THE CONCEPT OF HARMONY
AND SELF-CULTIVATION
Chinese traditional philosophy and Qigong
HÖGSKOLAN DALARNA
ANNA VIRDEBY
Chinese Traditional Culture VT2015
Introduction
The origins of traditional Chinese philosophy, and Confucianism and Daoism is a period of war and great
turmoil. A period of time where educated thinkers in China and officials (shi) would struggle to create more
peaceful living conditions. Thinkers during this period shaped different theories regarding concepts like
morality, political society and good governance. Buddhism in China gained influence later in history, during
the Tang dynasty, and may have offered a more religious and metaphysical theory in relatively more peaceful
time in China. The historian Sima Tan (died 110BCE) was one of the first to categorize the different lines of
thought in early China.1 This essay will briefly investigate the concept of “Harmony” and “Self-cultivation”
in these three major philosophical lines. I will also explore how these concepts still are practiced today in
Qigong. Qigong is the Chinese Medicine method for meditation which is also considered to have therapeutic
effects. 2 Finally, I will also shortly explore some correlations between these concepts and traditional
political society.
The concept of Harmony and Self-Cultivation
First of all, in Chinese philosophy, an individual is a relationally constituted and situated self. This means that
there are many factors that shape the self, such as relationships with others and experiences in historical,
cultural, social and political context. The concept of self-cultivation was developed in belief that the purpose
of learning was to better oneself and hence, better the society. For Confucians, a self-cultivated person was
someone who legitimately had the ability to lead the people, while for Daoist thinkers, self-cultivation was
to nurture oneself and keep the self unadulterated from the corrupting influences of society. Nevertheless,
the different lines of thinking share the view of individuals as contextually situated and interdependent.
Further on, they all pointed out the importance of self-cultivation. Good relationships were seen as central
to a good life, and self-cultivated people with harmonic relationships would build a stable society.3 The
doctrine of self and self-cultivation in Chinese Buddhism is not as clear in context of the society and state,
as this essay will present.
Confucianism
Social harmony and stability were critical issues for the early thinkers in China, the thinkers concentrated on
processes and methods that could ensure a stable and peaceful existence. Good relationships were seen as
a fundamental element towards social stability. For Confucians, the family was a microcosm of the state,
and the state a macrocosm of human interrelations guided by institutions and government. The concept of
harmony (和) is the equivalent of a harmonious state or society. Therefore, Confucianism and the Ru-ist
education, resided in the cultivation of an ethically and ritually disciplined life. Harmony is obtained by
human benevolence (ren), through self-cultivation (xiushen) and is guided by rituals/rules (li) that should be
applied in both private and official life.4
The terms ren and li are two fundamental concepts in Confucianism. Together they represent the Confucian
ideal of cultivated humanism. Ren symbolizes a form of humaneness, the human virtue of compassion. The
cultivation of ren begins with the development of family relationships, meaning that one first learns about
human attachment through interaction with family members. The skills learnt in the family environment are
vital for person’s interactions with others. Ren is also associated with a kind of ethical wisdom. The concept
1
2
3
4
Karyn L. Lai, An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy; Cambridge University Press: p.1-4
Elisabeth Hsu, The transmission of Chinese Medicine; Cambridge University Press: p.21
Karyn L. Lai, An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy; Cambridge University Press: p.4-8
Ibid: p.8-11
1
of li represents a form of normative codes of conducts that serves as a guide for correct behavior in a range
of different contexts: between children and parents, subject and ruler and prince and minister. These rules
are not to be confused with penal law, Confucians argued that ren together with li would form a kind of
moral within the individual, instead of just obeying the legislation in order to avoid punishment.5
Daoism
Daoist philosophers embraced multiplicity and plurality and reflected on natural events in the world. They
praised the non-homogeneity in society and differences between individuals and views. Therefore, harmony
was viewed as a lively interchange between different points of view. Hence, the Daoist theory is a holistic
view which often looks at and reflects on events in the natural world. Daoism also represents a form of
correlative thinking. An example is the correlation drawn between a dysfunctional state and a diseased body,
both lacking in alignment between parts and is therefore disharmonious.6
Moreover, the Daoist thinkers meant that self-cultivation was to keep the self pure from the corruptions of
society. The purpose is to experience dao (the way or all-embracing). The self was regarded as part of dao
along with nature. That means that dao is all and contains everything “all-under-heaven” (tianxia). The two
main principles of dao are wuwei (non-action) and ziran (spontaneity). Wuwei can be translated as a kind
of acceptance and non-coercion. This holistic kind of view includes the belief that the whole is merely the
sum of its parts, harmony is in the plurality or dao – the all-embracing.7 (chinese characters could have
been introduced after the pinyin for consistency in the text)
Buddhism
Buddhism entered China during the 1st century, but developed into Chinese Buddhism during the 5th century.
Buddhists regarded the self as a thinking and conscious self that acts and interacts in the everyday world.
This phenomenal self is constituted by five different processes:
 Material processes
 Sensations: contact with the world through the six senses
 Perceptions: cognition of material and mental objects through the six senses
 Physic dispositions: psychological emotions, impressions and volitional processes that influence
behavior.
 Consciousness: awareness of self and awareness of the world.
Buddhist thinkers considers (the present tense is always preferred in academic writing as a descriptive tense,
unless you are referring to historical events) the self as a part of an interdependent causality that underlies
processes and events. The doctrine of interdependent causality has important moral implications since the
self is both acting and acted upon in different situations. The self is both conditioned by causes and
generates consequences that condition others in the future. Every action (karma), whether physical or
mental, is followed by correlated consequences. Therefore, it is important to cultivate right mindfulness and
right concentration. The concept of karma is correlated to the doctrine of self. The true self is a psychophysical self, which is defined as a stream of consciousness that continues despite of the death of the
physical body it is associated with.8
5
6
7
8
Ibid: p.8-11
Ibid: p.11-14
Course notes, Chinese Traditional Culture VT2015
Karyn L. Lai, An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy; Cambridge University Press: p.237-241
2
In China, Buddhism was influenced by earlier Chinese philosophies, particularly Daoism, and had a more
practical orientation. It states that the world as perceived through our senses is not real. Instead, Chinese
Buddhism concentrated on problems of conception (due to the five different processes listed above) and
argued that subjective prejudices limit our interpretation of the world. Hence, most of our knowledge tends
to be false. And because of this, life would be limited or filled with suffering. Meditation and/or yoga was
said to be the way to obtain insight to the truth.9
Summary of Harmony and Self-Cultivation in Chinese traditional philosophy
Confucianism, Daoism and Chinese Buddhism all regard the self as a product of depending of many factors
such as: relationships with others, history, culture, subjective prejudice etc. But they cannot be said to
represent individualistic theories, instead the individual is seen as interdependent from the rest of society.
For Confucians, self was equal to the concept of ren – humaneness. Self-cultivation was considered to better
oneself in order to improve society and make it peaceful and harmonious. This was to be done through both
ren and li. Li is the concept of behavioral guidelines that condition the relationships in different social
contexts. Confucians believe that in order to create a harmonious state, one must start with the private
relationships in the family since the family was considered as a microcosm of the state (and the state as a
macrocosm of the family). It is debated whether ren or li is the fundament for a harmonious state, or if they
are interdependent of each other.
When it comes to Daoism, the self is regarded as a part of nature. For Daoists, man is therefore part of
nature, and nature a part of man. Self-cultivation is to nurture oneself and to being unadulterated of the
society’s influence. Dao, the way, is to embrace the interchange of all different point of views. Harmony is
the belief that the whole is merely the sum of its part and in plurality. Daoism also uses a kind of correlative
thinking such as making the comparison between a diseased body and a dysfunctional state. A harmonious
state, according to the Daoist doctrine, does not seem to concentrate on behavioral rules such in
Confucianism, but in the acceptance of co-existing differences and a holistic point of view where observing
nature is an important component.
In Chinese Buddhism, the self is determined by previous causalities and is divided into the physical body
and a stream of consciousness that continues even when the physical body is deceased. The self is
conditioned by five different processes where the six senses, cognition, emotions and consciousness plays
an important role. The doctrine focuses on problems with these processes and argues that because of
dysfunction of any of these processes, mans’ knowledge and perception of the world is not true. Selfcultivation can be argued as having a mind “clear as a mirror” through which we can perceive and interpret
the world as the truth, or to be enlightened. The theory of enlightment toghether with that of karma (which
provides a kind of guidelines for the actions of the self) can be said to represent the concept of harmony in
Chinese Buddhism. While Confucianism focuses on a harmonious state, and Daoist thinkers were orientated
on natural phenomena and the holistic entity, Chinese Buddhism seems more orientated on the enlightment
of the individual.
9
Ibid: p.249-253
3
Qigong
Qigong became very popular in China under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in the 1980’s but the word qigong
was first found in a text during the Jin dynasty (AD 265-420). Qigong often refers to the reinterpretation of
Daoist practices under the impact of modern medicine but has a wide range of practices. It was originally
defined as a “self-cultivation practice” but is currently called “a breathing technique”. Qigong is nowadays
known mostly as a meditative practice with therapeutic effects.10
During the Warring States period (475-221 BC), the practice of Qigong was said to nurture one’s life
(yangsheng), to guide and lead qi (daoyin) and to cultivate oneself (xiushen). Present day practice of Qigong
is often based on former Daoist meditation traditions and sometimes including elements of Buddhist
meditation practices. Formerly, all Chinese doctors’ engaged in meditative practices such as qigong for selfcultivation and in order to strengthen one’s inner qi (neiqi).11 (chinese characters as above)
When the practice of qigong became more widely known in the 1950’s it was promoted in the context of
public health care. In 1955 the first qigong rehabilitation centre was established, and patients with gastrointestinal disorders were taught Inner Nurture Qigong (neiyanggong). Qigong was thereafter taught in
several rehabilitation centres all over China and was promoted as particularly effective for the cure of
chronic hepatitis, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, tuberculosis, asthma, neurasthenia, diabetes,
glaucoma and toxaemia.12
Qigong was discredited as superstition during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) but was revived in the late
1970’s and 1980’s. During the 1980’s qigong was more widely spread. It was regularly practiced by both
women and men, state employees, pensioners, and unemployed youth. Qigong was not only practiced at
home or in a park, there were also organized qigong meetings with famous qigong masters in sport stadiums
and university auditoriums. Private qigong practices promising a sure and safe cure was opened in and
around the cities. The revival of qigong during the 1980’s were attributed to the head of the state. Rumor
had it that Deng Xiaoping was treated by a qigong healer, and of course also Mao Zedong’s earlier personal
experiences with Chinese Medicine helped to promote Chinese traditional medicine during this time.13
Concepts of qigong practice
As described above, qigong can be described as a form of meditation. In order to find the concentration to
meditated an “upright mind” (zhengxin) and a clear conscience is fundamental. Purity of mind is paralleled
by the purification of the entire body such as respecting food taboos, clean the meditation room, washing
the entire body and abstain from sexual intercourse. The meditation is to take place at a precise time of the
day, preferable during the zi hours around midnight (11 p.m. – 1 a.m.). These preparations/rules have
features common with both Daoist and Buddhist traditions. Qigong masters are believed to be extremely
powerful and often acts on ethical grounds. To become a healer, it is important to cultivate one’s Inner qi
through the practice of qigong. This training is surrounded by great discipline and is often based on Daoist
incantations and by reading books full with drawings of Daoist signs. The pupil has to engage in both qigong
10
11
12
13
Elisabeth Hsu, The transmission of Chinese Medicine; Cambridge University Press: p.21
Ibid: p.22
Ibid: p.23
Ibid: p.23-24
4
healing performances and meditation, memorize Daoist incantations and learn how to write the Daoist signs.
In order to make the incantations work during the healing of patients, one also have to learn the exact
pronunciation of each spoken word. Only the correctly pronounced word has power. These Daoist
incantations and sigs is furthermore often to be kept as a secret. In terms of self-cultivation, all these rituals
aim to aestetic aspects such as scents, for example of jasmine blossoms, which may emanate from the
qigong master’s body, and to the visualization of different colored lights during meditation.14
The goal for qigong meditation (or treatment) is primarily to restore balance in the body and hence, harmony.
Another important principle in qigong is only to tread committed clients. The ancient Chinese doctor Bian
Que wrote “Never treat those who believe in shamans and not in doctors” as his sixth principle of ethics.
This means that there have to be a mutual commitment between the qigong healer and the patient. The
patient is expected to attend several qigong sessions and furthermore to engage in meditation at home and
to practice qigong movements.15
The ritual activities of a qigong healing session includes more than just a cleansing of the body. It also
includes the theory of qi and the five elements (wuxing). Qi is simplified said to be all energies both inside
the body and outside it – all under heaven. The five elements relates to natural phenomena such as wood,
fire, earth, metal and water. Chinese medicine, and qigong, is primarily directed at regulating these complex
processes analogous to microcosm and macrocosm. For instance, bad qi (xieqi) can be taken away from the
body and original qi (yuan qi) can be strentghed. The theory of qi and the five elements are first recognized
in the book of Classic of Difficult Issues (Nanjing), written during the Han-dynasty (206 BC – AD 220).16
The body ecologic
Chinese Medicine is based on the concept of “The body ecologic”. In short this means that it includes the
concerns of people in their interaction with the natural environment. In China, the idea that processes in
the macrocosm and the microcosm are analogous. The cosmos, the state, and the body is seen as so
interdependent that they are considered a single complex. Chinese medical doctors states that there are
several different pathogenic kinds of qi that relates to nature; cold, dry, damp, wind etc. There is simply just
not one qi but a whole chorus of them. Also in qigong, disharmonic dynamics of qi is held responsible for
disorders in the body. This concept can also be paralleled to “body politic” – an idea of power relations of
the society at large, and the way they are embodied in individuals. In short, the body ecologic, or body
politic is the idea that body and environment cannot be dealt with as separate entities. This contrasts the
western view of the separation of the individual body and the social body (as in governmental institutions).17
As mentioned earlier in this essay, ancient Daoist thinkers made a correlation drawn between a
dysfunctional state and a diseased body, both lacking in alignment between parts and is therefore
disharmonious.
Conclusion
There is a clear connection between Daoist thinking and the practice of Qigong. Qigong was traditionally
used as a self-cultivation practice in order to nurture one’s life. Today Qigong is mostly known as a meditative
practice but is also a part of public health care since it is considered to have therapeutic effects. Qigong
14
15
16
17
Ibid: p.33-57
Ibid: p.59-64
Ibid: p.68-75
Ibid: p.78-83
5
meditation is based on Daoist signs and incantations but there are elements of Buddhist meditation
practices as well. For instance, it is said that one should have a clear and upright mind in order to find the
right concentration for meditation. There are also several cleansing rituals to be done before undertaking
a qigong session. These ideas can be paralleled to the Buddhist idea of the true self. The Qigong masters are
said to act on ethical grounds based on traditional Chinese thinking in both Confucianism, Daoism and
Buddhism.
A person that wishes to become a qigong master must follow rituals that contains many disciplined rituals
(li) based on Daoist and Buddhist philosophy. For example, it is not enough just to memorize signs and
incantations – they have to be written and pronounced in the exact correct way for being effective. The
pupil’s goal is to experience phenomena arising from the physical body – such as scents deriving from the
palms or visualizing different kinds of light during meditation. Furthermore, the patient seeking qigong
treatment, also have to be committed to self-cultivation through the attendance of several qigong sessions
and at home practices. All these rituals, both for the qigong healer and the patient, clearly shows that qigong
includes a great deal of practices for self-cultivation that can be connected both to the Daoist, Confucian
and Buddhist concept of self-cultivation.
All the qigong rituals strive for achieving balance – harmony – in the body. Chinese medicine, and qigong,
includes complex theories of natural events that are applied to the mental and physical state of the body.
As mentioned, there are theories of the five elements and pathogenic qi that are correlated to wind, cold,
water, fire etc. Moreover, the concept of qi is said to include all that is under heaven (tianxia) and there is
no line drawn between qi of in- our outside the body. This connection to nature in Chinese medicine is
clearly associated to the Daoist idea of the all-embracing and that man is a part of nature. Additionally, the
Confucian idea of correlations between a microcosm and macrocosm is present in both Chinese medicine
and qigong.
Chinese philosophy states that an individual is a relationally constituted and situated self. The self is said to
be interdependent of relationships with others and experiences in private and public life. Just as harmony
is the goal for qigong practice, harmony is also the goal of Chinese traditional thinking regarding political
society. The Confucians meant that self-cultivation through ren and li would better the society. For Daoist
thinkers, self-cultivation was to nurture oneself and to experience dao, the all-embracing or all-underheaven. That is, harmony is the acceptance of the plurality in the world and the idea of man and nature as
one unit. Harmony to Buddhist thinkers is to cultivate oneself through meditation so one could transform
into the true self.
Chinese medicine is based on the concept of the body ecologic – peoples’ interaction with the natural
environment. The body and the state are seen as interdependent entities. A good example of this is the
Daoist comparison between the diseased body and a dysfunctional and disharmonic state. Qigong, and
other Chinese traditional medicinal treatments, were promoted by the Chinese government during the
1980s (1980s). Central political figures such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping were said to have positive
personal experiences with Chinese medicine and qigong. A most personal reflection is that the practice of
Chinese medicine was promoted – not just for economic reasons – but for the elements of self-cultivation
related to Confucian thinking. The Buddhist elements in qigong could have been one of the reasons of why
the practice were banned as superstitious during the Cultural Revolution. It is also interesting to note how
6
qigong was revived as a breathing technique – and not as a method for self-cultivation in the 1980s. It is still
to be shown whether the body politic will have a revival or not in the Chinese society.
7