Chi: The Key Concept of the Eastern Belief

Chi or "life energy" is a concept in the Chinese belief that every organism in the world bears host to a spiritual force within them that allows them to on top of many motor functions live, eat, and sleep. Many scientific debates have occurred due to the Western-style medical belief that Chi scientifically exist, while many ripostes from the Eastern medicine practitioners state that Chi has been a large area of study in large parts of Asian for thousands of years.

The study of Chi was first recorded in documents dated centuries old on the study of the energy, by master philosopher Mo Di, who reported Chi as life energy that he witnessed seeping out of a dead body. Fascinated by his discovery, Mo Di published a set of theories that Chi was a relevant stream of energy in every single person, and that malnourishment of Chi led to fatal bodily illnesses. Social acceptance of this soon grew to a peak as people began to live healthier lifestyles and incorporated many of the newly founded "Chi theories" in an attempt to battle their already malnourished lifestyles.

The usage of Chi has been documented multiple times in the context martial arts; however, many of these documented instances have been repeatedly subjected to Western efforts to debunk their credibility. One of the most subject recordings was the live feed of an Western scientific expedition to a Shaolin temple in the late 70's, where the monks agreed to do a demonstration of their mastering of Chi. Numerous monks supposedly explained the theory and practice of Chi to the Westerners, who had skeptical beliefs upon the existence of such miracle energy. The monks then led a series of tests involving the act of holding their breath for longer than ten minutes, balancing their bodies upon razor sharp spears, breaking stones with nothing more than the usage of their bare fists, bodily suction of objects which cannot be removed, and the supposed instance in where a monk divided a miniscule stream of water with a quick strike of his hands. Modern Western train of thought has attempted to accredit to this to a mastering of martial arts and synchronized body movements rather than the appearance of an internal energy.

Chi is still largely believed and practiced by devote practitioners in many areas of the world by Asian communities. Even Western businesses have adopted certain beliefs of Chi, especially the branch of Feng Shui that touches primarily upon the allocation of Chi through the relocation of one's furniture and belongings. Feng Shui preaches the idea that through the placement of one's belongings in a set pattern that aligns itself with heavenly predates, one can control and manage the flow of existent Chi throughout their home, supposedly bringing in good luck, fortune, and health.

Chi has also been the source of controversy, especially in China, where believers of Chi protested widely against the government's solid enforcement of modern science instead of the traditional Chinese medical system. Believers have tried to persuade the government of the credible physical benefits of Chi, although none have managed to prove the metaphysical existence of Chi. There has lately been compromises made between the government and protestors, many of them living in rural areas, about the enforcement of modern medicine and the allowed practice of Chinese traditional medicine.

Western science has always had an intricate relationship with Chinese medicine, both of them intrigued by internal beliefs that could fill one other's scientific voids, yet neither science has yet managed to completely form an official blend of the two different medical sciences. Acupuncture has long been a keen interest in Western doctors, and the technological science discovered in the West has also been a key desire for doctors of the east.

Even today in America, many people practice Tai Chi, a soft martial arts closely associated with the harmonious movement of the body, an actual representation of the flow of the energy stream within, supposedly able to grant health benefits with the close association. The concept of Chi has since been adopted in many things besides physical wellbeing, but movies, books, and even an economy; many products now sell things that endorse the belief and nurturing of Chi.