The Metaphysical Foundations of Pre-Qin Qi Theory: Physical Reduction and Cognitive Paradigm Reconstruction

Section 3: Boyang Fu on Earthquakes – A Mechanical Model of Qi

Earlier than Yi He's discussion of the six qi is the account of Boyang Fu (伯阳父) on earthquakes, recorded in Guoyu (Discourses of the States). In the second year of King You of Zhou (780 BCE), the three rivers all trembled, and Boyang Fu commented:

"The qi of Heaven and Earth does not lose its order. If it exceeds its order, the people have disturbed it. Yang is suppressed and cannot emerge, Yin is pressed and cannot steam. Thus, there are earthquakes. Now the three rivers are indeed trembling, which means Yang has lost its place and presses down Yin. If Yang is lost and within Yin, the river sources will be blocked; if the sources are blocked, the state will surely perish."

This discourse deserves extreme attention, as it may be one of the earliest records in Chinese intellectual history to explain geological phenomena using "qi."

Boyang Fu's reasoning is as follows:

1. The qi of Heaven and Earth has its normal operational order ("does not lose its order").
2. The cause of earthquakes is "Yang is suppressed and cannot emerge, Yin is pressed and cannot steam"—Yang qi is trapped underground and cannot vent upwards; Yin qi is compressed and cannot circulate. The two forces mutually press each other and cannot be released, thus causing earthquakes.
3. The consequence of earthquakes is the blockage of river sources, which in turn affects the survival of the state.

What is the core of this explanatory model$10 It is the accumulation and release of force. Yang qi (which can be understood as underground heat, active subterranean energy) is blocked by Yin qi (which can be understood as the oppressive force of the Earth's crust). Energy cannot circulate normally, accumulates to a certain point, and then erupts as an earthquake. While the specific mechanisms differ entirely, the basic model of "energy accumulation—exceeding a threshold—sudden release" is shared, showing a striking similarity in the structural thinking with modern plate tectonics and elastic rebound theories.

Even more noteworthy is Boyang Fu's methodological premise: "The qi of Heaven and Earth does not lose its order." This statement implies that the workings of nature are orderly and regular, and earthquakes are not punishments from deities but the result of disturbances in the natural order. This is a thoroughly naturalistic stance.

Thus, we can preliminarily conclude: In the origins of Pre-Qin theories of qi—whether in observations of daily experience, the construction of medical theories, or the explanation of geological phenomena—"qi" played the role of a unified name for natural forces. It was not metaphysical speculation but a tool for the Pre-Qin people to rationally grasp the perceptible and observable physical world.