One of the perennial hot topics in martial arts circles, particularly as pertains to the internal arts, is the issue of what to make of all the esoteric language found in the old texts and traditions. There are no shortage of charlatans going around making outlandish claims about their abilities using 'secret' techniques. In response, understandably, many have come to the conclusion that the old concepts such as Qi, Dan Tiens, or Meridians are nothing more than ancient superstition and hold no value in our modern scientific world. Unfortunately, the bad rap given these concepts by the circus showmen claiming to be martial adepts has caused skeptics to err too far in the opposite direction without looking at things objectively.
The first thing that must be considered is that the ancient people were not stupid. This is a common misconception that is held today. Many assume that intelligence has evolved over time and that each era is more knowledgeable and therefore superior to each preceding one. While it is certainly true that we are constantly learning new things, it is a mistake to say that the ancients were inferior to us. For example, there are still many feats of design and architecture in the ancient world that we are even now left scratching our heads in wonder as to how they managed to pull off without any modern technology. The ancients developed mathematics, mapped the heavens, and did many other remarkable things all without the benefit of any of our newer toys. Because of this, it is wise that we at least give an honest look at the things they claimed as true.
Secondly, we must consider how the ancients viewed the world. They did not look at things through the cold, precise, categorical style we tend toward today. They viewed everything from a grander, interconnected perspective in which the universe was more holographic than dualistic (which modern science is at last now showing to have been the case all along). The myths are a perfect example of this. They told of great and fantastic adventures, of gods and creatures and men and of how they all are interwoven through the cosmos. But within each of these myths are basic truths of life and reality, and even advanced scientific concepts which we have only recently come to realize ourselves -- despite being supposedly so much more 'advanced' than they. To understand the depth of these writings, though, it is key that we step back from our closed-minded arrogance and look at what is really being said.
In fact, modern science and ancient wisdom coincide quite well. The problem that people have in understanding comes largely from the difference in how things are stated. It is the difference in perspective. For example, let us look at the meridian system in the body. The ancients described a vast network of energy channels which carry life-force energy (or Qi) and psycho-emotional energy (or Kundalini) throughout the body. Often I hear skeptics claim that no such thing exists because nothing of the sort has ever been discovered during autopsies. The same skeptics will then readily state that there are nerve pathways and plexuses right where the meridians, dan tiens, and chakras are supposedly positioned. Yet they boldly say there are no such things. Can we perhaps put two and two together here? The nervous system carries bioelectric energy throughout the body to keep us alive and functioning. The supposed meridians carry life-force energy throughout the body to keep us alive and functioning. They just so happen to perfectly overlay each other. What do we see here? I think you can understand. The terminology is different. The thing being described is the same.
The ancients used much more colorful language to describe the exact same things we now describe with our precise scientific language. These energies and systems do exist. But we must understand what they are in light of our modern ways of describing things. They are not mystical. They are the basic energies of life and the systems through which they flow. This is true of everything in the ancient myths. We must learn to read through the eyes of the original authors and audience, and then to correlate this with our modern tongue and culture. If we do, we will see there is no supernatural nonsense here. There is nothing but science, veiled in the language of myth.
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