Category originally is a term for philosophy and philology, which means fundamental form of thought or being. When applied to aesthetics, it becomes aesthetic category, and indicates a concept which divides the aesthetic things into severel highest classes according to difference of connotation. "Qi-Yun" (気韻) is one of the most important categories of Chinese aesthetics, and is characteristic of Chinese culture. "Qi-Yun" was used for the first time as an aesthetic concept of picture by Xie He (謝赫) in "the Six Dynasties (222～589 A. D.)". In his book on the theory of picture "Gu Hua Pin Lu (古画品録)" (a critical essay on Chinese pictures), the first rule is "Qi Yun Sheng Dong (気韻生動). By this consept, he describes the mode of existence of picture as an artistic phenomenon. "Qi Yun" as an aesthetic category or concept had been found in chinese philosophy or criticism, and in the theory of music before Xie He. After Xie He, "Qi Yun" has been applied to the various fields of art. And then aesthetic concept and the autonomic system have guradually begun to be formed. In the following, I will study about the system and history of "Qi Yun" as an aesthetic category in Chinese aesthetics.