Chapter 22 The third section "Laozi" has become a book on health preservation (Qigong)

The failure of the Yellow Turban Uprising and the surrender of Zhang Lu to Cao Cao dealt a great blow to the political ideals of Taoism.After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, although Taoists led many peasant uprisings, they were all at the end of their strength, small in scale, and quickly suppressed.Reality forces Taoists to devote their energy to the pursuit of Taoism and immortality. According to reliable literature, the pursuit of immortality began around the Warring States Period.Emperor Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were leaders in the pursuit of immortality.But until the Eastern Han Dynasty, the relationship between the pursuit of immortality and Taoism was not close. Taoism is Taoism, and becoming an immortal is becoming an immortal.So until the Jin Dynasty, when Ge Hong wrote "Baopuzi Inner Chapter", he often had questions: What is the relationship between "Laozi" and immortality?He said five thousand words in "Lao Tzu", but he talked in general terms and rarely got the essentials.Besides, immortals need to eat golden elixir, and "Laozi" despises "rare goods" like gold, how can it support alchemy?As for waiting for books, there is not a single wise saying.

Yes, not only does it not talk about immortality, it even opposes those who strive for longevity. "Laozi" also said: "The reason why I have a big patient is because I have a body, and because I don't have a body, what trouble do I have?" That is to say, the reason why I am in trouble is because I have this body. If I don't have this body , what disaster will I have?Of course he will not pursue immortality. A person who claims to have a elixir of life or a prescription for immortality is called an alchemist.Alchemists arose in the Warring States Period.When Huang Lao was in the early Han Dynasty, some alchemists defected to Emperor Wen of Han.Not long after, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty discovered that the alchemist was cheating, so he killed the cheater, and never approached the alchemist again.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the activities of alchemists were unprecedentedly active. They claimed to be able to see gods and find the elixir for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Some alchemists were named generals, and even served as four or five generals concurrently, and became the son-in-law of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.On the one hand, Emperor Wu of the Han respected Confucianism exclusively, and on the other hand, he dismissed all schools of thought.Naturally, these alchemists cannot be Huang Lao Taoist figures, because Huang Lao is on the list of deposed, how can they be so active!Some scholars have pointed out that most of the Confucian scholars in the Qin and Han Dynasties were alchemists.At least it can be said that during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, alchemists were still appendages of Confucianism.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty failed in seeking immortality, and the lessons he left behind were extremely profound.Although the future emperors also wanted to seek immortality and longevity, they were far behind the persistence and piety of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.The emperor alienated the scholars, and many Fangtu lived among the people.The activities of alchemists are not limited to the aspect of seeking longevity, but it is this that attracts the most attention from the world. There are two ways to pursue longevity: one is to take medicine, such as sealwort, ganoderma, sesame, poria cocos, mica, quartz, gold, mercury, cinnabar, etc. It doesn't matter all the time; the other is self-exercise.There are also two ways of self-exercise: one is dynamic work, and the other is static work.According to the book, some people imitate the movements of bears and birds to exercise their bodies.The guide map unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb, and Hua Tuo's "Wu Qin Xi" at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty all belong to the category of dynamic skills.The theory of this school is that "running water does not rot, and the hinges of the household do not moth". It is believed that regular physical activity is good for health and can prolong life, which is similar to today's sports theory.The other school sees that worrying hurts the mind and fatigue hurts the body, so it advocates tranquility.This school also has various theories, but the main point is that the breath is so subtle that it is difficult to detect, just like the breath of a baby in the mother's womb, so it is also called "fetal breath", and later collectively referred to as "convincing breath".Probably because of his advocacy of quietness, he was hooked up with Lao Tzu's philosophy.At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, some people said that Lao Tzu lived hundreds of years because he was "peaceful and cultivated his nature". (Huan Tan's "New Theory Dispelling Concealment") "Tranquility" not only means not pursuing material enjoyment, but also includes peace of mind and less physical movement.Since Lao Tzu lived a long life in this way, the principles taught in the book "Lao Tzu" are naturally beneficial to longevity.Around the Eastern Han Dynasty, some people used the viewpoint of Jingqigong to annotate Laozi, which is He Shanggong's "Laozi Annotation".

Heshang Gong is a legendary figure. It is said that Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty once met an old man by the river, left him a book, and ascended to heaven.This book is "Lao Tzu Notes".Some scholars have verified that it is probably a work of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He Shanggong's "Notes on Laozi" divides Laozi's Tao into two types: Chang Tao, which is the way of natural longevity; Ke Tao, the way to govern the country.Of course, the natural way of longevity is fundamental.If you want to live longer, you must not think about it, and ignore political affairs, so that the spirit does not leave the body.And temper your passions, and don't marry.In short, it is quiet and restful, so that you can live forever.There may be a preface in this note, which talks about knocking teeth and pharyngeal fluid, but it is no longer visible.

He Shanggong's "Laozi Notes" believes that the reason why living things are soft and soft is because they have vitality in their bodies.Of course, for humans, the existence of vitality is also a necessary condition for longevity.The portals through which vitality enters and exits the human body are the nose and mouth.Therefore, this note pays special attention to the nose and mouth, and believes that the nose and mouth are the mysterious females mentioned in Laozi.And it is believed that if a person can keep this vitality so that it will not be lost, he can live forever.Lao Tzu said: "If I have no body, what trouble do I have" (Chapter 13 of "Lao Tzu"), which originally lamented that the existence of the body has become the source of worry.Heshang Gongzhu thinks that this is Lao Tzu yearning for immortality.Because if one attains the Tao and becomes a celestial being, one will not have this physical body, one can ascend to heaven, go in and out at will, and be as wonderful as the Tao, so what worries will there be?

Since then, it has become the monopoly of Taoist believers to annotate Laozi from the standpoint of immortality and describe Laozi as a book of qigong. There is also a copy of "Laozi Xianger's Notes" that has been handed down to this day. Taoists say it is the note book of Zhang Daoling, the first generation of celestial masters. Scholars believe that it may be the work of this school. "Laozi Xianger Note" said that the key to long life is faith.The main point of Tao is nature and tranquility.The important content of quietness is to preserve the essence and not get married, so that you can live forever.

"Laozi Xianger Notes" regards doing good deeds as an important means to achieve Taoism and immortality.The content of doing good deeds includes not pursuing wealth, keeping quiet, loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, etc. This is a combination of Taoist moral laws and Confucian moral laws. The Notes on Laozi Xianger declares that if people obey their precepts and accumulate good deeds, they can live forever. In "Laozi Xianger Notes", Tian still seems to be the supreme god.If human beings are pious in their benevolence and righteousness, heaven will naturally reward them; if they are not pious, heaven will certainly punish them.It requires people to respect the Tao and fear the sky.Such a pattern of thinking is roughly consistent with the five buckets of rice.

Those who thoroughly comment on "Laozi" from the perspective of longevity and qigong should push "Laozi Jiejie".For example, "Laozi" said: "Quietness is the righteousness of the world." "Laozi Jie Jie" said that this is to teach people to "enter the deep mountains, practice tranquility, and keep nature" and be a god; "Laozi" said: "Take the hearts of the people as the heart "" Laozi Jiejie "says that this is to teach people to "flow qi" and "take God as the heart" to let air flow all over the body; It is said that the big country refers to the head, and the small country refers to the pubic region. This means that people should "hold their breath and swallow liquid, and flow down to the pubic region", "leading it with fetal breath, and replenishing their brains."

To this day, there are still many qigong masters, even scholars who specialize in ancient Chinese culture, who say that "Laozi" is a book of qigong. This attitude towards "Laozi" really has a long history.It is very difficult to convince them.Let's tell a little story and move a great ancient man as a reinforcement. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang (602-664 A.D.), that is, the monk in the Tang Dynasty, translated many of the scriptures he took into Chinese after returning from the "Western Paradise".Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty seemed to feel that it would be embarrassing to just translate other people's works, and we should have something to translate for others.So he ordered Xuanzang to translate Laozi into Sanskrit and introduce it to India, and sent two Taoist priests to assist him in his work.Xuanzang resolutely refused to translate the preface of the Heshang Gong Annotated Version, because this preface talks about "knocking teeth and throat fluid", that is to say, it talks about qigong.But talking about "knocking teeth and pharyngeal fluid" is "the same as the lewdness of witches, and the superficial skills of animals."That is to say, knocking teeth and pharyngeal fluid and the like are like the nonsense of witches and gods, which is close to the self-maintenance of animals.Xuanzang's attitude towards qigong is another matter, but he believes that it is definitely not the original meaning of "Laozi".This is the insight of a serious religious scholar.

It is unclear whether Xuanzang completed the task assigned to him by Emperor Taizong of Tang.But the preface written by Mr. Heshang probably won't be handed down from then on.