These drawings of Chinese Taoist yogis,  rendered by the Jesuit missionary, Cibot in the eighteenth century and published in the French Journal Les Memories sur les Chinois in 1779, represent the first exposure of West to Taoist yoga nei tan "Inner Alchemy," the search for health and longevity and the ancient Chinese arts of physical movement. Les Memories introduces important links to the west between mental state and physical discipline, of the importance of chi (qi) internal energy health and posture, as well as theory contributing to the underlying thesis of Tai Chi Chuan (taiqiquan) and chi kung (qi gong/ qigong)

More links to the philosophy and beliefs of the Taoist yogis can be viewed from the following links:

Taoist nei tan search for immortality and how it relates to development of internal martial arts (from John Bracy's book, Ba Gua: Hidden Knowledge . .

Chi Kung and posture training of the Hsing Chen arts and the Chi Arts Association