The Root of Chinese Qigong. Jwing-Ming Yang

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Qi, which is the most important of the three, is Earth Qi (Di Qi, ). It is influenced and controlled by Heaven Qi. For example, too much rain will force a river to flood or change its path. Without rain, the plants will die. The Chinese believe that Earth Qi is made up of lines and patterns of energy, as well as the earth’s magnetic field and the heat concealed underground. These energies must also balance, otherwise disasters such as earthquakes will occur. When the Qi of the earth is balanced, plants will grow and animals thrive.

      Finally, within the Earth Qi, each individual person, animal, and plant has its own Qi field, which always seeks to be balanced. When any individual thing loses its Qi balance, it will sicken, die, and decompose. All natural things, including man, grow within and are influenced by the natural cycles of Heaven Qi and Earth Qi. Human Qi (Ren Qi, ) is usually considered a separate type of Qi, different from the Qi of the earth, and of plants and animals. The reason for this is simply that because we are human, we are particularly concerned with Human Qi, and have devoted a great deal of study to it.

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      Qi can be generally defined as any type of energy which is able to demonstrate power and strength. This energy can be electricity, magnetism, heat, or light. In China, electric power is called “Dian Qi” (electric Qi, ), and heat is called “Re Qi” (heat Qi, ). When a person is alive, his body’s energy is called “Ren Qi” (human Qi, ).

      Qi is also commonly used to express the energy state of something, especially living things. As mentioned before, the weather is called “Tian Qi” (heaven Qi) because it indicates the energy state of the heavens. When a thing is alive it has “Huo Qi” (vital Qi, ), and when it is dead it has “Si Qi” (dead Qi or “Gui Qi” (ghost Qi, ). When a person is righteous and has the spiritual strength to do good, he is said to have “Zheng Qi” (normal Qi or righteous Qi, ). The spiritual state or morale of an army is called “Qi Shi” (energy state, ).

      You can see that the word Qi has a wider and more general definition than most people think. It does not refer only to the energy circulating in the human body. Furthermore, the word “Qi” can represent the energy itself, and it can also be used to express the manner or state of the energy. It is important to understand this when you practice Qigong, so that your mind is not channeled into a narrow understanding of Qi, which would limit your future understanding and development.

       General Definition of Qigong

      We have explained that Qi is energy, and that it is found in the heavens, in the earth, and in every living thing. In China, the word “Gong” is often used instead of “Gongfu,” which means energy and time. Any study or training which requires a lot of energy and time to learn or to accomplish is called Gongfu. The term can be applied to any special skill or study as long as it requires time, energy, and patience. Therefore, the correct definition of Qigong is any training or study dealing with Qi which takes a long time and a lot of effort.

      The Chinese have studied Qi for thousands of years. Some of the information on the patterns and cycles of nature has been recorded in books, one of which is the Yi Jing()(Book of Changes; 1122 B.C.). When the Yi Jing was introduced to the Chinese people, they believed that natural power included Tian (Heaven, ), Di (Earth, ), and Ren (Man, ). These are called “San Cai” (The Three Natural Powers, ) and are manifested by the three Qi’s: Heaven Qi, Earth Qi, and Human Qi (Figure 1-1). These three facets of nature have their definite rules and cycles. The rules never change, and the cycles repeat periodically. The Chinese people used an understanding of these natural principles and the Yi Jing to calculate the changes of natural Qi. This calculation is called “Bagua” (The Eight Trigrams, ). From the Eight Trigrams are derived the 64 hexagrams. Therefore, the Yi Jing was probably the first book which taught the Chinese people about Qi and its variations in nature and man. The relationship of the Three Natural Powers and their Qi variations were later discussed extensively in the book Qi Hua Lun (Theory of Qi’s Variation, ).

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Figure 1-1. The three Qi’s of Heaven, Earth, and Man

      Understanding Heaven Qi is very difficult, however, and it was especially so in ancient times when the science was just developing. But since nature is always repeating itself, the experience accumulated over the years has made it possible to trace the natural patterns. Understanding the rules and cycles of “Tian Shi” (heavenly timing, ) will help you to understand natural changes of the seasons, climate, weather, rain, snow, drought, and all other natural occurrences. If you observe carefully, you will be able to see many of these routine patterns and cycles caused by the rebalancing of the Qi fields. Among the natural cycles are those of the day, the month, and the year, as well as cycles of twelve years and sixty years.

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      Earth Qi is a part of Heaven Qi. If you can understand the rules and the structure of the earth, you will be able to understand how mountains and rivers are formed, how plants grow, how rivers move, what part of the country is best for someone, where to build a house and which direction it should face so that it is a healthy place to live, and many other things related to the earth. In China today there are people, called “geomancy teachers” (Di Li Shi, ) or “wind water teachers” (Feng Shui Shi, ), who make their living this way. The term Feng Shui is commonly used because the location and character of the wind and water in a landscape are the most important factors in evaluating a location. These experts use the accumulated body of geomantic knowledge and the Yi Jing to help people make important decisions such as where and how to build a house, where to bury their dead, and how to rearrange or redecorate homes and offices so that they are better places to live and work in. Many people even believe that setting up a store or business according to the guidance of Feng Shui can make it more prosperous.

      Among the three Qi’s, Human Qi is probably the one studied most thoroughly. The study of Human Qi covers a large number of different subjects. The Chinese people believe that Human Qi is affected and controlled

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