Qi (Part 1): The Unseen Building Blocks

An integral component of Chinese Medical theory is the notion of qi (pronounced chee). It is the concept which most represents the close alignment between Chinese medicine and the ancient esoteric philosophy of Taoism.

The word “qi” can be roughly translated into English to mean “energy”. Qi is said to be the most refined substance which cannot be further broken down. In the most simplistic of terms, qi is the building block of all phenomena (reality).

In theory, qi can bind together to create density and tangibility thus creating everything we can observe in our physical world. It can also bind in a less dense arrangement to create air and other matter which is not observable to the human eye. It can therefore be both immaterial and material.

It is interesting to note how this ancient wisdom is not that dissimilar to the understanding of our reality as suggested by modern physics. Most obvious is how physics also acknowledges that there is no such a thing as empty space. Physics also suggests that all matter is made up of light, which is essentially energy (qi).

The theory of qi also includes concepts of interconnectivity. One being that qi can transform to create a new object. This is similar to the understanding of how energy behaves in Newtonian physics. Most interestingly is that the theory of qi also suggests there is interconnectivity between all objects and that nothing is truly separate. This implies themes which are also found in quantum physics in theories such as quantum entanglement.