How about a functional model of Qi?

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

Simply from a differing perspective, i offer these observations..

It seems that sometimes we tend to "look at the finger" rather than what it's pointing to.. the almost fanatical discection of words and meanings seems to be a distraction from the experience we seek.. perhaps, if we try to comprehend the phenomenon from the context we are most used to we can better share our experiences toward a deeper understanding.

As a student of "energy" for many years (in excess of 30).. it is my own understanding that what we debate is differences of cultural perceptions.. Chi, energy, Ki, etc.. are the same experience from differing perspectives. Some cultures cultivate energy (chi) in a personal and social context.. others, develop it as a tool.. for conquest or profit.. It goes to what a few of the participants, in this and other boards, stated.. ultimately, consciousness is the prime factor.. energy is the raw material of the universe and consciousness is the weaver.. we will create according to our intentions.. if our intention is to utilize the energy/chi to promote Tai Chi, and we have the "will" (discipline) to make it so, then.. it is so.. Likewise, those that would intend differently, with similar discipline, will be equally effective.. The key is in the strength and focus of consciousness, the ritual is only as effective as the mind behind it..

Lastly, as i have said before, there is quite a scientific body of research supporting the connection between mind and energy, verifiable evidence that beliefs affect outcomes, that the mind can manipulate energy.. This, i believe, lends credence to the "mind leading Qi" concept, yet.. equally, if one truly believes this system, the leading is effortless, no more that a glancing thought.. and, at some point, simply a natural interaction with life itself.. Which, by the way, i agree with the analogy of Qi being the interaction between Yin and Yang, like there's no "game" until the "teams" interact.. none of which happen unless there is "energy" to power it .. i sense that Yin/Yang represent our conceptual perspective of duality/reality.. Qi, on the otherhand, is what powers it all.. Qi is indiscriminate, a source to be used.. yin/yang, just another conceptual variation on Duality..

I hope that someday we will move beyond our struggles with cross-cultural conceptual difficulties.. and begin to formulate a language/database consistent with our own understandings.. Certainly this is not an ethnic bias.. i hold my education in the Chinese Arts in a most respectful light, in fact, it has been the foundation that moved me into "my own" understanding of "me". I guess i just feel a little saddened watching people fret over the words and concepts of others, when usually, at the source, they are experiencing exactly the same thing..

Just for fun, try explaining these concepts to each other without using any words other than english.. try drawing only on the experiences you have had directly, coin some new phrases, mostly.. be creative, that is our gift.. never forsake your roots, but never stop growing..

Be well.. create yourself, or others will do it for you..

[Nexus]

Understanding of the self is truly important TCB. I would say that if everyone naturally understood themselves there would be little need for language if any at all.

[RAF]

As luck would have it, I stumbled, literally upon a great source for understanding qi (a little prompting from GLW, too).

A Brief History of Qi
Hang Yu Huan & Ken Rose

The earliest character for qi was also the character for 3. "The great Qing Dynasty scholar Duan Yu Cai noted taht the character for qi originally had the "shape of rising clouds." In the pictographic system of ancient Chinese writing, the shape was [character for 3]. The roots of qi are thus firmly planted in an ethereal soil. The ancient character depicted the mists that rise to form clouds. The character retained this form and meaning until the Zhou Dynasty (1066 B.C.E-770 B.C.E.) when it was first altered, probably to distinguish it from the character for the number 3, san1. The first change in the shape of the character qi underwent was the addition of a curved stroke to the left-most end of the top-most of the 3 lines that composed the original form. The original meaning of the workd remained unchanged, however, despite this change in the way it was written. . .

Inherent in this oldest meaning is the essence of the mystery of qi: IT CANNOT ALWAYS BE SEEN, BUT THROUGH ITS CHANGES, ITS PRESENCE CAN BE SENSED, EXPERIENCED, AND UNDERSTOOD." PP. 3-4

You can further read how the character continued to change

"By the 2nd century C.E., the word qi had alread taken on an elaborate set of meanings related to vitality and life-sustaining substances and processes, while retaining its underlying sense of connective and transformative impetus. In the medical scrolls discovered in Ma wang Dui in Hunan, Changsha, in southeastern China, the word qi appears in several phrases containing such meanings. In the scrolls concerning yang sheng or the cultivation of health and long life, we find jing qi (essence) shen qi (spirit), xue qi (blood), qi xue (qi and blood) zhao qi (vitality) and shi qi (to eat qi). A close examination of the meanings of these terms reveals the breadth and depth of the uses that had alread become associated with the concept of qi BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST MILLENNIUM C.E.. P. 6.

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Anyone interested can get the text from the following website:

http://www.paradigm-pubs.com/


This book is devoted to a topic represented by a single Chinese character, Qi.

Contemporary linguists hold that if a word or concept can be expressed in any one language or dialect it can be translated into any other language or dialect. However, many who have confronted the problem of how to translate the word Qi might challenge this axiom. Qi is a concept that presents students of Chinese culture, Chinese medicine, Chinese martial arts, and a wide range of Chinese traditional arts and sciences with one of the most perplexing challenges they face in pursuit of their studies.


The book begins with an examination of the linguistic and literary roots of the word Qi which stretch back through the shadowy mists of Chinese precivilization. The first chapter includes a survey of concepts from other (non-Chinese) cultures which can be correlated with the ancient Chinese notion of Qi. The authors then trace the development of the concept of Qi through a number of related traditional Chinese disciplines including painting, poetry, calligraphy, dance, medicine, qi gong, and martial arts. The book concludes with an examination of the depth and breadth of Qi as a concept in daily life in China. The book leads readers on an adventure of discovery, demonstrating from many points of view how the ancient Chinese concept of Qi has been employed to interconnect the very roots of culture in one of the world's most enduring civilizations. It presents for the first time in English an exhaustive examination of this ancient metaphysical concept.

Look for it in May
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[GeneChing]

Your writing also triggered off memory of an old article which follows a similiar line of thinking and explanation:

"Sacrifice, Ritual, and Alchemy: The Spiritual Traditions in Taijiquan," Dennis Willmont, Vol. 6, No. 1, Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 1997, pp. 10 -29.

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Note: This documentary is based on his article Sacrifice, Ritual, and Alchemy: The Spiritual Traditions in Taijiquan by Dennis Willmont.

[GeneChing]

See our WINNERS: Return to the Mountain – A Taiji Journey on DVD thread.