Believers in qi describe it as a vital force, with one's good health requiring its flow to be unimpeded. Originally prescientific, today it is a pseudoscientific concept,[4][5][6] i.e. not corresponding to the concept of energy as used in the physical sciences,[7][8][4] with the notion of vital force itself being abandoned by the scientific community.[9]
The cultural keywordqì is analyzable in terms of Chinese andSino-Xenic pronunciations. Possibleetymologies include thelogographs氣,气, and気 with various meanings ranging from "vapor" to "anger", and the Englishloanword qi or ch'i.
The logograph氣 is read with two Chinese pronunciations, the usualqì氣 "air; vital energy" and the rare archaicxì氣 "to present food" (later disambiguated with餼).Hackett Publishing Company,Philip J. Ivanhoe, andBryan W. Van Norden theorize that the word qi possibly came from a term that referred to "the mist that arose from heated sacrificial offerings".[11]
Axel Schuessler's reconstruction of theLater Han Chinese pronunciation of氣 is /kɨs/.[12]
Reconstructions of theOld Chinese pronunciation of氣 standardized to IPA transcription include: */kʰɯds/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang), */C.qʰəp-s/ (William H. Baxter andLaurent Sagart), and */kə(t)s/ (Axel Schuessler[12]).
The etymology ofqì interconnects withKhariakʰis "anger",Sorakissa "move with great effort",Khmerkʰɛs "strive after; endeavor", andGyalrongickʰɐs "anger".[12]
In addition,qì炁 is an uncommon character especially used in writingDaoist talismans. Historically, the wordqì was generally written as气 until theHan dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), when it was replaced by the氣 graph clarified withmǐ米 "rice" indicating "steam (rising from rice as it cooks.)" and depicting the Traditional Chinese view of the transformative, changeable nature of existence and the universe.
The vast majority of Chinese characters are classified asradical-phonetic characters. Such characters combine a semantically suggestive "radical characters" with a phonetic element approximating ancient pronunciation. For example, the widely known worddào道 "theDao; the way" graphically combines the"walk" radical辶 with ashǒu首 "head" phonetic. Although the moderndào andshǒu pronunciations are dissimilar, theOld Chinese*lˤuʔ-s道 and*l̥uʔ-s首 were alike. Theregular script characterqì氣 is unusual becauseqì气 is both the"air radical" and the phonetic, withmǐ米 "rice" semantically indicating "steam; vapor".
Thisqì气 "air/gas radical" was only used in a few native Chinese characters likeyīnyūn氤氲 "thick mist/smoke", but was also used to create new scientificcharacters for gaseous chemical elements. Some examples are based on pronunciations in European languages:fú氟 (with afú弗 phonetic) "fluorine" andnǎi氖 (with anǎi乃 phonetic) "neon". Others are based on semantics:qīng氫 (with ajīng巠 phonetic, abbreviatingqīng輕 "light-weight") "hydrogen (the lightest element)" andlǜ氯 (with alù彔 phonetic, abbreviatinglǜ綠 "green") "(greenish-yellow)chlorine".
Qì氣 is the phonetic element in a few characters such askài愾 "hate" with the"heart-mind radical"忄or心,xì熂 "set fire to weeds" with the"fire radical"火, andxì餼 "to present food" with the"food radical"食.
The first Chinese dictionary of characters, theShuowen Jiezi(121 CE) notes that the primaryqì气 is apictographic character depicting雲气 "cloudy vapors", and that the full氣 combines米 "rice" with the phonetic qi气, meaning饋客芻米 "present provisions to guests" (later disambiguated asxì餼).
Qi is a polysemous word. The unabridged Chinese-Chinese character dictionaryHanyu Da Cidian defines it as "present food or provisions" for thexì pronunciation but also lists 23 meanings for theqì pronunciation.[13] The modernABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary, which entersxì餼 "grain; animal feed; make a present of food", and aqì氣 entry with seven translation equivalents for the noun, two forbound morphemes, and three equivalents for the verb.
n. ① air; gas ② smell ③ spirit; vigor; morale ④ vital/material energy (in Ch[inese] metaphysics) ⑤ tone; atmosphere; attitude ⑥ anger ⑦ breath; respirationb.f. ① weather天氣tiānqì ② [linguistics] aspiration送氣sòngqìv. ① anger ② get angry ③ bully; insult.[14]
Qi was also thought of as meaning "'forces in nature'" thatdeity could control andmagicians andoccultists could harness.[10]
Qi was an earlyChinese loanword in English. It wasromanized ask'i inChurch Romanization in the early-19th century, as ch'i inWade–Giles in the mid-19th century (sometimes misspelledchi omitting the apostrophe), and as qi inPinyin in the mid-20th century. TheOxford English Dictionary entry for qi gives the pronunciation as/tʃi/, the etymology from Chineseqì "air; breath", and a definition of "The physical life-force postulated by certain Chinese philosophers; the material principle." It also gives eight usage examples, with the first recorded example ofk'í in 1850 (The Chinese Repository),[note 2] of ch'i in 1917 (The Encyclopaedia Sinica),[note 3] and qi in 1971 (Felix Mann'sAcupuncture)[note 4]
The word qi is very frequently used inword games—such asScrabble—due to containing a letterQ without a letterU.[15]
References to concepts analogous to qi are found in many Asian belief systems. Philosophical conceptions of qi from the earliest records ofChinese philosophy (5th century BCE) correspond to Western notions ofhumours and to the ancient Hinduyogic concept ofprana. An early form of qi comes from the writings of the Chinese philosopherMencius (4th century BCE).
Within the framework of Chinese thought, no notion may attain such a degree of abstraction from empirical data as to correspond perfectly to one of our modern universal concepts. Nevertheless, the term qi comes as close as possible to constituting a generic designation equivalent to our word "energy". When Chinese thinkers are unwilling or unable to fix the quality of an energetic phenomenon, the character qi (氣) inevitably flows from their brushes.
The ancient Chinese described qi as "life force". They believed it permeated everything and linked their surroundings together. Qi was also linked to the flow of energy around and through the body, forming a cohesive functioning unit. By understanding the rhythm and flow of qi, they believed they could guide exercises and treatments to provide stability and longevity.
Although the concept has been important within many Chinese philosophies, over the centuries the descriptions of qi have varied and have sometimes been in conflict. Until China came into contact with Western scientific and philosophical ideas, the Chinese had not categorized all things in terms of matter and energy.[further explanation needed] Qi andli (理: "pattern") were 'fundamental' categories similar to matter and energy.
"In later Chinese philosophy, qi was thought of as the fundamental 'stuff' out of which everything in the universe condenses and into which it eventually dissipates."[11]
Fairly early on[when?], some Chinese thinkers began to believe that there were different fractions of qi—the coarsest and heaviest fractions formed solids, lighter fractions formed liquids, and the most ethereal fractions were the "lifebreath" that animated living beings.[17]Yuanqi is a notion of innate or prenatal qi which is distinguished from acquired qi that a person may develop over their lifetime.
The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed. In theAnalects ofConfucius, qi could mean "breath".[18] Combining it with the Chinese word for blood (making 血氣,xue–qi, blood and breath), the concept could be used to account for motivational characteristics:
The [morally] noble man guards himself against three things. When he is young, hisxue–qi has not yet stabilized, so he guards himself against sexual passion. When he reaches his prime, hisxue–qi is not easily subdued, so he guards himself against combativeness. When he reaches old age, hisxue–qi is already depleted, so he guards himself against acquisitiveness.
— Confucius, Analects, 16:7
The philosopherMozi used the word qi to refer to noxious vapors that would eventually arise from a corpse were it not buried at a sufficient depth. He reported that early civilized humans learned how to live in houses to protect their qi from the moisture that troubled them when they lived in caves. He also associated maintaining one's qi with providing oneself with adequate nutrition. In regard to another kind of qi, he recorded how some people performed a kind of prognostication by observing qi (clouds) in the sky.[19]
Mencius described a kind of qi that might be characterized as an individual's vital energies. This qi was necessary to activity and it could be controlled by a well-integrated willpower. When properly nurtured, this qi was said to be capable of extending beyond the human body to reach throughout the universe. It could also be augmented by means of careful exercise of one's moral capacities. On the other hand, the qi of an individual could be degraded by adverse external forces that succeed in operating on that individual.[20][page needed]
Living things were not the only things believed to have qi.Zhuangzi indicated that wind is the qi of the Earth. Moreover, cosmicyin and yang "are the greatest of qi". He described qi as "issuing forth" and creating profound effects. He also said "Human beings are born [because of] the accumulation of qi. When it accumulates there is life. When it dissipates there is death... There is one qi that connects and pervades everything in the world."[21]
TheGuanzi essayNeiye (Inward Training) is the oldest received writing on the subject of the cultivation of vapor[qi] andmeditation techniques. The essay was probably composed at the Jixia Academy in Qi in the late fourth century B.C.[22]
Xun Zi, another Confucian scholar of theJixia Academy, followed in later years. At 9:69/127,[citation needed] Xun Zi says, "Fire and water have qi but do not have life. Grasses and trees have life but do not have perceptivity. Fowl and beasts have perceptivity but do not haveyi (sense of right and wrong, duty, justice). Men have qi, life, perceptivity, andyi." Chinese people at such an early time had no concept ofradiant energy, but they were aware that one can be heated by a campfire from a distance away from the fire. They accounted for this phenomenon by claiming "qi" radiated from fire. At 18:62/122,[citation needed] he also uses "qi" to refer to the vital forces of the body that decline with advanced age.
Among the animals, the gibbon and the crane were considered experts at inhaling the qi. The Confucian scholarDong Zhongshu (ca. 150 BC) wrote inLuxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals:[23] "The gibbon resembles a macaque, but he is larger, and his color is black. His forearms being long, he lives eight hundred years, because he is expert in controlling his breathing." ("猿似猴。大而黑。長前臂。所以壽八百。好引氣也。")
Later, thesyncretic text assembled under the direction ofLiu An, theHuai Nan Zi, or "Masters of Huainan", has a passage that presages most of what is given greater detail by theNeo-Confucians:
Heaven (seen here as the ultimate source of all being) falls (duo墮, i.e., descends into proto-immanence) as the formless. Fleeting, fluttering, penetrating, amorphous it is, and so it is called the Supreme Luminary. Thedao begins in the Void Brightening. The Void Brightening produces the universe (yu–zhou). The universe produces qi. Qi has bounds. The clear, yang[qi] was ethereal and so formed heaven. The heavy, turbid[qi] was congealed and impeded and so formed earth. The conjunction of the clear, yang[qi] was fluid and easy. The conjunction of the heavy, turbid[qi] was strained and difficult. So heaven was formed first and earth was made fast later. The pervading essence (xi–jing) of heaven and earth becomes yin and yang. The concentrated (zhuan) essences of yin and yang become the four seasons. The dispersed (san) essences of the four seasons become the myriad creatures. The hot qi of yang in accumulating produces fire. The essence (jing) of the fire-qi becomes the sun. The cold qi of yin in accumulating produces water. The essence of the water-qi becomes the moon. The essences produced by coitus (yin) of the sun and moon become the stars and celestial markpoints (chen, planets).
— Huai-nan-zi, 3:1a/19
Qi is linked to East Asian thought onmagic, and certain body parts were important to magic traditions[10] such as someTaoist sects.
TheHuangdi Neijing("The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine", circa 2nd century BCE) is historically credited with first establishing the pathways, calledmeridians, through which qi allegedly circulates in the human body.[24][page needed][25]
In traditional Chinese medicine, symptoms of various illnesses are believed to be either the product of disrupted, blocked, and unbalanced qi movement through meridians or deficiencies and imbalances of qi in theZang Fu organs.[25] Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of qi using a variety of techniques includingherbology,food therapy, physical training regimens (qigong,tai chi, and other martial arts training),[26][page needed]moxibustion,tui na, oracupuncture.[25]: 78 The cultivation of Heavenly and Earthly qi allow for the maintenance of psychological actions[27]
Thenomenclature of Qi in the human body is different depending on its sources, roles, and locations.[28] For sources there is a difference between so-called "Primordial Qi" (acquired at birth from one's parents) and Qi acquired throughout one's life.[28] Or again Chinese medicine differentiates between Qi acquired from the air we breathe (so called "Clean Air") and Qi acquired from food and drinks (so-called "Grain Qi"). Looking at roles Qi is divided into "Defensive Qi" and "Nutritive Qi".[28] Defensive Qi's role is to defend the body against invasions while Nutritive Qi's role is to provide sustenance for the body. To protect against said invasions, medicines have four types of qi; cold, hot, warm, and cool.[29] Cold qi medicines are used to treat invasions hot in nature, while hot qi medicines are used to treat invasions cold in nature.[29] looking at locations, Qi is also named after theZang-Fu organ or theMeridian in which it resides:[28] "Liver Qi", "Spleen Qi", etc. Lastly, prolonged exposure to the three evil qi (wind, cold, and wetness) can result in the penetration of evil qi through surface body parts, eventually reachingZang-Fu organs.[30]
A qi field (chu-chong) refers to the cultivation of an energy field by a group, typically for healing or other benevolent purposes. A qi field is believed to be produced by visualization and affirmation. They are an important component ofWisdom Healing Qigong (Zhineng Qigong), founded by Grandmaster Ming Pang.[31][32][33][page needed]
The existence of Qi has not been proven scientifically.[5] A 1998 consensus statement on acupuncture by the United StatesNational Institutes of Health noted that concepts such as qi "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information".[34]
The traditional Chinese art ofgeomancy, the placement and arrangement of space calledfeng shui, is based on calculating the balance of qi, interactions between thefive elements,yin and yang, and other factors. The retention or dissipation of qi is believed to affect the health, wealth, energy level, luck, and many other aspects of the occupants. Attributes of each item in a space affect the flow of qi by slowing it down, redirecting it or accelerating it. This is said to influence the energy level of the occupants. Positive qi flows in curved lines, whereas negative qi travels in straight lines.[35] In order for qi to be nourishing and positive, it must continue to flow not too quickly or too slowly.[35] In addition, qi should not be blocked abruptly, because it would become stagnant and turn destructive.[35]
One use for aluopan is to detect the flow of qi.[36] The quality of qi may rise and fall over time. Feng shui with a compass might be considered a form ofdivination that assesses the quality of the local environment.
There are three kinds of qi, known as heaven qi (tian qi天气), Earth qi (di qi地气), and human qi (ren qi人气).[35] Heaven qi is composed of natural forces including the sun and rain. Earth qi is affected by heaven qi. For example, too much sun would lead to drought, and a lack of sun would cause plants to die off. Human qi is affected by earth qi, because the environment has effects on human beings. Feng shui is the balancing of heaven, Earth, and human qi.
Reiki is a form ofalternative medicine calledenergy healing. Reiki practitioners use a technique calledpalm healing orhands-on healing through which a "universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing. Reiki is apseudoscience,[37] and is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universallife force, although there is noempirical evidence that such a life force exists.[5][38] Clinical research has not shown reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition.[5] There has been no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to theplacebo effect. An overview of reiki investigations found that studies reporting positive effects had methodological flaws. TheAmerican Cancer Society stated that reiki should not replace conventional cancer treatment,[39] a sentiment echoed byCancer Research UK[40] and theNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.[41] Developed in Japan in 1922 byMikao Usui,[37] it has been adapted into varying cultural traditions across the world.
According to its believers, Reiki healing occurs by laying hands over or on an individual's area of pain and controlling the universal Qi flow of the nearby space, sending into the area of malaise and purifying it.[42] There is no regulation of the practicing of Reiki in the United States and generally no central world organization that has authority over it.[43][44]
Qìgōng (气功 or 氣功) involves coordinated breathing, movement, and awareness. It is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi. With roots in traditional Chinese medicine, philosophy and martial arts,qigong is now practiced worldwide for exercise, healing, meditation, and training for martial arts. Typically aqigong practice involves rhythmic breathing, slow and stylized movement, practicingmindfulness, and visualization of guiding qi.[45][page needed][46][47][page needed]
Demonstrations of qi orki are popular in somemartial arts and may include the unraisable body, the unbendable arm, and other feats of power. These feats can be explained usingbiomechanics and physics.[50]
Acupuncture is a part of traditional Chinese medicine that involves insertion of needles or the application of pinching/gripping into/onto superficial structures of the body (skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscles) atacupuncture points to balance the flow of qi. This is often accompanied bymoxibustion, a treatment that involves burningmugwort on or near the skin at an acupuncture point.
^QuotingConfucius that theTaiji or "Great Extreme is the primordial substance (k'í) which, moving along, divided and made twok'í; that which in itself has motion is theYang, and that which had rest .‥ is theYin."
^The essence of the ethical principleLi "is absolutely pure and good, but seeing that it is inseparable from the material element Ch'i.‥ it is from Man's birth to a greater or less extent impeded and tainted."
^"To the ancients the cornerstone of the theory of acupuncture, the concept whereby they explained its effects and action, was Qi, the energy of life."
^Stenger, Victor J. (June 1998)."Reality Check: the energy fields of life".Skeptical Briefs. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived fromthe original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved25 December 2007. "Despite complete scientific rejection, the concept of a special biological fields within living things remains deeply engraved in human thinking. It is now working its way into modern health care systems, as non-scientific alternative therapies become increasingly popular. From acupuncture to homeopathy and therapeutic touch, the claim is made that healing can be brought about by the proper adjustment of a person's or animal's 'bioenergetic fields.'"
^abcSalamone, Frank A. (2004). Levinson, David (ed.).Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals. New York:Routledge. p. 225.ISBN0-415-94180-6.
^Definitions and brief historical notes on such concepts can be found in Wei Zhengtong's "Zhong Guo Zhexue Cidian", Da Lin Publishing Company, Taipei, 1977.
^Legge, James (2010).The Analects of Confucius. Auckland: Floating Press.ISBN978-1775417958.
^Watson, Burton (2003).Mozi: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0231130011.
^Lau, D. C. (2003).Mencius (Revised ed.). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.ISBN978-9622018518.
^Watson, Burton (2013).The Complete Works of Zhuangzi. New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0231536509.
^Veith, Ilza (1949).Huang ti nei ching su wên = The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine (reissued, with a New Preface by Ken Rose; Berkeley, University of California Press, 2002 ed.). Baltimore: Williams and Williams.ISBN978-0520229365.
^abcLawson-Wood, Denis; Lawson-Wood, Joyce (1983).Acupuncture Handbook. Health Science Press. pp. 4, 133.[ISBN missing]
^abYang, Shou-zhong (1998).The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica: A Translation of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. pg. xii
^Hong-zhou Wu, et al.World Century Compendium To TCM - Volume 1: Fundamentals Of Traditional Chinese Medicine. World Century Publishing Corporation, 2013. pg. 22
^Gu, Mingtong (2011).Wisdom Healing (Zhineng) Qigong: Cultivating Wisdom and Energy for Health, Healing and Happiness. Petaluma, California: Chi Center. pp. 61–80.ISBN978-0983504306.
^Gu, Mingtong (2009).An Introduction to Wisdom Healing Qigong. Petaluma, California: Chi Center. pp. 30,46–47.[ISBN missing]
^Hin, Ooi Kean (2010).Zhineng Qigong: The Science, Theory and Practice. North Charleston, South Carolina: CreateSpace.ISBN9781453867600.
^abcdHenwood, Belinda. (1998).Feng shui : how to create harmony and balance in your living and working environment = Fêng shui. Vancouver: Raincoast Books.ISBN1-55192-132-4.OCLC37985099.
^Lilienfeld, Scott O.; Lynn, Steven Jay; Lohr, Jeffrey M. (2014).Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology.Guilford Press. p. 201.ISBN9781462517893.
^Nina L. Paul (2011), "Reiki classes and certification",Reiki for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons,ISBN9781118054741
^Cohen, Kenneth S.; Dossey, Larry (1999).The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healin (1st ed.). New York: Ballantine Books.ISBN978-0345421098.
^Liang, Master Shou-Yu; Wu, Wen-Ching; Breiter-Wu, Denise (1997).Qigong Empowerment: A Guide to Medical, Taoist, Buddhist, and Wushu Energy Cultivation. East Providence, Rhode Island: Way of the Dragon Publishing.ISBN978-1889659022.
Barrett, Timothy (1991). "Daoism". In Hook, Brian; Twitchett, Denis (eds.).The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (2d ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 296–300.ISBN052135594X.
Cheng, Chung-ying (2003). "Qi (Ch'i): Vital Force". In Cua, Antonio S. (ed.).Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. New York: Routledge. pp. 615–617.ISBN978-1-1353-6748-0.
Lloyd, Geoffrey E. R.; Sivin, Nathan (2002).The Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece. New Haven: Yale University Press.ISBN0-300-09297-0.
Perkins, Dorothy (2013).Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture. New York: Routledge.ISBN978-1-57958-110-7.
Wang, Yueqing; Bao, Qinggang; Guan, Guoxing (2020). "Vital Energy (Qi, 气)".History of Chinese Philosophy Through Its Key Terms. Translated by Xiang, Shuchen. Singapore: Springer/Nanjing University Press. pp. 177–190.doi:10.1007/978-981-15-2572-8_14.ISBN978-981-15-2571-1.S2CID216180284.
