qi (redirected from Qì)

qi

 or ch'i

In Chinese philosophy, the ethereal substance of which everything is composed. Early Daoist philosophers and alchemists regarded it as a vital force associated with breath and bodily fluids and sought to control its movement within the body in order to achieve longevity and spiritual power. Manipulation of qi is central to Chinese meditation, medicine, and martial arts. In the 10th–13th centuries Neo-Confucianism regarded qi as emanating from the Great Ultimate by way of li, the ordering principle of the universe, transformed into the elements through yin and yang (see yin-yang).

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Qi

 or Ch'i

One of the largest and most powerful of the many states into which early China was divided (771?–221 BC). During the Eastern Zhou dynasty, Qi was the first state to fully institute a uniform tax system, a central army, and a centralized bureaucracy based on talent rather than hereditary rank. It formed a league of states in 651 BC to stave off invasions from the north and south, but its hegemony was short-lived. In 221 BC it was absorbed into the Qin dynasty.