Free Content

Forgotten Xing Yi Masters: Hu Yao Zhen & Ma Li Tang

July 24, 2026

In the 1950s, during the Cultural Revolution, Qi Gong masters were invited by the government to work in hospitals as doctors and health care professionals, and much research was done on Qi Gong in hospitals and research centers. Liu Gui Zhen (1920–83) is largely credited with this development. Liu and his team worked on applying Qi Gong practice to health improvement at Bei Dai He Rehabilitation Center and gained positive results. As a result of his work and that of other masters, many of whom also practiced martial arts, the government established a number of Qi Gong treatment centers, where Qi Gong Masters carried out treatments and taught exercises to patients.

Some of the most famous of these Qi Gong Masters were:

Guo Lin, a former cancer patient who began teaching Guo Lin’s New Qigong (Guo Lin Xin Qi Gong) in parks to thousands of people diagnosed with cancer.
Yang Mei Jun, a master of Wild Geese Qi Gong (Da Yang Gong).
Zhao Jin Xiang, master of Soaring Crane Qi Gong.
Ma Li Tang, who revitalized the Six Healing sounds and created many forms of Qi Gong For rehabilitation.
Hu Yao Zhen, who created a Qi Gong hospital in Beijing and combined elements of Buddhism, Daoism, Qi Gong, internal martial arts, and Chinese medicine.
Pang Ming, creator of “Intelligence Qi Gong” (Zhi Neng Gong).
Zhang Ming Wu, who developed “Methods of Self-Healing Through Qi Gong,” which contains exercises developed precisely to address specific health issues.

By the end of the 1980s, several million copies of various Qi Gong manuals were in circulation. Qi Gong masters provided conferences in working units and treatment in hospitals and began to form organizations.[1]

Two of these masters, Ma Li Tang and Hu Yao Zhen were masters of internal martial arts who also worked as Qi Gong “doctors” in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Because of their connection with Qi Gong and g0vernment sponsored health care, it is easy to forget that that these two men were also formidable practitioners of Xing Yi Quan.

Hu Yao Zhen

Hu Yao Zhen (1897–1973) was one of the great masters who integrated modern traditional Chinese medicine, Qi Gong, and martial arts in China. Beginning at age 16, and continuing throughout his life, he apprenticed under many masters in Chinese medicine, internal martial arts, Daoism, and Buddhism. He created “Stillness and Movement Qi Gong” or “Static and Dynamic Qi Gong.” (Jing Dong Qi Gong), also known as Hu Yao Zhen Jing Dong Qi Gong. In 1956, Hu founded Beijing’s First Qi Gong Hospital, where he and his associates develped Qi Gong therapies to address difficult-to-treat chronic diseases, such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, neurasthenia, and heart disease.

Hu Yao Zhen studied Xinyi Quan and Hua Tuo’s Five Animal Play under the Daoist inheritor Peng Ting Jun and he learned Xinyi Quan from Dai Wen Jun, as well as Tai Ji Quan with Yuan Xiu Chen of Hebei. He also received instruction in Buddhist Exercise Methods from Monk Li Hong of Cong Shan Temple in Taiyuan.

Hu Yao Zhen’s martial skill was such that he was known as “Iron Palm Hu.” His acupuncture skill was also considered to be peerless, earning him the title “Miracle Hand Divine Doctor.” He was close friends with Chen Fa Ke of Chen style Tai Ji Quan and together they co-founded the Capital Martial Arts Research Society in Beijing. Some people refer to Hu Yao Zhen as the “Father of Modern Qi Gong.”[2]

Hu Yao Zhen published books on the Five Animal Play, Qi Gong and Health Exercises, and Wu Ji Acupuncture.

Later during the Cultural Revolution era (1969-1973), Qi Gong practice was once again labelled as superstitious and Qi Gong was to some degree suppressed. Many clinics were shut down by the government. Hu’s Qi Gong fame made him a target, and he suffered greatly.

Ma Li Tang

Ma Li Tang (1905-1989) was a well-known martial arts and Qi Gong master who devoted his lifetime to the study and promotion of martial arts and Qi Gong. He was the first Chairman of the Shanghai Qi Gong Masters Association and played a major role in restoring martial arts and Qi Gong after the Cultural Revolution. He is particularly famous for helping to integrate Qi Gong into Chinese health care and hospital treatments. Ma Li Tang was also well known for his skill in Xing Yi Quan. One story about his skill involves his meeting Xing Yi Master Shang Ji, who was himself a very accomplished martial artist when he met Ma Li Tang. Shang, a disciple of two internal boxing masters, rarely lost a challenge match. However, Shang Ji recounts that he was defeated by Ma Li Tang (nicknamed “the Tank”) who effortlessly threw Shang Ji down. Shang Ji became a disciple of Ma Li Tang and studied Xing Yi and Qi Gong with Ma in order improve his internal skills and fighting ability. [3]

While learning internal martial arts and Qi Gong in his younger days, Ma Li Tang came to the realization that in order to reach higher levels of skill in martial arts it is essential to also grasp the essence of Qi Gong, hence he practiced Qi Gong in order to improve his martial arts skills. Ma Li Tang also had a deep knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, and how Chinese medical theory is directly related to the foundational theories of Qi Gong and internal martial arts.

Ma Li Tang is famous for popularizing the Six Healing Sounds Qi Gong (Liu Zi Xue), and by synthesizing the knowledge he gained over many years of study and training he was able to create various sets of Qi Gong exercises, eventually founding the He Da Bu Fan Hui Qi Gong system. Today his methods are more popularly known as Ma Li Tang style Qi Gong. Ma’s Qi Gong includes many forms of rehabilitative Qi Gong, including Qi Gong exercises performed lying down that are suitable for bedridden people, or can be done upon awakening in the morning. He also created seated exercises that combine movement with Dao Yin self-massage and standing exercises, some of which involve movement, while others resemble the Zhan Zhuang Post Standing practiced by internal boxers. Additionally, Ma synthesized a set of walking exercises that have overlaps with some versions of Five Animal Play, including the Five Animal Play of Hu Yao Zhen. Each walking exercise employs different lengths of stride and body actions, creating different forces exerted by the legs and different contact points of the feet with the ground. These variables adjust which meridians are being stimulated and produce different effects on the bones, muscles and joints. The Eight Walking Exercises include:

Yin-Sustaining Step
Yang-Sustaining Step
Heaven and Earth Step
Crane Step
Dragon Step
Tiger Step
Bear Step
Alligator Step [4]

Several of these stepping exercises are derived from the Xing Yi Animal Forms and the Five Animal Play (Wu Qin Xi) made famous by masters like Hu Yao Zhen and Jiao Guo Rui, who studied with several Qi Gong masters including Hu Yao Zhen. Jiao Guo Rui learned Qi Gong directly from Hu Yao Zhen, and like Ma Li Tang, his version of Five Animal Play is very closely related to Xing Yi Quan stepping methods. Also, similar to Ma Li Tang’s walking exercises, each of the animals in Jiao Guo Rui’s version of Five Animal Play creates different forces in the legs due to the different lengths of stride and contact of the foot with the ground that is characteristic of each of the Five Animals – Bear, Deer, Crane or Bird, Tiger, and Monkey. [5] The particular nature of each animal also manifests in the positions of the hands, the actions of the eyes, the spirit and even the breathing patterns. Interestingly, the late B. P. Chan who instructed internal martial arts and Qi Gong in New York City for many years, also learned and taught the same method of Five Animal Play as Jiao Guo Rui.