Wu wei (en xinès tradicional 無為, en xinès simplificat 无为, i literalment no acció) és un concepte important de la filosofia taoista que postula que la forma més encertada d’enfrontar-se a les situacions és no actuar, tot i que aquest concepte no és sinònim de no fer res, segons remarca la literatura daoista. La paraula també es fa servir en el terme sense esforç com a forma natural de procedir sense forçar i sense artificis. S’aplica, per exemple, a les plantes, que no fan esforç per créixer, simplement ho fan per wu wei.

It is an important concept in Taoism that literally means non-action or non-doing. In theTao Te Ching, Lao Tzu explains that beings (or phenomena) that are wholly in harmony with the Tao behave in a completely natural, uncontrived way. The goal of spiritual practice for the human being is, according to Lao Tzu, the attainment of this purely natural way of behaving, as when the planets revolve around the sun. The planets effortlessly do this revolving without any sort of control, force, or attempt to revolve themselves, instead engaging in effortless and spontaneous movement.

Though not politically separated until after the early Han dynasty, Sinologist Herrlee Creelconsidered Wu wei a distinguishing factor between more «purposive» religious Taoism, having its beginnings in governmental Huang-Lao and emphasizing a striving for immortality; and the philosophical Taoism of the Zhuangzhi, which emphasizes Wu wei in the sense of not striving, often considering the search for immortality secondary, laughable or harmful.

无为指经过有为的思考，以时势、趋势的判断做出顺势而为的行为，即顺应自然的变化规律，使事物保持其天然的本性而不人为做作，从而达到“无为而无不为”的境界。是中国先秦时期道家思想术语。根据处理问题不同，“无为”的态度即可用于政治的政策方针，政府无为，百姓自治；也可以用于修心养性。