When he came to life, he had magic power like a spirit. While he was
[still] weak , he could speak. While he was [still] young , he was quick of
apprehension. After he had grown up, he was sincere and intelligent. After he had
matured , he ascended to heaven.
Now, he asked the Heavenly Teacher:
“I have heard that the people of high antiquity, in [the sequence of]
spring and autumn, all exceeded10 one hundred years. But in their movements and activities
there was no weakening. As for the people of today, after one half of a hundred
years, the movements and activities of all of them weaken. Is this because the
times are different? Or is it that the people have lost this [ability]?”
Qi Bo responded:
“The people of high antiquity, those who knew the Way,12 they modeled
[their behavior] on yin and yang13 and they complied with the arts and the calculations.14 [Their] eating
and drinking was moderate.[Their] rising and resting had regularity. They did
not tax [themselves] with meaningless work.15 Hence, they were able to keep
physical appearance and spirit together,16 and to exhaust the years [allotted
by] heaven. Their life span exceeded one hundred years before they departed.17 The fact that
people of today are different is because18 they take wine as an [ordinary]
beverage,19 and they adopt absurd [behavior] as regular [behavior].20 They are drunk
when they enter the [women’s] chambers.21 Through their lust they exhaust their
essence, through their wastefulness they dissipate their true [qi].22
Hence, it is [only] one half of a hundred [years] and they weaken.25
Now, when the sages of high antiquity taught those below, they always
spoke to them [about the following]. 26 The depletion evil27 and the robber wind,28 there are
[specific] times when to avoid them.29 Quiet peacefulness, absolute emptiness the true qi
follows [these states]. When essence and spirit are guarded internally, where
could a disease come from?30
Hence, the mind is relaxed and one has few desires. The heart is at peace
and one is not in fear. The physical appearance is taxed, but is not tired. 31 The qi follows
[its appropriate course] and there from results compliance: everything follows
one’s wishes; in every respect one achieves what one longs for.32
Hence, they considered their food delicious, 33 they accepted their clothes,34 and they enjoyed
the common.35 Those of higher and those of lower status did not long for each other.
The people, therefore, were called natural.36
Hence, cravings and desires could not tax their eyes. The excess evil
could not confuse their hearts. The stupid and the knowledgeable, the exemplary
and the non-exemplary, none was in fear of other beings.37
Hence, they were one with the Way. That by which all of them were able to
exceed a lifespan of one hundred years, while their movements and activities
did not weaken, [that was the fact that] their virtue was perfect and they did
not meet with danger.”38
1 2139/43: “The Daoists, in the Huang ting jing 黃庭經, have a saying 積精累氣以為真
(“when the essence is
concentrated and the qi is accumulated, this is the true [state]”). The notion expressed here is that of essence and qi being
unseparated. Now,天真 refers to the essence qi acquired
prior to one’s birth; it is the primordial matter underlying the vital activities
of the human body.”
2 Zhang Jiebin: “This is extreme intelligence.” The following five lines are a quotation either directly from ch.1
of the Shi ji of 90 B.C., from ch. 62 of the Da Dai Li ji, from ch. 23 of
the Kong zi jia yu, or from a text
used by these compilations. The two passages are identical except for the final
two characters. See note 8.
3 1551/63: “In ancient times, children up to the
age of 100 days were called ‘weak.’ ”
4 Tanba: “Acording to the Li ji, 曲禮, the age of ten years is called ‘youth.’ ”
5 Wang Bing: “徇 stands for 疾, ‘quick.’ ” 1031/40: “徇 is identical with 循 in the sense of ‘complete,’‘comprehensive.’ 齊 stands for 疾, ‘quick.’ Tanba comments: ‘the knowledge of the sage was comprehensive and his spirit was
quick.’ ” 2753/62: “徇 stands for 侚, ‘quick.’ ”
6 Wang Bing: “敦 stands for 信, ‘sincere;’ 敏 stands for 達, ‘intelligent.’ ” Zhang Jiebin:
“敦 stands for 厚大, ‘very sincere.’
”
7 Most commentators interpret 成 as reference to the personal maturity of Huang Di. In
contrast, 1031/40 interprets 成 as 成道, in the sense of “having attained the Way.”
8 Wang Bing: “He casted a tripod at Tripod Lake
Mountain. After he had it finished (成), he rose to heaven in broad daylight (as an immortal).” In contrast, Zhang
Jiebin takes this story to be a fairy tale and interprets 登天 as “to die”. Yu Yue argued that Huang Di, if he
had “risen to heaven”, that is,
if he had died, would not have been able to ask Qi Bo any questions. Hence Yu
Yue suggested to interpret 登天 as „assumin the position
of ruler“ and he quoted the following statement from
the Yi jing 易經,Ming yi zhuan 明夷傳 to strengthen his
point: 初登于天, 照四國也, „when he first ascended to heaven, he brought splendor on the four
kingdoms“, with „ascended to heaven“ referring here to assuming the position of the ruler. Wang Hongtu
et al. /15 agreed. 925/11 and 1031/40 agree, most likely on the basis of an
attempt to eliminate metaphysical elements from the text. Tanba Genkan argues
that the end of this passage probably has been changed by Wang Bing who moved
the text originally to be found in the 9th quan of Quan Yuanqi′s Su wen edition to the
beginning of the Suwen. He adduces evidence from the almost identical passages in the Shi ji 史記, the Da Dai li ji 大戴禮記, and the Jiayu 家語. In all those sources, instead of 登天 the text reads 聰明, “[he was] clever.” According to Tanba, Wang Bing who had a strong Daoist background
changed this to 登天 in accordance with chapter 6 of the Zhuang zi where it is said
that Huang Di “ascended to the cloudy heaven (登雲天)”, and to other
texts. 669/5 agrees. .Wang Bing: “The ‘Heavenly Master’ is Qi Bo.”
10 Ma Shi: “度 stands for 越, ‘to surpass.’ ” Tanba follows the Yu pian 玉篇 and identifies度 as 渡, 過, with the same meaning of ‘to exceed.’ ”
11 Hu Shu: “人將失之耶 should be 將人失之耶. Further below the text states 將天
數然也. In antiquity, 也 and 耶 were used interchangeably.” See also Wang
Hongtuet al. /150.
12 Wang Bing: “ ‘To know the Way’ is to know the Way of [self] cultivation.”
13 Gao Jiwu/574: “法 is 效法, ‘to imitate.’ ”
14 Wang Bing: “ ‘The numbers’
refers to 保生之倫, ‘the grand principles
of protecting
life.’ ” Ma Shi, Zhang Zhicong, Gu dian yi zhu
xuan bianxiezu /56,
and Gao Jiwu/234 agree. The Kuang ya states: 數 is 術. The Han shu 漢書, Yi wen zhi 藝文志,states: 太史令尹咸校數術 (note: 數術 rather than 術數 as in Su wen 01). The
commentary by Shi Gu 師古 states: “數術 refers to the books of
prognostication, the art of prescribing, and to medical as well as pharmaceutical
literature.” The Lei shuo 類說, ch. 37, quotes 和 as 知. In this case, the phrase should read
“They knew the arts and the calculations.”
Donald Harper wrote on the 數術 division of
medical literature in the bibliographic section of the Han shu: “ ‘Shu shu’ is a grab bag of
occult literature, including divination, demonology, and incantation. What
appears to be a heterogeneous mixture makes sense when one realizes the chief
criterion for classifying these books in the same division: they all concern
techniques applied to dealing with particular areas of the natural world and
spirit world. Thus the specialists in various fields of natural philosophy and
occult knowledge were appreciated above all for the results of their shu 數, ‘calculations’, and shu 術, ‘arts;’ simultaneously, physicians were known
by their fang 方, ‘recipes’, and ji 技, ‘techniques.’ ” See Harper, 1998, 45f.
15 L in Yi et al.: “Quan Yuanqi has 飲食有常節, 起居有常度, 不妄不作. The Tai su has this wording, too. Yang Shangshan stated: ‘They chose sound and
form, as well as fragrant flavors, on the basis of li 禮, [that is,] they were not reckless in what they observed
and heard. When they moved they did so in accordance with li; they never performed
activities beyond their province.’ ” 2168/6 agrees with a lengthy
discussion.
Hu Shu: “The [wording in the] Quan Yuanqi
edition and in the version of Yang Shangshan is correct. 作 is identical with 詐, ‘to pretend,’ ‘to deceive.’ 作 was read like胙, zu, in antiquity. The preceding three characters 者, 數, and 度
formed a rhyme [with
作] and they rhymed with 俱
and 去 below. When Mr. Wang changed 飲食有常節, 起居有常度 to 飲食有節, 起居有常, the sentence
structure no longer juxtaposed true and false. When he changed 不妄不作 to 不妄作勞, he misread 作 as the 作 of 作為, ‘to work.’ Yang Shangshan in his comment on
the Tai su committed the same
error. By linking 作 with 勞, Wang Bing
completely distorted the meaning of the classic!” Following this argument, the passage
should read: “In food and drinking they observed
moderation. In rising and resting they observed regularity. Neither did they
behave recklessly, nor did they commit any deceptive activities.”
16 F or an almost identical passage see Huai nan zi ch.2. However, in
Huai nan zi the statement
ends with the two characters 俱沒, ‘perish together,’ rather than with 俱 alone. “They were able to
let the physical appearance (that is, the body) and spirit perish together” excludes two alternatives, that is, that the body dies while the
spirit lives on or that the spirit dies while the body lives on. Both these
possibilities were considered to happen and were feared. Whether the character 沒 was omitted here by mistake or purposely, or whether an
educated reader, who knew this statement from the Huai nan zi, would consider the notion of “perish” implied in the present statement,remains open.
17 Wang Bing: “When physical appearance and spirit are
kept together, this is identical with an endowment of utmost longevity. Because
one carefully nourishes [body and spirit], one receives the true [qi] from
heaven. Hence it is possible to make full use of the years allotted by heaven. 去 is to say: to leave the physical appearance. The Ling shu states: With the
age of one hundred, the five depots are all depleted and all their spirit qi
have departed. Only the physical appearance is left and its existence has reached
its end. Because [the people in antiquity] knew the Way, their lifetime was extended.
“Exceeded one hundred years” is to say, they
turned one hundred and twenty years old. The Shang shu, Hong fan, 商書洪範, states: ‘The first is named longevity.’[The commentary of Kong Anguo says:] ‘That
is 120 years of age.’ (cf. Ruan Yuan 193
above)”
18 Wang Bing: “They have left the Way.”
19 Wang Bing: “They are over-fond of drinking [wine].”
20 Wang Bing: “They show little fidelity.” 526/6 follows Jia yi jing 甲乙經, ch. 11, nr.
7 and identifies 妄 as 安, in the sense of “leisure.” In
this case the passage should read: “They adopt leisure
as a regular pursuit.”
21 Wang Bing: “They indulge in too much sex.” 666/41 points out that in symmetry with the preceding and the
following passages 醉以 should be 以醉. 669/5 disagrees.
22 Wang Bing: “樂色, ‘to take pleasure in sex,’ is called 欲, ‘desire.’ 輕用, ‘frivolous use,’ is called 耗. To find pleasure in sex is called ‘lust.’ To make frivolous use [of one’s essence] is
called ‘wastefulness.’ If one
takes pleasure in sex without limits, then one’s essence
will be exhausted. If one makes frivolous use [of one’s
essence] without end, then the true qi will be dissipated. Hence it is because
the sages cherished [their] essence and carefully considered its use that their
bones were full of marrow and strong. Lao zi has said: ‘[The Sages] weaken their wills and strengthen their bones.’ ” Lin Yi et al.: “The Jia yi jing has 好, ‘to love,’ ‘to be fond of,’ instead of 耗.” 925/11 and Fang
Wenhui/110 agree. In contrast, 669 relates 耗散 to all four preceding examples of misbehavior and
interpretes these two characters as a consequence: “they waste and dissipate
their true [qi].” Yu Yue: “The
interpretation [of 耗] as 好, ‘desire,’ is correct. The meanings of 好
and 欲 are very close. ‘Through their lust they exhaust their
essence; through their desires they dissipate their true qi’ is an identical meaning expressed in two different sentences. With
the present wording 耗散其真 the purpose
of this statement is unclear. Wang Bing’s comment is based
on the error in the main text.” Wang Hongtu et al. /153
agrees.
23 Wang Bing: “That is to say, they make frivolous use
of and give free rein to their desires. The Lao zi has stated: 持而盈之不如其已. That is to say: to cherish [one’s] essence and to
protect the true [qi] (see Lao zi ch. 9) is like holding a vessel filled [with liquid]. If
one moves it without care it will turn over and the true [qi endowed by] heaven
will be spilled. Zhen gao 真誥 has stated: ‘If one is unable to
be continuously careful in his activities, all kinds of diseases will arise.
How could this be blamed on the spirit-brilliance?’
This is meant here.” Lin Yi et al.: “Another version has 解 instead
of 時.” Hu Shu: “The
character 時 is correct; 解 is a mistake. 時 is identical with
善. People in later times missed the present meaning of 時 and erroneously changed it [to 解].” 925/12 follows Hu Shu in interpreting 時 as 善, “to be good at ...”, a usage of 時 attested in the Shi jing 詩經, Xiao ya 小雅, already. 2168/5
agrees and adduces further evidence. Shen Zumian: “When Hu Shu followed
the Guang ya to interpret 時 as 善, he was wrong. 時 should be interpreted as 期, in the sense of
‘period.’ ” Zhang Yizhi et al.: “時 should be interpreted as 待, in the sense of
‘to stop.’ .. These two characters were
pronounced identically in high antiquity. 御
has the meaning
of 用, ‘to employ.’ 不時御神 has the meaning
of ‘they never ceased using the spirit.’ ”Zhang
Jiebin: “御 is 統御, ‘to govern.’ ” Zhang Zhicong: “不時御神 is 不能四時調御其神, ‘unable to regulate his spirit.’ ” 699/12
reads 御 as 御用, “to manage,” in the sense of “they fail to use their
essence spirit economically.” Wang Shaozeng/213 and Wang
Shaozeng & Xu Yongnian/103 propose a missing character between 不 and 時,that is: 按: “they did not guard their spirit in accordance with the [requirements
of the] seasons.” Qian Chaochen-90/137: “御 is used here in the sense of 治, ‘to order,’主持, ‘to direct.’ ”
24 Wang Bing: “To find pleasure in realizing one’s heart’s desires is to counteract the happiness
that can be obtained by nourishing one’s life. Lao zi has stated: ‘Extreme love must
result in great expenditure.’ ” 522/43 interprets 生樂 as 生活上的正常規律,“the proper laws to
be obeyed in life.” In this case this passage should be
read: “They act contrary to the proper laws to be
obeyed in life.”
25 Wang Bing: “This state, too, is reached because
of a dissipation [of the true qi]. Now, the Way − it cannot be left even for a short moment! To part
from the Way results in an inability to make full use of the entire life span
of years allotted by heaven. Lao zi has stated: ‘When something is strong, it will
age,’ and he termed this as ‘not
the Way.’ ‘Not the Way’ means
to perish early. That is meant by ‘to part from the
Way.’”
26 L in Yi et al.: “The version commented by Quan Yuanqi
has 上古聖人之教也下皆為之, ‘as for the teachings of the sages in
high antiquity; all those below practised them.’ The Tai su and the Qian jin have the same
wording. Yang Shangshan stated: ‘When the Sages in high antiquity made
people practice [something], they themselves practiced it first. That was a
teaching without words. A teaching without words is superior to a teaching with
words. It is therefore that all the people acted accordingly. Hence, [the text]
states: ‘all those below practiced them.’ ” 2168/5 agrees on the basis of further evidence. Hu Shu: “The wording in the Quan Yuanqi edition is correct. 下皆為之 is 下皆化之, ‘all those below
transformed them.’ .. Mr. Wang failed to understand
this. Hence, he exchanged the positions of 下 and 也, making 上古聖人之教下也 a sentence, and linking the three characters 皆謂之 to the [eight characters] following below. He missed the
meaning of the [original passage].”
27 Wang Bing: “When an evil takes advantage of a
depletion to enter this [void], this is called ‘depletion
evil.’ ” For a detailed discussion, see 428/7.
28 Wang Bing: “To intrude and injure equilibrium and
harmony, that is called ‘robber wind.’ ”
29 Zhang Wenhu: “These three sentences do not fit into
the text preceding and following them. Maybe some text has been omitted here.”
30 Wang Bing: “恬惔虛無 is 靜, ‘quiet.’ If one follows the Way in all
honesty and if,therefore, the essence is kept inside, no evil qi is able to
cause harm.” Zhang Zhicong:“ ‘Empty
nothingness’ is ‘not to be
confused by items and desires.’ ” 2821/20 discusses this
concept in detail.
31 Wang Bing: “The inner mechanism is at rest, hence,
the desires are few. The connections to the outer sphere are quiet, hence, the
heart is at peace. Thus, affects and desires have left, right and wrong form
one line, and rising and resting are appropriate. Hence, [the body may be taxed
but] is not tired.”
32 Wang Bing: “The mind is not covetous, hence, all desires
are appropriate. The heart is easily satisfied, hence, all demands must be
fulfilled. Since there are no extravagant requests, it is not difficult to meet
them.”
33 Wang Bing: “No matter whether it was fine or crude,
they accepted it.” Lin Yi etal.: “Another version has 甘, ‘sweet,’ instead of 美.” See Lao zi, Dao de jing 80, for an almost
identical statement.
34 Wang Bing: “No matter whether they were nice or
bad, they went along with them.”
35 Wang Bing: “They eliminated all admiration [for the
sophisticated].”
36 Wang Bing: “They had reached a state of no request.
That is the so-called ‘satisfaction of the heart.’ Lao zi has stated: ‘There is no greater
catastrophy than not to know satisfaction. And there is no greater calamity
than to long for gains. Hence, those who know the satisfaction of satisfaction,
they will be satisfied constantly.’ Hence, those who do
not speak of being satisfied with material items, they have knowledge of [true]
satisfaction. Those who are satisfied in their hearts, they know satisfaction.
Not to give free rein to desires, this is identical with the natural state of
things. Hence, the Sages stated: As long as we have no desires, the people will
remain in a natural state.” Lin Yiet al.: “Another version has 日 instead of 曰.” Lin Yi et al. may have had in mind here Qian jin fang 千金方, ch. 27, nr. 1, where this passage reads: 故其民日朴, “the people turned simpler day by day.” 526/6
reads 曰 as 自, “from,” “hence”, and consideres the character 日 in the Qian jin fang as a mistake, too. In this case the
passage should read“Hence, the people were simple.” Gao Jiwu/176
and Gao Jiwu/606 reads: “故 is 固 in the sense of 本來, ‘formerly.’ 曰 is 為, ‘to be.’ ” In
this case the passage should read: “In former times
people were simple.” For a detailed discussion see
2705/59ff.
37 Gao Jiwu/574: “They did not suffer from gain or loss
of external things.” Following usages of 物 in the Zuo zhuan, 1551/64 proposes: “物 stands for 類, ‘class.’ ” In this case the passage would
read: “No one cared whether he was classed as stupid or
knowledgable, exemplary or non-exemplary.”
38 Wang Bing: “They never entered a dangerous
situation. Hence, their virtue remained perfect. Zhuang zi has stated: ‘Those who stick to
the Way, their virtue is perfect. Those whose virtue is perfect, their physical
appearance is perfect. Those whose physical appearance is perfect, they have
found the Way of the sages.’ (See Zhuang zi 12 天地 , Chen Guying p. 351.) Further it is said: ‘That someone
refrained from active interference and still did not enjoy a full life, this
has never happened so far.’ ”
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