“气”的实质

The Essence of Qi

[1]不知道“气”,便不懂得中医,乃至中国哲学与文化。那么,到底什么是“气”?[2]最早,古人能够看见有形的物体便是“气”,如云雾、热水产生的水汽等,或是那些虽无形但可感知的气态,如空气流动产生的风。后来,“气”逐渐演化为一个哲学概念,指存在于宇宙中不断运动的极细微的本源物质。《易经》说,“天地氤氲,万物化生”;东汉的哲学家王充也认为,“天地合气,万物自生”,即宇宙万物都是由天地之气所构成。

[1]Without any knowledge of qi,it will be hard to really get into Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM),let alone Chinese philosophy and culture.So what exactly is qi then?[2]In ancient times,people could perceive some tangible objects of qi,such as clouds vapor and hot steam,or certain invisible though touchable things,such as the flow of air(wind).