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The Qi character: Dr. Her Yue Wong, Founder of the Dao Li Jiao and Founder-Director of the Ching Yi Kung Fu Association, has chosen to use an ancient character for the "Qi" of Qigong, as this character better explains what Qi truly embodies. Note that etymology for the chosen character is no longer found in most modern dictionaries.

Dr Wong's chosen character for Qi: 炁

Look at the etymology of this character and you will find that the top part of the character is a variation of Wu (nothingness) which is pronounced Qi. This gives the character its sound, but also part of its meaning. In more distant times, it was used to mean 'to breathe into.' The bottom half of the character is the contraction of Huo (fire). The translation that Dr. Wong prefers is: "the energy burning from the unknown fire."

You can find this Qi character in some of the older dictionaries under the fire radical and defined as "influences." One dictionary has it as: "breath, air, steam, gas, used in Taoist charms" which brings us back to its use in ancient writings.

The traditional form for Qi: 氣

The traditional form is the combination of the character Qi - for breath or vapor - on top and the character Mi for rice underneath; etymology explains this as "the vapor that rises from cooking rice." Even though this suggests energy and heat production (from the staple of Chinese life - rice) it is an indirect energy that suggests effect rather than cause.