Jing, a Chinese term, comes from traditional Chinese medicine. It is translated from Chinese to English for Essence. There are three kinds of jing: prenatal, postnatal and Kidney. Prenatal is passed from the parents to the child in the womb. Postnatal is when the child develops post-Heaven Essence when they begin eating, drinking, and breathing independently.
The lungs, spleen and stomach extract and refine Chi or Ki from food and drink along with air we breath. To guard jing is to make sure the body, mind and spirit are fed properly both the physical and the psychological.
Prenatal jing is hereditary. You can replenish jing through the postnatal processes of eating and breathing and thinking right thoughts. Jing has a fluid nature so it circulates all over the body. It forms the basis for growth, development, maturation, and reproduction. It moves in long, slow cycles, and presided over the major stages of life as they develop each moment.
Jing is considered the basis for Chi. It is in a fluid context yin. The essence (jing) and Chi are the material foundation for Shen (mind). Our longevity is determined by a combination of hereditary jing (yang) and postnatal accumulations of jing (yin). The shen is the yang context.
It is believed we all are born with a fixed amount of jing and can also accumulate jing from food and various forms of stimulation (exercise, study, meditation.) Jing is continuously consumed in life. It is effected as to quantity and quality by everyday life experiences, i.e. stress, illness, anger, fear or exercise, nutrition and mental health, etc.
Martial System such as Chi Gong were developed by the Chinese to replenish jing. Internal aspects of martial arts may be responsible for preservation of our jing if performed correctly.
It should be apparent how this jing, or sei, is associated with the practice, training and application of martial systems whether it be in combat or in the health and fitness derived from the way.
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