Chapter 9 Chapter Four: Ancient Health Preservation

Although our ancestors mastered some beneficial measures for maintaining the body very early, it is generally believed that the rise of health preservation activities to the theory-guided health preservation science was formed in the Warring States Period when a hundred schools of thought contended.Since the ancient intellectuals always had the idea of ​​"governing the body and the country, the art of the same principle", all schools of thought attached importance to the way of health preservation, and each had their own opinions and wisdom, but Taoism and Confucianism contributed more.

The thought of the Taoist school (that is, the Lao-Zhuang school) is advocating nature, returning to the truth and simplicity, and being quiet and doing nothing.The Taoism that advocates Lao Tzu takes "becoming immortal and immortal" as the purpose of practice.Therefore, relying on the works of Taoism, it involves the most health-preserving content and is the most influential.It can be said that the theory of health preservation in our country originated from it, and all kinds of misunderstandings about health preservation in later generations also originated from it. This is because people often regard Laozhuang, alchemists, and Taoism as one.

The book "Lao Tzu" is a classic of the Taoist school.Laozi advocates indifference and inaction, not destroying the sky with people, not sacrificing things with one's body, that is, completely conforming to nature.In terms of health preservation, we don't talk about medicine, don't talk about immortals, but are pure and quiet, less selfish and few desires, that is, indifferent to all blessings, disasters, gains, and losses in society, and not disturbed by foreign things, so as to achieve spiritual rejuvenation The purpose of preserving essence.He opposes caring for one's body, and believes that excessive material enjoyment will lead to disaster.His disciple Wen Zi once said in a nutshell: "The Supreme One nourishes the mind, followed by nourishing the body. The mind is clear and the mind is calm, and all the joints are calm, which is the foundation of health preservation; fatting the skin, filling the stomach, closing appetite, and the end of health preservation." ("Art" "Wen Lei Ju · Alchemy Department") emphasizes that the most important thing in health preservation is to cultivate the mind, and the second thing is to talk about the maintenance of the body.Zhuangzi, another representative of Taoism in the Warring States period, made further use of the relationship between "rejuvenation" and "full form": "If the body is not restless, it will be harmful; if it is used intensively, it will be laborious, and if it is exhausted. The nature of water is not miscellaneous. Clear, if you don’t move, you will be flat, and if you don’t move, you can’t be clear." ("Zhuangzi·Deliberate") He uses water as a metaphor for the way of nourishing the mind and the whole body. Restoring the mind is like looking at the clarity of water. Water is clear without impurities, but it will not be clear if it does not flow, so there should be movement in stillness.Lao-Zhuang’s health-preserving theory had an important influence on that time and later generations, which were fully expressed in the medical classic “Nei Jing” that came out later, some chapters of which are the summary of Lao-Zhuang’s health-preserving theory: Sometimes, calmness and emptiness, the true energy follows it, the spirit is kept inward, and the illness is never safe. It is because the mind is idle and has few desires, the heart is peaceful and not afraid, the body is tired and not tired, the energy is obedient, each follows its desire, and everyone gets what they want "Desires cannot tire their eyes, lust cannot confuse their hearts, fools, wise and virtuous people are unworthy, and they are not afraid of things, so they are in line with the Tao. Therefore, those who can live to a hundred years old, and their actions do not decline, their virtues will not be endangered at all. Also." It means that following the way of health preservation can preserve the spirit and form from harm.The Lao-Zhuang school of health preservation pays attention to adapting to natural changes. Of course, this attitude of living in the world is negative.If Lao-Zhuang health-preserving theory can still be accommodated by medicine, then alchemists who appeared later and also advertised themselves as followers of Lao-Zhuang, and Taoism formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, often led the way of health-preserving astray.

Since the end of the Warring States period, a group of alchemists have emerged in society, specializing in the art of immortality and immortality.This kind of whimsy obviously violates the objective law, but for the noble and rich feudal rulers, "immortality" is too tempting, so even the talented Qin Huang and Han Wu were not immune to their fools.Due to the effect of upward and downward effects, the art of immortality has seriously interfered with the development of health preservation, especially "alchemy", which believes that the so-called golden elixir made of mercury, lead, gold and other metals and minerals can make people live forever. It is really harmful!Later, the scholar-bureaucrat class hoped to be strong and prolong life, and they competed to take "Han Shi San". "Taking food" is actually the same as the art of alchemy and prolonging life. This kind of fashion flourished in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and lasted until the Tang and Song Dynasties.Because the red stones taken are dry and poisonous, countless people have been killed in the past dynasties. Some people have verified that six emperors in the Tang Dynasty died because of taking red pills, so the act of taking red stones has been constantly It has been attacked by people of insight, especially doctors who are well versed in its principles, and they hate it deeply, and they vigorously report its harm.Sun Simiao, a physician in the Tang Dynasty, once warned the world: "It is better to eat Pueraria lobata than to accept five stones (that is, Hanshi San, also known as Hanshi San)", "When you encounter this prescription, you must burn it, and don't keep it for a long time." Gradually replaced alchemy. It is the practice of "inner alchemy" that flourished in the Song Dynasty. Although they are both called "elixir", they are essentially different from the alchemy they are refining.Since then, the stone used in alchemy has been called "waidan". "Inner alchemy" can be said to be Taoism's contribution to health preservation. It borrows the term of burning outer alchemy, studies breathing, and cultivates one's own essence, qi, and spirit.In fact, it is the predecessor of Health Qigong that has been handed down to this day.So it has positive significance in the development of health preservation.There are many Taoist classics on "Inner Alchemy", some of which are too mysterious and some of which are absurd, but most of them are valuable for health preservation after all.Moreover, this theory takes essence, qi, and spirit as the core, and it can indeed have the effect of curing diseases and prolonging life in practice, so it can be accepted by medical scientists, and some classics even have a role in promoting the research of traditional Chinese medicine theory. .In history, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism all attached importance to "self-cultivation". However, in the course of its development, Taoism continuously absorbed the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism (Buddhism), and gradually formed the "although teaching is divided into three parts, Taoism is the return." Therefore, Taoism has the greatest influence on health preservation, which is why when we mention cultivation, health preservation, qigong and other words and phrases, we often associate them with Taoists first.

Another school of thought that has had an important influence on health preservation is Confucianism.The Confucian school founded by Confucius takes "self-cultivation, family harmony, state governance, and world peace" as its mission, so it also attaches great importance to health preservation.Confucianism attaches great importance to "li", which refers to the political and ideological system of slavery in the Zhou Dynasty.Confucianism advocates "restoring rituals" in response to the social trend of "the collapse of rituals and music" and the collapse of slavery in the Spring and Autumn Period.Putting aside its political purpose, let's take a look at the effect of paying attention to etiquette in health preservation.Confucian disciples regard "ritual" as the criterion of all behaviors in their daily life. They believe that thoughts, behaviors, even diet and daily life conform to etiquette, and then rule;Confucianism, like Taoism, advocates a pure heart and few desires.Dong Zhongshu's "Spring and Autumn Fanlu" said: "The reason why a benevolent man lives long is that he has no greed outside but is quiet inside, has a peaceful heart without losing the center, and takes the beauty of heaven and earth to nourish his body." In terms of food hygiene, Confucianism is the most particular.The Zhou official system has a "food doctor", who is in charge of diet preparation. Confucius once said that "the food is not tired of fine food, and the taste is not tired of fine food".Confucian disciples also attached great importance to physical exercise and recreational activities. Confucius taught students not only poems, books, rites, changes, music, and the Six Classics of Spring and Autumn, but also the six arts of rites, music, archery, royals, books, and numbers. Among them, the music is music. ; Shooting and fighting are practical exercises for combat.Yan Yuan, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said: "Confucius practiced rituals, music, archery, and royal studies, which strengthened people's muscles and bones, harmonized qi and blood, and adjusted people's temperament." It is precisely the effect of Confucian physical education.At the same time, Confucianism also advocates a degree of work and rest, and believes that both overwork and rest can cause illness.It is worth noting that Lao Tzu does not talk about immortals, and Confucius does not talk about gods and monsters. This kind of materialist view is consistent. The significance in health preservation is that they both remind people to treat the way of health preservation independently.After the Song Dynasty, Confucianism was compatible with the principles of Buddhism and Taoism, and formed an important school-Confucianism.Neo-Confucianism, also known as Taoism, aims to expound principles and talk about life, but its influence is not focused on health preservation.From the Yuan Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, Qingology has played a very important role in promoting the development of medical theory.

Buddhism, or Buddhism, was first introduced into my country during the Eastern Han Dynasty.The difference between Buddhism and Taoism is that it does not take "immortals are not old", but emphasizes spiritual detachment.There are many sects of Buddhism in our country, among which the most influential one is the completely Sinicized "Zen", or "Zen" with a strong Confucian flavor. The so-called "Zen School" requires "five predestined conditions" for practicing Zen: keeping the precepts in peace, having enough food and clothing, living in a quiet place, resting in various predestined affairs, and obtaining good teachers. "Oh, the five desires": sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. "Abandon the five hindrances": greed, hatred [chenhui 恩会], sleep, loss of regret, doubt. "Adjust five things": adjust food, adjust sleep, adjust body, adjust breath, adjust mind. "Five Ways of Practice": Desire, Diligence, Mindfulness, Skillful Wisdom, and One Mind.The Zen sect collectively settled in the mountains, stayed away from the secular world, and lived on their own. They regarded life and labor as the homework of Zen practice, and some Zen temples even had the principle of "no work for a day, no food for a day".Undoubtedly, these conventions and lifestyles have objectively played a positive role in prolonging life.In particular, the Buddhist practice of meditation is unique and has been handed down to later generations, making a certain contribution to the development of Qigong.