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The Chinese character ch’i is the same as that for air. When a dying person stops breathing, we say the person has no more ch’i, meaning no more air going in and out through the nose or mouth. But in Chinese literature and daily language, there are numerous usages of ch’i. From a sample of the meanings of ch’i illustrated in Douglas Wile’s articles in T’AI CHI (April and June 1982), one may see that most of the usage of ch’i does not mean breathing of air, nor mean atmospheric air.

There are many places in the Taichichuan classics where the word ch’i is used. Some readers and authors equate ch’i to the atmospheric air and therefore breathing through the nose and mouth. This may one of the reasons for the over-emphasis on the breathing of air in Taichichuan. Breathing is important, but not to the extent that requires its manipulation to sacrifice the quality of Taichichuan itself. Once we free ourselves from equating ch’i to atmospheric air or breathing, we may find new understanding from these classics.

Yang Cheng-fu had a student named Chang Chin-lin who also learned the Taoist practice of Tzao Lai-pung, alias Tzao I-fen. According to Wang Yan-nien’s book of 1972, Chang has seven students, among whom are Cheng Man-ch’ing, Wang Yen-nien, and Hu Yuo-jen.

Cheng Recommends Natural Breathing

Cheng recommends natural breathing, with quiet and slow exhalation and inhalation. Except for some hint on one very simple posture, "Taichichuan Commencing" (posture 2), in which both arms are slowly raised and lowered, he did not indicate for subsequent postures when to exhale and when to inhale. Wang teaches 100 percent continuous matching for each movement where he specified exactly in each posture when to exhale and when to inhale.

Hu Yuo-jen wrote a book "Ch’i-Kung for Healing," (enlarged edition 1971). In his system, he entirely ignores the breathing of air. He even wrote that, unless he and specifically refers to breathing through the nose or mouth, what he meant by ch’i and hu and hsi are not related to breathing of air. (The characters hu and hsi mean the expulsion and sucking in and applies to expansion and contraction as well as to exhalation and inhalation of air.) Hu wants natural breathing of air without interference. He said that by ignoring or not paying attention to breathing, one achieves natural breathing.

This comparison shows that although they learned from the same teacher, each of the three pupils adopts a different system. It is significant that even though Hu’s teacher could have taught such complicated breathing method as described in Wang’s book, Hu uses natural breathing in his ch’i kung.

There Are Many Ch’i Kung Systems

There are many other ch’i kung systems using natural breathing. Before World War II, Chinese stationary meditation, whether paying attention to one’s breathing of air no not, was called jing-juo, meaning sitting quietly, although one may do it standing or lying down. Some of such systems are called naikung.

Meditation and naikung, after the war, are generally called ch’i kung, probably because of the attraction of the mystery usually attached to the word ch’i. From the fact that many types of ch’i kung, including the high power ones and the popular types, do not require any attention to the breathing of air, the equating of ch’i in Taichichuan classics with atmospheric air or breathing is without foundation.

There are generally two bread categories of exercise and ch’i kung. The hard style allows an automobile to run over a board placed on one’s abdomen while lying down. It requires holding the breath to raise the abdomen and make it firm. But the so-called soft style, which emphasizes naturalness, does not always require manipulation of breathing. The naikung in Taichichuan and the ch’i kung similar to Hu Yuo-jen’s belong to the second category.

In certain types of stationary meditation, breathing is emphasized. Attention to breathing is a convenient way to help you concentrate and reduce distractions, although attention to breathing itself may affect your breathing pattern. In Taichichuan, beginners have many things to attend to (see T’AI CHI, Dec. 1983).

In the very advanced stage, you concentrate to do the exercise with your full spirit. This spirit is clearly expressed in the performance of the highly proficient experts. You do not just do it routinely or mechanically. In either case, attention to breathing is a distraction, preventing you from doing Taichichuan properly and reaching your peak proficiency.

From the Inside Out; From the Outside In

Breathing is also used in certain stationary meditation to generate internal movements during quiescence. (Hu Yuo-jen’s ch’i kung starts the internal movements inside the abdomen through other means than breathing of air.) In Taichichuan, when you are continuously moving physically, the movements of your internal organs automatically follow if you twist your waist pliably and correctly.

This kind of internal movement, with more variety of forms and greater intensity than from breathing, does not require your conscious effort. In fact, attention to breathing may even reduce the subtleness in your waist twisting.

You seek mental quiescence during physical movement. It is incorrect to consider that ch’i should be stimulated or agitated. The classic says, "ch’i should be nurtured naturally. If you achieve mental quiescence, loosen your joints, apply your supple strength, and do the movements correctly and fluently, the flow of ch’i will be in order. Your breathing will follow your movements harmonious with your internal energy flow. It should not be the other way round.

Careful authors on Chinese mediation and ch’i kung distinguish two meanings of ch’i: the air you breathe in and the mild energy generated in your body. In Taichichuan, ch’i means such mild energy.

This can be seen from the following quotations in the classics: "Circulate ch’i through the body, let it flow freely, then all movements will follow the mind." "Circulate ch’i as if it were passing through a nine-curved pearl, no tiny spot is not reached." "Ch’i permeates the entire body without hindrance." You get the feeling of such energy flow in the body after you have practiced correctly and fluently.

Ch’i in various contexts may not mean exactly the same thing. But they are generally more akin to energy than to breathing. When the classics refer to breathing, they use the terms "exhalation and inhalation." This is seen from the sentence, "Be able to exhale and inhale in order to be agile and lively."

The Chemistry of Energy

Generation of energy in the body requires the chemical reaction between oxygen and the nutrients stores in the body. But the supply of oxygen is from the air one breathes in. The heart pumps the blood which caries this oxygen from the lungs through the small capillaries to reach the nutrients stored in the muscles to generate the energy. There is no energy without myoglobin in the muscles and oxygen in the air. This way, air, breathing, and energy (ch’i) are related. But one cannot say that ch’i is breathing.

In fact, inhalation of air does not immediately generate energy. As explained in T’AI CHI, Dec. 1983, for self-defense, you inhale (e.g. in rounding your arms) to store up your energy, you exhale to issue energy. This gives little time for the blood to transport more oxygen in through the small capillaries to the muscles for generating larger energy for an attack.

In the one-person, continuous movements, you need natural, smooth breathing to generate the continuous, almost even energy flow through your whole body from the beginning to the end of the exercise. Unlike serious self-defense where larger strength is applied at the exact moment when you want to defeat your opponent, the continuous mild energy flow in the one-person exercise does not depend on the matching of the movement with breathing. This mild energy flow is continuous, like drawing silk from a cocoon. It is not on and off. And it does not vary significantly according to your inhalation and exhalation.

Breathing is important to produce energy, and so is the pumping of your heart. A difference is that you can control your breathing rate but not so directly control your heart rate.

From the ability to control your breathing it does not follow that you should control it continuously by your own will, especially for the duration of the exercise of 20 minutes or so.

The Best Way

The best way is to leave breathing to the automatic adjustment by your brain. The more natural and smoother is your breathing, the more natural and smoother will be your energy flow.

In fact, if you do not pay attention to your breathing, you will notice that it is your blood flow and heart beat, not your breathing, which play the predominant role in affecting the feelings of your internal energy flow during the one-person Taichichuan exercise.

Most authors who recommend matching breathing with the one-person Taichichuan movements since 1960, especially those who recommend 100 percent matching, claim that they are following the Taoist practice. But the Taoist philosophy emphasizes wuwei, meaning inaction or non-interference.

‘Letting Alone’

As explained by Prof. Liu Wu-chi, "This Taoist doctrine of wuwei is essentially the theory of ‘letting alone.’ As a philosophy of life it means that one should keep within the limit of one’s nature and let one’s body functions take care of themselves." ("A Short History of Confucian Philosophy," p. 41)

Therefore, although manipulation of breathing during meditation is practiced by certain persons of the Taoist religion, it is contradictory to the fundamental Taoist philosophy of naturalness, which is a basic principle of Taichichuan.

It is believed that persons who want to use breathing for a different aspect of health benefits should practice separately from their Taichichuan certain meditation or breathing exercises which are especially designed for this purpose so that they may reap the full benefits of each system, instead of a compromise.

Physical exercise designed for breathing, unlike Taichichuan, always have simpler movements with regular rhythm to allow natural matching.