Ki and Haki became well-known through Japanese anime, but what is less known is that multiple western philosophies have similar concepts.
Haki is basically spiritual energy, spiritual power - and we see that it can cancel out essentially magical abilities of Devil Fruits. Ki / Qi is basically all around us, but is particularly concentrated in living beings - trees in particular give out a lot of ki energy. Acupuncture basically treats qi energy. Qi is a life force which permeates the existence, and links together all existing things. It is also linked to flow of energy through the body, forming a cohesive unit.
There are three types of qi energy in Chinese philosophy: heaven qi, earth qi and human qi. Alternatively, one forms solids, another liquids, and the lightest forms "life breath" that animates all living beings. The mind intent (I Nian) allows person to manipulate qi to perform various tasks. It may be used in martial arts, to push away, condense or break apart (a.k.a. armament haki); in healing, to generate or inhibit cell growth; as well as emotion and reproduction.
In Western philosophy, there are in fact two somewhat similar concepts. There is the theory of four humours, and each humour corresponds to one of four temperaments. Essentially, body and the soul are one and affect each other. Second is anima mundi, or the world soul - an intrinsic connection between all living beings which leads to them all belonging to, in essence, same spiritual ecosystem. This directly parallels Chinese concept of qi - and in terms of One Piece, it has manifested in the singular ability: The Voice of All Things.
We know that Roger could communicate with beings and objects around him spiritually (which is how he could understand the Poneglyphs without learning the language), and Luffy seems to have unlocked the ability when he met Zunisha. IIRC Zoro may also have the ability. This would suggest that all things in the world of One Piece are indeed spiritually linked, and with Gorosei being basically demons, and now the psychic robot waking up, I wonder if the Voice may come to play a significant role soon. Or if it already had.
Haki is basically spiritual energy, spiritual power - and we see that it can cancel out essentially magical abilities of Devil Fruits. Ki / Qi is basically all around us, but is particularly concentrated in living beings - trees in particular give out a lot of ki energy. Acupuncture basically treats qi energy. Qi is a life force which permeates the existence, and links together all existing things. It is also linked to flow of energy through the body, forming a cohesive unit.
There are three types of qi energy in Chinese philosophy: heaven qi, earth qi and human qi. Alternatively, one forms solids, another liquids, and the lightest forms "life breath" that animates all living beings. The mind intent (I Nian) allows person to manipulate qi to perform various tasks. It may be used in martial arts, to push away, condense or break apart (a.k.a. armament haki); in healing, to generate or inhibit cell growth; as well as emotion and reproduction.
In Western philosophy, there are in fact two somewhat similar concepts. There is the theory of four humours, and each humour corresponds to one of four temperaments. Essentially, body and the soul are one and affect each other. Second is anima mundi, or the world soul - an intrinsic connection between all living beings which leads to them all belonging to, in essence, same spiritual ecosystem. This directly parallels Chinese concept of qi - and in terms of One Piece, it has manifested in the singular ability: The Voice of All Things.
We know that Roger could communicate with beings and objects around him spiritually (which is how he could understand the Poneglyphs without learning the language), and Luffy seems to have unlocked the ability when he met Zunisha. IIRC Zoro may also have the ability. This would suggest that all things in the world of One Piece are indeed spiritually linked, and with Gorosei being basically demons, and now the psychic robot waking up, I wonder if the Voice may come to play a significant role soon. Or if it already had.
