History of the 18 Postures

Eighteen Postures for Daily Practice (Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa) is a relatively recent Qigong sequence. It was compiled by Zhuang Yuan-Ming in the early 1970's. A doctor of Chinese Medicine, specializing in Traumatology, Dr. Zhuang was also an accomplished martial artist. He was a student of Wang Zhi-Ping and in 1953 was awarded a gold medal in China's National Games.
He compiled the 18 Postures sequence drawing on his knowledge of Wang Zhi-Ping's '20 Exercises' as well as reviewing classical forms such as the Eight Silk Brocades (Ba Duan Jin). In fact, 6 of the 8 movements of the Ba Duan Jin are incorporated into the Eighteen Postures.
This happened during Dr. Zhuang's time working at the Dong Chan Hospital in Shanghai and the sequence was refined through his work with patients. In 1980 china's Ministry of Health selected Lian Gong for nation wide popularization. It has since spread in popularity across China and world wide.