Great Clarity Scripture of Daoyin and Nourishing Life太清导引养生经
- Also known as
- Scripture of Daoyin and Nourishing Life
- Author / transmission
- Author unknown
- Period
- Six Dynasties–Tang · Author unknown, probably compiled between the Six Dynasties and the early Tang, its content largely drawn from earlier daoyin texts; one fascicle.
- 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
The Great Clarity Scripture of Daoyin and Nourishing Life is an important text in the Daoist Canon devoted specifically to recording daoyin exercises, gathering together numerous methods of guiding-and-stretching, breath circulation, and massage — the Daoyin Method of Chisongzi (Master Redpine), the Daoyin Method of Master Ning, the Lying Guiding Method of Pengzu the Grain-Immortal, the Eight Spirits Daoyin Method of Wangzi Qiao, the Five Animal Frolics Method, and the Toad Breathing Method, among others — describing for each, item by item, the posture, the number of repetitions, the coordination of breath, and the ailments treated, in formulas such as 'extend one hand forward and the other backward, to the fullest extent' or 'hold the breath and clench the fists.' These exercises belong to the same lineage as the early daoyin methods seen in the Daoyin Illustrations from the Han tomb at Mawangdui and the Yinshu on the Han bamboo slips from Zhangjiashan, and can be used to reconstruct the actual practice of Han–Tang daoyin techniques, forming basic source material for the history of ancient Chinese physical culture. The text explicitly correlates specific exercises with the ailments they treat (a given form for lower-back pain, another for wind-qi disorders, and so on), showing that daoyin had by this point shifted from a technique of the Fangxian Dao for attaining immortality into a therapeutic and health-preserving technology — a shift that reached its culmination in the daoyin methods appended to the Treatise on the Origins and Symptoms of Diseases. Modern researchers of qigong, taijiquan, and the history of traditional Chinese physical culture frequently rely on this scripture as an important source.
Key Ideas
- A text in the Daoist Canon devoted specifically to recording daoyin exercises
- Daoyin methods attributed to Chisongzi, Master Ning, Pengzu, and Wangzi Qiao
- Specific exercises explicitly correlated with the ailments they treat
- In the lineage of the Mawangdui Daoyin Illustrations and the Han bamboo-slip Yinshu
- Daoyin's shift from an immortality technique to a therapeutic and health-preserving one
Structure
One fascicle, listing the daoyin, breath-circulation, and massage methods of various masters.
Editions
- Zhengtong Daozang edition
- Zhonghua Daozang edition
Translations
- Discussed and partially translated in Livia Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises (2008)
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life, Daoyin Methods in the Treatise on the Origins and Symptoms of Diseases, Pengzu's Treatise on Preserving Health and Nourishing Nature- Livia Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin, 2008
- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
- Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon, 2004
- 沈寿《导引养生图说》