The emphasis of Traditional Chinese Medicine has always been on prevention of illness. Patients in ancient China would visit their practitioner at the changes of each season to optimise health and well-being rather than waiting until they were out of balance and symptoms had appeared. Happily acupuncture has a valuable role to play in bringing people back to health after symptoms have set in, but prevention has to be better than cure.

The maintenance of good health can be greatly enhanced by consciously working to cultivate our “Qi” or vital energy. This Chinese term is difficult to translate. It is breath, the vital force of life, the wind that comes from the whirling vortex of Dao, that unknowable Origin of being and non-being, nothingness and form. There are many different words for the different types of “Qi” as it manifests at various stages in our being, but it is helpful to focus particularly on what the Chinese refer to as the “three treasures”.

The Three Treasures
The three treasures are “Jing”, “Qi” and “Shen”. One could say that they are, all three, manifestations of “Qi” in its most general sense.

Although one can describe them as discreet aspects of our energetic makeup it is important to understand that there is a constant interaction going on between the three treasures and that they affect each other.

Jing
The word Jing means “essence”, “semen” or “ovum”. It reflects an ancient understanding of the substance and function of the transmission and continuation of life through sexual reproduction. Ancient medical theorists considered it to be the substance that was transmitted from parents to their offspring at conception. Thus it can be understood as an ancient expression of the phenomena of genetic transmission that we understand in the modern biological sciences as DNA.

The Jing is the most substantial of the three treasures, being the root of our constitutional strength, inherited from our parents and stored in the kidneys and bone marrow. As we journey through life our Jing will gradually become depleted. Taking care not to dissipate our Jing by over indulging in food, alcohol, drugs, overwork and excessive sex (especially for men) is key to maintaining well-being.

Qi
The “Qi” of the three treasures is the “Qi” that flows through our meridian systems and ensures the day to day functioning of all our bodily systems and organs. It is sometimes referred to as the “nutritive Qi”. It is less substantial than Jing and flows more readily through our being. The Chinese say “blood follows qi” which is a key reason why enhancing the flow of Qi through our being with acupuncture brings such benefits – blood contains the nourishment our cells need to function properly so enhancing it’s flow and circulation is very helpful.

At this level we have two sources of “Qi” available to us – the food and drink we consume and the air we breathe.

Taking care to source good quality food appropriate to our individual needs, preparing it well and taking the time to be truly present with our food in calm surroundings as we eat will all help to maximise our nutritive Qi.

Many of us live in cities and are acutely aware of how air quality gets compromised by the fumes we find there. It is important to make the time to breathe some fresh air every day (or at least at the weekend). The “Qi” to be found in the atmosphere is best around large trees (which of course produce oxygen), by the sea, in the mountains and by running water. If we can make it to a park to enjoy some fresher air every day, so much the better.

That absorption of good quality “Qi” into our lungs from the atmosphere will be greatly enhanced if we know how to breathe well.

Many of us do not use the full capacity of our lungs as we breathe thereby compromising the gaseous exchange that needs to take place – releasing carbon dioxide and taking in oxygen and the “Qi” or vitality that accompanies good quality fresh air. Learning how to breathe well from the belly, allowing the air to travel deeply to the very bottom of our lungs is important.

Shen
The “Shen” is the least substantial of the three treasures and is translated sometimes as spirit and sometimes as mind.

Claude Larre the sinologist described Shen:

“The shen are that by which a given being is unlike any other; that which makes an individual an individual and more than a person.”

Veith’s translation (1972) of the Chinese classical text the “Su Wen” illustrates that it is the “Shen” that that gives people their human consciousness:

“Let me discuss Shen, the spirit. What is the spirit? The spirit cannot be heard with the ear. The eye must be brilliant of perception and the heart must be open and attentive, and then the spirit is suddenly revealed through one’s own consciousness. It cannot be expressed through the mouth; only the heart can express all that can be looked upon. If one pays close attention one may suddenly know it but one can just as suddenly lose this knowledge. But Shen, the spirit, becomes clear to man as though the wind has blown away the cloud. Therefore one speaks of it as the spirit.”

In Classical Acupuncture the term “Jing-Shen” is the one that most closely accords with our use of the word “spirit”. To quote Loewe (1993): “the Jing-Shen lives in the body like the flame blazing in the candle”. Like Shen, Jing-Shen means different things in different contexts. All the modern Chinese terms that are used to translate English words that start with the pre-fix “psycho-“ start with Jing-Shen. For example mental illness is Jing-Shen Bing and psychiatry is Jing-Shen bing xue. It can also mean the “vigour” or “vitality” that a person exhibits when their body and spirit are both healthy. In earlier times jing-shen meant that combination of inherited temperament and human individuality which constitutes the human spirit.

The concept of Jing-Shen conveys man’s dual nature, part animal, part spirit. Animals possess Jing but they do not possess Shen. It is the Shen that gives people their glory, the miracle of human consciousness. Only humans, standing between Heaven and Earth, possess Jing-Shen.

Shen allows us to enquire wilfully into our own natures and therefore direct the development of our purpose in life. It provides with our capacity to return to our original nature by focusing our intention inwardly toward the Jing. Inherited Jing represents an internal standard corresponding to true self against which all that comes to us in life may be judged. Hence the Shen provides insight into the quality of our innate nature so that we may recognise throughout all of life that which is congruent with our well-being. The Shen constitutes our capacity for conscious awareness and the Jing constitutes the depth of our innate endowment. The act of willing the interpenetration of Jing and Shen is a physiological metaphor for introspection and self-discovery. Our Shen illuminates our depths and thus draws out potential so that it may become manifest in the world.

Qi Gong and Tai Chi Chuan – some tools for cultivation
Qi Gong literally means “exercises for strengthening qi”. It is a generic term that is used to describe a considerable variety of schools of thought and approaches to the practice of developing the Qi. Like much of traditional Chinese culture, it’s origins are shrouded in mystery. There are traditions of practice and cultivation which emphasise quiet sitting and / or standing exercise postures. There are also traditional practices which develop the movements of Qi and use them to animate the entire body.

In Qi Gong the three levels of Jing, Qi and Shen are all present. The flowering of Shen – spiritual work, meditation – needs a strong foundation, a grounding in body awareness and emotional balance. Work on a Qi and Jing Level – physical and energetic practice, is incomplete without the spark of Shen.

In ongoing natural process, Jing is refined into Qi and Qi is refined into Shen. The process can be called the “nourishing line”. Jing nourishes Qi and Qi nourishes Shen. Refinement and nourishment are supported by an appropriate lifestyle and the practice of Qi Gong. At the same time Qi Gong takes advantage of a different connecting principle of the three treasures – the commanding line. In this Shen commands Qi and Qi commands Jing. Shen is the leader and guiding light for Qi and Jing, and it is through the quality of mental concentration, focus and visualisation that Qi is activated and commanded.

In other words if you take care of your Jing, your essential store of energy, and if you cultivate a good flow of Qi, you have created the potential for the flowering of spirit. Once spirit has flowered, it can use its beauty in a return journey, leading Qi, which then reinforces Jing.

Medical Qi Gong is a branch of Qi Gong whereby exercises are prescribed to specifically address pathologies identified by Chinese medical theory. It is a valid healing modality (with departments in most colleges and universities of traditional Chinese medicine in the People’s Republic of China) enjoying widespread acceptance amongst the population.

T’ai Chi Chuan means literally “supreme ultimate fist” and is known as the Queen of the martial arts. There are two primary “schools” of martial arts in China: external and internal. The name “Internal School” is applied to the three fighting arts of Tai Chi Chuan, Xing Yi and Ba Gua. These schools were traditionally developed and transmitted from father to son or through a private relationship between teacher and student. The teachings were retained as secrets within a particular family or tight-knit group.

Until the beginning of the 20th century T’ai Chi Chuan was a secret art within China – only lately have its mysteries been studied outside of a few families.

The external schools were largely organised within temples and monasteries. To learn disciplines such as Shao Lin, E Mei and Bai He disciples were obliged to leave their family and travel. The external schools focus their training on the development of muscular strength, speed of movement, dexterity of the limbs and coordination of the whole body. In general they aim to harden the body’s overall aspect to make it impervious to attack and irresistible by an opponent’s defences.

The internal schools, however, stress the development of softness. They focus attention on the cultivation of mental, that is inward, methods of controlling Qi, and rely upon this less tangible method to develop coordination and dexterity. Rather than feature muscular strength, they aim to develop the power of the Qi through accumulating, refining, integrating and focusing its potentials and motions.

In one of the oldest written classics on T’ai Chi Chuan it is written: “Once set in motion, the whole body is unified and must be light and filled with spirit”. The philosophy of Daoism underpins much of the inspiration behind T’ai Chi Chuan – in various chapters we read: “Dao moves in cycles; Dao functions through softness” (40). “Throughout heaven and Earth, softness overcomes strength as a rider easily handles a galloping stallion. With nothingness you can enter where there is no door”(43). “At birth one is soft and supple, at death strong and hard” (76). “Throughout the world nothing approaches the softness of water, but when it attacks anything strong, nothing can prevail against it. No one can change this. The soft overcomes the strong” (78).

T’ai Chi Chuan is a system of exercise, meditation and martial techniques that develops many skills and results in substantial benefits for those who practice diligently over many, many years. But first and foremost it is a discipline for the accumulation, cultivation and refinement of Qi. This refinement can only be successfully conducted with a relaxed mind and body wherein the Qi is directed and accumulated in the lower abdomen in that mysterious location known as the Dan Tien.

It is said that with diligent practice of T’ai Chi Chuan over time one will develop the “flexibility of a child, the strength of a lumberjack and the peace of mind of a sage”.

N.B. Before embarking on any course of study in the arts mentioned above, do your utmost to verify the credentials of your teacher and the lineage from which they stem.