Vital Substances Theory holds that the human microcosm is the product of the interaction between several vital substances with different degrees of condensation or density and with different qualities.
For the ancients, everything is Qi in different degrees of condensation.
The body, its fluids, its various internal structures, food and bodily waste, the air we breathe... everything is Qi interacting to form:
- That which we see (material).
- That which we cannot see but observe in its manifestation in one way or another (immaterial).
The vital substances are:
- The Jing.
- The Qi.
- The Blood.
- The Body Fluids.
- The Shen.