Chapter Five: "When Benevolent Qi Greets Others, It Is More Intimate Than Brotherhood. When Malevolent Qi Greets Others, It Is More Harmful Than Arms and War." -- The Power of Sympathetic Resonance Through Qi

I. "Benevolent Qi" and "Malevolent Qi"

"Benevolent qi" (shan qi) means a harmonious, kindly qi. "Malevolent qi" (e qi) means a hostile, noxious qi. The word "qi" here refers not merely to physical breath but to the intangible force of interaction between persons -- attitude, emotion, aura, atmosphere.

In the pre-Qin era, "qi" was a concept of enormous breadth. Another passage of the Guanzi "Neiye" says: "In general, human life comes about thus: Heaven contributes the vital essence, Earth contributes the physical form, and the combination of these makes a person." Human life is composed of the vital essence from Heaven and the physical form from Earth; thus the "qi" within a person possesses both the subtle quality of Heaven and the substantial quality of Earth.

"When benevolent qi greets others" means approaching people with a quality of kindness, warmth, and uprightness; the effect is "more intimate than brotherhood" -- closer than the bond between brothers.

"When malevolent qi greets others" means approaching people with a quality of hostility, coldness, and perversity; the effect is "more harmful than arms and war" -- more destructive than an encounter on the battlefield.

II. Why Is the Power of Sympathetic Resonance Through Qi So Great$35

We must press the question: Why should the mere goodness or malice of one's qi produce such enormous effects$36 "More intimate than brotherhood" and "more harmful than arms and war" -- these are extreme comparisons. Why does the Neiye draw such extreme comparisons$37

The answer lies in a core tenet of pre-Qin qi-theory: Qi is the medium through which all things resonate with and respond to one another.

The Zhouyi, "Xici Shang," says: "The Changes is without thought, without action, still and unmoving; stimulated, it penetrates all the affairs of the world." "Stimulated, it penetrates" (gan er sui tong) -- the response is immediate, direct, requiring no intermediary. And the medium of this response is qi.

The Zhouyi, Hexagram Xian (Influence/Sensitivity), Tuan Commentary: "Xian means 'to sense.' The yielding above and the firm below -- the two qi sense and respond to each other... Heaven and Earth sense each other and the myriad things are transformed and brought to life; the sage senses the hearts of the people and all under Heaven is at peace. Observe what is sensed, and the dispositions of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things become visible." "The two qi sense and respond to each other" -- the sensing between Heaven and Earth operates through qi.

Therefore, when a person greets others with "benevolent qi," the qi they emit resonates harmoniously with the other's qi. This resonance is immediate, deep, irresistible -- more intimate even than the bond of blood kinship (brotherhood), because kinship is external and given, while the resonance of qi is internal and present.

Conversely, when a person greets others with "malevolent qi," the qi they emit clashes with the other's qi. This clash is more harmful than war -- because war wounds the body, while the clash of qi wounds the spirit, the heart, the most fundamental dimension of human relationship.

III. Historical Cases from the Pre-Qin Era

Case One: Duke Huan of Qi and Guan Zhong

The Guanzi, "Xiao Kuang," records the story of Duke Huan employing Guan Zhong. Guan Zhong had served Prince Jiu and had once shot an arrow at Huan (then Prince Xiao Bai), nearly killing him. Yet upon ascending the throne, Huan heeded Bao Shuya's counsel, put aside the old enmity, welcomed Guan Zhong with great ceremony, and appointed him as chief minister.

Duke Huan greeted Guan Zhong with "benevolent qi"; moved by his sincerity, Guan Zhong devoted himself fully to the duke's service. The Guoyu, "Discourses of Qi" (Qi Yu), records Guan Zhong's governance: "He revised the old laws, selecting what was good and putting it into practice." The trust between Huan and Guan Zhong far surpassed the ordinary bond of lord and minister -- truly "more intimate than brotherhood."

Case Two: The Malevolent Qi of King Zhou of Shang

The Shangshu, "Oath at Mu" (Mu Shi), records King Wu's oath before the campaign against Zhou: "Now the Shang king Shou heeds only the words of his consort; he has abandoned and neglected the sacrifices and does not tend to them; he has cast off the princes of the royal house and does not employ them. Instead he exalts and promotes the many criminals and fugitives of the four quarters, trusting and employing them, making them Grand Masters and ministers, so that they wreak violence on the hundred families and bring disorder to the Shang capital."

King Zhou greeted others with malevolent qi -- he refused the counsel of loyal ministers, favored treacherous sycophants, and brutalized the people -- until all forsook him and even his own army turned against him. The Shangshu, "Completion of the War" (Wu Cheng), records: "The vanguard turned their halberds and attacked those behind them, routing their own army." King Zhou's soldiers turned to attack their own side -- the very epitome of "when malevolent qi greets others, it is more harmful than arms and war."

Case Three: The "Benevolent Qi" of Duke Wen of Jin

The Zuozhuan, Duke Xi, Year 28, records that before the Battle of Chengpu, Duke Wen of Jin retreated three day's march (the famed "withdrawal of ninety li") to repay King Cheng of Chu for sheltering him during his years of exile. This apparent retreat was in fact an act of benevolent qi that won the trust of the lords of the realm. The Jin army won a decisive victory at Chengpu, and Duke Wen became hegemon.

Duke Wen greeted Chu with benevolent qi (the withdrawal of ninety li), greeted his own troops with benevolent qi (a just cause for war), and greeted the feudal lords with benevolent qi (fidelity and righteousness). Thus he was able to achieve hegemony in a single battle. This is precisely "when benevolent qi greets others, it is more intimate than brotherhood" applied at the level of statecraft -- the feudal lords all rallied to Jin.