This book is devoted to a topic represented by a single Chinese character, Qi.

Contemporary linguists hold that if a word or concept can be expressed in any one language or dialect it can be translated into any other language or dialect. However, many who have confronted the problem of how to translate the word Qi might challenge this axiom. Qi is a concept that presents students of Chinese culture, Chinese medicine, Chinese martial arts, and a wide range of Chinese traditional arts and sciences with one of the most perplexing challenges they face in pursuit of their studies. The book begins with an examination of the linguistic and literary roots of the word Qi which stretch back through the shadowy mists of Chinese precivilization.

The first chapter includes a survey of concepts from other (non-Chinese) cultures which can be correlated with the ancient Chinese notion of Qi. The authors then trace the development of the concept of Qi through a number of related traditional Chinese disciplines including painting, poetry, calligraphy, dance, medicine, qi gong, and martial arts. The book concludes with an examination of the depth and breadth of Qi as a concept in daily life in China.

The book leads readers on an adventure of discovery, demonstrating from many points of view how the ancient Chinese concept of Qi has been employed to interconnect the very roots of culture in one of the world's most enduring civilizations. It presents for the first time in English an exhaustive examination of this ancient metaphysical concept.