Society for the Study of Early China

THE BELLOWS ANALOGY IN LAOZI V AND WARRING STATES MACROBIOTIC HYGIENE

Author(s): Donald Harper
Source: Early China, Vol. 20 (1995), pp. 381-391
Published by: Society for the Study of Early China
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THE BELLOWS ANALOGY IN LAOZI V

AND WARRING STATES MACROBIOTIC HYGIENE

Donald

Harper

At the heart of this essay is a passage in Yinshu 3119 (Pulling book),

one of two bamboo-slip medical manuscripts from Zhangjiashan
Wt
[I| tomb 247, Hubei (the tomb was discovered in 1983, and dates to no

later than the mid-second century B.C.). The title Yinshu is written on the
back side of the firstslip of the manuscript; it refers to hygienic exercises
known in received sources as daoyin M BI "guiding and pulling." To
with

gether
the

several

third

and

in the

texts

second

early

medical

from

manuscripts

Mawangdui

(burial dated 168 B.C.), Yinshu bears witness to

tomb 3, Hunan

SUS

B.C.

century

tradition

of yangsheng

of breathing,

techniques

sexual

exercise,

and

intercourse,

"nur

H:3l

turing life." The object of yangsheng was physio-spiritual

cultivation;
dietetics

all

served to refine the qi H "vapor," jing ff "essence," and shen If "spirit"

of the
the

As

adept-practitioner.

Mawangdui

medical

a medical

represent

I argue

manuscripts,

tradition

in

my

of macrobiotic

translation

forthcoming

Yinshu

and

the

Mawangdui
that

hygiene

of
texts

had

an

active

following among the elite by the late Warring States. The relation of this
long-life hygiene to the ideas expressed in Zhuangzi $ -p and Laozi 3k
-p, as well as to the beliefs and practices of the xian -fillcult (with its goal
of transforming the body to achieve immortality), requires investiga
tionespecially

ancient

now

macrobiotic

that

we

have

recovered

our

literature in the Zhangjiashan

first

of

examples

and Mawangdui

manuscripts.1
medical manuscript
is entitled Maishu M * (Vessel
Zhangjiashan
and contents of both manuscripts
the discovery
are dis
concerning
Medical Manuscripts
in my book Early Chinese Medical Literature: The Mawangdui
Asian Series), Prolegomena,
Section One
in the Sir Henry Wellcome
(forthcoming
1. The

book).
cussed

second

Details

Related
"Other Excavated
Medical
Manuscripts
(Mawangdui
Manuscripts),
of Yinshu appears in Zhangjiashan
cine." A simplified-graph
transcription
zhenglizu,

"Zhangjiashan

Han jian Yinshu shiwen"

'jMIS ill

fiS 31 Jl

to Medi

Han

JC, Wenwu

jian
3C

Early China 20(1995)

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THE

382

I offer

here

BELLOWS

ANALOGY

AND

MACROBIOTIC

to research

a contribution

on

HYGIENE

States

Warring

macrobiotic

hygiene in the form of an explication of one Yinshu passage,

that
the

touches

on

broader

several

context

elements

important

of late

of macrobiotic

States

Warring

a passage

thought.

in

hygiene

I should

note

that

divide the contents of Yinshu into three texts: the first,a description of a
seasonal hygienic regimen associated with Ancestor Peng W IE, the
of longevity

paragon
the

second,

in fourth

and

enumeration

an

third

B.C.

century

of exercises

and

received

exercise

literature;

routines

to treat

specific conditions (mostly ailments with some cultivation techniques

mixed in); the third, a discussion of hygienic theory and the nature of
illness.

My

in the final

occurs

passage

rmm (?/m?)Amtmmm
When

the

cultivating

section

of the third

ojso & mzmm

om)

body

text:2

want

you

to

seek

with

conformity

heaven and earth. It is like the bellows bag and tube: when empty,
not

cavity,
the

1990.10,
Zhangjiashan

shut

opening

is the way

earth

and

82-86;
Han

gate;

for the

like

the

dark
(?)3

penetrate
in

shutting

bellows

the

Close

depots,

the

analogy
the

more.

five

and

to benefit

bellows

is

ever

emitting

Benefit

this

classicus

heaven

moved,

winding

apertures.
pattern

locus

tween

the

open

nine

webbed
The

when

expended;

the

skin's

body.

is Laozi
bag

V:
and

"The

space

tube,

is

be

it not?

in Jiangling
a simplified-graph
of Maishu appears
transcription
Han jian Maishu shi
xiaozu, "Jiangling Zhangjiashan
Wenwu 1989.7, 72-74. My transcription of passages

jian zhengli

is based
on these transcriptions,
the simplified
replacing
of the original Zhang
full graphs. A photographic
reproduction
has not yet been published.
and a
Photographic
reproduction
manuscripts
jiashan
medical manuscripts
appear in Mawangdui
full-graph transcription of all Mawangdui
from Yinshu
graphs

and

Maishu

with standard

Han mu boshu zhengli xiaozu, Mawangdui Han mu boshu Mi 31

IS 31 ft U, vol. 4 (Bei
of
chubanshe,
1985). This book is the basis for my complete translation
jing: Wenwu
the Mawangdui
medical manuscripts in Early Chinese Medical Literature.
macrobiotic
For a brief survey of the Mawangdui
texts, see Donald
Harper, "The
in a Manuscript
of the Second
Arts of Ancient China as Described
Century
B.C.," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 47 (1987), 545-60.1 have written at length on the
Sexual

and Mawangdui
medical manu
of macrobiotic
hygiene in the Zhangjiashan
Section
Four
Chinese
Medical
in
Literature,
(Macrobiotic
Prolegomena,
Early
Hy
scripts

nature

giene).
2. "Yinshu
3. The

shiwen,"

graph

86.

printed
without

in "Yinshu

shiwen"

is Z? and

is not identified.

I hesitate

to

having consulted the original manuscript. I only suspect that

is da 31 based on the forms of that graph recorded in Hanyu
dazidian
zixingzu, Qin Han Wei Jin zhuanli zixingbiao
(Cheng
du: Sichuan cishu chubanshe,
1986), 113.

offer an opinion
the graph in question

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DONALD

When

not

empty,
the

ing

exhaustion

are

when

expended;
the

analogy,

not

Laozi
as

HARPER

text

good

as

383

ever
emitting
"much
speech

moved,

comments,

the

guarding

inside."4

more."

Follow

and

continual

It is clear

that

the

bellows analogy has physiological significance in Laozi V. "Guarding

the inside" (shouzhong tF cf3)is attending to the physio-spiritual needs of
the

body,

in

to

preference

is presumably

ideal

one's

parading

a microcosmic

neously a source of vitality, comparable

tube

(yue

the

tfr). However,

Laozi

and

intelligence

"inner

the

talent;

emptiness"

which

is simulta

appear

to correlate

to the bellows bag (tuo M) and

does

not

the

bel

lows bag and tube with the physiology of the body itself, nor does it
indicate how such a physiological bellows might be activated through
cultivation
In

techniques.5

contrast,

that

Yinshu
I am

technique.

precise
and

the

bellows

bag

concludes

passage
convinced

that
the

denotes

the

the

same

bellows

technique
part

analogy
mimics

of the

body

with

a bellows,
referred

to

metaphorically as dark cavity (xuanfu 3C Iff) in the technique; likewise,

the tube and winding gate (miaomen H f"J)share a common physiolog
ical denotation. My argument for the physiological identity of the four
terms

is given

below,

with

along

speculation

on

the

digging into details, let me anticipate my conclusion

currence

of the bellows

in Laozi

analogy

V and

technique.

Before

regarding the oc

in Yinshu.

In the past it might have been argued that the mystical vision of Laozi
was adapted to macrobiotic techniques, which gave Laozi's figurative
concrete

language

is firmly

analogy

application.

physiological
associated

with

Laozi

Although

in received

literature,

the

bellows
1 suspect

editions
4. Most received editions of Laozi write yan U "speech." Both Mawangdui
write wen Ufl "hear," i.e. "learning, erudition" (Guojia wenwuju
guwenxian
yanjiushi,
Han mu boshu, vol. 1 [Beijing:
Wenwu
chubanshe,
1980], 115). The
Mawangdui
SS flj commentary also writes wen (Rao Zongyi HI Si? St, Laozi Xiang'erzhu
"Xiang'er"
1991], 8).
Shanghai
[Shanghai:
guji chubanshe,
jiaozheng
and "Heshang
are indicative
of Han
5. The "Xiang'er"
gong" M _h ^ commentaries
period

to the "Heshang
of the Laozi comment. According
interpretation
gong" com
Daode zhenjing zhu HtH flj S f (Daozang MM
ed., no. 682 in the Harvard

mentary,

Index to the Taoist Canon,

@ 51 W [Peking,
Daozang zimu yinde JlSf
Yenching
1936]), 1.5a: "(It) is not as good as guarding virtue on the inside, nurturing essence and
And
the "Xiang'er"
and
for vapor,
being
chary with speech."
spirit, caring
of what is insubstantial
and decorative,
and
much knowledge
commentary:
"Having
not knowing to guard the way (dao M) and perfect the bodywhen
longevity reaches
the end, exhaustion
is automatic. ... It is not as good as studying life and guarding
the way of inner harmony" (Rao Zongyi, Laozi Xiang'er zhu, 8). It is worth noting that
to refer to a bamboo flute (which is paired
in both commentaries
yue It is understood
with the bellows
bellows.

bag as a second "hollow"

See n. 10 below for uses of Laozi

tube" in the later religious

Daoist

tradition

instrument) rather than to the tube of the

V and the term tuoyue "bellows
bag and
of macrobiotic hygiene.

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384

THE

the

just

BELLOWS

opposite

ANALOGY

have

may

AND

MACROBIOTIC

the

occurred;

HYGIENE

analogy

ture like Yinshu, whence

in

originated

litera

it found its way into the Laozi text. I cannot

definitively prove priority for the bellows analogy in the medical litera
ture of macrobiotic hygiene; Laozi was already circulating in the third
and

B.C.,

century

Yinshu

amples

of cultivation

medical

texts

reveal

often

rich

is certainly

a younger

techniques
couched

macrobiotic

in

lore

text.

But

in Zhangjiashan
esoteric

that

and

was

not

numerous

and

Mawangdui

metaphoric
derived

ex

language

from

so-called

Daoist philosophical tradition. In the case of the bellows analogy, might

not the elaboration of a physiological bellows in macrobiotic hygiene
have

Laozil6

preceded

In

truth,

I am

more

concerned

with

interrelations

in

States

Warring

and Ma
thought than with questions of priority. The Zhangjiashan
medical
not
shed
on
medical
ideas, but
wangdui
manuscripts
only
light
also reveal ways in which medicine and philosophy interacted. The
bellows

analogy

It is time
of

the

in Yinshu

and

for explication,

Yinshu

on

focusing
First

passage.

V bears

Laozi

the

two

the

witness

to their

technique

in the

second

"dark

Xuanfu

metaphors.

interaction.
part
cavity"

occurs in the Huangdi neijing M W

iS, where it is called the "hole for
sweat" (hankong ff 2?, i.e. pore); but this does not seem to be the right
denotation

for
in

cavity"

Yinshu7

Zhuangzi,

I equate

where

xuanfu

it refers

to the

with

lingfu

chest.8

For

"numinous

reasons

that

will

of the Laozi itself embraces macrobiotic

6. To be sure, the philosophy
hygiene, and
in certain paragraphs
the presence
of cultivation
is manifest. My point is
techniques
that Warring States macrobiotic
hygiene did not arise from Laozi, and that the cen
trality of Laozi to Warring

States macrobiotic

using
Mawangdui
techniques
Sexual Arts of Ancient China."

metaphorical
See Harper,

Several examples of
hygiene is arguable.
are discussed
in Harper, "The
language
Early Chinese Medical Literature, Prolegom
for a full discussion
of the nature of this

ena, Section Four (Macrobiotic

Hygiene),
to the Laozi.
macrobiotic
literature in comparison
7. Suwen

M H (Sibu beiyao ed.), 61,16.6b.

8. Zhuangzijishi
97. In Zhuang
(Zhuzi jicheng ed.), "Dechongfu"
zi "numinous
cavity" is where the body's essence and spirit are lodged. I surmise that
it designates
the chest region; some commentaries
identify it more narrowly with the
heart. The same term occurs in Huainanzi
(Zhuzi jicheng ed.), 2.25. Although fu

with the liufu 7\ Mi "six cavities" (including

the intestines, stomach, and
it is also applied broadly to various "spaces"
inside the body (see Suwen 17,
that
5.1a-b, for a list of physiological
fu which are not the liufu). It is not impossible
"numinous
the heart in Zhuangzi (in physiological
cavity" designates
theory the heart
is associated

bladder),

is classified

as a zang H "depot"),
but probably because
the heart is located
in the
"dark" and ling "numinous"
are both used in the metaphor for saliva in
the Mawangdui
macrobiotic
or lingzun 8
texts, either xuanzun " # "dark winepot"
chest. Xuan
#

"numinous

which

(see Harper, "The Sexual Arts of Ancient China,"

winepot"
550-51),
the plausibility
of my xuanfu/lingfu equation
for the Yinshu passage.

strengthens

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HARPER

DONALD

become

I include

apparent,
in Yinshu.

cavity

This

the

abdomen

within

the internal

is, then,

cavity

385

the

space

bellows

bag

of the

dark

(recall

that

belly and bellows are English cognates).

The miaomen "winding gate" ought to be the tube. The windpipe
might seem like the obvious denotation, but miao
"winding" is not an
of
its
appropriate description
configuration.91 identify the winding gate
as

the

portal

at the

anus

that

the abdominal cavity.

I believe the philological
cavity/bellows
to be

bag

and

whether

seen

leads

gate/tube

relate

these

shan

and

Mawangdui

a general

unclear.

Let

me

macrobiotic

with

and

connects

with

an

account

reasonable.

But

it remains

to a cultivation

tech

bellows. Fortunately, Zhangjia

texts

of the

interpretation
begin

are

denotations

nique that incorporates a physiological

make

intestines

grounds for my identification of the dark

winding

I can

the

into

provide

technique,
of the whole

sufficient
even

evidence

if details

technique,

to

remain
followed

by discussion of supporting evidence.101 assume that qi "vapor" is being

0 connotes threads that "wind around" or are "wound
together." For Han
of this meaning, see Xinshu f # (Sibu beiyao ed.), 4.8a (describing
tears that
envelop the body "like a winding cord" WW-), and 6.7a.
and the metaphorical
10. My understanding
of the technique
is based on
language
the Zhangjiashan
and Mawangdui
macrobiotic
texts. I should note that the bellows
9. Miao

examples

in Laozi V was incorporated

into religious
Daoist
macrobiotic
analogy
theory and
practice, and that the significance of the bellows bag and tube appears to represent a
of early macrobiotic
later application
rather than a continuation
hygiene as reflected
in Yinshu.

The Xutmjian daoyinfa 3C He j# 3

-tJHE (Daozang
, cited in Yutiji qiqian Si
Index to the Taoist Canon), 36.2a, refers gener
ed., no. 1026 in the Harvard-Yenching
ically to Laozi V to establish a canonical basis for daoyin practices. Of greater interest is
the Wuchengzi
JjSc-p commentary (Tang period) to the Huangting waijing jing ilt US
seven, earth three; revolving they guard
(ca. third century A.D.) line "Heaven
one another" (Yunji qiqian, 12.40b): "Heaven
seven, earth three is the bellows bag and
tube contract the nose, pull the earth vapor, and what lies above becomes rare. Thus

cor
they revolve and guard one another." While not explicitly naming physiological
of a
relates for the bellows bag and tube, the Wuchengzi
commentary
gives evidence
and
earth
to
unite
heaven
a
that
the
commen
nose-breathing
technique
technique
tary links to the bellows bag and tube (which are the space between heaven and earth
in Yangshengbilu
in Laozi V). Similarly, the Jindan wenda
(Daozang
1.30a-b, glosses the
ed., no. 579 in the Harvard-Yen
ching Index to the Taoist Canon),
of yue as "flute" and "bellows
the two denotations
tube"),
tuoyue (including
compound
analogy, and then quotes from a work on breath cultiva
quotes the Laozi V bellows
with breathing
tion in which the "function of the bellows bag and tube" is equated
to cultivate the vapor of heaven and earth. Yangsheng bilu, 1.10a, addition
techniques
bellows bag and tube between
the two
ally indicates the existence of a physiological

for referring me to the Yangsheng bilu).

kidneys (I am grateful to Dr. Catherine Despeux
I regard the lack of later attestation of bellows bag/abdomen
and tube/anus correla
in the
tions as a sign of their obsolescence,
not as refutation of my identifications
Yinshu passage.

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THE

386

BELLOWS

ANALOGY

AND

MACROBIOTIC

HYGIENE

cultivated. The firststep is to close vapor in the dark cavity (bi \!B"close"
is standard in breath cultivation terminology for the act of holding
inhaled vapor inside the body). Presumably the adept has already in
haled

and

Once

now

the vapor

seals

winding

This

gate.

introduce
sealed

cavity.

is documented

in

the

chest/abdomen.

bellows

is activated by opening

the

of anal

use

the

through

vapor
dark

inside

cultivation

involves

step

external

the

inside

sealed, the physiological

The

but

anus,

use

constriction

of

to

anal

to

propel

the

vapor

constriction

in

vapor

macrobiotic

Mawangdui

the

not

texts

(translated

below). Once the bellows action is initiated, the vapor of the dark cavity
circulates

the

throughout

of

bodyexclusive

the

five

(heart,

depots

which are kept shutreaching

lung, liver, kidney, spleen)

the nine

apertures.
The

on

emphasis

an

generating

internal

flow

of vapor

in a macrobiotic text from the Zhangjiashan

passage

is mirrored

in a

Maishu Miff (Ves

sel book):11

(;)

(:)
AjaiiSf![
the

Now,
doorway
move,

reason

why
does

pivot

four

fill the

you

water

flowing
rot

not

limbs

is

does

because

and

empty

not

the

five

Concern

over
is also

body

that

worthy
collection
vapor
flow

both

had

caused

Yinshu
from
the

vapor

Maishu

the

circuit.

shut

were

that

the

and

the

to interfere

depots
early
with

you

When

the

in

stagnates

texts.13

five
in

Evidently

thought

during

collects

macrobiotic

exclude

and

depots

to be kept

by

in Mawangdui

expressed

centers)

circulation
and

harm

the

the

When

depots.

five depots are empty, the jade body will benefit.

the

and

stagnate
move.12

they

It is note
(the

body's
of

practice

free

vapor's

cultivation.

No doubt mai M "vessels" transport vapor during cultivation. A pas

sage in the last section of the second Yinshu text explicitly states that the
should

"make

11. "Maishu

shiwen,"

adept

a circuit

through

the

vessels

and

follow

the

along

74.

analogy occurs in Lushi chunqiu S JS # %k. (Zhuzi jicheng ed.), "Jin

Section Four (Macro
IS 8S[, 3.26. In Early Chinese Medical Literature, Prolegomena,
and
Macrobiotic
I
biotic Hygiene),
"Philosophy
Hygiene,"
argue that the "Jinshu"
12. The

same

shu"

essay reflects the influence of medical literature on philosophical

the analogy is probably original to medical literature.
13. The text assigned
the title "Shiwen"
-f* In] (Ten questions)
and vapor ought to move yet do not move, this is called
in my translation
wangdui Han mu boshu, vol. 4,149-50;
ture the sentence occurs in MSVI.A.8).

literature,
states:

and that

"When

blood

the calamity of blockage"

(Ma
in Early Chinese Medical Litera

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DONALD

HARPER

387

skin's webbed

pattern to benefit the heels and head (JUMISil

.ly.

Zouli

and

(opens
becomes

when

vapor

shuts)

as a result.

Like

when

from

pattern

reason

why

webbed

important

cared

the

for.15

the opening

the

perspective

people

have

which

pattern,

the vessels,

not

third Yinshu text discusses

The

[:M] SI

is another

pattern"

the

permeates

dysfunctional

webbed

webbed

structure in connection with vapor cultivation. Circulation

physiological
is complete

"skin's

MS

skin's

The

and

breathes

webbed

first

pattern

section

the

of

shutting of the skin's

of illness:

ailments

is

due

invariably

to

heat,

damp, wind, cold, rain, and dew; and the opening and shutting in
the

skin's

webbed

as

pattern

well

as

food

and

within

the

drink

not

being

in

harmony.16

of vapor
anal

the bellows

situated

Having

cultivation

technique

in Maishu
in Mawangdui

constriction

is the listing of the bayi A

"Tianxia zhidao tan"
Under-heaven)
sexual

by

its
but

cultivation,

and

Yinshu,

macrobiotic

turn

texts.17

framework

to the

The

evidence

best

of

illustration

"eight benefits" in a text assigned the title

of the culminant way in
itt(Discussion

modern
the

theoretical

let me

editors.

first two

are

The

benefits

general

mostly

exercises

that

concern
need

not

sex:18

involve

(:#l)iiI0a
To

rise

at dawn,

in the

suck

sit upright,
and

anus,

press

straighten
it down

the

spine,

open

is "cultivating

the

buttocks,

vapor."19

When

of the concept of mai "vessels"

in War
14. "Yinshu shiwen/' 85. The development
in Harper,
ring States medicine and its importance in macrobiotic hygiene is discussed
Ideas and Prac
Section Three (Medical
Early Chinese Medical Literature, Prolegomena,
tices), "Physiology."
15. In "Shiwen"

the question is asked: "What do people lose so that their facial com
and dark green? What do people obtain so that
plexion is coarse and dun, blackened
the skin's webbed
(Ma
pattern is smooth and lustrous, freshly white and glowing?"
wangdui Han mu boshu, vol. 4,145; Harper, Early Chinese Medical Literature, MSVI.A.2).
16. "Yinshu shiwen," 86.
in later macrobiotic hygiene, in particular in
Wile, Art of the Bedchamber: The Chinese Sexual Yoga
Douglas
Women's Solo Meditation Texts (Albany: State University of New York

17. For discussion

sexual

cultivation,

Classics Including
Press, 1992), 59.
18. Mawanvdui

of anal constriction

see

Han

mu boshu, vol. 4, 164; Harper,

Early Chinese Medical

Literature,

MSVII.B.7.
19. I interpret the phrase

"press it down"

to mean that pressure

is applied

by means

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388

drinking

THE

BELLOWS

and

eating,

ANALOGY

to relax

AND

MACROBIOTIC

the buttocks,

HYGIENE

the

straighten

suck

spine,

in the anus, and let the vapor pass through is "bringing the fluid."
Anal

constriction

in

the

fourth

benefit:

the

anus,

and

the

anus

the

with

to

open

internal

cultivation
to relax

is 'gathering

the

outside.

to "pass

vapor

sexual

intercourse,

having

it down

press

is not

enables

connection

"While

vapor/"

in

cultivation,

constriction

that

in

suck

spine,

During

anal

Rather,
through"

is specified
the

is what

is, to circulate

inside

the body.
A five-stage cultivation technique in the text assigned the title "Shi
wen" + fn| (Ten questions) also includes anal constriction (the technique
surely

to sexual

applies

but

cultivation,

not

exclusively):20

7f (:)

m mmout)win 0o)

0 PifW^7?

7f (:3t)

m) K - 0

(:&)

ois) ra0 ^

(:JS)

The regimen involves both emptying and filling, and there is a pre
cise

for

procedure

the

and

spine,

the

and

Yin,

do

not

tain

the

mass

the

suck

and

five

and

tastes
all

of essence

anus;

second,

ascends,

limbs,
the

the

straighten
move

thighs,

eyelashes

together,

womb;

con

fourth,

blossom;

wellspring
in

suck

the

to fill the

vapor
that

drink

the

spread

draw

third,

in the

relax

First,

buttocks;

the

contract

listen,

it.

cultivating

flex

fifth,

illumination.

great

the

After

reaching the fifth,stop. Essence and spirit grow daily more blissful.
A

on

comment

order.

The

loan

phonetic
directs

internal

"suck

phrase

I translate

vapor
and

fluids,

in

and

women

into

the

store

womb,

and

nao

of anal

this

reading
the

"replenishing
constriction

has

used
from

mu boshu, vol.

in
a

as

to a womb-like
Anal

constric

transformations

of

of essence.

to claim
later

to flow toward

to force vapor

"it" is, then, vapor.

20. Mawangdui
Han

ascent

is

I read

medical manuscripts read IS as nao IS

been

brain"

essence.21

to further

womb"

which

it to refer
and

vapor

leading

to the upward

finally

to fill the

vapor

is liu/*lj3gw

I understand

|}S.

The editors of the Mawangdui

"brain,"

the

as "womb"

for bao/*pr3gw
men

where

organ
tion

the

graph

sexual

that

its destination

4, 149; Harper,

the

practice

cultivation
inside

of bu

is attested
the body.

Early Chinese Medical

The

Literature,

no. 6).
(Appendix,
21. This identification
of bao is supported
by Suwen 37, 10.10a; and 48, 13.8a. The
discus
same type of internal organ figures in religious Daoist hygiene. For additional

MSVI.A.7

sion

of my identification,
Reconstructions

MSVI.A.7.

with

in Axel Schuessler,
represented
sity of Hawaii Press, 1987).

see Early Chinese Medical Literature,

are based
on Li Fang-kuei's
system as
Univer
of Early Zhou Chinese (Honolulu:

text references,

of Old

Chinese

A Dictionary

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DONALD

in the

macrobiotic

Mawangdui
in

telling,

my

is

judgment,

HARPER

texts.
the

389

A phonetic

loan

of the

sequence

is arguable.

"Shiwen"

More

technique,

which renders the identification with nao "brain" implausible. In the

later practice of bunao, "replenishing the brain" is the final stage of sex
ual

cultivation

"Shiwen"
of essence

when

the

sexually

generated

the

and

essence

ascends.

In

the

technique "filling the liu" occurs in the third stage; the "mass
all

ascends"

in

fifth

final

stage.

In

short,

"Shiwen"

indicates a final ascent of essence (which perhaps prefigures "replenish

ing

the

brain"),

but

does

not

document

the

organ

nao

nor

the

practice

of

bunao.22

Neither the five-stage technique in "Shiwen" nor the benefits in

"Tianxia zhidao tan" match exactly the bellows technique in Yinshu.
Their value lies in their confirmation of the role of anal constriction in
early Chinese macrobiotic hygiene, which adds weight to my identifica
tion of the bellows tube and the winding gate in Yinshu. I remain uncer
tain of how the physiological bellows operates. In metallurgy, activating
the

bellows

necessarily

precedes

smelting

and

casting.

Perhaps

an

anal

ogous refining process is implicit in the Yinshu technique when the

winding gate is opened and vapor from the dark cavity/bellows bag is
propelled by way of the tube so that in the words of the original anal
ogy"when

moved

it emits

ever

more."23

"The Contents and Terminology

22. Li Ling and Keith McMahon,
of the Mawang
dui Texts on the Arts of the Bedchamber,"
Early China 17 (1992), 180, make the associa
and later bunao. At present the earliest attesta
the "Shiwen"
tion between
technique
tion of bunao is in the "Xiang'er" commentary (Rao Zongyi, Laozi Xiang'er zhu, 11).
I
23. As a sidelight to the role of the anus in early Chinese
macrobiotic
hygiene
would note its importance
in early Indian physiological
theory and in Yoga. Accord
of "bodily winds" in physiology,
the wind apiina is
ing to the five-fold classification
in the anus. Thus yogic breath cultivation
exploits the anus (see Kenneth
and the Doctrine of the Bodily Winds in Ancient
Zysk, "The Science of Respiration
India," Journal of the American Oriental Society 113 [1993], 207-209). A brief account of
the anus and sphincter muscles
in Yoga is given in
feats involving
physiological
located

Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5, part 5 (Cambridge:

Cambridge
and Mawangdui
University Press, 1983), 269. The uses of the anus in the Zhangjiashan
or to Yoga.
macrobiotic texts do not appear to be related to Indian physiology
between
Indian and Chinese
macrobiotic
of cross-fertilization
The possibility
hy

Joseph Needham,

to excite many scholars who maintain an interest in these matters. I

giene continues
between
the
for "a close relationship
remain unconvinced
by Victor Mail's evidence
of
Tao Te Ching and the Bhagavad Glta," and I find his arguments for the absorption
Indian Yoga into Daoism
suspect (Mair, Tao Te Ching [New York: Bantam
equally
Books, 1990], 140-48 and 155-60). To be sure, the first millennium B.C. saw the develop
tech
ment in India of theories and practices related to respiration
and macrobiotic

the two civilizations.

But
niques, all transmitted orally, and ideas did travel between
a Chinese macro
and Mawangdui
texts are documenting
now that the Zhangjiashan
biotic literature a written literature that probably began to circulate in the fourth

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390

THE

BELLOWS

as paradigmatic.

ical

Having

I find

bellows,

AND

MACROBIOTIC

HYGIENE

encoded, the Yinshu bellows technique is perhaps best

Metaphorically
seen

ANALOGY

two

established

the

existence

in the

second

Yinshu

exercises

zations

of the

paradigm

even

bellows.

Both

exercises

concern

though

lack

they

the

cultivation

of the

physiolog

text that

explicit
of the

are

reali

references
Yin

to the

element

of the

body. One is entitled yin Yin 1 Itf "pulling Yin":24

(:s)

Pulling Yin. Sit squarely and spread both thighs. Place the left hand
on

the

and

ground

extend

the

lesser

reach

up

with

abdomen25

the

right

hand.

and

forward,

Bend

use

the

force

to

waist,
the

pull

buttocks.
Forcefully

"pulling

the

placement

connects

the

extended

abdomen

by anal

buttocks"
body
the

mimic

is, of course,

with

heaven

bellows

and

anal
earth;

whose

bag,

hand

constriction;
the

bent

contents

waist

are

and

activated

constriction.

The second exercise is yi Yin qi SHelK

"increasing Yin vapor":26

m)
Increasing Yin vapor. Sit in the regular position with thighs strad
dled.

Do

not

feel

Grasp

ground.

remorse

cooked

the

mouth.

Then

inhale

the

utmost.

Then

eat

and

extend

utmost.

Do

for

the

it. Let

food.

in the

grain

of the

vapor
both

the

lesser

abdomen

not

drink

or swallow.

Press

right

thighs
forward,
Repeat

the

left

and

hand
cooked

press

grain,

down,

using
again,

hand

on

force

bend

the

it over

suspend

it to

doing
the

to do

waist,

it to the
after

stopping

the

third time.
the Zhangjiashan
and Mawangdui
texts are more likely to be
century B.C., although
of seemingly resonant Laozi passages
third to early second century B.C. comparisons
to supposed
antecedents
in Indian tradition are insufficient evidence.
If the physio
logical and macrobiotic
Chinese context, which
the Zhangjiashan
and

ideas

in the Chinese

I believe

texts can be shown

is the case with the bellows

to have

analogy

arisen

in a

and much else in

macrobiotic
for borrowing
texts, the argument
Mawangdui
occurred, Indian ideas arrived in an
grows weaker; if cross-fertilization
intellectual
climate already prepared for them.
of Yin with the physical body and with the
24. "Yinshu shiwen," 84. The association
from India

of physical decay accounts for the emphasis on cultivating Yin (one denota
processes
tion for which is genitals) in the Zhangjiashan
and Mawangdui
macrobiotic
texts; see
Section Four (Macrobiotic
Harper, Early Chinese Medical Literature, Prolegomena,
Hy
giene), "Body and Spirit."
25. Lesser abdomen
(shaofu {P US) designates
navel.
26. "Yinshu

shiwen,"

the part of the abdomen

below

84.

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the

DONALD

combination

scribes

the

of

breath

outward

HARPER

cultivation

manifestation.

391

and
One

the

dietetics,
the

imagines

de

technique
concentrat

adept

ing on drawing grain vapor and grain into the dark cavity, closing it,
and

the winding

opening

from

Judging

the

gate.27

two

exercises

amples in the Mawangdui

the

for

benefit

of the

was

hygiene

who

elite,

adopt the recommended

biotic

just

and

quoted,

from

the

other

ex

texts, manuscripts like Yinshu were compiled

in

numbers

increasing

undertook

to

macrobiotic regimen in their daily lives. Macro

an

clearly

important

of Warring

component

States

medicine; and macrobiotic literature compiled by physicians and other

specialists circulated alongside the philosophical literature of the so
called

zi

"masters."28

-p

the

While

masters

were

influential

certainly

in

shaping the spiritual and intellectual temperament of the times, Zhang

medical manuscripts remind us that the
jiashan and Mawangdui
were

masters

not
in

Returning

the

only

on the

players

conclusion

to

the

scene.
of

question

the

bellows

in

analogy

Laozi V and in Yinshu, I think the evidence favors an origin in the

medical macrobiotic tradition. Perhaps the bellows analogy belongs
with other bits of wisdom collected in Laozi which, at times rather
loosely

strung

fund.

Paired

vision,

the

the

uses
inner

take

to the
bellows

harmony

to

comments

maxims

accustomed

the

have

together,
with

on

of the

idea
analogy

than

new

to

to suffer

of maxims

appearance
situate

them

Given

meaning.

interior

of the

rib

earnest

the

intellectual

within

body

from

an

audience

as

a bellows,

academic;

a common

Laozi's

better

particular
already
Laozi
to

keep

exhaustion.

macrobiotic texts that the metaphorical

27. It is clear from the Mawangdui
image of
hence my con
the body and its actual anatomy were fused in cultivation techniques,
in the third Yinshu text with the two exercises in the
flation of the bellows technique
second

Yinshu text is an accurate

representation.
between Warring States physicians
and philos
of the relationship
Section
in Harper, Early Chinese Medical Literature, Prolegomena,
Two (Medicine,
Medical Literature, Medical Men), "Recipes, Techniques,
Calculations,
and Transmission";
and Section Four (Macrobiotic
Arts," and "Readership
Hygiene),
28. The question
ophers is examined

"Intellectual

Background"

and "Philosophy

and Macrobiotic

Hygiene."

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