Exploring "Qi" through Humanities and Science: NSYSU Hosts Dual Academicians Forum

To promote the integration of science and humanities, the College of Liberal Arts and the Center for Transcultural Co-Becoming and Global Sinology at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), in collaboration with the Aerosol Science Research Center, organized the forum "Qi in Science and Humanities: A Dialogue between Two Academicians". The event featured newly elected Academia Sinica Academician and Chair Professor of Philosophy at National Tsing Hua University, Professor Rur-Bin Yang, alongside Academia Sinica Academician and Honorary Chair Professor of the ASRC at NSYSU, Professor Pao-Kuan Wang. The dialogue bridged humanities and science through the concept of qi, attracting about 150 participants, with the aim of cultivating in young students a humanistic view of science and a scientific perspective on the humanities.

In his remarks, NSYSU Vice President Chih-Wen Kuo stated that the Dual Academicians Forum exemplifies the interdisciplinary collaboration between two specialized research centers under the Ministry of Education's Higher Education Sprout Project. He expressed hope that this endeavor would open up new possibilities, inspire more cross-disciplinary research, and help establish NSYSU as a leading academic hub that values both technology and the humanities.

Academician Rur-Bin Yang, a leading authority on the concept of qi in Taiwan, elaborated on the diverse vocabulary used to describe qi in psychological, physiological, natural, metaphysical, and socio-cultural contexts. He emphasized that the notion of qi has a history of 4,000–5,000 years in East Asia, deeply rooted in Daoist and Zhuangzi philosophy, martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, and daily language. Yang explained that in Eastern philosophy, the human body functions as an inseparable unity of "form–qi–spirit," with emotions intrinsically linked to the flow of qi, thereby connecting outward appearance with inner cultivation. In this cultural context, there is no purely psychological world—the inner psyche influences and transforms the external world. For example, meridian charts depict the body as a flowing system, with qi serving as the mechanism connecting the physical body and consciousness. Practices such as Daoist meditation, the "opening of meridians" in martial arts novels, and the philosophy of harmony between heaven and humanity represent concrete applications of cultivating qi.

Academician Pao-Kuan Wang, a world-renowned cloud physicist and climate scientist, and the first scholar in Asia to receive the prestigious Nikolai Dotzek Award in severe storm research, shared insights into the scientific nature of qi. He described its properties of motion and fullness, using the second law of thermodynamics to explain gas diffusion and interpreting the scientific principles underlying Zhuangzi's observation of "the vastness of heaven" in Xiaoyao You (Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease). Wang also introduced the scientific history of Evangelista Torricelli's 17th-century mercury barometer experiment, Ludwig Boltzmann and Josef Loschmidt's studies on gases, and fluid-particle dynamics. Drawing on Laozi's Tao Te Ching— "The way of heaven is to reduce excess and make up for deficiency"—he explained how atmospheric circulation balances Earth's energy, resonating with Yang's discussion of qi in historical and bodily contexts. He concluded with Zhuangzi's references to cycles of immense time to connect with the Milankovitch cycles of natural climate change, further highlighting the human-induced impacts of the Industrial Revolution on climate change and the urgent need for energy conservation and carbon reduction.

Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at NSYSU, Hsi-San Lai, noted that while Yang addressed the role of qi in self-cultivation and the human–heaven relationship, and Wang discussed atmospheric circulation, weather patterns, and sustainability, both academicians converged on the ethical dimensions of qi—its flow, balance, sharing, and sustainability—in both humanistic and environmental contexts.

Professor Chia C. Wang, Director of the ASRC at NSYSU, guided the audience in mindful breathing exercises to experience the flow of qi within and beyond the body. Through this practice, participants became more aware of the interconnectedness and unity of qi in both individuals and the environment. She urged attendees to face ecological challenges related to qi, such as extreme climate events and air pollution, with the motto "More ECO, less EGO," and to commit to making changes.

Also present at the event were Professor Mark Frederick McConaghy, Director of the Center for Transcultural Co-Becoming and Global Sinology at NSYSU; former NSYSU President Hung-Duen Yang; and newly elected Academician Chen-Tung Chen. NSYSU President Chih-Peng Li expressed his hope to continue inviting more academicians to engage in interdisciplinary dialogues, nurturing future generations of students with a solid foundation in both science and the humanities.