TCM Terminology

Tao gives birth to Primeval Qi (One),
One gives birth to Yin and Yang (Two),
The Two intermingle and give birth to Mean Qi (Three),
The Three gives birth to all universal things.
All universal things shoulder the Yin and embrace the Yang.
The Yin and Yang mingle and mix with each other to beget the harmony.

– Tao Te Ching

Qi

To cultivate health, we should nourish the Vital Qi. The Vital Qi is nourished by grains and oxygen.

-Li Dong-yuang

food + air = energy

The character for Qi, pictured above, gives us one way to understand this invisible and immeasurable concept in quantifiable terms. Qi (pronounced “chee”) is the invisible thread of energy that runs through every atom of being. The birth, aging and death of all things within Heaven and Earth, including win, clouds, thunder, rain, water, mountains, forests, deserts, oceans, humans, animals and insects are caused by and formed out of Qi.

Yin/Yang

The Three Treasures