Qigong and Contemporary China: A case study of the phenomenon of Qigong master's deification in Henan Provence

In China, the Qigong master’s deification phenomenon appeared among the Qigong boom since 1980s. This phenomenon was considered as a “superstition” by the Chinese government and many Qigong masters had been targeted by the government as an object of suppression. In this paper, I have conducted description and analysis on this phenomenon from the viewpoint of life ethics of ordinary people. And this paper argued that the reason of the divine Qigong masters was able to gain extensive support among the public is in the life ethics instead of “superstition”. Moreover, this paper also found that popular life ethics is supported by the thought of karmic retribution, which has a very important position in the regional religious practice. This also explains the similarity of Qigong practice and religious practice.