Posted by Show-Hong on January 23, 1999 at 23:50:23:
In Reply to: Re: Grammatologist posted by Louis on January 11, 1999 at 12:17:40:
Hi Louis,
Professor Cheng Man-Ching talked about this “hao ran zhi qi” quite a bit too. But I strongly doubt that reading Mengzi’s passages on this subject is going to be of much help. Through Chinese history tens of thousands of scholars had studied it intensely but few of them had shown evidence of significant ability in the cultivation or exercise of this "chi". The way i see it, the early Christians had and exercised this "chi" when they died for their faith in large numbers. In more recent times, the priest who took place of a man to be executed by the Natzi, the women somewhere in europe during WW II who hosted a Christmas dinner for both Allied and Natzi soidiers, and a priest in a story I heard who calmly gave his life vest to another person in a ship reck all demonstrated this “hao ran zhi qi”. Isn't this (one of) the holy grail of martial artists -- the ability of having no fear of death?
Regards,
Show-Hong
: Hi Show-Hong,
: The usage and meaning of the word qi throughout Chinese history is a huge and controversial topic, one that I’m not sure I’m equal to tackling. I will note that in Wu Yuxiang’s “Mental Elucidation of the Thirteen Postures”, there is a statement, “When the qi is cultivated in a straightforward manner, there will be no harm.” This is almost a direct quotation from the Mengzi (Mencius). Perhaps if one wants to understand what Wu Yuxiang had in mind, one should read Mengzi’s passages on cultivating the “hao ran zhi qi”.
: Your thoughts?
: --Louis