Lord Lao's Instructions on Nourishing Life太上老君养生诀

Also known as

Lord Lao's Instructions on Nourishing Life

Author / transmission

attributed to the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, the content is attributed to a transmission from Hua Tuo

Period

Six Dynasties–Tang · Author unknown, attributed to Taishang Laojun, its content largely attributed to the Five Animal Frolics transmitted by Hua Tuo; probably compiled between the Six Dynasties and the Tang, in 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

Lord Lao's Instructions on Nourishing Life, in one fascicle, is brief but focused in content: it opens with the general principles of nourishing life, stating that 'the body should be habitually exerted, food should be habitually scant, exertion should never reach its utmost limit, and scantness should never reach utter emptiness,' and then, attributed to Hua Tuo, records in detail the Five Animal Frolics — the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and bird exercises — their specific movements and effects, stating that one should 'stretch and pull the waist and limbs, moving every joint, in order to resist aging,' practicing until 'sweat breaks out, whereupon one may apply powder; the body becomes light and agile, and the stomach desires food.' This is one of the more complete records of the Five Animal Frolics preserved in the Daoist Canon, cross-checkable against the accounts in the 'Biography of Hua Tuo' in the History of the Later Han and in the Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life, and is core material for studying the origins and development of Chinese daoyin fitness techniques. The scripture also describes practices such as clicking the teeth, swallowing saliva, massage, and qi circulation, together with dietary and lifestyle prohibitions. Attributed nominally to Lord Lao but in substance recording medical technique, the text reflects the consistent practice of Daoist life-nourishing literature: packaging practical technique in sacred authority, so that the method of nourishing life gains religious legitimacy.

Key Ideas

• The body should be habitually exerted, food should be habitually scant
• One of the more complete records of the Five Animal Frolics
• Practices of clicking the teeth, swallowing saliva, massage, and qi circulation
• Cross-checkable against the 'Biography of Hua Tuo' in the History of the Later Han
• Practical technique packaged in sacred authority

Structure

One fascicle, a general introduction followed by the Five Animal Frolics and other methods.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Zhonghua Daozang edition

Translations

• Discussed and partially translated in Livia Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises (2008)

Full Text & Online Resources

• CTEXT: search
• Wikipedia: Five Animal Frolics

Related scriptures

Related figures