Sierra Acai Company
Sierra Acai Company
Open 7 Days a Week
MonaVie Independent Distributor
Distributor Training
Shop Online
Enroll Now
Buy Wholesale and maintain an Active status for 2 months and we will refund your $39 Distributor Fee
Friends
Buy Wholesale and maintain an Active status for 2 months and we will refund your $39 Distributor Fee
14-September-2008 18:02:37 - Qi For other uses, see Qi disambiguation. Qi Ch'i Chinese name Traditional Chinese: æ°£ Simplified Chinese: æ°” Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin: qì - Wade-Giles: ch'i4 Yue Cantonese - Jyutping: hei3 Japanese name Hiragana: ã?? KyÅ«jitai: æ°£ Shinjitai: æ°— Transliterations - Revised Hepburn: ki Korean name Hangul: 기 Hanja: æ°£ Transliterations - Revised Romanization: gi - McCune- Reischauer: ki Thai name Thai: ชี่ RTGS: khi Vietnamese name Quốc ngữ: khà This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. In traditional Chinese culture, qi æ°£; Pinyin qi, Wade-Giles ch'i Jyutping hei; Japanese gi; Korean ki; pronounced IPA: tÉ•Ê°i in Standard Mandarin is an active principle forming part of any living thing. It is frequently translated as energy flow, and is often compared to Western notions of energeia or élan vital vitalism as well as the yogic notion of prana. The literal translation is air, breath, or gas compare the original meaning of Latin spiritus breathing; or the Common Greek πνεῦμα, meaning air, breath, or spirit; and the Sanskrit term prana, breath . Contents 1 Term and character 2 Definition 3 Early philosophical texts 4 Traditional Chinese medicine 5 Scientific investigation 6 Feng shui 7 Martial arts 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Term and character The etymological explanation for the form of the qi logogram in the traditional form æ°£ is steam æ°” rising from rice ç±³ as it cooks. The earliest way of writing qi consisted of three wavy lines, used to represent one's breath seen on a cold day. A later version, æ°”, identical to the present-day simplified character is a stylized version of those same three lines. For some reason, early writers of Chinese found it desirable to substitute for æ°” a cognate, character that originally meant to feed other people in a social context such as providing food for guests. Appropriately, that character combined the three-line qi character with the character for the grain we call rice. So æ°” plus ç±³ formed æ°£, and that is the traditional character still used today. See the Oracle bone character, the Seal script character and the modern school standard or KÇŽi shÅ« characters in the box at the right for three stages of the evolution of this character.1 Kanji used in Japan for ki until 1946, when it was changed to æ°—. Koreans maintain the older character in their hanja. Kanji used in Japan for ki until 1946, when it was changed to æ°—. Koreans maintain the older character in their hanja. In the Japanese language, the Chinese character corresponding to qi æ°£ is pronounced ki. The Japanese language contains over 11,442 known usages of ki as a compound. As a compound, it may represent syllables associated with the mind, the heart, feeling, the atmosphere, and flavor. We see parallel development in Korean language usage as Koreans have long used Chinese characters hanja alongside the indigenous Korean system hangul. There are also some cases in which commonalities are due to the long history of their geographical relationship. The character for ki in hangul is 기, which is pronounced as 'gi' with a hard g. Japanese usages of note also include tenki weather 天気, genki healthy, doing fine 元気, byouki sick, sickness ç—…æ°— and kiai spirit shout æ°—å?ˆ . Korean compound usages of ki are also comparable including gibun feeling, sensation 氣分in Korean 기분 and gihap literally, spirit shout æ°£å?ˆê¸°í•©, but simply means shout. Definition References to things analogous to the qi taken to be the life-process or flow of energy that sustains living beings are found in many belief systems, especially in Asia. Philosophical conceptions of qi date from the earliest recorded times in Chinese thinking. One of the important early cultural heroes in Chinese mythology is Huang Di the Yellow Emperor. He is identified in the legends of China as the one who first collected and formalized much of what subsequently became known as traditional Chinese medicine. The earliest extant book that speaks of qi is the Analects of Confucius composed from the notes of individual students some time after his death in 479 B.C. Unlike the legendary accounts mentioned above, the Analects has a clear date in history, and most later books at least the ones that do not purport to be relics of the legendary earliest rulers can also be assigned clear dates in history. Manfred Porkert described relations to Western universal concepts: Within the framework of Chinese thought no notion may attain to 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 æ°£ inevitably flows from their brushes.2 Although the concept of qi has been very important within many Chinese philosophies, over the centuries their descriptions of qi have been varied and may seem to be in conflict with each other. Understanding of these disputes is complicated for people who did not grow up using the Chinese concept and its associated concepts. Until China came into contact with Western scientific and philosophical ideas primarily by way of Catholic missionaries, they knew about things like stones and lightning, but they would not have categorized them in terms of matter and energy. Qi and li ç?†, li, pattern are their fundamental categories much as matter and energy have been fundamental categories for people in the West. Their use of qi lifebreath and li pattern, regularity, form, order as their primary categories leaves in question how to account for liquids and solids, and, once the Western idea of energy came on the scene, how to relate it to the native idea of qi. If Chinese and Western concepts are mixed in an attempt to characterize some of the problems that arise with the Chinese conceptual system, then one might ask whether qi exists as a force separate from matter, whether qi arises from matter, or whether matter arises from qi. Fairly early on, some Chinese thinkers began to believe that there are different fractions of qi in the sense that different fractions can be extracted from crude oil in a catalytic cracker, and that the coarsest and heaviest fractions of qi form solid things such as rocks, the earth, etc., whereas lighter fractions form liquids, and the most ethereal fractions are the lifebreath that animates living beings.3 Yuán qì is a notion of innate or pre-natal qi to distinguish it from acquired qi that a person may develop of their lifetime. Early philosophical texts The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed. The philosopher Mo Di also known as Mo Zi or Master Mo used the word qi to refer to noxious vapors that would in due time arise from a corpse were it not buried at a sufficient depth.4 He reported that early civilized humans learned how to live in houses to protect their qi from the moisture that had troubled them when they lived in caves.5 He also associated maintaining one's qi with providing oneself adequate nutrition.6 And, in regard to another kind of qi he recorded how some people performed a kind of prognostication by observing the qi clouds in the sky.7 In the Analects of Confucius, composed from the notes of individual students sometime after his death in 479 B.C., qi can mean breath,8 and it can be combined with the Chinese word for blood making 血氣, xue-qi, blood and breath and that concept can be used to account for motivational characteristics. The Analects, 16:7, says: 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. Meng Ke also known as Meng Zi, Master Meng, or 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 will power.9 But this qi could not adequately be characterized by English words like lifebreath or bio-plasma because when properly nurtured it was capable of extending beyond the human body to reach throughout the universe.10 This qi can be augmented by means of careful exercise of one's moral capacities.11 On the other hand, the qi of an individual can be degraded by averse external forces that succeed in operating on that individual.12 Not only human beings and animals were believed to have qi. Zhuang Zhou also known as Zhuang Zi or Master Zhuang indicated that wind is the qi of the earth.13 Moreover, cosmic Yin and Yang are the greatest of 'qi'.14 He describes qi as issuing forth and creating profound effects.15 Zhuang Zi gave us one of the most productive of insights into the nature of qi. He 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.16 Another passage traces life to intercourse between Heaven and Earth: The highest Yin is the most restrained. The highest Yang is the most exuberant. The restrained comes forth from Heaven. The exuberant issues forth from Earth. The two intertwine and penetrate forming a harmony, and as a result things are born.17 Zhuang Zi was a contemporary of Mencius. Xun Zi followed them after some 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. This passage gives us some insight into his idea of qi. 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 even though the air between camper and fire is quite cold. Clearly, something is emitted by the fire and reaches the camper. They called it qi. At 18:62/122, he too uses qi to refer to the vital forces of the body that decline with advanced age. Later, the syncretic text assembled under the direction of Liu An, the Huai Nan Zi 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, 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 The development of the ideas of qi and of qi zhi zhi xing 氣質之性 in Neo-Confucianism go beyond the scope of a fundamental account of Chinese ideas about qi, but the fundamentals are contained in the above passage.18 Traditional Chinese medicine Further information: Traditional Chinese medicine and Acupuncture Theories of traditional Chinese medicine assert that the body has natural patterns of qi that circulate in channels called meridians in English.19 Symptoms of various illnesses are often believed to be the product of disrupted, blocked, or unbalanced qi movement interrupted flow through the body's meridians, as well as deficiencies or imbalances of qi homeostatic imbalance in the various Zang Fu organs.20 Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of qi metabolic energy flow in the body using a variety of therapeutic techniques. Some of these techniques include herbal medicines, special diets, physical training regimens qigong, tai chi chuan, and other martial arts training,21 moxibustion, massage to clear blockages, and acupuncture, which uses small diameter metal needles inserted into the skin and underlying tissues to reroute or balance qi.22 It has been hypothesized that the alleged therapeutic effects of acupuncture can be explained by endorphin-release, by relaxation or by simple placebo effects.23 The NIH Consensus Statement on acupuncture in 1997 noted that concepts such as qi are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture.24 It is hypothesized that qi could be transmitted through the fascia independent of any neurological activity.25 Scientific investigation Science rejects the concept of qi. It has been hypothesized that the alleged therapeutic effects of acupuncture can be explained by endorphin-release, by relaxation or by placebo effects.23 The NIH Consensus Statement on acupuncture in 1997 noted that concepts such as Qi are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture.24 Feng shui Main article: 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 of the space. Color, shape and the physical location of each item in a space affects the flow of qi by slowing it down, redirecting it or accelerating it, which directly affects the energy level of the occupants. Feng shui is said to be a form of qi divination. 26 Martial arts Qi is a didactic concept in many Chinese, Korean and Japanese martial arts. Martial qigong is a feature of both internal and external training systems in China27 and other east Asian cultures.28 See also Part of a series on Taoism Aum Fundamentals Dao Tao · De Wuji · Taiji Yin-Yang · Wu xing Qi · Neidan Wu wei Texts Daodejing Tao Te Ching Zhuangzi · Liezi Daozang Deities Three Pure Ones Guan Shengdi Eight Immortals Yellow Emperor · Xiwangmu Jade Emperor · Chang'e Other deities People Laozi · Zhuangzi Zhang Daoling · Zhang Jiao Ge Hong · Chen Tuan Wang Chongyang Schools Five Pecks of Rice Celestial Masters Shangqing · Lingbao Quanzhen · Zhengyi Xuanxue Sacred sites Grotto-heavens v d e Qigong qi cultivation Tao Yin Vitalism Energy esotericism Traditional Chinese medicine Dantian Tui na Taoism Chinese folk religion Chinese martial arts Iron Shirt Iron Palm References ^ See p. 804f of Gao Shufan's Xing, Yin, Yi Zonghe Da Zidian, Zhong Zheng Shuju, Taipei, 1984 ^ Porkert, Manfred 1974. The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine: Systems of Correspondence. MIT Press. ISBN 0262160587. ^ 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. ^ Mo Zi, chapter 25, 84/86ths of the way through ^ Mo Zi, 21:17/19 ^ Mo Zi, 21:5/19 and 6:22/40 ^ Mo Zi, 68:7/23 and 70:98/139 ^ Analects, 10:3 ^ Mencius, 2A:2 ^ Mencius, 2A:2 ^ Mencius, 2A:2 ^ Mencius, 6A:8 ^ Zhuang Zi, 2:4/96 ^ Zhuang Zi, 25:67/82 ^ Zhuang Zi, 23:5/79 ^ Zhuang Zi, 22:11/84 ^ Zhuang Zi, 21:7/70 ^ A much more complete account is available in Explorations of Chinese Metaphysical Concepts, Patrick Edwin Moran, 1983. ^ Denis Lawson-Wood and Joyce Lawson-Wood, Acupuncture Handbook, Health Science Press, 1964, pp. 4, 133. ^ Lawson-Wood, p. 4 and throughout the book. ^ Wu, Kung-tsao 1980, 2006. Wu Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan å?³å®¶å¤ªæ¥µæ‹³. Chien-ch'uan T'ai-chi Ch'uan Association. ISBN 0-9780499-0-X. ^ Lawson-Wood, p. 78f. ^ a b Hsu DT 1996. Acupuncture. A review.. Reg Anesth. 21 4: 361-70. ^ a b Acupuncture: National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement. National Institutes of Health November 1997. Retrieved on 2007-01-15. ^ Kimura M., Tohya K., Kuroiwa K., Oda H., Gorawski E.C., Hua Z.X., Toda S., Ohnishi M., Noguchi E., Electron microscopical and immunohistochemical studies on the induction of 'qi' employing needling manipulation, Am J Chin Med. 1992;201:25-35. ^ Stephen L. Field. 1998. Qimancy: The Art and Science of Fengshui. http://www.fengshuigate.com/qimancy.html. ^ Wile, Douglas 1995. Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty Chinese Philosophy and Culture. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0791426548. ^ Bishop, Mark 1989. Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques. AC Black, London. ISBN 0713656662. Further reading James L., PhD. Oschman. Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis of Bioenergy Therapies. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0443062617. Wright, Thomas; Eisenberg, David 1995. Encounters with Qi: exploring Chinese medicine. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393312135. Porkert, Manfred 1974. The theoretical foundations of Chinese medicine: systems of correspondence. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-16058-7. Soo, Chee 1984. The Chinese art of Tʾai Chi Chʾuan. Wellingborough: Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-387-7. Yan, X; Lu F et al. 2002. Certain physical manifestation and effects of external Qi of yan xin life science technology pdf. Journal of Scientific Exploration 16 3: 381-411. Retrieved on 2008-02-11. External links Look up Qi in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Article by Bing YeYoung A Philosophical and Cultural Interpretation of Qi The Skeptics Dictionary Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/Qi Categories: Chinese thought | Chinese philosophy | Chinese martial arts terms | Vitalism Views Article Discussion this page History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto Ù?ارسی Français í•œêµì–´ Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本語 ‪Norsk bokmÃ¥l‬ Polski Português РуÑ?Ñ?кий СрпÑ?ки / Srpski Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt Türkçe ä¸æ–‡ This page was last modified on 13 September 2008, at 20:35
39 Reasons to Drink Acai Juice Every Day
What is MonaVie - Watch the 8-minute video
Discovering MonaVie Video
The Power of You Video
Effects of MonaVie Active on Antioxidant Capacity in Humans
Log into your Wholesale MonaVie Account
So many of us do not eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, have too much stress, or are impacted with toxins and pollutants. Drinking 2 ounces of MonaVie twice a day will help your body detoxify as well as build your immune system. Its the smartest thing you can do for yourself, so start today. Buying MonaVie through our company guarantees you support 7 days a week and, if you would like to share MonaVie with your family and friends we will guide you from start to finish.
1. Click on Enroll Now (30 - 55% off retail price)
2. Pay $39 for your Wholesale ID number.
3. NO minimum order required.
4. MonaVie is delivered to your door in 3 to 5 days.