Three level lines, the top one curving gently down like a lid and the bottom one curving up to meet it — the ancient scribes were drawing layers of mist rising off the land, air itself made visible. You cannot draw energy directly, so three thousand years ago someone drew what moving air looks like instead, and that same shape went on to carry the biggest idea in Chinese medicine and philosophy: qi, the vital energy said to flow through everything living.
A piece of culture
The energy behind tai chi and feng shui Qi (气) is one of the most far-reaching ideas ever carried by a single character. Traditional Chinese medicine describes illness as blocked or unbalanced qi, and acupuncture aims to restore its free flow along the body's meridians. Tai chi (太极拳) is a slow-motion practice of moving qi through the body, and feng shui (风水, "wind-water") arranges rooms and cities so qi can circulate freely. Everyday Mandarin keeps the word alive too: 生气 (shēngqì) — "qi rising" — is how you say someone is angry; you already know 生.