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reportedly said, his children, his secretary, and many old friends had gone to see psi trials (upon
the invitation of psi researchers) and almost all of the attendees were easily deceived and made to
believe in the reality of psi.
Thus, he had better not personally try to observe such trials or he too
might be deceived "by the techniques of stage magic.”
Yu’s arguments were extremely weak.
Checking through Yu’s papers, the senior author has
found that Yu’s opposition was based upon the following two arguments:
1. The claimed parapsychological phenomena are contrary to Marxism, Leninism, dialectical materialism,
and currently known scientific laws and therefore cannot be true.
2. There have been many cases of psi trials, both in China and in other countries, which were found to be
fraudulent
Considering the improbability of the phenomena, common sense tells us that all such claims
must be hoaxes.
It is obvious that these two arguments are logically and methodologically incorrect. The exist-
ence of a phenomenon is not precluded by any theory, and a part of available evidence does not
necessarily represent the whole.
Indeed, these two arguments were so fragile that, after June,
1982, when publication of Yu’s multi-part paper was halted by the Party’s decision (which will
be discussed in detail below), the NJ editors managed to obtain the unpublished portions and
published them in full in their own informal EFHB Bulletin.
The scientists and leaders supporting Yu were even more eager than he to halt the study of psi.
The Academia Sinica held a meeting in Beijing on February 24, 1982, which was attended by
4,000 scholars, to attack the psi studies and to call for "fair but strictly controlled" trials in which
both sides would participate.
The results of these trials would lead to a final judgment and thus
close the issue.
The meeting was given extensive coverage by both the Xinghua News Agency
and the People’s Daily newspaper, the two most important government-authorized media.
Their
news dispatches expressed strong disapproval of the psi researchers.
The person leading the other side of the debate was the above-mentioned scientist Dr. Qian
Xuesen, the "father of Chinese rocketry".
He studied at MIT in the 1930’s and completed his
Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he was sub-
sequently appointed Goddard Professor of Jet Propulsion.
At one time he was director of the
rocket section of the U.S. National Defense Scientific Advisoiy Board.
Although the Americans
granted Dr. Qian’s request to return to China in 1955, in exchange for 11 American Pilots from
the Korean War,
it was later rumored that the U.S. government regretted the decision, for they
believed that without Qian, China would not have been able to join the nuclear and space clubs so
soon.
Dr. Qian first showed his support of qigong research publicly in June, 1980, when he visited
NJ. In a private conversation with the Journal’s editor Dr. Qian is reported to have said:
No one has ever undertaken to discover the ultimate capabilities of the human body. Henceforth, we
should use science and technology to study human potential
Thus, we should study Chinese traditional
medical theories, qigong, exceptional functions of the human body, and so on.
In the end, all this will
result in developing the exceptional functions you have been studying. There is much opposition to the
integration of Western and Chinese medicine, including qigong and EFHB.
It is permissable to use
different approaches in research. Many natural phenomena are still not explained by science, and this is
the way it has been throughout the history of science. We need a leader who is strong enough to face
critics, and that is why I have come to visit and to show my respect for your journal {Nature Journal,
editorial report, 1980).
Dr. Qian answered Mr. Yu’s challenge by emphasizing that it is important to perform experi-
ments rather than merely to stick with existing theories. Dr. Qian believed that anthropic science8
®The term "anthropic" was officially used in English translations in the early phases but was later replaced by
"somatic", although the Chinese term remained the same.
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would become a major branch of modem science and technology and attain the same standing
that
the natural
sciences,
the
social
sciences,
the behavioral
sciences, mathematics,
systems
theory,
military
theory, and
the
fine
arts have
today
(Yi,
1988). He
also
predicted
that
a
breakthrough in anthropic science would necessarily cause a new revolution in science and tech-
nology, thereby changing the future of mankind completely.
He believed that such a change
would be far more profound than the scientific revolution of the early Twentieth Century which
was brought about by the development of relativity and quantum theory (Qian, 1983).
These arguments were politically effective, in part because of Dr. Qian’s important position
and his influence upon Chinese policy makers, especially the military leaders.
Another high
ranking political and military leader, Mr. Zhang Zhenhuan, who was at that time Chairman of the
Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, endorsed open discus-
sion of EFHB in response to Dr. Qian’s call for support of the field.
Mr. Zhang later became the
president of the China Society of Somatic Science (CSSS).
Although he rarely performed a formal experiment himself. Dr. Qian did observe many trials
by qigong masters and, on one occasion, experienced in person the power of their "qigong exter-
nal emission" ("qigong waiqi" or "exterior energy"). Also convinced by what they had seen were
many highly respected senior natural scientists, who expressed their support for the proponents of
EFHB.
These scientists included Wong Gangchang, Zhao Zhongrao, Bei Shizhang, Mao Yi-
sheng, Qian Weichang, Tan Jiazheng, Yang Longsheng, Wang Dezhao, Zhu Guangya and Tang
Aoqing, a chemist who was later elected president of the Academia Sinica.
In an attempt to settle the issue fairly, a joint trial was arranged by the Party’s National Com-
mittee of Science in April, 1982. A disagreement concerning the design of the experiments arose
between the opposing factions before the trial was formally begun, and as a result, some members
of the anti-psi faction withdrew, saying that they would not acknowledge the validity of the
outcome of the trial.
Nevertheless, the trial did proceed at Beijing Teacher’s College with mem-
bers of both factions in attendance. The results, by and large, were negative, with the exception
of those produced by "Z" (see later).
However, since "Z" did provide strong positive results and
no evidence of cheating was discovered in any of the tests, the pro-psi members of the joint
committee took the offensive and circulated reports of the trial in the first issue of an "internally
circulating" magazine, EFHB Research (see later), although the reported results were chosen to
exclude the negative responses (Combined Committee for EHFB Tests, 1983).
Meanwhile, the
anti-psi faction chose not to make any report of the results.
As usually happens in a centrally-controlled country, when no one wants to be on the losing
side of an issue, both sides turned to the Party for a resolution.
Dr. Qian Xuesen wrote a letter to
the Party’s Central' Propaganda Department asking the Department to protect the freedom of
science, while Yu Guangyuan continued to push for a ban on psi as an approved research topic.
Dr. Qian’s letter was forwarded to the Central Committee and finally the leaders made a judg-
ment. The ruling came down on the side of Yu, but permission was granted for psi researchers to
continue on a restricted scale. The decision was announced on May 13, 1982, by Hu Yaobang,
who was then the Party’s General Secretary. The Party’s Propaganda Department also issued two
announcements in April and June giving basically the same instructions:
The EFHB
is not [an officially accepted] subject for our scientific research.
Before proof of the
phenomena is firmly established, our media should not propagandize or make any comment about any
test or experiment
These rules are believed to be appropriate and justified, so they must be observed.
However, we may allow a minority group of scholars to continue their study [of] the topic and let them
publish an internally circulated publication for the consideration of concerned scientists, and permit
those who are interested to read it and to continue their research efforts (Hu, 1982).
The Party’s ruling was obeyed. NJ stopped carrying papers on psi research; while Knowledge
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is Power ceased publication of Yu’s serialized paper as of June, 1982.
Psi enthusiasts in univer-
sities and institutes were not permitted to include their psi studies as part of their formal work
load or to freely distribute results of their psi research to the general public.
Thus, the first phase
of modern Chinese parapsychological research, which had been characterized by
its large-scale
effort, ended.
Phase n (1983-1986): Quiet Research Continues
In contrast to the earlier years, the scale of research in the second phase was much smaller and
quieter.
Following the disappearance of the coverage of psi by the news media, most ordinary
people soon forgot about the subject and the rest incorrectly assumed that the psi reports were
fraudulent and had been banned by the Party.
A majority of the former investigators also gradually drifted away from the subject, not be-
cause they doubted the genuineness of the observed results or because they had lost interest, but
for more pragmatic reasons: The economic reform had started and, in accordance with the newly
adopted policies, promotions were no longer based on the number of years a scholar had worked
in his unit, but more and more upon his achievements.
Since EFHB study was "not a recognized
research
topic," and could not be counted as formal work,
it was not considered in making
promotion decisions.
Also, the new open-market policy created many opportunities for intellec-
tuals to make money by employing their knowledge in support of the country s modernization.
These opportunities were highly attractive to the nation’s professional thinkers, who had been in
an inferior economic position for so long.
In addition, keen competition to be admitted to the
better universities and even to the better high schools was forcing psychic children and their
worried parents to decline further invitations to participate in psi testing. Such activities seemed
irrelevant to the future careers of the children.
Nevertheless, as allowed by the Party, psi groups survived and continued their former en-
deavors; while the field moved in new directions through the efforts of Dr. Qian Xuesen and his
fellow mil itary officers, including Mr. Zhang Zhenhuan.
It was no secret that in late 1981, Qian
and Zhang had successfully set up a psi study site known as the 507 Institute, or Space Medico-
Engineering Institute (SMEI).
This Institute, located in suburban Beijing, is under the defense-
related Spaceflight Department
It had been established earlier in the 1960’s to provide medical
support for the astronauts of the proposed Chinese space effort, but in the early 1970’s the idea of
manned space flight was postponed due to more urgent considerations relating to the nation s
reconstruction.
Thu^, a team with considerable relevant experience was already in place.
In-
cluded were two researchers strongly interested in EFHB, Prof. Chen Hsin, Dean of the Institute,
and Prof. Mei Lei, both of whom attended the 1982 joint convention in England of the Para-
psychological
Association
and
the
Society
for
Psychical
Research.
Research
proceeded
smoothly, in part because those who opposed
psi research had almost no power within the
military system, and also because open attack on psi research was no longer permitted due to the
Party’s previous ruling.
At the beginning, teams in the SMEI carefully reviewed reports from both inside and outside
the nation.
In Professors Chen and Mei’s 1982 address at Cambridge University, England, they
reported only the results previously obtained by Chinese researchers outside the SMEI, in ad-
dition to the ideas offered by Dr. Qian. As time progressed, the SMEI became more independent
and isolated from the civilian research community.
The senior author heard complaints from
university professors that they no longer had access to the psychic subjects with whom they had
previously worked and, furthermore, that they were not very well informed as to what was occur-
ring within the SMEI.
Of course, the civilian researchers were pleased to see that there was a
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formally endorsed, well-supported team to continue research in the subject, but they increasingly
found that they had become outsiders with almost nothing to do.
They also realized that, in the
defense-related unit, practical applications of psi might have a higher priority than basic scientific
inquiries.
Indeed, the SMEI team had many advantages.
Psi study was their official task, and as
in other top defense-related institutes, they were well equipped and well funded.
They had the
money to attract and support the country’s top psychics and they actually did so. Several famous
subjects had been moved in as full-time co-operators, including Zhang Baosheng, who had been
formerly reported in many papers as "Z".
Born in 1955 in Bengxi city, Liaoning Province, Zhang Baosheng showed his ESP abilities as
early as 1976 in the countryside. He was tested by a group of local psi researchers and came to
Beijing in early 1982, at a time when the skeptical pressure against the EFHB teams was at
its
peak.
In a certain sense, it was Zhang who saved the study of psi since he was about the only one
able to show distinctly positive results in the hostile atmosphere and under the rigorous scrutiny
applied by the skeptics
in the "joint
trial"
early
that summer.
Many believe
it was Zhang’s
success that positively affected the Party leaders and led to their mild and impartial directive.
In his earlier personal experience with Zhang Baosheng, gained over months of close obser-
vation, the senior author found
that, as with many other major psychics under loose control,
Zhang was able to perform numerous incredible miracles.
Most of these involved apparent PK,
and many were done in the way the senior author or others requested, with the targets seemingly
chosen at random.
For example, Zhang caused objects, such as someone’s photo identification
card or personal name stamp to move to another room which had not been entered, or caused a
tom personal letter to be restored to a single piece.
Of course Zhang Baosheng did many experiments under presumably tightly controlled con-
ditions, and one of the reports of his PK experiments (Lin, et al., 1983), which was performed by
a group of 19 researchers headed by Prof. Lin Shuhuang of the Physics Department of Beijing
Teacher’s College, was published in EFHB Research
?
This experimental
report clearly
il-
lustrates the typical target-selection and sealing techniques used in China, and, thus,
is a good
example of how such experiments were conducted. The paper reported some favorite skills of the
psychic, such as extracting medical pills, small papers having unique signs, or even marked live
insects from carefully sealed containers.
The best tamper-proof seals included chemical tracer
papers which could not touch the target without leaving visible signs or other means of detection.
By the year 1984, Zhang Baosheng was under the complete control of the SMEI team. They
provided him with everything he wanted: an assigned car, special meal plan, color TV, VCR,
camera, etc.
Many times he was called upon to demonstrate his PK in front of highly placed
Party or military leaders,
(Those demonstrations were of course not under tight control.) Rarely
did
the civilian researchers who had worked with him
get the chance
to reach him again.
However,
the SMEI team did report some highly unusual experiments, including a PK film
photographically recording at 400 frames per second the passing of a medical pill through glass,
including frames showing the penetration process (Huo, 1987). An important sign of the military
support of the field is that this film, was awarded a "Scientific Research Achievement Prize" of
the second class by the Spaceflight Department later in 1987, a recognition which must be unique
in the history of parapsychology, especially in that it happened in a communist country.
Some of his investigators did wonder if Zhang Baosheng ever cheated in his public demonstra-
tions.
They suspected that he did so to "save face" when he was not able to succeed honestly
9After the Party’s April 1982
ruling, the informally published EFHB Bulletin attained quasi-official status as a
restricted-circulation journal under the name EFHB Research and continued to be produced by the personnel of NJ.
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after extended effort in front of high-ranking guests.
They believed however
that the fnrmaitv
TLT
^ were "—.k* ™m,ZlonXT^
u
o
y
f
z
s
s zifzz
m»zith
s
:
forces and energies has been fully established in principle and that eross PK hJ
V“g
b0,h * *«•"»»— -d ly experiments il^ USA ^d tTmlZl
.““eVe “ ' S Pr0PeI f°r 3 SC,miS1 ‘° S“Sp“d
by
^ ^
penC
|
d ’ civilian researchers throughout the nation also continued their study of EFHR
cal exercises and thus not in violation of the Partv’s rulinv
c«Vmi
.
P
physi-
Of"» °rM 8N -
Science
X
S
qi^^e“
e' ^
~ ^ *r -
Phase HI (1987-1989): The Qigong Movement Resurges
and Gains New Support
“ “
",he tate™‘ «»” of P*ycho-
S
^ ££+*““ P”PO- of practice *^egSe
powe^
g|IP?Ssi=g
offoot" experienced with top qigong mastent will never be available for
peopleareatnac,^
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t
g°ng™S ‘0W?
rem°Ve4 '
movement
W. under Ore
°f May ’ 1982 ’ because ^searchers cleverly avoided stressing the psi aspect of
SSber 198f^Sl
ST°
Ce f““°
n " " ab,e
'° gain SO^eaM approval in
Suc^’„“'
“P
expansion of interest began in 1986 after several highly
successl ul qigong demonstrations were widely publicized.
y
Whether by the placebo effect or otherwise, qigong methods have proved useful in the cure of
diseases, especially chronic ones for which Western medicine has no effective
has also been found valuable for strengthening one’s physique.
As a res^^ng ,Sg
courses were for the first time listed in many universities following a directive from the Educa-
tion Department in late 1987 (Qigong and Science, 1988). Qigong curing clinics emerged bv the
hundreds, and existing formal hospitals were expanded to
I,
s estnnated drat a, leas, 20 million people in P.R.C., many of diem wellStT^X
cmg qigong m some form and at some level by the end of 1987 (Yi, 1988)
Foreign visitors
tet
qigong ,eamers b,ocfced parks - c— '^
doing their morning or evening exercises.
Most of these learners may have never mastered nsi
but with such widespread effort there may well have been many who did.
P
’
It
is obvious that the qigong movement and the reappearance of EFHB news reports
("often
related to qigong practices) could not have occurred in this tightly controlled countrTwithout a
deoston by the Pany to change its earlier ruling.
This was done iionrtally.
a
tadem
^mictions were given privately and gradually by some of the Pany's senior
It is widely believed that many leaders at the highest positions became interested in aigong and
convinced of the reality of EFHB.
In the first phasefcere were manyS aiS
demonstrations, some pnvately performed,
in an
effort by some of tlufresearchers
to
gain
governmental support As time went on,
it was found that a better way to obtain support was to
let qig°ng masters take care of the health of the leaders.
Countless healing sessions were held
and a wide variety of effects were demonstrated.
Some leaders reportedly started to practice
qigong themselves.
It was said, for instance, that Deng Xiaoping, the party and military head
S tetSr Twaf TSfZ! T"
thC
°f a
“««» therapeutic*
maintain his health
Orhf»
h
Smd ^
316 now t0P
‘l1?011? masters in attendance to
maintain his health.
Other leaders went farther. Hu Qiaomu, the standing member of the Party’s
Central Political Bureau m charge of propaganda, said in a reported meeting in 1987:
^
g^^e^whTMb^l''
0%
secretary who had been subsequently removed from power.
Other top leaders who ex
pressed then support of qigong and of EFHB study were Wan Li, Ye Jianyin/w^aln P^i
tftteSS,
1!
Wa”g R“f
one- ata°st «n of Hibm seuior poUticbL. AsU evittace
of the acceptability of qigong and psi research, the application presented seven years earlier bv
nanS,ated
HumauSy tSuce
Association
(and Quna Anthropic Science Association") was finally approved on Mav 3
1987
under a new officially translated name as the "Chinese Society of Somatic Sciei
e" fCSSSi
Mr’
znsszzrsr m tte csss
's
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important change affecting the qigong movement occurred in 1987 when Dr. Qian Xuesen
was named chairman of the Chinese Science and Technology Association, the semi-governmental
mmission that coordinates the nation’s scientific research.
Dr. Qian, although famous had held
befr
but now he ™
l ® /
O ICy'
He dld not waste ^ opportunity and soon gave instructions urging the fur-
therance of somatic science. He is quoted as saying:
B
S
SCi““ ^
technology—absolutely
top
described ^iTph -tse
‘°
T
Stt°°S “ endorsemenI? Aside
lie prize-winning report
“h
m
as
PS^ ItT'
”e
may have been achieved by “^-related
teams such as SMEI.
It seems certain, however, that Dr. Qian was strongly impressed bv the
results reported m Academia Sinica’s Shengwu Wuli Xuebao (Journal of Biophysics) by LuZu^-
mg and coheagues
(Lu, Zhao,
et.
al,
1987) of the Department of Chemt^d LoS
Science at Qrnghua Umversity, which is the nation’s foremost technological school.
?
a senes of experiments conducted between December 1986 and March 1987 qigone master
Yan Xing, typ,cally working a, a distance of several kilometers, was able to creme s“
intensify absorption peaks in the infra-red. ultra-violet, and paramagnetic resonance spectra of
biological media.
In other cases, chemical phase-change parameters were shifted
Dl ' Qi“ "ade
1,16 f0U0Wi”S
» *<= editors of die
Bora in 1950 in Giangyu county, Sichang Province, Yan Xing
is currently one of China’.
nuTofhT
08 !?T\
**• Y“ be*“ ,0 Police w-g in L early childhood and^T a
p p
of Hi Deng Fashi, a famous Chinese "wusu" (martial arts) and qigong master
Unlike manv
Ss"-
atMded Kh0°' »*
2- » STtoSSS
•
» a™ese Medicme College.
He became famous in Chong Qing City for his
"ai
emission
healing.
It was repeatedly reported that patients, including
those with comminuted
^tiS,““epte
e
toS^
d
|l
ble 10 retam ‘° W0Ik tamediately as « result of Van's treatment,
native
f P
:
h
J
ed h0** were x-nye* before and after by medical doctors
Yan’s
f^!t Sfh
h° DUn
!
be
ed m ^ hundreds, began to write articles telling of his miracles
As a
he^d thfp?
°
686 St°neS by l0Cal neWS media ’ Yan came t0 Beijing in late 1986 whie
as
T
bed ab°Ve^ Zha°’ et al” 198?)
excited Chairman Qian,
as well as other experiments with physical effects (Lu, An, et. al., 1987- Lu Zhane
et
al
iqrrT’
wefr^Tas^”^
came mM,,y
«
3*
lLL s^th^
Iectures carrying the qigong effect."
His lectures were usually very long
astmg 8 to 14 hours, and were given in hundreds of cities with audiences as Iaree a. in non
Tn
some t^ses, towns were nearly emptied and factories declared a
S
“fT' .f™* Kp0ned ““ <toto8 ^ oourse of these lectLs nTy auto^L
^^d^ddita^
a
1 ™"1
r°°m '-
P^ents in wheelchairs stood up
..
.
..
gratitude, cnpples who came in on crutches walked out on their feet:
rgSlf1is
S~
U
”r,‘
ed:
W“ mUigattd;
remission; ^TpS
m general, disappeared.
While remaining on the stage, Yan talked only about the Dower of ni
md T
Ught preliminary practice methods, meanwhile "releasing qi" as he
mT?
S happened by ^emselves without his direct individual attention
To
verify these unbelievable
effects, a research group from
die High-Energy toUmte of
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Aeademia Simca (which
is. also an important Chinese psi study
site) reportedly slipped into a
lechire hall without tellingvthe master, bringing with them various radiation measuring instru-
ments. From a scientific point of view, they collected records of broad-band radiations of greater
r”ST^af^
C0n,^
';!1T
O^di,lgS • bU1 perhaps ““ m“' taKrestinS *«"» gatheredL the
reported fact that dunng a 14 hour, non-stop lecture only 43 out of the estimated
1 400 people in
the audience
left the hall even temporarily, and of these, many went directlTto
did non
fr°m Cl°Smg kindergartCnS -
1710 rcmainder of ^ audience had water but no food and
did not leave even to visit restrooms.
Evidently, their mental concentration was so intense that
some physiological functions were largely suspended.
Yan’s demonstrations pose more questions than science can hope to answer
Several scholars
m Qinghua University initially were excited participants when Yan performed
mauons of the physical charactensitics of samples at a distance of several meters, but they grew
fearful and withdrew upon observing that the same results were being obtained when themSter
was at Guangzhou City, over 2,000 kilometers away from the samples being affected
(The
fawTlfT
$UggeSt 3 teIe°l0gical process rather to™one g°veraed by the inverse-square
law.)
If these reports are true, the matter-mind relation must be more profound than most Wes-
tern parapsychologists are willing to imagine.
,, The^ ^
stiI1 other
t0P Vgong masters besides Yan Xing
in China today: Chen Linfomr
Mrag Hauzizliane. Wu Huawen, Wang Baojing, Huang Zenzhong, Wang Niping, Qiuan Guan-
Imng, to name but a few.
The whole attitude of society toward qigong has changed.
Stories of
Peou/?f/)
rS
/
aPP?
r
m thC ”eWS mCdia ’ iDCluding major 031101131 Publications such as the
Peopie s Z)ai/y
An International Qigong Science Convention was held in October
1988
in
m^^lwlyaCv=d
PaS
fr°m^^
^ *°”
to O,™Oncer Reseat Fonndatron in Febmary, 1989.
I,
is said To
sututes, 4 hospitals, 2 recovery centers, and 14 regional organizations (Qigong, 1989)
An example of the changing academic prospects for parapsychology in China is the thriving
l an reseaK
f
headed by Prof- Lin Shuhuang at Beijing Teacher’s CoUege, one of the
most active and productive teams thoughout the 1980’s.
In the middle of the decade Prof Lin in
the Physics Department of the CoUege found it difficult to survive academic^^eS
work was not formaUy accepted. Now, however, he has been promoted to the posiSofh^d o
fce CoUege’s Scientific Research Coordinating Office.
Still sending most of^ert ^sl
h® md
„
his colleagues have been able to formaUy establish a "Comprehensiw Tedi-
JTwT
Ch haS
. gamed °fficiaJ suPP°rt from to* Chinese Nation^ Science Foun-
^r^ce™
6 ’
^ COmmiSSi0n leVdS ’
L* 10 co°*- his
Most Westerners will find it hard to believe that parapsychology could gain so much momen-
tum m a communist country where materialism is supposedly dominant The explanation is to be
fZ
H
6 ** 0f
philOSOphy -
°f course, personal poMcal convol^
tionr , the ideologies of commimism and democracy are irrelevant in this matter
CU!T
!
S 9ma*al
“ ‘“vide*
^ material and sphitual pans and as-
St siZlTd^H
resp0nsibility for
spirit
Western science is neo^artesian in
that it simply demes that consciousness has any reality.
Because parapsychology seeks to relate
consciousness tothe physical world, its study is resisted both by theologians and by sophisticated
scientists in the West (Honorton, 1982; McConnell, 1983, pp 49-52; McConneTl^rS
Chinese have far less of a dichotomy in their thinking" While bomowing sdence" from the
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page 13
West,
the Chinese have
retained
their own
essentially
unitary view
of nature and have no
philosophic 'quarrel with parapsychology in their traditions.
This may be the key to the large
difference
between
the
prevalence
and magnitude of
psi
effects
in China
and
in Western
laboratories. Western parapsychologists may be unknowing victims of their cultural heritage.
Chinese researchers have been very successful in presenting psi through qigong and Tradi-
tional Chinese Medicine as something with distinctive Chinese national characteristics, a field of
study in which China could lead global efforts and reflect the glory of its brilliant culture.
Most
Party leaders seem to believe so.
Currently, researchers do not usually experience much trouble
from political or ideological directions.
After the June, 1989, events, reports concerning qigong
and EFHB studies have increased to a rate of about six per month in the People’s Daily
the main
official newspaper.
A second
International Qigong Convention (along with "The
First National Old People’s
Qigong Study Convention") was held 10-15 September 1989 in Xian, the ancient capital city of
Shaanxi Province. More than 600 papers were exhibited, of which 70 percent were from univer-
sities and other scientific research units.
This dual convention attracted qigong enthusiasts from
all over the country and, as in the 1988 convention, many scientifically dubious activities took
place in the anterooms and on the streets (Huang, Wang, & Wei,
1989). A "World Medical
Qigong Institute
with members ranging over 20 countries was formed in November, 1988, with
Mr. Xi Zhongxun, vice-chairman of the China’s People’s Congress Standing Committee, and Mr.
Chui Yueli, former minister of the Department of Medicine, as Honorary Chairman and Chair-
man, respectively (Feng, 1989).
At this time, the "Second National Conference of the Chinese Society of Somatic Science" was
held (separately from the International Qigong Convention) on November 14 to 17 in Beijing
with an attendance of about 250.
Opening remarks were given by Mr. Zhang Zhenhuan the
chairman of the CSSS, whom we had mentioned earlier as an interested military officer.
After
two plenary sessions, the conference divided into separate physical and medical sections of three
sessions each. The conference rejoined in a closing plenary session to hear an address by Profes-
sor Chen Hsin, whom we have identified above as having represented the SMEI at the para-
psychological convention at Cambridge University in 1 982.
Evidently the senior leaders of China, now firmly in power, are favorable to the public study of
qigong and related EFHB.
It is ironic that Mr. Yu Guangyuan, the one who opposed psi most
strongly m 1981,
is currently criticized in newspapers for his "capitalistic" economic conduct in
toe reform movement in the late 1980’s and for his political association with Zhan Ziyang, Hu
Yaobang’s
ill-fated successor.
Judging from the favorable publicity he has received
in’ the
People s Daily, Dr/ Qian Xuesen, on
the other hand,
retains
his position of scientific
pre-
emihence (Yu & Shu, 1989).
y
For a Western parapsychologist all of this Chinese activity could be both encouraging and
disturbing. Given the nature of psi, it is inevitable in any culture that parapsychology, as it gains
scientific acceptance, will be bedeviled by run-away popular interest accompanied by commer-
cialization and fraud.
In a field where there is, as yet, no possible certification of ability, no limits
to what can be claimed, and no scientific understanding whatsoever, it is to be expected that many
persons with little or no psychic ability will peddle their wares to an eager public.
Sooner or
later, this will result in an adverse reaction at a high political level unless vigorous steps are taken
to isolate and to publicly legitimatize the scientific approach.
MaiT™.“f
1116
41181111011011 between professional parapsychology and popular occultism
is
especially difficult because parapsychology
is largely dependent for its experimental data upon
gifted psychics who do not often understand the scientific method. A still further constriction is
the parapsychologist’s wish not to interfere with professional psychics who choose to use their
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