In traditional Chinese culture, qi, also ki or ch’i in Wade–Giles romanization ( CHEE simplified Chinese: 气; traditional Chinese: 氣; pinyin: qì qì), is believed to be a vital force forming part of any living entity
Literally meaning “vapor”, “air”, or “breath”, the word qi is often translated as “vital energy”, “vital force”, “material energy”, or simply as “energy”
Qi is the central underlying principle in Chinese traditional medicine and in Chinese martial arts
The practice of cultivating and balancing qi is called qigong
Believers in qi describe it as a vital force, the flow of which must be unimpeded for health
In modern contexts, qi is a pseudoscientific, unverified concept,, and is unrelated to the concept of energy used in science (vital energy itself being an abandoned scientific notion)