Yan Weibing

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He received the transmission of the practice as a disciple of Zhu Xinxiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of TCM Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods in Shanghai: Emitted from Shanghai, this daoyin method in fact spread along the Yangtze River Delta to the two Hu and the two Guang and on to Beijing; in terms of points of contact, it intersected with the various schools of tuina in Shanghai such as the Zhu school's Yizhi Chan tuina and the Ding school's tuina. The population of transmitters divides along two clear lines: one is that of religious practitioners such as Zen physicians and Daoist physicians, who treated the twelve postures as an exercise aiding the Way, with Buddhist and Daoist terminology appearing in their manuscripts; the other is that of medical practitioners, who treated it as a means of treating bone injury and of acupuncture and tuina, studying the pathways of the meridian-sinews one by one. Over the past century the trend has favored the medical line, with fifth-generation transmitters shifting from bone injury and tuina to the prevention of disease before it arises and daoyin rehabilitation of chronic disease, and participants expanding from clergy to medical personnel in rehabilitation and preventive-treatment departments. The Guben Yijinjing Twelve-Posture Daoyin Method is a traditional daoyin (guiding and pulling) technique guided by the theory of daoyin in Chinese medicine; by channeling and dredging the twelve meridian-sinews (jingjin) one by one, it achieves the effects of strengthening the internal organs and fortifying the sinews and bones. It originated in Shanghai, and its influence radiated to the Yangtze River Delta, the two Hu (Hunan and Hubei), the two Guang (Guangdong and Guangxi), and Beijing.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

A man of Han ethnicity, he was born in October 1951 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. He conducts free training in the practice for teachers and pupils of Project Hope schools and for village doctors in the central and western regions, reaching more than 50,000 people. He gave intangible cultural heritage demonstrations and on-site instruction at the Second China-Central and Eastern European Countries Health Ministers Forum and the Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion. He has carried out international teaching of the practice at institutions such as the China-Czech Centre of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Dubai Centre. Within the documented technical tradition of TCM Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods in Shanghai: The Guben Yijinjing Twelve-Posture Daoyin Method takes the twelve meridian-sinews as the basis of its daoyin practice and the three discourses of the Yijinjing as its theoretical foundation; it channels and dredges the twelve meridian-sinews one by one and requires the unity of the three regulations — regulating the body (adjusting physical form), regulating the breath (adjusting respiration), and regulating the mind (adjusting intention). The twelve meridian-sinews begin at the nails of the toes and fingers and end at the chest, abdomen, head, and face, gathering at the genitals and spreading throughout the whole body. Its basic content is divided into three parts: theory, practice, and application. The practice section includes the ancient illustrated charts and essential formulas of the twelve postures of daoyin, including the first and second postures of Weituo's Offering of the Pestle (Weituo Xianchu), "Plucking the Stars and Changing the Dipper" (Zhaixing Huandou), and "Extending the Claws and Spreading the Wings" (Chuzhao Liangchi); these twelve daoyin postures correspond one by one to the twelve meridian-sinews of the human body. The theory section comprises the "General Discourse," "Discourse on Membranes," and "Discourse on Internal Strengthening," which respectively expound the general principles, mechanisms, and effects of the twelve-posture daoyin method. The application section includes the posture-by-posture daoyin applications for the twelve meridian-sinews and auxiliary methods such as kneading (roufa) and patting (dafa). Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Wei Tuo offering the pestle, first posture": The first of the twelve postures, taken from the guardian deity and used to settle the body, corresponding to the sinew channel that begins at the toes. "Gathering stars and changing dippers": A lifting and twisting action that draws on the upper limbs and spine, easing the tightness of long desk-bound hours. "Extending claws and spreading wings": Ten fingers spread and arms abduct, opening the sinew channels of both hands and shoulders. "Unifying body, breath and mind": Posture, breathing and intent are corrected against one another at once — the requirement that separates this from ordinary exercise.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

He is a national representative bearer of traditional Chinese medical diagnostic and treatment methods (the twelve-posture daoyin method of the ancient Yijinjing), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has trained more than eight hundred community intangible cultural heritage instructors for communities across Shanghai and established nearly two hundred intangible cultural heritage practice sites. He received the National Golden Microphone Award for the Popularisation of Chinese Medicine Science from the China Association of Chinese Medicine, the title of National Outstanding Science and Technology Worker from the China Association for Science and Technology, and designations including a 2017 Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Person of the Year from Guangming Daily.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Yan Weibing · National Representative Bearer Archive