Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Ingesting Qi服气精义论
- Author / transmission
- Sima Chengzhen
- Period
- Tang · Composed by Sima Chengzhen in the early 8th century; the Daozang text and the version included in scroll 57 of the Yunji Qiqian differ in detail.
- Canon division
- Dongshen Section, Methods (Fangfa) category
- Collected in
- Zhengtong Daozang, Dongshen Section, Methods Category; also included in scroll 57 of the Yunji Qiqian (together with the Xiuzhen Jingyi Zalun)
- Category
- Medicine and Nourishing Life
- Fascicles
- one scroll, nine chapters
Synopsis
The Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Ingesting Qi (Fuqi jingyi lun) is Sima Chengzhen's specialized work on health preservation through the ingestion of qi, in nine chapters: On the Five Sprouts, On Ingesting Qi, On Daoyin, On Talisman Water, On Taking Medicines, On Caution and Prohibitions, On the Five Viscera, On Healing Illness through Ingesting Qi, and On the Symptoms of Illness. The work systematically explains the method of ingesting the generative qi of the five directions (the "Five Sprouts"), the procedures of breathing exercises and daoyin, the auxiliary use of talisman water and medicinal preparations, and prohibitions in diet and daily life, and explains the movement of qi and the symptoms of illness by means of the Chinese-medical theory of the five viscera, advocating the healing of illness through the ingestion of qi and the opening of the body's passes through daoyin, attending to both form and spirit together. Its content synthesizes the Huangting Jing, the Five Talismans of Lingbao, and the medical and health-preservation knowledge accumulated since Sun Simiao, giving equal weight to theory and technique; it is a representative work of Tang-dynasty Daoist breath-cultivation and health-preservation learning, and an important text for the study of ancient Chinese breathing therapy and the relationship between medicine and the Dao.
Key Ideas
- Ingesting the Five Sprouts and circulating qi for health preservation
- Combining daoyin with the ingestion of qi
- The movement of qi in the five viscera and the diagnosis of illness
- Talisman water and medicines as auxiliary aids
- Caution in daily life and diet
Structure
Nine chapters: On the Five Sprouts, On Ingesting Qi, On Daoyin, On Talisman Water, On Taking Medicines, On Caution and Prohibitions, On the Five Viscera, On Healing Illness through Ingesting Qi, and On the Symptoms of Illness.
Editions
- Zhengtong Daozang edition
- Yunji Qiqian edition
Translations
- German study and annotated translation by Ute Engelhardt (1987)
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion, Master of Heavenly Seclusion (Tianyinzi), Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life, Great Clarity Scripture of Daoyin and Nourishing LifeRelated figures
Sima Chengzhen, Sun Simiao- Ute Engelhardt, Die klassische Tradition der Qi-Übungen, 1987
- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》