Yangsheng
/ˌjɑːŋˈʃɜːŋ/noun
A traditional Chinese approach to cultivating health, vitality, and longevity through lifestyle, diet, exercise, and other practices.
Did you know?Yangsheng is associated with Daoist self-cultivation and appears in early Chinese philosophical writings, where preserving life involved aligning the body with seasonal and cosmic patterns.
Etymological Timeline
Warring States period, c. 4th–3rd century BCE
Classical Chinese
養生
“Nourishing or cultivating life; a practice of preserving vitality”
Warring States period, c. 4th–3rd century BCE
Classical Chinese
養生之道
“The way or method of nourishing life, a phrase associated with philosophical self-cultivation”
Middle Chinese, c. 6th–10th century CE
Middle Chinese
養生
“Cultivating life and maintaining bodily vitality”
Modern Mandarin
Mandarin
養生 / 养生 (yǎngshēng)
“Health cultivation, longevity practice, or methods for preserving vitality”
20th–21st century
English
yangsheng
“An English loanword for traditional Chinese health and longevity practices”