Where does our tradition originate?
Jindan: the main source of information.
Taoist-Lifestyle.com primarily shares information and practices rooted in the Jindan (Golden Cinnabar) tradition, as interpreted by the Yinyangpai (Yinyang Current). This Taoist alchemical tradition was developed during the Song Dynasty by Ziyang Zhenren or Zhang Boduan (984-1082). Zhang initially passed on his knowledge to Shi Tai (1022-1158), who further expanded the tradition in order to pass it on to subsequent generations. It is a critical and practical approach, aimed at integrating Taoist alchemical practices into everyday life, which originates from the Southern Tradition in Zhejiang province, particularly the Tiantai Mountain region.” The fundamental text is the Wuzhenpian ('Treatise on Understanding Authenticity') by Grandmaster Zhang Boduan.
Later, the most popular branch of this tradition was integrated by the Quanzhen sect, which posthumously honored Zhang Boduan as the first of the five great ancestors of Southern Quanzhen Taoism. In addition to this primary source, Taoist-Lifestyle.com draws from other traditions for its practices and background, such as the Fu Qinglong tradition of Yuanqigong (also derived from Jindan), Taoist interpretations of the Yang tradition of Taijiquan (early Dong Yingjie tradition and Yue/Fu style), the Henan and Hebei traditions of Xin(g)yiquan, the Liang and Cheng traditions of Baguazhang, and various teachings from the Longmen tradition of Quanzhen Taoism.
“These traditions are not presented as parallel systems, but as contextual lineages that inform practice within the primary Jindan framework.”
Taoist Alchemy Lineage
Internal Alchemy (neidan, 內丹) means “internal cinnabar”: the inner continuation of the older cinnabar arts, developed when external alchemical recipes (waidan) proved dangerous and practitioners shifted toward internal means. In this understanding, Taoist internal alchemy is not simply “self-cultivation” or general meditation. It is a practical discipline of change: transforming through refining (煉化 lianhua) — methods practiced over time to produce concrete results in vitality, breath, stability, and the quality of the mind.
This Internal Alchemy lineage within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com follows a Southern Taoist Alchemical transmission. In our tradition, Wu Zhiyuan and the father of Fu Qinglong are chiefly associated with Southern Alchemical practice and its health cultivation methods. Chen Yingning also practiced within this Southern current, while becoming widely known for “xianxue” — his research-based approach to Taoist alchemy, shared through publications and study circles that shaped modern Chinese interest in neidan.
For Taoist-Lifestyle.Com, this lineage is presented as a living transmission: grounded in method, preserved through teaching, and verified through years of consistent training, rather than through theory alone.
Wu Zhiyuan
伍止淵
Quanzhen Longmenpai name: Chengding 誠鼎
Taoist name: Lingyuanzi 陵源子
1896 - 1966
A Taoist monk from Huangyan (Zhejiang), known for teaching health cultivation and quiet sitting methods after overcoming serious lung illness in his youth. He founded study groups for Taoist practice and healing, and served as abbot in several temples, including Tongbaigong (桐柏宮) in the Tiantai Mountains. In 1961 he travelled to Beijing during the period when Chen Yingning led national Taoist affairs. He later taught in Shanghai, where Fu Qinglong studied with him.
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Chen Yingning
陳攖寧
Daoist name:
Yuandunzi 圓頓子
1880/1881 – 1969
A modern Taoist scholar and pioneering researcher of neidan (internal alchemy), born in Huaining (Anhui). Driven by illness and a search for effective methods, he studied Taoist health practices and deeply researched the Daozang (Taoist Canon). He promoted the modernization of Taoist alchemy through “xianxue” (the study of alchemy), publishing widely and forming study circles in Shanghai. From 1957 he served as secretary-general and vice-head of the Chinese Taoist Association, becoming its president in 1961.
Fu Qinglong
傅青龍
Alchemical name
金鼎
born: 1933
A Taoist internal alchemist and Yang-style Taijiquan master trained in the Shanghai traditions of Tian Zhaolin and Yue Huanzhi. A modern inheritor of the Southern Alchemical Tradition (南宗), he transmitted a complete Neidan (Taoist Internal Alchemy) and internal martial arts lineage to Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, forming a foundational pillar of the Taoist-Lifestyle lineage.
Dan Vercammen
費丹
Alchemical name
丹凝
Born: 1960
Belgian anthropologist–sinologist, Taoist alchemy specialist, and internal-martial-arts master. Trained in China since 1985, he transmits Southern-School Neidan, Yang-style Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xinyiliuhe through the teachings of Fu Qinglong, Li Ziming, Shen Hongxun, and the Dong–Tian–Yue Shanghai Taiji tradition. Co-founder of CAC and TASC, he is internationally recognised for his research on Taoist internal alchemy, breathing, and Jiangnan Taoist culture.
Taijiquan Lineage
Our Taijiquan lineage follows the Shanghai transmission of Yang-style Taijiquan, carried forward by Tian Zhaolin, Dong Yingjie, and Yue Huanzhi. Through Dr. Fu Qinglong and Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, this internal martial heritage is preserved and practiced within Taoist-Lifestyle.
Tian Zhaolin
田兆麟
1891 - 1960
A senior non-family disciple of the Yang Taijiquan tradition, trained directly by Yang Jianhou, Yang Shaohou, and Yang Chengfu. Renowned for preserving the small-frame and middle-frame Yang-style methods, he helped shape the internal Taijiquan culture of Beijing and Shanghai. His teachings influenced the environment from which the Yue Huanzhi → Fu Qinglong → Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen lineage emerged.
Dong Yingjie
董英傑
1897/1898 - 1961
A leading Yang-style Taijiquan master and principal disciple of Yang Chengfu, also trained in Yang small frame and Wu/Hao internal methods. Founder of Dong-style Taijiquan and author of Taiji Boxing Explained, he helped shape the modern Yang tradition in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. His synthesis of internal principles influenced the technical foundations of the Taijiquan stream later inherited through Yue Huanzhi and Dr. Fu Qinglong.
Yue Huanzhi
樂奐之
1899/1900 - 1960
A Henan-born Taijiquan master and university professor, trained in Chen-style Taiji, Yang-style under Dong Yingjie, and Southern (Nanpai) Taiji. Famous in Shanghai for his powerful taiji forces (empty force) and their use in healing, he integrated Taiji with Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism. As the main Taiji teacher of Shen Hongxun and a teacher of Dr. Fu Qinglong, he is a central figure in the internal Taiji tradition underlying the Taoist-Lifestyle lineage.
Fu Qinglong
傅青龍
Alchemical name
金鼎
born: 1933
A Taoist internal alchemist and Yang-style Taijiquan master trained in the Shanghai traditions of Tian Zhaolin and Yue Huanzhi. A modern inheritor of the Southern Alchemical Tradition (南宗), he transmitted a complete Neidan (Taoist Internal Alchemy) and internal martial arts lineage to Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, forming a foundational pillar of the Taoist-Lifestyle lineage.
Shen Hongxun
沈洪訓
1939 - 2011
A Taijiquan master and physician from Shanghai, trained by Prof. Yue Huanzhi in internal Taiji forces and traditional healing methods. He became known for developing Taijiwuxigong and the Buqi healing system, integrating Taiji structure, internal force, and therapeutic insight. His work forms an important bridge in the modern history of internal Taijiquan and connects directly to the lineage environment that shaped Dr. Fu Qinglong and Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen.
Dan Vercammen
費丹
Alchemical name
丹凝
Born: 1960
Belgian anthropologist–sinologist, Taoist alchemy specialist, and internal-martial-arts master. Trained in China since 1985, he transmits Southern-School Neidan, Yang-style Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xinyiliuhequan through the teachings of Fu Qinglong, Li Ziming, Shen Hongxun, and the Dong–Tian–Yue Shanghai Taiji tradition. Co-founder of CAC and TASC, he is internationally recognised for his research on Taoist internal alchemy, breathing, and Jiangnan Taoist culture.
Baguazhang Lineage
Our Baguazhang lineage follows the Southern transmission of Taoist internal martial arts. Through Prof. Dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, this tradition is preserved and practised within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com, integrating Baguazhang with internal alchemy and classical Daoist cultivation on an international level.
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Dong Haichuan
(董海川)
1813 - 1882
Founder of Baguazhang (Eight Trigram Palm) and a central figure in the internal martial arts of the late Qing dynasty. Active in Beijing, Dong Haichuan synthesised Daoist internal cultivation practices with martial movement, giving rise to a principle-based system centred on circle walking, palm changes, and internal coordination.
Through his students — most notably Cheng Tinghua and Liang Zhenpu — his teachings formed the foundation of all later Baguazhang lineages and influenced the broader internal martial culture that interacted with Taijiquan traditions in Beijing and Shanghai.
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Liang Zhenpu
(梁振蒲)
1863 – 1932
A second-generation Baguazhang practitioner and key transmitter of Liang-style Baguazhang (梁派八卦掌). Trained in the Beijing milieu of Dong Haichuan’s Baguazhang and influenced by the senior circles associated with Yin Fu and Cheng Tinghua, Liang became an important bridge figure in the art’s early modern transmission.
Through students such as Li Ziming (李子鸣), Liang’s line played a major role in preserving and spreading Baguazhang into the twentieth century.
Li Ziming
(李子鸣)
1902 – 1993
A major twentieth-century transmitter of Liang-style Baguazhang (梁派八卦掌) and a key figure in the modern preservation of Baguazhang in Beijing. A disciple in the line of Liang Zhenpu, he taught for many decades and supported the continuity of classical Baguazhang principles through large student communities in China and abroad.
His final transmission was to Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, through whom the lineage is preserved within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com.
Dan Vercammen
費丹
Alchemical name
丹凝
Born: 1960
Belgian anthropologist–sinologist, Taoist alchemy specialist, and internal-martial-arts master. Trained in China since 1985, he transmits Southern-School Neidan, Yang-style Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xinyiliuhe through the teachings of Fu Qinglong, Li Ziming, Shen Hongxun, and the Dong–Tian–Yue Shanghai Taiji tradition. Co-founder of CAC and TASC, he is internationally recognised for his research on Taoist internal alchemy, breathing, and Jiangnan Taoist culture.
Xinyiliuhequan/Shidaxing Lineage
Our Xinyiliuhequan/Shidaxing lineage is rooted in the Henan Hui transmission of internal martial arts and continued through the Shanghai teaching tradition. Through Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, this line is preserved and practiced within Taoist-Lifestyle.Com, integrating internal martial method with Taoist cultivation and long-term training.
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Lu Songgao
(盧嵩高)
1875 - 1961
A leading Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) transmitter who helped establish the Shanghai tradition known as Shidaxing (十大形). Disciple of Yuan Fengyi (袁鳳儀), he became a key bridge between Henan transmission and the modern Shanghai teaching stream. In the Taoist-Lifestyle lineage, he transmitted Xinyiliuhequan to Tao Zihong (陶子鴻)beginning in 1948, forming a direct link later continued through Fu Qinglong (傅青龍).
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Sun Shaofu
(孫少甫)
1914 – 1980
A Hui Muslim master of Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) from Zhoukou (周口), Henan, known for rigorous mosque training, wartime instruction in the dadao (大刀) unit, and later service in Shanghai. In the Taoist-Lifestyle.Com lineage memory, he represents Zhoukou transmission continuing into Shanghai institutions, and he is also remembered as a teacher of Fu Qinglong (傅青龍).
Tao Zihong
(陶子鴻)
1897 – 1984
A key transmitter of Xinyiliuhequan (心意六合拳) and Shidaxing (十大形) in the Taoist-Lifestyle.Com lineage. Born in Shouxian (壽縣), Anhui, he entered the Central Martial Arts Academy in 1933 and later founded the Nanjing Municipal Martial Arts Academy. From 1948, he learned Xinyiliuhequan under Lu Songgao (盧嵩高) and taught many students, including Fu Qinglong (傅青龍). He is remembered for taking students to the Shanghai Zoo to embody the ten animal techniques through direct observation.
Fu Qinglong
傅青龍
Alchemical name
金鼎
born: 1933
A Taoist internal alchemist and Yang-style Taijiquan master trained in the Shanghai traditions of Tian Zhaolin and Yue Huanzhi. A modern inheritor of the Southern Alchemical Tradition (南宗), he transmitted a complete Neidan (Taoist Internal Alchemy) and internal martial arts lineage to Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, forming a foundational pillar of the Taoist-Lifestyle lineage.
Dan Vercammen
費丹
Alchemical name
丹凝
Born: 1960
Belgian anthropologist–sinologist, Taoist alchemy specialist, and internal-martial-arts master. Trained in China since 1985, he transmits Southern-School Neidan, Yang-style Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xinyiliuhe through the teachings of Fu Qinglong, Li Ziming, Shen Hongxun, and the Dong–Tian–Yue Shanghai Taiji tradition. Co-founder of CAC and TASC, he is internationally recognised for his research on Taoist internal alchemy, breathing, and Jiangnan Taoist culture.
Contemporary Lineage & Practice Context
In accordance with traditional practice, living lineage holders are generally not displayed on an ancestor wall. In this presentation, we make a conscious exception to acknowledge the formal designation of a new lineage holder for the future, and to recognise the essential roles of life partners and practitioners who contribute to the continuity, preservation, and institutional development of China Arts College, TASC and Taoist-Lifestyle and related traditions, including Jindanfa.
An Woestenborghs
武安
Alchemical name
致柔
1955 - 2019
Late wife
Dan Vercammen
&
Co-founder China Arts College & TASC
Belgian Taoist practitioner, educator, and co-founder of China Arts College (CAC) / Taoist Alchemical Studies Centre (TASC) in 1990.
She began studying Yang Style Taijiquan (Zheng Manqing tradition) around 1980 and pursued Taoist and internal martial arts practice under Shen Hongxun, Fu Qinglong, and through encounters with Li Ziming (Baguazhang).
An Woestenborghs taught at China Arts College and served as the institute’s principal photographer, documenting training, seminars, research activities, and institutional life.
Her work contributed to both the continuity of practice and the preservation of the lineage’s historical memory.
Angela Verkade
傅安吉
Alchemical name
丹融
Born: 1976
Lifepartner of
Dan Vercammen
&
Co-Founder Taoist-Lifestyle.Com
Angela J.H. Verkade (Taoist name: Fu Danrong 傅丹融) is a Taoist Lifestyle Coach and Practitioner specializing in Taoist Medicine, Qigong, and Internal Martial Arts. She is the C0-Founder & Owner of Taoist-Lifestyle.Com and, together with Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen, teaches, organizes, and develops programs for the platform, which evolved in 2025 from China Arts College & TASC. With a background in Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern entrepreneurship, she supports students in cultivating balance, resilience, and awareness through long-term practice.
Gijsbert Ruitenburg
芮德寶
Alchemical name
致德
Gijsbert Ruitenburg (芮德寶 · 致德) is associated with Taoist arts and internal cultivation practices within the China Arts College / TASC context. He obtained the degree of Master of Taoist Arts in 2017 and is active within the Southern Tradition of the Golden Cinnabar.
Formally authorised student of Prof. dr. Dan K.J. Vercammen in Jindan (Golden Cinnabar) tradition, with permission to continue and transmit this Taoist and martial lineage in the Netherlands and Belgium. He represents the living continuity within the contemporary Taoist-Lifestyle context via Jindanfa.com.
Esther Schenk
沈玉雪
Alchemical name
致妙
Esther Schenk is a practitioner of Taoist alchemy and internal cultivation practices, active within the China Arts College / TASC context. She began practicing qigong in 2006, specializes in qigong and martial arts, and has assisted in group teaching since 2014. Her work integrates Taoist practice with preventive healthcare and social engagement.
Formally trained within this Jindan (Golden Cinnabar) tradition and granted permission to continue Taoist lineage practice. She is not presented here as a Taijiquan lineage holder and currently practises within Jindanfa.