Zhang Guangde

Zhang Guangde (1932-2022), Feiyu, Heling Yanren:

Professor of Beijing Sport University
The Creator of Daoyin Yangsheng Gong
China’s famous martial artist and Health Qigong expert
The first generation of martial arts graduate students
The first double ninth Duan of Health Qigong and Martial Arts
One of the 100 best Chinese Martial Artists (Kung Fu)

Professor Zhang went to a traditional private school, read classics, poetry, opera. Instructed by martial arts masters and systematically trained by modern higher physical education, exposing him to a breadth of knowledge of martial arts, Yijing, medicine, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

Therefore, he has not only saved himself from a terminal illness in his 30s by practicing Daoyin Yangsheng Gong, but has also been healthily working for nearly 60 years.

He has written more than 130 books with nearly 4 million words with his main achievements including:

55 volumes of "Guoyin Yangsheng Gong"
13 volumes of "Health Tai Chi"
37 volumes of "National Home Fitness and Health Preservation"

Among them, Daoyin Yangsheng Gong won the National Sports Science and Technology Progress Award in 1992, and was known as the "Golden Necklace of Martial Arts", "A Good Teacher and Helpful Friend for the Middle-aged and the Elderly", and “Daoyin Yangsheng Gongs is like a Breeze that Caresses the World”. The book was ranked third amongst China’s 100 top scientific fitness books in 2013.

Moreover, with its profound Yijing philosophy, rich cultural connotations, magnificent poems and songs, and colorful auspicious cultural stories, enhances the impact of Daoyin YangSheng Gong’s ability to improve one’s body, internal organs, and emotional regulation.

The exercises’ unique characteristics and the philosophy of Yin and Yang, the charm of the Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty elevates the level and value of traditional Chinese fitness techniques to an unprecedented new height, making it one of the most popular exercises in Health Qigong.

For this reason, Professor Zhang was awarded the "Outstanding Contribution Award in the Field of Health Qigong" by the Health Qigong Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China in 2014.

Nowadays, Daoyin Yangsheng Gong has become a mandatory reading for all undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students enrolled in Beijing Sport University, and has become one of the foundations of the national traditional physical education system.

Professor Zhang has traveled to more than 20 countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, etc. to teach Daoyin YangSheng Gong, and has received more than 180 disciples from nearly 30 countries. Many of his books have been translated and published in English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, and Italian.

Daoyin Yangsheng Gong have not only been widely popularized in all parts of China, but also spread to more than 70 countries and regions overseas, helping millions of people improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

Author: Hu Xiaofei

October 2022 in Beijing

On January 30, 2022, Mr. Zhang Guangde passed away in Beijing, China at the age of 91. The obituaries on the official websites of the International Health Qigong Federation and the China Health Qigong Association, both called his death "a major loss in the field of Health Qigong". The Chinese Martial Arts Institute of Beijing Sport University also spoke highly of his achievements in his life, especially the tens of thousands of Daoyin enthusiasts from all over the world are deeply saddened by his recent passing.