The Qi
The literal meaning of the Chinese term qi is “breath”, “gas” or “ether”. In traditional texts, the term was never clearly defined, as the Tao masters preferred not to limit the miracle of this mysterious energy in sterile definitions. The Chinese philosophers, Lao-Tse (604-531 BC), the legendary author of the work Tao Te Ching, Confucius (551-479?BC), Mencius (4th century BC), Huainan-Tse and Kuan-Tse have developed this concept. They termed it as the function of the context, the metaphysical principle, and the source of vitality, of harmony, of creativity and of moral courage. Lao Tse described it as a dual principle (it is itself the source of manifesting duality), that evolved in a polar manner into the concept of yin and yang. Yang being the principle of light, sun, activity, dryness and masculine qualities, while yin being the principle of darkness, earth, passivity, wetness and feminine qualities. Later on this dualist conception generated the theory of the Five Elements in Chinese medicine and in the profound divinatory art of I Ching.
In Taoism, yin and yang are regarded as flowing in a continuous ascending and descending motion, both in the universe and in man. In order to obtain a state of harmony and perfect health, they should be in perfect equilibrium. It is considered that yang energy enters the body by descending from the sky (as a cosmic energy) and the yin energy ascends from the earth (as a telluric energy). In the Taoist vision, they converge at a point in the abdomen, called hara (a subtle energetic centre, corresponding to manipura chakra). It is located two finger widths below the navel; not at the surface of the body, but somewhere inside towards the spinal column. Hara resembles a furnace or an oven in which the life force can be converted – through certain disciplines – into spiritual energy. This process generates physical heat also.
The qi energy flows in the ethereal body through the 12 meridians or nadi-s, mainly connected to the internal organs. Each meridian has a fixed direction, is associated with one of the Five Elements and is either yin or yang. The qi flow can be amplified through manipulation (acupuncture, shiatsu, etc.) of a thousand points or tsu-bos, located along the meridians. The velocity and the movement of the energy “flow” can be measured by a person endowed with “a subtle sensitivity that facilitates the perception of these meridians and of the aural body”.
The first detailed descriptions of the qi energy in relation to health and healing date back to the time of the Han dynasty (206BC – 220AD), in a work called Huang-ti Nei Ching Su Wen (The Classic Treatise of Internal Medicine of the Yellow Emperor). This text names the energy qi and describes 32 different forms of it. It also mentions the fact that all living beings are in a constant energetic exchange with the universal energy qi; that illnesses appear when this exchange is disturbed, limited or unbalanced. If the subtle energetic exchange stops, the organism dies. The qi energy is received through food, respiration and from the surrounding environment in general. The capacity for a being to absorb this energy diminishes with age.
In the martial arts and in the “meditation through movement” of the Tai Ji Chuan system, the qi energy is controlled through respiration in a similar manner to how the subtle breathing is controlled in pranayama. The aim is to get the mind and body in a state of balance. Apart from the meridians in the ethereal body, qi energy flows through eight subtle psychic channels which play a key role in the purification of the vital energy and the transformation of the person. A body full of qi energy is strong and resistant, being predisposed to a long and harmonious life. The qi term can be found in all descriptions of Taoist respiratory exercises and techniques.
