I like the title of the thread.   Before Western interpretations were put on top of the concept of qi -- the way a cowboy might put a saddle on a panda because he knows how to handle horses -- a five-year-old in China might get this explanation:   His mom would light a fire, put a pot of water on, and as soon as the water comes to a boil, add some rice and cover the pot with a lid.  Once the water comes to a boil again, the lid on the pot would start to jump and rattle.  She would then ask the kid,   "What do you think causes this jumping and rattling?  Is it fire, water, pot, rice, lid, steam?"    "No," the smart and observant five-year-old would respond, "it's all of them put together, they work as a team and change each other, and this change is what causes the jumping and rattling."  "See," the proud mom would beam, "you've figured it out!  Now you know what qi is."