How do you pronounce chi kung?
How do you spell Qigong?
Does it honestly matter?
Humans, and particularly those in the West, can get really boxed into our ways of thinking. As if things have to be a certain way or they don’t count or they’re not correct.
What a relief then, to realise that it doesn’t actually matter.
You Say Tomato, I say Tomato.
Qigong is Chi Kung is Qi Gong is Chi Gong is Ki Gong.
How do you spell Qigong?
Chi Kung is the English spelling. Qigong uses the romanized Chinese spelling. I tend to use these two interchangeably.
These are all reasonable ways to spell the art of energy, or the art of developing vital energy, particularly for marvelous benefits such as health, vitality, longevity, mind expansion and spiritual cultivation, irrespective of race, culture, and religion.
Qi or Chi means energy.
Gong or Kung means art.
Chinese is a very concise language hence the variation in the meaning of the term.
You could simply say “energy art”.
You could say “the art of energy”.
You could say “the art of developing vital energy”.
You could say “the art of developing skills in using energy” because skills are important. And yet ultimately you’re developing energy with those skills.
You could say “a Chinese system of breathing control, physical exercise, and meditation” such as I’ve seen on the web, but this type of definition for me distances itself from the purity of the art.
How do you pronounce chi kung?
So what about the pronunciation?
However you choose to spell this art, and in my book you can spell it how you like, it is pronounced in English as CHEE KUNG.
If you listen to people pronouncing it, depending on where they come from and what language they speak it may sound more of a “K” sound, or more of a “C” sound in Kung, it may sound like one word or two, it may sound like a “Ch” sound or a “Ki” sound. But hey, it’s all pointing to the same art.
Which spelling do you prefer?
I personally prefer Qigong. I like the way it looks. It’s the romanised Chinese version. I’ve used it on my website.
Anything else is fine by me.
Live and let live.
Whatever you practice concerning the art of energy, ENJOY YOUR PRACTICE!