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ORIENTAL EXERCISE
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For us here in the West, endeavouring to study and to learn about oriental exercise systems such as qi gong or tai ji, it is helpful to know a little about the different ways in which these terms have been translated from the original Chinese characters into our lown language - a process called 'romanisation.' Above all, it is important that we know the differences between our Wade-Giles and our Pinyin. I know I have certainly been confused in the past concerning these differences, and so I am hoping a word of explanation here on this subject might be of use to others.

Basically, there are two very different ways of translating Chinese characters into English - and these are from different time periods. The older (19th century) version is called Wade-Giles. In Wade-Giles the capital city of China, for example, is written as Peking. The modern, academically more acceptable method, however, called Pinyin has the capital city of China written as Beijing. Wade-Giles gave us the terms ch'i kung, Taoism, ta'i chi, and tai chi ch'uan, while Pinyin gives us qi gong, Daoism, tai ji, and tai ji quan. Wade-Giles has been the most widespread method, but it is now considered to have certain shortcomings.

Why is this important?
It is vitally important because it is easy to apply the Wade-Giles 'chi' inappropriately in conversation and writing. When referring to the exercise system or martial art called T'ai Chi in Wade-Giles the word chi means something like 'ultimate' or 'pure.' But in medical literature, for instance, a very similar word ch'i (note the apostrophe after the h) means 'vital energy.' So it is, unfortunately, quite easy to make the mistake of thinking that the 'chi' in tai chi means vital energy - which it does not. It means 'ultimate' or 'pure.'

It is not, in fact, uncommon for westerners to neglect the apostrophes in Wade-Giles, not knowing that these are important for understanding the meaning of some words or the important distinctions between translated terms like these. Tai chi in Wade-Giles is more correctly written as t'ai chi.

The modern method of translation, Pinyin (developed in the 20th century), overcomes this problem because it has completely different words for 'vital energy' and 'ultimate.' Qi is the term given to 'vital energy' - while the word Ji is applied to 'ultimate.' Thus we have Tai Ji (the exercise system or philosophical concept called 'The Supreme Ultimate') and Qi (meaning 'vital energy') - the basis, for example, of much of the theoretical framework of oriental medicine.

So what about oriental exercise? Should we call it ch'i kung or qi gong (or even chi kung)?

Although the Pinyin rendition of qi gong is more academically acceptable, using the older Wade-Giles version 'ch'i kung' is still OK because the Wade-Giles ch'i in this instance means vital energy. Both qi gong and ch'i kung, therefore, can be translated equally correctly as something like 'the method of energy cultivation through breathing.' It is not strictly correct to say chi kung, however, without the apostrophe. It should really be ch'i kung.

But what about tai ji?
With tai ji, as we have seen, things get a little more problematic. The exercise system of that name means something like 'the supreme ultimate' or great purity (Tai means 'great' in both Wade-Giles and Pinyin). But because those who teach and practice tai ji are always to be heard talking about 'energy' or ch'i and its circulation and application, it is very easy to slip into the error of thinking that tai chi means 'supreme energy.' It does not. As we have seen, it means 'supreme ultimate.'

The martial art, by the way, is called tai ji quan (the additional word 'quan' here meaning something like 'fighting system' or 'fist.'

So enjoy your chi when you mention or write about oriental exercise, but make sure you do not call it energy. If it's energy you are referring to, write it as ch'i in Wade-Giles or, best of all in the Pinyin rendition as qi. Then you have got it about right. Using these terms correctly does, I think, help to demonstrate our respect for these wonderful systems and ideas that have come to us from the East - a place whose culture and means of conveying words and ideas is sometimes quite different from our own.

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'Vital Energy' in Wade Giles = ch'i

'Vital Energy' in Pinyin = qi

'Supreme Ultimate' in Wade Giles = chi

'Supreme Ultimate' in Pinyin = ji

'Ch'i Kung' = energy breath in Wade Giles

'Qi Gong' = energy breath in Pinyin

'Tao' = the Way or Path in Wade-Giles

'Dao' = the Way or Path in Pinyin

'Tai' = big or great in Wade-Giles

'Tai' = big or great in Pinyin also

'Tai Yang' = the Sun

'Tai' Yin' = the Moon

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