Shu): “① Transparent vision generally applies to the human visual organ, whereas transparent sensation stems from the spiritual function of human beings. ② Transparent vision is subject to physical limitations, whereas transparent sensation is not subject to physical limitations. ③ Transparent vision is limited to objects that can be seen through, whereas transparent sensation has absolutely no such limits. ④ Transparent vision requires that there be no obstacles between the visual organ and the object in order for its transparent function to manifest; transparent sensation can perceive regardless of whether there are obstacles or not. ⑤ For transparent vision, the object must be close to the visual organ; transparent sensation is not limited by the visual organ, and its function can manifest regardless of the distance. ⑥ Transparent vision is limited to the present time, whereas transparent sensation can perceive the past, present, and future. These are the key points of difference between the two.” After practicing this qigong method for a period of time, some people can induce the aforementioned potential “special” abilities. The foundational part of this method is now briefly described as follows: Adopt a sitting posture to practice the “Auspicious Light Shining Everywhere” (Xiangguang Puzhao) method for about 30 minutes. After the internal qi in the Dantian is sufficient, gently focus your intention on the Upper Dantian. Gaze inward slightly with both eyes from the Upper Dantian to the “Zuqiao” (Ancestral Orifice) (Figure 1), and listen quietly with both ears to the sound of qi-transformation in the Upper Dantian. Initially, practice for about half an hour each time. After practicing for a long time, you can gradually extend each practice session to about 90 minutes. Practice according to this method during the Zi hour (11 PM - 1 AM) every day. After practicing for a long time, the qi of the Lower Dantian will naturally diffuse and rise to the Middle Dantian and between the Twelve-storied Tower (Shi’er Chonglou). At this time, you must sit upright silently. As if knowing and yet not knowing, as if exerting force and yet not exerting force, merely maintain the thought of one breath spanning a thousand miles, and a thousand miles being but one breath, comprehending and understanding it naturally. After a long time, the qi rises to the head. At this moment, when the Heavenly Gate (Tianmen) is on the verge of opening but has not yet opened, the mind may feel dazed, and the Yang Spirit (Yangshen) drifts ethereally. However, the true spirit must not rest. Use your intention to visualize

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the Upper, Middle, and Lower Dantian, transforming them into a vast realm of emptiness, boundless and infinite, hollow and void, bright and clear, so large it has no outside, so small it has no inside. Wait like this, naturally awaiting the internal truth to correspond with the external response. When the stillness reaches its extreme, the head will suddenly feel as if struck by lightning and thunder, rumbling loudly, causing unbearable headaches. This is the sign of the Heavenly Gate opening. Absolutely do not look down with your intention, or panic and be terrified. You must still close your eyes, quiet your mind, and concentrate your spirit on the Niwan region. Feel your body become empty and void, your spirit and qi drifting lightly, bright and unobscured, free and unfettered, profoundly unaware of the burdens of the mortal world, feeling only as if you are within a vast realm of emptiness. At this point, once your intention thinks of exiting the Heavenly Gate, the Original Spirit (Yuanshen) will immediately break through the crown of the head and leave the body, and the Heavenly Eye will suddenly open (as shown in Figure 2). You will naturally see all kinds of scenes like “entering a demonic state” (Rumo), whether real or illusory, involving men, women, the old, and the young from ancient and modern times; officials, commoners, immortals, and Buddhas; grandfathers, wives, and various relatives and friends. Whenever you encounter these scenes and realms, you must disregard them entirely. Simply keep your mind dead still, eliminate all thoughts and emotions, wholeheartedly enter a deep meditative state, neither hearing nor seeing, and then use your intention to draw the Original Spirit back into the body.

Upper Dantian. Zuqiao Figure 1: Upper Dantian and Zuqiao Figure 2: The Heavenly Eye Suddenly Opens

After repeatedly raising and lowering the Original Spirit according to the above method until you are highly proficient, only then can this method be applied to experiments. You must never be overjoyed or overly frightened when the Original Spirit first leaves the body, so as to avoid the major pitfall of your mind drifting and scattering, which would result in the Original Spirit leaving and never returning. Opening the “Heavenly Eye” (Tianmu) can be achieved by practicing qigong to rush it open oneself, or it can be induced and opened with the help of a high-level qigong master. In short, during the initial experience, the circumstances are very similar to the qigong deviation phenomenon of “entering a demonic state.” I have found among those who are so-called “entering a demonic state” that some are exactly at the stage where the “Heavenly Gate” has opened or is about to open. Unfortunately, they are often mistakenly regarded as “entering a demonic state,” causing the ability to die prematurely. “The Divine Eye of Unobstructed Vision” (Tianyan Zhizheng Tong) is the foundational ability of the “Six Supernatural Powers.” It shares a wondrous and subtle connection with the “Divine Ear of Unobstructed Hearing”

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(Tian’er Zhizheng Tong), and these two abilities often coexist simultaneously. Therefore, when practicing qigong, one must observe and experience them carefully. Furthermore, although this qigong method is relatively simple, its timing and level of mastery (huohou) are very difficult to grasp. Therefore, those without personal guidance from a qualified master must not practice it recklessly. Remember this!

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Special Human Abilities Repair Severed Plant Leaves

Wang Zhongyuan, Shou Zhumin, Piao Xianggen

In October and November 1986, we confirmed the possibility and authenticity of using human special abilities to repair artificially severed plant leaves through biological cytological means. A brief report is now presented as follows.

Recording equipment: dissecting microscope, light microscope, electron microscope (Hitachi X-650). Subject: Li Zhanru, a person with special abilities, female, 19 years old, student at Changchun Institute of Posts and Telecommunications.

Experimental Procedure

Regarding the plant leaves used in the experiment, before testing, random samples were taken (the subject did not know what kind of plant leaves they were before testing), the length of the leaves was measured, and they were marked at the same time. Under the watchful eyes of the public, the plant leaves were torn into two pieces and placed in the hands of the person with special abilities, who was then asked to make a fist. After a period of time, Li said: “I have a feeling” (meaning they were joined). Then, she opened her palms in public to confirm the leaves and inspect the joining state. During the experiment, the subject was required not to leave her seat or open her palms at will. The observing public was seated around. During the third test, a young woman was designated to conduct a control experiment according to the same method.

Experimental Results

The experimental results of the restoration of the severed Pittosporum leaf fragments were positive. Although modern biology and medicine cannot explain it. The authors’ experiment was not based solely on naked-eye observation, but rather on observing and verifying the joining and restoration state of the severed leaves at the cellular level. In order to ensure that the plant cells and tissue structure of the Pittosporum leaves were normal and intact

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was preserved. Immediately after the joining was completed, the leaf was fixed, then embedded in paraffin, and serial sections were made, stained, and observed.

Under the microscope, the cut ends of the severed Pittosporum leaf were seen to join together well, with no signs of leaf overlap. Examining the leaf veins, the main vein, branch veins, and fine striations aligned accurately, achieving complete restoration. Although some segments had not yet fully joined and small gaps remained, the veins were continuous, and the ends were aligned without displacement, as if the leaf had never been severed. The degree of repair on the surface at the joined ends of the severed leaf was not entirely uniform: the thinner tissues near the edges repaired better, while grooves were visible in the thicker tissue along the main vein, though these had already healed. Similarly, the degree of repair across different layers of the leaf was not identical. Cross-sections taken at the junction of the Pittosporum leaf showed the upper epidermis gradually approaching each other, forming bridge-like connections, with the spongy tissue and palisade tissue successively beginning to form a structural framework. The original plant tissue arrangement was being restored, with the order of repair proceeding from the exterior to the interior; at the same time, layers that had not yet completed repair could also be observed.

Observation under a scanning electron microscope further confirmed the results of the serial sections described above. The joined ends of the restored Pittosporum leaf fragment showed visibly different degrees of repair when viewed from the leaf surface. The edges of the leaf healed far better than the central main vein area, with no visible trace of severance. Interestingly, the natural texture patterns aligned on their own, as if crafted by extraordinary artistry.

Ultrathin sections prepared from the joined end portions of the severed leaf confirmed that the Pittosporum leaf epidermis was completely restored according to its original tissue structure, with plant cells arranged neatly and in orderly fashion. Likewise, oblique fissure states indicating completed or nearly completed repair could also be observed.

Reflections

1. The repair of the Pittosporum leaf constitutes repair of plant cells. The entire process proceeds from disorder to order in a gradual and progressive manner. Serial sections of the joined-end tissue of the severed leaf and observation of ultrastructure under the electron microscope both confirm this process.

2. If special abilities can bring about the repair of severed leaves, could they similarly enable recovery from human trauma and disease? It appears possible.

3. Further elucidation of the mechanism by which special abilities treat illness, or artificial simulation of this mechanism, applied to the repair of various types of trauma and the treatment of diseases, would constitute a major contribution to medicine.

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Qigong and Special Abilities

Baisha

In February 1980, Shanghai hosted the “Symposium on Special Abilities.” During this conference, in addition to the endlessly astonishing demonstrations of fourteen children with special abilities recognizing characters with their ears and armpits, there was another matter of great fascination: the meeting between qigong practitioners and children possessing special abilities.

Ou Hanrong, through qigong training, cured his own legs that had been paralyzed for many years, and subsequently developed special abilities. Tang Yu, while playing with friends, accidentally discovered his special abilities. Was the connection between them coincidental, or was there an inherent necessary link? This question became an extracurricular addendum to the discussions among the scientists and journalists attending the symposium on special abilities.

Tang Yu, a primary school student from a remote mountainous area in Dazu County, Sichuan Province, recognized the brand of cigarettes in another child’s pocket while playing. Later, when people wrote characters on slips of paper, crumpled them into balls, and stuffed them into his ear, he could also clearly recognize them.

Ou Hanrong’s special abilities emerged after training in qigong; Tang Yu’s special abilities were innate. In adults, special abilities can be cultivated through qigong training, while in children they can be induced on a large scale. From the cases of induced and trained special abilities, it appears that this function is not a rare phenomenon unique to a privileged few, but rather may be an inherent, latent, and universal physiological phenomenon of human beings. According to speculation, the period from age six or seven to fourteen or fifteen may be the stage when this function develops and matures; if not exercised, this function would gradually disappear and decline. And qigong is the method and means of restoring this function. Of course, not all methods of practicing qigong can induce the emergence of special abilities.

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Ou Hanrong provided induction and assistance to a fifteen-year-old girl, Yu Ruihua. Starting from recognizing characters with her ears and armpits, she progressed to being able to see, through others’ clothing, the tin cream box in a pocket, and to see through a handbag to discern a watch hidden inside.

After qigong master Jiang Bo provided induction and assistance to a young woman named Mou Fengqin who possessed special abilities, she was able to detect ailments in the stomach region.

From the above examples, it is not difficult to see that qigong can facilitate the development of special abilities and can also induce them. Some have explored the mechanisms involved, noting that the phenomena manifested by children with special abilities when recognizing characters or detecting diseases share many similarities with the phenomena that occur during qigong-based disease detection.

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Viewing Qigong Special Abilities from the Life of Shakyamuni

Huang Yaping

Religion is a form of culture and art, and this holds true for Buddhism as well. Why did Buddhism win the faith of so many people across the Asia-Pacific region in the several centuries following the Spring and Autumn period, and why does it have such deep-rooted origins? This is worth our exploration.

Looking at the life of Shakyamuni, one is deeply moved: the special abilities of Buddhist qigong cannot but be regarded as a means of inspiring faith, reverence, and respect among people. The great lamas and abbots of Buddhism all possess considerable spiritual attainment and training, and they can not only bring about recovery from illness in ordinary patients but also directly influence the thinking and wisdom of certain individuals. The “Siddhartha,” through six years of meditation and contemplative stillness in the forest of asceticism, attained great enlightenment and generated a Buddha-light that not only directly influenced the thinking of the five ascetics who had originally distrusted him, but also influenced and transformed the thinking of thousands upon thousands of seekers around him. This article seeks, through an exploration of relevant passages concerning the manifestation of qigong and special abilities throughout the life of Shakyamuni, to provide readers with food for thought.

Shakyamuni is the mythological figure familiar to Chinese readers — the Tathagata Buddha. “Shakyamuni” means “sage of the Shakya clan.” His surname was Gautama, and his given name was Siddhartha. He was the son of King Suddhodana of Kapilavastu, a kingdom in the northern part of ancient India. Siddhartha renounced worldly life at the age of twenty-nine, and after years of practice, attained the highest level of yogic qigong skills, including thought transmission, clairvoyance, X-ray vision, remote sensing, object movement, levitation, invisibility, and water-concealment.

Whether Siddhartha possessed special abilities at birth remains to be verified. His mother, Maya, passed away seven days after giving birth to him. However, the lives of the Shakya clanspeople grew increasingly prosperous. The dairy cows they raised were all of pure color, well-proportioned in development, and possessed

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…flowing with an endless stream of fragrant, rich milk; their horses all seemed to have grown wings, running swiftly without tiring. Their elephant herd was even more magnificent, each one intelligent and perceptive. This region always enjoyed favorable winds and timely rains, abundant harvests of fragrant grain—both delicious and nourishing—and all creatures giving birth did so in ease and comfort… The men of the city carried themselves with dignity and high spirits, the women were poised and composed, strictly maintaining their virtue, and everyone observed the flexible four-fold precepts. It is said that King Suddhodana, too, for the sake of this heavenly guest in his palace, lived a life of purity, cutting off all association with evildoers.

From the chapter on Siddhartha’s betrothal at the martial arts arena, his skills in archery, horsemanship, and all other arts far surpassed those of his cousin Devadatta—a proud, stubborn, passionate prince who had mastered all eighteen martial arts. Some said Siddhartha’s arrow shafts had been fitted with wings bestowed by the gods, flying in unpredictable and wondrous ways; some said his swordsmanship was so peerless that it was unprecedented and would never be matched; still others said the one riding the horse must have been the wind god Vayu, for he moved like fierce wind and lightning, ferocious and arrogant—and no one knew exactly what was going on!

After Siddhartha married Yashodhara, his father King Suddhodana wished to use three cords of love—paternal love, marital love, and filial love—to bind Siddhartha’s deeply contemplative soul. But the love of wife and child is fleeting, and perhaps Siddhartha’s innate nature was to seek solitude and stillness. King Suddhodana, in order to bind Siddhartha’s heart and ensure he would inherit the throne, wealth, and power, built the Pleasure Garden. However, along the road from the palace to the Pleasure Garden, three successive scenes of sickness and death appeared, which instead intensified Siddhartha’s deep contemplation and his resolve to seek solitude. Immediately after, Siddhartha renounced the worldly life and left home to practice asceticism, at the age of twenty-nine. At that time, ancient India did not yet have Buddhism. There were only the Brahman and Aryan teachings, and the scriptures consisted only of the Vedas and the Upanishads. In the forest of asceticism, he used rigorous methods of practice, tormenting his own flesh, sometimes eating only a single hawthorn berry or a few drops of honey dripping from a black bee’s nest, for six full years (this again resembles the practice of abstaining from grain and consuming qi). Later, Siddhartha…

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“Eating only one hawthorn berry or a single grain of rice, my body became extremely emaciated—my limbs were like dried reeds, my buttocks like a camel’s hooves, my spine like a lock of hair, my ribs jutting unevenly like the rafters exposed on a rooftop. My eye sockets sank deeply, and my eyeballs nearly disappeared, like a mirror placed in a stream, so small as to be barely distinguishable… Despite such harsh asceticism, I still had not discovered that transcendental clear awareness.” But just at that moment, he climbed to the riverbank, and his body was already able to exchange energy with the river water. After bathing, a miracle occurred. Here one may say that Siddhartha’s abilities advanced another great step—the unintentional was contained within the intentional.

On the other side of the forest lived a very wealthy cattle rancher who had a daughter named Sujata, clever and quite beautiful. She resolved to make offerings to the deities on the full-moon day. When the day arrived, Sujata rose before dawn, carrying a bucket to the cow pen. As she approached, the milk from the cows sprayed forth on its own without being squeezed. She poured the milk into another pot, mixed in some rice, then lit a fire and placed the pot on it to heat. Before long it came to a boil, foam rising in all directions, yet not a single drop spilled outward. The fire also burned very cleanly—in the translucent flames there was not a wisp of black smoke. The rice porridge she made was as pure and sweet as royal jelly taken from a honeycomb. Then Sujata said to her maidservant Punna: “Punna, dear child, the gods truly bless us—all the omens are auspicious. Come, let us go. You go ahead and look; I have prepared everything.” When she ran to the tree, the Bodhisattva—that is, the future Buddha—was sitting beneath it, his body radiating rings of light. Sujata took a precious golden bowl, lifted the pot and poured—the milk-rice flowed into the bowl like drops of celestial nectar, filling it exactly, neither more nor less. She covered it with a golden lid, parted the branches of the forest with her hands, and at first glance saw Siddhartha sitting there. After Siddhartha consumed this heaven-sent offering, Sujata also gained enhanced abilities. It is quite possible that Punna and Sujata were particularly sensitive to the qi-replenishing effects of qigong. Sujata quickly perceived new life flowing through Siddhartha’s blood vessels—or perhaps male and female individuals are especially sensitive to the external qi substance between them.

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After attaining enlightenment and becoming the Buddha, Siddhartha had achieved supreme, complete awakening. Having passed through the first, second, and third stages of contemplation, he had transcended the six consciousnesses—namely, eye consciousness (sight), ear consciousness (hearing), nose consciousness (smell), tongue consciousness (taste), body consciousness (touch), and mental consciousness (the perceptions and thoughts formed by integrating the above sensations). At this point, he had attained the all-seeing Buddha eye. His Buddha light shone around him, and that light of wisdom grew ever stronger. All around him, the world was completely still—bright, with gentle breezes and swaying tree shadows.

When the Buddha reached the stage of the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, he sat beneath the Bodhi tree. At that time, two merchants traveling on the road passed by, and within their hearts there suddenly arose this voice: “In this forest stretching for miles lives a sage—a wise ascetic worthy of the highest reverence from all. One should go to him and make offerings.” This was the Buddha’s light of wisdom influencing the thoughts of those two merchants.

In the subsequent process of accepting disciples and spreading his teachings, Siddhartha, apart from verbal guidance, mostly used his own special abilities and Buddha light to influence the thoughts of his followers. For example, the five Brahmins who had been in the forest of asceticism, upon seeing the Buddha’s arrival at the Deer Park, initially intended to pay him no heed. But after the Buddha transmitted the Way to them and drew near to a certain distance, Siddhartha seemed to exert a powerful attractive force, drawing them in. And so the five men sat there obediently and began to listen to the Buddha expound the Dharma. This invisible force also emanated from the Buddha’s abilities.

The Eightfold Noble Path of the Buddha’s teaching: Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration—these are also the eight stages of transcendental meditation. His first transmission of the Dharma took place at the Deer Park near Benares. He used verbal guidance to earnestly instruct them while simultaneously using his own power to influence the thoughts of these five Brahmins, quickly enabling them to grasp the essence of Chan and enter a state of meditative absorption.

In his universal deliverance of sentient beings, because he already possessed the ability of telepathy, even without conversation he could know what was in the other person’s heart and mind. Using this method to accurately discern the thoughts of his followers, everything was readily resolved, and he employed the dual approach of verbal guidance and energetic influence to bring them into meditative absorption. For instance, in the city of Benares, the son of a great merchant, named Yasha…

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When he, tired of the decadent worldly life, strolled to the Deer Park, Siddhartha had just gotten up and was walking in meditation under a tree. When he saw Shadu walking over, he heard this youth’s inner voice in the silence: “I am sad, how unfortunate I am.”

He spoke to Shadu about the meaninglessness and destructiveness of lust, and about the profound nature of renouncing the world and the Dharma. As Shadu listened, the fire of annoyance burning in his heart had long vanished, and a fresh stream of Prajna poured into his heart. The Buddha had seen all of this. When Shadu’s state of mind had cleared enough to receive the Dharma, the Buddha recounted the contents of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Soon, Shadu and his father also entered into meditation.

The World-Honored One started from Gaya and came to Rajagaha, the main city ruled by the Kingdom of Bimbisara. His disciples, including his wise great disciple Shemoteng, came along with him. Shemoteng was renowned far and wide for his resourcefulness, and many residents of Rajagaha could not even tell who was the disciple and who was the master between him and the Buddha. The Buddha intentionally wanted to elevate this disciple’s prestige, so he said in front of the king and the people: “Welcome the great master! Shemoteng has indeed mastered the Dharma and attained the highest wisdom…” It is said that as soon as the Buddha’s voice faded, Shemoteng immediately entered samadhi. A wondrous scene appeared before the eyes of the spectators: Shemoteng rose into mid-air. The people’s eyes filled with reverence, and they all shouted in unison: “Let the World-Honored One be our master! We are your followers.”

Lightness Skill (Special Ability Phenomenon)

While resting at the Jeta Grove Monastery, the Buddha told the following story: “There was a loyal, noble, and joyful follower who wanted to hear the Buddha preach again. One evening, he went to the banks of the Aciravati River, wanting to take a boat across. But it so happened that the boatman had also gone to hear the Buddha’s teachings, and there was no ferry at the riverbank. So, this young man meditated on the lightness technique and walked across the water surface to the other side of the river. His feet did not sink into the water at all. Walking on it was like treading on flat ground. But upon reaching the middle of the river, he saw the rolling waves, and his joy instantly vanished. His feet also began to sink. Because fear had entered his soul, and fear is the shackle of the desire realm. Once people put on this shackle, they will be bound by it. But he immediately meditated

on the Enlightened One to strengthen his mind. Thus, his feet stepped on the water surface again, crossed the river, and arrived at the Jeta Grove Monastery. After paying respects to the Buddha, he sat respectfully beside the Buddha.”

When King Suddhodana saw and thought his son Siddhartha had become a desperate monk begging for alms, anger, pain, and sorrow were like a swirling whirlwind, disturbing his peace of mind. But when the Buddha took the king’s hand and they walked towards the palace together, King Suddhodana’s heart calmed down like the waves after a storm. This was the special ability of the “Wisdom Eye Channel” information influencing King Suddhodana.

What was the Buddha’s lifestyle like?

He woke up at dawn. After his disciples brought water for him to bathe, he would sit in meditation alone. When it was time to go out for alms, he would put on his upper garment, secure his waistband, put on his robe, hold his large alms bowl, and go to the villages or towns to beg for alms. Sometimes he did this activity alone, and sometimes he went together with other monks, many of whom came from noble and prominent families. On the roads the Buddha passed, gentle breezes guided the way, and clouds sprinkled rain, washing away all the dust in the air without a trace. Every place he stopped had flat roads, pleasant scenery, and blooming flowers. Those who saw the Buddha all felt as if a halo of light surrounded him.

The manifestation of the Buddha’s halo of light always chose densely shaded places. For instance, when Amaluo went to see the Buddha, they came to a path with dense shade. In the pond by the roadside, full of blooming lotus flowers, there was not a single ripple. The lush, thick trees cast their shadows into the pond, making it appear dark and cool. The flourishing branches and leaves of this jungle crossed each other, forming a naturally built temple, not letting even a thread of light through. The Buddha was under the tree, sitting in the lotus position with his hands clasped together. Behind his head was a halo like the bright moon at midnight emitting light. He was using his eyes to scan the Three Realms in deep thought.

After the Buddha grew older, he became increasingly beautiful. Anyone who saw him would be captivated by his beauty.

One day, as the Buddha was passing through the jungle, a great fire suddenly broke out in the jungle.

The fire was fierce, overwhelming the sky and covering the earth. Some monks wanted to start another fire to burn away the grass in front of them, so that when the big fire rushed over, they would have a place to take shelter. But other monks shouted loudly: “What are you trying to do? You’re crazy! Being with the Buddha, he can do anything. Do not forget the Buddha’s power! (Special Abilities).”

So they ran to find the Buddha. When the great fire, roaring with crackles, burned to within 15 rods away from the Buddha, it was instantly extinguished like a torch thrown into a pond. The disciples unanimously praised the Buddha’s mighty power.

On a day as precious as pure gold, such an incident occurred: at the herder Danya’s place, a pouring rain fell, yet the Buddha did not get wet at all.

As for Princess Yasodhara, since she was freed from her suffering, she had also made great progress in mastering Prajna. She meditated day and night, and the knowledge she gained was already outstanding and unworldly… Although she was old, her noble beauty and peaceful demeanor were still no less than in her younger years.

One day, the Buddha said: “You are a model of virtue among women. But since you received the Buddha’s light, you have not done anything extraordinary, so many people do not know the ‘power’ within you and do not understand whether you are truly an Arhat or not. Here is a group of people who do not know about ‘power’; please explain it to them.” Using her enlightening power that transcended time, Yasodhara recounted one by one all the mysterious and astonishing events in her past lives. Just like a traveler about to reach the summit looking back at the rugged path they came from, she emotionally reflected on the perilous situations from which she had just been freed. The people present were all mesmerized by the anecdotes elaborated in her pleasant voice. Just as her words ended, suddenly the surrounding air gently lifted her up. A wondrous scene presented itself before everyone’s eyes. Yasodhara rose into the air, kneeled towards the Buddha, and praised his merits…

Wherever the Buddha walked, the iron doors of the prisons there would open! Iron locks would fall to the ground, and people would step from darkness into light.

The Buddha passed through Ralifuduoluo and came to the banks of the Ganges. At this time, the river water was swelling, waves were rolling, and it was overflowing the riverbed. The believers were busy looking for ferries and rafts.

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…ready to cross the river. But the Buddha suddenly vanished on this shore. Just as the followers were wondering what to do, in an instant they saw that they and the Buddha were already standing on the other shore. Regarding this matter, the Buddha once composed a poem saying:

Those who cross the turbulent sea,
Must have a solid path beneath their feet.
While the ignorant are still weaving their rafts, the sage crosses over so peacefully.

Near Shravasti, one day, Ananda spread out a mat for the Buddha to sit on, and he himself stood respectfully by the Buddha’s side. The Buddha opened his mouth and said: “Ananda, no matter who it is, as long as they practice with concentrated effort, reaching the pinnacle of the four paths leading to power, from then on they transcend the bounds of the physical body. If they then apply this power to doing good, then as long as they wish, they can live in the world for a while longer, or live out the full lifespan they are meant to live. Now the Buddha has already attained such power, and therefore could live for a while longer, or live to the age he is meant to live.”

Although this revelation was spoken by the Buddha himself, Ananda remained bewildered and uncomprehending. He did not say, “Greatly compassionate Buddha, may you live forever! For the benefit and happiness of the people, may you live on. May you take pity on this world and continue to bring blessings to humanity.”

When the Buddha spoke of this matter again the next day, Ananda still did not say a word. This time, after the Buddha finished speaking, in a flash, thunder roared in the sky, the earth rumbled in all directions, and all things shook and trembled along with it.

Ananda rushed to the Buddha and asked: “Buddha, this earthquake is truly marvelous and utterly astonishing. What is happening?”

The Buddha said: “This is one of the eight causes of earthquakes. When the Buddha consciously and deliberately announces the time of his own death, the earth will tremble.”

The Buddha then went on to speak of wondrous powers—

“Ananda, I remember when I used to attend gatherings of hundreds of princes and nobles, I would always teach them the Dharma to bring them joy. And after hearing it, they would always…”

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…say, ‘Who is speaking these words? Is it a man or a god?’ Having taught them, I would leave without them realizing it. Yet even so, they still did not know who I was, and remained puzzled, asking: ‘Who is this that has suddenly vanished without a trace? Is it a man or a god?‘”

The Buddha then spoke of the eight stages of seeking liberation—starting from illusion, passing through realms transcending the desire realm, moving beyond sensation and thought, all the way up to the eighth stage of liberation.

The advanced abilities of Buddhist practitioners often manifest as various inconceivable phenomena, such as levitation, riding clouds and mist, telepathy, clairvoyance, and remote viewing. The appearance of the Buddha, for instance, played a purifying role for nature and the entire human environment. From the perspective of dissipative structure theory, this only increases and promotes the negative entropy of all nature, delaying human reproduction’s entropy. Unfortunately, humanity has not paid sufficient attention to this. Buddhist Qigong also yields the same benefits; these functions are worth exploring and studying by future generations.

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The White House and Special Abilities

“The world is a beautiful book, but of little use to those who cannot read it.” — Carlo Goldoni, Italy

Some important figures in the U.S. government believe in human special abilities and frequently resort to them. The military and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have on several occasions invited special abilities experts to reconnoiter Soviet weapon secrets, monitor Noriega, and locate terrorists and hostages in countries like Iran. The Pentagon has been keeping a close eye on Soviet research in this area.

In May 1988, it was revealed that Nancy Reagan regularly consulted an astrologer in San Francisco to schedule the President’s activities, making her a laughingstock to the world. However, it now appears that Nancy is not alone; there are many others in Washington who are enthusiastic about this. About half of the members of Congress have shown great interest in special abilities phenomena. Rose, one of the founders of the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future in the U.S. Congress, provided a venue at this center for some special abilities experts to express their views.

The Important Role Played by Those with Special Abilities

Reliable sources indicate that special abilities have played an important role in many key departments of the U.S. government.

The Pentagon allocated funds to support classified, small-scale special abilities research at SRI International, a company whose predecessor was an American think tank. In addition, the CIA and the Pentagon have also closely monitored Soviet research efforts in this field.

The U.S. military and the CIA have repeatedly hired individuals with special abilities to scout out secret Soviet weapons.

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…class, inviting special abilities expert Rainier to give a lecture; the audience was deeply impressed by her.

Most members of Congress and staff members who are interested in special abilities phenomena do not want to make this secret public, for fear of ridicule. Therefore, many special abilities individuals interact with them privately. House Speaker Wright and his wife both studied prophecy. Special abilities expert Geller once pointed out: After years of deliberate cultivation, Wright had attained a considerable level of accomplishment in special abilities. Senator Pell, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was also an active supporter of special abilities research. Since his university days, he had been interested in supernatural phenomena. His office was filled with books on spiritual guidance and similar topics. Pell said that as he grew older, he became fascinated by the question of life after death and sometimes wanted to communicate with the deceased. However, he did not yet possess this “special” ability.

Due to Pell’s interest, he employed a full-time assistant, namely former naval intelligence officer Jones, to be responsible for researching supernatural phenomena. For three and a half years, Jones’s primary task was tracking and studying “consciousness,” which also included special abilities. He once arranged a gathering aimed at communicating with deceased Soviet leaders, with the purpose of having them “bombard” the current Soviet leadership and instill thoughts of peace into their minds. Jones refused to disclose details, only saying: “That experiment was strictly a private activity, and it was later canceled; we had no need to do that.”

Although Pell did not engage in such shocking activities as his assistant, he did host a speaking engagement for Geller, allowing him to demonstrate his special ability—bending spoons with his mind. At a high-level gathering in Washington, he also arranged for Geller to perform telepathy, and later invited him to Geneva. Geller claimed that in Geneva, he had transmitted thoughts of peace into the mind of the Soviet arms limitation negotiator, Yuri Vorontsov. The very next day, the Soviet Union took the initiative to propose the removal of intermediate-range missiles in Europe.

The “Special Abilities Manhattan Project”

Rose was interested in supernatural phenomena and wanted to apply them to foreign and military policy. For a time, he advocated the creation of a “Special Abilities Manhattan Project”…

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Research on Remote Viewing and Other Special Abilities

They advocated sharing information related to the study of special abilities phenomena with the Soviet Union and mainland China.

In addition to Rose, some congressmen and politically influential figures secretly echoed Rose, holding positive views toward special abilities. Among them was a Reagan administration official, along with several ambassadors and political figures.

The application of special abilities was primarily concentrated in the military domain. For example, in the late 1960s, the Central Intelligence Agency received orders to immediately obtain photographs of a new Soviet rocket. At a loss for a time, the agency hired a truck driver from Chicago. It was said that as long as photographic film was pressed tightly against his forehead, this fellow could capture images of objects several miles away. Later, based on the photographs he produced, the CIA found a method for attaching boosters to the rocket body. It was said that this driver was a “grubby nuisance” who insisted on drinking large amounts of beer before delivering the photographs. However, it turned out that his photographs were indeed authentic.

Remote Viewing

Since the 1970s, the United States had consistently focused its research on remote viewing. It was estimated that the military spent hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support Stanford’s research in this area. Researchers announced that they had achieved nearly 70% accuracy in remote viewing. In December 1987, a research panel of the National Academy of Sciences intended to conclude that the evidence for remote viewing “did not actually exist.” However, during periods of heightened anti-terrorism alerts and frequent intelligence operations, whether devout individual believers or anxious pragmatists within the government, all had sought assistance from individuals possessing supernatural abilities. Notable examples include:

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To rescue American hostages in Lebanon, their families had employed individuals with special abilities to obtain intelligence.

In 1980, government officials had utilized a special abilities practitioner employed by the Stanford company to remotely view the American hostages held at the embassy in Tehran, and described their health conditions.

After the failure of the “Desert One” operation in January 1980, the U.S. military and

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the Central Intelligence Agency made extensive use of special abilities to plan hostage rescue operations. In the early 1980s, the United States suspected Noriega of involvement in drug smuggling and other crimes, and arranged for special abilities practitioners to remotely view the situation inside Noriega’s residence. However, whether these individuals’ reports were accurate could not be verified, because the personnel sent to confirm the situation were discovered by guards before they could enter Noriega’s residence.

How the relationship between the White House and special abilities will develop remains difficult to determine. However, two points are beyond doubt: first, when other approaches prove ineffective, there will always be those who turn to special abilities in times of crisis; second, political leaders, just like ordinary citizens, continue to be drawn to the mysterious realm of supernatural phenomena.

Several Special Abilities Practitioners Favored by the White House

Geller: Age 42. Profession: Lecturer, inventor, consultant. Uses special abilities to search for mining areas and oil fields. His hobby is bending spoons for figures like Senator Pell. Most touted achievement: Finding a gold mine in the Amazon basin for a Japanese company.

Gorman: Age 40. Profession: Special abilities practitioner, lecturer, teacher. Her assessment of her own attainments: “You can communicate with an unseen world.” Most touted achievement: In a newspaper interview in the mid-1960s, she predicted that Reagan would become president. Her followers included Speaker of the House Wright.

Renier: Age 40. Profession: Lecturer, teacher, police consultant in over a dozen states, and instructor at the FBI training center. She said, “I believe in the power of the mind. What I am currently learning is merely how to let the mind unleash more of its energy.” Most touted achievement: In January 1981, she predicted that Reagan would be assassinated that spring. The prediction came true. She had assisted in solving a double-homicide case. At the time, based on an earring worn by one of the victims, she described the murderer’s appearance and the crime scene. Based on the clues she provided, the criminal was brought to justice.

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Reflections Inspired by a “Special Abilities Experiment”

Xiao Ling

For reasons unknown, the author had believed in qigong since ten years ago. Although the author’s health had always been good and there were no special sensations after practicing, many people around had cured long-standing illnesses through qigong practice, strengthened their bodies, and some had even developed many peculiar abilities through practice. These “strange phenomena” that modern science could not yet explain are referred to by modern people as “special abilities,” and abroad as “paranormal abilities,” including teleportation, remote sensing and remote viewing, levitation, body-freezing, extraordinary memory, and so forth.

Regarding these aforementioned paranormal phenomena, ordinary people might consider them to be nothing more than descriptions found in mythological novels. Others flatly adopt a resolutely opposed attitude and issue harsh condemnations. However, the author believes that these abilities genuinely exist in reality.

In truth, the author was initially also skeptical about special abilities phenomena, and the basis for the doubt was never having witnessed them personally. To verify the actual existence of special abilities phenomena, the author had tried every possible means to find opportunities, but after many years and meeting quite a few qigong masters, nothing had ever been seen. Perhaps, as the saying goes, true masters do not reveal themselves, and “heavenly secrets must not be disclosed”! As fate would have it, through a chance encounter, the author became acquainted with a qigong master who practiced Tibetan esoteric Buddhism, and was invited to attend a demonstration and exchange meeting for healing and special abilities performances that he hosted at a certain television station in Beijing. The performer of the “acts” was this qigong master’s disciple—a second-year university student who appeared to be no more than twenty years old. The first “act” he performed on behalf of his master was changing the position of the hands on a mechanical watch. After the performance began, he casually took a watch from the hand of an audience member, closed his eyes, and held it in his hand.

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At the audience’s suggestion, the watch hands were advanced by half an hour. With just a few gentle shakes, when he showed the watch to the audience again, the hands were already pointing precisely at the predetermined position.

The next performance was even more incredible. The “props” for the performance were a few azalea leaves casually plucked from a flowerpot. The result of the experiment was to shrink the leaves. I was the first to mount the rostrum, with the aim of “solving the mystery.” Following the experimental requirements, I took two leaves of identical shape and size, then placed one of them into the experimenter’s mouth. After about five minutes, when the leaf was taken out of the mouth, it had inexplicably shrunk and become tender. Everyone in the audience was astonished and baffled. People could not believe this was real, yet it was indeed a fact. For before the leaf entered the mouth, I and an engineer from the television station had repeatedly checked and confirmed that there was absolutely nothing in the experimenter’s mouth (there is a video recording as evidence).

After the experiment ended, this young man told everyone that the intention (yinian) in qigong can alter the form of plants. This is the same principle by which tumors naturally disappear after qigong treatment. One can further infer that through qigong practice, a person can “regain youth.” Nowadays, many people do not acknowledge the facts of qigong and special abilities. I believe this is not a scientific attitude. Some others believe that qigong healing is merely the effect of psychological suggestion, and that special abilities are pure nonsense. Yet many experiments have already proven that qigong genuinely altered the form of plants. One may ask: do plants also have a psychology? Perhaps these abilities are merely minor techniques and minor methods within qigong cultivation, yet they do possess research value. There are many things in the world that remain difficult to explain to this day, many phenomena that still have no answers even as science develops rapidly today. If we do not objectively recognize, approach, and study them, that would be quite regrettable.

It is understood that at present many countries in the world, such as the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, Switzerland, and others, have successively established research institutions for special abilities (extraordinary capabilities), investing heavily in research, and have already applied various special abilities in industry, agriculture, military, and other fields. It is particularly worth mentioning that in recent years some countries have paid close attention to China’s research on human body science. Some scholars have traveled thousands of miles to

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China to conduct research and excavation work, and some have even been stationed long-term in certain famous temples in our country, writing books and establishing theories. As far as I know, many valuable things from our country have already been translated into multiple languages and circulated abroad. Faced with this reality, should it not arouse our attention?

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Believe It or Not

— One of Ding Weixin’s Personal Experiences

Li Guohua

On June 30, 1988, People’s Daily reprinted an article titled “U.S. National Research Council Issues Special Report Noting That Human Special Abilities Have Thus Far Failed to Obtain Scientific Evidence.” This report led many people who held opposing attitudes toward special abilities to find “scientific evidence.”

However, “thus far failed to obtain scientific evidence” does not equate to denying the existence of special abilities, nor does it mean concluding that scientific evidence will be difficult to obtain in the future either. As the special report stated: “At present, on the one hand there is a lack of scientific evidence, and on the other hand many individuals hold very firm beliefs in the existence of special abilities… Overall, the large number of experimental designs is still insufficient to arbitrate between the supporting and opposing sides. Clear conclusions can only rely on evidence derived from more persuasive research designs.”

From this, it can be seen that this special report is neither a conclusion denying the existence of special abilities, nor a manifesto to terminate research on special abilities.

Qian Xuesen once pointed out: Special abilities are objectively existing facts. One should not deny the existence of such phenomena simply because a scientific explanation cannot yet be made. From the 1930s to the present, many Nobel Prize winners in physics have been awarded because they discovered certain “elementary particles.” When they were discovered, they were rewarded; they were not required to immediately produce a complete scientific explanation. He also said that for human special abilities, a phenomenological theory could also be established.

It is precisely for this phenomenological approach to human special abilities that I conduct interviews and report.

— Interview Notes

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”Something Out of Nothing” Actually Became Fact

Everyone knows that “something out of nothing” means fabricating out of thin air. Yet children with special abilities can actually produce “something” from “nothing”!

On August 16, 1988, after Ding Weixin showed me the physical evidence of a successful simulated experiment in using intention to remove gallstones, he then said to me with great enthusiasm: “Old Li, let me show you one more thing.”

With that, he got up and went into the inner room.

In an instant, he came out carrying a black briefcase, placed it on his lap, and unzipped it. Among various scattered items, he rummaged out a kraft paper envelope, from which he took out a paper package wrapped in several layers. I watched with bated breath, wondering in my heart: what treasure could be wrapped inside?

The paper package was opened, and inside it was divided into two layers. Ding Weixin said to me: “These two layers — originally, a green-tipped match was placed in each one.” He pointed with his finger to verify: “You see, right?”

Yes, they were indeed two green matches, still intact.

Then, Ding Weixin raised his voice and said: “Now pay attention to this end.” He explained: “This end (the other end of the green match head) — originally it also had a perfectly intact red tip. But because so much time had passed and so many people had looked at it, taking it out and putting it back repeatedly, the tip got rubbed off.” As he spoke, he pointed again with his index finger: “Look, these are the bits, flakes, and powder that came off the two red match heads; and see, there are still red marks on the matchsticks.”

My eyes followed his finger, and indeed it was so.

Ding Weixin said categorically: “A match would not have tips on both ends! And it would not have a green tip on one end and a red tip on the other.”

“So how did this red match head come about?” he asked himself, and then answered himself: “This is what’s called ‘something out of nothing.‘”

And so he began to tell me the story of this “something out of nothing.”

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It turned out that he had first wrapped two green-headed matches together in paper, layered separately, then placed the paper wrapper inside an envelope. After the envelope was sealed, he additionally sealed each end with a strip of paper, affixed the association’s official seal, and made identifying marks.

As I held the envelope, looking at it and listening, I saw several lines written on it:

March 5, 1988, Yan Shuqiang, 11 years old, male, Contains two green-headed matches. Requirement: Under the condition that the paper bag is sealed, use intent at the other end of the match to transfer and attach a red match head.

Ding Weixin said: “On March 5, I gave the envelope to Yan Shuqiang and told him to take it home to practice.” He explained: “Taking it home to practice is one stage of the training. Whenever new training begins, the children find it difficult to perform it on the spot. To overcome psychological barriers and gradually adapt until they can do it with ease, we let them take it home to practice. We have done it this way for many years, and there has never been any cheating or trickery.”

Ding Weixin continued: “Two days later, Yan Shuqiang came running over and said, ‘Teacher Ding, I’ve done it.’

“At that time, the envelope was still sealed. I examined it carefully; it was as intact as before. I used a small knife to slice open the top of the envelope, took out the paper package and unwrapped it, and it really was a success!” Ding Weixin pointed at the matches and said: “Both matches had one green end and one red end. You can imagine how happy the children and I were! At that time, the newly transferred red match head was perfectly intact; it didn’t look the way it does now.”

He said amusingly: “This is what you call ‘creating something out of nothing.‘”

I was utterly baffled! Facing something I had seen and heard with my own eyes and ears, I truly did not know how to make sense of it. Seeing my skeptical expression, Ding Weixin cited further evidence, saying: “In fact, this is not the only case of completing this test.”

It turned out that before Yan Shuqiang, a girl named Gao Ying had already succeeded in the test on March 2.

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Because she was the first to “create something out of nothing,” Ding Weixin awarded her a beautiful notebook, and wrote a sentence in it:

“Student Gao Ying has injected new meaning into the idiom ‘creating something out of nothing.‘”

Ding Weixin told me that over the years he had figured out a piece of experience. He said:

“Children with special abilities have a characteristic: if you can do it, I can do it too; unless I don’t know about something you can do, as long as I know about it, it can be done.”

He introduced them: “Gao Ying and Yan Shuqiang are classmates, both fifth-grade students at XX Lane Elementary School. After Gao Ying completed this test, I told the other children about the situation. Yan Shuqiang was also present at the time, so I let him try it too. Just like that, he succeeded right after.”

Regarding special abilities training using matches, according to Old Ding, there are even more complex ones. Take “breaking and connecting matches via intent,” for example: at first, it is done with one or two matches; after about a week, the number of matches can increase to 20, and the conditions become more complex—requiring 10 of them to be snapped, the match heads of the other 10 to be burned, and at the same time, one of them must be made to “fly” out of the box. Many children can complete training of this difficulty, and even perform it publicly.

However, Ding Weixin emphasized: Special abilities are not acrobatics, nor are they little tricks to entertain people. The purpose of special abilities training is not for performance, but to understand, verify, enhance, and develop special abilities, and ultimately to achieve application.

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Believe It or Not

Ding Weixin’s Personal Experiences, Part Two

Li Guohua

Research into special abilities can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. Since the 1960s, special abilities have attracted the attention of a growing number of scientists. As W. Nault, editor-in-chief of the American Science Yearbook, pointed out: “[This] represents a growing trend: to examine inexplicable but genuinely existing phenomena with a serious and conscientious scientific eye.” Qian Xuesen argued that once comprehensive research on qigong, traditional Chinese medicine, and human special abilities is integrated with modern science and technology, it will undoubtedly become Marxist science—that is, true science. At the same time, during the process of integration, it will also transform modern science and elevate it further. Once this is accomplished, it will inevitably lead to a scientific revolution. This is the advent of an Eastern scientific revolution.

— Interview Notes

In April 1988, the “U.S. National Scientific Investigation Committee on Anomalous Phenomena Delegation,”

at the invitation of the China Science and Technology News, visited Xi’an. This committee held a skeptical attitude toward special abilities. After the delegation had a lengthy conversation with Ding Weixin, Mr. Paul asked in surprise: “Mr. Ding, why are you so confident in special abilities?”

Ding Weixin said: “My confidence does not arise out of thin air. I have conducted hundreds and thousands of tests and found that special abilities are universally prevalent, especially among children. At the same time, I have also discovered that through training, special abilities can be newly developed and enhanced.”

Consequently, he told me many anecdotes about training, enhancing, and developing special abilities.

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Anecdotes of Interest.

Mind Reaches Out: Moving Objects Through a Window

Around 1981, when Ding Weixin went to the Chenjia Production Team of Xinhe Commune, Baqiao District, Xi’an City, to implement the land responsibility system, he conducted a test on over 400 students at the commune elementary school, and discovered about a dozen children with special abilities among them.

Then, every evening in the room where he lived, he conducted various training exercises with the children, such as recognizing characters and distinguishing colors, identifying playing cards through walls, breaking steel needles by mental power, reconnecting matchsticks, and see-through perception of the human body… The children trained diligently and with full concentration, and their abilities increased rapidly. Before long, they moved on to training in psychokinetic movement of objects.

On this day, Ding Weixin placed a bottle and an apple on the windowsill outside the front window, and two apples on the windowsill outside the rear window; then he closed all the doors and windows. In front of the desk inside the front window sat Jin Xueping and another child; in front of the desk inside the rear window sat two children. Ding Weixin asked the children to use their mental power to “move” the objects outside the window inside, through the glass.

After practicing for quite a while, the children all said, “We can’t move them through!”

Ding Weixin was not anxious: “Those special abilities I told you about before—have you ever seen them? Have you ever done them?”

“No.”

“Then, were you able to develop those abilities later?”

“We developed them.”

Ding Weixin said gently yet firmly: “Since you were able to develop those abilities, you can also develop psychokinetic movement of objects.” He walked over to Xueping, stroked her head, and said: “Don’t you really like this bottle? If you move it inside, it’s yours.”

“Really?” Xueping asked joyfully.

“Really! I mean what I say,” Old Ding said earnestly.

The children resumed their practice.

After a while, Xueping said, “Uncle Ding, you’ve closed the doors and windows so tightly—”

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—how can it come in? Could you open the small window on top?”

“It’s not that the doors and windows are closed too tightly for it to come in, but that your mind is not focused enough and your energy is not concentrated,” Ding Weixin said. “If I open the window and the bottle moves inside, how would we explain it? Did it come in from the top? Or through the glass? As long as your mind is singularly focused, you will definitely be able to move it in.”

The children regained their confidence and began practicing again with eyes fixed and minds intent.

Before long, Xueping said to Ding Weixin: “Uncle Ding, look—the bottle is floating. Oh! It seems to be floating toward me!” With that, Xueping called out: “The bottle is coming in!”

In a flash, Old Ding saw Xueping hastily reach out and lean forward to grab it. Just as the bottle was about to touch the ground, Xueping caught it in one grab!

Success! Ding Weixin was so overjoyed that he suddenly scooped Xueping up in his arms.

Just then, the two apples outside the rear window landed on the table inside—one after the other—with a “thud” and a “thud.”

Just as they were about to celebrate, the other child at the front window called out indistinctly: “Uncle Ding, look!” He had half an apple in his mouth; looking outside the window again, the originally whole apple had now become half, sitting on the windowsill.

Ding Weixin quickly opened the door, brought the half apple from the windowsill inside, and fitted it together with the half the child had bitten off—they matched perfectly, as whole as before. He and the children were all immersed in the joy of success.

From then on, Jin Xueping and four other children possessed the special ability of “psychokinetic movement of objects.”

Simulated Experiment in Removing Gallstones

Could the abilities of children with special functions—mentally breaking and reconnecting matchsticks, mentally breaking steel needles, and psychokinetically moving objects—be applied to clinical treatments such as setting bones and removing gallstones? Ding Weixin made an interesting attempt.

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In the midst of our conversation, he said: “Wait a moment, let me show you something.”

A moment later, he came to the table carrying two flat, elongated cardboard boxes and said: “These are the material evidence of our successful simulated experiment in removing gallstones.”

Seeing two boxes pasted to look exactly the same, sealed tightly, I casually picked one up and saw written on it:

A Test subject: Yang Ping, female, age 16. Requirement: Contains 100 yellow kernels of corn; without opening the box, use mental power to transfer them to Box B. Date: November 30, 1987.

I weighed it in my hand—it was feather-light; I shook it—no sound.

I then picked up the other box—it clattered loudly. Written on the box was a large ”°.”

“People with special abilities can retrieve objects through walls and take things out of bottles. Can they also remove gallstones? Driven by this idea, we conducted this experiment.”

He explained: “These two cardboard boxes are medicine boxes that originally held injection vials. I placed 100 yellow kernels of corn in one of them, then first pasted a thin layer of paper on the outside of the box, then wrapped it many times around with adhesive tape crisscrossing horizontally and vertically, and finally pasted another layer of paper over the tape, writing characters on all sides of the box as a seal mark. Then I gave the two boxes to Yang Ping and asked her to take them home to practice.”

Yang Ping—in 1981, when she was still attending Dongyangshi Elementary School—was discovered by Ding Weixin during a test to possess special abilities. After training, she gradually became able to use mental power to restore shattered matchstick pieces, to move flowers from the courtyard and leaves from trees into the house, to extract objects from inside envelopes, pockets, and boxes while they remained sealed, and more…

Later, the training was interrupted; she grew older and started working. Unexpectedly, her abilities were still preserved: as long as she was in good spirits, in a normal mental state, and without interference, her abilities could still be exercised quite well.

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Last year, she again participated in the training on and off.

“Take it home to practice?!” I asked in surprise, furrowing my brow.

“Yes, I believe they wouldn’t cheat.” Ding Weixin explained: “At present, there are some tests that the children still have difficulty completing in person. This is a complex psychological factor that requires a training process before they can adapt and reach a level of effortless application.”

After Yang Ping brought the box home, her mind concentrated on the box, and she went to bed rather early that night. But at 4 a.m. the next day (December 1st), Yang Ping suddenly woke up and said to her mother: “I feel the ability has come.” With that, she immediately got dressed, sat upright, and began emitting gong. At that point, she felt only that every short while (about one minute), a flash would light up in her mind, and with that, a kernel of corn would “pop” into her pocket. Just like that — a flash in the mind, a kernel dropping into the pocket… After over an hour, by a little past 5 o’clock, all 100 kernels of corn in Box A had dropped into her pocket. Finally, she wrapped the corn in newspaper and, together with the two empty cardboard boxes, placed them in the cabinet.

That morning, as soon as Yang Ping started work, she called Ding Weixin to tell him about it. Ding Weixin was very pleased to hear it. “You moved them all out — all into Box B?” he asked.

Only then did Yang Ping suddenly realize: “Oh no! How could I have forgotten! I moved them all into my pocket — they’re wrapped up and in the cabinet now.”

“That won’t do at all! Those aren’t corn kernels, they’re sticky gallstones — how can you put them in your pocket? No good! You have to move every one of them into Box B!”

Upon hearing this, Yang Ping stood at the counter, but her mind had already “flown” back home.

Yang Ping was a sales clerk in a shoe shop, and her workplace was no less than five li from home. At that moment, she stood at the counter and began emitting gong, her mind entirely focused on the corn kernels at home. She could barely hear the customers’ questions. Before long, the kernels of corn moved one by one into Box B.

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At this point, Ding Weixin picked up Box B and shook it back and forth in front of the tape recorder I was using for the interview, the kernels rattling loudly inside the box. I took the box and examined it over and over, yet could not find the slightest flaw. Although I had no reason to disbelieve, my mind still was not entirely at ease. After all, I had not witnessed it with my own eyes!

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Special Phenomena of an American Teenage Girl

(USA) Claire Severn

Mrs. Joan Resk of Columbus, Ohio, is a well-known person. Now fifty-six years old, she has taken in over 250 foster children over the past thirty years. Currently, her family of eight includes herself, her husband John Resk, their twenty-five-year-old son Craig, and five foster children — the youngest only six months old, and the oldest their fourteen-year-old adopted daughter Tina.

On March 3, 1984, something extraordinary occurred in their home. After breakfast, Joan Resk was washing the dishes when suddenly the dining room light came on by itself. The lights in the empty hallway also came on. There was no one upstairs, yet the shower faucet was running. The washing machine and dry-cleaning machine in the kitchen were making strange noises. The electric clock on the wall was spinning rapidly. She walked into the living room to see what the children were doing — the stereo phonograph was playing music. Tina said: “You told me to turn it off, but it turned itself back on.” With that, she pulled out the phonograph’s plug, but the phonograph kept playing.

Tina was a striking girl with clear, attractive features and a head of thick light-brown hair. At fourteen years old, she already stood 175 centimeters tall and looked as though she would grow even taller — something that made her uneasy about her own height. Mother and daughter waited anxiously for John Resk to come home.

John was a quiet, strongly built man. After hearing his wife describe the situation, he telephoned an electrician. The electrician said that over the phone there was a bizarre noise — “like howling.” John felt the same way. The repairman thought the Resk family’s situation appeared to be a problem with the electrical breaker panel, but upon inspection, the breaker panel was perfectly intact and functioning normally. He went from room to room turning off the light switches and taping them down with adhesive tape, but before he had finished taping them all, the lights he had attended to first came back on,

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and the tape was gone.

The repairman said: “I taped and taped, used up two rolls of adhesive tape, and then switched to adhesive cloth.” But the lights still turned themselves on. He turned off all four switches in the kitchen and stood there watching. The entire Resk family was right in front of him — no one could reach the switches — yet the lights came on again. He worked continuously for three hours before finally giving up. He said: “I couldn’t help but get a strange feeling at that point.” That evening, he called John to ask how things were. John told him: “The lights are fine now, but something worse has happened — objects are flying through the air.”

Photographs hanging on the wall came loose from their hooks and fell to the floor. Goblets on the display shelf toppled and shattered. Chairs moved by themselves. The long sofa stood itself upright. The Resk family was thrown into panic and called the police. Two officers came and, after looking into the matter, said: “You need someone’s help, but this isn’t something we can help you with.” That night, the entire family crowded into the living room to sleep.

The next day, the Resks discovered a clue. They recalled that the previous day, when Tina had gone out to visit a friend, the house had been peaceful for an hour. And in the morning, when Tina woke up, the strange events began again. But Tina said unequivocally: “I didn’t do this. I didn’t deliberately cause any of these things.” The Resks indeed had not seen her do anything. Could it be a ghost causing trouble in the dark? “I don’t believe in such things!” said Joan Resk. She believed there was an unseen force: “Tina perhaps cannot control it. It is simply a force at work.”

They called their church, and the pastor agreed to come and bless their home. He lit a candle, walked through the entire house, and offered prayers in every room. But as soon as he left, the commotion began again.

On the third morning, Joan Resk telephoned Mike Harden, a columnist for the Columbus Telegraph. He had previously reported on the Resk family’s affairs. Harden said: “I don’t believe in such things as paranormal powers.” But when he sat at the table —

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While talking with the family, a large cup of hot coffee moved on its own and overturned into Tina’s apron, and the periodicals on the table also fell to the floor one after another. Harden immediately telephoned and called in a photojournalist.

Photojournalist Fred Shannon carried out what he called “the weirdest photography assignment of his life” here. He saw Tina sitting in a chair when a heavy woolen rug flew up from the floor and covered her head. Shannon snapped a photograph of this. He then saw a tissue box on a table a meter away from Tina fly to the other end of the room. A white telephone made several attempts to charge toward Tina; Shannon wanted to photograph it, but it clearly seemed to deliberately avoid the lens. Shannon matched wits with it: after positioning his camera, he deliberately turned his body away, watching from the corner of his eye. The moment the telephone moved, he immediately pressed the shutter, capturing a photograph of the telephone flying past in front of Tina. This photograph, which he called “a once-in-a-lifetime shot,” was published in major newspapers around the world.

Shannon’s photographs and the Telegraph’s report caused a sensation throughout the entire journalism world, and other reporters rushed to the Resch household to cover the story. A television cameraman captured footage of a lamp slowly dropping to the floor by itself. But when he played the tape back at slow speed and watched carefully, he suddenly noticed something no one had ever seen before: Tina looked around in all directions and, when no one was paying attention, reached out and pushed the lampshade, causing the lamp to fall and break on the floor. No one else had noticed this. Tina’s explanation was: “I felt bored and angry. I did it to make the reporters finish their interviews more quickly.”

The Resch family could only turn to scientists for help. They asked the Psychical Research Foundation of North Carolina to send someone. Foundation chairman William Roll said that among the inexplicable events he had investigated, one-third were frauds or caused by natural changes, one-third could not be determined as true or false, and the remaining one-third were genuine events. He did not believe these were caused by “ghosts” or “spirits”; he believed this was “the influence of a spontaneously recurrent person on inanimate objects” — that some people possessed the ability to make objects around them fly about. He said: “People with this kind of special ability are usually unable to control themselves. Moreover, the majority are adolescents.” He believed this was

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an ability produced when adolescents experienced inner turmoil.

Roll and an assistant stayed at the Resch home for a week and found no other cause. Objects in the house were still moving on their own. Photographs fell from the walls, a tape recorder slid off a chest of drawers, a pair of pliers flew into the wall… The “Scientific Investigation Committee for Reports of Special Abilities” in New York State also sent investigators, but they were turned away by the Resch couple. By this time, Tina had already gone back with William Roll for further examination.

In North Carolina, strange occurrences continued to happen around Tina: doors opened by themselves, and a telephone flew up and struck Tina on the shoulder. Through testing, Roll found that when Tina sat blindfolded in a car, she could accurately name the colors of other cars, and sometimes, without any introduction, she could describe the situations of strangers. However, the test results were “not yet conclusive” as to whether Tina possessed special abilities. Not long after, Tina crashed her motor scooter into a tree, fracturing her leg, and was hospitalized for over a month. When she returned to the Resch home, everything returned to normal and all was peaceful.

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Emitting “External Qi” and “X-Ray Vision”

Wang Yonghuai

I am a scientific researcher. In order to explore the relationship between qigong handed down from ancient times and modern cybernetics, in recent years I began paying attention to research on qigong mechanisms.

To study qigong, if one does not understand qigong, does not master at least some qigong, and lacks personal experience, it is impossible to carry out qigong research. Under the guidance of this principle, beginning last spring, I followed Beijing qigong master Yang Meijun to learn qigong.

When I first began studying qigong, I only hoped that through considerable effort over time, I could emit some external qi, which would make it more convenient when arranging experiments and adjusting instruments. I never expected that after only a little over a month of practice, I had already acquired the ability to emit external qi.

One morning, after practicing in the park, Teacher Yang asked several of us to channel qi for treatment of a few new students. At the time, I doubted whether I could actually emit qi. Teacher Yang said, “I know you can.” Upon hearing this, I proceeded to channel qi for the patient. Afterwards, the patient reported good results, saying that after I channeled qi, their condition had improved. But I still had doubts: had I really emitted qi? Was it just the patient’s psychological effect? About another week or so later, several of us went to the Institute of High Energy Physics and conducted several tests, including infrared, biological probes, and scintillation counters — all of which recorded our emissions of external qi. The mystery was finally resolved, and I became convinced that I could indeed emit external qi.

From then on, through Teacher Yang’s careful guidance and my own diligent practice, I gradually mastered the ability to separately channel qi along individual meridians of the five organs, as well as functions such as thought transmission, and was able to assist Teacher Yang in treating patients. As for how x-ray vision through qigong was achieved, the story is quite interesting. I remember one time in late September last year, I accompanied Teacher Yang to see patients. Teacher Yang introduced me to someone, saying I possessed x-ray vision, and asked me to perform an x-ray diagnosis on a patient.

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I closed my eyes and, as though practicing qigong, tried to see through with clairvoyance, but in the end I couldn’t see through anything. Afterwards, I told Teacher Yang, “Please don’t say I have clairvoyant vision anymore — I don’t.” Teacher Yang just smiled after hearing this and said nothing. Not long after, while transmitting qi to a heart patient, I simultaneously emitted qi while wondering in my mind: What does the patient’s heart look like? Where is the diseased qi located? As I pondered, an image of a heart appeared before my eyes, and in the middle of the coronary artery there was a dark, murky mass of illness. I directed my external qi toward the diseased qi and saw it being slowly driven out; the patient also felt relief in the heart area. Because this image was a black-and-white image similar to a hallucination, I doubted whether it was some kind of hallucination. I went again to consult Teacher Yang, who said it was the result of clairvoyant perception. But I still felt somewhat uncertain in my heart. From then on, I paid attention to cross-checking my clairvoyant findings against the patients’ own accounts, and discovered that the rate of correspondence was very high. Some days ago, at a friend’s house, his wife brought over a woman I had never met. I performed a clairvoyant scan on her and found that the upper edge of the bladder displayed a dark triangle with very neat edges. I felt this was very strange, so I described what I had seen, though in my own mind I couldn’t figure out what it meant. She immediately smiled — it turned out she had undergone a total hysterectomy.

Up to now, the results of clairvoyant scans performed on over a dozen patients whose conditions I had absolutely no prior knowledge of show a correspondence rate with the patients’ own accounts that can reach over ninety percent. My understanding is that during the clairvoyance process, the emission and reception of information does not pass through the eyes, but is carried out directly by the brain. The substance emitted also does not seem to be electromagnetic waves, and during the image-formation process the brain carries out a complex information-processing procedure. In short, this is a topic worthy of study.

Of course, since the time I have spent studying qigong is still very short, my clairvoyant ability is still at a very preliminary stage. I still cannot obtain vivid color images, and the image formation is not yet clear enough. But what is gratifying is that I have taken the first step on the path of learning qigong.

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Why Can Qu Chunhua See Through the Five Organs?

Zhang Hua

Recently, remarkable news spread from a certain PLA unit’s Qigong Health and Rehabilitation Hospital in Dalian: Qu Chunhua, who had been receiving treatment from qigong master Liu Lianchun at this hospital for one year, suddenly discovered that she possessed special abilities. Without using any instruments, she needs only to sweep her eyes over a patient’s body and she can state which part of the patient’s five organs, six bowels, bones, or blood vessels has disease. The author conducted on-site follow-up observations for three days and personally witnessed that the conditions of thirty-two patients diagnosed by Qu Chunhua were, in the vast majority of cases, consistent with what the patients already knew. On the morning of November 21, while the author was interviewing Qu Chunhua, Wang Huimin, former deputy director of the political department of the garrison unit, came seeking diagnosis by reputation. Qu Chunhua quietly observed Wang Huimin face-to-face for a few seconds, then said: “Your blood pressure is high, it’s not well controlled, you have a lot of phlegm, and your left arm is numb, with the numbness extending to your left leg.” Wang Huimin was astonished — this was essentially the same as the hospital’s diagnosis. On the afternoon of November 23, a middle-aged woman named Jiang Wanyun from the Daqing Oilfield Transportation Company stood before Qu Chunhua requesting a diagnosis. Qu Chunhua took one look and pointed out that the visitor had a tumor the size of a thumbnail on her liver, and that it was red. The patient and her husband were extremely impressed, because this was exactly the same as the hemangioma (2.3 × 2.4 cm) just diagnosed by B-ultrasound at Harbin Medical University.

To further verify the reliability of the diagnoses, the author, after all patients had left that evening, acted as a patient for verification purposes. The author had undergone an appendectomy. When Qu Chunhua was asked to look, she immediately stated — through several layers of clothing — the position, direction, and length of the surgical incision, and how many stitches had been used, all of which were exactly identical to the author’s scar. The author then asked her in passing to look at what was inside the right chest pocket of the author’s jacket. Qu Chunhua looked for a moment and said: “Inside is a stack of 10-yuan renminbi bills, folded in half with the opening facing up.” Taking them out —

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sure enough, it was exactly so.

Why can Qu Chunhua see through the human body’s five organs?

According to qigong master Liu Lianchun’s introduction, Qu Chunhua is twenty-six years old this year. When she was three months old, she developed chorea and could not care for herself. Beginning in 1984, she received qigong treatment from qigong master Liu Lianchun, with intermittent treatment lasting nearly a year. She had recovered to muscle strength grade three, was able to knit sweaters, hold bowls of rice, walk slowly, and her language impairment had noticeably diminished. On October 20, 1986, she came again to receive treatment. One week later, on October 28, her special abilities were suddenly induced. However, because Qu Chunhua has a relatively low level of education and at present does not understand human physiological and anatomical knowledge, for some illnesses she can only describe the phenomena but cannot diagnose what disease it is. Currently, two doctors are assigned each day to give her lessons, helping her to master human anatomy and other medical knowledge as quickly as possible.

When asked what qigong method was used to treat Qu Chunhua, Liu Lianchun replied: “It is the Daoist ‘Gathering Fire and Carrying Golden Marrow Intestine Qigong,’ passed down through five generations of my ancestors.” He continued: “The brain cells of an ordinary person utilize only a small portion. That qigong can develop human intelligence is not an esoteric claim. It was under the influence of the qigong state that Qu Chunhua’s clairvoyant ability was induced.”

The author subsequently interviewed Ma Zhongkui, a military doctor and one of the persons in charge of the Qigong Health and Rehabilitation Hospital. He said: “The patients treated here generally achieve quite good results. This is especially true for rheumatoid arthritis, sequelae of cerebrovascular accident hemiplegia (flaccid paralysis type), comprehensive geriatric syndrome, sequelae of poliomyelitis, traumatic paraplegia, rheumatism, and chronic lower back and leg pain — for these diseases, the effects are pronounced. Most of these conditions are difficult or even impossible to treat at other hospitals.” Military doctor Ma also spoke of the advantages of qigong treatment, such as not requiring medication and enabling rapid recovery. The author then proceeded to the hospital ward to interview several patients currently undergoing treatment. Wang Suqing, thirty-four years old, came from Shenyang. Eight years ago, while in her postpartum confinement period, she suddenly fell ill with a fever exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Every measure was tried, but the high fever would not come down. In the end, ice blocks had to be placed around her body to reduce the temperature. After the fever broke, she became completely paralyzed, her muscles atrophied, and she became skin and bones. After three months of treatment, she can now walk independently and care for herself. Her atrophied muscles have begun to grow back, and she has regained —

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— her fullness as a woman. Sixteen-year-old Liu Ronghong came from Zhuanghe County. She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and polymyositis, with overall bodily weakness, unsteady gait, and frequent falls. After only half a month of treatment, she could already bounce around and was essentially the same as a normal person.

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Random Thoughts on Qigong and Special Abilities

Guo Kuan

Qigong practice plays a subtle role in human health — this is the inevitable result of conforming to the natural laws of human life. The process of qigong practice is one in which zhen qi (true qi) gathers, consolidates, develops, and sublimates — a process from quantitative change to qualitative change. Its concrete manifestations include resisting and curing disease, prolonging life, enhancing intelligence, and stimulating special abilities (which one might say is the restoration of certain atrophied instincts or latent potentials of the human body), and so forth. When quantitative change gradually develops to a sudden breakthrough, the display of its power is often astonishing. Such phenomena can leave people bewildered and confused, and thus they become cloaked in a “mystical” aura. The brilliant and extraordinary performances of qigong masters cannot be explained using concepts from biology or physics — this is common knowledge. The various extraordinary abilities that transcend time and space, achieved through Buddhist chan (Chan meditation) and Daoist neidan (internal alchemy) practices of ancient times, may perhaps not be purely religious superstition. Even certain descriptions in ancient mythological tales — such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, escaping through earth, water, or fire — cannot simply be dismissed as pure myth and fantasy. Very likely, there were real-life “models” for them in those times. If we say that modern airplanes, telescopes, radar, submarines, and the like are the realization of such mythological fantasies through scientific development, then what do the following seemingly absurd facts signify — that today there are still people who can survive being buried deep underground, who can walk barefoot through blazing fire without being burned, who can read characters with their ears, who can see through the human body, and even those who can predict earthquakes? They signify that through certain forms of training, the human body can indeed manifest astonishing special abilities. Alternatively, just as animals possess special abilities (for example, certain animals can also sense earthquakes in advance, and possess other special abilities, though this has rarely been noticed by people so far), these are simply expressions of the mobilization and restoration of latent potentials or instincts belonging to the human body.

Zhang Baosheng — The “Top Seed” Among China’s Extraordinary Individuals

Editor’s Note: Ever since this magazine reprinted Section 6, “The Extraordinary Zhang Baosheng,” from the Taiwanese woman writer Qiong Yao’s Unbreakable Homesickness — My Journey to the Mainland (Issue No. 3, 1989), many readers have developed great interest in Zhang Baosheng’s special abilities. They found Qiong Yao’s report — written based on what she personally witnessed — to be authentic and credible, thereby dispelling various misunderstandings about special abilities and gaining new insight. Many readers wrote in expressing the hope of continuing to see reports about Zhang Baosheng’s special abilities.

To meet readers’ requests, this issue publishes “The ‘Top Seed’ Among China’s Extraordinary Individuals — Zhang Baosheng” (originally published in Culture and Entertainment, October 1987), recommended by Comrade Qiu Shi.

As the original editor of the article stated: Professor Qian Xuesen has said that in human society, the unknown world vastly exceeds the known world. There are still many things in qigong, special abilities, traditional Chinese medicine, and other fields that have not yet been recognized by people. The various extraordinary events involving Zhang Baosheng recorded in this article represent an “unknown world” that has not yet been unlocked — and Chinese scientists are currently conducting research on them. This report covers only the phenomena themselves. It is sincerely hoped they will draw you in, provoke deep thought, and inspire you to explore.

An extraordinary individual named Zhang Baosheng has emerged in Northeast China! Zhang Baosheng is from Benxi, Liaoning, twenty-eight years old, of medium height and unremarkable appearance — an ordinary young man. Who would have guessed that he was born with a body full of miraculous special abilities? Through years of devoted cultivation, he has developed a repertoire of extraordinary skills that leave all who witness them dumbfounded and utterly mystified.

There are quite a few people in the world who possess special abilities, but Zhang Baosheng’s abilities are extraordinary and far from ordinary. For this reason, people call him the “top seed player” among China’s extraordinary individuals.

Born with Divine Eyes, He Suffers Undeserved Hardship — Emerging to Demonstrate His Skills, He Makes Outstanding Contributions

Zhang Baosheng was born with a pair of narrow, squinting eyes — the black and white sharply distinct, gleaming with spirit. Though outwardly there is nothing strange about them, his power of X-ray vision is truly formidable. Through paper, cloth, boards, human skin, and even bricks and walls, he can see everything clearly and distinctly, as if possessed of piercing golden eyes. Yet this supernatural ability has caused him to suffer undeserved hardship on more than one occasion.

Back when he was still in school, whenever a classmate lost a pen, pencil, small knife, handkerchief, or the like, as long as someone told him the distinguishing features, Zhang Baosheng could immediately and accurately state exactly where it was or which greedy person had taken it — never once making a mistake. His classmates regarded him as a little detective, but his teacher suspected him of being the thief: “If he isn’t the thief, how could he know so much detail?”

After a few years of schooling, Zhang Baosheng grew up and came to work as a handyman at a mine in Benxi. He was diligent with his hands, quick on his feet, and good-hearted. Whenever mail arrived at the mine, he always delivered it to each person personally. Once, when Zhang Baosheng handed a perfectly sealed letter to a young worker, he teased the man with a grin: “Your girlfriend wrote to ask you out to a movie!” The young man at first thought Zhang Baosheng was just guessing and joking around, but after receiving the letter and opening it, he found it was indeed true. His expression instantly turned from sunny to stormy. He bolted straight to the security office and filed a complaint against Zhang Baosheng: secretly opening another’s mail violates the Constitution and infringes upon citizens’ freedom of correspondence!

The comrades at the security office furrowed their brows and immediately summoned Zhang Baosheng, ordering him to confess properly. Zhang Baosheng was not at all nervous and truthfully explained: “I didn’t open anyone’s letter. I saw the words inside right through the envelope. What kind of law does that break?” The security comrades, hearing this, were amused. They casually pulled out a document wrapped tightly in brown kraft paper: “Go ahead, read it — what’s the content inside?” Zhang Baosheng unhurriedly glanced at the kraft paper package and said: “Inside is a document about family planning — one couple, one child.”

With that single attempt, Zhang Baosheng instantly transformed from a “sinner” into a prodigy. The Benxi Municipal Bureau of Public Security received the report and, with a single order, summoned him to assist in solving cases. Word spread and caused a sensation throughout Benxi.

Zhang Baosheng’s piercing eyes also attracted medical scientists. He had only attended primary school — let alone studying meridian theory, no one had ever taught him even how the internal organs were arranged inside the body — yet he could see the internal structure of the human body with perfect clarity. The Liaoning Provincial College of Traditional Chinese Medicine invited him over and began conducting serious scientific experiments. Relying solely on his naked eyes, Zhang Baosheng could accurately perceive the pathways of the human meridians. When the professors compared his observations against the records in ancient texts, they matched exactly. Zhang Baosheng could not only see the meridian pathways clearly but also distinguish the colors of the meridians. In his eyes, the meridian colors differed from person to person — some gray, some yellow, and some pink. Previously, the Liaoning Provincial College of Traditional Chinese Medicine had used acoustic emission detection instruments to record the acoustic information transmitted along the human meridians, but could only observe a short segment along the limbs of ordinary people. After Zhang Baosheng joined the experiments and observations, he traced every meridian pathway with absolute clarity, delighting the professors so much that beams of joy spread across their faces.

Retrieving Objects by Thought — A Simple Grab from Thin Air

Passing Through Walls and Doors — Effortless as a Breath of Air

When Zhang Baosheng was still in his youth, one day he followed his father to the street to buy meat. It happened to be a market day, and the marketplace was packed with an ocean of people. Around the meat stall there were three layers of onlookers, densely packed and impenetrable. His father had no choice but to sigh at the “meat” in resignation and drag Baosheng home empty-handed. Who could have known that halfway home, five jin of pork suddenly appeared in Baosheng’s hands. His father, upon seeing this, immediately flew into a rage and slapped him twice across the face with a crack: “You beast! How dare you steal someone else’s things!” Zhang Baosheng’s eyes brimmed with tears as he cried out in protest of his innocence, saying he had used his mental power to take five jin of pork and had already paid for it. His father found this most peculiar: “You were right beside me the whole time, not a step away — could it be you possess some kind of divine power?”

Indeed, Zhang Baosheng had the ability to retrieve objects by thought. Without moving his hands or feet, he only needed to silently project his mental power, and an invisible, uncanny “hand” would emerge — taking whatever he wished, mysterious and unfathomable. Last winter at the Zhu Dao Hotel in Guangzhou, when the mood struck him, he amused himself by playing tricks on his companions — neither opening his mouth nor lifting a finger. One moment he “transformed” someone’s shoes onto the lawn outside; the next he “commanded” the keys in someone’s bag to suddenly fly up and “run” into his hand; then he made a telephone ring for no reason at all; and then he made a color television image turn black-and-white, and the black-and-white image vanish completely!

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Zhang Baosheng’s mental power could also command objects to pass through paper, cloth, glass, wooden boards, and even thick concrete walls. Once, at the Liaoning Provincial College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, everyone watched him go out empty-handed in the morning, yet he returned holding a full thermos of soy milk. It turned out that the thermos belonged to the room next door, but Zhang Baosheng had never set foot in that adjacent room. When everyone expressed astonishment, Zhang Baosheng said: “Watch carefully, shall we?” In the blink of an eye, the thermos instantly disappeared — it had returned to the neighboring room. Zhang Baosheng projected his power once more, and the thermos was back in his hands!

Such mysterious and unfathomable demonstrations truly left the teachers and professors who witnessed them feeling as though they were lost in a deep fog, and inevitably gave rise to a thicket of suspicions. Zhang Baosheng could see what everyone was thinking at a glance. Very well — if you don’t believe it, let’s try again right here on the spot. And so, under the watchful eyes of all present, an impromptu experiment began: a teacher took a key, tied a string of small bells to it, and handed it to Zhang Baosheng, saying: “From now on, move the key wherever you please.” He thought to himself: these little bells will ring at the slightest movement; if there’s any cheating, we’ll surely catch him in the act. Zhang Baosheng, hearing this, made no reply. He reached out, took the key with its attached bells, and immediately projected his power. Before anyone could react, the key had instantly vanished without a trace. Zhang Baosheng narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: “It’s in the drawer.” The teachers opened the drawer and stared — the key with its little bells was indeed lying inside the drawer! No one had seen how the key had gotten in there. Zhang Baosheng revealed the secret, explaining that he had not opened the drawer at all, nor had he even moved the hand holding the key. He had used his mental power to push the key, bells and all, right through the wooden board and into the drawer.

The Golden Ox Enters the Bag — Its Whereabouts Bewildering

A Business Card Chewed to Pulp — Restored by Divine Power

In the autumn of 1986, Zhang Baosheng accepted an invitation from a certain locale and gave a public performance,

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which caused a sensation, leaving every member of the audience astonished and full of admiration.

In a small auditorium, over a hundred spectators from all quarters were already seated. On stage, Zhang Baosheng, looking quite refined and composed, sat calmly at the center, with several distinguished guests seated to either side.

The performance began. A staff member asked the audience to lend a banknote. No sooner had the words left his mouth than a visitor from Macao swiftly drew out a stack of one-thousand-denomination Hong Kong dollar banknotes from his wallet and passed them up to the stage. The staff member casually selected one and handed it to person A on stage, asking A to note the serial number on the “Golden Ox,” and to personally place the “Golden Ox” into a brown paper bag. At this point, to avoid any suspicion, Zhang Baosheng temporarily rose from his seat and walked down to the audience. After Zhang Baosheng had left, another person on stage wrote rapidly on a piece of paper and also handed it to A, who placed it into the brown paper bag together with the “Golden Ox.” The bag’s opening was then sealed with paste and further secured with tape, making it airtight.

With all preparations complete, Zhang Baosheng returned to his central position on stage. At this moment, Zhang Baosheng was seen taking a deep breath, his gaze lowered toward the stage surface, extending both hands beneath the table and rubbing them vigorously. After about six or seven minutes, he took a stack of tissue paper and wiped his hands — with a single wipe, an entire patch of the tissue was soaked. After repeating this sequence of deep breathing, hand-rubbing, hand-wiping, and brow-mopping over and over, he picked up the sealed brown paper bag. He then took a hard coconut candy that had been prepared on the table and placed it on top of the brown paper bag. He then wrapped the bag around the candy, rolled it into a paper tube, rubbed and squeezed it several times, and then blew a puff of breath into the paper tube. He handed it to person A, saying: “Please hold it well. After twenty minutes, I guarantee the coconut candy will be inside the bag.” A took the paper tube and, following Zhang Baosheng’s instructions, held it carefully in hand.

By this time, the eyes of the entire audience were fixed on the paper bag in A’s hands, and an inevitable murmur of whispered discussion arose. No one dared to affirm that after such brief manipulation the candy would indeed burrow into the bag, yet no one dared to say that the candy absolutely would not.

While this puzzle had not yet been revealed, during the twenty-minute interval, Zhang Baosheng took advantage of the lull

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He then launched into his second act.

He asked a certain comrade to produce one of his own business cards and sign his name on it. He then invited a member of the audience to come up and, before everyone, place the card in their mouth and chew it to a pulp, then spit it out onto a dish. Zhang Baosheng took a paper napkin, lifted the pulp — already chewed by the audience member — out of the dish, and held it in his hands, kneading, pressing, and blowing on it over and over again. After about a few minutes of this, Zhang Baosheng furrowed his brow and said to the audience below: “The pulp of the card is still missing a little.” Upon hearing this, the comrade was startled at first, thinking to himself: “Surely you can’t tell just by kneading it!” He then leaned over and carefully searched the tabletop and the dish. How strange! He actually found a tiny scrap of pulp. He quickly picked it up with a toothpick and handed it to Zhang Baosheng, who kneaded it for a while longer. Zhang Baosheng still furrowed his brow and said: “Still missing a little!” The audience member who had chewed the card, upon hearing this, ran back up to the stage, took a toothpick, and carefully and meticulously searched through their own teeth. After searching for a while, they found nothing. By this time, the audience’s excitement was growing ever higher; someone else found another tiny scrap of paper pulp. Zhang Baosheng took it and, together with the original clump of pulp that had been spit out, kneaded it for a while, pressed it for a while, and blew on it several more times. Then, pressing both palms together, he flattened the pulp into a sheet-like shape. After blowing on it again, he concentrated his gaze and slowly, deliberately, pushed and pressed the pulp with his fingers. Before long, a miracle occurred: the card that had been chewed to a pulp was now restored to a complete business card, bearing the very name that the comrade had personally signed, still as clear as new. Zhang Baosheng held up the restored card for the audience to see clearly, then handed it back to the comrade.

At that very moment, more than two hundred pairs of eyes — on stage and off — all fixed upon that comrade. The comrade took the card, carefully examined it, and was utterly astonished. Unable to contain himself, he stood up, held the card high — the one that had been chewed to pieces and then restored — and declared loudly: “This is the business card with my signature!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a fervent, almost frenzied round of applause erupted from the stage and the audience. Over a hundred spectators — every single one of them — marveled without end; each and every one was completely convinced.

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Just as the audience was still reeling from the previous performance, Zhang Baosheng also felt fatigued. He unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it into his mouth, then ate a banana. After a brief rest, he was once again full of energy and launched into another of his signature feats.

Exerting Mind Power to Make Pills Pass Through a Bottle

Marvelously Employing Extraordinary Power to Make the Golden Bull Emerge from a Sealed Bag

After Zhang Baosheng had swallowed the chocolate and eaten the banana, the audience gradually grew quiet again. At this point, a guest volunteered and picked up a glass medicine bottle that a staff member had prepared.

The medicine bottle bore a label, had been signed, and was sealed airtight at the mouth. Inside were yellow pills. What Zhang Baosheng was about to perform was to make the pills pass through the bottom of the bottle on their own and drop out, without damaging the bottle.

The guest turned the small medicine bottle over and over, examining it top to bottom with the utmost care. Only when fully satisfied that there was nothing amiss did he hand it to Zhang Baosheng.

Zhang Baosheng took the medicine bottle, held it in his hand, and stared fixedly at it for about a few minutes. He then blew on the bottle, extended his thumb, and pressed hard against the bottom while vigorously shaking the bottle. He asked the people on either side of him on stage to extend their hands. One by one, smooth, golden-yellow pills came tumbling out — as if there were a hole in the bottom — di-di-du-du, landing right in their palms.

Once all the pills had fallen out, the people on stage each held out the pills in their hands for the audience below to see clearly. The guest serving as monitor then took the bottle back from Zhang Baosheng’s hands and examined it closely: the label was intact, the walls and bottom of the bottle were undamaged, and the seal was as before. He could not help but announce loudly that the bottle was perfectly normal with absolutely no holes. The audience erupted in commotion once again.

After Zhang Baosheng finished the performance of pills passing out through the bottle, at the audience’s request, he performed the reverse — “passing through and entering” the bottle: an audience member handed Zhang Baosheng a slip of paper with the two characters “咖啡” (coffee) written on it, along with a vivid yellow flower petal. Zhang Baosheng picked up a bottle that had likewise been inspected by the monitor, sealed at the mouth, and completely undamaged. Using the same method as before, he exerted his power — 145

and inexplicably, the paper slip and flower petal “drilled” into the bottle. After the monitor and many audience members examined the bottle containing the paper slip and petal from every angle, no one could figure out how the paper and petal had gotten inside. It was hard to believe, yet they had no choice but to believe.

After Zhang Baosheng had performed the restoration of the chewed business card, the pills passing through the bottle, and the paper slip and petal passing into the bottle, more than twenty minutes had already elapsed. Zhang Baosheng then began to exercise his extraordinary power upon the kraft paper bag. He parted his lips slightly, drew a deep breath, picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from the corners of his mouth and the palms of his hands, and then, without a word, took the kraft paper bag rolled around coconut candy from A’s hands. You may recall that inside the bag were a “Golden Bull” and a slip of paper written on the spot; the coconut candy was rolled on the outside of the sealed bag. Zhang Baosheng stared at the paper roll, fondled and kneaded it for a while, and after blowing several consecutive puffs of “puh, puh,” he slowly unrolled the paper before everyone’s watchful eyes. How strange! The coconut candy had vanished without a trace! At this point, Zhang Baosheng paid no mind to how astonished the audience — on stage, off stage, to the left, and to the right — might be, and went about his own business performing massage and manipulation on the paper bag. It turned out the coconut candy had already adhered itself inside the bag.

At this moment, Zhang Baosheng picked up a pen from the table and began writing on the kraft paper bag. The monitor looked and saw that what was written was: “Hello, distinguished guests. Thank you for your care today. I hope you can offer much guidance. Baosheng.” After writing, he set down the pen and picked up the paper bag. He gently stroked the bag a few times with his hand — before you could blink — suddenly a “Golden Bull” appeared in Zhang Baosheng’s hands. A staff member quickly took the 1000-Hong Kong-dollar banknote and handed it to A, asking him to check the serial number he had recorded earlier. A compared them — not a single digit differed; it was exactly that one. At this point, Zhang Baosheng began — and what he wrote was in vertical script. The writer smiled and nodded in confirmation. As soon as the words ended, applause broke out.

At this point, A took the kraft paper bag handed to him by Zhang Baosheng and inspected it carefully: the seal was as before, with no damage whatsoever. He then tore open the bag in front of everyone — and the “Golden Bull” that had originally been placed inside and sealed by his own hand had vanished into thin air. What had originally been outside the sealed bag — 146

poured the coconut candy inside, took out the written slip of paper and took a look: “Warmly welcome Comrade Zhang Baosheng” was indeed written vertically. What made people feel even more incredibly magical was that the characters Zhang Baosheng had just written on the outside of the paper bag actually appeared on this slip of paper without missing a single stroke or a single dot.

Traveling South to a Certain Location, Specially Invited VIPs Monitor the Test

Bizarre Divine Skills Attract Reporters’ Pursuit

In September 1986, Zhang Baosheng went south to a certain place to perform. Although his whereabouts were kept secret, the news still leaked out, and reporters from newspapers, radio stations, and television stations were particularly quick to act, swarming like ducks.

On this day, the performance began. Zhang Baosheng held a bottle with an inner wax seal that had been strictly inspected by the monitors, and walked a lap around the venue. The audience stared with wide eyes, clearly seeing Zhang Baosheng grab the middle of the bottle with one hand, exposing the cap and the bottom of the bottle, while taking out a two-cent coin from his pocket with the other hand. He pursed his lips and gave a puff. Before the audience could understand what was happening, with a “clinking” sound, the coin had already drilled into the bottle.

Zhang Baosheng took out another piece of fruit candy wrapped in brightly colored candy paper. Using the same old method, he puffed a breath of air again, and the fruit candy drilled into the bottle just the same. Immediately, the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause. Zhang Baosheng, beaming with a smile, took out an envelope and rolled up a piece of fruit candy inside it. He invited a nearby elderly comrade to tightly grasp the envelope rolled with the fruit candy, and then went off to chat with people nearby as if he had nothing to do with it. After a short while, Zhang Baosheng suddenly turned around and greeted the old comrade: “It’s done!” The old comrade quickly spread open the envelope in his hand; the fruit candy was gone, but a lump bulged from the previously sealed envelope. When it was opened and examined right away, it turned out that the fruit candy had inexplicably drilled into the sealed envelope. After his initial astonishment, the old comrade testified, saying, “Just now I felt my hand go numb for a moment.”

The extraordinary person Zhang Baosheng possesses, practically all over his body, the kind of unparalleled divine skills that only appear in mythological novels.

Look at his nose; outwardly, it looks very ordinary, but when his nostrils flutter

and he sniffs around, his power manifests. Even if it is a crumpled slip of paper hidden in a lead canister that even X-rays cannot penetrate, as long as his nostrils flutter a few times and he sniffs for a while, he can accurately and flawlessly “see” it clearly.

Look at his eyes again; they are narrow and squinty, yet they can perform X-ray vision on the human body. Once, a teacher from the Liaoning Provincial College of Traditional Chinese Medicine brought him to a patient who had just finished surgery. He stared fixedly and found that a blood vessel inside had not been sutured properly. Upon inspection, this was completely accurate, leaving the doctors dumbfounded.

Zhang Baosheng’s marvelous divine skills are too numerous to list. But the most unbelievable thing is still the “sleight of hand” he performs.

On this day, at a certain university in our country, Zhang Baosheng got into high spirits and agreed to conduct a relatively large-scale experiment.

The experiment began. More than 40 agile and active college students were assigned to the main entrance of an auditorium, while all other large and small doors of the auditorium were tightly sealed. The host of the experiment told the more than 40 students in detail and clearly to watch the main door carefully and not let Zhang Baosheng find any loophole to slip through. The main entrance of the auditorium was only a few meters wide, so the more than 40 students simply stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the main entrance tightly. To prevent Zhang Baosheng’s sleight of hand, the students all kept their eyes wide open and reminded each other. Who knew that while everyone was chirping and enthusiastically discussing defense tactics, Zhang Baosheng had already reached the middle of the auditorium.

Although the students were baffled, upon careful thought, they felt deeply dissatisfied and shouted that it didn’t count. They insisted that Zhang Baosheng might have come in through the restroom; the restroom door was unguarded, which was a huge loophole.

Zhang Baosheng thought to himself: If you aren’t convinced and want to try again, then we’ll try again. The second time, the students thought they had gained experience and added more manpower. Not only did they block the main door with a dense wall of people as before, but they also dispatched heavy forces to completely guard the restroom door. The female restroom door was blocked by a group of female students. Once everything was ready, the host of the experiment said “Start” to Zhang Baosheng.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Baosheng didn’t reply and continued to chat aimlessly with others. Unexpectedly, turning

in the blink of an eye, he was gone. The auditorium was in an uproar; it turned out that Zhang Baosheng had already, unbeknownst to anyone, used his sleight of hand to mesmerize the heavy forces guarding the doors, miraculously passing through the “human wall” without a shadow or a sound, and appeared inside the auditorium.

Regarding Zhang Baosheng’s unparalleled and bizarre skills, someone once came up with a good idea: Could we invite a few other masters of special abilities to compete with each other and defeat him? But up to now, no master has emerged who can compete and duel with Zhang Baosheng.

A Record of Zhang Baosheng’s Miraculous Healing Skills

Qiu Yang

Regarding Zhang Baosheng’s magical functions, various newspapers and magazines across the country have reported on them one after another in recent years: He can see objects clearly through paper, cloth, boards, human bellies, and even through walls; he can move objects with his mind, ranging from as small as a strand of hair or a matchstick to as large as a thermos, a washbasin, or even a hundred-pound sack of sugar; he can release high heat, causing paper, cloth, plastic, and other products to ignite in an instant… These special abilities were all performed in front of large crowds, and relevant state departments, after years of repeated inspections and experiments, have confirmed that Zhang Baosheng indeed possesses abilities beyond ordinary people. The author will not go into detail here, but only wishes to disclose one or two examples of the miraculous effects when his special abilities are used to diagnose and treat diseases, in the hope of arousing the thinking of the vast number of scientific workers and medical personnel: How to use human potential to intervene in physiological processes and allow the existing level of medical care to make a qualitative leap.

The vice president of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing suffered from liver cancer. Although he was treated in many ways, he was not cured. Later, through an introduction, he came to Zhang Baosheng to seek treatment. Zhang Baosheng used his special abilities to emit energy for his treatment three times, and the tumor disappeared. In the summer of 1984, when I met this vice president face to face, he said to me frankly: “This young man is truly extraordinary! No wonder the senior leaders all call him a ‘national treasure’. When he treated me, he first used his mind to emit high heat, burning off the nerves, blood vessels, cell membranes, and other connected parts around my tumor. After a few days, the tumor shrank and detached from the liver, and later Baosheng used his mind to emit energy and ‘grabbed’ it out. Look, I am very healthy now, and it can’t even be detected when I do a scan at the hospital.”

If it is said that the personal account of this vice president himself is still not enough to make me 100 percent

If you still have doubts, then the real scene I witnessed with my own eyes — Zhang Baosheng removing a gallbladder stone for the Deputy Director of the Guangdong Customs General Administration — left me with no reason for the slightest further doubt, unless I were to doubt my own eyes.

It was a day in October 1986. In a high-end guest room at the Beijing Friendship Hotel sat seven or eight people, including the intermediary (the hotel manager), two cadres from government departments, plus the Deputy Director and his secretary, as well as Zhang Baosheng and myself.

I saw Zhang Baosheng sit down beside the supine Deputy Director, place his right hand on the right abdominal gallbladder area, and begin emitting qi through intention. Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on that slightly trembling, miraculous hand… Suddenly, Zhang Baosheng’s hand jerked upward with a flip, and I immediately and clearly saw a white solid cylindrical object about one centimeter long appear in his hand, somewhat resembling a piece of bird droppings… Everyone could not help but applaud excitedly. The Director took out a piece of paper from his briefcase and said to Zhang Baosheng: “Leave this thing to me. I want to keep it as a lifelong memento.”

Engineer Yu of the Ministry of Aerospace Industry had an eight-year-old son, Yu ××, who had put firecrackers in a glass bottle and set them off, blowing out his right eye — “vitreous body leaking, capillary damage.” After examination, the ophthalmology department of a certain hospital decided on surgical treatment, but could not guarantee the outcome (not ruling out the possibility of blindness). Just as Engineer Yu was caught in a dilemma and unable to make up his mind, someone recommended Zhang Baosheng to him. Engineer Yu, armed with modern science, though still unable to fully understand the mechanism and principles by which Zhang Baosheng’s special abilities cured illness, reasoned from the objective changes produced when his intention-emitted energy acted on objects that letting him try a treatment still offered hope.

When Zhang Baosheng administered treatment for the first time, he first used intention-emitted qi to draw the contaminated blood and broken glass fragments from inside the eyeball onto his own hand, then emitted qi to restore the leaked vitreous body… The child could soon see things, and that day his vision recovered to 0.3; after the second treatment, it recovered to 0.5; when the author accompanied Zhang Baosheng for the third treatment, Engineer Yu happily told us: the child’s vision had already recovered to 0.7.

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Perhaps by providence, I unexpectedly also had the opportunity to personally experience Zhang Baosheng’s miraculous healing.

In April 1986, during my stay in Beijing gathering manuscripts, after days of rushing about combined with staying up late reviewing manuscripts, the left side of my head suddenly began to ache severely. I took several kinds of medicine to no effect, and the pain was so bad I could not enjoy my food or sleep at night. In my utter helplessness, I thought of this “national treasure.” Since we were fairly well acquainted, he agreed to treat me the next day.

As usual, Zhang Baosheng had no polite pleasantries. After the several editors who had gone with me sat down, he had me lie on the bed and went to another room to begin emitting qi. As I lay on the bed, I suddenly felt an enormous force causing my head to turn left and right, and it turned faster and faster, completely beyond my control. This lasted for about five minutes; my head’s turning gradually slowed, and it no longer hurt as it had before. A moment later, Zhang Baosheng came out of the inner room with a smile, stacked a large wad of tissue paper on my forehead, then pressed his hand on the tissue paper and said: “I’ll give you some more heat. You need to hold on for two minutes, and after that your head won’t hurt anymore.”

Although I had mentally prepared myself, when wave after wave of heat surged from his palm toward my head, I simply could not endure it. I was scalded so badly I screamed: “Baosheng, let go quickly! I’m not doing this anymore! Baosheng, I’m not doing this anymore…” At this point, [he said something to the effect that] if [the treatment] didn’t come through, my head would keep hurting from then on.

I don’t know how I managed to struggle through those two minutes of “heat therapy,” torture-like as they were. But the moment his hand was lifted from my forehead, I immediately felt my head become incomparably light and relaxed — the pain that had tormented me for days was gone without a trace! Only then did I notice that the large wad of tissue paper, originally completely dry, had turned into a soaking-wet mass of paper. What surprised me even more was that, despite emitting such thermal energy, Zhang Baosheng’s hand remained completely unharmed.

In addition, I had heard from comrades who had been in close contact with Zhang Baosheng that he had also used special abilities to cure a brain tumor for a Chinese person in Singapore, to cure cirrhosis of the liver for a comrade of the

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State Physical Culture and Sports Commission, and to remove a bladder stone for a certain senior central leader… Since Zhang Baosheng is not a professional doctor, the cases he has treated were all unrecorded. He himself is unwilling to discuss those treatment processes and post-recovery outcomes, and the author has not conducted follow-up interviews, so these can only be left as “unsolved cases” to be supplemented later.

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A Remarkable Person in the “Ghost City”

Xiao Lan

The deeds of the “divine physician” Yan Xin have already caused a sensation far and wide. Unexpectedly, in our remote little city too, a similar remarkable person has emerged. Fengdu, known as the “Ghost City,” though a tourist destination, has a reputation that often sends chills down people’s spines due to its “Ghost City” moniker. Outsiders are often only willing to hear its stories but rarely have the courage to visit in person.

People say: the Ghost City is full of ghostly affairs — and this saying is indeed not false. The story I am about to tell also belongs to the category of “ghostly affairs.” Much of it is hard to believe, yet I am serious.

The story takes place in the Ghost City of Fengdu, in the southwest corner of China’s map, where you can find the exact location of this small city through a “magnifying glass.” The protagonist of the story is Liu Xingzhong, known as the “Remarkable Person of the Ghost City,” male, currently fifty-seven years old, ancestral home in Ruxiba Village, Baohe Township, Fengdu County, Sichuan. He now serves as “director,” “doctor,” and handyman at the “Xingzhong Clinic” in Fengdu. This too can be verified in the household registration records of the Fengdu County Public Security Bureau. As for the rest of the story… whether to believe it is up to you.

Whether to Believe It Is Up to You

A friend, whom I had not seen for half a year — to my surprise, though he had lost weight, he was full of vitality. His former sickly, puffy, listless appearance was gone, and he walked as lightly as a swallow.

“I’ve been practicing internal qigong,” he told me mysteriously.

“Ah, so that’s it!” I suddenly understood.

“How about it — would you like to meet my master?”

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According to him, his master possessed abilities that could obscure the sky and the sun, and could emit gong from a thousand li away… As for qigong’s ability to promote health and cure illness, I believed in that. But when I heard “obscure the sky and the sun” and “from a thousand li away,” I have to admit — apart from getting goosebumps from the shock, I simply could not believe it.

Seeing my half-doubting expression, he smiled: “Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”

Human beings are strange creatures: the more they disbelieve something exists, the more they want to find out about it. Good heavens! Obscuring the sky and the sun, a thousand li away… How much energy would it take to…

The next afternoon, on a sunny day after the rain, I gathered he had obtained his master’s consent. He came to find me and introduced me to his master.

It might have been better not to meet him — there was a sense of mystery. Once I saw his master, I doubted even more that he possessed such great abilities. Just look at him: his appearance was like that of a peasant — in his fifties, with the kind of crew cut common among old farmers. Though his complexion was ruddy, his looks were unremarkable. Although he wore a pair of black lace-up leather shoes, I couldn’t help feeling that he walked in them most awkwardly — giving the impression of an illiterate who had clipped three fountain pens into his shirt pocket and still looked like an illiterate.

He was, however, very modest and gentle in his dealings with others. In a soft voice he said: “Since we have sun today, how about I make a fool of myself for your benefit?”

This was exactly what I had been hoping for.

We walked outside to an open patch of ground. He said, “Don’t look until I tell you to look.”

I checked my watch: it was 3:05 p.m. I looked up at the sky — cloudless for ten thousand li. But how could the naked eye look at the sun? Its glare was so piercing I couldn’t open my eyes at all.

I saw him extend both hands and form a large circle, mumbling incantations under his breath, his hands swaying and trembling. Watching from the side, I thought to myself: This can obscure the sky and the sun?!

About two minutes later, he told me to look up at the sky. Good heavens! How miraculous! At that moment, not only could my eyes look directly at the sun, but I also saw the sun become a beautiful halo — a purplish-red halo, just as during a total solar eclipse. My

eyes were wide open, yet I didn’t feel the least bit of glare.

“Truly divine!” I said to myself.

This was a fact. I was convinced. Despite his unremarkable appearance, he genuinely possessed high-level gong.

Back indoors, we chatted freely about everything under the sun. I proposed that we try out the Xiandu Rapid Internal Gong Method he had created, experimenting on me.

“Absolutely.”

He had me sit on a square stool. I closed my eyes slightly and clasped my fingers in front of my chest.

“Relax, relax your entire body,” he said while emitting gong.

Though my eyes were only half closed, I was still paying attention to his every move. I saw him murmuring incantations and emitting gong with one hand.

“Relax your whole body, let nature take its course,” he said. “Intellectuals gain gong quickly — eight out of ten will get it very soon…”

Perhaps a minute had passed when my hands began to move involuntarily, followed by my body also starting to move of its own accord — moving more and more vigorously, even pitching forward and backward. I felt my upper body grow hot, beads of sweat broke out on my forehead, and my legs felt numb. The movements were so large, so smooth and rounded, so rhythmic and regular — ordinarily you could never produce them yourself. You yourself would feel that you had become a machine driven by some kind of “force.”

I silently recited in my heart: Truly divine!

After he helped me conclude the exercise, I felt incredibly comfortable all over. He then went on to demonstrate sandalwood fragrance, transmitting qi through a wall, summoning wind… I distinctly experienced each and every one.

He could also diagnose illness by hand-sensing. I tried it myself. Since I was also over fifty and had quite a few ailments, I wanted to see whether he could identify them accurately.

He brought his right hand close to my head and swept it over me from top to bottom. When scanning my head, he said: “You suffer from dizziness.” (I did indeed have migraines.) When scanning my abdomen, he said: “You have chronic enteritis.” (I had suffered from chronic enteritis for thirty years, and

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had never been able to cure it completely; I was very worried about developing colon cancer in old age.) When scanning my legs, he said: “You have rheumatism.” (This was the result of sleeping outdoors in the wind and dew during my military service.) When scanning my back, he patted my lower back: “You have kidney disease.” (I had indeed suffered from chronic nephritis for twenty years.)

For all my major ailments, he hit the mark every time.

I was moved — I truly felt I had met him too late.

The results were truly astonishing.

I said silently to myself that I would write promotional reports about him, that I would write reportage literature about him. Qigong — this treasure of the Chinese nation — though not yet explained by scientific principles, and though sometimes slapped with the label of “feudal superstition,” its miraculous power was a fact, an absolutely undeniable fact. Bruno developed Copernicus’s heliocentric theory; though he was burned at the stake by the Roman Church, it became fact. Watt discovered that steam could be used as a power source and wanted to invent the steam engine; he was mocked as a madman, yet it too became fact. Facts cannot be denied.

Qigong is indeed a brilliant and resplendent national treasure left behind by the ancestors of the Chinese nation.

A Scholar-Physician Family

On the sixth day of the third lunar month, 1933, Liu Xingzhong was born in Ruxiba Village, Baohe Township, Fengdu County. Although this place was a remote and desolate area, over a hundred li from the county seat with extremely inconvenient transportation, his family belonged to a “scholar-physician family.” His grandfather, Liu Qiyi, courtesy name Jisheng, was a prominent figure in Fengdu during the late Qing and early Republic; in the late Qing he had been a linsheng (stipendiary student), and was a reformist. After the 1911 Revolution, he became a member of the Sichuan Railway Protection Association and a provincial assemblyman. His father was named Liu Lianfu, courtesy name Mengchi. Because the imperial examinations were suspended, he was an unsuccessful scholar in the late Qing. He lived in the countryside all his life. His guiding principle was: books may be read, but office may not be held; medicine may be studied but not practiced. He never set foot in officialdom. He married several wives in his lifetime. His first wife died after bearing a daughter; his second wife was childless. Liu Xingzhong’s mother was the third wife. Her name was Zhou —

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Yongci was a native of Sangenshu, Shizhu County. His maternal grandfather was the head of the yamen runners in Fengdu County during the late Qing dynasty and knew some martial arts. His mother, from childhood, lived with her father in the county yamen, serving as a maid for the officials’ children, studying literature and practicing martial arts alongside them. Because her mother had borne only five daughters, even though she was a maid, her grandfather dressed her as a boy, and so she had a pair of large feet. Her grandmother was a folk herbalist; it was said she could make wild beasts emerge from their cages, and in her medical practice she could cure difficult pediatric and gynecological conditions with remarkable efficacy.

His grandfather had left behind sixty dan of fields and land, but his father, Liu Fu, was a spendthrift. Together with his second wife, née Wang, the two opium pipes smoked away twenty-eight dan, leaving only thirty-two dan. Because his mother hated her father and née Wang for these two opium pipes, after giving birth to Liu Xingzhong she separated the household and lived apart. His mother had literary talent and martial skill, was a devout Buddhist, and was shrewd and capable. She was a woman whose ambitions were higher than the sky, yet whose fate was thinner than paper. After his father passed away, due to family conflicts compounded by robbery by bandits, his mother fell ill from grief and indignation. By the time Liu Xingzhong could walk, the family fortunes had declined, and his grandmother had no choice but to take him along the country paths as she went about practicing medicine. His grandmother followed Daoism and was a proud, spirited old woman.

From childhood his body was frail and weak. His mother, fearing her son might die young, forced him to sit in meditation and cultivate his mind and character. Liu Xingzhong spent his childhood in this declining family of Confucian scholars and physicians. This household carried an air of mystery that imperceptibly shaped and influenced him.

At age eight, his grandmother passed away; at age eleven, his father passed away; at age thirteen, his mother, fallen ill from grief and indignation, coughed up blood and also left him. He became a rootless orphan.

Fortunately, his second mother, née Wang, was kind-hearted and took him in. He relied on Liu Feng — the son adopted by his father and née Wang — who earned money teaching school to support his continued education. Liu Feng was the son of his own second uncle, Liu Zhongwen.

Vowing to Probe the “Mystery”

In midsummer, the sixth month, eleven-year-old Liu Xingzhong huddled under a heavy quilt, still shivering with cold. His face was ashen, his consciousness clouded.

For the sake of his education, he was at this time boarding at the Fu Family Apothecary in Bahechang. The shop owner, Grandfather Fu, was a distant relative. By day he studied his lessons; by night he worked alongside the shop assistants cutting and pounding medicines. He got along well with everyone and also learned a considerable amount of pharmacological knowledge. He had likely been bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito,

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and contracted malaria.

On this market day, one of the apothecary assistants hailed Liu Xingzhong’s second uncle, Liu Zhongwen: “Second Uncle Liu, Xingzhong is shaking eight zhang high — come quickly and have a look!”

Liu Zhongwen was puzzled: “What’s shaking eight zhang high?”

“‘Da bai zi.‘”

In Sichuan, suffering from malaria is called da bai zi (shaking).

Liu Zhongwen was Liu Xingzhong’s own second uncle, and naturally he was very concerned about his nephew’s illness. He went to Liu Xingzhong’s bedside. Liu Xingzhong was shivering with cold, crying out “hei hei hei” without stopping.

“Zhong, my boy, how long have you had the shakes?”

Liu Xingzhong opened his eyes and saw it was his second uncle. He held up three fingers — he truly had no strength to speak.

“Get up, get up. I’ll have you well in no time.”

His second uncle and the assistants helped him to his feet and supported him to the roadside.

“Zhong, my boy, when I tell you to run, you run. Don’t look back.”

Liu Xingzhong was trembling all over like sifting grain and could only nod his head.

His second uncle was a Daoist practitioner who knew folk remedies and could draw “talisman water.” He never charged money for his medical good deeds. He was heard chanting incantations for a while, his hand gesturing continuously toward Liu Xingzhong, then shouted one word: “Be gone!” and pushed a palm of qi into Liu Xingzhong’s back. Liu Xingzhong felt a powerful current of air surge toward him, and involuntarily his feet began to move forward.

“Don’t look back. Run straight home,” his second uncle called out behind him.

Strange as it sounds, Liu Xingzhong jogged over a dozen li in one stretch without feeling tired. He broke into a sweat, and the malaria he had suffered for three days was cured from then on — it never recurred.

Liu Xingzhong also noticed that when his second uncle wrote out a folk prescription for neighbors, or drew a bowl of “talisman water,” it was genuinely effective. He pestered his second uncle to teach him.

His second uncle patted his head: “What does a child know!”

No matter how much he pestered, his second uncle grew impatient. Liu Xingzhong also grew impatient, and came up with a clever plan.

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One day, his second uncle discovered that his books on herbal medicine, medical texts, and water-cultivation methods had vanished into thin air. It turned out Liu Xingzhong had stolen them while his second uncle was away. He took them out and looked at them, but could not understand them.

He found his second uncle: “Second Uncle, will you teach me or not?”

“Was it you who stole the books?”

“Call it stealing if you like. As long as you teach me, I’ll return them right away.”

“Zhong, my boy, you’re still too young. You won’t be able to learn.” His second uncle sighed.

“Whether I can learn or not doesn’t matter. However much you teach, that’s how much I’ll learn.”

“Alright then, I’ll teach you,” his second uncle said helplessly. “Three feet of ice does not form in a single day — this skill is not something you master in a day or two!”

Liu Xingzhong could not have been more devout. Whether his second uncle was deliberately holding back or he genuinely could not understand, of what his second uncle transmitted, he only managed to learn some herbal medicine knowledge. But that miraculous bowl of “talisman water” — that bowl of “talisman water” that stopped a stomachache the moment it was drunk down — he never managed to acquire. The “talisman water” his second uncle drew could cure headaches and diarrhea; when Liu Xingzhong drew a bowl of water himself and drank it, he got diarrhea.

As for the palm of qi in his second uncle’s hand, that was even further beyond his reach. However, from that point on, Liu Xingzhong vowed that he would surely probe this “mystery.”

Nine Lives, One Death

In the preface to the Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage), there is a passage: “When one’s lord or parents are gravely ill, or young children are cast to the ground, and there is no means to save them — for a person who knows nothing of medicine to witness this, one may call them a wandering ghost.” This passage has had a profound influence on Liu Xingzhong, lasting to this very day.

Liu Xingzhong was born in old China. In those remote and impoverished rural areas, farmers who developed sores or fell ill died for lack of medicine and doctors — his understanding of this was deep and personal. His family had fallen into decline from the middle rank; he lost his own parents at a very young age. Amid that sorrow and bitterness, he tasted to the full the joys and sorrows of human partings and reunions, the shifting warmth and coldness of the world.

He had only studied in an old-style private school (sishu). For the sake of pursuing his education, he actually went to the county town to take the middle school entrance examination. Strangely enough, even though he scored a big zero in mathematics, he was still admitted. The teachers recognized his foundation in Chinese literature and his ambition. In the essay topic “One of Your Aspirations,” he wrote

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That passage from the preface to the Shanghan Lun was composed in classical Chinese and in parallel prose (pianwen) style. He can no longer recall the original text now, but the gist was that, seeing the people lack medicine and medical care and suffering a high mortality rate, he swore to study medicine to save the world and the lives of others. The teacher was so moved by his argumentation and his accomplished classical and parallel prose that he admitted him as an exception.

After enrolling, within half a year he not only caught up on subjects he had never studied, such as mathematics, but also ranked near the top of his class. However, his mother’s hemoptysis worsened at this time. Being a devoted son, he had no choice but to leave school and return home to care for the mother who depended on him for her very survival. After his mother passed away, he was admitted to Furen Middle School in Fengdu. Those were turbulent years—the War of Liberation had engulfed the entire country, the Kuomintang regime was teetering on the brink of collapse, student movements erupted constantly, and he too was swept into this great tide. Together with several good classmates he went in search of truth, once venturing into deep mountains and old forests to find the underground Party’s Eastern Sichuan Guerrilla Force, but returned disappointed each time for lack of leads. During those days, he learned acupuncture from a teacher surnamed Zhou who had come from Mengshan, Guangxi.

In the first half of 41949, the Kuomintang was press-ganging men into military service, and the school could no longer guarantee the safety of its students, so he ran back home. In November, Fengdu was liberated, and a few days later he joined the district squad and entered the revolution. He was only sixteen at the time.

During the 41950 “Sword Cult Bandit Uprising” in Fengdu, he narrowly escaped becoming a martyr several times while collecting grain and suppressing the rebellion. Four young men from his village had come out together to join the revolution; two of them sacrificed their lives in that “Sword Bandit Uprising.”

In 41952 he was demobilized from the PLA Fengdu Independent Battalion to local civilian work, where he served as the organizational committee member of the Communist Youth League branch.

He had joined the revolution at sixteen, and by the time he was nineteen he began running into trouble. The matter traces back to when he was the head of the secretarial section at his unit. A leader at the unit told him that if he performed well, he would be promoted to section chief. But in actual work, in all conscience, he truly had nothing good to say about this leader. The man was rude to comrades, had a warlord’s disposition, and even broke the law and violated discipline. After Liu Xingzhong arrived at the unit, this leader assigned him his duties, one of which was that in the course of handling incoming and outgoing mail, every piece of personal correspondence was to be opened and read by him first, and only those with no problems were to be delivered to the addressee; if there were any problems, the letters were to be handed over to him for handling.

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There was a female university graduate surnamed Xiang in the secretarial section who treated Liu Xingzhong like a younger brother and even helped him with his literacy and professional knowledge. Her boyfriend wrote from out of town saying that he had once served in the Kuomintang army and gone to Taiwan, had already disclosed this to the organization, had drawn a clear line between himself and the Kuomintang, and had received the organization’s understanding and trust, so she should not worry. After reading this letter, since that leader was absent and the unit had no Party branch at the time, Liu Xingzhong had no choice but to consult the Youth League branch secretary. The League secretary also felt there was nothing problematic about the letter, so the letter was given to her. When that leader returned to the unit, Liu Xingzhong reported the matter to him. Upon hearing this, the leader flew into a rage—not only did he give Liu Xingzhong a severe dressing-down, he immediately ordered him to suspend his duties for self-examination, to make a self-criticism before all the League members, and criticized him again and again. Liu Xingzhong had always held reservations about opening private mail in the first place, and after being criticized he was naturally unwilling to accept it, so he wrote a written report to the county discipline inspection commission. After the commission sent someone to investigate and verify the facts, it issued a serious criticism of the leader. However, afterward Liu Xingzhong was still stripped of his position as head of the secretarial section by that leader and transferred to the business section as an ordinary clerk.

In an era when even an ordinary cadre could pose as the representative of the Party, how could Liu Xingzhong, a hot-blooded young man, understand such worldly affairs? In the blink of an eye it was 1957. He sincerely helped the Party in its rectification campaign and again raised several opinions about that leader, one of which caused a major scandal. It was this very leader—whose income was not low by any means—yet who applied for hardship subsidies. On one occasion, he had Liu Xingzhong hire a tailor to make three fur coats for him: one of otter fur and two of fox fur. The otter fur one was given to a county-level leader; another was given to a department head in the Finance and Trade Office; and one he kept for himself. What a most intriguing hardship case, clad in a fox-fur coat!

Just as the Anti-Rightist struggle was about to conclude, Liu Xingzhong was nonetheless included in the final batch of the “Rightist” list. Why? Truly heaven knows, earth knows, and people know. He understood, the masses understood, and naturally the leader understood in his heart too: Liu Xingzhong loved to raise criticisms of the leadership—so if this “Rightist” hat wasn’t placed on his head, whose head would it go on?

At large and small struggle sessions, Liu Xingzhong categorically refused to admit that he was anti-Party or anti-socialist.

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But what was the use of not admitting it? The power to impose the hat was in someone else’s hands.

From then on, Liu Xingzhong became a veteran “campaign athlete” in every successive political movement.

In 1958, Liu Xingzhong, who had been dismissed but retained on staff, was sent down to perform labor at a sulfur factory. He suffered systemic poisoning, went into shock three times, and nearly lost his life again.

In 1959 he was transferred to the Banliyuan Forestry Station deep in a remote mountain forest. Looking back on it even now, he still wells up with tears. Some of the so-called problematic cadres who had been sent down were stripped of the very right to survive. In those years of endless natural and man-made calamities, he too came down with yellow edema disease. At first it was he who carried others’ corpses for burial; later he could no longer stand up either and could only crawl on the ground…

By a stroke of fortune he survived, thanks to a doctor who helped get him admitted to the hospital. Once again, the King of Yama did not take his life—he lived.

In 1961, although he became an “un-hatted Rightist,” he was still a Rightist after all. During the Cultural Revolution, un-hatted Rightists naturally became reactionaries, falling squarely within the scope of those to be “swept away.” The “ox-pen” was his inevitable destination.

In 1971, the warehouse manager in charge of the toxic chemicals xylene and ethylenediamine died, and Liu Xingzhong was dispatched as a replacement—sent to take the dead man’s place. Sure enough, before long his entire body swelled up, his white blood cell count dropped to only 2,200, and his body was covered in hemorrhagic spots…

His wife took him to Chongqing three times, visiting all ten major hospitals in Chongqing, and every single one pronounced his “death sentence.”

“Don’t bring him anymore,” a chief physician at Chongqing Medical University whispered to his wife. “Going back and forth costs money, to say nothing of the harm to the patient. Feed him well, keep his spirits up—he has at most one more year to live.”

At this time, Liu Xingzhong had three children. The combined salary of the couple came to only 66 yuan. If Liu Xingzhong were to die, could his wife’s wage of 24 yuan support the whole family?

The “death sentence” hung over Liu Xingzhong’s entire family.

A Fortuitous Encounter with a “Living Bodhisattva”

Perhaps it was truly not his time to die, or perhaps Heaven decreed that he be spared because he still had something to offer humanity—

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some use, then let him remain among the living!” Liu Xingzhong had three nicknames. The first was “Plague God” — being a rightist, in those years, who had ever seen a smile on his face? The second was “Limp and Lifeless” — gravely ill, where was any sign of vitality? The third was “Liu the Immortal.”

Speaking of the nickname “Liu the Immortal,” there is an anecdote behind it. From a young age, Liu Xingzhong had been steeped in Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, martial arts, and medicine, so he understood quite a bit of medical principles. People who knew him loved to seek him out when they had sores or fell ill. Although in every political campaign he was criticized with the charge of “practicing medicine instead of attending to proper duties,” he insisted on “saving the world and helping people live.” Sometimes he was deeply troubled: “I don’t charge a single penny — what am I doing wrong?”

During the Cultural Revolution, a manager surnamed Dai at the Native Products Company injured his right hand in a fall. For three years he could not raise it, and in winter still needed his wife to dress him. When he heard that Liu Xingzhong had a way, he secretly had someone bring him out of the “ox shed” for treatment. After a few sessions, it worked — Manager Dai could raise his hand and shout “Long live Chairman Mao!” That one shout of “Long live” also earned him the title “Liu the Immortal.” The manager graciously approved that any employee of the Native Products Company could submit Liu Xingzhong’s prescriptions for medical expense reimbursement!

Liu Xingzhong wanted to save the world and help people live — but now, whose turn was it to save him?

As it turned out, heaven never seals off all roads.

It was one evening. He was staying in the countryside at the home of a commune member surnamed Tan. An old man surnamed Qin came to the Tan household. This man was already over seventy, but he was vigorous and spirited, with bright, piercing eyes, and very talkative. Whenever the conversation turned to medicine, Liu Xingzhong felt he had found a kindred spirit. The old man said he practiced internal qigong.

“Then you must be able to draw talismanic water!” said Liu Xingzhong.

The old man nodded in tacit acknowledgment. He thought to himself that this cadre comrade was someone of some background. Liu Xingzhong also thought: if he truly has this ability, I will take him as my master.

Old Mr. Qin was dressed entirely as a farmer, so Liu Xingzhong naturally did not dare to believe him rashly. Farmers over seventy in good health were not just one or two. He would investigate before making up his mind.

The next day, Old Mr. Qin performed his first demonstration for him. The Tan family’s neighbor had a young

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child, and this child had a peculiar habit: he never liked eating his own family’s food but always loved eating the neighbors’ food. Old Mr. Qin said he guaranteed that from today on, the child would eat his own family’s food.

At lunchtime, the child again ran to someone else’s table. Old Mr. Qin walked over, rubbed his hand in circles on the child’s head a few times, and said: “Good little boy, go back to your own house to eat.”

Strange as it may seem, the child obediently went back to his own house to eat; and from then on, he truly no longer cared for other people’s food.

Liu Xingzhong also verified another incident. One year, Old Mr. Qin was carrying a roof beam across the commune. It was a gift given to him in return after he had treated someone’s illness. The commune clerk saw it, found a militiaman, and told him that Old Mr. Qin’s beam was the result of illegal logging — told him to intercept it. The young man believed it to be true and caught up with Old Mr. Qin. Old Mr. Qin explained to him that it was a gift given after treating someone, not from illegal logging. The militiaman did not believe him and was about to use force. Old Mr. Qin paid him no mind, simply pointed a finger at him, and the young man was frozen in place under the sun for over an hour.

What astonished Liu Xingzhong even more was how Old Mr. Qin dealt with a rogue. A certain man had learned a bit of acupuncture knowledge and practiced medicine everywhere, charging five yuan per needle. Once, while discussing medical principles with Old Mr. Qin and Liu Xingzhong, this man, not knowing his own limits, dismissed Old Mr. Qin as worthless. Old Mr. Qin merely smiled and did not engage with him. After the man left, Old Mr. Qin said to Liu Xingzhong:

“Just wait and see — this fellow will wear a cotton-padded jacket in summer and a padded shirt in winter next year.”

Liu Xingzhong smiled.

“Just wait and see,” Old Mr. Qin continued, seeing that Liu Xingzhong did not believe him. “He’ll also have to find someone to lend him two — coins, that is.”

The following year, that fellow indeed fell ill for an entire year, and the hospital could not determine what was wrong with him. When Liu Xingzhong ran into him on the street, he saw that he was indeed wearing a cotton-padded jacket in summer. The man said listlessly to Liu Xingzhong: “Damn it, I must have run into a ghost or something. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, and the hospital can’t figure it out either. It’s already cost me over two thousand yuan in

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debt…”

That fellow had no idea, but Liu Xingzhong now understood.

Liu Xingzhong went to find Old Mr. Qin and formally took him as his master. Old Mr. Qin had originally been a disciple of the senior monk at the Medicine King Temple.

Liu Xingzhong’s second master was surnamed Jiao, and this too was a chance encounter. One day, Liu Xingzhong ran into him on the back street of Gaojia Town. Noticing that the old man had an unusual appearance, Liu Xingzhong spoke first:

“Old man, where are you headed?”

“Going to gather some herbs,” the old man said.

“May I ask your surname?”

“My humble surname is Liu. And yours, comrade?”

“Also Liu.”

The two walked toward the outskirts of town. As they talked, it turned out that Old Mr. Liu was not only a clansman but also a distant uncle of Liu Xingzhong. He knew all the ins and outs of Liu Xingzhong’s family history.

Given this relationship, uncle and nephew grew more and more congenial in their conversation. When Liu Bocheng attacked Fengdu on March 30, 1916, Old Mr. Liu had served as an inside agent. Later, he entered a Daoist temple, learned internal alchemy and medical qigong, and then traveled far and wide, practicing medicine across the land. By the time Liu Xingzhong met him, he was already over seventy and rarely came home even once a year.

Liu Xingzhong brought the old man home and formally and respectfully took him as his master.

The ten major hospitals of Chongqing had sentenced Liu Xingzhong to “death” with a one-year reprieve. Everyone believed Liu Xingzhong could not live much longer. Look at his legs — swollen like translucent blisters, his entire body swollen. Press down and a dent forms, taking half a day to rise back up.

The Liu Xingzhong household’s income was already strained enough, but he still had to set aside money to buy medical books and subscribe to medical journals — no less than a hundred-plus yuan each year. At first, his wife had quite a few complaints, but in order to keep Liu Xingzhong alive, she no longer said much. For the sake of practicing qigong — in those years, could someone of Liu Xingzhong’s status dare let others know he was practicing internal martial arts? He had no choice but to practice secretly in the middle of the night. Even his wife did not know he was on the balcony

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what to do. Both masters told him: Only qigong can save your life, kid. Practice it. Now it all depends on you.

Saving the World and Helping the People

He survived. When the one-year reprieve period arrived, not only did Liu Xingzhong not die, his tumor condition instead improved day by day. The two masters were advanced in years and very much wanted to find a successor, for they had both recognized Liu Xingzhong’s “virtue” — despite a lifetime of hardship, they had never once heard him express any desire for revenge against anyone. They both urged him to resign from his job, preparing to take him up into the mountains to “cultivate and practice.” Liu Xingzhong did not dare to agree. Resign — how would his family survive? He would wait until after the age of fifty and then reconsider. This became a lifelong regret. When he finally took early retirement at the age of fifty-two, both of his benefactors had already suffered injuries from accidents and passed away one after the other. One had lived to eighty-nine, the other to ninety. Their ultimate techniques were never passed on to Liu Xingzhong, but Liu Xingzhong had indeed cultivated genuine skill. After retirement, he opened the “Xingzhong Clinic” and began practicing medicine formally. To improve himself theoretically, in the summer of 1989 he went to Beidaihe to attend a national qigong instructor training course, where he earned the high regard of qigong professors Zhao Baofeng, Zhang Tiange, Tian Hongji, and others, and made great theoretical progress. At the graduation ceremony, the remarkable skills of this unremarkable-looking* Sichuan man left participants from all over the country marveling in astonishment. After the Beidaihe training concluded, a participant surnamed Fu, who had come from the Qigong Research Institute of Yongji County, Jilin Province, had been entrusted by his leadership to specifically seek out qigong masters. He took a liking to Liu and invited him to Yongji. After a dusty journey, he arrived in Yongji. Some Chinese people love to judge by appearances. Seeing his wrinkled shirt and peasant-like demeanor, the institute director doubted whether he had any real skill. Before he could even rest, they brought in a teacher named Guo Ya- 167

[*The source reads “其鼠不场,” evidently an OCR corruption of “其貌不扬” (unremarkable appearance).]

ling from an experimental kindergarten. She suffered from lobular hyperplasia in both breasts, with clearly visible lumps. Liu Xingzhong understood their intent and said little. He asked Guo Yaling to sit still, then saw Liu Xingzhong emit energy from his right hand. In no time, he very easily “grabbed away” the lump on her left breast. The director was thoroughly convinced and immediately put on a beaming face, showering Liu Xingzhong with praise. The next day, everyone in the entire county seat of Yongji knew: the Qigong Research Institute had invited in a “Immortal Liu.” A few days passed in a whirl of commotion. When Liu Xingzhong left Yongji, people were reluctant to part with him. Those bringing cigarettes, those bringing wine… came in an endless stream, and many women shed tears. Faced with all this, Liu Xingzhong was filled with countless emotions: he could hardly believe that a former “Rightist,” “plague god,” and “counter-revolutionary” could have this day — not only receiving people’s respect, but also having his virtue of saving the world and helping the people recognized. He was so moved that tears filled his eyes; his throat tightened and he could not speak a single word, only nodding repeatedly in acknowledgment. In his heart he said: Thank you for giving me human dignity and self-confidence. I will come again. I want to dedicate everything I have to you — including my childhood wish: to save the world and help the people. 168

She Is No Sorcerer

Yao Lisheng

I. Cracking the “7·15” Major Firearm Theft Case — Her Extraordinary Skill Sketches the Physical Description of the Criminals

On July 15, firearms were stolen from the warehouse of a certain Armed Police detachment stationed in Hulan County, Heilongjiang Province. A total of seven “Type 54” pistols and submachine guns were lost, and public security departments were organizing forces to investigate.

On August 10, 1988, from the bustling crowd at Harbin Railway Station walked out a young woman. Her oval face bore a pair of eyes that always brimmed with laughter. A few strands of hair drifted across her smooth forehead, and the ponytail tied tightly at the back of her head bounced cheerfully with her light steps. Her pristine white skirt made it impossible to gauge her true age, and her innocent, serene demeanor looked just like a middle school student on holiday. Before the young woman had even exited the platform, Political Commissar Hou and Deputy Chief Yang of the Heilongjiang Provincial Armed Police Corps, who had been waiting there well in advance, strode quickly forward to meet her. Without much small talk, they stepped into a black Mercedes-Benz sedan and in the blink of an eye vanished into the flowing sea of traffic.

At the warehouse of the Armed Police detachment in Hulan County, public security personnel were conducting an intense investigation. Two police dogs stood alert with ears pricked, restlessly trying to break free from their handlers’ control. Not far away, several armed police officers with live ammunition added a tense and mysterious atmosphere to the crime scene. The young woman in the white skirt entered the weapons warehouse, briefly listened to the situation report, and before her eyes flashed the entire criminal process of the offenders:

“A rainy night. Three firearm thieves crept stealthily up to the weapons warehouse. The leader was a tall young man, 1.76 meters in height, with long hair, small eyes, 169

He wore a light blue Zhongshan jacket on his upper body, brown sandals on his feet, and carried a black backpack slung over his right shoulder. Inside the backpack was an iron hammer rounded at both ends, and he had a prominent large mole on his right arm. This man had a background in the Armed Police and possessed considerable martial arts skills; he had a very bad temper. He first went to a secluded wall and used a military bayonet to dig a hole in it. When he entered the warehouse, the tall man’s right upper arm was cut deeply by a sharp brick in the wall, leaving a gash about 4 centimeters long.” Speaking of this, the young woman stepped forward, pointed to a protruding brick, and said, “It was this brick that made the cut.”

“By the corner of the wall squatted a person who was familiar with the situation inside the warehouse. This person was about 1.60 meters tall, wearing a light blue top and dark blue trousers, with a mole on his neck. The short man was almost lying flat on the ground, passing the firearms out one after another. Not far outside the wall, there was a short, chubby man acting as a lookout. He seemed to have suffered from polio and walked with a limp.

“Once the guns were in hand, the tall man turned and crawled out through the hole in the wall. Perhaps because the ground was slippery after the rain, the tall man lost his footing, and the hand holding the gun leaned against the wall, which is why there is still a patch of gun oil on the wall now. This gun theft case is very likely primarily an inside job. The motive for stealing the guns was not to kill people, but to trade the guns for money.”

The young woman’s narration left the public security officers and comrades from the Armed Police security department present utterly stunned. After the guns were stolen, they had basically ruled out the possibility of an inside job, and their view of the criminals’ motives differed vastly from the young woman’s prediction. They connected the gun theft with the murder of a people’s police officer in Hulan County, believing it to be a case of stealing guns to commit murder. In order to solve the case quickly, the public security department had already detained many suspects. Now, they exchanged glances, and their expressions clearly revealed three words: unbelievable.

Yan Jun, from the Security Department of the Armed Police Gold Command, was also bewildered. He had invited the young woman to help solve the case, and he wasn’t sure himself whether the details she described were accurate. However, as a veteran security officer, with a sweep of his eyes, an idea formed in his mind. Pointing to two other holes in the wall, he said to the young woman, “Can you describe the scene when these two holes were dug?” 170

These were two holes dug by public security personnel next to the original hole to simulate the criminal’s actions in order to solve the case. Their size and shape were similar to the original hole.

The young woman focused her mind for just a few seconds. Then, pointing to one of the holes, she said: “Two people dug this hole. One was digging, and the other was watching on the side. The one digging had a long, thin face, dark skin, small eyes, and was about 1.61 meters tall. He wore a short-sleeved police uniform top and Armed Police military trousers on the bottom. The one who dug the other hole also had a long, thin face, wore a white top, blue trousers, and leather sandals, and was about 1.76 meters tall. There was someone watching on each side, and another person pacing back and forth. The person pacing seems to be you.”

Yan Jun smiled, and others who knew the truth smiled too. She was incredibly accurate. The doubts on the faces of the public security officers began to fade.

“Is there a village about 200 meters away from here?” the young woman asked suddenly.

“There is a village, but it’s a bit peculiar. On the outside, it’s a large village, but inside it, there’s a smaller village nested within,” answered an official from the warehouse.

The young woman said, “The stolen guns are in this small village. They are tightly wrapped in plastic sheeting and hidden in a vegetable cellar. The cellar is covered with a concrete slab.”

The public security department immediately sent people to search, and sure enough, they found the missing firearms in an abandoned vegetable cellar. At this point, the police officers were genuinely convinced by the young woman from the bottom of their hearts.

“Incredible, truly incredible!” “Remarkable!” “Even Zhuge Liang’s brilliant calculations weren’t this miraculous!”

Not long after, this gun theft case was easily solved. The criminals’ confessions were basically consistent with the young woman’s description of the crime scene.

In September, when the sweet osmanthus was in bloom, a commendation meeting for the major “7.15” gun theft case was held. The 292nd Hospital of the Beijing Garrison Command received a letter from the Armed Police Gold Command recommending an award: “Du Juan, a nurse in the Internal Medicine Department of your hospital, was invited to assist our unit in solving the major ‘7.15’

gun theft case. Utilizing her special abilities, she sketched the physical characteristics of the criminals, playing a significant role in the investigation and solving of the case. We recommend that your unit award Du Juan for her merits.”

Were it not for this letter recommending an award, you might think the author was fabricating an anecdote about “flying saucers” or “phantoms.” However, Du Juan is a very real person—an ordinary nurse at a PLA hospital, a young woman who never practiced qigong but leaves qigong masters in awe with her precognitive insight, and a remarkable woman possessing two major special abilities: X-ray vision and remote-viewing clairvoyance.

2. Prompted by a Qigong Master, She Saw Her Own Internal Organs; Like an X-ray Machine, She Could See Right Through…

December in Beijing is the season of wind and a world of snow. The fierce northern winds trap people inside their warm homes. Men, women, and children who are forced to hurry along the streets wrap themselves tightly in heavy winter coats. A young couple strolled down the spacious street, leaning close to each other, finding a kind of romantic charm in the wind and snow that many other lovers could not experience.

The woman, dressed in a military uniform, was the protagonist of this story, Du Juan, a nurse in the internal medicine department of a hospital under the Beijing Garrison Command. The man, wearing a police uniform, was named Li Tao, the Director of the Training Department of the Armed Police Gold Command. Having just attended a qigong training class held by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Tao talked effusively about how qigong could unlock special abilities. Hearing this, Du Juan chided Li Tao: “No wonder I haven’t seen hide nor hair of you these past few days. You’ve been obsessed with qigong. Let me tell you, that stuff can lead to qigong deviation and madness. I think you should ‘turn back before it’s too late.‘” Acting like an older brother, Li Tao probed: “You don’t believe it? Then let me get a ticket for you, and we can go listen to a qigong lecture together.”

“Hmph, I couldn’t care less about qigong. But I am willing to be with you. I want to compete with the qigong master and see who can capture your heart.” This decision by Du Juan destined her to embark on the path of a wondrous young woman. Often, a fleeting thought can become a signpost at the crossroads of life. 172

At that time, they stepped together into a qigong training class taught by the qigong master Zhang Hongbao. As soon as she entered the door, Du Juan felt a wave of pressure strike her, followed immediately by a tingling and aching in every joint of her body. Twenty minutes later, the pain disappeared. Du Juan seemed like a different person — her face was glowing red, and her eyes were exceptionally bright. When she breathed in, she felt currents of warm energy rush to her heart, indescribably comfortable. On the way home, even the biting cold wind turned gentle, like gusts of spring breeze brushing against her face — how delightful! Oh, this miraculous qigong.

Three pages were torn from the calendar, and Du Juan had already accompanied Li Tao to the qigong lectures for the third time. That day, as soon as she sat down in the auditorium, Du Juan hurriedly told Li Tao that she seemed to be able to see her own internal organs and skull. Li Tao did not pay much attention, thinking it was perhaps because she had studied human anatomy and was familiar with the structure of the human body.

During the intermission, Du Juan suddenly saw a person bending over on the stage to pick up a piece of paper. However, in her eyes, this person picking up the paper was actually a skeleton doing the picking. Du Juan was greatly startled and cried out: “I can see it! I can see it!” Everyone around looked at her, making Li Tao beside her extremely embarrassed. Du Juan also felt she had lost her composure and quickly sat down and closed her eyes. This time, a field of skulls appeared before her eyes — surely it was a hallucination? She began to get nervous. How could such a thing exist in this world — being able to see things without using one’s eyes, and moreover, with X-ray-like penetrative vision? But why did the hallucination feel so real? The woman in the front row clearly had a scar on her leg, and the elderly man on the left seemed to have a heart problem. Just then, a qigong master she knew, Kang Yuewen, came over to Du Juan. Du Juan haltingly described this phenomenon, afraid the qigong master would laugh at her. Who would have expected that as soon as Kang Yuewen heard it, he immediately wanted to test Du Juan’s ability. The qigong master emitted energy, and Du Juan felt as though steel needles were piercing her hands and arms — an excruciating pain. When Lao Kang stepped outside the door and emitted energy, she felt the same sensation. The qigong master was overjoyed and said to Du Juan: “Your ability is no less than Zhang Hongbao’s!”

On the way home that day, Du Juan and Li Tao were extraordinarily excited. At Nanlishilu, in front of the building bearing the large sign of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, Du Juan closed her eyes.

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She “looked” at the cars driving on the street.

“A grey sedan, three people in total: one driver, two in the back seat.”

“Another one is coming — a red sedan, one driver, and one person beside the driver.”

Completely correct. Li Tao was utterly amazed. After only three days of contact with qigong, she had already mastered a penetrative vision ability that ordinary people could hardly believe — truly extraordinary! But how could she “see” things so accurately with her eyes closed? Could it be, as the ancients said, that there truly was a third eye? Li Tao unconsciously touched Du Juan’s Heavenly Eye acupoint — good heavens! It was scalding hot! It felt as though a stream of hot air was shooting straight into his palm.

When they parted, Du Juan asked Li Tao: “What will the qigong master talk about tomorrow?” Li Tao said: “Seeing auras. Everyone has a kind of halo around their head, just like the halo said to be around the Buddha’s head in the past, except that some are large and some are small.”

“Oh my, I can already see halos,” Du Juan exclaimed. “Look, there are four halos right ahead — two ∞-shaped ones and two O-shaped ones.” Before Li Tao had time to react, two men and two women walked past them. The ”∞“-shaped ones were the halos above the two men’s heads, and the “O”-shaped ones were above the two women’s heads.

It was late at night. In the howling subway car, Du Juan closed her eyes and saw eight halos at the far end of the carriage — six somewhat brighter and two somewhat dimmer. Li Tao looked in the direction Du Juan was pointing and found that standing at the far end were six young people and two elderly people. Later experience confirmed that the halos of young, physically robust people were brighter and larger; women’s halos were slightly smaller; and those of elderly people and sick people were dimmer.

With ease, Du Juan had stepped through a gateway to understanding the unknown world — it had come to her without the slightest effort. Life is indeed not lacking in stories of unexpected gain.

3. Her Remote Sensing and Remote Vision Were a Hundred Times More Uncanny Than the Legendary “Clairvoyance”

After Du Juan’s miraculous penetrative vision ability was activated, it was tested twice by the Beijing Haidian District Qigong Research Association, which confirmed that Du Juan genuinely possessed full-body penetrative vision of the human body. This type of special ability was discovered for the first time in China and represents an advanced stage of qigong. Because after emitting energy,

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what appeared before her eyes was a three-dimensional color image, as clear as an anatomical specimen, she could see the traces left by illnesses from ten or even decades ago — both the marks of onset and healing, and the degree of recovery — something that ordinary instruments could not detect. Du Juan’s special ability was particularly sensitive to tumors and scars. Her ability could also enlarge or stretch any part of the human body at will, unfolding before her a colorful, hidden world.

The strangeness did not stop there. Du Juan’s special abilities continued to develop.

On June 24th of last year — a dull and unremarkable summer day — even so, right in the midst of this ordinary day, Du Juan wrote yet another exclamation mark on her life’s journey. Her special ability achieved a new breakthrough: the phenomenon of remote sensing vision had emerged.

That evening, an editor surnamed Zhou from the Liberation Army Daily dialed Du Juan’s telephone. He was in the process of compiling the book The Special Abilities I Have Witnessed. After learning about Du Juan’s situation, he immediately called to arrange a meeting. During the phone call, after understanding her unique characteristics, Editor Zhou believed that if color images could appear, there should be other abilities as well. He therefore guided her, saying: “Can you see where I am making this phone call?” He repeatedly guided her. Du Juan gazed for about a minute, and a string of numerals suddenly flashed before her eyes, followed immediately by a faint image. Gradually, the image became clear. She could see Editor Zhou’s posture as he made the phone call in his office, the position of his desk, the furnishings in the room, and the orientation of the room within the corridor. This was confirmed to be highly accurate. As for that string of numerals that had first flashed by, it was later confirmed to be residual information left over from a phone call Editor Zhou had just made to a friend.

That same evening, Deputy Chief of Staff Yu of the Fujian Provincial Armed Police Corps called. Du Juan intentionally conducted a long-distance remote sensing vision test. From Beijing to Fuzhou, even though the call passed through three switchboards, she could still see the color of the desk, the style of the telephone, and the rattan chair in which Deputy Chief of Staff Yu was sitting. Those present who witnessed this with their own eyes and ears were astonished, feeling that remote sensing vision was indeed

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Incredible, a hundred times more bizarre than the legendary “Thousand-Mile Eye”.

After her fame spread, Du Juan had much more to attend to. A nurse in a hospital of the Beijing Garrison Command was introduced to a partner from the Beijing Armed Police Corps. Before their first meeting, the female nurse insisted that Du Juan look into that person’s situation. Du Juan described the person’s appearance, the clothes he would wear when they met, and even his personality, one by one. The next day, when the female nurse met her future partner, she was surprised to find that his appearance and clothes were exactly the same as predicted; after their conversation deepened, she found that his personality was also the same as predicted. Afterwards, this female nurse told everyone she met that she had encountered a “living immortal.”

A female comrade in Beijing named Han Lu asked Du Juan to look at her husband who had gone to Canada. Du Juan closed her eyes slightly and clearly saw him wearing a light blue top and light blue trousers, with his shirt cuffs tightly buttoned, standing by a table packing things. This remote sensing perspective that broke through national borders was later confirmed.

Du Juan was extremely excited to possess the ability of remote sensing perspective. She heavily drew a red five-pointed star on the desk calendar for June 24th with a red pen. From then on, this ordinary day remained in her diary.

4. She performed perspective diagnoses and treated illnesses for over two thousand patients, winning the reputation of a “Living Guanyin”…

Modern science believes that the human body itself is a complete biological field. Every cell that makes up this object, or in the three-dimensional arrangement of every genetic gene, carries all the life characteristics of the human body. Just like a broken holographic photograph, in any fragment, the entire image can be reproduced.

Du Juan might not know that this is a part of biological genetic engineering, but she used her remote sensing perspective ability to create a unique remote sensing perspective diagnosis. As long as someone’s name could be spoken, or the person called her, or he wrote a character to Du Juan—in short, as long as she could get a little bit of information about a person, it was like tuning a radio to a specific frequency band, and Du Juan could describe his physical condi-

tion, see the life journey he had walked in the past, and predict his future.

A staff member from a certain university asked to predict his father’s situation. Du Juan concentrated slightly and found that his father was somewhat different from others, lying flat on the bed, lifeless, yellow all over, suffering from severe liver disease. She asked carefully: “Your father might no longer be in this world. He suffered from severe liver disease, right?” The answer was: “Yes, liver disease. He passed away three years ago.”

A female reporter from China Central Television came admiring her reputation and asked to look at her own physical condition. Du Juan just glanced at her and said: “Your right arm is different from that of ordinary people. A piece of bone is smooth, and it gets tired easily.”

“Right. Usually, I can’t write the most. If I do it for a little longer, it gets sore and painful, and I get tired very easily.”

“Your left ventricle is also congenitally hypertrophic.”

“It is indeed like this. I even had it checked yesterday. This is the doctor’s diagnosis sheet.” The female reporter handed over a diagnosis sheet from a large hospital and walked away fully satisfied.

A young man from the Public Relations Department of the Capital Airport was only 26 years old this year, but because he suffered from liver cirrhosis, he looked like a man in his 40s on the surface. On an accidental occasion, the young man asked Du Juan to guess his age. Du Juan blurted out: “26 years old.” The young man gave a thumbs up, “You are the first person to guess my age correctly. Thank you!”

“No need for thanks. In my opinion, your liver cirrhosis has reached the late stage.”

The young man was taken aback. He never imagined that the young woman in front of him could also see illnesses. She was truly a divine person. He then told Du Juan everything in detail about how he got sick and how he secretly sought treatment without telling his workplace in order to keep his job. Looking at the living being struggling in pain before her eyes, Du Juan almost shed tears. From then on, she used her special abilities to treat the young man. After a period of time, the young man miraculously recovered, and his withered life regained its youthful vitality. The young man was extremely moved. When his life was threatened by death, when he endured the devastation of the illness, the northern man’s

toughness conquered it all without shedding a single tear. But at this moment, he cried. He used his crying to declare that it was Du Juan who had given him a second life.

Two years later, Du Juan had performed perspective and remote sensing perspective diagnoses for more than two thousand patients, with an accuracy rate reaching 98%. An old lady in her 60s, whose daughter-in-law had not conceived for several years, later received qi emission treatment from Du Juan and became pregnant that very month. Overjoyed, the elderly lady gave Du Juan a Guanyin sculpture over 3 feet tall. Since then, Du Juan’s good name as the “Living Guanyin” spread everywhere.

5. This diary is undoubtedly a little-known world; it records…

Thanks to Du Juan and her husband for their trust in me, they handed over to me a thick husband-and-wife diary. This heavy diary contains both her gentle narrations and detailed records of her special abilities.

I became fascinated with this diary; it is undoubtedly a little-known world.

March 7, 1988

From Shenzhen to Shekou, while visiting the water park, I played a very interesting game: betting on soda. On a table similar to a carom board, there were chess pieces such as chariot, horse, elephant, and guard. A contestant could randomly take out three of them at a time. If they guessed one correctly, they would win a bottle of soda; otherwise, they would lose 60 cents in Hong Kong dollars. The accompanying Xiao Chen and Xiao Lin guessed the chariot and lost; then they guessed the pawn and lost again. I pushed them aside and guessed myself. As a result, I hit the mark repeatedly. When the crowd of onlookers grew larger, I stopped. Otherwise, the host would have lost terribly. Strangely, whenever I looked at any piece on the board, the piece seemed to come alive and went straight into the host’s hand. Boss Lin, a Hong Kong businessman who came with us, saw the secret in it and said that with kung fu like mine, if I went to the gambling city of Macau, I would definitely make a fortune.

The Guangdong Corps in charge of reception arranged for us in Room 802 of a hotel. As soon as I entered the room, I felt a very strong qi power, like a powerful big hand trying to keep people out the door. Upon asking the administrator, I learned that Yan Xin had stayed in this room during the previous period.

At the hotel, I happened to encounter Chen Yun’s daughter, Chen Weili. I noticed her cervical vertebrae were different from others’ — somewhat stiff and rigid — and advised her not to sleep on a high pillow. She said that was exactly right; when she was in America, the doctor had also told her to sleep on a low pillow. At the same time, I looked at the illnesses she had suffered from in the past, and everything was accurate. She was quite astonished.

March 8, 1988

I took a stroll around the Xiangmi Lake Holiday Resort. I had just returned when a phone call came looking for me — it was from the Anhua Development Company, asking me to see two painters who had come from Shanghai. I hurried over to a guesthouse of the Guangzhou Military Region, where Jun Qing, famous for painting peonies, and Cui Putao, renowned for painting grapes, had already been waiting for quite some time. I discovered that Jun Qing also had fairly strong qigong and was very sensitive — at one moment he asked, “Are you looking at my lungs?” and at another, “Are you looking at my heart?” I felt flustered in my heart. Then I examined Cui Putao; both my X-ray vision and predictions were very accurate. The two painters were overjoyed and painted pictures for me on the spot — one painted the peony he was best at, the other the grapes he was most famous for.

March 17, 1988

Due to bad weather, I only arrived in Fuzhou yesterday. This morning I got up extremely early and braved the rain to visit Mount Gu. Mount Gu is a very large scenic area located in the southeastern suburbs of the city. The largest temple, Yongquan Temple, was built in 908 AD. Inside the temple there is a sarira pagoda. Legend has it that after Shakyamuni passed away, the crystallized remains from the cremation of his body were sent to several major temples across the country as treasure to anchor the pagoda. The sarira at Yongquan Temple is placed in a Buddhist shrine about one meter square, inside of which is an exquisite porcelain bottle, and within the bottle are the precious sarira. But ordinary people cannot see the sacred object inside the bottle. The old monk told us that only those with extraordinary eyesight and a certain level of cultivation ability can see it. When we went, several monks from out of town were trying to look — they stared for a long time but couldn’t see anything. I secretly emitted qi and, using my Heavenly Eye point, saw three sarira beads: they emitted blue light, and above the blue light there was also red light. I told the presiding monk about the placement of the sarira. The old monk was greatly astonished and said I was no ordinary person — that people from a thousand years ago had known this long ago. He also said that in his decades at the temple, I was only the second person able to see the sarira. The old monk also told me most devoutly about the origin of the sarira.

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Even after walking far away, I could still hear the sound of monks chanting sutras inside Yongquan Temple.

March 20, 1988

Over the past few days I visited many temples. Each time I entered one, I felt a kind of “divine energy.” Most objects inside the temples are over a century old. Generation after generation of monks have sat in meditation and emitted qi toward them, causing them to accumulate enormous energy. This energy is also a kind of gong. From this perspective, it is not surprising that some temple offering fruits can cure illness. In fact, when you hold the offering fruit or any other object, the surrounding qigong field has already imbued these objects with the gong that monks have released over long periods of chanting sutras day after day. Coming into contact with these objects will bring about improvement in one’s condition. Of course, such patients must be people who can receive qigong. Sometimes, even praying for someone else can cause the person being prayed for to miraculously improve — this is because the one praying has brought back the gong from the temple. So why can gong cure illness? I believe: gong can control the molecular arrangement of those on the same frequency. When a person is ill, the molecular arrangement becomes chaotic; wherever the chaos is, that area is not flowing smoothly, and what manifests is illness. There are two causes for the disordered arrangement: one is an internal cause, the other is external infection. The stimulation of gong can cause the molecules in the diseased area to rearrange and recombine, restoring smooth flow, and so the patient will recover before long.

July 4, 1988

On my way to work, I was squeezing onto a public bus. On the Number 430 bus, because of the crowd, I accidentally stepped on the foot of a middle-aged woman. It was not a light step — the woman cried out “Ow!” and then started cursing and grumbling, saying I had broken her foot. I concentrated my gaze and immediately knew the bone was fine — it was just bruised skin turning purple. I emitted qi, and after a short while, she stopped crying out. When getting off the bus, I specially asked her, “Does your foot still hurt?” She said somewhat sheepishly, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

An electronic quartz watch I wore kept stopping and starting — really annoying. I bought this watch in Shatoujiao, Shenzhen, for 217 Hong Kong dollars — genuine British goods. The quality should have been fine, but it just wouldn’t keep running. I had someone fix it, and after it ran a round, it stopped again. Later I discovered that whenever I emitted qi, the watch would stop. The electronic quartz clock hanging on the wall at home

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would sometimes “go on strike” due to my emitting qi as well.

July 5, 1988

Editor Zhou from the Liberation Army Daily called and told me an interesting story. He had gone to interview a man named Zhan Shuli, from a qigong research association that specializes in studying special abilities. During the interview, Zhan suddenly asked Zhou whether he had recently met a remarkable woman. He said he had seen my image and wanted me to attend his lecture. Teacher Zhan’s special ability can emit various fragrances, such as jasmine scent, osmanthus scent, and so forth. Just as Yan Xin has said, in the qigong world, it is not the disciple who seeks the master, but the master who seeks the disciple.

July 12, 1988

Only today did I notice that my earlobes had grown larger without my realizing it. Was it the result of emitting qi? But no book whatsoever contains a record of cultivation causing one’s earlobes to enlarge. Most of the Buddha statues in temples have earlobes reaching down to their shoulders — perhaps this is related to the advancement of one’s gong.

July 15, 1988

I am very familiar with the sensation of Yan Xin’s gong. Every time he returns to Beijing or leaves Beijing, I can sense it. Tonight, I lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. I could be certain that Yan Xin had come back and was practicing qigong.

Just as I was thinking this, someone called to say that Yan Xin had returned home and would be giving a lecture at the Capital Gymnasium.

August 2, 1988

A good friend of mine was about to go abroad. Before her departure, we gathered a few friends together for a small get-together at the Xiangshan Hotel. My friend knew I had X-ray vision ability and insisted that I look at what was in her bag. I glanced at her bag and said: “There’s a notebook in your bag, and a thick stack of square things — probably money — an eyeglass case, and something rectangular that looks like a checkbook.” She took out the items one by one — I had gotten them all right. At this point, another friend asked me to look at what was in the bag hanging behind her —

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what was inside. Without even looking, I said, “There are monthly transit passes, a fountain pen, a stack of blue money—I can’t tell which country’s, and a stack of foreign exchange certificates.” She opened the bag, and sure enough, those were the things inside. That stack of blue paper money was the newly issued one-hundred-yuan notes just put on the market in our country. I hadn’t seen them before, so I didn’t identify them accurately. By then, the friends we were meeting had all arrived. They wanted to go swimming, but none of them knew where the swimming pool was. I said, “Follow me.” They asked, “Have you been there before?” I replied, “No, but I’ve already seen it. It’s in this direction.” I pointed with my hand and said, “There are three people in the pool—one at the edge, two in the water. The pool is half indoors and half outdoors.” The others simply didn’t believe it—how could such a luxury hotel have an outdoor pool? But when they followed me to the poolside, they were all stunned. Of the three people in the pool, one was sitting on the edge, one had just climbed out dripping wet, and one was swimming in the water. The appearance of the pool was exactly as I had described. They all cheered: “We won’t follow our feelings anymore—we’ll follow you!”

At dinner, at the table across from us, there was a man in his thirties whose entire arm was in a plaster cast, with only his fingers exposed. My friends asked me to see where he was injured. I glanced at him, and my right forearm immediately turned red and itchy, with a diagonal red mark appearing. I kept scratching. Everyone present asked, “How come you have a red mark there?” I said, “The place where his bone is broken is right here.” They hurried over to ask the man at the other table. The man found it very strange and said, “That’s right—but how do you know?” My friends came running back, giving me thumbs up.

August 4, 1988

I was seeing an old painter. He didn’t say anything—just listened to me ramble: “You once had a car accident. You were hit by a light yellow van. You were facing the rear of the vehicle, and the left rear wheel knocked you down. At the time, you were wearing a faded blue outfit. Afterward, you stayed in the hospital for a long time. You stayed in a two-room suite in the northwest corner of a building—second floor, second unit. The east room was the living room, with a light yellow carpet and a brown long coffee table in the middle.” This old painter

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had meant to test my abilities. He had originally intended to be critical, but now he repeatedly marveled and confirmed everything was correct.

August 5, 1988

I was treating a department head from China Central Television. After just one glance, an image appeared of a child crying its eyes out. I said, “You suffered a great deal as a child and loved to cry.” He asked, “At what age?” I said, “About twelve years old.” He laughed and said, “At that time, a fish bone was stuck in my throat. I went to many hospitals, but none could remove it. I cried as though my life depended on it, until my tears ran dry.” At that point, a man next to the department head also asked for a reading. He unclipped his pager from his belt and asked, “Does this interfere?” I said it didn’t. Unexpectedly, the moment I looked at it, the pager broke—the indicator light went out and the signal disappeared. I told him to move away from me, and half an hour later, the pager was fine again.

September 21, 1988

I went to the Beijing Military Region General Hospital to visit my sister. On my way out, I ran into two people making a bet—one was talking about how extraordinary the legendary special abilities were, and the other didn’t believe it. I jokingly said to the skeptic, “There’s no need to bet, but if you don’t believe it, I can tell you about your wife right here and now. Your wife has prominent ears, an oily forehead, a large nose, and thinning hair.” That person fell silent. The other one said, “Hey, that’s exactly right—exactly right!”

January 2, 1989

I was checking the health of Commander Pan of the former Beijing Garrison. Commander Pan was somewhat skeptical at first. His family members said, “Tell him something from his past.” Suddenly, I saw him as a young man wearing a grey cloth military uniform, skinning a rabbit. I smiled and said, “Commander Pan loved hunting rabbits when he was young.” Commander Pan laughed heartily and said, “That was back in Yan’an—the conditions were poor then. There was nothing to eat, so I led everyone to go hunt rabbits.”

April 6, 1983

That night, everyone in the family was asleep. Around eleven o’clock, I was watching television

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when suddenly the TV lost both sound and picture, but the indicator light didn’t go out. I quickly pressed the remote control, and the TV returned to normal. But then the lights at both ends of the corridor alternately dimmed—one moment this one dimmed and that one brightened; the next moment this one brightened and that one dimmed. I hurriedly got up to look and saw a cloud of white mist drifting in through the crack in the door and floating away. Later, someone told me that it was my Master coming to visit me. I just laughed it off. Recently, some people keep saying I am Guanyin, that I’m a fairy maiden. I don’t believe their words—perhaps my appearance somewhat resembles the legendary Guanyin.

VI. Each of Her Stories Is an Unfathomable Mystery

Interviewing Du Juan, I found myself plunged into perplexity. Each of her stories is an unfathomable mystery. She seems like a brilliant yet mischievous magician, playing an ingenious game with this world. The incredible phenomena surrounding her have made her into a new mythical figure.

Mystery One: There has never been a time when the music world was more vibrant than it is today. Teenagers are drawn one moment to sentimental Hong Kong and Taiwanese pop stars, and the next moment swept away by the powerful “Northwest Wind.” The Fei Xiang craze, the Liu Huan craze—each wave of enthusiasm rises higher than the last, with cassette tapes and records flooding in from all directions. In today’s society, if a young person can’t hum a few pop tunes, it’s truly a regret. Yet Du Juan, who naturally loves to talk and laugh, simply cannot sing. Not being able to sing would be one thing, but she stunned everyone with a single “performance”—she actually won fourth place in the amateur singers’ competition among units directly under the General Political Department.

This was last July, when the units directly under the General Political Department were holding an amateur singing competition. Du Juan didn’t even know about

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the news. At the time, she was serving as head nurse of the Internal Medicine Section II and was extremely busy. Singing naturally had nothing to do with her, but some leader mistakenly signed her up. It was only when the competition was about to begin that the hospital notified her. Upon inquiring, she learned that quite a few contestants from other units were professional singers, and cultural institutions such as the People’s Liberation Army Arts Academy and the August First Film Studio were also sending participants. Du Juan grew anxious. For seven consecutive days, she went to Yuyuantan Park every morning to practice her voice, learning to sing by following a cassette recorder. Some people urged her to just forget it. She laughed and said, “I’ll forget it once I’ve won a placing.” On the day of the finals,

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She sang “Little Bamboo Raft” and “Boatmen’s Work Song.” The moment she opened her mouth, she won wave after wave of applause. When Du Juan sang these two songs, it did not sound as though she was singing — it was a voice rising from the depths of her lungs. She was as entranced as when emitting qi, and after finishing she stood frozen on stage. She said: at the time I forgot I was in a competition full of experts; I was one hundred percent “following my feelings.” When the two songs were done, the band, the other singers, the people on stage and off — all were won over. A woman in her sixties came over and said to Du Juan: “You sang beautifully — your voice is absolutely resonant, your movements are absolutely graceful, and your musicianship is absolutely flawless. If you had formal training, you would surely become a fine singer. Where did you study?” Du Juan answered her honestly: “I’ve never studied. This was a last-minute cram.” The elderly woman was astonished and said: “You sing better than all of them. You have great promise. I have an excellent venue and facilities — I’m just short of people. If you’re willing, you can come to my place and I’ll help you practice.” Du Juan was puzzled and thought to herself: after all this talk, who are you? So she asked: “May I ask your honorable surname?” Someone nearby immediately chimed in: “Her? She’s the president of the Central Conservatory of Music.”

When the competition was judged, the panel initially felt Du Juan had sung the best and should be ranked first, but in the final comprehensive evaluation, Du Juan only placed fourth — the top three spots were all swept by contestants from the PLA Academy of Arts. Du Juan walked away with a gleaming certificate of award, and at the same time left us with a mystery: Du Juan, who never performed on stage — how could she outshine all the others and place in a competition against over a hundred top contestants?

Mystery Two: On August 3rd, Du Juan’s husband Li Tao invited several friends to visit Beidaihe. The night before bedtime, it was still a vast moonlit sky, but unexpectedly the next morning brought lightning, thunder, and torrential rain. With the weather making it impossible to go out, Du Juan was also very anxious. At 6:30, she told Li Tao: I am going to emit qi and make the heavy rain stop before 7:30. So Du Juan lay on the bed emitting qi, visualizing in her mind a fire on the ground burning larger and larger, more and more fiercely — roaring flames drying up all the rainwater, the ground cracking from the dryness. At that point, Du Juan felt her whole body burning hot and her head aching fiercely. Just as she could barely endure it, a miracle occurred: the rain gradually lessened. Li Tao and several friends hur—

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—ried outside to look, and saw that all around it was still pouring rain, while around Li Tao’s house the clouds had parted and the rain had scattered — only a few white clouds drifted lazily by. Li Tao and his friends all shouted: “It worked! It worked!”

Summoning wind and calling rain — I don’t know what level of qigong power that requires. Frankly, before meeting Du Juan’s friends, I found it hard to believe, but they all confirmed with their own eyes that this indeed happened. I was stunned. This is yet another mystery — a mystery of the future that modern science still cannot unravel.

Mystery Three: At the lectern stood an American English teacher. He was vividly and colorfully recounting his experiences in Beijing, China — laughing one moment, shrugging his shoulders and spreading his hands the next. Whether the students understood him or not, he had already entered the role himself and simply kept pouring forth words. Seated upright in the audience were several hundred undergraduate students; only Du Juan was a secondary vocational school graduate. As the American teacher talked on, he made a gesture of eating something. The students below remained sitting formally, looking serious and earnest. Du Juan burst out laughing. The teacher swept his gaze across the audience and asked one student to translate. That student couldn’t do it, so he called on another — still couldn’t translate it. When he pointed to Du Juan, she — who had been studying English for barely over a month — fluently translated the teacher’s speech: “Beijing is beautiful. The Forbidden City, Tiananmen, the Great Wall, and the Summer Palace all left me with wonderful memories, but what I savor most is the lamb skewers on the streets of Beijing. My wife and I go to the stall to buy them every day. We eat them with great relish.” Du Juan’s translation made the other students laugh out loud too. The American teacher patted Du Juan’s shoulder and repeatedly said: “Very good! Very good!”

Du Juan said: Actually, I had only been studying English for a short time then, and I knew very few words. I don’t know how, but I could just understand what the teacher meant. Even now, I can only manage a few simple conversations. When I’m with foreigners, I can understand what they’re saying, but I can’t converse with them, because I still can’t speak English.

The exam date was approaching, but Du Juan wasn’t worried at all — she went to work and played as usual. But upon entering the exam room and opening the test papers, Du Juan was dumbfounded: several sheets of paper, completely covered in English — let alone answering the questions, she couldn’t even understand some of them. But when she picked up—

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—her pen to answer the questions, it was as if her pen had gained a spirit of its own. Whether it was fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, true-or-false, or English-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-English translation, she completed everything in one fluid sweep. She said: I focused my entire mind on the correct answers. Those letters and words weren’t written — they bounced from the tip of my pen onto the test paper. It was another case of “following my feelings.” As a result, under an extremely low admission rate, she smoothly passed the exam. Looking at the admission notice from the Nanjing Aeronautical Institute, I found myself lost in another maze. It seems that language posed no barrier for Du Juan — otherwise, how could she, without formal study, understand a foreigner’s speech? How could she pass a rather difficult English exam?

However, Du Juan did not go to study at the Nanjing Aeronautical Institute. She relied on her own intention to take the TOEFL exam and was admitted to a college in a certain country. In early May of this year, she obtained a visa from that country’s embassy and flew across the Pacific to study abroad.

Mystery Four: One winter day, Du Juan was casually flipping through the Special Abilities Newsletter. The newsletter described how a female military doctor had used intention to “stare” a goldfish to death. Du Juan immediately wanted to test her own power. She went to the hospital’s flower-bed fish pond and found a “black cap” fish that was blowing bubbles. In her mind she thought: this fish will die right away. After just over ten minutes, the “black cap” swiftly swam into the deep water and disappeared. Not knowing the outcome, Du Juan was somewhat disappointed. Lying in bed that night, she kept thinking about it: the “black cap” will die; it will surely die.

Early the next morning, Du Juan quietly went to check — the goldfish had already floated to the surface, dead. She confirmed that she too had the power to “stare” a fish to death.

Later, she carried out an even more “cruel” action: she “stared” to death a “Big Red Robe” goldfish kept at home. This Big Red Robe had been raised for many years and was very endearing. Seeing that it had actually died, Du Juan felt heartbroken. She vowed never to conduct similar experiments again.

Qigong can harm goldfish, and it can also harm the human body. Qigong has an effect on all living things. But how qigong could “stare” a fish to death — Du Juan herself could not explain.

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7. Hearing Is Unreliable, Seeing Is Believing: Her Miraculous Abilities Dispelled the Doubts in My Heart

I became acquainted with Du Juan in the summer of 1987. At the time, I was working in the News Bulletin Department of the Liberation Army Daily. The newspaper often held dances; Du Juan loved dancing, so she came along with her boyfriend Li Tao. Li Tao and I were very good friends, and so I got to know Du Juan. In my impression, she was an understanding young woman, and I absolutely never imagined she would possess special abilities.

On this occasion, I traveled to Beijing on a business trip and first went to the Legal Daily office to visit Senior Editor Zhao Jianrong, an old colleague. She was very familiar with Du Juan and provided me with an important piece of information: Du Juan was now a popular figure in Beijing; she had special abilities.

I called the Armed Police headquarters switchboard and smoothly reached Li Tao, requesting to interview Du Juan. Li Tao said he couldn’t help with that favor; Du Juan had never accepted an interview from any reporter. However, on her behalf, he welcomed me to visit their home.

I went with Liberation Army Daily editor Wang Yuesheng to visit Li Tao. Li Tao and Du Juan were already waiting for us there. After more than a year apart, Li Tao was noticeably chubbier than before, while Du Juan remained as graceful and warm as ever. Just as we sat down, Li Tao said to me: “It’s strange, Du Juan showed rare ‘mercy’ today and actually agreed to let you write about her.”

This was sudden; I had assumed Du Juan wouldn’t allow it, and I hadn’t prepared for the interview at all—I hadn’t even brought a fountain pen. I asked Du Juan, “So many people have been turned down by you; why do you want me to write about you specifically?” Du Juan smiled: “I don’t know why either. Just ten minutes ago, I was still insisting on refusing. But as soon as you arrived, I felt you could write about it. We are friends, so I feel at ease having you write about this.”

So, as we cracked sunflower seeds, we began to chat casually. To verify whether Du Juan actually had special abilities, I asked her to look and see if I had any distinguishing marks on my body. Without hesitation, she said I had a red mole on my right waist. I remained noncommittal and then asked her what my wife looked like. She said my wife had a square face, large eyes, thick eyebrows, and was 1.67 meters tall. She was also very accurate regarding other aspects, such as personality.

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I then asked her to see what my wife was doing right at that moment. She closed her eyes, and after a brief moment, she said that my wife was wearing red slippers and pacing back and forth on a red carpet. I was quite astonished; I had just bought those red slippers for my wife right before leaving for Beijing. I looked up at the clock; it was 9:40 PM. The next day, I called home to verify this, and it was confirmed. Du Juan told me that whether she was diagnosing an illness or predicting something, she did not rely on thought. Therefore, she didn’t need to ponder; instead, the words immediately blurted out. She was directed by intention to speak, rather than racking her brains to invent a sentence. She only knew the process of emitting qi—inputting a signal—outputting a signal. Du Juan also examined Wang Yuesheng’s physical condition, and what she said was also very accurate.

Back at the military newspaper, we shared Du Juan’s situation in the editorial department. Some people thought it was truly miraculous, while others simply didn’t believe it. Another editor insisted that I take him and his wife to see her, so we made a second visit to Du Juan. This time the main purpose was to diagnose illnesses, and again, she was extremely accurate.

Afterward, the editor tentatively asked Du Juan: “Can you predict the situation of a comrade-in-arms of mine?” Du Juan asked which aspect of the comrade-in-arms’s situation he wanted predicted. The editor said marriage. To be honest, I was sweating for Du Juan. With only the concept of a “comrade-in-arms” to go on, and predicting something like marriage—could she pull it off? After a moment, Du Juan said, “Why, it seems your comrade-in-arms is in the middle of a divorce?” The editor said yes. Du Juan continued: “Your comrade-in-arms’s wife is quite pretty, but the main responsibility for the divorce doesn’t lie with her; it lies with the man. The man has already found someone else.” The editor and his wife asked anxiously: “If we do some persuasion, can they reconcile?” The answer was: “The possibility of reconciliation is extremely small. Generally speaking, the divorce is certain.”

If we had any remaining doubts about Du Juan’s special abilities when we arrived, we were completely convinced now. Hearing is unreliable, seeing is believing. Without experiencing it firsthand, special abilities are truly an elusive, miraculous art.

Speaking of special abilities, Du Juan said she might have had them since childhood, but they were simply undiscovered. When she was seven or eight years old, Du Juan’s family lived inside the Nanjing Military Region compound. Whenever she was at home, she could accurately state the time her father would return from work. This was because as soon as her father reached the Paomabiao

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intersection, Du Juan would sense the image of her father riding his bicycle. On a few occasions, when her older brother bullied her, she would see the image of her father cycling home and cry desperately. Sure enough, her father would return just a moment later. Seeing her crying, he would give her honest-looking brother a few slaps. Her brother would end up crying, while Du Juan would be delighted. As a child, Du Juan often felt itchy all over and scratched everywhere. Her mother would apply alcohol and iodine to her skin, but it didn’t solve the problem. It made her unable to eat or sleep peacefully, and even after she married, she would sometimes still feel unbearably itchy all over. This might have been a state of qigong practice. In her teens, Du Juan often saw a skeleton frame, which scared her to tears. Her family thought she was having nightmares, but even in broad daylight with her eyes wide open, she couldn’t get rid of the image. She laughed and said that this might have been an early form of clairvoyance (X-ray vision).

Therefore, Du Juan believes her special abilities are innate and were merely stimulated by qigong. She never practices qigong, nor does she know how to. Her power is primarily replenished invisibly by others when they practice qigong. As soon as it is past 10 PM—the prime time for qigong masters to practice—Du Juan becomes itchy all over and unable to sleep. If she gets up and sits for a while, or paces back and forth, she feels more comfortable. During the day, the time she spends emitting her qi is longer, so correspondingly, the time it takes to withdraw her qi at night is also extended.

8. To Further Explore the Mysteries of Human Special Abilities, She Goes Abroad for Advanced Studies…

Even though there was no promotion in the newspapers, the news that Du Juan possessed special abilities still spread rapidly. She became a famous and busy person. Those seeking her medical diagnoses, predicting the future, or even predicting whether a messy divorce would succeed flocked to her one after another. Du Juan was exhausted from dealing with them all, resulting in disrupted work and poor rest. In the end, she had to submit a request to transfer from the Second Department of Internal Medicine to the Department of Infectious Diseases, which most people were quite afraid of. However, some organizations saw her as a cash cow and repeatedly pestered her, trying to transfer Du Juan to their units.

The reactions from people seeking Du Juan’s medical consultations were also vastly different. Those whom she diagnosed accurately were pleasantly surprised; those for whom the readings were inaccurate talked behind her back, saying she was practicing superstition, harboring ulterior motives, and even cursing her as a lunatic or a witch. Regarding all this, Du Juan was sometimes extremely angry. She complained about having such abilities, which brought her so much trouble. Many people offered advice to Du Juan, but

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…to give a public performance. Du Juan had her own thoughts on this: belief or disbelief was each person’s freedom, and relying on performances was futile. The reason she tirelessly looked at this and that for people was to use her special skill in service of others, and absolutely not for money or fame. Du Juan’s ideal was to provide a convincing scientific argument for clairvoyance and remote sensing. To this end, she studied both medicine and philosophy, and also collected materials on the frontiers of modern science. She believed that the occurrence of any phenomenon had its own inherent rationality. To demonstrate this point, she vowed to devote her entire life’s energy.

Du Juan could leave her home and husband behind to study abroad in a certain country, exploring the mysteries of the human body’s special abilities. She could also give up her comfortable job to undertake arduous exploration in a foreign land. But what she could least tolerate was gossip and rumor, nor did she wish to be branded a sorcerer.

Fortunately, Du Juan’s husband, Li Tao, gave her absolute trust and support. Not only did he help Du Juan keep relevant records, he also took her to visit qigong masters in their homes to seek guidance. He said that to accomplish something, a spirit of sacrifice was indispensable. Du Juan’s friends also gave her much encouragement and support. When she encountered difficulties going abroad to study, they lent helping hands — from obtaining a passport to getting exit clearance, it took only a little over a month.

When the reporter was finishing this article, he had another phone call with Li Tao. He said Du Juan boarded the plane flying abroad with tears in her eyes. Needless to say, at that moment her feelings were extremely complex. But regardless, Du Juan had taken off. In the study of human body science, she would have a new domain.

Good Du Juan, don’t lose heart! My friends and I are all waiting for your new news.

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Child Prodigies

An Observation Record of Chen Xin’s Special Abilities

Newspaper reports about several boys and girls in our country who could distinguish colors and recognize characters with their ears and armpits aroused astonishment and admiration. Some people called these children “child prodigies.”

Xi’an also had such “child prodigies.”

Zhao Shuqin, a doctor at a clinic at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, wrote to our newspaper saying: her eleven-year-old daughter Chen Xin could distinguish colors and recognize characters with her armpit, and she hoped a reporter would come to observe.

To verify this situation, one afternoon, our party of five drove to the foot of Mount Zhongnan.

After meeting Zhao Shuqin, she led us to find Xinxin.

In front of the dormitory building, four or five little girls were jumping rope. Zhao Shuqin pointed to one wearing a red butterfly-shaped bow and said, “There, that’s her.”

Seeing strangers, Xinxin looked a bit nervous, fixing us with two large, shiny black eyes. After her mother’s introduction, and accompanied by her little friend Juanjuan, Xinxin went upstairs with us to the third-floor dormitory.

After serving tea, Zhao Shuqin took a deck of playing cards and said to her daughter: “Xinxin, try recognizing one for the uncles.” She casually drew a card, covered its face with her hand, face down, and handed it to her.

Xinxin was already accustomed to the “rules” of these tests. She rolled her eyes upward, reached out to take the card, lifted her shirt, and immediately tucked it under her left armpit.

To break the tense atmosphere and help Xinxin relax, we asked Zhao Shuqin to introduce the situation.

She said: “After seeing the news about the Symposium on Human Body Special Functions held in Shanghai—”

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—in which young people were tested on distinguishing colors and recognizing characters with their ears and armpits, out of curiosity, I wrote the character ‘王’ (king) on a piece of paper and placed it in Xinxin’s ear. In less than a minute, she recognized it and said: ‘It’s the character 王.’ I was extremely surprised. Right there, everyone in our family and her classmates one after another wrote about ten characters — 李, 杨, 毛, 华, 电, 三 — and Xinxin recognized them all using her ear, armpit, and the sole of her foot respectively. The fastest recognition took half a minute; the longest took five minutes…”

While listening to the account of past events, this reporter did not forget to keep an eye on Xinxin’s current reading.

After about fifteen minutes, her mother prompted: “Tell the uncles when you’ve recognized it.”

Xinxin said proudly: “I recognized it a long time ago.”

“What is it?” several people asked simultaneously.

“Club eight!” she answered, looking perfectly at ease and full of confidence.

When the card was revealed, it was indeed correct. Instantly, the room came alive. Old Wei, one of our party, casually drew another playing card, held it up with its back to Xinxin for everyone to see, and then had Xinxin tuck it under her armpit. Xinxin acted as if nothing were happening. Sitting face to face with Juanjuan, she began a hand-clapping game.

At this point we watched Xinxin even more closely. Truthfully, we were watching to see whether she would cheat. We saw Xinxin’s two hands clapping even faster. We couldn’t help asking: “Xinxin! Doesn’t playing like this interfere with recognizing the card?”

Xinxin answered: “It doesn’t interfere.” Then she said: “This card is diamond eight.”

“Hehe, recognized it again.” Laughter filled the room.

“Tell us, Xinxin, how do you ‘see’ the characters in your armpit?”

“Those characters appear in my mind like a slideshow, and then I know,” Xinxin replied.

“Do they just flash in your mind once and disappear?”

“No, they stay for a while.”

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“Oh! How interesting.”

Xinxin’s mother further explained that Xinxin could not only recognize characters and distinguish colors — even when several colors were overlapping and mixed together, she could identify them clearly.

At this point, Old Wei had taken who-knows-what and, shielding it with his large hand, passed it to Xinxin. Xinxin took it without lowering her head or glancing at it. She casually lifted her patterned shirt and tucked it under her armpit.

After three minutes, Xinxin became a bit anxious. She frowned tightly and vigorously scratched her forehead.

“What is it?” Old Wei asked.

“I don’t know what it is. There’s red, there’s black, and also a bit of yellow.” She answered, then said to her mother: “Get your work ID.”

From the pocket of her white shirt, her mother took out the work ID. Inside were various coupons and certificates tucked away.

Xinxin pointed to a shopping voucher with a face value of “one portion” and said: “This is it!”

She had seen this voucher in her mother’s work ID before. Because it was not normally used, she couldn’t name it and couldn’t answer. Her earlier anxiety probably arose from this.

Old Wei said happily: “Correct!”

Xinxin took the slip of paper from under her armpit — it was indeed a shopping voucher with a face value of “one portion”! On the front, the characters “one portion” were red, with a pale yellow background. The characters on the reverse side were black.

“Ah! Truly a child prodigy!” one comrade present said excitedly.

Just then, Juanjuan suddenly leaned in mysteriously and said: “When Xinxin plays cards with us, she’s always the emperor.”

“Why?” we asked, amused.

Juanjuan glanced at Xinxin and said mischievously: “As soon as she touches it with her hand, she knows — she’s bound to be the emperor!”

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This is to say: Xinxin’s hands also possessed such “divine” power. At this time, someone handed Xinxin a piece of paper folded into four layers with words secretly written on it, and asked her to “read” it with her hands. Xinxin grabbed the slip of paper. To “avoid suspicion,” she reached her hands under the bed, pressed them against the bed board, her eyes darting around. After about 1 minute, Xinxin said, “I know it.” “What is it?” “Changshui”. Unfolded, it was indeed the two characters “Changshui”. “Wow, absolutely amazing!” The atmosphere in the room livened up. Amidst the laughter, someone handed Xinxin a 135-millimeter photograph face down. As soon as Xinxin’s hands touched it, she shouted excitedly: “It’s someone wearing a skirt! And seems to be carrying a black leather bag.” The photo was revealed: it was a still from the ballet Swan Lake. The actress playing the White Swan was wearing a spreading skirt. Because it was a full-body shot, the human head was smaller than a grain of rice, and the background on the stage was very dark. For those with slightly poor eyesight, it would be difficult at once to distinguish the dark background from the White Swan and the Prince in black clothes. Therefore, Xinxin called the Prince, who was wearing black clothes, a “black leather bag.” While everyone was discussing animatedly, Xinxin suddenly said to Juanjuan: “Go downstairs and see if the rubber band is there?” Juanjuan went. By this time it was already 5 p.m., and we were about to prepare to take our leave, when Juanjuan ran in. Xinxin suddenly pointed at her and accused: “You didn’t go downstairs!” “How do you know?” we asked in surprise. The time Juanjuan was away was enough for a round trip. “She just didn’t go downstairs.” Xinxin’s answer was very certain. 195

This sudden situation attracted everyone’s attention again. At the same moment, two people simultaneously asked Juanjuan and Xinxin: “Where did you go?” “Where do you say she went?” The answers came almost simultaneously! “To the balcony!” both said so. Juanjuan indeed did not go downstairs. She ran to the balcony and looked down for quite a while, and only came back after seeing that there were still a few children playing jump rope. But, how could Xinxin know that she hadn’t gone downstairs? At this time, Xinxin’s mother told everyone. She said, “We have noticed this phenomenon several times already. Sometimes, when she is in the room, she suddenly says: ‘Dad is back! He is now downstairs…’ As she was speaking, her father pushed the door open and came into the room.” Her account astounded us greatly. Old Wei teased again: “It would be great if scouts had Xinxin’s ability.” 196

Field Record of Engineer Quan Guanliang’s Experiment on Gathering Rosy Clouds to Reflect the Solar Eclipse

Qian Xinsha

In early March this year, the Tibetan Esoteric Qigong Academic Symposium was held at the Badachu Guesthouse in Beijing. At the meeting, Comrade Quan Guanliang, an engineer from City S, presented multiple experimental reports on driving, gathering, and dispersing clouds around the sun and moon using external qi, which aroused great interest among the delegates present. After the meeting, the delegates surrounded him layer upon layer, asking in detail about his specific methods of practicing and emitting qi, repeatedly passing around his experimental photographs, and listening to him introduce his own arduous journey. Everyone was impressed by his gongfu and his outstanding spirit of dedication to qigong and human body science. It was at this conference that I became acquainted with Comrade Quan Guanliang. And I invited him to do a demonstration experiment for the students of our Huaxia Institute of Human Body Science on March 18th—the day of the solar eclipse.

On March 17th (the day before the experiment), we welcomed Comrade Quan Guanliang and his wife to the Navy Xiangshan Cadre Sanatorium. He quickly formulated 6 experimental plans, photocopied them, and sent them respectively to 4 units: the Beijing Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China News Service, the Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio, and the Photography Department of Xinhua News Agency. The next day (March 18th), a group of us, including over 10 students from the Huaxia Institute of Human Body Science, a photography reporter from Xinhua News Agency, Chen Zeren, a cameraman from the Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio, Professor Lu Yang, former head of the Astronomy Department of Nanjing University, and myself, accompanied Comrade Quan Guanliang to the predetermined experimental site—the Banyue Pavilion in Xiangshan—at past 8 a.m., waiting for the partial solar eclipse to appear.

At 8:05, the partial solar eclipse appeared. From 9:10 to 9:15, Quan Guanliang emitted qi for the first time according to the first planned 197

plan, and people focused their gaze on the sky around the sun. Before he began emitting qi, there was not a single wisp of cloud in the sky near the sun. Ten minutes after he emitted qi with both hands, two long strip-shaped clouds appeared in the sky near the sun, arching the sun from both sides within the direct field of vision, forming an inverted splayed-eight shape (\ /). They moved and closed in on the sun simultaneously from two opposite directions (one of the clouds was moving against the wind), and then turned into a flocculent, rotating cloud mass surrounding the sun.

His second experiment was to “make the sun change color.” We immediately looked up and saw that the sun, originally orange-yellow, quickly turned rose-red after he emitted qi. At the same time, it was clearly visible that on the surface of the sun, which had turned rose-red, a layer of cornmeal mush-like cloud was dynamically rotating.

His third experiment was to “make the sun move in and out of the cloud layer.” After he emitted qi, we looked up at the sun and felt that in an instant the sun’s radiance became blinding, and our foreheads felt scorched as if on fire. Student Mao Fuzhou and Section Chief Wei from the International Club had eyes that burned and stung so much they couldn’t open them. But suddenly the sun’s brightness dimmed again. In this way, the qi emitter made the sun’s radiance sharply increase and then decrease in an instant, repeating this several times, and we all felt it.

The fourth experiment was to “make the sun’s color show various changes.” After he emitted qi, I and the witnesses present saw the halo of the solar corona rotating and changing color, and the cornmeal mush-like cloud flocs on the sun’s surface rotating and changing color, turning from yellow—to golden yellow—to rose-red, with a blue-green light ring appearing at the edge. The colored aura on the sun’s surface also rolled and spread outward from the center.

The fifth experiment began! Quan Guanliang’s arms were shaking violently, and he shouted while emitting qi: “I made it move! I made it move!” He continued to roar loudly like a cow. In this roar that shook the mountain forest, people saw the sun truly start to tremble. Everyone could not help but shout along: “The sun is trembling!” The cameraman from the newsreel studio also discovered a miracle, shouting: “The camera lens is full of intense light!” 198

The sixth experiment was “to make a rainbow appear in the sky.” While emitting qi with both hands, Quan Guanliang said to everyone: “I will now make a rainbow appear!” Two to three minutes later, a rainbow appeared in the sky roughly 90 arc-degrees to the upper left of the sun. People cried out in amazement, counting off the colors from their mouths: red, yellow, orange, green, cyan, blue, purple!

The six experiments concluded successfully. Everyone gathered around and asked Comrade Quan Guanliang to rest. Twenty minutes later, the rainbow faded, the wind grew strong, blowing so hard that people could barely stand, and they escorted Comrade Quan Guanliang hastily down the mountain.

A week later, the photographs taken on-site by the Xinhua News Agency Photography Department were developed, and what we had witnessed with our own eyes was confirmed by the on-site photography. Interestingly, the rainbow caused by qi emission on the color photographs turned out to be two complete double rings! As for the experiments in which Quan Guanliang’s qi emission caused the “sun to change color” and the “sun to move in and out of clouds,” we believe these all fall within the scope of the effect of the human body’s external qi upon the cloud vapor in the atmosphere, and are not effects upon the sun’s atmosphere itself. We now provide the above on-site factual record to the broad community of qigong researchers for study.

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An Eyewitness Account of Mr. Quan Guanliang “Parting Clouds to Reveal the Moon”

Kang Jian

In mid-March of this year, Mr. Quan Guanliang, a Shanghai qigong master, was invited to Nankai University to teach the Quansheng method. For a time, the campus was abuzz, with word spreading that Mr. Quan had the ability to “part clouds and reveal the moon.” People expressed great interest, astonishment, and perplexity, but what was more prevalent was skepticism. Some said this reminded them of the ancient alchemists’ claims to summon wind and rain…

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on March 22nd, several hundred people gathered at the Nankai University open-air cinema plaza. Most of them were participants in the Quansheng method training class led by Mr. Quan. They were all waiting to watch Mr. Quan’s live experiment. That night, the sky over the Tianjin area was covered with thick clouds, with neither stars nor moon visible. Everyone looked up searching for the moon and guessed its position, but almost everyone got the direction wrong. Mr. Quan first pointed out the moon’s current position to everyone. Gazing as far as the eye could see, the sky was pitch black—where was the moon? At approximately 9:50 p.m., Mr. Quan began emitting qi toward the moon. His movements did not possess the dramatic storm-like force that everyone had imagined; he only seemed to be intermittently murmuring from his mouth, as if chanting incantations. After about two or three minutes, a single point of starlight suddenly appeared in the sky, faint and barely perceptible. Gradually, the bright point grew larger and its brightness increased, and the surrounding clouds thinned. In an instant, what had seemed like a star point suddenly enlarged and leapt out from the clouds—a crescent moon at once appeared before everyone’s eyes, golden in color and twice as bright as usual. The author also noticed that around the moon were faint swirling clouds, and beyond them, a ring of dark, heavy clouds. The crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Mr. Quan remained composed and calmly accepted the crowd’s congratulations. Right then, someone, riding on the excitement, asked Mr. Quan whether he could make the moon return into the dark clouds. The gentleman smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor refusing. But after the gathering dispersed, when we had walked to

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the library entrance, about 60 meters from the plaza, we looked up—the moon was gone. Not even a trace remained! How miraculous! How marvelous!

The time was 10:06 p.m. According to the on-site notes of an attentive observer: Mr. Quan’s qi emission began at 9:51 p.m.; the effect (a bright point appearing in the sky) occurred at 9:54 p.m.; about half a minute later, the moon suddenly appeared; Mr. Quan concluded his qi emission at 10:05 p.m. This is essentially consistent with the author’s observations.

It is said that the gentleman not only has the ability to “part clouds and reveal the moon,” but can also cause the wind to change direction, among other things. Had it not been for the author’s good fortune, how could one ever have the chance to meet such a master—unassuming in demeanor, approachable, and of noble virtue and extraordinary accomplishment?

As the author was bathed in the golden moonlight that Mr. Quan had summoned forth for us, I could not help but think of, within this vast and boundless cosmic current, humanity’s place, humanity’s value, humanity’s dignity… One may truly say: “Without heaven and earth, humanity cannot exist; without humanity, heaven and earth have no spirit” (He Chengtian, “Treatise on Understanding Nature”). “Correspondence between heaven and humanity”—this is precisely what Mr. Quan called his experiment—is a theory of traditional Chinese philosophy that for many years was condemned as theology and superstition and cast aside. Today, faced with such a vivid and authentic scientific experimental phenomenon, we should, with the aid of science and Marxism, conduct serious new research into it.

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A Miraculous Young Girl

Nowadays, the matter of using the ear to read characters no longer strikes people as novel or surprising. However, if someone were to tell you that a person could use mental intent to “weld” metal (copper, for example) together, or to rejoin and restore shattered bones, you would say: this is pure “Arabian Nights” fantasy. But what I am about to relate is absolutely factual!

Before the Spring Festival this year, I traveled to Shenyang on a business trip and, by chance, made the acquaintance of a retired veteran cadre from the Shenyang Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He told me that there was a miraculous Mongolian girl named Siqin who could use mental intent to “weld” metal, and could also restore and rejoin shattered bones and broken wooden chopsticks. I could not help but be stunned upon hearing this. He must have perceived my skepticism, for he said to me: At first, some of the researchers at their institute, including welding experts renowned both domestically and internationally, also did not believe it. Metal welding, especially the welding of copper, is extremely difficult. How could one imagine that mental intent alone could weld two copper pieces together? And so, I arranged with him that the following day Siqin would give a live demonstration. The next day, I was taken to the site where Siqin was to perform her “special abilities.” The room was filled with spectators. Curious onlookers were discussing things with all manner of attitudes and motives…

Siqin arrived—a beautiful and somewhat shy young Mongolian girl, who entered the performance area with a slight bashfulness. She was only eighteen years old, a student at Ganjika No. 1 Middle School in Inner Mongolia.

The demonstration began, and the entire hall fell silent. The staff placed two copper pieces inside a plastic box, closed the lid, and then handed it to Siqin. Siqin rested her hand on the lid of the box—one minute, two minutes—the quiet venue was so silent that a pin dropping could have been heard…

Half an hour passed. “Done!” Siqin suddenly said, and she handed the box

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Given to the staff, the two copper pieces unexpectedly became one piece, so complete that there was unexpectedly no trace of splicing! “Absolutely incredible!” This was a voice of admiration! “How come, there isn’t even a seam?!” This was an exclamation of astonishment! “It must have been swapped?!” These words carried doubt! “Is it a magic trick?!” This was believing yet not understanding. People were discussing, pondering, and asking questions based on their own psychological states; even the welding experts shook their heads in disbelief… Don’t believe it? Let’s do it again! To avoid any fakery, this time a steel stamp was punched into each of the two copper pieces. The second performance began. After half an hour, it was “welded.” Just like before, no “weld” marks were left, and there were no seams. The looks of doubt unknowingly changed. The talk of “magic tricks” was no longer heard; “Inconceivable!” more people said. Let’s do another performance! People wanted to see exactly what was going on; people hoped to once again increase the credibility of their understanding! Before this performance, my new friend said to Si Qin: “When you do it this time, could you leave a little trace at the seam? That way, it will be easier for people to believe.” Si Qin did as told. Sure enough, the copper piece left an obvious trace at the “welded” joint. But alongside their belief, there was indeed a genuine feeling of being unable to comprehend it. Were there any non-believers left? No! According to the welding experts, only atomic welding or molecular welding could hope to achieve the level of leaving no trace and fusing into one body, which is completely impossible at the current level of science and technology! However, scientists admit it! This is indeed a fact, and we absolutely cannot treat things that cannot be explained as things that do not exist! And it is precisely because there are so many unknown “facts” that scientists are needed to explore and research; aren’t scientists meant to exist to develop the unknown world? Si Qin is truly a miraculous girl! With immense curiosity, I decided to go 203

to interview her. Ganqika is located at the junction of Liaoning and Inner Mongolia provinces, and it is the seat of the government of the Khorchin Left Back Banner in Inner Mongolia. Here, I found a leader named Zhao Xiaodong who possessed another type of special ability. His special abilities manifested as human body X-ray vision and remote sensing, and he was very familiar with Si Qin. We stayed at the Minzu Hotel. It was already evening when we arrived. In spring north of the Great Wall, it still got dark very early, and the lights had already been turned on. Zhao Xiaodong brought Si Qin, who had just finished class, to our accommodation. Si Qin walked in, slightly shy, speaking standard Mandarin. Zhao Xiaodong was very familiar with Si Qin, so he said to her straightforwardly: “Why don’t you give us a bone-setting performance first.” At this moment, I looked at my watch. Oh, it was already past 6 o’clock. “Let’s go eat first, and do it when we get back,” I said. During the meal, I asked Si Qin how she discovered she had special abilities. She said: In 1979, a news documentary was shown here called Do You Believe It or Not. The film showed things like special abilities where people recognized characters using their ears. After watching it, the classmates all found it novel. After returning, everyone said, “Let’s try it too.” They did it right away. You write a note and I’ll guess; I’ll write a note and you listen. But no one could recognize them; only I “listened” and got the characters right. The news spread, and the teachers in the school all knew about it. In 1980, the Changchun Medical College in Jilin Province conducted tests for special abilities, and the school recommended me to go. Later, it was tested that besides listening to characters, I also had abilities like setting bones, joining metal, and joining wood using mind intent. From 1981 to 1983, experiments on setting bones and joining matchsticks were conducted three times at Beijing Normal University. I asked: Can you set the broken bones of a living animal? She said: I’ve done experiments with rabbits and chickens. The leg bones of live rabbits and chickens were broken on the spot, and using mind intent, they were joined in about half an hour, and they could walk around immediately. “What about humans?” I asked. “Humans, well, I haven’t done that, nor have I encountered a situation of a human bone fracture,” she said. At this time, Zhao Xiaodong chimed in from the side: “What living person would let you do this kind of experiment?” Hearing this, I laughed. “Then, if someone’s leg or arm is sprained 204

and swollen, can you use mind intent to relieve pain and reduce inflammation?” “Yes, my younger brother’s leg was injured before, and I treated him,” Si Qin answered with a smile. After the meal, I picked out a piece of chicken bone from the roast chicken we had just eaten and brought it back. The experiment started with it. I put the chicken bone, broken into two pieces, into a plastic film canister and handed it to Si Qin. She held it in her hand; we chatted while watching her do the experiment. After about 20 minutes, she held the canister, looking at it, and muttered to herself: Why won’t it connect today? I comforted her, saying: Don’t rush. She whispered, “The two pieces of bone don’t seem to align.” Just then, Zhao Xiaodong said from the side: “I saw it, you broke one of the bone pieces again.” I heard this and really felt it was strange. “You can see inside the canister?” I asked Zhao Xiaodong. “Yes. When she connects the two pieces of bone, the two bones stand upright inside the canister.” As he spoke, he used two fingers to mimic the alignment, demonstrating it to me. “When Si Qin was joining them, because she applied force, one of the bone pieces broke again.” This was truly a myth-like description. I didn’t dare to believe it, so I took the canister, opened it, and looked—sure enough, there were three pieces of bone inside. It’s magic! I exclaimed inwardly. According to Zhao Xiaodong’s analysis, the reasons it didn’t connect might be: first, this bone was cooked and had never been broken before; second, when I broke it, because I bent it back and forth, some bone fragments might have been lost. We agreed to use raw chicken feet tomorrow. The next day, at a little past 9 p.m. After evening self-study was over, she came. Even though she was already very tired from a day of studying, she still kept the appointment, revealing the honest and trustworthy character of the Mongolian people. The chicken feet to be used for the experiment had already been prepared. Zhao Xiaodong and I had used a hammer to smash them into comminuted fractures, and then bent them. After Si Qin held it in her hand for half an hour, it was no longer visible from the outside that the chicken foot was broken. I took the chicken foot from Si Qin’s hand to observe. She said: Be careful, the bone isn’t completely set yet. I handed it back to her to continue setting. After about an hour, she said it was already set. Zhao Xiaodong, who possesses X-ray vision, testified from the side: It’s joined. I held it in my hand, gently tried to bend it, but it wouldn’t move. -205

wanted to try bending it again with more force. Siqin said, “Using too much force won’t work either. Although it’s been reconnected, it’s not particularly secure yet. If we continue, it can be joined more firmly.” But I could see that Siqin was clearly tired. It was said that in the past, when she performed these experiments, she had never spent this much time, and each time she was quite successful, even winning performance awards. It seemed that her intense studies had caused some decline in her current physical strength and abilities.

Zhao Xiaodong suggested, “Why don’t you perform a less physically demanding act for Comrade Lao Shi?” What should it be? Zhao Xiaodong told me that Siqin could chew a torn business card into a pulp and then restore it. Good! Let’s do that. There were no business cards — what to do? Let’s use paper as a substitute.

I wrote the character “国” (country) on a piece of paper, then tore it into two pieces, keeping only half of the character “国.” I then tore this small square of paper into even smaller pieces and handed them to Siqin. She apparently felt the pieces I had torn were still too large, so she tore them even finer, then put them in her mouth and chewed. After a while, she spat out the pulpy mass from her mouth, squeezed out the saliva soaked within it, and rolled it between her palms. After about seven or eight minutes, she handed me a slightly damp small square of paper. It was restored! I took the piece of paper and looked — it was exactly the same as the piece I had torn off, with the half character “国” still clearly visible. I placed it on the manuscript paper to compare — it matched perfectly. Truly a miracle! And completed so quickly!

We could not ask Siqin to perform anymore, because she was genuinely very tired. Over two days, three experimental demonstrations had been completed. The purpose of my trip had been achieved — I had obtained verification through facts.

It was said that Siqin had other abilities as well, such as: being able to light a lamp using thought; unlocking a locked door; and so on. I had no time to look into these, because there were other matters to attend to, and I had to return immediately. However, based solely on the facts I personally witnessed, it is sufficient to prove that Siqin’s special abilities are an indisputable objective reality. As for what exactly special abilities are all about, that is a matter for the human body scientists — this riddle is theirs to solve.

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Wang Liping on Summoning Wind and Rain

— An Interview with the Renowned Qigong Master Mr. Wang Liping

By Lu Hong

In the fifth issue of the 1987 Qigong and Science magazine, an article titled “This Art Truly Exists in the Human World” was published. The article stated:

On the evening of September 14, 1986, at around 9 p.m., as the “Qigong Training Class” organized by Beijing Railway No. 1 Primary School was dismissing, suddenly there was lightning and thunder, and it began to rain. The scattered raindrops were as large as copper coins, hitting the ground with an audible sound, and it looked as though a heavy rainstorm was about to pour down. Wang Liping, the main instructor of the training class, decided to deploy his qigong method to temporarily hold back the rainstorm so that the students could return home smoothly. People saw him stand in the center of the school playground, raising both hands upward to emit qi. Strangely enough, before long, the large raindrops disappeared, and the lightning stopped flashing. What qi energy, reaching to the heavens, rolling back clouds and rain! About an hour later, Wang Liping estimated that the students had safely reached their homes, so he withdrew his qi. As soon as he withdrew his power, the heavens revealed their true face once more — and with a vengeance, raining harder and harder, turning into a torrential downpour. The following evening at the training class, Wang Liping asked the students whether they had been drenched by the heavy rain the night before. The students all replied in unison: “No.”

Summoning wind and rain! This was Wang Liping’s special ability of “summoning wind and rain.”

Seeing this nearly mythical description, many people were half-believing and half-doubting. People longed for Wang Liping to come to Xi’an and publicly perform the feat of summoning wind and rain!

However, it was quite regrettable that during the founding of the National Qigong Science Theory and Methods Committee, Wang Liping did indeed come to Xi’an, and one could hear stories about his parting clouds and stopping rain, yet no one ever saw him publicly perform this extraordinary skill at the conference. And so,

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those who called “summoning wind and rain” a “Arabian Nights tale” had even more grounds for their claims.

In order to get to the truth of the matter, the reporter visited this protagonist of the “Arabian Nights tale” once again as the conference was drawing to a close.

Wang Liping, who was in the middle of a conversation with senior students of the “Zhineng Qigong Training Class,” was not particularly welcoming of the reporter’s arrival. He said bluntly: “I am the person most afraid of performing.” When asked the reason, it turned out he was afraid that reporters would write increasingly fantastical things, to the point that people would see him as a magical figure with limitless powers — that even when the Greater Khingan Mountains caught fire, they would expect him to go and blow it out. He smiled wryly and said, “I’m only human. How could I have that much power?” But he affirmed to the reporter that summoning wind and rain was by no means an “Arabian Nights tale.” He believed that what is called “summoning wind and rain” is merely an attempt by a person to use special abilities to briefly change local nature. He said: “According to the ancient notion of ‘unity of heaven and humanity,’ as long as a person can assimilate with nature, they can achieve immortality. Although I have not reached the level of ‘unity of heaven and humanity,’ the results of long-term cultivation have made me far more sensitive than ordinary people in anticipating changes in weather. Within my own body, there is also a small heaven and earth. Whenever the weather is about to turn bad, the small heaven within my body (according to the Dragon Gate sect of Daoism, the heart is called heaven and the kidneys are called earth) sinks downward, and I feel extremely oppressed. And when the weather is about to improve, my heart feels very light and relaxed. After grasping this characteristic, I developed the idea of exploring whether humans and the cosmos could assimilate and unite. I use my body’s small heaven and earth to control the great heaven and earth, thereby locally controlling nature. For example, during cloudy and rainy weather, I use the internal qi power to activate my internal organs, forcefully pushing the small heaven within my body upward, and the clouds rise. When I want clouds to gather, I forcefully push the small heaven within my body downward, and the clouds lower. However, the scope of this is influenced by my physical strength and qi power.”

He pointed to the gloomy sky outside the window and said: “In your eyes, there are clouds in the sky, but in my eyes, the sky is filled with many, many large water drops, about to fall at any moment. Under these conditions where the cloud layer is extremely thick, asking me to part the clouds is an extremely difficult

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matter. On the contrary, if there is a thin layer of cloud in the sky, making it a falsely overcast day, and the ‘heavenly eye’ can be seen, with just a slight application of qigong methods, the clouds will part. Rainfall also has its conditions; if there are ambient clouds within a fifty to sixty-kilometer radius, as long as you emit qigong to gather the clouds together, it will rain.”

He also said: Summoning wind and rain requires specific occasions, locations, and conditions. For example, in Guangzhou, the clouds are low and volatile; when performing summoning wind and rain, it is exceptionally spectacular. Beijing has many showers; when it just starts raining, emitting qigong to hold it off for a while is not difficult to achieve. However, trying to control nature under continuous rainy conditions like in Xi’an, even with great effort, the results may not necessarily be ideal.

When a reporter told him that people were spreading rumors that on the afternoon of October 14th, it was Wang Liping who emitted qigong to stop the rain while Yan Xin was giving a lecture at the Huashan Machinery Factory, Wang Liping confirmed that there was indeed such a thing. He recalled: “I predicted rain that day, which would last until 4:00 PM before stopping. But a comrade from Shaanxi Province got anxious as soon as he saw the rain after getting up in the morning. He repeatedly came to me, saying that Yan Xin was giving a lecture at 2:00 PM, several thousand tickets had already been sold, it was very difficult to change the venue, and asked me to think of a solution. I had no choice but to force it down, making the rain finish ahead of time. From 11:00 AM onwards, I continuously emitted qigong; my lips even turned purple from the cold!”

Afterwards, I ran into Wang Wei from the Huashan Machinery Factory. When asked about Yan Xin’s lecture that day, he told me with great conviction: “At about 10:00 AM that day, we had already set up the venue, but the rain kept pouring down. At that time, I remembered that Wang Liping was right there in Xi’an, so I drove to the venue at the Fourth Military Medical University to ask him to think of a way. After hearing this, he told us to go back and said the rain would stop soon. When I hurried back to the site, the rain indeed didn’t last much longer. When Yan Xin was giving his lecture, the sun even came out for a short while!” Wang Shouxin and Zhao Qinyi from the Tumor Research Institute of the China Qigong Science Research Association also said: “On the 14th, not only did we see with our own eyes Wang Liping emitting qigong to stop the rain, but we also saw his spectacular feat of parting the clouds to reveal the sun!” He recalled: “At the time, the rain had already stopped, but the sky was still very overcast. Six or seven of us were standing at the entrance of the auditorium at the Fourth Military Medical University, talking about stopping the rain, when Wang Li-

ping walked over. He smiled and said, ‘I can part the clouds and let the sun come out. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you.’ We only saw him extend his hand, wave it towards a small patch of blue sky known as the ‘heavenly eye,’ his mouth seemingly muttering something, and in an instant, the sun revealed itself.” Although because the cloud layer was too thick, the sun only showed itself for 10 minutes before ducking back into the clouds. But Wang Liping said that normally, the wind and clouds move in the same direction, but when parting the clouds to reveal the sun, the direction of the clouds and the wind are opposite; this is the power of human beings.”

A few days later, the author saw Wang Liping, at a “Zhineng Qigong Training Class,” slightly apply qigong methods to summon a cool breeze inside a closed hall.

Summoning wind and rain, so this is how it works! Dear readers, can such an explanation convince you? : 210

Footnotes

1. The original text reads “汕” (Shantou), which is likely an OCR error for “油” (oil), a colloquial expression meaning to eat and replenish energy. ↩