TERMBASES
The term refers to vitality which is needed for the human or animal body to sustain its life and which reflects the state of life. It is something one is born with, representing the body’s needs of material things. A person exhibits different levels of vitality at different stages of life, reflecting changes in the strength of life. Vitality is unstable in youth; it reaches its peak in the prime of life, and in old age it wanes. Furthermore, different people have different levels of vitality, some overflowing with vigor, while others are subdued. People’s vitality can be changed by means of rites, music and through education; it is the basis for shaping a person’s moral and emotional trait.
Qi (vital force) has a material existence independent of subjective consciousness and is the basic element of all physical beings. It is also the basis for the birth and existence of life and spirit. In addition, some thinkers have given a moral attribute to qi. Qi is in constant motion and change, and has no specific shape. Its concentration gives birth to a thing and its evaporation signals the end of that thing. Qi permeates all physical beings and their surroundings. Qi, as a philosophical concept, is different from what is commonly understood by the word qi (气), namely, air. Although things in liquid or solid form are different from things in air form, from the perspective of the ancient Chinese philosophy, their formation and existence are the results of the concentration of qi.
Vital energy refers to the finest and most subtle energy. The earliest detailed explanation of vital energy is found in Guanzi. According to the book, the finest and most subtle energy is a concrete manifestation of dao. All things with shapes and all human beings are made up of vital energy; one’s life, sense, and intelligence are also believed to derive from vital energy.