Jing (TCM)

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Jīng (Chinese: 精; Wade-Giles: ching¹) is the Chinese word for "essence", specifically kidney essence, or semen. According to traditional Chinese medicine, jīng is stored in the kidneys and is the most dense physical matter within the body (as opposed to shen which is the most volatile). It is said to be the material basis for the physical body and is yin in nature, which means it nourishes, fuels, and cools the body. As such it is an important concept in the internal martial arts. Jīng is also believed by some to be the carrier of our heritage (i.e. DNA); semen, in the man, and menstrual blood, in the woman, are believed to be part of jīng. One is said to be born with a set amount of jīng (pre-natal jīng, also sometimes called yuan qi) and also can acquire jīng from food and various forms of stimulation (exercise, study, meditation.) Theoretically, jīng is consumed continuously in life; by everyday stress, illness, substance abuse, sexual intemperance, etc. Pre-natal jīng cannot be renewed, and is completely consumed upon dying. In TCM, one secret of long life is to use the least amount of pre-natal jīng and the most of post-natal. Many disciplines related to qigong are devoted to the replenishment of "lost" jīng, by restoring the post-natal jīng.