qi
CHEE
Breath, vital energy, the animating force that flows through all things — air, bodies, landscapes. In landscape terms, qi is what a good site has: the living energy that moves through terrain the way water moves through a watershed. A landscape with strong qi feels alive; a landscape without it feels dead. The concept underlies feng shui, Chinese medicine, and martial arts — all disciplines that read the movement of qi through different media.
Etymology
Chinese (氣/气). The character originally depicted steam rising from rice — breath made visible.
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