Qigong fever

History

The Chinese term Qìgōng rè (气功热), referred to in English as "the qigong boom" or "qigong fever", was a social phenomenon in which mass practice of qigong became extraordinarily popular in the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 1990s, with more than 2,000 qigong organizations and between 60 and 200 million practitioners. The movement is characterized by initial government sanction of qigong, with emphasis on health benefits, traditional medicine and martial arts applications, and a scientific perspective; revival of interest in traditional philosophy, spiritual attainment, and folklore; rise to power of "grandmasters" (e.g. Zhang Baosheng) as cultural and political leaders; and opposing efforts to legitimize qigong based on science versus de-legitimize qigong as pseudoscience. In 1999, the Chinese government instituted a systematic crackdown on qigong organizations that were perceived to challenge state control, including prohibiting mass qigong practice, shutdown of qigong clinics and hospitals, and banning groups such as Zhong Gong and Falun Gong.