Chinua Achebe and the Chi

During my constant battle in order to find a topic to write about, there was a certain concept discussed in class that it called my attention almost immediately. That was the concept of “Chi”.

When I heard about “Chi” I immediately thought about the Chinese concept of it. In China, “Chi” or “Qi” refers to the natural energy or life force inside every living being and sustains those living beings. In the class, as well as in the book “Things fall apart”, the concept “Chi” is defined or could be explained (from what I understood) like some sort of personal God you make a contract with in order to be successful in life. Chi was also the responsible for the good or bad luck of the person and finally, Chi was considered as some kind of guardian angel that guides you or protects you. It is also important to understand that your Chi could be benevolent or malicious, and that this natural energy will follow you your entire life.

At this point, one must believe that if you were blessed with a good Chi you will be always successful in your life, and on the other hand, if you were born with a bad Chi you were condemned to a life of failure. So, does this means that because you were born with a good Chi you can do whatever you want or you can be as lazy as you want because you will be successful no matter what? Of course not, imagine that you were born in a really rich family, sure you may have been born well-off, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to work or put any effort in something. You must work hard in order to achieve success.

The Igbo people claimed that a man’s “Chi” does not actually control his entire life. So, is not that the “Chi” controls you, it is you who must control the “Chi”, even if you were born with a bad “Chi” you must give everything you have to change that rather by hard work or even with your own will power.