Understanding the Power of Ch’i: An Introduction to Chinese Mysticism and Philosophy

132 Pages·1998·12.431 MB·English

by  Michael Page

Aquarian

The Power of Ch'i
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The Power of Ch'i
An Introduction to Chinese Mysticism
and Philosophy
by
Michael Page
Aquarian/Thorsons
AnImprintofH&rperCoUinsPublishers
TheAquarianPress
AnImprintofHarperCollinsPubhshers
77-85FulhamPalaceRoad,
Hammersmith,LondonW68JB
1160BatteryStreet,
SanFrancisco,California94111-1213
PublishedbyTheAquarianPress1988
135Th7is9edition189964 42
10
©MichaelPage1988
MichaelPageassertsthemoralrightto
beidentifiedastheauthorofthiswork
ExcerptsfromTaoandLongevitybyWenKuanChu
areusedbypermissionofthepublishers,
SamuelWeiserInc.,YorkBeach,Maine03910,USA.
ExcerptfromCreativeVisualisationbyShaktiGawain©1978by
ShaktiGawainisreprintedbypermissionof
WhateverPublishingInc.,SanRafael,CaliforniaUSA.
QuotesfromConfucius;TheAnalectstranslatedbyD.C.Lau
(PenguinClassics, 1979)andreproducedbypermissionofPenguin
BooksLtd,Middx,England
Acataloguerecordforthisbook
isavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
ISBN 1855383632
PrintedinGreatBritainby
HarperCollinsManufacturingGlasgow
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybe
reproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withouttheprior
permissionofthepublishers.
Contents
Preface 7
1. The Nature of Ch'i 11
2. Change 18
3. Setting Ch'i in Context 28
4. The Grassroots: Taoist Magic 36
5. The Arts 46
• 6. Martial Arts 55
- 7. Health 64
8. Feng Shui 72
9. Immortality: The Elixir of Life 81
10. Immortality: Dual Cultivation 88
11. The Sage 96
12. The Union of Hemispheres 105
Conclusion 113
Notes 120
Bibliography 125
Index 127

Preface
Thisbookisaboutthe controlofthe forcesofnaturewithinand
without man's own frame It tells the story ofa kind ofscience
Western scientists seek to control natural forces, yet theyhave
largely ignored this story that comes from the East. They have
thought ofit as a story of magic and so not worth considering.
People who live for more than 250 years; martial arts oppo-
nents propelled yards with no obvious effort; a change offurni-
ture bringinggood fortune; railway companies forced to change
plans; miracle cures; addictions mastered; river levels lowered.
All these phenomena are believed to have happened. All occur
through the harnessing of cosmic energy by Chinese Taoists.
But is it magic or a kind of science?
Sexual alchemy, martial arts, control ofthe forces ofthe earth,
acupuncture: all these would once have been classed as magic
or charlatanism. Now we in the West are not so sure
One thingallthesemarvelshaveincommonisthattheyinvolve
a knowledge of the mysterious power called, in Chinese ch.% a
wordwhichdenotesavitalbreath orenergywhich animates the
cosmos.
Does it exist?
TheChinese physicaluniverse issaid to consistofan environ-
ment of energy which envelops and permeates us. From the
smallestcell to the mightiestgalaxies in space from atomic par-
ticles to human history, all existence is generated and perpetu-
ated by ch'i.
Ifthere is a universal field ofenergy that is itselfthe universe
and ifthat field maintains the stars in their courses, gives life to
the ant,causesBlackHolesandkeepseach singleatom spinning,
thenitisnotsurprisingthatmen have tried toharnessitfortheir
own ends. Thatthere issuch a fieldisbecomingcommonground
8 THE POWER OF CH'I
between Taoist mystics and hard headed Western scientists. As
FritjofCapra says in hisbook, The TaoofPhysics, 'As in quantum
theory, the field—or the ch'i—is not only the underl)ingessence
ofallmaterialobjects,butalsocarriestheirmutualinteractions. . .'
Many westerners say that ch'i has no equivalent in our termi-
nology, that it is unscientific and not provable
But these opinions are becoming less certain.
It is modern theoretical physics that has altered the thinking.
Ifwelookbeyondtheeverydaytorealmsthatare toominuteeven
forelectron microscopes, to the world ofquantum physics, then
webegin to see thatwe aregettingclose to the thinkingthathas
been current in the east for thousands of years.
In his book, Capra goes on to say that ch'i is indeed identical
to thenewlydiscoveredquantum field. TheNeo-Confuciansdeve-
lopedanotionofch'iwhichbearsthemoststrikingresemblance
to the conceptofthequantum fieldin modemphysics'. Hepoints
to the remarkable similarity ofdescription between ch'i and the
quantum fieldaseachbeing4atenuousandnon-perceptible form
of matter'.
In other words, modern physicists and ancient Chinese unite
in saying thateach ofus exists in ch'i, and ch'i iswithin us. The
quantum field,wavingandvibrating,rhythmicallyalternatinglike
the yin and yang, forms things and dissolves them.'
Theconcepthasbeencurrentin Chinese thinkingsinceatleast
the timeofLaoTzu,hundredsofyearsBC,andhasled toinvesti-
gationandapplication inthe fieldsofhealth,ageing,psychologi-
cal autonomy, magic, geomancy, self-defence, art, and so forth.
But much ofwhat is going wrong in the world nowadays can
be laid at the door ofwestern-style science Such scientists say
that all they are trying to do is to control nature for the good
of us all.
Isnotch'i anothergatewayto more effective control?Are there
not dangers here?
The differencebetweenwestern science and eastern is that the
west is aggressive too often going against the grain of nature
whereas people who study ch'i go with the flow: indeed, to do
anythingelseisultimatelynotpossible Theyinandtheyangwill
maintain harmony, even at the cost of Western hubris.
The study ofch'i reveals that it is possible and advantageous
to learn to control the energy: in that way we shall be healthier
both physically and mentally, and will create our own good for-
tune without harm to the environment.