The various extraordinary phenomena manifested in Qigong therapy using external Qi have begun to attract the interest of scientists. Many scientists have started to conduct Qigong-related scientific research in collaboration with Qigong masters.

This paper describes some Qigong experiments performed by Dr. Yan Xin, a recognized Qigong master. Dr. Yan Xin describes the process of creating these effects as "emitting external Qi". Due to the experimental design, it will be clear that his involvement was necessary for the results, and they could not have been caused by any other known physical mechanism.

Reviewing the Qigong scientific research conducted in the past years, we have realized that a successful high level Qigong scientific experiment is possible only if the following is observed: the assistance and the participation of high-level Qigong masters; well-thought concepts and designs; and the inspections and measurements of experimental results carried out using modern analytical instruments as much as possible.

Following these considerations, we have carried out experiments on the long-distance effects of the external Qi of Qigong on tap water, 0.9% saline, 50% glucose solution, and 1.5 mg/ml medemycine solution. The measurements were carried out using the laser Raman spectrometer to observe and ascertain whether the external Qi of Qigong would affect the samples.

The prupose of the experiments was to see whether the external Qi of Qigong could cause measurable changes in the properties of several types of non-living materials. As will be seen, quite dramatic changes were observed. This article will not speculate on the mechanism underlying the changes, but due to the experimental design it is clear that the mechanism must involve the effect of Qigong master.

The instrument used in this experiment is a SPEX 1403 laser Raman spectrometer.

• Its main specifications are:
  • Resolution: 0.15/cm (Hg 579.1 nm)
  • Raman shift range: 5-4000/cm
  • Wave number accuracy: 11/cm (< 4000/cm)
  • Reproducibility: 0.2/cm
• The experimental samples are:
  • Tap water, 0.9% saline, 50% glucose solution, and 1.5 mg/ml medemycine solution.
  • The total concentration of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Na+ in the tap water is 5.7 mg/l.

In the last ten years we saw a relatively rapid development in Qigong scientific experimental research in China. These research activities can be approximately classified into three categories by their experimental methods:

1. To investigate the nature of the external Qi of Qigong and the mechanism by which it accomplishes its effects by directly applying the external Qi to the sensors or detectors of analytical instruments.

2. To monitor and measure the changes in various physiological parameters and tissues of human beings and other organisms during the emission of the external Qi and the circulation of the internal Qi of Qigong.

3. To affect organisms (such as cancer cells) and various bacteria in vitro through the application of the external Qi of Qigong, and to analyze the mechanisms by which the external Qi accomplishes its effects using modern analytical techniques.

It is now clear that the effects of Qigong are manifested in many forms and that the levels of Qigong effects are complex as well. The external Qi emitted by high-level Qigong masters can affect not only the sensor but also other parts (transmitter, amplifer, and display) of modern analytical instruments, so it could cause false experimental results in an in situ high-level Qigong experiment unless appropriate provisions are made.

In previous experiments, a system of "human-human" or "human-organism" is usually adopted, i.e. a Qigong master emits his external Qi to a human being or a non-human organism, and the effects on the object are monitored by instruments. It is difficult, in these kinds of experiments, to exclude the psychological interference from the human being subjected to the external Qi. For non-human organism, other factors can also influence the experimental results, such as individual variations and environmental conditions.

Therefore it is useful to design experiments that are not affected by biological vaiables in the object. This experimental system should be a "human-matter" system, i.e. a Qigong master emits his external Qi to a non-living substance.

In this kind of experiment, samples are selected based on three criteria: they should have simplest possible structure, they are stable under normal conditions, and they are related to the physiological functions of a human body.

Based on the above criteria, tap water, 0.9% saline, 50% glucose solution, and 1.5 mg/ml medemycine solution were chosen as our samples. The samples have relatively simple structures, they are stable, and they all contain water which makes up more than 65% of various tissues and body fluids of an adult human body.

Because these samples are extremely stable under normal conditions, they can only be changed with the help from high-level Qigong masters. Therefore in this kind of Qigong scientific experimental research a Qigong master has to participate in the design and finalization of the experiments. Furthermore, because the level of Qi emission by a Qigong master may be influenced by a number of complex factors such as the physical and mental conditions of the Qigong master, the time and environment, etc., the Qigong master has to be consulted in deciding whether the experiment can proceed, how and when the emission of external Qi should start. This kind of experiments differ from non Qigong-related scientific research in that the Qigong master is the most important participant. This is indeed one of the most important characteristic of human body scientific research.

To demonstrate that the external Qi of Qigong has a long-distance therapeutic power, we have also designed experiments on the long-distance effects of the external Qi of Qigong in which a Qigong master is separated from samples by tens of meters, a few kilometers, and 1,900 kilometers. We will, in this paper, designate long-distance as below 1,000 kilometers, and ultra-long-distance as above 1,000 kilometers.

This new type of experiment presents new challenges. For each experiment, depending on different situations and conditions, a Qigong master has to use multiple Qigong methods to prepare, to emit the external Qi, and to end the process. The performance of the Qigong master is affected by the physical, mental, and environmental conditions, therefore the emission level and effects of the external Qi are not identical in every experiment. As long as the procedure of the experiments is clear, and the analytical methods are correct and the effects can not come from known causes unrelated to external Qi of Qigong, we will clearly establish the experimental results based on a limited number of experiments.

Because the normal performance of analytical instruments can be affected in an in situ experiment participated by a high-level Qigong master, the samples for our experiments were put in a designated laboratory separated from the analytical instrument to receive the external Qi. After the emission of external Qi, the samples were taken to another location and examined using a laser Raman spectrometer. To ensure that the instrument functioned properly, well-known standard control samples were frequently examined using the same instrument. The examination conditions were: Ar laser scanner with a detection power of 400-500 mW, a wave length of 5145 A, illumination angle at 90 degree, and a scanning speed at 0.5 seconds.

The samples were prepared as follows before an experiment was started: The solution was pipetted out of a large container and sealed in a test tube. Each kind of solution was divided into two groups, each group containing 2-3 test tubes. One group was used as test samples to receive the external Qi, the other group was put aside as control samples.

In each experiment, test samples and control samples were taken from the same large container where the solution for the experiment was prepared to ensure a consistency between the test samples and the control samples.

The background of each sample was checked before each experiment. Results indicate that the background of samples taken from the same solution is the same in all measurements.

Figure 1, 2, 3, and 4 are the pre-Qi-emission backgrounds for tap water, 0.9% saline, 50% glucose solution, and 1.5 mg/ml medemycine solution, respectively.

Laser Raman spectra were taken from all sealed samples as background.

The test samples were put in a designated laboratory, the door was locked so no one could enter the room while the external Qi was being emitted. Dr. Yan Xin then started to emit the external Qi from a long distance at a time agreed upon before the experiment. The distance was usually about 7 kilometers, and the duration of the emission of external Qi was about 10 minutes. After the emission, the test samples were sent to the laser Raman laboratory for examination. The control samples were always in the same laser Raman laboratory.

A double-blind method was used for our experiments, that is, the sealing of and the measurement on the samples were carried out by the operator of the instrument, no one else participated. During the measurement, besides the operator, no one else was present in the laser Raman laboratory. The operator did not know which samples has undergone the Qi emission.

The conditions and results of this series of experiments are listed in Table 1.

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|Date of the |      Sample(s)         |Room | Method of |Distance Qi|Result |

|experiment  |      involved          |temp.| communi-  | emitted   |change |

|            |                        |(C)  |   cation  |   from    |  ?    |

|============|========================|=====|===========|===========|=======|

| 12/22/1986 |      tap water         | 13  |           |   3 m     | yes   |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 12/27/1986 |      tap water         | 12  | telephone |   7 km    | yes   |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 12/31/1986 |  tap water, glucose    | 12  |           |  20 m     | yes   |

|            |   solution, saline     |     |           |           |       |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 1/5/1987   |glucose solution,saline | 13  | telephone |   7 km    | yes   |

|------------|------------------------|-----------------|-----------|-------|

| 1/8/1987   |  tap water, glucose    | 11  | telephone |   7 km    | yes   |

|            |   solution, saline     |     |           |           |       |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 1/9/1987   |       tap water        | 11  | telephone |   7 km    | yes   |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 1/12/1987  |glucose solution, saline| 10  | telephone | 1900 km   | yes   |

|            |   medemycine solution  |     |           |           |       |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 1/17/1987  |glucose solution, saline| 11  | telephone | 1900 km   | yes   |

|            |  medemycine solution   |     |           |           |       |

|------------|------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 1/20/1987  |glucose solution, saline| 11  | telephone | 1900 km   | yes   |

|            |  medemycine solution   |     |           |           |       |

|------------|------------------------|-----|-----------|-----------|-------|

| 1/23/1987  |   glucose solution     | 11  | telephne  | 1900 km   | yes   |

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(1) The Experiments on Tap Water

The background of tap water was measured about 20 times. The background laser Raman spectra showed that there is an expansion and contraction vibrational peak of -OH at 3410 /cm, and a deformed and weak vibrational peak of -HOH at 1635 /cm.

However, the laser Raman spectra of the tap water affected by the extra-long-distance external Qi showed a huge unknown peak in the range of 1000-3000 /cm. A typical spectrum is shown in Figure 5.

After the emission of external Qi was completed, the Raman spectra of samples were traced while the analytical conditions were kept the same. Results showed that the unknown peak disappeared within 2 hours, see Figure 6.

Since both the test samples and control samples were tap water from the same container, and the background spectra of the control samples were normal, the test samples should have no contamination-induced florescence. Because the unknown peak repeatedly appeared in the laser Raman spectra of the test samples after the emission of the external Qi, while it never appeared in the background spectra of control samples. It is reasonable to believe that the appearance of the unknown peak was caused by the external Qi of Qigong.

(2) The Experiments on 0.9% Saline

Affected by the ultra-long-distance external Qi, the laser Raman spectra of the 0.9% saline showed some changes in comparison to the normal spectra of the control samples. A primary change is that a 248 /cm peak in the low wave length range shifted to 238 /cm. A typical result is shown in Figure 7.

In one instance, though, the 248 /cm peak disappeared completely and no peak appeared at 238 /cm, see Figure 8. This different result was apparently caused by some variation in the conditions under which Dr. Yan Xin emitted the external Qi.

And just as for the experiment on tap water, the spectra of the control samples never changed throughout the experiment. This fact indicates that the instrument worked properly, that the changes in the laser Raman spectra were caused by the external Qi of Qigong. The laser Raman spectrum of the saline solution samples treated with external Qi showed no further change or reversion in the four days following the experiment.

(3) The Experiments on 50% Glucose Solution

Similar to the experiments on tap water and 0.9% saline, affected by the ultra-long-distance external Qi, the laser Raman spectra of glucose solution showed some changes in comparison to the normal spectra of the control samples. A typical result is shown in Figure 9. Obviously, the 710 /cm peak in Figure 9 disappeared.

The laser Raman spectrum of the glucose solution sample showed no further change or reversion in the 4 days following the Qi emission. The control samples showed no change throughout the experiment.

(4) The Experiments on 1.5 mg/ml Medemycine Solution

Affected by the ultra-long-distance external Qi, the laser Raman spectra of the 1.5 mg/ml medemycine solution showed some changes in comparison to the normal spectra of the control samples. A typical result is shown in Figure 10. Obviously the 2070 /cm peak shifted to 1970 /cm. The control samples showed no change throughout the experiment.

The above four kinds of solutions are stable under normal room temperature conditions. We also examined the control samples before, after, and randomly during the experiments to ensure that the instruments were functioning properly. Therefore we were able to detect any changes between the laser Raman spectra of samples affected by the external Qi and that of the control samples unaffected by the external Qi. The observed effects must have been caused by the effect of external Qi.

The Qi-induced changes in these water-based solutions suggest a possible explanation for some of the therapeutic power reported. The Qigong therapeutic effects could be achieved through the structural or functional changes in the body fluids and tissues of human beings and the physiological adjustments that follow these changes. These changes and adjustments are caused by the application of the extenal Qi of Qigong.

These experiments showed that under the influence of the long-distance external Qi emitted by Dr. Yan Xin, certain changes occurred in the laser Raman spectra of tap water, 0.9% saline, 50% glucose, and 1.5 mg/ml medemycine solution. The external Qi of Qigong has exerted influence over the structures of these solutions.

This paper was translated by Dr. Hui Lin at the University of Pennsylvania. The English version was proofread by Dr. Hua Lou, at the University of Texas, Mr. Yan Kuang at Duke University, and Prof. David Quinn at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The table, figures, and typesetting of the English version were prepared by Dr. Ming Dao at the University of California, San Diego.