The Mawangdui Tomb, was discovered in Changsha (Hunan) and excavated between 1971 – 1974. This Han Dynasty burial complex was sealed around 168 BCE. Amongst the many interesting finds is the ‘却谷食气篇’ (Que Gu Shi Qi Pian) - which covers the subject of ‘eating grain to boost qi-energy' - and the ‘导引图’ (Dao Yin Tu) or the ‘Stretching and Loosening Diagrams’, etc. The latter document is made of silk and contains forty-four distinct human figures painted on the surface with each holding a martial arts posture designed to strengthen inner and outer -energy! Today, these postures are found within many traditional martial arts styles – including Taijiquan, Bagua Zhang and Xingyi Quan – and are more commonly referred to as ‘qigong’ (气功) or ‘Breathe Self Cultivation.’ These exercises were not new in 168 BCE, and appear to be an expression of a well-known spiritual and physical self-cultivation exercise. Essentially, the bones are aligned so that the bodyweight is dropped down into the ground through the centre (marrow) of the bones so that the practitioner becomes ‘rooted’ to the ground and very difficult to move by pressure exerted from the outside. As the musculature is relaxed – the breathing is deep and full with the lower, middle and upper lung capacity being inflated without hindrance. This boosts the amount of oxygen available by a tremendous amount. All transitional moves are performed with the inward breathe – whilst the completed moves are finished at the point of the end of the outward breathe. The body moves with the inward breathe and becomes ‘still’ with the completion of the outward breathe. Now, the bodyweight stimulates the bone marrow as it ‘drops’ down into the floor through the centre of the bones. This strengthens the bones and enhances the manufacture of red blood cells. The bodyweight hits the floor (rooting the practitioner) and automatically ‘rebounds’ off of the floor and travels back up the centre of the bones to the top of the head (within advanced practice – the bodyweight both ‘drops’ and ‘rises through the centre of the bones simultaneously and without paradox or hindrance). This is a natural consequence of living in a gravitational field. This ‘rebounding’ force is the inner force that Masters use to move around their skeletal-frame (mediated by the musculature) so that it can be ‘emitted’ at any point at any time. This type of ‘inner’ power is dependent upon a) an aligned skeletal frame, b) a ‘gravitational field’ and c) a permanent an expansive ‘awareness’ of ‘a’ and ‘b’. It is not dependent upon the power generated by ‘contracting’ localised batches of muscles (i.e ‘external’ power) and once mastered continues to exist at exactly the same level of magnitude regardless of the state of fitness or well-being of the body. It is the transitioning from the easier ‘external’ method of generating force to that of the ‘internal’ method that is very difficult to achieve and which takes very careful instruction and long-term practice, etc. Drawing the Bow is a very old and effective method of training the mind and body. Do not be fooled by its apparent simplicity. Confucian scholars, as part of the tests for the ‘Official’ examination, had to fire the arrow from the bow with equal efficiency (and accuracy) from both sides of the body. That Is, holding the bow with the left-hand whilst pulling the bow-string and steadying and firing the arrow with the right-hand – and holding the bow with the right-hand whilst pulling the bow-string and steadying and firing the arrow with the left-hand. Like the hexagrams of the ‘Classic of Change’ (Yijing) - the Confucian scholar builds their shooting-posture from the ground upward – or from the ‘root’ upwards. Every section of the body is carefully ‘positioned’, ‘placed’ ‘moved’ and ‘re-set’, etc. Every moment of ‘stillness’ and ‘movement’ are performed only from the manifestation of a deep and full inward and outward breathe – as all movement is ‘breathe’ led just as it is ‘intention’ led. Breathe and ‘intention’ are the perfect integration of ‘mind’ (intention) and ‘body’ (breathe). Prior to taking the Official examinations, Confucian scholars would spend years studying the Five Classics and Four Books – whilst spending hours per day wielding the Chinese long-sword (Jian) and firing the bow and arrow. Many training Masters would not let their students even ‘hold’ a real weapon until they had demonstrated the mastery of the ‘daoyin’ (or ‘qigong’) equivalent! There is also evidence that the ’inflation’ of the body-cavities with ‘breath’ (qi-energy) - so that the body tissue takes on the buoyancy of an inflated ball – as found within the techniques that comprise the martial art of Taijiquan, is a very clever psychological and physical preparation for ‘firing the bow’. This would suggest that as the ‘Taiji’ concept appears in the ‘Classic of Change’, it would logically follow that ‘Taijiquan’ is a very advanced (internal) martial art developed for the use of training potential Confucian Scholar-Officials. When Taijiquan is mastered correctly, the required mind and body skills resemble that of a master of archery. Preparation for all Taijiquan self-defence techniques is performed with the building of a robust-intensity as found when a bow is at full draw! When a Taijiquan practitioner ‘emits’ massive force – this robust-intensity is suddenly ‘released’ and dissipates before being re-built yet again! This general (but important) building and releasing of inner (and outer) force explains why there are so many variants of drawing the bow. Generally, speaking, drawing the bow whilst standing in a high horse-stance and firing the arrow on an even level at shoulder height – is for Confucian scholars training for the Official examinations – whilst switching the weight onto a singly left or right-knee – whilst the arrow is fired into the sky at a 45 degree-angle is usually a preparation for Chinese soldiers training for ‘long-distance’ shooting. The point is that drawing and firing the bow is viewed as just as important as shooting a real bow as the exercise opens all the eight inner-energy channels and unites them into a single entity. Just as the mind is ‘stilled’ so all the eight inner-energies channels are reconciled into a single and all-embracing reality. The ‘still’ mind expands so that the inner awareness becomes all-embracing and appears to envelop the entire surrounding environment. The bow is picked-up, the bow is drawn and the arrow is fired – and at no point does the bow, arrow, or firing activity exist outside the perceiving mind. The many types of ‘drawing the bow’ methods demonstrate just how widespread and diverse this practice must have been throughout Old China. Drawing the bow combines the microcosmic orbit – or circulation of qi (vital force) and jing (essential nature) - as emphasised within the seated ‘neidan’ practice, and the macrocosmic orbit of the same energy as cultivated throughout the various modes of Chinese martial arts practice. The seated meditation of ‘neidan’ focuses upon the internal energy traveling from between the anus and the genitalia up the spinal-column to the centre of the top of the head with the inward breathe – whilst the same internal energy is taken from the top of the centre of the head and down the centre of the front of the body and back to the starting-point (between the genitalia and anus). The Governing Vessel travels from the spot between the genitalia and the anus and travels up the spine to the top of the head and then down the centre of the face the upper jaw just behind the two front teeth. The tongue touches the palate and connects the Governing Vessel to the Conception Vessel that starts in the upper-tongue and traverses down the centre of the front of the body to the starting-point situated between the genitalia and anus. As you can sees, the full inward breathe only follows the Governing Vessel up to the top of the head – whilst the outward breathe takes the energy flow down to the top jaw of the mouth and completes the stimulation of the Governing Vessel. This same outward breathe continues downward into (and through) the Conception Vessel (which begins in the lower jaw area of the mouth) which is shorter than the Governing Vessel by about one-third the length. This is the essence of the microcosmic orbit which extends laterally (either side of the spinal-column) and sinks a few inches into the depth of the body tissue with practice. When drawing the bow this practice (usually associated with ‘neidan’) is maintained but is augmented by the ‘opening’ all eight energy channels - which includes those traveling down the legs and arms. This can happen within seated ‘neidan’ practice by extending the scope of the conscious awareness during practice (which opens all the energy channels) and integrates the micro and macrocosmic orbits – but is assisted by the physical movements of the legs and arms utilised during the performing of the technique of ‘drawing the bow’. In the latter case, the inward breathe includes the entire posterior of the body (from the heels to the top of the head) - with the outer breathe covering the full anterior of the body (from the top of the head and back to the heels). This dynamic movement can add a new dimension to a practitioner’s inner and outer fitness! Obviously, the physical foundation varies between the seated practice of ‘neidan’ and the standing practice of drawing the bow. In the former the foundation is the bottom and the sides of the legs that directly touch the floor, whilst in the latter it is the soles of the feet. Although in essence this should not distract the mind from manifesting in the ten directions, this difference also implies that the drawing the bow method, despite its inner developmental component, has its practical roots within self-defence and martial arts practice. The sole of the foot is a platform for which the entire body can be traversed through the environment drawing a very powerful (gravitational-related) force from the environment which is channelled through the (mind) and body, and be used in self-defence as well as in the development of psychological and physical health. In other words, the type of body-foundation varies simply because a different part of the body is in continuous union with the ground. Whereas seated ‘neidan’ is best suited to a quiet, peaceful and isolated area, drawing the bow could well be used as a health-giving leisure activity, a ‘testing’ vehicle (as in the State examinations) and on the battlefield, etc. Much of this difference in application emanates from the fact that in one practice the adherent remains ‘sitting-down’ whilst in the other the adherent is also in the upright position and standing on his or her two-feet. In the cash of injury or disability to the lower part of the body, then both ‘neidan’ and ‘drawing the bow’ can manifest as practices which see the adherent comfortably ‘seated’ upon a chair or similar raised platform (within some types of Daoist practice, ‘neidan’ can be performed whilst sitting on a wooden device which ‘stimulates’ various key ‘pressure points’ between the anus and genitalia). Despite the obvious difference in physical technique, there should be no substantive difference in conscious awareness or spiritual development. Indeed, one practice should (and must) reflect the other.
0 Comments
Working from Chinese language source materials, the term ‘Zhouyi’ (周易) only refers to the manual of philosophical speculation and divination-guidance as formulated and used during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1134-772 BCE), whereas the term ‘Yijing’ ((易经) refers to the similar manuals said to have existed during the Xia Dynasty (2205-1766 BCE) and the Shang Dynasty (1783-1122 BCE) - as well as all additional information integrated into the ‘Zhouyi’ after the Western Zhou all the way up to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), etc. Therefore, whereas the Zhouyi should refer only to the divination ritual of consulting turtle plastron and ox scapula bones as a means of communication with the ‘divine ancestor’ said to abide somewhere in the sky – the term ‘Yijing’ strictly speaking, at least within Chinese academia, refers to the ‘entire’ genre of divination manuals before, during and after the Zhou Dynasty. Whereas the ‘Zhouyi’ can be viewed as a specific chronological expression of the entire Chinese tradition of the ‘divination manual’ writing (i.e., ‘Yijing’) - the over-all term of the ‘yijing’ does not always refer to the ‘Zhouyi’. During the Xia (夏) Dynasty – the divination manual was known as the ‘连山’ (Lian Shan) - and during the Shang (商) Dynasty the equivalent manual was referred to as the ‘归藏’ (Gui Cang). These two earlier expressions of ‘wise destiny’ have not yet been found in their entirety, despite interesting archaeological discoveries hinting at their existence (such as the 1993 Hubei find – thought to be associated with the ‘Gui Cang’, for instance). Taken together, these divination manuals are known as the ‘三易’ (San Yi) or ‘Three Changes’ within Chinese academia. Therefore, the term ‘Zhouyi’ refers only to the divination practices of the Western Zhou, and the development of transitioning the paraphernalia of the divining process into book form. This appears to have been in progress around 800 BCE – with Confucius (and his students) able to access a copy during his lifetime (551–479 BCE). In other words, the thousands of turtle plastron (under-shells) and ox scapulae that had been used over the decades for divination purposes and stored in vast libraries, had been accessed, logically assessed and transitioned into the sixty-four hexagrams, hexagram titles, hexagram sequence and commentaries affixing the three-hundred and eighty-four constituent lines. The basis of each hexagram (six-lined construct) is the straight line and the broken line arranged in three pairs of two, or two pairs of three (trigrams), etc. With each hexagram including a brief explanation of the situation it represents, how this condition was arrived at, and what action might be expected to improve the situation, etc. During the following approximately one thousand years, the so-called ‘Ten Wings’ (十翼 - Shi Yi) are slowly added to the original text of the ‘Zhouyi’ (said to have been named by the Eastern Han scholar – Zheng Xuan [康成] using the term to describe how these extra texts ‘support’ and ‘uplift’ the original text like ‘wings on a bird’) - transforming it into a manual of Yin-Yang (陰陽) interpretive science (collectively, the ‘Ten Wings’ are also referred to as the ‘Yizhuan’ [易传] or ‘Change Treatises’). It is believed that Confucius (孔夫子 - Kong Fu Zi) [551-479 BCE] either wrote all, some or part of these texts, or was responsible for ‘editing’ a pre-existing text relating to the Yijing at one-point during his life. This association is taken for granted in China even though it is also acknowledged that more evidence is required to explain this convention. Part of the ‘Ten Wings’ were written before Confucius lived, some were written during his lifetime, whilst others were written hundreds of years after his passing. However, it is not unreasonable to assume a historical connection between Confucius and the Yijing. The ‘Ten Wings’ seven distinct chapters divided into ten parts: 1) Tuan Zhuan (彖傳), Upper, Treatise on the Judgements of the Hexagrams, Part I 2) Tuan Zhuan (彖傳), Lower, Treatise on the Judgements of the Hexagrams, Part II 3) Xiang Zhuan (象傳), Upper, Treatise on the Symbolism, Part I 4) Xiang Zhuan (象傳), Lower, Treatise on the Symbolism, Part II 5) Xi Ci Zhuan (繫辭傳), Upper, Treatise on the Appended Words, Part I 6) Xi Ci Zhuan (繫辭傳), Lower, Treatise on the Appended Words, Part II 7) Wen Yen Zhuan (文言傳), Treatise on the Elaboration of the Words 8) Shuo Gua Zhuan (說卦傳), Treatise on the Discourse on the Trigrams 9) Xu Gua Zhuan (序卦傳), Treatise on the Sequence of the Hexagrams 10) Za Gua Zhuan (雜卦傳), Treatise on the New Sequence of the Hexagrams Prior to this development, the ‘Zhouyi’ advocates that first Hexagram ‘乾’ (Qian) or (assertive) ‘divine sky’ - interacts with the second Hexagram ‘坤’ (Kun) or (receptive) ‘broad earth’ very much in the context of ‘male’ and ‘female’ interaction in the natural world (thus creating a child through conception). Through the combination of hexagram one and two – the foundations are laid for the manifestation of the other sixty-two hexagrams in a ‘new life’ (and explains why the arrangement of the hexagrams are referred to as ‘post-natal’ [後天 Hou Tian] or more cryptically as ‘latter divine sky’ or ‘heaven’. This may be compared to the term ‘pre-natal’ [先天 - Xian Tian or ‘earlier divine sky’ or ‘heaven] which refers to a ‘pure’ and ‘idyllic’ non-aging existence in the womb which Daoist practitioners aspire to return to through their self-cultivation techniques)! All this ideology is developed further in the ‘Ten Wings’ - but it is interesting to observe that the Zhouyi in its core text – recognised the necessity of describing a physical being existing in the real world – and not an abstract being floating around in the spiritual world. This demonstrates that the ‘Zhouyi’ was logically premised upon an observation of material nature and the need to reproduce the species – a model that only later developed into a manual specialising in ‘Yin-Yang’ science. This process can be viewed as a ‘refinement’ of interpretation with the ‘male’ aspect being evolved into ‘yang’ (light) and the female aspect being evolved into ‘yin’ (lack of light). This seems to indicate that the Chinese scholars developed an understanding that ‘light energy’ was the underlying power to all physical reality – and that the ‘intensity’ (or ‘lack’ of intensity) of the presence of light dictated the type of material world humanity inhabits! Light exists literally in the outside world – but also exists figuratively inside the hearts and minds of humanity. Light flow can either be diminished by selfish thoughts and actions – or enhanced by selfless thoughts and actions! Each of the sixty-four hexagrams (and three-hundred and eighty-four lines) suggest ways for maximising inner and outer light – whilst dispelling inner and outer darkness! This is how the ‘Zhouyi’ became the ‘Yijing’. The literature associated with the Zhouyi-Yijing is comprised of the ‘本经’ (Ben Jing) and the ‘傳’ (Zhuan). The ‘Ben Jing’ is the ‘source classic’ or the ‘original’ and ‘foundational’ text associated with ‘Book of Change’. The ‘Zhuan’ (or ‘treatise’) - by way of comparison – refers to any and all subsidiary material built-up and around the ‘core text’ and used to explain, clarify and expand upon the original concept. The sixty-four hexagrams and three-hundred and eighty-four lines, together with their immediate commentaries comprises the ‘Ben Jing’ (source classic), whilst the ‘Ten Wings’ (十翼 - Shi Yi) serve as the subsidiary ‘treatises’ (傳 - Zhuan). Added to this body of knowledge should be the content of the Xia and Shang Dynasty divination manuals. It is an interesting speculation as to whether the work of the Confucian scholar ‘Yang Xiong’ (揚雄) [53 BCE-18 CE] - namely the ‘太玄經’ (Tai Xuan Jing) or ‘Grand Mystery Classic’ - which ingeniously makes use of a ‘tetragram’ system comprised of ‘straight’, ‘broken’ and ‘double-broken’ lines – should be included in the genre of ‘Yijing’ studies. A problem stems from the fact that Yang Xiong was associated with the short-lived ‘Xin’ (新) Dynasty (9-23 CE) - which temporarily usurped the Han-throne! When the Han Dynasty was restored, anything to do with the Xin Dynasty was attacked, destroyed and/or supressed. Yang Xiong’s otherwise interesting divination manual was never properly associated with ‘Yijing’ studies. Chinese Language References:
https://baike.baidu.com/item/易经 https://baike.baidu.com/item/周易/6219 https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/83565371 English Language Reference: Chung Wu PhD: The Essential s of the Yi Jing, Paragon, (2003), Page xxi (I exchanged letters a few years ago with this true gentleman). |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles (內丹 - Shi Da Dao) - Qianfeng Lineage: Zhao Bichen (1860-1942), Charles Luk (1898-1978) and Richard Hunn (1949-2006). Acknowledges Master Zhao Ming Wang (赵明旺) of Beijing as the ONLY Lineage Head of the Zhao Family Lineage of Qianfeng Daoism in China and the world. Archives
February 2024
|