Qi: Difference between revisions

Qi was an early [[List of English words of Chinese origin|Chinese loanword]] in English. It was [[Romanization of Chinese|romanized]] as ''k'i'' in [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī|Church Romanization]] in the early-19th century, as ch'i in [[Wade–Giles]] in the mid-19th century (sometimes misspelled ''chi'' omitting the apostrophe), and as qi in [[Pinyin]] in the mid-20th century. The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' entry for qi gives the pronunciation as {{IPAc-en|tʃ|i}}, the etymology from Chinese ''qì'' "air; breath", and a definition of "The physical life-force postulated by certain Chinese philosophers; the material principle." It also gives eight usage examples, with the first recorded example of ''k'í'' in 1850 (''[[The Chinese Repository]]''),<ref group=note>Quoting [[Confucius]] that the ''[[Taiji (philosophy)|Taiji]]'' or "Great Extreme is the primordial substance (''k'í'') which, moving along, divided and made two ''k'í''; that which in itself has motion is the ''Yang'', and that which had rest .‥ is the ''Yin''."</ref> of ch'i in 1917 (''[[The Encyclopaedia Sinica]]''),<ref group=note>The essence of the ethical principle ''[[Li (Neo-Confucianism)|Li]]'' "is absolutely pure and good, but seeing that it is inseparable from the material element Ch'i.‥ it is from Man's birth to a greater or less extent impeded and tainted."</ref> and qi in 1971 ([[Felix Mann]]'s ''Acupuncture'')<ref group=note>"To the ancients the cornerstone of the theory of acupuncture, the concept whereby they explained its effects and action, was Qi, the energy of life."</ref>

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