Qigong has a history of more than 4,000 years. It has acquired its role as the core practice in the three major fields: Chinese medicine, martial arts and meditation. Fu Yi, a scholar of nearly 2000 years ago described Qigong as “an art that pleases the spirit, slows the aging process and prolongs life”.

Here is a link to an article written by Dr Yang, Jwing-ming on:
A Brief History of Qigong.pdf