【Introduction】

In the 1980s, a “Qigong craze” swept across China, with various self-proclaimed masters of extraordinary abilities emerging.

A TCM practitioner from a humble rural background, Yan Xin, became a sensational “Qigong master” with astonishing claims of “extinguishing fires from a distance” and “intercepting missiles with thought,” even posing closely with the US President.

Is this a manifestation of mysterious powers, or a carefully crafted deception? Does Yan Xin truly possess such miraculous abilities?

Yan Xin’s Miraculous Claims

During an era when the public was keen on exploring “unknown powers,” Yan Xin skillfully utilized media and societal attention to craft himself into a “modern sage.”

He not only boasted of his ability to perform remote interventions but also publicly claimed he could alter the course of disasters and wars with his thoughts.

In 1987, Yan Xin gained widespread fame, further claiming he could stop missile launches with his thoughts.

Yan Xin asserted that through the “special abilities” of Qigong, he could influence the trajectory of physical objects, even altering the course of large weapons.

To prove his claims, Yan Xin collaborated with certain academic institutions to conduct experiments, asserting that he could change molecular arrangements through his powers, extending this ability to controlling missile trajectories.

Some followers even suggested applying his “extraordinary abilities” in military fields to ensure national security.

These statements even attracted attention from the defense sector, with some defense experts showing great interest in this possibility.

At that time, China was experiencing a media boom, with newspapers, radio, and television becoming important tools for disseminating information. Yan Xin skillfully leveraged this trend to package himself as a “national master.”

Moreover, Yan Xin expanded his influence by writing papers and holding Qigong lectures.

He claimed to have conducted so-called “external Qi experiments” at Tsinghua University’s Chemistry and Biology departments, asserting that he altered the molecular structure of experimental samples through his powers.

Meanwhile, Yan Xin’s Qigong lectures were always packed, creating an extremely lively atmosphere. His “power transmission reports” claimed to convey Qigong energy through language, attracting tens of thousands of participants.

He asserted that anyone present at the venue could feel the healing and energy of Qigong, with tickets priced at 100 yuan.

This was not a small sum at the time, yet demand far exceeded supply, with some followers willing to pay to sit outside just to experience the “magical energy field.”

Yan Xin was also adept at selecting typical cases for exaggerated promotion, claiming to have cured a man who had been in a wheelchair for 40 years, stating that the man could walk after attending his Qigong report.

During the peak of Yan Xin’s Qigong popularity, he not only gained fame domestically but also attempted to expand his influence to the international stage.

In the mid-1990s, Yan Xin utilized the packaging of “Eastern mysterious powers” in the United States to seek new opportunities in Western society.

He began frequently attending Qigong lectures and academic exchange activities, claiming to have established close ties with several American political figures, the most widely circulated being his close photo with the US President.

Yan Xin repeatedly mentioned that he had been received by then-President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush, showcasing some photos of their encounters.

These photos were used as “evidence” of his personal influence and achievements to attract more followers and international attention.

However, even though Yan Xin rose to fame due to “Qigong,” it ultimately turned out to be a trick of deception.

The Rise of Pseudo-Qigong

In the early days of reform and opening up, accompanied by a re-examination of traditional culture and a fervent pursuit of “scientific discoveries,” China experienced a “Qigong craze.”

Initially, this was merely a grassroots health practice, with traditional fitness Qigong like “Five Animal Frolics” and “Crane Stance” attracting a group of middle-aged and elderly enthusiasts.

However, with media involvement and the promotion of certain “masters,” Qigong gradually took on the colors of “extraordinary abilities” and “mysticism.”

Yan Xin emerged as a standout in this trend; after graduating from high school, he enrolled in a local TCM school, with the potential to become a respected doctor.

However, in his spare time, he became obsessed with the then-emerging Qigong and discovered its immense commercial potential.

Yan Xin approached healing, packaging Qigong as a combination of “modern science” and “Eastern mysterious powers.”

Initially, he did help some patients with his TCM knowledge, but soon he realized that psychological suggestion and carefully arranged “stooges” could create more “miracles” for him.

Thus, he claimed that his Qigong could not only heal but also improve Qi and blood, prolong life, and even avert major disasters.

In 1987, a massive forest fire occurred in the Daxing’anling region of Heilongjiang, the largest since the founding of the country. While rescue teams battled the flames, Yan Xin claimed that he could alleviate the fire’s intensity from a small villa 2000 kilometers away.

Three days later, the fire was extinguished through the efforts of tens of thousands of firefighters, while Yan Xin proclaimed that this was entirely due to his powers.

As the Qigong craze continued to rise, Yan Xin’s miraculous claims and expanding influence caught the attention of the scientific community.

Many professionals began to question his “miracles,” attempting to uncover the truth through scientific methods.

Scientific Community’s Doubts

Renowned physicist He Zuoxiu was the first to speak out, publicly criticizing Yan Xin’s claims about “intercepting missiles with thought” and “remote healing of diseases.”

He pointed out that these claims were completely devoid of scientific basis and constituted absurd pseudoscientific hype. He openly stated in the media that “Qigong masters” like Yan Xin were misleading the public through trickery.

Tsinghua University once invited him to conduct so-called “Qigong experiments,” but these experiments were not independently verified, and the scientific validity of the experimental design and conclusions faced multiple criticisms.

As more data emerged, many flaws in the experiments gradually became apparent, and the so-called “breakthrough results” were found to be exaggerated.

Yan Xin’s “power transmission reports” also became a focus of investigation, claiming that participants could heal diseases or gain energy simply by being present at the venue.

This assertion attracted a large number of followers but also sparked strong backlash from the scientific community, with many medical experts pointing out that this “remote healing” had no basis, and the so-called effects were more a result of psychological suggestion and group effects.

Meanwhile, the truth behind some of Yan Xin’s early “miracle events” gradually surfaced, with the 1987 Daxing’anling fire incident being re-examined.

Substantial evidence indicated that the fire’s extinguishment was entirely due to the heroic efforts of firefighters, with no relation to Yan Xin’s alleged “powers.”

During this period, the state also began to pay attention to the negative impact of pseudoscience on society. In 1994, the central government issued “Several Opinions on Strengthening Scientific Popularization Work,” clearly stating the need to eliminate superstition and pseudoscience.

The implementation of this policy not only rapidly cooled the Qigong craze but also provided support for the scientific community’s counterattack against pseudoscience.

In the rational return of society, masters like Yan Xin gradually lost their market, and their actions were more widely viewed as a scam.

Unable to survive domestically, Yan Xin sought new paths, not only immigrating to the United States but even attempting to repeat his tricks there.

Yan Xin’s Activities in the United States

As the fervor for pseud-Qigong in China gradually cooled, Yan Xin realized that the environment in his home country had become unfriendly.

In 1995, against the backdrop of pseudoscience being exposed by the media and a joint anti-pseudoscience campaign by the scientific community and government agencies, he chose to leave China and immigrate to the United States, attempting to continue his fame in a new environment.

Upon arriving in the United States, Yan Xin quickly adjusted his strategy, rebranding himself as a “messenger of Eastern mysterious powers” and targeting Westerners curious about Chinese culture and Qigong.

He frequently appeared at prestigious institutions like Harvard and Yale, promoting his Qigong therapy through lectures and experiments to the American public.

Although these lectures did not reach the domestic level of “crowds filling the streets,” they still attracted some audiences interested in Eastern mysticism.

He continued to use the methods he had employed in China, claiming that Qigong could heal diseases, alter the molecular structure of matter, and even mentioned the possibility of “remote healing.”

However, these statements quickly came under scrutiny and questioning from the Western scientific community. Despite Yan Xin’s attempts to support his claims with so-called “experimental data,” the authenticity of this data was never widely accepted.

He tried to enhance the credibility of his statements by showcasing photos with US Presidents, but even these photos were questioned as being fake.

It was reported that the photos were taken at certain charity events or academic conferences, where Yan Xin participated as a Qigong master, demonstrating his so-called “Qigong therapy” to attendees.

However, the media and public found that these photos resembled ordinary interactions between participants and leaders at large events, rather than the “close relationships” he claimed.

These photos earned Yan Xin some international attention at the time, solidifying his image as a “Qigong master.”

Unfortunately, as the Qigong craze waned, the symbolic significance of these photos gradually lost their appeal.

In his later years, Yan Xin lived in a relatively isolated environment, with his activities gradually shifting from public to secretive, rarely appearing in the public eye.

Reports indicate that he had residences in both the United States and Canada, but his whereabouts were unpredictable. Although he occasionally published articles or organized small lectures, they never sparked significant social reactions again.

Yan Xin was not the only “master” to exploit media to expand influence; Zhang Baosheng claimed to possess the ability to see through objects, with media reporting that he could penetrate various materials to identify the color and shape of objects, once regarded as “China’s foremost extraordinary ability person.”

Tian Ruisheng promoted his “fragrance therapy” to treat difficult diseases, attracting countless patients.

Conclusion

Once worshipped by thousands, the master now struggles to make a living in a foreign land, appearing particularly desolate.

The so-called Qigong was merely a product of the media and public’s curiosity about mysterious powers, rapidly transforming him into a star-like figure.

However, those “myths” built on pseudoscience and superstition, even if they once flourished, will ultimately be shattered by reason and truth.