Yeet hay and qi

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

Elle and myself have started a very interesting topic about yeet hay and qi. Is yeet hay a cantonese word? As I said before, I am quite familiar with the topic and concept. The thread"what makes you Chinese" has wandered off topic; due to the complexity of the topic I like to start a new thread. Elle, it would be nice when you paste your article into this thread.

BTW, I am a "cold" type who needs a lot of warmth from outside, starts freezing very quickly in cold countries like GB or even Germany. I do eat fried stuff to a certain degree, honey melon is slightly more yeet hay-ish than water melon. As I was in Chenjiagou, Weng Xian in Henan province, people suggested eating dog!!!!!??????? My goodnes!!!!!!!!, I saw a dog cut open in a meat shop............shiver.........horror......!!!!!!!!!

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

YOu can read this website:

www.cicm.org.uk/public/chinesemed/glossary_html

The most important qi is jing luo and wei qi, acupuncture and both Tai Chi or any other Chinese martial arts utilise primarily jing luo(meridian qi) and wei qi(skin qi)

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

While on the subject of Yeet Hay, I stumbled upon this gem of an article and I thought some of you migh agree with it.

""yeet hay" aka "hot air" uncovered
so today, after consuming a bag of popcorn, a bag of chips, a coke, and a mango boba drink, i've discovered why "yeet hay", as most cantonese people know it, is not just a superstition that my parents made up to scare me from eating junk food...instead, i've realized that it does cause endless pain and misery, just as my parents warned. Not only has it caused like ten million cankersores in my mouth and a nosebleed, but apparently, my face is also swollen and blotchy. it's disgusting.

so after my dad fOrtune cOOkyed on how red and gross my face is, he told me that i had "yeet dok", meaning i had so much "yeet hay" inside of me that it became "dok" or poison. at first, i thought that what my dad said was nonsense, but then i realized that i had a world of information at my fingertips. So i googled "yeet hay", hoping to find a scientific explanation, but instead, i ended up at a yeet-hay-discussing forum.

here's what it said:

what is yeet hay?
many may know, its when you eat a lot of fried stuff (normally unhealthy) and end up grow cold sores or canker sores in your mouth or tongue.

definition/history of yeet hay
yeet hay is a chinese term, therefore, my explanation will include concepts from chinese philosophy which revolves around the "chi".

in general, each person's "chi" must be balanced. whenever you eat fried foods, you get a "heated" feeling. this causes your "chi" to become unbalanced (under ancient chinese medical theory, it's towards the hot side). In order to get better, you either stay away from that type of food or eat something ¡°leung¡± to cancel it out, such as watermelon or to get extreme, some chinese herbs or teas which is ¡°leung¡±. but what happens when it becomes unbalanced over to the ¡°leung¡± side? well, a symptom of ¡°leung¡± would be coughing, but because of all the fried foods that we¡¯re exposed to in america, ¡°leung¡± seldomly becomes a problem or even so extreme that we¡¯re concerned about it. another physical symptom is that your tongue turns color. when you are ¡°yeet hay¡± your tongue turns yellow, and when you are ¡°leung¡±, your tongue turns white. that¡¯s why when you see a chinese doctor, they look at your tongue and that determines what state you¡¯re in. you can try it out by eating fried stuff or ¡°leung¡± stuff, but everyone is different each person¡¯s ¡°chi¡± strenght varies.

because this word is chinese and was probably created sometime back in ancient china, there can only be a chinese explanation. there is also an english term, because I remember seeing a chinese film with english subtitles and they said ¡°yeet hay¡±. It¡¯s a really long scientific word about 15 letters long, so there is such a word in english (given that their translator is correct). ¡°yeet hay¡± it¡¯s a chinese diagnosis, but all types of people can get it. it¡¯s just called something else in their language. but because chinese civilized history spans over 4000+ years, they¡¯re more familiar with it because they discovered it earlier. if you really want to know an english terminology for ¡°yeet hay¡±, you can call a physician and give them all the symptons of ¡°yeet hay¡± and they¡¯ll probably give you a diagnosis.

translation of yeet hay
people usually directly translate ¡°yeet hay¡± as hot air, but it¡¯s not really hot air. It¡¯s actually hot-¡°chi¡±, and the ¡°chi¡± being the strength within one¡¯s body.

just like ¡°huc yun jung¡± does not literally mean hated by black people, but it actually means hated by everyone including strangers.
[/i][/b]

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:15 pm Post subject: Attempting to translate Chinese words in terms of English

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So Yeet Hay could also infer "heaty breath" or "heaty vitality" or "heaty ambience" or"Heaty chi". So how do we define Chi? see:

"chi (ch'i or qi)
Ch'i or qi (pronounced "chee" and henceforth spelled "chi") is the Chinese word used to describe "the natural energy of the Universe." This energy, though called "natural," is spiritual or supernatural, and is part of a metaphysical, not an empirical, belief system. New Agers often refer to this energy as subtle energy. Chi is thought to permeate all things, including the human body. Such metaphysical systems are generally referred to as types of vitalism. One of the key concepts related to chi is the concept of harmony. Trouble, whether in the universe or in the body, is a function of disharmony, of things being out of balance and in need of restoration to equilibrium.

Proponents claim to prove the existence and power of chi by healing people with acupuncture or chi kung (qi gong), by doing magic tricks such as breaking a chopstick with the edge of a piece of paper or resuscitating a "dead" fly, or by martial arts stunts like breaking a brick with a bare hand or foot. When examined under controlled conditions, however, the seemingly paranormal or supernatural feats of masters of chi turn out to be quite ordinary feats of magic, deception, or natural powers.

Vitalism is a popular philosophy in many cultures. Thus, chi has many counterparts: prana (India and therapeutic touch), ki (Japan); Wilhelm Reich's orgone, Mesmer's animal magnetism, Bergson's élan vital (vital force), to name just a few. The concept is very popular among New Age thinking, where it generally goes by the name of energy, though the concept bears no resemblance to the concept as used by physicists."

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

As I was in Wen Xian, the temperature was -13 C. Despite thick gloves, I got frostbite on my hands. My Chinese host gave me some medical herbs, a few blankets to warm me up gradually and it really helped a lot.

The next day they took me to a meat shop in Wen Xian, where a dog was displayed in the window, cut open and glaring at us(dead). If it was a Peking duck I probably would have taken it for normal. I yelled instantly, ran away and started sobbing with many spectators looking at me, some giggling, others didn't know what to do with me. My white Australian male friend, not partner, was with us too and had enough nerves to take a picture and soothe me.

My Chinese friends came along and apologized for shocking me that much because they only had good intentions. I have a very close relationship with dogs, I would even dare say that the dog is my best friend and my relationship to a dog is closer than to a man. What would you do if you see your best friend slain and displayed cut open in a meat shop?

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

For information please view this website, the owner is a BBC.

www.chenvillage.com

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

taichi, you said,"I have a very close relationship with dogs, I would even dare say that the dog is my best friend and my relationship to a dog is closer than to a man. What would you do if you see your best friend slain and displayed cut open in a meat shop?"

The Human Psyche: I fully understand your emotions about dogs. I have been associated with dogs since I was 3 years old, and as each year goes by I learn more and more about my relationship with dogs. Both my wife and I feel the same about dogs. Like you we are very close with our dogs. This is why when we see any item about the culling of dogs in China, because of the outbreak of rabies, we avoid looking at it on TV and we do not want to read about it in the press. It is too distressing. Why can't they cull them in a humane way? We get upset when we watch chickens being culled because of bird flu.

I suspect, the average Chinese person views a dog, as a convenient pet to guard the house. They are looked upon as an animal, much the same as a duck, or a chicken, or a bird in a cage, or a cat bred to keep the mice away and a useful pet. Most Chinese do not build a bond with their pets. However, some must do. The history of the Chinese pekinese, the Chow, the Tibetian dogs, the shih tzu, must indicate that there are real dog lovers there as well. But what their bond with the dog is and their understand of dog psychology needs further investigation.

To us, my wife and myself, our dogs are our companions. They deserve every respect from us, as any child of ours would have gotten. They are helpless and need us to see to their physical needs, like a child in this respect. And as they cannot speak, we have learned to read their body language and other signs and signals, because that is the only way they can communicate. They need our care and attention, bathing, grooming, attending to their cuts and bruises, and medical needs, and jabs, and taken to the Vet when they are not well. And Vets do not come cheap here but they will get the attention they need. They get their constitutional walk twice a day, regardless of the weather, in snow, sleet, hail, rain, in the cold, in the heat, it is twice a day 24/7 365 days in the year.

In return, you receive 101% loyalty and devotion. A happy and bouncy greeting when you return home no matter what a lousy day that dog may have had. She/he will wag their tails and leap up at you, and how could you not appreciate that? A dogs loyalty is superior to man's. And dogs do not bear grudges to their owners. A chastisement is quickly forgotten. We do not chastise, we speak to them, in dog language. They understand!

Our dog speaks to us. We know when she wants to go outside for a "wee" because she tell us, or when she is hungry, or when she has lost a ball, and where it is, or when we ask her to fetch her ball she goes to her toy box and brings her ball, not her teddy, or her rubber ring, but her ball. She tells us when it is time to go for a walk, or tells my wife that I am on my way home, when I am still a mile away from home. Or she will know when someone is very ill, like with terminal cancer and visits our home, her behaviour is different. She will approach the visitor gently, and in a subdued way, and sit by them all evening till they leave allowing the stranger to stroke her. Now how did she know?

Yes, taichi, our dogs are our friends and companions, and give us a lot of affection that is unavailable from another human being. I know what you are talking about when you say a dog is your friend. A dog is a very special animal and their brian is that of a 2 or 3 year old child in intelligence with a lot of animal instincts.

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

There exists a long history of movement and exercise systems which are associated with Taoism. In some sense one can see elements of all of these as contributing to the climate from which Tai Chi emerged.

Lao Tsu, the founder of Taoism, wrote:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight.
-- Tao Te Ching (22)

He who stands of tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace.

-- Tao Te Ching (24)

Returning is the motion of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.

-- Tao Te Ching (40)

What is firmly established cannot be uprooted.
What is firmly grasped cannot slip away.

-- Tao Te Ching (54)

Stiff and unbending is the principle of death.
Gentle and yielding is the principle of life.
Thus an Army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.

The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.

-- Tao Te Ching (76)

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

There are some interesting inspirations for the movement philosophy of Tai Chi within the writings of Chuang Tzu, for example:
"The pure man of old slept without dreams and woke without anxiety. He ate without indulging in sweet tastes and breathed deep breaths. The pure man draws breaths from the depths of his heels, the multitude only from their throats."
And:

"[The sage] would not lean forward or backward to accomodate [things]. This is called tranquility on disturbance, (which means) that it is especially in the midst of disturbance that tranquility becomes perfect."

Talisman of the Jade Lady.

This approach is reflected in the entire movement philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan. There is, moreover, a long tradition of Taoist monks practicing exercises. Some of these were referred to as tai-yin or Taoist Breathing. Exactly what these were and what their origins were is obscure but they are mentioned in Chinese chronicles as early as 122 B.C.

Then in the sixth century A.D. Bodihdharma (called Ta Mo in Chinese) came to the Shao-Lin Monastery and, seeing that the monks were in poor physical condition from too much meditation and too little excersize, introduced his Eighteen Form Lohan Exercise. This approach gave rise to the Wei Chia or 'outer-extrinsic' forms of exercise.

Later in the fifteenth century A.D. the purported founder of Tai Chi Chuan, the monk Chang San-feng, was honoured by the Emperor Ying- tsung with the title of chen-jen, or 'spiritual man who has attained the Tao and is no longer ruled by what he sees, hears or feels.' This indicates that already at this time there was a close association between the philosophy of Taoism and the practice of Tai Chi.

In the Ming dynasty (14th to 17th centuries), Wang Yang-ming a leading philosopher preached a philosophy which was a mixture of Taoism and Ch'an Buddhism which had certain associations with movement systems.

In any event the principles of yielding, softness, centeredness, slowness, balance, suppleness and rootedness are all elements of Taoist philosophy that Tai Chi has drawn upon in its understanding of movement, both in relation to health and also in its martial applications. One can see these influences (of softness and effortlessness) in the names of certain movements in the Tai Chi Form, such as:

Cloud Hands
Wind Rolls the Lotus Leaves
Brush Dust Against the Wind
Push the Boat with the Current
Winds Sweeps the Plum Blossoms
Moreover the contemplation and appreciation nature, which are central features of Taoist thought seem to have been reflected in the genesis of many Tai Chi movements such as:

White Crane Spreads Wings
Snake Creeps Down
Repulse Monkey
Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain
White Snake Sticks Out its Tongue
Grasp Sparrow's Tail
Golden c*ck Sands on One Leg
Swallow Skims the Water
Bird Flies into Forest
Lion Shakes it's Head
Tiger Hugs its Head
Wild Horse Leaps the Ravine
White Ape Devotes Fruit
Yellow Bee Returns to Nest
The story comes to us that Chang San-feng watched a fight between a bird and a snake and in this event saw how the soft and yielding could overcome the hard and inflexible. Particularly significant here is the reference to the White Crane (The Manchurian Crane, Grus japonensis), with its red crest an important symbol for Taoist alchemists.
Certain features of Taoist alchemy and talismanic symbolism have also penetrated the Tai Chi forms. As part of their contemplation of nature the Taoists observed the heavens and were keen students of astronomy and astrology. Movements of the Tai Chi Form such as :

Step Up to Seven Stars
Embrace the Moon
Biggest Star in the Great Dipper
Encase the Moon in Three Rings
The Smallest Star in the Big Dipper
Meteor Runs After Moon
Heavenly Steed Soars Across the Sky
Meditating Under the Protection of the Big Dipper.

Reflect this Taoist astrological concern.

Symbolism was a potent force in Taoist thinking. Taoist magic diagrams were regarded as potent talismans having great command over spiritual forces. They invoked the harmonizing influence of yin-yang and Eternal Change; the Divine Order of Heaven, Earth and Mankind; and the workings of the Universe through the principal of the Five Elements. These were symbolized by the Five Sacred Mountains (Taishan, Hengshan [Hunan], Songshan, Huashan and Hengshan [Hopei]), central places of Taoist development and pilgrimage.

Thus it is no surprise to find that the symbolism of names has, in important ways, infiltrated the forms of Tai Chi. There was a numerological component to this symbolism as well. The number '5' has a special mystical significance to Taoists (and to Chinese in general). There are the symbolic five mountains, five elements, five colours, five planets, five virtues, five emotions, five directions, etc. all of which have a mystic significance. Hence we see five Repulse Monkeys or Five Cloud Hands in the Tai Chi form. There are many instances where the numbers '1', '3', '5' and '7' figure prominently in the structure of Tai Chi.

elle · Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 334 Location: Nottingham, UK

I bet you would like to know more. I found this site that you may enjoy browsing. Tell us if you have some expereinces about any of this.

"http://www.worldtaichiday.org/LESSONQigong.html

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

Thank you Elle for your post. I do have excerpts of this website. They are verses from the TaoTeJing. However, beware of the difficulty to translate the ambiguous language of philosophy, Chinese or Western.

The main principle of Tai Chi and other martial arts, Chinese or not, is to develop a strong stance where nobody can throw you off. The sitting meditation you're talking about is good to help cleanse the mind from nervous chatter, this state of mind is recommended to last during Tai Chi practice and even during the whole day. It is hard to put in practice, so one should not do it too forcefully. With practice, it just come by itself. Sitting meditation is good to prepare standing, during a train ride or in flight or for those who have bad knees or confined to a wheelchair.

The real meditation or zhan zhuang is standing, developed for better mental and physical health, strengthening of the leg and postural muscles like back and abdomen.

The description of the movements does not come from Laotzu, but from the owner of the website. Softness and effortlessness is maintained throughout the whole form. Although every move has a purpose and martial application, the whole form with all the moves is an entity. "Cloud hands" e.g. can be used in a yielding technique but continued in the more martial grappling and joint locking.

Most moves are copied from animal fighting. It is not clear where all the names come from but it is assumed that it has relationship with the cosmos and surrounding nature. All Tai Chi moves i.e. the whole form choreography is based on this idea.

Nowadays Shaolin Temple is a tourist centre, along with Chenjiagou where I learnt my skills, with loads of buses coming to view the venue. Most of the Shaolin"monks" are graduates of academies of physical education and martial arts incl. degrees of Beijing or Shanghai university. It is said that they still have monks with secret skills which is not opposed to tourists or foreign students. There is a McDonald nearby with many"monks" enjoying their lunchbreak. Drinking Chinese wine and McDonald is a social event in China, hopefully not at the same time.

The WORLD TAICHI DAY is in October, where many organizations and shools around the world present an open event in parks and schools. Many spectators can try something. These activities are much more in the west than in China and other Asian countries. You may look for an event in UK. I think most of the organizers are BBCs but not few of them are whites.

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

BTW, the World Tai Chi Day is held every year in April. The last one was 29th April 2006. The one in October was Tai Chi Day in Sydney

PingPing · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 59 Location: KENT

Apparently, reading the surface of a person's tongue can tell your body condition. Some of the signs are easy to read, I found them very accurate. Even western medical technology accept that if you cleanse your tongue to the right condition, you can get rid of some minor complaints.
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The struggle, first to survive, and next, to make sense of one's survival .....

taichi · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 59 Location: australia

Western diagnostics does not differentiate the colours, but the fact whether the tongue is dirty(white) or clean(pinkish). A white tongue is often a sign of maldigestion in all forms, usually hyperacidity of the stomach. As it is a symptom, the tongue will get white again as soon as one cleans it.

Western medicine recommends dong hay foods or foods which does not contain much acid. Chemicals like bottled orange juice are acid, freshly squeezed ones are not. Steamed fish is recommended and quite dong hay, fried fish yeet hay. I noticed a parallel between yeet hay and unhealthy foods by WEstern standards.

HOwever, according to Western technology, brushing the tongue will in turn assist the digestive system to clean up and avoid sores and ulcers in the mouth.

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