Chi

I recently watched a documentary by Lucasfilm titled Medicine in the Middle Kingdom. The subject of the film was Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The documentary was fascinating. It was respectful of TCM while at the same time avoiding the New Age nonsense so typical in the West. Nor was it full of the crass skepticism one finds so often. The interviews with Western scholars pointed out that TCM shows some effectiveness, even if they’re not exactly sure what is happening.

One of the many intriguing comments made in the documentary was about the Western understanding of Chi. Ted Kaptchuk, the Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, and the author of The Web That has no Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine, stated that translating Chi as ‘Life Force’ is incorrect because Chi is present in all phenomena, not just the living. Instead, according to Kaptchuk, “Chi is a statement of interconnectedness.” He went on to say that Chi is seen in TCM as an active part of a ‘Dynamic Harmony’ and therefore viewed as essential.

Here in the West, we’re beginning to better understand the world’s interconnectedness. The world’s ecosystem is often compared to a spiderweb, where pulling on one thread impacts another. Just like disrupting a thread on a spiderweb can cause it to become unstable, a disruption to the interconnectedness of bodily functions can set up illness.

While Western science is a powerful tool, Traditional Chinese Medicine has much to offer.