The most ancient Chinese symbol for qi denotes vapor arising from rice cooking. We can imagine early Chinese thinkers noticing steam rising from the pot, smelling the rice essence, and associating it with their own breath that seemed to contain their life's essence. At death, breath no longer emanated from the nostrils. A certain energetic life force seemed to leave the body. This force, whether in its manifestation as wind, the vapors of cooked food, or a person's spirit, seemed to be common to all things. That commonality was their qi.
Interesting .qi
