Concepts in Chinese philosophy

concept of dualism and complementarity in Chinese philosophy, cosmology, traditional medicine, fengshui, and protoscience, opposing “yang“ (for solar, masculine, active, warm) with “yin“ (for lunar, feminine, passive, cool)

group of constituent basic elements of matter (water, earth, fire, air and sometimes aether), used to explain nature patterns since ancient times

thumb|200px|Symbol of Tao (the Way) thumb|200px|Uncreated Eight Trigrams, representing the uncreated state of a being before it incarnates into the material world. thumb|200px|Post-created Eight Trigrams, representing the state of a being after it is born into the material world.

In the Sinosphere and Chinese philosophy, qi ( ; ) is a vital force traditionally believed to be a part of all living entities. Literally meaning 'vapor', 'air', 'gas', or 'breath', the word qi is polysemous, often translated as 'vital energy', 'vital force', 'material energy', or simply 'energy'. Qi is also a concept in traditional Chinese medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The attempt to cultivate and balance qi is called qigong.

concept in various Chinese philosophies, referring to an ideal form of government or a state of unconflicting personal harmony, free-flowing spontaneity and savoir-faire

principle of supreme potential in Chinese philosophy

concept in Chinese philosophy

thumb|right | Confucius, whose philosophy created the ideal of a Junzi The word junzi ( or "Son of the Vassal, or Monarch") is a Chinese philosophical term often translated as "gentleman", "superior person", or "noble man". Since the characters are overtly gendered, the term is frequently translated as "gentleman"; gentry and distinguished/moral person are common gender-neutral translations. Traditionally referring to the "aristocratic nobility of the Zhou", Junzi is employed in the Book of Changes to mean a superior, ideal person who constantly cultivates virtue and improves their character,

Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and is a central concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th–11th century BCE), the highest deity was referred to as Shangdi or Di (, "Lord"). In the subsequent Zhou dynasty, Tian became synonymous with this figure. Prior to the 20th century, the worship of Tian was considered an orthodox cosmic principle in China.

[禮/礼] classical Chinese word which finds its most extensive use in Confucian and post-Confucian Chinese philosophy

term referring to Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism collectively, considered as a harmonious aggregate

thumb|Chinese calligraphy|Calligraphy of 無心

Qingtan () was a Chinese philosophical movement and social practice among political and intellectual elites which developed during the Wei-Jin () period and continued on through the Southern and Northern dynasties. Originating among Daoist scholars, particularly those belonging to the syncretic Xuanxue school, qingtan involved "pure conversation" concerning metaphysics and philosophy in the form of informal gatherings for discourse and debate. These gatherings originated as politically impartial continuations of the more explicitly politically "pure criticism" () protests of the later Han dyna

concept in Chinese philosophy and Taoism, as opposed to Taiji

Confucian concept of righteousness, justice, morality, and meaning

types of souls in Chinese philosophy

Ziran, also rendered in the Wade-Giles romanization as tzu-jan, is a key concept in Taoism and East Asian Buddhism that literally means 'of its own' or 'by itself' and thus "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly." == Etymology == This Chinese word is a two-character compound of and , which is used as a -ran suffix marking adjectives or adverbs (roughly corresponding to English -ly). According to the Shuo Wen lexicon, the character 自 zi means "nose." In Chinese culture, the nose (or zi) is a common metaphor for a person's point of view.

[理] a concept found in Neo-Confucian Chinese philosophy

concept in Daoism

Confucianist concept