QI
Created by	John Lloyd
Directed by	Ian Lorimer
Presented by	Stephen Fry
Starring	Alan Davies Guest panellists
Theme music composer	Howard Goodall
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	55 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	John Lloyd
Running time	29 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two BBC Four
Original run	11 September 2003 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile

QI, standing for Quite Interesting, is a comedy panel game television quiz show created and produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring regular panellist Alan Davies. It is broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Four, while older, syndicated episodes are shown on Dave (the recently re-branded UKTV G2). QI has the highest viewing figures for any show on BBC Four.^[1]

It is distinguished by the awarding of points not necessarily for the correct answer, but rather, for a (quite) interesting one. Many of the questions and answers are extremely obscure, therefore it is unlikely that the correct answer will be given. Points are deducted from a panellist who gives an obvious but wrong (that is to say, boring or conventional) answer, typically one that is generally accepted as true but is, in fact, false. It is therefore possible (and quite likely) that a panellist will have a negative point score at the end of the game.

Format and conception

The panel consists of four panellists: three rotating and one regular, Alan Davies, who has the seat to Stephen Fry's right. Davies has appeared in every episode, except in one episode themed on "Divination". He appeared at the beginnining, but "teleported" away during the buzzer demonstration. He was at a football match instead but was still able to play as communicated "from beyond."^[2] He has only won four times: since he generally offers up most of the "obvious but wrong" answers, he frequently finishes in last place. The show's other panellists mainly come from a stand-up comedy background, although there have also been entertainment personalities from many fields, including Richard E. Grant, Jeremy Clarkson and Gyles Brandreth.

Questions are sometimes misleading or very difficult. Providing an "obvious but wrong" answer results in a sequence of humiliating klaxons. In the first and second series, Fry produced the answer on a card to show the panellists, while it also flashed on the large screens behind them (except in the pilot episode, when only the cards were used).^[3] In the third series and onward, Fry's answer cards were dispensed with altogether, leaving only the screens as proof that the answers given had been predicted.

Because of the show's expectation that hardly anyone would be able to give a correct answer without significant prompting, it instead encourages sheer interestingness, which is how points are mainly scored.^[4] As such, tangential discussions are encouraged, for panellists are apt to branch off into frivolous conversations, give voice to train of thought, and share humorous anecdotes from their own lives.^[4] The number of points given and taken away are normally decided by Fry or beforehand by the researchers, especially if the points given or taken are very large. For example, one episode asked, "What is the main ingredient of air?" If someone answered, "Carbon dioxide" then 3,000 points would have been deducted, but no-one gave this answer. However, Davies was deducted 10 points for saying, "Oxygen".^[5] Fry once said:

"Now, the rules are simple. Scoring is my business. Points are given and points are taken away. They are taken away for answers which are both obvious and wrong, and are they're given not so much for being correct as for being interesting. Their level of interestingness is impartially determined by a demographically selected customer-service focus consultancy, broken down by age and sex - ie me. Because there is no-one more broken down by age and sex."^[6]

John Lloyd, QI's creator, has admitted that not even he has any idea on how the scoring system works, but there is someone who is paid to check on the scores. Guests are allowed the right of appeal if they believe their score is wrong, but no-one has done this so far.^[4]

Buzzers

Each of the panel has a buzzer, the sound of which is often based along some sort of theme. The sounds are demonstrated at the beginning of the programme, but are sometimes changed in some way the very next time they are used. Davies' buzzer usually contradicts the others' in some amusing way. Davies' buzzer has been the last to be demonstrated in every episode except for the unbroadcast pilot, in which he went first and Eddie Izzard, with a sillier buzzer, went last.^[7] In one instance in Series A, rather than a comical buzzer, Alan set off the forfeit alarm, meaning he started the show on -10 points before a question was asked.

General Ignorance

In a parody of ubiquitous general knowledge quizzes, the final round is off-topic and called "General Ignorance", focusing upon seemingly easy questions which have obvious but wrong answers. Whereas in the main rounds of the show, the panellists' use of buzzers is not usually enforced, the "General Ignorance" questions are introduced by Fry's reminder to keep "fingers on buzzers".

Due to the large number of "obvious but wrong" answers, panellists usually incur the greatest point losses in this round. In the second series' Christmas episode, Davies stated his refusal to participate in General Ignorance, saying that he "will not be humiliated at Christmas". In response, Fry offered to switch places with him, to the delight of the audience. Despite the seeming spontaneity of the swap, it was undoubtedly pre-planned (at least on the part of Davies and the producers), as evidenced by the fact that Davies, in turn, produced his own set of questions on loose-leaf paper (most of which he directed at Fry), and also by the photographs and obvious-answer klaxons/graphics which accompanied Davies' questions. At the end of the show, Fry announced that the game's loser was, in fact, Fry himself, as a result of his falling into many of Davies's traps.^[8]

Extra Tasks

In some episodes, panellists are given an extra task to complete during the course of the game. Those who do the best are often awarded extra points. Past tasks have included drawing contests (in which John Sessions has shown a particular talent);^[9] or looking for a specific hidden thing over the course of the show, such as a squirrel or a cuttlefish.^[10][11] Panellists were also once given a card covered with magnetic letters with which to create words over the course of one show. Jimmy Carr successfully used all of his letters to create, "Put Smarties tubes on cats legs, make them walk like a robot."^[12] In the fifth series, all the episodes have the same extra task - "The Elephant in the Room". In each episode, one of the answers is related to elephants.

Production

Writer and former BBC producer John Lloyd devised the format of the show, and it is produced by Quite Interesting Ltd., an organisation set up by Lloyd. QI was originally seen as being an "Annotated Encyclopædia Britannica… the world's first non-boring encyclopædia."^[4] As a panel game, it was conceived as a radio show, with Lloyd as chairman. When it was decided that the show would air on television, Michael Palin was offered the job of chairman with Fry and Davies as captains of "clever" and "stupid" teams, respectively. However, when Palin decided not to take the job, Stephen stepped in, making Davies the only regular panellist, thus changing the entire format of the show.^[13]

The research for the show is mostly carried out by the QI Elves. The elves devise the questions, and are able to contact Stephen during the show to provide and correct information.^[14] Other people involved in researching questions and compiling the scripts are John Mitchinson, Piers Fletcher and Justin Pollard known as the Question Wranglers.^[14]

The theme tune was composed by Howard Goodall, who has twice appeared as a panellist on the show. The theme music was originally going to be the song Wonderful World, sung by Herman's Hermits, which was used in the unbroadcast pilot. However, they were forbidden the use of the song, and the DVD recording of the pilot now uses the theme music composed by Goodall.^[4]

The makers of the show insist that the questions are not given to the panellists beforehand so that they can rehearse them.^[15] The panel are given a list of questions set to be asked just about an hour before the show, and before recording starts, they run through a series of "warm up" questions; this is the only assistance the panellists receive. They are forbidden to ask for preparatory materials or other help.^[4] It is known that Davies never does any preparation at all.^[4] The show uses a warm-up comedian before recording begins, credited as the Audience Wrangler. In the forthcoming series, Stephen Grant provided the warm-up for 10 of the 12 episodes, and Gordon Southern did so for the other two.^[16]

Episodes

In QI, every series is themed around a different letter of the alphabet, starting with the letter "A". Series are therefore referred to by letter rather than number. The first series started on 11 September, 2003, and consisted of topics beginning with A, including a round on people called "Alan". This might have been a factor in Davies winning this particular episode.^[6] The second series consisted of topics beginning with "B", except in two episodes, one about "Music" and one about "Colour".^[17][18] Series D differed from the previous three as all episodes focused upon a single "D" topic. One episode was a special Halloween episode themed on "Death", which is notable for being the only episode of QI so far which was won by the audience.^[19] Series E also deals with single topics. A vodcast was also planned, but this was instead turn into a set of "Quickies" featured on the BBC homepage for QI, although are still referred to as vodcasts by the panellists introducing them.^[20]

Corrections and mistakes

Although most of the facts presented on the show are correct, there has been the occasional slip-up. Several facts given are often updated and corrected in later series. For example, in Series A, the show claimed that the longest animal in the world was the lion's mane jellyfish,^[21] but this was later corrected in Series C, saying that the longest animal on the world is the bootlace worm.^[22]

Members of the public and members of the QI website contact the show to correct information. In one case, a letter was read out when one episode in Series B claimed that language spoken by children's TV characters Bill and Ben was called, "Flobbadob" and was named after the sound made by creator Hilda Brabban's younger brothers farting in the bath.^[9] However, in Series D, Fry read out a letter written by Silas Hawkins, the son of Peter Hawkins, who provided the original voices of the characters. The letter read:

"The fart-in-the-bath story was trotted out last year in an episode of Stephen Fry's otherwise admirable quiz show QI. It (the story) first appeared some twenty years ago in a newspaper article, to which my father immediately wrote a rebuttal. It was obviously ferreted out by some BBC researcher for QI. It may be quite interesting, but in this case, it simply isn't true."^[23]

Fry then apologised and corrected the fact, saying, "Their language is called 'Oddle poddle'. 'Flobbadob' means 'Flowerpot' in Oddle poddle. I cannot believe I just said that", at which point he started laughing in disbelief.^[23]

At the end of the third series, Dara Ó Briain was deducted points for having stated, in the series before, that the triple point of water is zero degrees Celsius, an answer which earned him 2 points at the time.^[24] Viewers however, wrote in to say that the triple point of water is in fact 0.01 degrees, and so the 2 points awarded Dara in the previous series were revoked and he received a further deduction of 10 points for saying a now obvious answer. Dara humorously retorted with, "How many people sat at home watching that and said, 'It's just a comedy show, but I'm not letting that fecker get away with that!?'"^[25]

Culture

Main article: Cultural impact of QI

QI has released DVDs and books, most notably The Book of General Ignorance. QI also has a building in Oxford, where most of the show's research is carried out.^[26] The building consists of a café, a vodka bar and a bookshop. The bookshop is notable for arranging the books in whimsical, loosely-defined categories that mingle fiction and non-fiction, thus meaning people come across books at random, making it more interesting.^[27]

QI has an internet show called QI News, a parody news show which broadcasts "News" items about things which are quite interesting. QI News stars Glenn Wrage and Katherine Jakeways as the newsreaders, Bob Squire and Sophie Langton. It is broadcast on ComedyBox.tv.^[28] QI also has a website, and a column in The Daily Telegraph. QI has its own philosophy. It states that everything in the world, even that which appears to be most boring, is quite interesting if looked at in the right way. The website states that:

"We live, they say, in The Information Age, yet almost none of the information we think we possess is true. Eskimos do not rub noses. The rickshaw was invented by an American. Joan of Arc was not French. Lenin was not Russian. The world is not solid, it is made of empty space and energy, and neither haggis, whisky, porridge, clan tartans nor kilts are Scottish. So we stand, silent, on a peak in Darien: a vast, rolling, teeming, untrodden territory before us. QI country. Whatever is interesting we are interested in. Whatever is not interesting, we are even more interested in. Everything is interesting if looked at in the right way. At one extreme, QI is serious, intensely scientific, deeply mystical; at the other it is hilarious, silly and frothy enough to please the most indolent couch-potato."^[29]

Reception

QI has been generally supported by nearly all critics. The main reason for this is that many critics believe that QI is not "dumbed down" like many other television shows. Peter Chapman said, "When the schedules seem so dumbed-down, it's a delight to encounter the brainy and articulate Stephen Fry. He excels in this format, being both scathing and generous."^[30]

Another critic, Laura Barton said, "QI and its canny coupling of Stephen Fry and Alan Davies, which manages to condense tweedy goodness, cockney charm, pub trivia and class war into one half-hour."^[31] An American critic, Liesl Schillinger described QI as, "Jeopardy with Stephen Colbert as host, with Steve Martin and Ellen DeGeneres as guests, working off a game board loaded with unanswerable questions."^[32]

Critics have questioned the way the show is edited. One critic said, "At one point in tonight's show, Fry (normally urbanity itself) yells an obscenity at Rich Hall, the result of, I guess, a long interchange between the two but, as most of it appears to have been cut out, the outburst comes out of the blue, making Fry look as if he's flipped his lid."^[33]

Awards

In 2006, Fry won the Rose d'Or for "Best Game Show Host".^[34] The British Sitcom Guide gave QI the Best Comedy Quiz Show of 2006.^[35] QI has been nominated for four BAFTAs. Fry has been nominated for "Best Entertainment Performance" three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007.^[36][37] John Lloyd and QI's director Ian Lorimer were nominated for the Lew Grade Award in 2005.^[36] In 2007, The Book of General Ignorance was nominated by the British Book Awards in the TV and Film Book of the Year Category.^[38]

References

External links

• Quite Interesting Ltd. homepage
• qi transcripts dot com - episode transcriptions
• Portal to QI at The Telegraph
• QI Talk - a blog about QI

 •  • [ e]

QI

Quite Interesting People

Stephen Fry | Alan Davies | Ian Lorimer | John Lloyd | John Mitchinson

Quite Interesting Series

A | B | C | D | E

Other Quite Interesting Things

The Book of General Ignorance | Cultural impact

---

Qi (Chi)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese:	?
Simplified Chinese:	?
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin: qì - Wade-Giles: ch'i4 Yue (Cantonese) - Jyutping: hei3
Japanese name
Hiragana:	?
Kyūjitai:	?
Shinjitai:	?
Transliterations - Revised Hepburn: ki
Korean name
Hangul:	?
Hanja:	?
Transliterations - Revised   Romanization: gi - McCune-   Reischauer: Thai name Thai: ชี? RTGS: khi Vietnamese name Quoc Ngu: khí This page contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. Qi, also commonly spelled ch'i (in Wade-Giles romanization) or ki (in romanized Japanese), is a fundamental concept of traditional Chinese culture. Qi is believed to be part of every living thing that exists, as a kind of “life force” or “spiritual energy”. It is frequently translated as “energy flow", or literally as “air” or “breath”. (For example, "tiānqì", literally “sky breath”, is the ordinary Chinese word for "weather"). In Mandarin Chinese it is pronounced something like "chee" in English, but the tongue position is different. (See .) Etymology The etymological explanation for the form of the qi logogram in the traditional form 氣 is “steam (气) rising from rice (米) as it cooks”. The earliest way of writing qi consisted of three wavy lines, used to represent one's breath seen on a cold day. A later version, 气, (identical to the present-day simplified character) is a stylized version of those same three lines. For some reason, early writers of Chinese found it desirable to substitute for 气 a cognate, character that originally meant to feed other people in a social context such as providing food for guests. Appropriately, that character combined the three-line qi character with the character for the grain we call rice. So 气 plus 米 formed 氣, and that is the traditional character still used today. (See the Oracle bone character, the Seal script character and the modern "school standard" or Kǎi shū characters in the box at the right for three stages of the evolution of this character.)[39] References to things analogous to the qi taken to be the life-process or “flow” of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings are found in many belief systems, especially in Asia. Philosophical conceptions of qi date from the earliest recorded times in Chinese thinking. One of the important early cultural heroes in Chinese mythology is Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor). He is identified in the legends of China as the one who first collected and formalized much of what subsequently became known as traditional Chinese medicine. The earliest extant book that speaks of qi is the Analects of Confucius (composed from the notes of individual students some time after his death in 479 B.C.) Unlike the legendary accounts mentioned above, the Analects has a clear date in history, and most later books (at least the ones that do not purport to be relics of the legendary earliest rulers) can also be assigned clear dates in history. Although the concept of qi has been very important within many Chinese philosophies, over the centuries their descriptions of qi have been varied and may seem to be in conflict with each other. Understanding of these disputes is complicated for people who did not grow up using the Chinese concept and its associated concepts. Until China came into contact with Western scientific and philosophical ideas (primarily by way of Catholic missionaries), they knew about things like stones and lightning, but they would not have categorized them in terms of matter and energy. Qi and li (理, li, pattern) are their fundamental categories much as matter and energy have been fundamental categories for people in the West. Their use of qi (lifebreath) and li (pattern, regularity, form, order) as their primary categories leaves in question how to account for liquids and solids, and, once the Western idea of energy came on the scene, how to relate it to the native idea of "qi". If Chinese and Western concepts are mixed in an attempt to characterize some of the problems that arise with the Chinese conceptual system, then one might ask whether qi exists as a "force" separate from "matter", whether qi arises from "matter", or whether "matter" arises from qi. But those questions occur only in the hybrid conceptual system. Analysis of the relationship between qi (breath, lifebreath) and li (the patterns, regularities, or the formal aspect of things) has been very difficult for Chinese philosophers. In addition, how to account for what people in the West might casually categorize as "solid stuff" was also a problem. Fairly early on, some Chinese thinkers began to believe that there are different fractions of qi (in the sense that different fractions can be extracted from crude oil in a catalytic cracker), and that the coarsest and heaviest fractions of qi form solid things such as rocks, the earth, etc., whereas lighter fractions form liquids, and the most ethereal fractions are the "lifebreath" that animates living beings.[40] Qi in early philosophical texts The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed. The philosopher Mo Di (also known as Mo Zi or "Master Mo") used the word qi to refer to noxious vapors that would in due time arise from a corpse were it not buried at a sufficient depth.[41] He reported that early civilized humans learned how to live in houses to protect their qi from the moisture that had troubled them when they lived in caves.[42] He also associated maintaining one's qi with providing oneself adequate nutrition.[43] And, in regard to another kind of qi he recorded how some people performed a kind of prognostication by observing the qi (clouds) in the sky.[44] In the "Analects of Confucius", (composed from the notes of individual students sometime after his death in 479 B.C.), "qi" can mean "breath",[45] and it can be combined with the Chinese word for blood (making 血氣, xue-qi, blood and breath) and that concept can be used to account for motivational characteristics. The Analects, 16:7, says: The [morally] noble man guards himself against three things. When he is young, his xue-qi has not yet stabilized, so he guards himself against sexual passion. When he reaches his prime, his xue-qi is not easily subdued, so he guards himself against combativeness. When he reaches old age, his xue-qi is already depleted, so he guards himself against acquisitiveness. Meng Ke (also known as Meng Zi, Master Meng, or Mencius) described a kind of qi that might be characterized as an individual's vital energies. This qi was necessary to activity, and it could be controlled by a well-integrated will power.[46] But this qi could not adequately be characterized by English words like "lifebreath" or "bio-plasma" because when properly nurtured it was capable of extending beyond the human body to reach throughout the universe.[47] This qi can be augmented by means of careful exercise of one's moral capacities.[48] On the other hand, the qi of an individual can be degraded by averse external forces that succeed in operating on that individual.[49] Not only human beings and animals were believed to have "qi". Zhuang Zhou (also known as Zhuang Zi or Master Zhuang) indicated that wind is the "qi" of the earth.[50] Moreover, cosmic Yin and Yang "are the greatest of 'qi'."[51] He describes qi as "issuing forth" and creating profound effects.[52] Zhuang Zi gave us one of the most productive of insights into the nature of "qi". He said "Human beings are born [because of] the accumulation of 'qi'. When it accumulates there is life. When it dissipates there is death.... There is one 'qi' that connects and pervades everything in the world."[53] Another passage traces life to intercourse between Heaven and Earth: "The highest Yin is the most restrained. The highest Yang is the most exuberant. The restrained comes forth from Heaven. The exuberant issues forth from Earth. The two intertwine and penetrate forming a harmony, and [as a result] things are born."[54] Zhuang Zi was a contemporary of Mencius. Xun Zi followed them after some years. At 9:69/127, Xun Zi says: "Fire and water have qi but do not have life. Grasses and trees have life but do not have perceptivity. Fowl and beasts have perceptivity but do not have yi (sense of right and wrong, duty, justice). Men have qi, life, perceptivity, and yi." This passage gives us some insight into his idea of "qi". Chinese people at such an early time had no concept of radiant energy. But they were aware that one can be heated by a campfire even though the air between camper and fire is quite cold. Clearly, something is emitted by the fire and reaches the camper. They called it "qi". At 18:62/122, he too uses "qi" to refer to the vital forces of the body that decline with advanced age. Later, the syncretic text assembled under the direction of Liu An, the Huai Nan Zi has a passage that presages most of what is given greater detail by the Neo-Confucians: Heaven (seen here as the ultimate source of all being) falls (duo 墮, i.e., descends into proto-immanence) as the formless. Fleeting, fluttering, penetrating, amorphous it is, and so it is called the Supreme Luminary. The dao begins in the Void Brightening. The Void Brightening produces the universe (yu-zhou ). The universe produces qi. Qi has bounds. The clear, yang [qi] was ethereal and so formed heaven. The heavy, turbid [qi] was congealed and impeded and so formed earth. The conjunction of the clear, yang [qi] was fluid and easy. The conjunction of the heavy, turbid [qi] was strained and difficult. So heaven was formed first and earth was made fast later. The pervading essence (xi-jing) of heaven and earth becomes yin and yang. The concentrated (zhuan) essences of yin and yang become the four seasons. The dispersed (san) essences of the four seasons become the myriad creatures. The hot qi of yang in accumulating produces fire. The essence (jing) of the fire-qi becomes the sun. The cold qi of yin in accumulating produces water. The essence of the water-qi becomes the moon. The essences produced by coitus (yin) of the sun and moon become the stars and celestial markpoints (chen, planets). – Huai-nan-zi, 3:1a/19 The development of the ideas of qi and of qi zhi zhi xing (氣質之性) in Neo-Confucianism go beyond the scope of a fundamental account of Chinese ideas about qi, but the fundamentals are contained in the above passage.[55] Qi in traditional Chinese medicine Theories of traditional Chinese medicine assert that the body has natural patterns of qi that circulate in channels called meridians in English.[56] Symptoms of various illnesses are often believed to be the product of disrupted, blocked, or unbalanced qi movement (interrupted flow) through the body's meridians, as well as deficiencies or imbalances of qi (homeostatic imbalance) in the various Zang Fu organs.[57] Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of qi (metabolic energy flow) in the body using a variety of therapeutic techniques. Some of these techniques include herbal medicines, special diets, physical training regimens (Qigong, Tai Chi Chuan, and martial arts training), moxibustion, massage to clear blockages, and acupuncture, which uses small diameter metal needles inserted into the skin and underlying tissues to reroute or balance qi.[58] Qi in Feng Shui The traditional Chinese art of placement and arrangement of space called Feng Shui is based on the flow of qi, interactions between the five elements, yin and yang and other factors. The retention or dissipation of qi is believed to affect the health, wealth, energy level, luck and many other aspects of the occupants of the space. Color, shape and the physical location of each item in a space affects the flow of qi by slowing it down, redirecting it or accelerating it, which directly affects the energy level of the occupants. Nature of qi Disputing the nature of qi is an old pursuit in Chinese philosophy. Among some traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, qi is sometimes thought of as a metaphor for biological processes similar to the Western concept of energy flow for homeostatic balance in biological regulations. Others argue that qi involves some new physics or biology. Attempts to directly connect qi with some scientific phenomena have been made since the mid-nineteenth century. The philosopher Kang Youwei believed that qi was synonymous with the later-abandoned concept of luminiferous ether. Views of qi as an esoteric "force" tend to be more prominent in the West, where it has sometimes been associated with New Age spiritualism. These views are less prominent in modern communist China, where traditional Chinese medicine is often practiced and considered effective, but in which esoteric notions of qi are considered to contradict the secular nature of Marxist dialectic materialism. China's current government in fact formally embraces anti-spiritual atheism. Many traditional martial arts schools also eschew a supernatural approach to the issue, identifying "external qi" or "internal qi" as representative of the varying leverage principles used to improve the efficacy of a well-trained, healthier than normal body with a given work load. Some complementary and alternative medicine approaches not only assume the existence of qi but believe that the purported subtle energy running through and surrounding the body can be manipulated so as to cultivate increased physical, psychological and spiritual health. Acupuncture, along with other practices of TCM, ayurveda, and many other traditional disciplines worldwide provide examples of similar beliefs. Scientific investigation Most scientists dispute the existence of "qi". Some hypothesize that any therapeutic effects of acupuncture are due to changes in nerve cells, to endorphin-release, to relaxation or simple placebo effects.[59] The NIH Consensus Statement on acupuncture in 1997 noted that concepts such as Qi "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture."[60] It is hypothesized that qi could be transmitted through the fascia independent of any neurological activity.[61] Interpretation in Japan and Korea Kanji used in Japan for "ki" until 1946, when it was changed to 気. Koreans maintain the older character in their "hanja". In the Japanese language, the Chinese character corresponding to qi (気) is pronounced ki. The Japanese language contains over 11,442 known usages of "ki" as a compound. As a compound, it may represent syllables associated with the mind, the heart, feeling, the atmosphere, and flavor. We see parallel development in Korean language usage as Koreans have long used Chinese characters (hanja) along side the indigenous Korean system (hangul). There are also some cases in which commonalities are due to Japanese colonial influence. The character for "ki" in hangul is "기". Japanese usages of note also include tenki (weather 天気), genki (healthy, doing fine 元気), byouki (sick, sickness 病気) and kiai (spirit shout 気合 ). Korean compound usages of ki are also comparable including kibun (feeling, sensation 氣分) and kihap (spirit shout 氣合). Qi in martial arts Qi is a central concept in many Chinese, Korean and Japanese martial arts. While a traditional Neo-Confucian explanation of the principle is given in most martial art schools, many New Age-oriented or neo-ninja schools approach the subject from a more syncretist point of view, especially in the west. The spiritual concept analogous to Chinese ki appears in the martial arts, such as Japanese aikido (See Ki Society). The Korean system of hapkido, although a different martial art, shares the same characters as pre World War II aikido (合氣道). The character for 'ki' remained the same until 1946 when the character for ki was simplified in Japan. In hangul, the indigenous Korean system, hapkido would be rendered '합기도'. The concept of aiki as occurring when the character ai (合), representing harmony, together, or joining is combined with the character for ki and is often interpreted representing a combining, blending or coordinating of energy or a principle of non-contention of forces. Most systems which incorporate the idea of ki believe that a practitioner may harness the energy stored in a special point in the lower stomach referred to as tan t'ien (丹田) in Chinese, tan den (丹田) in Japanese, tan jon (丹田 or 단전) in Korean and dan tian (ตันเถียน) in Thai, and utilize this energy in their martial technique, usually by employing special breathing techniques also found in the Buddhistic meditation practises common to these countries. Most long term or professional martial arts practitioners report that the practice of building qi via breathing exercises, deep relaxation and meditation practices causes profound physiological changes that enable special martial arts skills. After sufficient practice an ability to feel the qi develops. Sensations such as tingling, warmth and heaviness of the limbs are common. With continued practice the martial artist is able to gradually gain control of these sensations and invoke them at will. In T'ai Chi, for example, one goal is to "sink" or accumulate the qi to the navel area, experienced as a strong sensation of warmth and heaviness, similar to the sensation one feels when an elevator stops. After that, the ability to "circulate" the qi develops, where the martial artist feel warm waves of qi energy moving through the body in harmony with the graceful T'ai Chi movements. Practitioners able to experience these sensations find their sense of touch is enhanced, along with dramatically improved balance and coordination. These skills then enable improved martial arts performance. Types of qi Yuán qì - (primary qi) Jing (TCM) - (nutrient qi) Zhong Qi - (pectoral qi) Wei Qi - (defensive qi) Qigong - (qi cultivation) Qi - ancient version Qi - modern version Similar concepts in other cultures The concept of a life-energy inherent in all living beings seems to be a fairly universal archetype, and appears in numerous ancient religions and systems of metaphysics (in addition to having been borrowed by George Lucas's Star Wars films with the concept of The Force). Analogies to numina in other societies include: Polynesian mythology : mana Australian Aboriginal mythology : maban Egyptian mythology : ka Finnish mythology : sisu Turkish mythology : can Greek mythology/Christianity : pneuma Roman Mythology/Christianity : Spiritus Hebrew mythology : ruah Inuit mythology : inua, sila Leni Lenape mythology : manetuwak Norse mythology : seid Druidry : Awen Yoruba mythology : ashe Ghedee practice : mbec Also related are the philosophical concepts of: European alchemy and philosophy : aether, (or ether), quintessence Hindu philosophy : prana Related martial arts and exercise practices include Yoga - Indian culture See also Aether theories Anima Aura (paranormal) Dantian Etheric body Etheric plane Iron Shirt Iron Palm Kundalini Meditation Odic force Tao Yin Tui na References <references /> Further reading Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis by James L. Oschman, PhD, Churchill Livingston, 2000 Encounters with Qi: Exploring Chinese Medicine by David Eisenberg, M.D., Penguin, 1987. Cross Currents: The Promise of Electromedicine, the Perils of Electropollution by Robert O. Becker, Tarcher, 1991 Qigong Meditation by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming Qigong master/physicist's modern theory of Qi in the human body. The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Manfred Porkert, MIT Press, 1974 ISBN 0-262-16058-7 Chee Soo, The Chinese Art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Thorsons (1984) ISBN 0-85030-387-7. Da Liu, T'ai Chi Ch'uan and I Ching, Routledge & Kegan Paul, (1981) ISBN 0-7100-0848-1. Chinese Physical Culture: The Impact on Individuals MSc dissertation, document effect on health of Tai Chi practitioners. Ki in the Arts of Sex, Healing and Corporate Body Building Essays examining social and psychological aspects of ki as Japanese perceptions of "attention". Ki and the Powers of Japan Documentary script based on previous essays. External links Article by Bing YeYoung "A Philosophical and Cultural Interpretation of Qi" Views on Qi, from several authorities on TCM Three short perspectives on the nature of Qi from scholars Yoshio Manaka (1995), Ted Kaptchuk (1983), and Giovanni Maciocia (1989) The Skeptics Dictionary Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming A Modern Definition of Qi. Ohio State University Medial Center The Philosophy and Art of Energy Medicine. "Ask Dr. Wang" description of Qi and body humors. Pacific University College of Optometry applications of Qi in medicine. Journal of Scientific Exploration Certain Physical Manifestation and Effects of External Qi. John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born September 30 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer. Early life and career Lloyd was born in Dover and educated at West Hill Park School (Titchfield, Hants), The King's School (Canterbury) and Trinity College (Cambridge). ..... Click the link for more information. Ian Lorimer is a television director, most noted for being the director for the British panel game QI. External links ..... Click the link for more information. Stephen Fry Birth name Stephen John Fry Born 24 July 1957 (1957--) (age 50) London, England Died Official site StephenFry. ..... Click the link for more information. Alan Davies Born 6 March 1966 (1966--) (age 41) Chingford England Nationality English Spouse Katie Maskell Notable works and roles Jonathan Creek in ..... Click the link for more information. Howard Goodall (b. May, 1958) is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programming for television. Goodall was born in Bromley, Kent and studied music at Christ Church, Oxford. ..... Click the link for more information. Motto "Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French) "God and my right" Anthem "God Save the Queen" [3] ..... Click the link for more information. This is a list of episodes of QI, the BBC comedy panel game television show hosted by Stephen Fry. The first series started on 11 September 2003. Although not mentioned at the time, all of the questions (with the exception of the final "general ignorance" round) ..... Click the link for more information. Availability Terrestrial Analogue Normally tuned to 2 (Not in Whitehaven and Copeland ) Freeview Channel 2 Satellite Sky Digital Channel 102 and BBC UK regional TV on satellite Sky Digital (R.O. ..... Click the link for more information. Availability Terrestrial Freeview Channel 9 Satellite Sky Digital Channel 116 Cable Virgin Media Channel 107 UPC Ireland Channel 117 BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview ..... Click the link for more information. September 11th, 11th September, and 9/11 (pronounced "Nine-eleven") have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon in the United States of America. ..... Click the link for more information. 20th century - 21st century - 22nd century 1970s  1980s  1990s  - 2000s -  2010s  2020s  2030s 2000 2001 2002 - 2003 - 2004 2005 2006 2003 by topic: News by month Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun ..... Click the link for more information. A panel game is a game show in which a panel of celebrities compete — either in teams or individually. It is usually chaired by another celebrity. The genre has a lengthy history on both radio and television. ..... Click the link for more information. Novel:   Richard Goodwin Screenplay:   Paul Attanasio Starring John Turturro Rob Morrow Ralph Fiennes Music by Mark Isham Cinematography Michael Ballhaus Editing by Stu Linder ..... Click the link for more information. John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born September 30 1951) is a British comedy writer and television producer. Early life and career Lloyd was born in Dover and educated at West Hill Park School (Titchfield, Hants), The King's School (Canterbury) and Trinity College (Cambridge). ..... Click the link for more information. Stephen Fry Birth name Stephen John Fry Born 24 July 1957 (1957--) (age 50) London, England Died Official site StephenFry. ..... Click the link for more information. Alan Davies Born 6 March 1966 (1966--) (age 41) Chingford England Nationality English Spouse Katie Maskell Notable works and roles Jonathan Creek in ..... Click the link for more information. Availability Terrestrial Analogue Normally tuned to 2 (Not in Whitehaven and Copeland ) Freeview Channel 2 Satellite Sky Digital Channel 102 and BBC UK regional TV on satellite Sky Digital (R.O. ..... Click the link for more information. Availability Terrestrial Freeview Channel 9 Satellite Sky Digital Channel 116 Cable Virgin Media Channel 107 UPC Ireland Channel 117 BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview ..... Click the link for more information. Availability Terrestrial Freeview Channel 19 Satellite Sky Digital Channel 111 Channel 159 (+1) Cable Virgin Media Channel 126/125 Channel 127 (+1) Tiscali TV Channel 40 UPC Ireland Channel 122 Dave (previously UKTV G2, UK G2; ..... Click the link for more information. worldwide view. Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical fourth wall. ..... Click the link for more information. Richard E. Grant Birth name Richard Grant Esterhuysen Born May 5 1957 (1957--) (age 50) Mbabane, Swaziland Years active 1987 – present ..... Click the link for more information. <noinclude></noinclude> Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring. He writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The sun ..... Click the link for more information. Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born March 8 1948 at a British Forces Hospital in Germany) is a celebrity, author and former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Career ..... Click the link for more information. Klaxon is a trademark for an electromechanical horn or alerting device. Mainly used on automobiles, trains and ships, they alert listeners of the vehicle's arrival and possible danger. ..... Click the link for more information. Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state. ..... Click the link for more information. 2, −1 (neutral oxide) Electronegativity 3.44 (Pauling scale) Ionization energies (more) 1st: 1313.9 kJmol−1 2nd: 3388.3 kJmol−1 3rd: 5300.5 kJmol−1 Atomic radius 60 pm Atomic radius (calc. ..... Click the link for more information. buzzer or beeper is a signaling device, usually electronic, typically used in automobiles, household appliances such as a microwave oven, or game shows. It most commonly consists of a number of switches or sensors connected to a control unit that determines if and ..... Click the link for more information. Eddie Izzard Eddie Izzard performing Birth name Edward John Izzard Born January 7 1962 (1962--) (age 45) Aden, Yemen ..... Click the link for more information. The Book of General Ignorance is a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. ..... Click the link for more information. Trivia (singular: trivium) are unimportant (or "trivial") items, especially of information. In the late twentieth century the expression came to apply more to information of the kind useful almost exclusively for answering quiz questions: a perfect "trivia question" is one ..... Click the link for more information. This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Search Dictionary Go (May not be accurate.)