Qi

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Qi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text
Simplified Chinese气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinqì
BopomofoㄑㄧˋCategory:Articles containing Chinese-language text
Gwoyeu Romatzyhchih
Wade–Gilesch'i4
Tongyong Pinyincì
IPA[tɕʰî]
Wu
Romanization5chi
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳhi
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationhei
Jyutpinghei3
IPA[hej˧]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJkhì
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUCké
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinesekhj+jH
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*C.qʰəp-sCategory:Pages with plain IPA
Burmese name
Burmeseအသက်Category:Articles containing Burmese-language text
IPA/ă.t̪ɛʔ/
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetkhíCategory:Articles containing Vietnamese-language text
Hán-Nôm氣Category:Articles containing Vietnamese-language text
Thai name
ThaiลมปราณCategory:Articles containing Thai-language text
RTGSlompran
Korean name
Hangul기Category:Articles containing Korean-language text
Hanja氣Category:Articles containing Korean-language text
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationgi
McCune–Reischauerki
Mongolian name
Mongolian CyrillicхийCategory:Articles containing Mongolian-language text
Mongolian scriptᠬᠡᠢCategory:Articles containing Mongolian-language text
Transcriptions
SASM/GNCkhii
Japanese name
Kanji気Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text
Transcriptions
Romanizationki
Malay name
Malaychi (چي)Category:Articles containing Malay (macrolanguage)-language text
Indonesian name
IndonesianchiCategory:Articles containing Indonesian-language text
Filipino name
TagaloggiCategory:Articles containing Tagalog-language text
Lao name
LaoຊີວິດCategory:Articles containing Lao-language text
Khmer name
KhmerឈីCategory:Articles containing Khmer-language text
Tetum name
TetumqiCategory:Articles containing Tetum-language text

In the Sinosphere and Chinese philosophy, qi (/ˈtʃiː/ CHEE; simplified Chinese: Category:Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text气; traditional Chinese: Category:Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text氣; pinyin: qì)[note 1] is a vital force traditionally believed to be a part of all living entities. Literally meaning 'vapor', 'air', 'gas', or 'breath',[2] the word qi is polysemous, often translated as 'vital energy', 'vital force', 'material energy', or simply 'energy'.[3] Qi is also a concept in traditional Chinese medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The attempt to cultivate and balance qi is called qigong.

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][9]

Chinese gods and immortals, especially anthropomorphic gods, are sometimes thought to have qi and be a reflection of the microcosm of qi in humans, both having qi that can concentrate in certain body parts.[10]

Linguistic aspects

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The cultural keyword qì is analyzable in terms of Chinese and Sino-Xenic pronunciations. It is represented by the logographs 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, and 気Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text with various meanings ranging from "vapor" to "anger", and is the source of the English loanword qi or ch'i.

Pronunciation and etymology

The logograph 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text is read with two Chinese pronunciations: the usual qì 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "air; vital energy" and the rare archaic xì 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "to present food" (later disambiguated with 餼Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text). Hackett Publishing Company, Philip J. Ivanhoe, and Bryan 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]

Pronunciations of 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text in modern varieties of Chinese with standardized IPA equivalents include: Standard Chinese qì /t͡ɕʰi˥˩/Category:Pages with plain IPA, Wu Chinese qi /t͡ɕʰi˧˦/Category:Pages with plain IPA, Southern Min khì /kʰi˨˩/Category:Pages with plain IPA, Eastern Min ké /kʰɛi˨˩˧/Category:Pages with plain IPA, Standard Cantonese hei3 /hei̯˧/Category:Pages with plain IPA, and Hakka Chinese hi /hi˥/Category:Pages with plain IPA.

Pronunciations of 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text in Sino-Xenic borrowings include: Japanese ki, Korean gi, and Vietnamese khí.

Reconstructions of the Middle Chinese pronunciation of 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text standardized to IPA transcription include: /kʰe̯iH/ (Bernard Karlgren), /kʰĭəiH/ (Wang Li), /kʰiəiH/ (Li Rong), /kʰɨjH/ (Edwin Pulleyblank), and /kʰɨiH/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang).

Axel Schuessler's reconstruction of the Later Han Chinese pronunciation of 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text is /kɨs/.[12]

Reconstructions of the Old Chinese pronunciation of 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text standardized to IPA transcription include: */kʰɯds/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang), */C.qʰəp-s/ (William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart), and */kə(t)s/ (Axel Schuessler[12]).

The etymology of qì interconnects with Kharia kʰis "anger", Sora kissa "move with great effort", Khmer kʰɛs "strive after; endeavor", and Gyalrongic kʰɐs "anger".[12]

Characters

In the East Asian languages, qì has three logographs:

In addition, qì 炁 is an uncommon character especially used in writing Daoist talismans. Historically, the word qì was generally written as 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text until the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), when it was replaced by the 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text graph clarified with mǐ 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.

This primary logograph 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, the earliest written character for qì, consisted of three wavy horizontal lines seen in Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) oracle bone script, Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE) bronzeware script and large seal script, and Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) small seal script. These oracle, bronze, and seal scripts logographs 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text were used in ancient times as a phonetic loan character to write qǐ 乞Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "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 道 "the Dao; the way" graphically combines the "walk" radical 辶Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text with a shǒu 首Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "head" phonetic. Although the modern dào and shǒu pronunciations are dissimilar, the Old Chinese *lˤuʔ-s 道Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text and *l̥uʔ-s 首Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text were alike. The regular script character qì 氣 is unusual because qì 气 is both the "air radical" and the phonetic, with mǐ 米Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "rice" semantically indicating "steam; vapor".

This qì 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "air/gas radical" was only used in a few native Chinese characters like yīnyūn 氤氲Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "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 氟Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text (with a fú 弗Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text phonetic) "fluorine" and nǎi 氖Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text (with a nǎi 乃Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text phonetic) "neon". Others are based on semantics: qīng 氫Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text (with a jīng 巠Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text phonetic, abbreviating qīng 輕Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "light-weight") "hydrogen (the lightest element)" and lǜ 氯Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text (with a lù 彔Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text phonetic, abbreviating lǜ 綠Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "green") "(greenish-yellow) chlorine".

Qì 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text is the phonetic element in a few characters such as kài 愾Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "hate" with the "heart-mind radical" 忄Category:Articles containing Chinese-language textor 心Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, xì 熂Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "set fire to weeds" with the "fire radical" 火Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, and xì 餼Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "to present food" with the "food radical" 食Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text.

The first Chinese dictionary of characters, the Shuowen Jiezi(121 CE) notes that the primary qì 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text is a pictographic character depicting 雲气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "cloudy vapors", and that the full 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text combines 米Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "rice" with the phonetic qi 气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, meaning 饋客芻米Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "present provisions to guests" (later disambiguated as xì 餼Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text).

Meanings

Qi is a polysemous word. The unabridged Chinese-Chinese character dictionary Hanyu Da Cidian defines it as "present food or provisions" for the xì pronunciation but also lists 23 meanings for the qì pronunciation.[13] The modern ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary, which enters xì 餼Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text "grain; animal feed; make a present of food", and a qì 氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text entry with seven translation equivalents for the noun, two for bound 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; respiration b.f. ① weather 天氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text tiānqì ② [linguistics] aspiration 送氣Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text sòngqì v. ① anger ② get angry ③ bully; insult.[14]

Qi was also thought of as meaning "'forces in nature'" that deity could control and magicians and occultists could harness.[10]

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 in the mid-19th century (sometimes misspelled chi omitting the apostrophe), and as qi in Pinyin in the mid-20th century. The Oxford English Dictionary entry for qi gives the pronunciation as /tʃi/, 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),[note 2] of ch'i in 1917 (The Encyclopaedia Sinica),[note 3] and qi in 1971 (Felix Mann's Acupuncture)[note 4]

The word qi is very frequently used in word games—such as Scrabble—due to containing a letter Q without a letter U.[15]

Concept

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References to concepts analogous to qi are found in many Asian belief systems. Philosophical conceptions of qi from the earliest records of Chinese philosophy (5th century BCE) correspond to Western notions of humours and to the ancient Hindu yogic concept of prana. An early form of qi comes from the writings of the Chinese philosopher Mencius (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Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text) 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.Category:Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2023[further explanation needed] Qi and li (理Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text: "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 onCategory:All articles with vague or ambiguous timeCategory:Vague or ambiguous time from November 2017[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.

Philosophical roots

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The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed. In the Analects of Confucius, 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, his xue–qi has not yet stabilized, so he guards himself against sexual passion. When he reaches his prime, his xue–qi is not easily subdued, so he guards himself against combativeness. When he reaches old age, his xue–qi is already depleted, so he guards himself against acquisitiveness.

— Confucius, Analects, 16:7

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.[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]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2017[page needed]

Living things were not the only things believed to have qi. Zhuangzi indicated that wind is the qi of the Earth. Moreover, cosmic yin 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]

The Guanzi essay Neiye (Inward Training) is the oldest received writing on the subject of the cultivation of vapor [qi] and meditation 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 the Jixia Academy, followed in later years. At 9:69/127,Category:All articles with unsourced statementsCategory:Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023[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 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, 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,Category:All articles with unsourced statementsCategory:Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023[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 scholar Dong Zhongshu (ca. 150 BC) wrote in Luxuriant 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。Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text")

Later, the syncretic text assembled under the direction of Liu 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:

Heaven (seen here as the ultimate source of all being) falls (duo 墮Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, i.e., descends into proto-immanence) as the formless. Fleeting, fluttering, penetrating, amorphous it is, and so it is called the Supreme Luminary. The dao 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 on magic, and certain body parts were important to magic traditions[10] such as some Taoist sects.

Role in traditional Chinese medicine

The Huangdi Neijing ("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.[24]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2017[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 the Zang Fu organs.[25] Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of qi using a variety of techniques including herbology, food therapy, physical training regimens (qigong, tai chi, and other martial arts training),[26]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2017[page needed] moxibustion, tui na, or acupuncture.[25]: 78 The cultivation of Heavenly and Earthly qi allow for the maintenance of psychological actions[27]

The nomenclature 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 the Zang-Fu organ or the Meridian 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 reaching Zang-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 of Wisdom Healing Qigong (Zhineng Qigong), founded by Grandmaster Ming Pang.[31][32][33]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2017[page needed]

Scientific view

The existence of Qi has not been proven scientifically.[5] A 1998 consensus statement on acupuncture by the United States National Institutes of Health noted that concepts such as qi "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information".[34]

Practices involving qi

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Feng shui

The traditional Chinese art of geomancy, 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, 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 a luopan 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 of divination that assesses the quality of the local environment.

There are three kinds of qi, known as heaven qi (tian qi 天气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text), Earth qi (di qi 地气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text), and human qi (ren qi 人气Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text).[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

Reiki 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,[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 universal life force, although there is no empirical 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 the placebo effect. 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,[39] a sentiment echoed by Cancer Research UK[40] and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.[41] Developed in Japan in 1922 by Mikao 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]

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, 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, practicing mindfulness, and visualization of guiding qi.[45]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2017[page needed][46][47]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2017[page needed]

Martial arts

Qi is a didactic concept in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese martial arts. Martial qigong is a feature of both internal and external training systems in China[48]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2017[page needed] and other East Asian cultures.[49]Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from January 2017[page needed] The most notable of the qi-focused "internal" force (jin) martial arts are Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, tai chi, Southern Praying Mantis, Snake Kung Fu, Southern Dragon Kung Fu, Aikido, Kendo, Hapkido, Aikijujutsu, Luohanquan, and Liuhebafa.

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 and physics.[50]

Acupuncture and moxibustion

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) at acupuncture points to balance the flow of qi. This is often accompanied by moxibustion, a treatment that involves burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupuncture point.

Taoist sexual practices

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also ch'i (Wade–Giles),[1] or chi
  2. ↑ Quoting Confucius that the Taiji 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."
  3. ↑ 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."
  4. ↑ "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."

References

  1. ↑ "Qi". Encyclopedia Britannica. 22 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Vapor": Cheng 2003, p. 615; 'air': Cheng 2003, p. 615; 'breath': Barrett 1991, p. 296, Lloyd, Zhao & Dong 2018, pp. 92, 138.
  3. ↑ 'Vital energy': Lloyd & Sivin 2002, p. 9, Cheng 2003, p. 615, Liu 2015, pp. 258, 267, 270, 349, 402, 474, Wang, Bao & Guan 2020; 'vital force': Cheng 2003, p. 615, Liu 2015, pp. 205, 216, 422, 485; 'material energy': Perkins 2013, p. 404; 'energy': Lloyd, Zhao & Dong 2018, pp. 13, 138.
  4. 1 2 "Traditional Medicine and Pseudoscience in China: A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation (Part 2)". CSICOP. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lee, M. S.; Pittler, M. H.; Ernst, E. (1 June 2008). "Effects of reiki in clinical practice: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials". International Journal of Clinical Practice. 62 (6): 947–954. doi:10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01729.x. ISSN 1742-1241. PMID 18410352. S2CID 25832830.
  6. ↑ Dunning, Brian. "Skeptoid #411: Your Body's Alleged Energy Fields". Skeptoid. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  7. ↑ Shermer, Michael (July 2005). "Full of Holes: the curious case of acupuncture". Scientific American. 293 (2): 30. Bibcode:2005SciAm.293b..30S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0805-30. PMID 16053133.
  8. ↑ Stenger, Victor J. (June 1998). "Reality Check: the energy fields of life". Skeptical Briefs. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 25 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.'"
  9. ↑ Williams, Elizabeth Ann (2003). A Cultural History of Medical Vitalism in Enlightenment Montpellier. Ashgate. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7546-0881-3.
  10. 1 2 3 Salamone, Frank A. (2004). Levinson, David (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals. New York: Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 0-415-94180-6.
  11. 1 2 Ivanhoe, Philip J.; Van Norden, Bryan W. (2005). Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. p. 391. ISBN 0-87220-781-1. OCLC 60826646.
  12. 1 2 3 Schuessler, Axel (2006). ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 423. ISBN 9780824829759. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  13. ↑ Mair, Victor H. (2003). An Alphabetical Index to the Hanyu Da Cidian. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 2011. ISBN 978-0824828165.
  14. ↑ Defrancis, John; Yuqing, Bai (1999). ABC Chinese-English Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 465. ISBN 978-0824821548.
  15. ↑ Kwan, Michael (2 June 2022). "The Power of Qi: A Scrabble Word That'll Center Your Game". Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Porkert, Manfred (1974). The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine: Systems of Correspondence (2nd ed.). Cambridge: M.I.T. Press. ISBN 978-0262160582.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ Legge, James (2010). The Analects of Confucius. Auckland: Floating Press. ISBN 978-1775417958.
  19. ↑ Watson, Burton (2003). Mozi: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231130011.
  20. ↑ Lau, D. C. (2003). Mencius (Revised ed.). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. ISBN 978-9622018518.
  21. ↑ Watson, Burton (2013). The Complete Works of Zhuangzi. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231536509.
  22. ↑ Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1999). The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Press. p. 880. ISBN 9780521470308. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  23. ↑ Guilk, Robert van (2015). The Gibbon in China: An Essay in Chinese Animal Lore. E.J. Brill. p. 38. ISBN 978-7547507391.
  24. ↑ 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. ISBN 978-0520229365. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Category:CS1 errors: ISBN date
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  26. ↑ Wu, Kung-tsao (2006) [1980]. Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan 吳家太極拳 [Wu Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan]. Chien-ch'uan T'ai-chi Ch'uan Association. ISBN 978-0978049904.Category:CS1 uses Chinese-language script (zh)
  27. ↑ 李中梓Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text, and 江潤祥Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text. Huangdi Neijing : A Synopsis with Commentaries = 《内經知要》譯詁Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2010. pg. 390-93
  28. 1 2 3 4 "What is Qi in Chinese medicine?". The Journal of Chinese Medicine on Orient Mama. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  29. 1 2 Yang, Shou-zhong (1998). The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica: A Translation of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. pg. xii
  30. ↑ Hong-zhou Wu, et al. World Century Compendium To TCM - Volume 1: Fundamentals Of Traditional Chinese Medicine. World Century Publishing Corporation, 2013. pg. 22
  31. ↑ Gu, Mingtong (2011). Wisdom Healing (Zhineng) Qigong: Cultivating Wisdom and Energy for Health, Healing and Happiness. Petaluma, California: Chi Center. pp. 61–80. ISBN 978-0983504306.
  32. ↑ Gu, Mingtong (2009). An Introduction to Wisdom Healing Qigong. Petaluma, California: Chi Center. pp. 30, 46–47.Category:Pages with missing ISBNs[ISBN missing]
  33. ↑ Hin, Ooi Kean (2010). Zhineng Qigong: The Science, Theory and Practice. North Charleston, South Carolina: CreateSpace. ISBN 9781453867600.
  34. ↑ NIN Consensus Development Panel on Acupuncture (4 November 1998). "Acupuncture". JAMA. 280 (17): 1518–1524. doi:10.1001/jama.280.17.1518. ISSN 0098-7484.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Henwood, Belinda. (1998). Feng shui : how to create harmony and balance in your living and working environment = Fêng shui. Vancouver: Raincoast Books. ISBN 1-55192-132-4. OCLC 37985099.
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  45. ↑ Cohen, Kenneth S.; Dossey, Larry (1999). The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healin (1st ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345421098.
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Works cited

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