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Wang Fuhai

YijinjingTraditional Sports, Games and AcrobaticsTaizhoushitiantai, ZhejiangBatch 6 (2025)

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wang Fuhai, Male, Han, from Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Yijinjing (Ⅵ-93). The tradition is documented in Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yijinjing in Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang: It is now mainly transmitted in Tiantai County, Zhejiang Province, and is also distributed throughout China, including Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Anhui. Tiantai Mountain Yijinjing originally belonged to the Daoist tradition and was passed down from generation to generation among the Daoist priests of Tongbai Palace, the ancestral temple of the Southern School of Daoism, before later spreading into society. It is now mainly transmitted in Tiantai County, Zhejiang Province, and is also distributed throughout China, including Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Anhui. Its documented lineage has reached twenty-eight generations to the present; as a cultivation method of the Southern School of Daoism, it has been transmitted from generation to generation by Daoist priests, while among the people master-to-disciple transmission is the main mode. It trains the five internal organs internally and the tendons and bones externally, combining interior and exterior and interconnecting yin and yang, and it embodies in concentrated form the Southern School of Daoism's thought of cultivating the body and nourishing the nature. It also integrates Buddhist meditation, the Confucian cultivation of character and nurturing of qi, and the medical tradition of daoyin, among China's many paths of health preservation, providing an invaluable living textbook for the study of folk cultural fusion and the development of qigong. It originated in the Ming dynasty and was passed down from generation to generation among the Daoist priests of Tongbai Palace, the ancestral temple of the Southern School of Daoism, before later spreading into society.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Wang Fuhai is anchored in the documented technical standards of Yijinjing in Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Yijinjing in Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang: Yijinjing is the method of transforming the tendons and bones. Tiantai Mountain Yijinjing originally belonged to the Daoist tradition. It is a method that, based on the characteristics of the human body's meridians, works through breathing exercises that move qi, extension of the limbs, and guiding the tendons and relaxing the pulse, cultivating both interior and exterior, in order to strengthen the body, eliminate illness, and prolong life. Tiantai Mountain Yijinjing is represented by the Eight Postures of Zining from Tongbai Palace. The first posture, Bathing and Guarding the Center, joins the hands in prayer and stills the mind; the second, the Iron Ox Plowing the Earth, closes both hands into fists with the thumbs forcefully extended; the third, Returning to the Origin at the Sea Bottom, pushes both hands downward with true intent filling through; the fourth, the Two Modes Merging in Clarity, pushes both hands level, opening the chest and loosening the joints; the fifth, the Divine Elephant Flying Essence, pushes both palms forward, freeing the three yang channels; the sixth, Plucking Stars and Gazing at the Moon, extends one palm toward the moon while the other guards the Gate of Life; the seventh, the Tripod Standing Between Heaven and Earth, scoops up the seas below while pushing toward the heavens above; the eighth, Returning to the Origin in the Dantian, joins both palms and returns to embrace the dantian. According to the requirements of ancient practice methods, it demands long-term arduous cultivation from the inside out. Practitioners focus on the use of intent, so that intent follows the form and intent and qi accompany each other. The Yijinjing transmitted in modern times, by contrast, mostly takes only the guiding and pulling (daoyin) content, and has spawned many versions. Its postures are not fixed; depending on one's level of practice, physical condition, and insight, they may be expanded and deepened in the course of training. It emphasizes cultivating both interior and exterior and nourishing body and mind together; it can both strengthen the body and has strong ornamental appeal, with good efficacy in eliminating illness and prolonging life. According to the compilation of Tongbai Palace on Tiantai Mountain, each of the Eight Postures of Zining is paired with specific breathing requirements: Bathing and Guarding the Center requires stilling the mind and dissolving intent; the Iron Ox Plowing the Earth requires forceful extension of the thumbs; Returning to the Origin at the Sea Bottom requires true intent to fill through; the Two Modes Merging in Clarity requires opening the chest and loosening the joints; the Divine Elephant Flying Essence requires the three yang channels to flow freely; Plucking Stars and Gazing at the Moon requires the palm to guard the Gate of Life; the Tripod Standing Between Heaven and Earth requires scooping up the seas below and pushing toward the heavens above; and Returning to the Origin in the Dantian returns to a single embrace of the dantian. The Yijinjing transmitted in modern times mostly takes only its guiding and pulling content and has spawned many versions; the postures are not fixed, and practitioners may expand and deepen them according to their own level of practice, physical condition, and insight. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The eight Zining postures": The representative sequence of eight postures, from bathing in the centre to returning to the dantian. "The opening two postures": The first posture joins the palms and stills the mind, the second fists the hands with thumbs braced, setting the body upright. "Reaching the star and steadying the world": The sixth posture reaches for the moon with one palm guarding the gate of life; the seventh scoops the sea and pushes the sky, the widest extensions of the set. "Breath, tendon and channel work": The core method works breath, extension and tendon stretching along the channels, the mind leading the form throughout.

The eight Zining postures

The representative sequence of eight postures, from bathing in the centre to returning to the dantian.

The opening two postures

The first posture joins the palms and stills the mind, the second fists the hands with thumbs braced, setting the body upright.

Reaching the star and steadying the world

The sixth posture reaches for the moon with one palm guarding the gate of life; the seventh scoops the sea and pushes the sky, the widest extensions of the set.

Breath, tendon and channel work

The core method works breath, extension and tendon stretching along the channels, the mind leading the form throughout.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Wang Fuhai was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Yijinjing, with Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Yijinjing in Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Tiantai Shan TongBaiGong as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

Historical origin

It originated in the Ming dynasty and was passed down from generation to generation among the Daoist priests of Tongbai Palace, the ancestral temple of the Southern School of Daoism, before later spreading into society.

Declared area
Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang
Safeguarding unit
Tiantai Shan TongBaiGong
Inscription batch
Batch 5 (2021)
Item code
Ⅵ-93
Category
Traditional Sports, Games and Acrobatics

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.

BearerDeclared areaRoster codeRelation
Wang FuhaiTaizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang—This page

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

  1. Wangfuhai (Taizhoushitiantai, Zhejiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Wangfuhai · China ICH Official Archive

This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。