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  • Writer's picturePhilip Niño Tan-Gatue

What is Qi? Acupuncture Archives Episode 2

What is Qi? The Eternal Question

What is Qi? Qi is probably the single most misunderstood concept in Eastern culture and traditions. More often than not, Qi is often understood to be some quasi-mystical force. In my years of studying Chinese medicine and of course, being actually Chinese, I have come to feel the need to try to explain just what it is. This is important to me because quite honestly I am tired of people dismissing acupuncture as something “magical” or even “satanic” because it supposedly relies on Qi as some sort of supernatural force.

In a nutshell, Qi is “physiology”, in my opinion. Here in this video I try to talk more about it.


I hope that in this brief explanation we can come to a better understanding of this fundamental concept. I tried to explain the idea also by providing examples where the word “qi” is used elsewhere and how it is used. You might be surprised as to what the word is more often associated with in everyday Chinese language.

At any rate, please do feel free to comment, subscribe or watch other videos or read other blog articles I have written.

For starters, here is an article I wrote way back in 2012: How to Explain Qi to MDs

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