A public welfare "fitness class" held at Baiyun Temple has become a new favorite among young people in Beijing. Every weekend, a group of young people come here to learn Baduanjin or Tai Chi. The quota for each course will be sold out in just one minute. The reporter learned that the public welfare classroom of Baiyun Temple began in 2017. In addition to the health preservation techniques of Tai Chi and Ba Duan Jin, there is also the "Baiyun Lecture Hall" that teaches Taoist classics and ideas. On a weekend morning, a mischievous magpie darted through the queue and jumped onto the eaves of the Little Penglai Yuxian Pavilion at Baiyun Temple, overlooking hundreds of practitioners playing Eight dan Brocade in the courtyard. A group of young people were holding the moon in their arms, knees slightly bent, palms slowly lifted towards the sky, taking a deep breath. When they took another breath, the faint fragrance of the front yard wafted into their noses... At this moment, the dazzling sunlight happened to shine on the palms and faces of every practitioner in the yard, and the heat was transmitted from top to bottom into their bodies, making them feel incredibly comfortable and refreshed. Baiyun Temple is located outside the West Gate of Beijing and is the ancestral home of the Quanzhen Longmen School of Taoism, known as the "Number One Jungle of Quanzhen". The predecessor of Baiyun Temple was Tianchang Temple in the Tang Dynasty. In the 22nd year of Emperor Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty (1227), Genghis Khan ordered it to be renamed as "Changchun Temple". In the early Ming Dynasty, the palace was rebuilt with Chushun Hall as the center and renamed Baiyun Temple. From the Tang Dynasty to the present day, Baiyun Temple has been damaged and repaired multiple times, and now it is the most famous Taoist site in Beijing. Touching the stone monkey and striking the copper coin eye are the most famous prayer activities at Baiyun Temple. Compared to the bustling incense in the front halls of Baiyun Temple, the small Penglai in the backyard (also known as the "Yunji Garden") appears exceptionally quiet. Previously, this place was famous on the internet for its lazy stray cats. But now every weekend, stray cats hide in corners, quietly observing the people gathered here to 'practice'. Over the weekend, there were hundreds of practitioners who came to the temple to learn Tai Chi or Baduanjin under the guidance of teachers Deng Jiayi and Ziyou. Nearly half of them are young people in their 30s, some are teenagers who come with their young parents, and even four or five year old children shuttle through the ranks of practitioners, sometimes playing and sometimes learning the movements of adults. For young people, 'free' is also a major attraction of Baiyun Temple. Eight dan brocade and Tai Chi in Little Penglai are free public welfare classes, and many tourists who come to Baiyun Temple to enjoy incense also join in. They either stood under the ancient tree, in the long corridor, or behind the rockery, listening to the Taoist's explanation and following the movements and breathing methods demonstrated by the Taoist, they also started to do them. For tourists, encountering young people attending public welfare classes at Taoist temples is also a novel experience during their travels. Learning traditional martial arts feels like the body is full of strength. Xiao C, who is studying Chinese dance at the dance academy, participated in the first public welfare class of the Eight Section Brocade at Baiyun Temple this year. The day of the class was March 23rd, and she recalled that the early spring sunshine shone on her face and body, "feeling warm and cozy. Under the guidance of the Taoist priest, she made a round of eight dan brocade and felt a hot breath from her palm to her whole body. Her muscles and bones seemed to be stretched, and her breath and blood flowed smoothly through her body, making her whole person feel light and agile. This feeling is the reason why Little C fell in love with traditional fitness techniques. She had previously practiced the Eight Diamond Skills. Later, she accidentally found the "Baiyun Lecture" of Baiyun Taoist Temple on the Internet, which contained promotional videos about the public welfare class of Taijiquan, so she reported her name on the WeChat official account. At that time, the Tai Chi public welfare class at Baiyun Temple had not yet reached the level of popularity, but registration was already necessary to grab a spot. Xiao C logged in several times before grabbing the course and successfully participated in the six week Tai Chi public welfare class. During this month and a half, Xiao C persisted in learning martial arts every week, and finally graduated as scheduled, receiving the "martial arts secrets" gifted by the Taoist master - books on Taoist health practices such as Tai Chi and Eight Section Brocade. Xiao C said that listening to teachers explain and practicing on site is completely different from learning online. In addition to the fragrant and serene atmosphere of Taoist temples, the teacher will also provide detailed explanations on posture, movements, and breathing techniques. Xiao C found that playing a set of eight dan brocade according to the way of the Taoist priest does not make him feel physically exhausted like dancing, but instead makes him feel his body full of strength. This feeling is the biggest difference between traditional Chinese fitness techniques and Western sports and fitness. Universe, who often participates in bodybuilding competitions, is a mother of two who has five or six years of fitness experience. At the beginning of this year, a friend of hers sent her the link to the Baiyun Guan Ba Duan Jin public welfare class and invited her to register and participate together. This public welfare class gave her a brand new understanding of Badian Brocade, and she discovered that Badian Brocade is not just about exercising muscles and bones. With the guidance of her teacher, she felt the movement of breath within her body. "It's really magical, just like what's written in martial arts novels," said Universe. The universe is still continuing her bodybuilding career and will spend some time in the gym preparing for competitions, but now she will incorporate Chinese fitness methods such as playing Baduanjin. She described traditional martial arts and Western style fitness as "one is self-cultivation from the inside out, and the other is fitness from the outside in, each with their own strengths." The Eight Section Brocade became popular, easy to learn, and effective. During the process of learning the Eight Section Brocade at Baiyun Temple, the universe discovered that many young people around them were either in pain or not when doing movements. At this time, the teacher would correct their movements one by one and explain the reasons for the pain to them: "Some young people are weak, some are cold in the stomach, and some are blocked in the meridians." After one or two classes, many people's conditions improved slightly. The teachers who offer Tai Chi and Baduanjin charity classes in Xiaopenglai, Baiyun Temple are Deng Jiayi and Ziyou. Ziyou is the 16th generation descendant of Wudang Sanfeng Sect, while Deng Jiayi is the 15th generation descendant of Wudang Sanfeng Sect and also a disciple of Li Xinjun, the leader of Baiyun Temple. The original intention of offering public welfare classes was that Daoist Li Xinjun felt that the environment in the Taoist temple was very good and particularly suitable for the public to learn Baduanjin and Tai Chi. Therefore, Deng Jiayi and Ziyu, who also teach martial arts at the Chenyuan Traditional Culture Park, jointly offered completely free public welfare classes. People only need to spend 10 yuan to purchase tickets to Baiyun Temple, and they can go to Little Penglai every weekend to learn Eight dan Brocade or Tai Chi. Teacher Deng Jiayi introduced that public welfare classes actually started in 2017, mainly focusing on Tai Chi, with the majority of participants being elderly people. Young people are just a bit 'lazy'. Traditional health practices are not tiring to practice, so they are more easily accepted by young people In Deng Jiayi's view, the reason why Ba Duan Jin is favored among young people is also because its movements are simple and easy to learn, and not very laborious. Western fitness focuses on muscle lines, which can be tiring after exercise and require special attention to rest. After practicing traditional Chinese martial arts, the whole body is relaxed, the spirit is full, it is not tiring and effective, so it is very popular among young people Deng Jiayi also observed that young people like to share their feelings and experiences online. When they come into contact with traditional martial arts and find that they do have good effects on the body and mind, they will express their feelings more authentically online, which quickly spreads through the effects of the internet and allows more people to participate. Beneficial physical and mental health allows more people to understand traditional health preservation. With more and more young people participating, Deng Jiayi found that everyone's physical condition is not "young". They generally suffer from back pain, stiff shoulders and neck, deficiency of qi and blood, as well as mental lethargy and low expression. Deng Jiayi believes that the unhealthy lifestyle habits of young people have led to these problems. "Young people like to stay up late, play with their phones with their heads down, and indulge in cold food and drinks..." In his opinion, playing Baduanjin can indeed alleviate these sub-health problems among young people, but it requires long-term persistence. Therefore, at the end of the public welfare class, they will distribute a book on Baduanjin and Tai Chi to everyone, so that young people who come to class can continue to exercise according to the guidance in the book in the future. At the same time, he believes that promoting the Eight Section Brocade through public welfare classes is more to present traditional Chinese health culture, so that young people have awareness and habits of health preservation. The universe believes that the greatest value of the Baiyun Temple public welfare course lies in providing a formal teaching path for those who enjoy traditional health practices. I hope there will be as many places as possible that teach proper health practices, so that more people can understand the effectiveness of traditional Chinese fitness. "Xiao C believes that young people face great pressure in their daily lives and work, working long hours in front of computers and balancing complex interpersonal relationships, which often leads to physical and mental exhaustion, feelings of powerlessness, and even anxiety and depression. Learning Baduanjin and Tai Chi through public welfare classes not only benefits the body, but also regulates the mentality Xiao C believes that this is the difference between traditional health practices and Western fitness exercises, and it is also the biggest advantage of Chinese traditional culture. After completing the check-in for the Baiyun Guan Tai Chi public welfare class, Xiao C also received a practice book from the teacher, and she plans to continue practicing the Eight Section Brocade. Afterwards, she also plans to attend the traditional culture public welfare class at the "Baiyun Lecture Hall" and listen to the teacher's lectures on the contents of Taoist classics such as the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, in order to cultivate her mind and cultivate her character. Now, whenever there is time, Little C will play Tai Chi and Baduanjin in the park of his own community. Once, Little C started practicing Tai Chi in the early morning, and the uncles and aunts who passed by saw her playing smoothly and wanted to learn along. Xiao C recommended the public welfare course of Baiyun Temple to her uncle and aunt, hoping to give more people like her the opportunity to experience traditional Chinese health practices and fall in love with Chinese traditional culture. (New Society)