A young boy was growing up in southern China when his town was invaded by an army from the north. The boy, Yue Fei, wanted to fight the invaders, but he faced a dilemma. He also needed to care for his elderly mother.
Torn between competing Chinese virtues of loyalty and filial piety, he became flustered.
That’s when his mother told him to take off his shirt, and proceeded to tattoo 4 Chinese characters on his back: jing zhong bao guo — “serve the country loyally.”
Now, Yue could serve his country while fulfilling his mother’s wish. A skilled martial artist, he headed into battle as an unstoppable force, and soon rose to the rank of General.
But this was nearly a thousand years ago, and another powerful army of invaders arrived: the Mongols.
Yue came up with a fascinating way to get his soldiers ready for battle, a fitness routine he created through the ancient art of Qigong.
Already 3000 years old in Yue’s time around 1100 CE, Qigong blends exercise with breathwork and meditation. (More later on the magical routine he invented, The 8 Pieces of Brocade.)