The Taoist term for vital energy that flows through all things is qi.
Written 氣 in traditional Chinese and 气 in simplified Chinese, qi literally relates to air, vapor, breath, or material energy. In Chinese cosmology, it is not merely a modern idea of “energy”; it is a traditional way of describing the dynamic substance or force through which living beings and the wider cosmos are understood.
Daoist thought treats the human body as a small-scale reflection of the universe. Qi circulates through the body and the natural world, and Taoist cultivation practices seek to refine, balance, and harmonize it. Meditation, breathing exercises, qigong, dietary methods, and internal alchemy all developed partly around this concern.
Qi is often confused with jing and shen, especially in the Daoist “Three Treasures.” Jing is essence, qi is vital energy or breath, and shen is spirit. These ideas belong to traditional Chinese thought and medicine, not to the scientifically measured concept of energy in physics.