The unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics is one of the deepest challenges in theoretical physics. String theory and loop quantum gravity offer mathematical frameworks but lack a first-principles ontology and testable predictions. This paper develops an interpretation within Energy-Efficiency Theory (EET). Starting from Yang's Axioms 1, we propose that quantum gravity is the dynamical coupling between the minimal units of constrained-state energy at the Planck scale and the free-state vacuum background. Spacetime is not an independent entity but the relational structure of energy distribution and constraint propagation. The discrete nature of spacetime arises from Yang's Minimum Time Principle Δtmin=dmin/vmaxΔtmin=dmin/vmax and the minimal spatial scale lPllPl set by the constraint barrier at the Planck energy. Quantum gravitational effects are quantum fluctuations of the constrained-state energy gradient—the source of gravity—when the scale approaches the Planck length. This framework naturally reconciles the uncertainty principle with spacetime curvature, yields a modified dispersion relation for particles near the Planck scale, and predicts a minimal measurable length and a corresponding modification of the black hole entropy formula. The theory is fully compatible with general relativity in the classical limit and with quantum mechanics in the weak-gravity limit, providing a unified energy-ontological foundation for quantum gravity.
Hongpu Yang (2026) studied this question.