Wikipedia:Tian Ruisheng

Tian Ruisheng (Chinese: 田瑞生; pinyin: Tián Ruìshēng; born 15 June 1927), also known as Shijiakai (his Buddhist monastic name，Chinese: 释迦开; pinyin: Shìjiākāi), was a famous Chinese healer and a high level master of Qigong during the late eighties and early nineties of the twentieth century. He was the successor and the only living master of a secret style known as Aromatic or Fragrant Qigong (Xiang Gong) which became one of the most popular styles of Qigong of that era. Master Tian was also known for his unique Qigong mass-healing sessions held all across China for several years.

Early life and health problems
Tian Ruisheng was born in June, 1927 in a village east of, and today a suburb of, Luoyang city, the old capital of China, in Henan province. Since an early age Tian showed a great interest in learning about everything and anything in the world, a trait stemming from his natural intelligence and a curiosity and desire to make the world a better place. Always keen to help whenever help is needed, around the house as well as to his friends and neighbors.

However, before reaching teenage years, his health deteriorated and he contracted a severe skin condition which affected his whole body. Not only was it painful and itchy but there were hard lumps all over the body followed by the big chunks of skin being peeled off, only to be covered with more hard lumps and more peeling. Since his family was poor they could not afford the expensive treatments recommended to them so, at the age of 12, he was literally dying in bed.

Luckily, one night, a traveling Buddhist monk, who happened to be passing through his village, knocked on their door and asked if he could stay over night. The family agreed, however they apologized for not being able to attend the guest as normally expected since their child was dying. The monk, it turns out, was a high level healer and the only successor of, to them, an unknown style of Qigong. He offered help and the family, not expecting any miracles but also having nothing to lose, agreed.

Miraculous healing and becoming the next successor of Fragrant Qigong
Against all odds, the boy was not only healed but the old master decided to make him the next successor of this secret style. He was told to practice it daily for “half a century” and then, to start teaching it publicly as well as to heal the sick and help the needy. Thus he became the “keeper of the style”, the only secret living master of his generation. As it was explained to him, this style has existed for almost 2,000 years and was never passed on to more than one person at any stage of its existence (the so-called “straight-line teaching” in Qigong jargon). This was due to the fact that the long-term practice is known to lead to some unusual powers that, if ending up in the wrong hands, could be misused and cause damage to other people or for theft.

Adolescence, war, adulthood and post-war years
Tian took the new-found mission very seriously and, despite many difficulties in life (both his personal as well as on a larger scale - WWII, Chinese communist revolution, post-war period of rebuilding the country, years of hardship and poverty, looking for employment, raising the family, all up to his retirement in the late eighties), he never stopped practicing.

As he was instructed by his teacher, the practice was not only doing the physical movements. More importantly, he was expected to practice patience, tolerance, love and compassion until it became his second nature. And so he did. He was a role model both at work (a mine worker) as well as a father and a citizen.

Revelation of Fragrant Qigong, mass-healing sessions and disappearance
Soon after his retirement, as China entered a period of political stability and economic growth unprecedented in its long history, Tian saw a great opportunity to fulfill his obligation. He announced to the local community that he will soon be revealing a secret style of Qigong, proven to be very effective in the treatment of many diseases (both minor as well as serious ones) and on the 8th of May 1988 a group of over 200, mostly sick and disabled, gathered in his Luoyang city to witness it.

What followed was nothing short of mind-blowing. For 2 weeks, day after day, they came and learnt Fragrant Qigong and he performed his amazing healing powers on them. Most people smelt strong fragrances, some felt a stream of energy in different parts of their body, tingling or itchiness. Even on the very first day many people were completely healed while many felt much better. People who could not walk for years stood and walked. Out of 17 deaf people (most of them born that way) 15 regained their hearing.

Almost overnight, he became one of the most famous masters of Qigong while his style very quickly spread all over China and, soon after, to over 40 other countries of the world. What ensued were invitations from all over China for (now addressed as “master”) Tian to give mass-healing sessions, which he did, on average, once or twice a month. This was going on for the next seven consecutive years.

And then, in 1995 he suddenly vanished. According to his closest friends and family he went to a seclusion. However, there were rumors, both online as well as in the press in China, that Tian had died of liver cancer and that his family buried him in the backyard without telling the authorities. For that reason, his son was imprisoned for ten months and had to pay a fine of 10,000 yuan.

Marriage and children
Tian Ruisheng was married and had 6 children, out of which 4 became high-level masters of Fragrant Qigong. He started teaching them during their early-childhood years, long before it was revealed to the world so, after it went public, they were often doing their mass-healing sessions together, for the combined power. His oldest daughter Tian Shufang was the head coach of Fragrant Qigong while his son Tian Tongxin was the president of Luoyang Fragrant Qigong Research Association (洛阳香功研究会).