page_title: Yijin Jing
section_title: Yijin Jing – The Forms
hierarchical_section_title: Yijin Jing / Yijin Jing – The Forms
context_page_description: The Yijin Jing is a manual containing a series of exercises, coordinated with breathing, said to enhance physical health dramatically when practiced consistently. In Chinese yi means "change", jin means "tendons and sinews", while jing means "methods". While some consider these exercises as a form of Qigong, it is a relatively intense form of exercise that aims at strengthening the muscles and tendons, so promoting strength and flexibility, speed and stamina, balance and coordination of the body. In the modern day, there are many translations and distinct sets of exercises all said to be derived from the original. These exercises are notable for being a key element of the physical conditioning used in Shaolin training.
context_section_description: The number of exercises tends to change; some contend that 18 should be the correct one (if based on the 18 Arhats), but can vary from 10 to 24, to 30. Today the most respected routine is that of Wang Zuyuan, composed of 12 exercises, and has been adopted by the Academies of Chinese Medicine in China. Chang Renxia together with Chang Weizhen proposed an alternative set of 14 exercises, which can be of interest for the therapeutic effects he promises. Deng Mingdao presents a version with 24 exercises, but with another name, Xisui Jing. In fact, another point of contention is the relationship between the Xisui Jing and the Yijin Jing. Some authors tend to use those two names for the same routine; others keep things separated and invoke different results and different effects on the body. Then, there are other authors that have written different books and created different theories, sometimes not simply in search for the truth.
  The 12 Posture Moving Exercise kept to this day is something that Wang Zuyuan learned at the Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song. It is somewhat different from the original "Picture of stationary exercise" and the "Guide to the art of attack" (as Guangdong sources demonstrate). Some specialists (Liu Dong) refer to a later integration of Yijin Jing, Daoyin, Tu-na and Xingyi methods. However Wang's 12 Postures is found through practice to be a concise aid in enhancing one's physical health. As the name implies, "sinew transforming exercise" is the method to train the tendons and muscles. The exercise is designed according to the course and characteristics of Qi circulation in the 12 regular channels and the Du and Ren channels. During practice, Qi and blood usually circulates with proper speed and with no sluggishness or stagnation. Because of such efficacy, Yijin Jing has existed for centuries as a favorite with the populace and is still widely used in sanatoria and hospitals for therapeutic purposes. Two ancient written and illustrated routines remain, one from Chen Yi's "A Collection of Annals" published during the Ming Dynasty and another more recent one published in 1882 from Wang Zuyuan's "Internal Work Illustrated".
  The 12 Posture Moving Exercise supposedly describes what is called the purported "12 fists of Bodhidharma" in many Southern martial arts, most notably Hung Gar and Wing chun. Legend states that the 12 exercises were developed based on the movements of the 12 animals that Bodhidharma studied after his 9 years of meditation. These exercises aided the health of the Shaolin Monastery monks, and contributed to many of the animal-based martial arts in China.
caption: Picture on the wall at Shaolin Monastery
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