I am feeling the flow of “qi”: Baduanjin as an anthropocene movement of natural/cultural entanglement

Abstract

In this article, I utilize the New Materialism framework to explore the interpretation of baduanjin, a traditional Chinese fitness Qigong, in the Anthropocene, suggesting that its surge in popularity in China is the result of the entanglement of nature and culture. I conducted 14 in-depth interviews with baduanjin practitioners across China. The research reveals: (1) Regular practice of baduanjin can help practitioners in “becoming” a “harmonized body” that exists beyond the norms of modernity, serving as a symbol of the entanglement between nature and culture; (2) the “qi” generated during baduanjin practice is a physical experience achieved through dynamic interactions between the practitioners and their environment, thereby aiding them in re-establishing their connection with nature, not only preserving traditional culture but also actively exploring the ecological relationships in modern society; (3) the experience of “qi” is a form of “scale management” of the practitioner's own life time within the immense temporal crisis of the Anthropocene, helping individuals to deeply engage with the complex interconnections among planetary, geological, and life scales in the temporal dimension.