The ancient Chinese term fǎn (反, "return; reversion; inversion") is a basic concept of Daoism. The Daodejing says "Reversal is the movement of the Way ... Being is born from nonbeing." Daoist texts use fan in three interconnected meanings: "return to the root", "cyclical return", and "return to the contrary". In Chinese cosmology, everything in the universe emerges from the primordial Dao, continually transforms, and inevitably returns to it, which parallels the eternal return in philosophy or cyclic model in physical cosmology. Fan is also significant in Chinese alchemy and Daoist meditation.