In traditional Chinese culture, qì or ch'i (, also known as 기 or ki in Korean culture and ki in Japanese culture) is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi literally translates as "breath", "air", or "gas", and figuratively as "material energy", "life force", or "energy flow". Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. Concepts similar to qi can be found in many cultures: prana in Hinduism (and elsewhere in Indian culture), chi in the Igbo religion, pneuma in ancient Greece, mana in Hawaiian culture, lüng in Tibetan Buddhism, manitou in the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, ruah in Jewish culture, and vital energy in Western philosophy. Some elements of the concept of qi can be found in the term energy when used in the context of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine. Elements of the concept can also be found in Western popular culture, for example "The Force" in Star Wars and the related Jediism, a religion based on the Jedi and even in Eastern popular culture like Dragon Ball and One-Punch Man. Notions in the West of energeia, élan vital, or vitalism are purported to be similar.

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