What is chi? (also spelled ki or qi)

Before proceeding to "the answer" I first need to qualify a few things.

Our Western mindset seems to default to Cartesian thinking which is reductionist. Reductionism is concerned with essences as in, "What is the essence of __________?" Another way to say this is, "What's left when you subtract everything you can, that if you subtracted any more, something would cease to be what it is?" So Descartes attempted to reduce being to its essence and when Cartesian philosophy is taught, is summed up as, "I think, therefore I am." (Actually, this statement has been effectively deconstructed by Nietsche.)

Regardless, many Asians are not encumbered by a Cartesian reductionist mindset and often look towards general conclusions that can be drawn about aggregate phenomena that are quite often due to an interactive confluence of factors. Qi is one such aggregate phenomenon. To say "Qi is expressed in everything" might approach accuracy, although it does not provide a person with access to an experience of the phenomenon.

Sometimes Qi is translated as "Energy" and is refuted on the basis of unmeasurability. "If Qi was real, I could detect it on this here sensor device." (This also begs the question of whether or not the device is sensitive enough, and whether the person measuring is indulging in scientistic arrogance by assuming that inability to detect something is equivalent to proof it does not exist.) But this is actually off the mark. Qi has much more to do with how commonly recognized forces are applied. Balance is similar in this respect. A scientist might not measure anything out of the ordinary when examining the phenomenon of balance. They might require sophisticated monitoring of nerve impulses to obtain a true picture, but it is not the existence of the impulses but the pattern that is important. So it is with Qi.

After decades of experience I would say Qi is Qi. No kidding. Attempts to translate the term generally serve to distract. Instead I would draw certain general conclusions about it and point to ways to experience it.

So, when attempting to arrive at a definition of Qi, I would prefer to identify it as a term which describes wave functions occurring in nature and in the body. In terms of practical application, Qi occurs in association with other phenomena. The movements in Taiji Chuan for example are lead by Yi (Attention), after which Qi (Energetic Wave) follows, resulting in Ba (the expression of force or the blow).

To the Chinese way of thinking, there are over 72,000 varieties of Qi, making it as complex as microbiology. So I realize I am merely scratching the surface here, but I feel that characterizing Qi as a way of describing waveforms is somewhat more accurate than to say "energy."