Good Health Preservers Must Know How to Nurture Qi
Good health preservers must understand how to nurture qi.
Life depends on breath; when qi gathers, life exists; when qi departs, life ends.
As long as breath remains, countless uses exist; once lost, all things cease.
Daoists, physicians, and health practitioners throughout China unanimously believe that life relies on qi. As long as qi exists, life continues; when qi is lost, life ends. Wang Chong wrote in *Lunheng*: “Those endowed with abundant qi have strong bodies; strong bodies mean longer lives. Those with thin qi have weak bodies; weak bodies mean short lives, and short lives mean frequent illness and early death.” Zhang Jingyue of the Ming Dynasty said: “Human life entirely depends on this qi.” The *Huangdi Neijing* states: “Breathe in pure qi, remain independent and guard your spirit.” This view has been widely accepted by the Chinese people, hence the term “breath cessation” is used to describe death. Now, when Western medicine cannot explain death solely by “cessation of breathing” or “stopped heartbeat,” they are beginning to accept the Chinese concept of “qi.”
The concept of “qi” in Chinese health preservation refers to original qi, also known as true qi. Original qi forms from the primordial qi stored in the kidneys, combined with the refined nutrients from food digested by the spleen and stomach, and the pure air inhaled by the lungs. It is the most fundamental and essential driving force and source of life activities.
After formation, original qi circulates throughout the body, filling all organs and parts, reaching everywhere. It is the essential factor sustaining life, driving normal physiological functions, maintaining health, and preventing disease. Abundant original qi means a strong body; deficient original qi means a weak body; when original qi vanishes, life ends. For those who are ill, if original qi remains intact, even severe illness won’t cause death; if original qi is severely damaged, even minor illness may be fatal. Hence, good health preservers must know how to nurture qi. Thus, the *Suwen·Shanggu Zhen Tian Lun* says: “Be tranquil and free from desire, and true qi will follow. Guard your spirit within, and how can illness arise?”