About: Transcendental whistling

Chángxiào (Chinese: 長嘯; pinyin: chángxiào) or transcendental whistling was an ancient Daoist technique of long-drawn, resounding whistling that functioned as a qigong or transcendental exercise. A skillful whistler could supposedly summon animals, communicate with supernatural beings, and control weather phenomena. Transcendental whistling is a common theme in Chinese literature, for instance Chenggong Sui's (3rd century) Xiaofu 嘯賦 "Rhapsody on Whistling" and Ge Fei 's (1989) Hūshào 忽哨 "Whistling" short story. The most famous transcendental whistlers lived during the 3rd century, including the last master Sun Deng, and two of the eccentric Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Ruan Ji and Ji Kang, all of whom were also talented zitherists.