Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine)

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The Three Treasures or Three Jewels (Chinese: 三寶; pinyin: sānbǎo; Wade–Giles: san-pao) are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist cultivation practices such as neidan, qigong, wuxingheqidao and tai chi. They are shen ("spirit") , qi ("breath," "vital force") and jing ("essence"). The French sinologist Despeux summarizes: Jing, qi, and shen are three of the main notions shared by Taoism and Chinese culture alike. They are often referred to as the Three Treasures (sanbao 三寶), an expression that immediately reveals their importance and the close connection among them. The ideas and practices associated with each term, and with the three terms as a whole, are complex and vary considerably in different contexts and historical periods.

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