Dedicated with admiration and gratitude to thosewho commissioned the work and to Third CoastPercussion. qì is the circulating vital life energy that in Chinesephilosophy is thought to be inherent in all things. In traditional Chinese culture, qì or ch'i or ki inKorean culture and ki in Japanese culture is an activeprinciple forming part of any living thing. qì literallytranslates as "breath", "air", and figuratively as"material energy", "life force", or "energy flow". Concepts similar to qì can be found in manycultures: prana in Hinduism (and elsewhere in Indianculture), chi in the Igbo religion, pneuma in ancientGreece, mana in Hawaiian culture, lüng in TibetanBuddhism, manitou in the culture of the indigenouspeoples of the Americas, ruah in Jewish culture, andvital energy in Western philosophy.