Summary

• Life, it is said in the Chinese medical classics, is a collection of Qi.
• A human being is a mixture of Qi that manifests in many different forms and functions, material and immaterial. Individually, TCM refers to these energetic manifestations as "the vital substances."
• When all of the yin and yang aspects of Qi are in harmony with one another, there is health and well-being, peace and contentment. When yin and yang are in disharmony, when there is too much or too little of one aspect or another, then there is illness, disease, pain and suffering.
• The theory of five elements (wu xing) explains how Qi cycles through various stages of transformation.
• Each zang-fu organ system is associated with a particular phase of the transformation and transportation of the various vital substances.
• The jing luo channel system theory focuses on the movement of Qi throughout the body. Qi tends to collect in areas that become the acupuncture points Qi can be accessed and manipulated.

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