Chinese & Taoist Terms
Glossary

Chinese & Taoist Terms

Status · Pramāṇita
Source · Uncited
Period · Eternal

Dao / Tao — The Way; the ultimate, ineffable principle underlying all existence.

De — Virtue; the Dao as manifest in a being.

Wu wei — Effortless action; responsive non-striving aligned with the Dao.

Qi / Ch'i — Vital energy animating all things.

Yin-Yang — Complementary polarities whose interplay constitutes cosmic change.

Xian — Taoist immortal; a realised practitioner.

San Qing — Three Pure Ones — the supreme Taoist triad.