Pillowbook Methods for Preserving Health摄养枕中方

Also known as

Pillowbook Records, Perfected Sun's Pillowbook Records

Author / transmission

Sun Simiao

Period

Tang · Attributed to Sun Simiao of the Tang (c. 581–682); one fascicle; its content overlaps considerably with the 'Nourishing Nature' chapter of the Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold, and may have been compiled by later hands from Sun's teachings.

Canon division

Dongshen Section, Methods (Fangfa) category

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Dongshen Section, Fangfa category.

Category

Medicine and Nourishing Life

Fascicles

One Fascicle (Juan)

Synopsis

Pillowbook Methods for Preserving Health is attributed to Sun Simiao, divided into sections on Self-Discipline, Prohibitions, Daoyin, Ingesting Qi, Guarding the One, and Ingesting Herbs and Minerals — a concise manual of life-nourishing. The 'Self-Discipline' section states that 'one skilled at preserving life habitually thinks little, is mindful of little, desires little, undertakes little, speaks little, laughs little, worries little, delights in little, rejoices in little, angers little, favors little, and dislikes little' — the celebrated 'Twelve Littles'; the 'Prohibitions' section lists strictures on diet and daily routine; 'Daoyin' and 'Ingesting Qi' record specific practices; 'Guarding the One' discusses visualization and the guarding of spirit; 'Ingesting Herbs and Minerals' records a number of longevity formulas. The work fuses Daoist inner cultivation (guarding the One, ingesting qi) with medical life-nourishing (diet, routine, formulas) into a single whole, embodying precisely Sun Simiao's position that 'medicine and the Dao share a common origin' — he was both the author of the Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold and, within Daoism, revered as 'Perfected Sun' and 'the King of Medicine.' Because of its brevity and clear organization, the work circulated widely from the Tang and Song onward and was included in numerous life-nourishing compendia across the ages, making it a convenient text for understanding the character of Tang-dynasty life-nourishing scholarship.

Key Ideas

• The 'Twelve Littles' of nourishing life
• Self-Discipline, Prohibitions, Daoyin, Ingesting Qi, Guarding the One, Ingesting Herbs and Minerals
• The fusion of Daoist inner cultivation with medical life-nourishing
• Sun Simiao's position that medicine and the Dao share a common origin
• A concise manual of Tang-dynasty life-nourishing scholarship

Structure

One fascicle, in sections on self-discipline, prohibitions, daoyin, ingesting qi, guarding the One, and ingesting herbs and minerals.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Related fascicles in the Yunji qiqian
• Zhonghua Daozang edition

Full Text & Online Resources

• CTEXT: search
• Wikipedia: Sun Simiao

Related scriptures

Related figures