yangsheng

yangsheng, in Chinese medicine and religion (particularly Daoism), various self-cultivation practices aimed at personal health and longevity.

A person’s life (sheng) is sustained by three “treasures,” or principles: jing (“essence”), qi (“vital breath”), and shen (“spirit”). Jing is associated with reproductive energy. Qi is a complex concept referring to air or vapour, breath, and the primordial matter-energy constituting everything in the universe; in the practice of yangsheng it retains these connotations while also indicating the energy that animates and sustains living things. Shen is both spiritual and mental vitality.

Every individual is born with jing and qi, both of which disperse with age. Longevity requires maintaining or restoring one’s original allotment of qi. Qi may be converted into jing, which in turn facilitates the circulation of qi throughout the body. Shen, unlike jing and qi, is not allotted at birth but must be cultivated throughout life. As the three treasures dissipate or become out of balance, one’s health declines. Physical exercises and meditative, medicinal, and dietary practices integrate body and mind, thus enhancing the circulation of qi, replenishing the three treasures, and extending and nourishing (yang) life.