Trabalho apresentado no III Congresso da Sociedade Médica Brasileira de Acupuntura
Santa Catarina, outubro de 1996

Introdução e Objetivo

A tradução dos termos pertencentes à Medicina Tradicional Chinesa (MTC) tem sido um dos fatores que dificultam a sua perfeita compreensão no Ocidente. Poucos acupunturistas tem a possibilidade de entender os ideogramas em seu sentido original, tendo que recorrer a traduções que não espelham fielmente o sentido encontrado em sua origem. Algumas destas traduções se tornaram clássicas, fazendo com que vícios de tradução fossem mantidos como verdade aceita, e transmitidos geração após geração de acupunturistas. Com o surgimento de sinólogos interessados em MTC, tornou-se possível o questionamento de alguns termos usados correntemente. Neste trabalho, iremos analisar como a tradução de "Qi" em "Energia" pode frustrar a real compreensão do sentido do ideograma.

Serão analisadas, em princípio, as origens e a formação etimológica do ideograma, seguindo-se a verificação do sentido deste ideograma em vários dicionários e compilações de ideogramas. Após o estabelecimento dos significados possíveis, inclusive comparando as opiniões dos sinólogos, passaremos a analisar as traduções constantes dos livros mais importantes sobre acupuntura, desde Soulié de Morant até a atualidade.

Resultado e Discussão

Somente uma das fontes consultadas [2] se refere ao termo "energia" como tradução para Qi, entre 31 (trinta e um) significados associados ao ideograma. Os significados mais comumente encontrados foram: air, atmosphere, breath, ether, essence, spirit, vapor, heart, feelings, disposition, temper, care, flavor [1,2,4]. Analisando a formação do ideograma, vemos que ele se compõe do radical Ch’i, cujo significado seria vapores que sobem do chão e formam nuvens acima [1] acrescentando-se ao radical o ideograma 3461 [2] significando "arroz". A leitura final seria "o movimento de uma substância invisível" [3]. A versão para o japonês do termo "energy" nos leva a "seiryoku"( associação dos ideogramas 3480 e 715), e não até "ki" (ideograma 2480) [2,4].

J.Needham aponta a impossibilidade da perfeita tradução de Qi, preferindo citá-lo sem o traduzir. [12, 14]. M.Granet utiliza várias traduções, de acordo com o contexto onde é o termo é empregado [16-23]. O único sinólogo que insiste na tradução de Qi como "energia" é M.Porkert [40,41], no que é contestado diretamente por outros [14,26]. Alguns sinólogos mantém posições contraditórias, traduzindo Qi de formas diferentes em suas obras [5,6,7 e 12,13 e 14, 34-38]. Outros preferem definir Qi como um conceito, sem o traduzir [25,29,33]. Outros não chegam a uma conclusão quanto à definição (matéria? energia?) e à tradução [25,37 e 38]. Uma explicação do termo aplicada à MTC se encontra em P.Unschuld [28]. O significado mais comumente encontrado é breath (air) [7,24,28,30-32,37,38] ou souffle [16-23]. Alguns sinólogos contestam explicitamente o uso exclusivo de "energia" como tradução para Qi. [14,25,26,28].

S.de Morant define Qi como um "fluide", "influx", que traduz "faute de mieux", por "énergie". Notamos aí que a palavra "énergie" é utilizada textualmente por falta de um termo que possa melhor traduzir o sentido original do ideograma, sentido que não era desconhecido por S.de Morant [42]. A Escola Francesa que se desenvolve à partir daí passa a se referir ao Qi definitivamente como "energia", sem quaisquer questionamentos quanto à validade desta tradução [43,44,46]. Uma alteração no termo empregado vai ser encontrada eventualmente em Huard et als.(souffle vital)[45] e C.Larre e E.de la Vallée (souffle)[56]. Somente B.Auteroche e P.Navailh se referem à multiplicidade de traduções para Qi e adotam as possibilidades "Qi, sopro e energia" em seu texto [55]. Note-se que mesmo Van Nghi, apesar de sua origem oriental (vietnamita) cede ao uso de "energia" [44]. Y.Manaka e I.Urqhart também utilizam "energia" relativamente a Qi [47], o que demonstra não ser a tradução um problema exclusivamente encontrado nos autores ocidentais. "Essentials...", produzido em inglês na China, traduz como "vital energy" [54]. M.Porkert, escrevendo não como sinólogo e sim como praticante de acupuntura, passa a definir Qi como "a particular "constellation" of energy" [52]. T.Kaptchuk, J.O’Connor e D.Bensky assumem a impossibilidade de tradução adequada para Qi [49, 53]. Maciocia igualmente aponta a dificuldade de traduzir corretamente Qi, afirmando "...I have chosen to left it untranslated..." [58], mas cede ao costume e, na mesma obra, páginas adiante, qualifica Qi como "energia" [59-61]. J.Ross usa "Energia" em sua obra, mas, contraditoriamente, afirma "...o Qi tem atributos tanto energético quanto material." [57].

O uso exclusivo de "energia" como tradução para o termo Qi pode levar à incompreensão de todos os significados implicitos do ideograma. Dependendo do contexto onde é empregado, o significado real pode diferir sensivelmente, e consagrar uma tradução do ideograma em detrimento das outras possíveis faz com que o sentido do texto se torne fora do alcance, especialmente dos praticantes da MTC que não possuem noções da escrita chinesa. Ainda mais grave é a deturpação do sentido em que se emprega a palavra "energia", que em algumas situações adquire significação completamente diversa da encontrada nos textos chineses, até mesmo indo contra as bases culturais de onde se origina o termo Qi. Muitas vezes encontramos sentido de concretude onde a intenção do ideograma era abstrata, dando origem a termos questionáveis como: diagnóstico energético, patogenia e patologia energéticas, etc. É interessante notarmos a razoável incidência da expressão "energia vital" ou "força vital" como tradução para Qi [13,34,36,38,45,54], o que nos leva a supor ter havido influência do Vitalismo (doutrina que teve alguma importância do séc.XVII até o início deste século e que influenciou fortemente a homeopatia) no processo de incorporação da acupuntura à cultura ocidental. Atualmente alguns sinólogos estudam especificamente MTC, e existe maior interesse dos praticantes de MTC pela cultura e língua chinesa, o que traz novas possibilidades quanto à compreensão dos termos médicos pertencentes à cultura chinesa. A tradução imperfeita pode nos levar à má compreensão de aspectos por vezes fundamentais da MTC. Poderíamos então estabelecer a inconveniência da tradução dos termos que não têm contrapartida na cultura ocidental, tais como Qi, Yin, Yang, Jing, entre outros.

Referências do Texto:

1) radical 84 : Ch’i Curling vapours rising from the ground and forming clouds above; dando origem ao ideograma que nos interessa:
Ch’i (ou Qi) Vapour ascending from boiling rice. [pág.241]
Ch’i (ou Qi) Air; ether; vapour; spirit; temper; feelings; the fate. [pág.506]
Ch’i (ou Qi) Air; ether; vapour; spirit; temper; feelings; the two principles; the fate. [pág.576]
[Chinese Characters: L.Wieger; Dover, 1927, reprinting 1965]
2) ideograma 2480 : Ki, Ke spirit, mind, soul, heart, intention, bent, interest, mood, feeling, temper, disposition, nature, care, attention; air, atmosphere; flavor; odor; energy, essence, air, indications, symptoms; taste; touch, dash, shade, trace; spark, flash; suspicion. [pág.529]
[The Modern Reader’s Japanese-English Character Dictionary: A.Nelson; Charles Tuttle Company,1980]
3) 109 ki, ke ...was originally...which was the combination of...(rice) and...(the vapour occurring when rice is cooked).Thus, ...came to mean "the movement of an invisible substance". [pág.85]
[The First Step to Kanji Part I; Osaka University of Foreign Studies, 1969]
4) ki 1-spirit; (a)mind;(a)heart ...2-a mind; an intention; will. ...3-one’s feelings; a mood; (a)humor; (a)frame of mind. ...4-(a)nature; a disposition. ...5-care; precaution; attention. ...6-air; atmosphere; gas; vapor. ...7-ether; essence; spirit; breath. ...8-flavor; savor; smell; fume.
[New Japanese-English Dictionary; Kenkyusha,1974]

5) Chhi : pneuma, subtle matter, matter-energy [Pág. 660]
6) "The heavens have subtle spirits (chhi)..." [pág.23]
7) "Heaven, he said, is nothing more than an accumulation (chi) of air (chhi)..." [pág.41]
8) "Man’s life is due to the conglomeration of chhi..." [pág.76]
9) "Therefore is said that all through the universe there is one chhi..." [pág.76]
10) "...when the times comes to the chhi of Water to dominate." [pág.238]
11) "...you must observe the chhi of Heaven and Earth..." [pág.275]
12) "I need not again insist on the untranslatability of this word, which has connotations similar to the pneuma of the Greeks, and to our own conceptions of a vapour or a gas, but which also has something of radiant energy about it, like a radioative emanation." [pág.369]
[Science and Civilization in China, Vol II: Joseph Needham; Cambridge University Press,1956]
13) "...a system of channels for transporting energy or vital force (pneuma or chhi..." [pág.15]
14) "From these hesitating equivalents it can be seen that we do not yet know how best to translate chhi, which is why...we have consistently left it untranslated. We even doubt whether there could ever be a justified one-word European translation.... In later Chinese (Neo-Confucian) philosophy, ‘matter-energy’ may do well enough, but for these earlier periods we should not like to particularise too finely. We certainly cannot adopt the terminology proposed by Porkert: ‘configurational energy’ or ‘patterned energy’ to the exclusion of all other conceptions." [pág.16]
15) "Khoubesserian ... representing one group of French acupuncture practitioners, had already stressed the danger of applying our modern concept of energy to the classical chhi circulation..." [pág.185]
[Celestial Lancets: Lu Gwei-Djen and Joseph Needham; Cambridge University Press, 1980]
16) K’i souffle, influence [pág.556]
17) "...comme tous les corps que le souffle (k’i) emplit... [pág.287]
18) "...Les 6 Influences (k’i) du Ciel... [pág.317]
19) "...les 5 Exhalaisons (k’i). [pág.324]
20) "...C’est le Tsing (l’Essence) et le K’i (le Souffle) qui constituent les Êtres... [pág.327]
21) "...et du mot k’i - symbole du Souffle, mais aussi de l’ardeur, du tempérament, de l’energie... [pág.329]
22) "C’est donc à une opposition du subtil et du grossier et non à une opposition de l’esprit et de la matière que se ramènent les distinctions qu’on établit, je ne dis pas entre les substances, mais entre les états... [pág.330]
23) "Si le souffle (k’i) ... s’accumule dans le coeur, la maladie s’ensuit... [pág.419]
[La Pensée Chinoise: Marcel Granet; Éditions Albin Michel, 1968]
24) "When we meet the term in the Analects, one of its meanings is indeed "breath". ...we are here immediately reminded of the association of mists, air, and breath... ... the graph represents the nourishing vapors of boiling rice or grain.These vapors represent the nourishing powers of food that maintain life and human energy. [pág.180]
25) "We find here a kind of physicalist language which seems to refer to a sort of circulating fluidum that has the Cartesian attribute of matter as the spatially extended, and ch’i may certainly have properties which are in later Western thought attributed to matter. At the same time, because of its unquestioned dynamic qualities, some have insisted on calling it energy rather than matter on the basis of the constantly repeated cliché that in the West matter is static while ch’i is dynamic. ... Yet one may nevertheless agree that ch’i comes to have properties of both energy and matter, as is clearly proven by the application to it of the notion of condensation and rarefaction in later Chinese thought. It is also clear, however that ch’i comes to embrace properties which we would call psychic, emocional, spiritual, numinous, and even "mystical". ... To the extent that the word "energy" is used in the West to apply exclusively to a force that relates only entities described in terms of physical mass, it is as misleading as matter, I think, as an over-all name for ch’i." [pág.181]
[The World of Thought in Ancient China: Benjamin Schwartz; Belknap Harvard, 1985]
26) "...Porkert’s reinterpretation of some fundamental tenets of the medicine of systematic correspondence on the basis of the Western concept of "energy" must lead to grave misconceptions on the part of those of his readers who have no access to Chinese sources themselves..." [pág.2]
27) "Evil itself is no longer embodied by demons, but rather by abstract as well as empirically visible influences and emanations. The new designation representing these influences and emanations in the medicine of systematic correspondences is ch’i ." [pág.68]
28) "...in China the pictogram ch’i, possibly created to correspond to an etiological concept, was used in the literature of the tird and second centuries, in a broader context; its meaning included related ideas and phenomena such as "that which fills the body", "that which means life", "breath" and "vapors" in general, such as clouds in the sky, or even "wind". As early as the late Chou or beginning Han period, substance or tangible matter was believed by at least one author to consist of dispersible finest vapors, designated with the term ch’i. Ch’i was considered to float through the air and, together with blood, through the organism. Hence, I translate it with "finest matter influence"or simply "influence", with a substance or matter connotation in mind. This may not yet be an ideal rendering, but the choice of this term and the argumentation on which it is based should demonstrate that the customary translation of ch’i by some Western (and Asian) authors as "energy"represents a basic misconception that is not supported by Chinese ancient sources." [pág.72]
[Medicine in China, A History of Ideas: Paul U.Unschuld; University of California Press, 1985]
29) "Ordinary people today do not know the East Asian concept of ki, nor do they use the word in quite the same way that East Asian doctors do. Nevertheless the concept has pervaded the Japanese language and culture and appears in numerous everyday words. ... The concept is used particularly in association with expressions dealing with emotion and temperament." [pág.84]
[East Asian Medicine in Urban Japan: Margaret M. Lock; University of California Press, 1980]
30) "Circulation of air and blood is frequenty mentioned ..." [pág.34]
31) "when the breath of Yin has not yet begun to stir and when the breath of Yang has not yet begun to diffuse..." [pág.43]
32) "The breaths (ideograma de ch’i) of Heaven and Earth..." [pág.102]
[The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: translated by Ilza Veith; University of California Press, 1949]
33) "The Ch’i is the material (literally, instrument) that pertains to "what is within shapes", and is the means whereby things are produced. ...the Ch’i has the capacity to undergo fermentation and condensation, and thus bring things into existence. " [pág 299]
[A Short History of Chinese Philosophy: Fung Yu-Lan; Free Press, 1948]
34) "Quando estas cinco forças vitais (ch’i) são distribuídas em ordem harmônica..." [pág.74]
[Chan Wing-tsit in Filosofia: Oriente e Ocidente:Charles A.Moore org.; Ed.Cultrix, 1978]
35) "Major terms such as ...ch’i (material force or matter-energy)..." [pág.16]
36) "...the blending of the vital force (ch’i)..." [pág.41]
37) "...In synthesizing being and non-being, early Neo-Confucionists created a dichotomy of their own, namely, the bifurcation of li and ch’i. ... Ch’i, on the other hand, is the material, particularizing principle, the concretion, expression, and operation of li. It provides the conditions for the production, evolution, and destruction of things. It gives them substantiality and individuality. It differentiates them. Such being the characteristics of ch’i, obviously it is inadequate to translate it as matter. The concept of ch’i goes back to ancient times... It has always meant force, energy, breath, power." [pág.137]
38) "The translation of ch’i as material force is most unfortunate. The word ch’i involves, not material substance, but some force. It is translated as "breath"or "vital force" when related to the body. But when you talk about the ch’i of the universe, you cannot call it "breath" or "vital force". Ch’i in the universe is negative or positive force, or yin or yang, conditioned by material elements." [pág.302]
[Chan Wing-tsit in The Chinese Mind: Charles A.Moore ed.; University of Hawaii Press, 1967]
39) "...and ch’i (constitutive ethers) are obviously complementary abstractions." [pág.92]
[E.R.Hughes in The Chinese Mind: Charles A.Moore ed.; University of Hawaii Press, 1967]
40) "The term yün (circuitus, circuit phase, abbreviated C.P.) designates the implicit, deductive (not empirically perceptible), and therefore active and incipient aspect. Ch’i (configuratio, energetic configuration), its counterpart, is the explicit, perceptible, concrete, and sctructive aspect of the cosmic situation." [pág. 62]
41) "...the term ch’i comes as close as possible to constituting a generic designation equivalent to our word "energy"."
[The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine: Manfred Porkert; MIT Press,1974]

42) "Les Anciens, ayant constaté l’existence du "quelque chose"qui passe dans un méridien quand un point est excité, donnèrent à ce fluide, à cet influx, le nom de Tsri, que nous traduisons, faute de mieux, par le mot énergie. C’est le "Prana" des Hindous. L’ideogramme que les Anciens inventèrent est composé des éléments figurant "la force de la vapeur soulevant le couvercle d’une marmite où bout du riz". Il est employé couramment pour exprimer: 1-la vapeur; 2-la force, l’énergie; 3-la respiration, le souffle, et par extension, la vie; 4-la colère; 5-l’influx nerveux; 6-dans les temps récents, l’influx électrique et 7- les ondes de T.S.F. ..." [pág. 69]
[L’Acuponcture Chinoise: George Soulié de Morant; Librairie Maloine, 1972 (1939)]
43) "La notion de l’’energie est extrêmement importante dans la Médecine Chinoise. Ignorée, ou presque, dans notre médecine occidentale, elle tient la première place dans la médecine orientale. ... Cependant, l’énergie individuelle, facteur non enregistrable par des appareils scientifiques, existe; ..." [pág. 37]
[Traité de Médecine Chinoise: A.Chamfrault; Éditions Chamfrault, 1964 ]
44) "El término "energética orgânica"es uno de los más empleados en medicina china. Designa a la vez la energia segregada por el órgano al interior del cuerpo y las manifestaciones de esta energia en el exterior." [pág. 71]
[Patogenia y Patologia Energeticas en Medicina China: Van Nghi; ed. Cabal, 1981]
45) "Le souffle vital ou k’i a quatre sens essentiels: souffle cosmique universel; énergie vitale de l’individu; émanation, manifestation ou impulsion d’un viscère; air inspiré et expiré. Les Chinois contemporains l’appellent l’énergie vitale." [pág. 140]
46) "...et dans lequel circule l’énergie Yong, alors que l’énergie Oé, defensive, circule essentiellement dans les méridiens tendino-musculaires." [pág. 136]
[Les Médecines de L’Asie: Pierre Huard, Jean Bossy, Guy Mazars; éd. Seuil, 1978]
47) "The theory of energy, or ch’i, set forth in the ancient Chinese texts is quite foreign to Western medical thought." [pág. 22]
48) "Like the Western concept of "nerve-energy potential" or the prana (life force) of Indian philosophy and medicine, ch’i is a dynamic force in constant flux." [pág. 23]
[Acupuncture: Yoshio Manaka and Ian Urquhart; Weatherhill,1972]
49) "The idea of Qi is fundamental to Chinese medical thinking, yet no one English word or phrase can adequately capture its meaning. ...Qi is not some primordial, immutable material, nor is merely vital energy, although the word is occasionally so translated. Chinese thought does not distinguish between matter and energy, but we can perhaps think of Qi as matter on the verge of becoming energy, or energy at the point of materializing. [pág. 35]
50) "Qi is not the cause of movement, because Qi is inseparable from movement." [pág. 37]
[The Web That Has No Weaver: Ted J.Kaptchuk; Congdon & Weed, 1983]
51) "...the active individual energy called qi, the defensive energy called wei,..." [pág. 71]
52) "...Chinese medicine is primarily concerned with dynamics, with the flow of energy, and in this respect an individual human being is regarded as a qi, a particular "constellation" of energy,... [pág. 84]
[Chinese Medicine: Manfred Porkert and Christian Ullman; Henry Holt and Co., 1982]
53) "Qi ... is an untranslatable word in the Chinese medical lexicon. It signifies a tendency, a movement, something on the order of energy. ...Qi is thought of as matter without form. ... Qi is also a term for the functional, active aspect of the body. ... Qi is thus an example of the absence of the matter-energy dichotomy in Chinese medicine." [pág. 8]
[Acupuncture, A Comprehensive Text: trad.John O’Connor and Dan Bensky; Eastland Press, 1981]
54) "Generally speaking, the word qi connotes both substance and function." [pág. 36] "Weakness of the qi (vital energy) of the spleen." [pág. 69]
[Essentials Of Chinese Acupuncture; Foreign Language Press, Beijing, 1980]
55) "A palavra Qi foi traduzida de inúmeros modos. Nesta obra, nos serviremos de 3 denominações Qi, sopro, energia" [pág. 33 (nota 1)]
[O Diagnóstico na Medicina Chinesa: B.Auteroche-P.Navailh; Andrei, 1986]
56) "...la seule forme véritablement opposable, contrastée, complementaire et compénétrable pour et par l’immense vertu du Ciel, c’est la forme de toutes les choses: le Souffle. [pág. 45]
[Les Movements du Coeur: Claude Larre e Elisabeth R. de la Vallée; Desclée de Brower,1993]
57) "...o termo Qi é usado para designar a Energia, que é uma concepção oposta à matéria. Na concepção chinesa, a energia e a matéria são a manifestação contínua de um aspecto, a composição do Universo, por isso o Qi tem atributos tanto energético quanto material." [pág. 12]
[Zang Fu: Jeremy Ross; Roca, 1994]
58) "It is very difficult to translate the word Qi and many different ones have been proposed, none of which approximates the essence of Qi exactly. It has variously been translated as "energy", "material force", "matter", "ether", "matter-energy", "vital force", "life force", "vital power", "moving power". The reason it is so difficult to translate the word Qi correctly, lies precisely in its fluid nature whereby Qi can assume different manifestations and be different things in different situations. ... Because of the difficulty in finding an appropriate translation for the term, I have chosen to leave it untranslated... [pág. 36]
59) "...at the fingertips and toes the energy changes polarity from Yin to Yang or vice versa..." [pág.336]
60) "The extraordinary vessels all derive their energy from the Kidneys..." [pág. 355]
61) "...exerts an influence on the circulation of energy to the legs" [pág. 356]
[The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: Givanni Maciocia; Churchill Livingstone, 1989]
62) "In Chinese, Chinese medicine is extremely clear and logical. However, in translation, this logic and clarity are often lost. Often the immediately perceived connections between two Chinese words do not carry over to the two (or more) English words chosen to translate them." [pág. 1]
63) "Because of the misunderstanding the denotations and connotations of the technical Chinese terminology, we American practitioners all too often plug into our clinical equations the wrong information or else process the right information with the wrong system of logic." [pág. 2]
[Sticking to The Point: Bob Flaws; Blue Poppy Press, 1989]