In traditional
Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
and the
East Asian cultural sphere
The East Asian cultural sphere, also known as the Sinosphere, the Sinic world, the Sinitic world, the Chinese cultural sphere, the Chinese character sphere encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically ...
, ''qi'', also ''ki'' or ''chi'' in
Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...
romanization ( ), is believed to be a
vital force
Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...
forming part of any living entity. Literally meaning "vapor", "air", or "breath", the word ''qi'' is often translated as "vital energy", "vital force", "material energy", or simply as "energy". ''Qi'' is the central underlying principle in Chinese
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
and in
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
. The practice of cultivating and balancing ''qi'' is called ''
qigong
''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation
used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
''.
Believers in ''qi'' describe it as a vital force, the flow of which must be unimpeded for health. ''Qi'' is a
pseudoscientific, unverified concept,
and is unrelated to the concept of
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...
used in science
[ "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.] (
vital energy
Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...
itself being an abandoned scientific notion).
The historian of medicine in China
Paul U. Unschuld adds that there "is no evidence of a concept of 'energy' – either in the strictly physical sense or even in the more colloquial sense – anywhere in Chinese medical theory."
Linguistic aspects
The cultural keyword ''qì'' is analyzable in terms of
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Sino-Xenic pronunciations
Sino-Xenic or Sinoxenic pronunciations are regular systems for reading Chinese characters in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, originating in medieval times and the source of large-scale borrowings of Chinese words into the Japanese, Korean and Vietnames ...
. Possible
etymologies include the
logograph
In a written language, a logogram, logograph, or lexigraph is a written character that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese characters (pronounced '' hanzi'' in Mandarin, ''kanji'' in Japanese, ''hanja'' in Korean) are generally logograms, ...
s , , and with various
meanings ranging from "vapor" to "anger", and the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...
''qi'' or ''ch'i''.
Pronunciation and etymology
The logograph is read with two Chinese pronunciations, the usual ''qì'' "air; vital energy" and the rare archaic ''xì'' "to present food" (later disambiguated with ).
Pronunciations of in modern
varieties of Chinese
Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast of ma ...
with standardized
IPA
IPA commonly refers to:
* India pale ale, a style of beer
* International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation
* Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound
IPA may also refer to:
Organizations International
* Insolvency Practitioners ...
equivalents include:
Standard Chinese ''qì'' ,
Wu Chinese
The Wu languages (; Wu romanization and IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] ( Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Provin ...
''qi'' ,
Southern Min ''khì'' ,
Eastern Min
Eastern Min or Min Dong (, Foochow Romanized: Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄), is a branch of the Min group of Sinitic languages of China. The prestige form and most-cited representative form is the Fuzhou dialect, the speech of the capital of Fujian.
G ...
''ké'' ,
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
''hei
3'' , and
Hakka Chinese
Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities aroun ...
''hi'' .
Pronunciations of in Sino-Xenic borrowings include:
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
''ki'',
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
''gi'', and
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
''khí.''
Reconstructions of the
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
pronunciation of standardized to IPA transcription include: /kʰe̯i
H/ (
Bernard Karlgren
Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conduct ...
), /kʰĭəi
H/ (
Wang Li), /kʰiəi
H/ (
Li Rong), /kʰɨj
H/ (
Edwin Pulleyblank
Edwin George "Ted" Pulleyblank (August 7, 1922 – April 13, 2013) was a Canadian sinologist and professor at the University of British Columbia. He was known for his studies of the historical phonology of Chinese.
Life and career
Edwin G. ...
), and /kʰɨi
H/ (
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Zhengzhang Shangfang (; ; 9 August 1933 – 19 May 2018) was a Chinese linguist, known for his reconstruction of Old Chinese.
Zhengzhang was born as Zheng Xiangfang ( ; ) in Yongjia County, on the outskirts of Wenzhou. As and have the same ...
).
Reconstructions of the
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...
pronunciation of standardized to IPA transcription include: /*kʰɯds/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang) and /*C.qʰəp-s/ (
William H. Baxter
William Hubbard Baxter III (born March 3, 1949) is an American linguistics, linguist specializing in the history of the Chinese language and best known for Baxter's transcription for Middle Chinese, his work on the reconstruction on Old Chinese.
...
and
Laurent Sagart
Laurent Sagart (; born 1951) is a senior researcher at the Centre de recherches linguistiques sur l'Asie orientale (CRLAO – UMR 8563) unit of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
Biography
Born in Paris in 1951, he earned hi ...
).
The etymology of ''qì'' interconnects with
Kharia ''kʰis'' "anger",
Sora ''kissa'' "move with great effort",
Khmer ''kʰɛs'' "strive after; endeavor", and
Gyalrongic ''kʰɐs'' "anger".
Characters
In the
East Asian languages
The East Asian languages are a language family (alternatively ''macrofamily'' or ''superphylum'') proposed by Stanley Starosta in 2001. The proposal has since been adopted by George van Driem.
Classifications Early proposals
Early proposals of s ...
, ''qì'' has three logographs:
* is the
traditional Chinese character
Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the clerical change and mostly remained in the same structure they took at ...
, Korean ''
hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...
'', and Japanese ''
kyūjitai
''Kyūjitai'' ( ja, 舊字體 / 旧字体, lit=old character forms) are the traditional forms of kanji, Chinese written characters used in Japanese. Their simplified counterparts are ''shinjitai'' ( ja, 新字体, lit=new character forms, lab ...
'' ("old character form") ''
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
''
* is the Japanese ''
shinjitai
are the simplified forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in ''shinjitai'' are also found in Simplified Chinese characters, but ''shinjitai'' is generally not as extensiv ...
'' ("new character form") ''kanji''
* is the
simplified Chinese character
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters used in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore, as prescribed by the '' Table of General Standard Chinese Characters''. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one ...
.
In addition, ''qì'' is an uncommon character especially used in writing
Daoist talismans. Historically, the word ''qì'' was generally written as until the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(206 BCE–220 CE), when it was replaced by the graph clarified with ''mǐ'' "rice" indicating "steam (rising from rice as it cooks.)"
This primary logograph , the earliest written character for ''qì,'' consisted of three wavy horizontal lines seen in
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
(c. 1600–1046 BCE)
oracle bone script
Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...
,
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...
(1046–256 BCE)
bronzeware script
Chinese bronze inscriptions, also commonly referred to as bronze script or bronzeware script, are writing in a variety of Chinese scripts on ritual bronzes such as ''zhōng'' bells and '' dǐng'' tripodal cauldrons from the Shang dynasty (2nd mi ...
and
large seal script
The large seal script or great seal script () is a traditional reference to Chinese writing from before the Qin dynasty (i.e. before 221 BCE), and is now popularly understood to refer narrowly to the writing of the Western and early Eastern Zhou ...
, and
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
(221–206 BCE)
small seal script. These oracle, bronze, and seal scripts logographs were used in ancient times as a
phonetic loan character
All Chinese characters are logograms, but several different types can be identified, based on the manner in which they are formed or derived. There are a handful which derive from pictographs () and a number which are ideographic () in origin, inc ...
to write ''qǐ'' "plead for; beg; ask" which did not have an early character.
The vast majority of Chinese characters are classified as
radical-phonetic characters. Such characters combine a semantically suggestive "
radical characters" with a phonetic element approximating ancient pronunciation. For example, the widely known word ''dào'' "the
Dao
Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to:
* Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept
* Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword
* Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people
People and language
* Yao people, a minority ethni ...
; the way" graphically combines the
"walk" radical with a ''shǒu'' "head" phonetic. Although the modern ''dào'' and ''shǒu'' pronunciations are dissimilar, the
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...
''*lˤuʔ-s'' and ''*l̥uʔ-s'' were alike. The
regular script
Regular script (; Hepburn: ''kaisho''), also called (), (''zhēnshū''), (''kǎitǐ'') and (''zhèngshū''), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the Cao Wei dynasty c. 200 AD and maturing stylistically around the ...
character ''qì'' is unusual because ''qì'' is both the
"air radical" and the phonetic, with ''mǐ'' "rice" semantically indicating "steam; vapor".
This ''qì'' "air/gas radical" was only used in a few native Chinese characters like ''yīnyūn'' "thick mist/smoke", but was also used to create new scientific
characters for gaseous chemical elements. Some examples are based on pronunciations in European languages: ''fú'' (with a ''fú'' phonetic) "
fluorine" and ''nǎi'' (with a ''nǎi'' phonetic) "
neon". Others are based on semantics: ''qīng'' (with a ''jīng'' phonetic, abbreviating ''qīng'' "light-weight") "
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
(the lightest element)" and ''lǜ'' (with a ''lù'' phonetic, abbreviating ''lǜ'' "green") "(greenish-yellow)
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine i ...
".
''Qì'' is the phonetic element in a few characters such as ''kài'' "hate" with the
"heart-mind radical" or , ''xì'' "set fire to weeds" with the
"fire radical" , and ''xì'' "to present food" with the
"food radical" .
The first Chinese dictionary of characters, the ''
Shuowen Jiezi
''Shuowen Jiezi'' () is an ancient Chinese dictionary from the Han dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary (the ''Erya'' predates it), it was the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give t ...
''(121 CE) notes that the primary ''qì'' is a
pictographic character depicting "cloudy vapors", and that the full combines "rice" with the phonetic ''qi'' , meaning "present provisions to guests" (later disambiguated as ''xì'' ).
File:气-oracle.svg, Oracle bone script
Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...
for ''qì''
File:气-bronze.svg, Bronzeware script
Chinese bronze inscriptions, also commonly referred to as bronze script or bronzeware script, are writing in a variety of Chinese scripts on ritual bronzes such as ''zhōng'' bells and '' dǐng'' tripodal cauldrons from the Shang dynasty (2nd mi ...
for ''qì''
File:气-bigseal.svg, Large seal script
The large seal script or great seal script () is a traditional reference to Chinese writing from before the Qin dynasty (i.e. before 221 BCE), and is now popularly understood to refer narrowly to the writing of the Western and early Eastern Zhou ...
for ''qì''
File:气-seal.svg, Small seal script for ''qì'', simplified Chinese character is based on it.
File:ki obsolete.svg, Traditional Chinese
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...
character ''qì'', also used in Korean hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...
. In Japanese kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
, it was used until 1946 when it was simplified to .
Meanings
Qi is a
polysemous
Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from ''monosemy'', where a word has a single ...
word. The unabridged Chinese-Chinese character dictionary ''
Hanyu Da Cidian
The ''Hanyu Da Cidian'' () is the most inclusive available Chinese dictionary. Lexicographically comparable to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', it has diachronic coverage of the Chinese language, and traces usage over three millennia from Ch ...
'' defines it as "present food or provisions" for the ''xì'' pronunciation but also lists 23 meanings for the ''qì'' pronunciation. The modern ''ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary,'' which enters ''xì'' "grain; animal feed; make a present of food", and a ''qì'' entry with seven translation equivalents for the noun, two for
bound morphemes
In linguistics, a bound morpheme is a morpheme (the elementary unit of morphosyntax) that can appear only as part of a larger expression; a free morpheme (or unbound morpheme) is one that can stand alone. A bound morpheme is a type of bound form, ...
, and three equivalents for the verb.
n. ① air; gas ② smell ③ spirit; vigor; morale ④ vital/material energy (in Chnese Nese may refer to:
* Nese, Italy, a village in northern Italy
* Nese, Norway, a village in south-western Norway
* Nese language, an Oceanic language or dialect spoken in Vanuatu
* Tony Nese, American professional wrestler See also
* Neşe, ...
metaphysics) ⑤ tone; atmosphere; attitude ⑥ anger ⑦ breath; respiration b.f. ① weather ''tiānqì'' ② inguisticsaspiration ''sòngqì'' v. ① anger ② get angry ③ bully; insult.
English borrowing
Qi was an early
Chinese loanword in English. It was
romanized as ''k'i'' in
Church Romanization in the early-19th century, as ''ch'i'' in
Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...
in the mid-19th century (sometimes misspelled ''chi'' omitting the apostrophe), and as ''qi'' in
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...
in the mid-20th century. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' entry for ''qi'' gives the pronunciation as , the etymology from Chinese ''qì'' "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 of ''k'í'' in 1850 (''
The Chinese Repository
''The Chinese Repository'' was a periodical published in Canton between May 1832 and 1851 to inform Protestant missionaries working in Asia about the history and culture of China, of current events, and documents. The world's first major journal of ...
''),
[Quoting ]Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
that the ''Taiji
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...
'' or "Great Extreme is the primordial substance (''k'í'') which, moving along, divided and made two ''k'í''; that which in itself has motion is the ''Yang'', and that which had rest .‥ is the ''Yin''." of ''ch'i'' in 1917 (''
The Encyclopaedia Sinica''),
[The essence of the ethical principle '' Li'' "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."] and ''qi'' in 1971 (
Felix Mann
Felix Mann (10 April 1931 – 2 October 2014) was a German-born acupuncturist. He devised the system known as Scientific Acupuncture and was the founder and past-president of the Medical Acupuncture Society (1959–1980). He was also the first ...
's ''Acupuncture'')
["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."]
The word ''qi'' is very frequently used in
word game
Word games (also called word game puzzles or word search games) are spoken, board, or video games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.
Word games are generally used as a source of entertainment, but can ad ...
s—such as ''
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...
''—due to containing a letter
Q without a letter
U.
Concept
References to concepts analogous to qi are found in many Asian belief systems. Philosophical conceptions of qi from the earliest records of
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the " Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural develop ...
(5th century BCE) correspond to Western notions of
humours
Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers.
Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 1850s ...
and to the ancient Hindu
yogic
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
concept of ''
prana.'' An early form of qi comes from the writings of the Chinese philosopher
Mencius (4th century BCE).
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. Qi and ''li'' (: "pattern") were 'fundamental' categories similar to matter and energy.
Fairly early on, 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. ''
Yuanqi
In traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese culture, ''yuán qì'' (元氣) is an innate or prenatal qi. This inborn qi is differentiated from acquired qi that a person may develop over their lifetime.
Porkert describes the concept as "the metaph ...
'' is a notion of innate or prenatal qi which is distinguished from acquired qi that a person may develop over their lifetime.
Philosophical roots
The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed. In the
Analects of
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
, qi could mean "breath".
Combining it with the Chinese word for
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...
(making 血氣, ''xue''–''qi'', blood and breath), the concept could be used to account for motivational characteristics:
The philosopher
Mozi 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.
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
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of 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.
Living things were not the only things believed to have qi.
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to:
* ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism
**Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
indicated that
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...
is the ''qi'' of the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. Moreover, cosmic
yin and yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...
"are the greatest of qi. He described qi as "issuing forth" and creating profound effects. He also said "Human beings are born
ecause ofthe 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."
The
Guanzi essay ''
Neiye
The c. 350 BCE ''Neiye'' 內業 or ''Inward Training'' is the oldest Chinese received text describing Daoist breath meditation techniques and '' qi'' circulation. After the '' Guanzi'', a political and philosophical compendium, included the '' ...
'' (Inward Training) is the oldest received writing on the subject of the cultivation of vapor ''
i' and
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
techniques. The essay was probably composed at the Jixia Academy in Qi in the late fourth century B.C.
Xun Zi
Xun Kuang (; BCE), better known as Xunzi (; ), was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism who lived during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosop ...
, another Confucian scholar of the
Jixia Academy, followed in later years. At 9:69/127, 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 have ''yi'' (sense of right and wrong, duty, justice). Men have ''qi'', life, perceptivity, and ''yi''." Chinese people at such an early time had no concept of
radiant energy
Radiant may refer to:
Computers, software, and video games
* Radiant (software), a content management system
* GtkRadiant, a level editor created by id Software for their games
* Radiant AI, a technology developed by Bethesda Softworks for '' ...
, but they were aware that one can be heated by a
campfire
A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
from a distance away from the fire. They accounted for this phenomenon by claiming "''qi''" radiated from fire. At 18:62/122, 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 scholar
Dong Zhongshu (ca. 150 BC) wrote in
Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals: "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." ("")
Later, the
syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
text assembled under the direction of
Liu An
Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) ''Huainanzi'' compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, an ...
, the
Huai Nan Zi, or "Masters of Huainan", has a passage that presages most of what is given greater detail by the
Neo-Confucians:
Role in traditional Chinese medicine
The ''
Huangdi Neijing
''Huangdi Neijing'' (), literally the ''Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor'' or ''Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor'', is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chines ...
'' ''(''"The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine", circa 2nd century BCE) is historically credited with first establishing the pathways, called
meridians, through which qi allegedly circulates in the human body.
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 the
''Zang Fu'' organs.
Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of ''qi'' using a variety of techniques including
herbology
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
,
food therapy, physical training regimens (
qigong
''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation
used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
,
t'ai chi ch'uan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
, and other
martial arts training),
moxibustion
Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...
, ''
tui na
''Tui na'' (; ) is form of alternative medicine similar to shiatsu. As a branch of traditional Chinese medicine, it is often used in conjunction with acupuncture, moxibustion, fire cupping, Chinese herbalism, tai chi or other Chinese intern ...
'', or
acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
.
The cultivation of Heavenly and Earthly qi allow for the maintenance of psychological actions
The
nomenclature
Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal conventions of everyday speech to the internationally ag ...
of Qi in the human body is different depending on its sources, roles, and locations.
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.
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".
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.
[Yang, Shou-zhong (1998). ''The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica: A Translation of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing''. pg. xii] Cold qi medicines are used to treat invasions hot in nature, while hot qi medicines are used to treat invasions cold in nature.
looking at locations, Qi is also named after the
Zang-Fu organ or the
Meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
in which it resides:
"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 reaching
Zang-Fu organs.
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 of
Wisdom Healing Qigong (''Zhineng Qigong''), founded by Grandmaster Ming Pang.
Scientific view
The existence of Qi has not been proven scientifically.
A 1997 consensus statement on acupuncture by the United States
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
noted that concepts such as qi "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information".
Practices involving qi
Feng shui
The traditional Chinese art of
geomancy
Geomancy ( Greek: γεωμαντεία, "earth divination") is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. The most prevalent form of divinatory geomancy in ...
, the placement and arrangement of space called
feng shui, is based on calculating the balance of qi, interactions between the
five elements,
yin and yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...
, 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.
In order for qi to be nourishing and positive, it must continue to flow not too quickly or too slowly.
In addition, qi should not be blocked abruptly, because it would become stagnant and turn destructive.
One use for a ''
luopan
The luopan or geomantic compass is a Chinese magnetic compass, also known as a Feng Shui compass. It is used by a Feng Shui practitioner to determine the precise direction of a structure, place or item. Luo Pan contains many informations and form ...
'' is to detect the flow of qi. The quality of qi may rise and fall over time. Feng shui with a compass might be considered a form of
divination 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).
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
Reiki
is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...
is a form of
alternative medicine called
energy healing. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-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 a
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...
,
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 universal
life force, although there is no
empirical evidence
Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences ...
that such a life force exists.
[Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation « ]Science-Based Medicine
''Science-Based Medicine'' is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society and run by Steven N ...
Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation
« Science-Based Medicine
''Science-Based Medicine'' is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society and run by Steven N ...
, accessdate: 28 May 2016 Clinical research has not shown reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition.
There has been no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to the
placebo effect
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
. An overview of reiki investigations found that studies reporting positive effects had methodological flaws. The
American Cancer Society stated that reiki should not replace conventional cancer treatment,
a sentiment echoed by
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
and the
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is a United States government agency which explores complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It was initially created in 1991 as the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), ...
.
Developed in Japan in 1922 by
Mikao Usui
Mikao Usui (臼井甕男, 15 August 1865 – 9 March 1926, commonly ''Usui Mikao'' in Japanese) was the father of a form of spiritual practice known as Reiki, used as an alternative therapy for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental d ...
,
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.
There is no regulation of the practicing of Reiki in the United States and generally no central world organization that has authority over it.
Qigong
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
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
,
philosophy and
martial arts, ''qigong'' is now practiced worldwide for exercise, healing, meditation, and training for martial arts. Typically a ''qigong'' practice involves rhythmic breathing, slow and stylized movement, a
mindful state, and visualization of guiding qi.
Martial arts
Qi is a
didactic concept in many
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
,
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
and
Japanese martial arts. Martial
qigong
''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation
used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
is a feature of both
internal
Internal may refer to:
*Internality as a concept in behavioural economics
*Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts
*Neigong or "internal skills", a type of exercise in meditation associated with Daoism
*''Internal (album)'' by Safia, 2016
...
and
external
External may refer to:
* External (mathematics), a concept in abstract algebra
* Externality
In economics, an externality or external cost is an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party' ...
training systems in
China and other
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
n cultures. The most notable of the qi-focused "internal"
force (jin) martial arts are
Baguazhang
Baguazhang or Pakua chang () is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being T'ai chi and Xing Yi Quan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or neijia quan). ''Bāguà zhǎng'' literally ...
,
Xing Yi Quan
Xing Yi Quan is classified as one of the internal styles of Chinese martial arts. The name of the art translates approximately to "Form-Intention Fist", or "Shape-Will Fist".
Xing Yi is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements ...
,
T'ai Chi Ch'uan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
,
Southern Praying Mantis
Southern Praying Mantis () is a Chinese martial art originating with the Hakka people. It is most closely associated with Hakka-origin styles such as Southern Dragon Kung Fu and Bak Mei.
Despite its name, the Southern Mantis style is unrelate ...
,
Snake Kung Fu
There are several Chinese martial arts known as Snake Boxing or Fanged Snake Style () which imitate the movements of snakes. It is a style of Shaolin Boxing. Proponents claim that adopting the fluidity of snakes allows them to entwine with th ...
,
Southern Dragon Kung Fu
The movements of the Southern Dragon style (traditional name Lung Ying) () of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythic ...
,
Aikido
Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...
,
Kendo,
Hapkido
Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other s ...
,
Aikijujutsu,
Luohan Quan
Luohan quan (), which means "Arhat fist", is a general name for all the styles of Chinese martial arts that are named after the Arhats, the holy Buddhist figures. Luohan style is the oldest and the representative style of Shaolin Kung Fu. The orig ...
, and
Liu He Ba Fa
Liuhebafaquan (六合八法拳; Pinyin: liùhébāfǎquán, literally ''Six Harmonies Eight Methods Boxing'') is an internal Chinese martial art. It has been called "Xinyi Liuhebafa" 心意六合八法拳 and is also referred to as "water boxing ...
.
Demonstrations of ''qi'' or ''ki'' are popular in some
martial arts and may include the unraisable body, the unbendable arm, and other feats of power. These feats can be explained using
biomechanics
Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...
and physics.
Acupuncture and moxibustion
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
is a part of
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
that involves insertion of needles or the application of pinching/gripping into/onto superficial structures of the body (skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscles) at
acupuncture point
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
s to balance the flow of qi. This is often accompanied by
moxibustion
Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...
, a treatment that involves burning
mugwort
Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus '' Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species ''Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species ''Artemisia argyi'' is ...
on or near the skin at an acupuncture point.
Taoist sexual practices
See also
*
Aether (classical element)
According to ancient and medieval science, aether (, alternative spellings include ''æther'', ''aither'', and ''ether''), also known as the fifth element or quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe beyond the terrest ...
*
Aṣẹ (Yoruba)
*
Aura (paranormal)
According to spiritual beliefs, an aura or energy field is a colored emanation said to enclose a human body or any animal or object. In some esoteric positions, the aura is described as a subtle body. Psychics and holistic medicine practitioner ...
*
Chakra
*
Dantian
Dantian, dan t'ian, dan tien or tan t'ien is loosely translated as "elixir field", "sea of qi", or simply "energy center". Dantian are the "qi focus flow centers", important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques such as qigong, m ...
*
Esoteric healing
Esoteric healing refers to numerous types of alternative medicine which aim to heal disease and disability, using esoteric means, either through faith and human will, or by using pseudoscientific processes. It was first published in the 1950s and ...
*
Geist
*
Livity (spiritual concept)
Livity is the Rastafari concept of righteous, everliving living. Its essence is the realization that an energy, or life force, conferred by Jah (God), exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. This is seen as the pres ...
*
Mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...
*
Orgone
Orgone () is a pseudoscientific concept variously described as an esoteric energy or hypothetical universal life force. Originally proposed in the 1930s by Wilhelm Reich, and developed by Reich's student Charles Kelley after Reich's death in 1 ...
*
Prana
*
Reiki
is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...
*
Pneuma
''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breath", and in a religious context for " spirit" or "soul". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in regard to physiology, and is ...
*
Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
*
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refe ...
Notes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
Article by Bing YeYoung "A Philosophical and Cultural Interpretation of Qi"''Qi Encyclopedia''
{{Authority control
Aikido
Chinese martial arts terminology
Concepts in Chinese folk religion
Concepts in Chinese philosophy
Consciousness–matter dualism
Energy (esotericism)
Neo-Confucianism
Pseudoscience
Qigong
Reiki
Taoist cosmology
Vitalism