|
Spirit
of Aloha | Articles
| Under
the Hula Moon | September/October
2004
Under
the Hula Moon
By: JOCELYN FUJIII
The
Qi to Good Health
Grand Master Hong Liu practices the ancient art of
qi gong.
PHOTO:
BRETT UPRICHARD
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When our photographer met Grand Master
Hong Liu, his challenge was to capture, in one split second,
a man who embodies the grace and power of a 5,000-year-old
tradition. In the greenness of Queen Lili‘uokalani Park,
the photographer snapped away as Hong, a medical doctor, practiced
the Chinese art of using breath, movement, meditation and
mind to circulate the universal energy called qi (pronounced
chee). Hong has practiced qi gong for more than 35 years,
reaching the highest attainable level, Grand Master, so it
came as no surprise that the camera, as it attempted to focus
on its eminent subject, went dead. It wasn’t the batteries,
and the camera did eventually restart, but only after observers
shared a chuckle about the master’s qi. “When
Master Hong practiced qi gong in the high mountains of China,
the snow around him would melt,” one of his apprentices
told me later.
Hong is a humble man who is more likely to offer you tea than
demonstrate the power of his qi. You wouldn’t notice
him in a crowd, but very likely he would notice you. Hong’s
message: that East and West are powerful partners, and that
Western science and natural healing present dramatic possibilities
for healing.
So who is this Master Hong? He has a medical degree from China’s
Army Medical Hospital University, but his teachers were three
of China’s most respected qi gong grand masters, including
a 107-year-old woman who enjoys a full and vigorous life in
a well-appointed cave. At the China Red Cross Cancer Center
where Hong worked, his externally directed qi was clinically
proven to isolate and eliminate cancer cells, and the success
of his healing with qi was documented in clinics and hospitals
from Shanghai to Taipei. By the time Hong moved to California,
in 1990, his patients included high-ranking government officials,
the Chinese Olympic swimming and diving teams, other countrymen
and foreigners. China designated him a “Living Treasure,”
and so, at last, have we.
Hawai‘i’s 2004 Senate, House of Representatives
and Gov. Linda Lingle issued three proclamations last spring
honoring Hong as a “Living Treasure” for his ongoing
humanitarian work. Hawai‘i figures prominently in his
work, not only because he is an associate professor of complementary
and alternative healing at the University of Hawai‘i
John A. Burns School of Medicine, but also because he has
chosen Hawai‘i to be the epicenter for his far-reaching
international endeavors. He recently opened headquarters in
Honolulu’s Dole Cannery, the first of his Hawai‘i
locations (www.qimaster.com).
He plans to have his International Retreat Center on Kaua‘i,
the place he calls “the healing island,” where
medicinal herb gardens and multidisciplinary programs will
empower people with East-West self-healing techniques. Hong
has also unveiled his plans, with Lawa‘i International
Center, for the Natural Healing Research Center, the local
community center and humanitarian arm of his program.
“An essential part of our programs is philanthropic,”
he told a group on Kaua‘i through his interpreter. “At
our local community centers, we will offer free programs for
children, the elderly and the disadvantaged, as well as on
specific diseases prevalent in Hawai‘i, such as lung
cancer, heart disease, drug addiction and diabetes.”
Hong works with an uncanny qi radar that zeros
in on the meridians, the 12 rivers of energy that pass through a person�s vital organs. He directs his qi to the trouble spots with a look, a movement or his hands, and he sends participants home with personal tools that include herbs, dietary suggestions and qi gong exercises of breathing, movement and sound. One of his students, 83-year-old Tsugie Kadota of Kaua�i, has practiced qi gong since last December. Like the 10-year-old in the same class, she can barely contain her joy. �My hair is turning black again, after being completely white,� she marveled. �And it has cleared up my sinuses. Most of all, I feel wonderful.�
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