Talk:Qi

Removed reference
I removed those references because there is no need for the first reference in the lead; the second reference is not to a Reliable Source; there is no page number; the titles do not make sense – what is “Ration of Qi”? “Generalized Quanta Wave”?

This is not Mathematical Medicine and Biology, but 数理医药学杂志 = Journal of mathematical medicine published by the very respectable Wuhan University, but available electronically and held by no universities in WorldCat: WorldCat: Journal of Mathematical Medicine

The references were introduced into this article and several others, October 2011: diff and diff by an editor whose only  contributions were insertions of that reference on that day HERE

The articles are: and

ch (talk) 02:22, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

vital force
According to this article the idea that there exists a vital force inside us that makes us different from inanimate objects is discredited pseudo-science. Even robots need electricity to run. 178.220.212.12 (talk) 14:33, 30 January 2023 (UTC)


 * Everything in organic chemistry gives the lie to vitalism. tgeorgescu (talk) 18:12, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Revert
I have reverted bad sources (fail WP:MEDRS) and unsourced comments.

E.g. is unsourced. And even if it could be sourced, I highly doubt that it is true (mysticism played no role in my formal education; yup, I had studied Western esotericism, but the university made no compulsion to actually believe it, it was an analytical-empirical study, not a mystical one). E.g. Bart Ehrman is a Bible professor and studies the Bible very deeply, but he does not believe in the Bible; his study of the Bible is not mysticism. The Communist ideology which ruled Romania when I grew up was hogwash, but it wasn't mystical hogwash. tgeorgescu (talk) 20:54, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Paul U. Unschuld
From the introduction:

The historian of medicine in China Paul U. Unschuld adds that there "is no evidence of a concept of 'energy' – either in the strictly physical sense or even in the more colloquial sense – anywhere in Chinese medical theory."

Well, if Unschuld's position is reported correctly, and if he's right, and the other articles say the opposite, they're simply wrong. Florian Blaschke (talk) 06:48, 21 September 2023 (UTC)


 * That is a problem for translators: how do you translate untranslatable words? Really, it is a problem of traductology.
 * So, is therefore a false dilemma. Probably both parties are right, in a way: Unschuld that there is no English word for the Chinese concept, and those sources are merely approximating that concept through using the word "energy".
 * E.g. the Romanian word "dor" is considered untranslatable. Its best English translation would be "longing". But according to traductologists, this best translation is a bad translation. tgeorgescu (talk) 19:00, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Mentions in the Tao Te Ching
I was surprised to learn today that the Tao Te Ching mentions Qi three times, in chapters 10, 42, and 55. This is probably worth including in the "Philosophical roots" section. My understanding is that the usages here tend to refer more literally to "breath" but the more mystical meanings were beginning to emerge at the time too. Michael LaFargue in his translation writes: "Although ch'i was beginning to be used by some as a technical theoretical term, I believe that in the Mencius and the Tao Te Ching it is still an unsystematized term of folk psychology, similar in use to words like feelings in colloquial English" (pg 222). LaFargue is not an expert, but on this claim he does cite A.C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao, pages 351-354. I can't verify this citation myself.

All that's to say, if anyone has some quality sources shedding light on this, it would be a great addition to the "Philosophical roots" section.

StereoFolic (talk) 20:29, 21 September 2023 (UTC)