Self-Cultivation in Jiangnan

NSC 101-2410-H-004-152 101 08 01 102 07 31
102 11 04

In the sixteenth-and-seventeenth century China, the
wide circulation of Daoist regimens was largely owing
to the promotion of the Daoist practitioners, neoConfucian recluses and commercial printing in the
Jiangnan region. In addition to the officially
compiled Daozang and Xu daozang that include many
pre-Ming and Ming Daoist canons, several Daoist
masters had also dedicated themselves to reform the
discourses of Inner Alchemy, which in return
fashioned the new features of Daoist self-cultivation
in the Ming. Meanwhile, numerous neo-Confucian
scholars who had failed in the Civil Examinations
increasingly turned their interests to the life style
of mountainman or urban recluse they
worked as writers, compilers and/or commercial
publishers to earn living in the Jiangnan region. It
is because of their efforts that the initially oraltransmitted Daoist manuscripts and rare copies with
restricted access were well preserved in written
forms. For the sake of commercial benefit, however,

the subtle contents of the Daoist cultivation skills
were often summarized/represented in a rather
simplified way in the commercial printed works. By
examining the popular Daoist works this project will
show not only the social nexus between Daoists
practitioners, neo-Confucian recluses and commercial
publishers, but the secularization and popularization
of Daoist techniques of self-cultivation in the late
Ming.
Daoism, self-cultivation, recluse, commercial

printing, the late Ming
4(1615) 5
6
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
2009
2004
2005
()
1457
1564
2-4
1-719792012
1991 809-923
2000/2004
()
16691998
11(2008.6)
137-184
2005 24
()(Joseph P. McDermott)
2009
2011
4
(1367)
(1445)
(1607)
(1550)
10
(1584) (1566) 11
(1578)(1597)12
(1592)
(1603) 13(1644)
14
(contextualization)(diachronic)(synchronic)
10
11
12
13
14
()1969
1584
()
()
1987
[1597]
()
[1592]1988
2001
641-673
5
15 16 17
18
19Livia Kohn
Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques (1989) 20Livia Kohn
21KohnDaoist Body
Cultivation: Traditional Models and Contemporary Practices
22Catherine Despeux
Livia KohnWomen in Daoism 23
24
25Catherine Despeux
(1578/1597) 26
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
2000/2003
2004
2006
2002
1996
1991
1999
1992
1988
Kohn, Livia ed. Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, in cooperation with Yoshinobu Sakade. (Ann Arbor: Center for
Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1989).
Kohn, Livia. Health and Long Life the Chinese Way, in cooperation with Stephen Jackowicz. (Cambridge, MA: Three Pines
Press, 2005); Kohn, Livia. Meditation Works: in the Daoist, Buddhist, and Hindu Traditions. (Magdalena, NM: Three Pines
Press, 2008); Kohn, Livia. Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin. (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2008).
Kohn, Livia, ed. Daoist Body Cultivation: Traditional Models and Contemporary Practices. (Magdalena, NM: Three Pines
Press, 2006).
Despeux, Catherine and Livia Kohn. Women in Daoism. (Cambridge, MA: Three Pines Press, 2003).
20014
1998 64-68+7211999 25-30
62007 14-18
12002 30-36
42006 31-39
52005 56-63
Liu Tsun-yan, Taoist Self-Cultivation in Ming Thought, in Theodore de Bary et al. ed., Self and Society in Ming Thought
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1970), pp.291-321
809-923
Despeux, Catherine trans. La Moelle du phnix rouge: Sant & longue vie dans la Chine du XVIe sicle. (Paris: Guy Trdaniel,
1988).
6
27Elena Valussi (2002)Sara

Elaine Neswald (2007)
28
(1988)
29(1988) 30(1992)
31
32
33
34
35
36
/
(1596) 37(1597) 38
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
Despeux, Catherine. Visual Representations of the Body in Chinese Medical and Daoist Texts from the Song to the Qing Period
(tenth to nineteenth century), translated by Penelope Barrett, Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity, 1(Jan 2005), pp.
10-52.
Valussi, Elena. Beheading the Red Dragon: A History of Female Inner Alchemy in China. (Ph.D. Thesis, School of Oriental
and African Studies, University of London, 2002); Neswald, Sara Elaine (). Discerning Diversities in Gendered
Practice and Rhetoric in Late Qing Female Inner Alchemy Tracts: A Study of the ndan Hebian. (Ph.D. Thesis, McGill
University, 2007).
1992 177-195

1992 379-427
249-250
2000
1990
2007
2007

1991Chow, Kai-wing. Publishing, Culture, and Power in Early Modern China. (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
2004); Brokaw, Cynthia and Chow Kai-wing eds. Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China. (Berkeley, L.A. and
London: University of California Press, 2005).
()1988
1596

2[1597]1999
7
(1599) 39(1600) 40
(1607)
(1607) 41
(1612)
(1614)
42
(ca.1527-1603)
(1542-1632)(1558-1639)
(ca.1527-1603)
(1500-1575)
(1567)
(1575) 43
44
(1542-1605) 45
39
40
41
42
43
44
45

4[1599]1999
(1600)
11[1609]2003
26-34
1993 2 197-222()
1994 812-813
() 7
500a
()() 4
8
46(ca.1830-1895)
47
48
49
50(1591)
51
(1574-1624)
(1506-?)
(1579)(1592)(1597)
(1603)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
52
(1542-1632)
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
() 3
112b-113a
()1957
()
()2010
(1585-1646)
2000 167-174
1991 609 1591

1803 1810 1832 1884
() 7
9

53
54
(1565-1635)
55
56

57 58
59
60
61
62
63
64
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
()
1969
() 25 42b
() 25 43a
() 5
27 17a-17b
() 5 27
19a-19b
()
5
27 17b
() 1 22a
() 5 27
19a
2005 101-147 117-126

() 1 1 22a-22b
() 25 44a
()
5
27 17b
10
65
(1489-1573)(1501-1583)
(1509-1605)(1512-1601)(1526-1590)(1533-1606)(1534-1610)
(1546-1605)
66
67
68
69 6 (1578)
70
71
72(1597)
106
73 72
74 75
76 77
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
() 1 1b-2a
439-467
2 291-295, 300-301
1993 2
(1542-1632) 301
() 1 1b-2a
1560
(1541-1620)(1582-1664)()
120-131
2 307
() 25 58b-59a
() 3 7 106a-107a
430-431
() 3 7 105b-106a
J. P. Park
J. P. Park, Art by the Book: Painting Manuals
and the Leisure Life in Late Ming China (Seattle and London: University and London: University of Washington Press, 2012).
() 1 2b-8a
76 1
(1)1969
(2)1987(3)
1966
11
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
1 ()
3 ()
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 ()
1 ()
1 ()
1 ()
78
41 (1613)
500
(1603)(1603) 79
(1592)
80
20 1592 16 36 81
16 18
78
79
80
81
() 2385
36(1999.12) 47-57
Benjamin Elman
Benjamin A. Elman, On Their Own Term: Science in China, 1550-1900 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005),
Chap.1.
()
15921988
18
2011 119
12
82
34 68 83
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()

()
()
(1558-1639)
84
85
(cultural
capital)
82
83
84
85
()
()
1997
()(1672-1755) 7631
()(1672-1755) 7632
13

(1587) 86
(1606)
87
(1615)
(1628)
88
1. Hsiu-fen Chen, Visual representation and oral transmission of yangsheng techniques in Ming china,
Asian Medicine - TRADITION and modernity 7.2 (Dec 2012): 139-174.
2013 5
2.
2013 95-115
(1)
(2)
(3)
86
87
88
()
1998 53 416
177(1615)
()
[1628]
14
Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163
brill.com/asme
Visual Representation and Oral Transmission of

Yangsheng Techniques in Ming China
Hsiu-fen Chen
Abstract
Pictures of publications abound in Ming China (13681644). So do the illustrations of books on
medicine and health maintenance. In the case of daoyin gymnastics, the number of their illustrations increases rapidly in particular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They are
depicted in both yangsheng monographs and household almanacs. Some believe that the abundance of illustrations is due to the fierce competition in the publication industry and book marketing of the Ming. This article goes further to argue what the illustrations signify is not only the
commercialisation of yangsheng knowledge, but the popularisation of the body techniques. These
pictorial objects do make the written instructions more comprehensible. Another aspect that this
article reveals is the verses, songs and maxims on yangsheng widely recorded in the Ming health
manuals. These mnemonics help summarise yangsheng knowledge into an easy-to-remember
form. They also indicate the influences from oral transmission of therapeutic techniques. With
the aid of images and verbal evidence, Chinese yangsheng tradition handed down from the antiquity has been transformed in both its production and reception in the Ming times.
Keywords
yangsheng, daoyin, visual culture, oral tradition, Ming Dynasty
Introduction
Visualisation and appropriation are two of the major characteristics of publications in the Ming dynasty (13681644). According to a survey, the number
of pictures and illustrations for books is by then increasing rapidly, which is
unprecedented in history. These illustrated books concern various topics,
including arts, fiction, drama and family encyclopaedias, etc. It is especially
worth noted in the books of paintingboth the scale of their pictorial subjects and their mutual borrowing are remarkable.1 In Ming China, the emerging illustrations and their mutual appropriation also characterise the texts of
yangsheng (self-cultivation aimed at health preservation and longevity).
1
Clunas 1997, pp. 29, 4955, 137. For studies in illustrations of fictions, see Hegel 1998.
Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013
DOI: 10.1163/15734218-12341246
H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163
129
There is no doubt that the Ming yangsheng publications contain more

illustrations than ever. However, not all instructions on health maintenance
are accompanied by illustrations. The illustrations in the Ming health handbooks are mostly about the topic of daoyin (literally trans. leading and
guiding), the traditional Chinese gymnastic exercise by guiding qi and stretching the body.2 These body techniques are widely transcribed in both popular
health guides and almanacs. In addition to written instructions, they are often
illustrated. Meanwhile, the daily guides to yangsheng knowledge are sometimes summarised in the forms of verse, song and maxim. The visualisation
and verbalisation of yangsheng techniques thus suggest that these health exercises might target the literate and semi-literate readers, who partly relied on
these mnemonic techniques to acquire the knowledge of yangsheng.
In the past, scholars had researched into the topics of yangsheng mainly by
textual analysis of written records, rather than pictorial evidences. In this article, I will instead focus on the relationship between image and word, as well
as their effects in the representation and transmission of yangsheng knowledge.
By examining the pictures, verses, songs and maxims in the health guides and
family almanacs, I will try to answer the following questions: how were the
yangsheng illustrations related to each other and to the written words in
the Ming times? How did they act in the learning and comprehension of
the yangsheng techniques? In so doing, I hope my research will contribute to
better understanding of how the knowledge and techniques of yangsheng had
been transmitted in late imperial China.
Visual representation of the gymnastic exercises
As stated above, most of the yangsheng illustrations are about the therapeutic
exercises of daoyin in Ming China. The most popular daoyin exercises then
include the Five Animal Mimes (Wu qin xi ), the Eight Brocades
(Ba duan jin ), and the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar
Terms (Ershisiqi zuogong fa ). Their celebrity is evidenced
by their presence in both health guides and household almanacs in the
late Ming.
2
In the Ming times, people believed that the therapeutic exercises of daoyin can undo the
stagnation of qi and blood. Li Chan (1999, p. 66), for example, indicated that daoyin can
alleviate the harms caused by standing, walking, lying or sitting for long.
130
The Five Animal Mimes

The Five Animal Mimes are therapeutic exercises that mimic the motions of
five animalsthe tiger, the bear, the deer, the ape and the bird. Although
similar practices in terms of the Six Animal Mimes and the Eight Animal
Mimes had been practised throughout the ages, the Five Animal Mimes
remained the most renowned.3 In the popular lore, the invention of the Five
Animal Mimes is often accredited to Hua Tuo (2nd3rd centuries),
who might have handed down these exercises to his disciple Wu Pu .
Similar mimetic exercises can even be traced back to the early philosophical
text Zhuangzi and the gymnastic charts excavated from the Mawangdui
tombs (in present Hunan Province).4 But the detailed instructions of
the Five Animal Mimes were not provided until the Yangxing yanming lu
(Record of Nurturing Nature and Prolonging Life) by Tao
Hongjing (456536).5
To be sure, the Yangxing yanming lu contains no pictorial evidence but a
verbal record of the Five Animal Mimes. It was after the mid-sixteenth century that the illustrations of these mimetic exercises emerge in health-preserving
handbooks. These works include Weisheng zhenjue (True Verses for
Guarding Life, 1565) attributed to Luo Hongxian (150464), Chifeng
sui (Marrow of the Crimson Phoenix, 1578) by Zhou Ljing ,
Fushou danshu (Cinnabar Book for Fortune and Longevity, 1624)
by Gong Jzhong , etc. Not least, most of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century household almanacs also record instructions and illustrations
of the Five Animal Mimes. The Wuche bajin (Miscellanea of
Various Books, 1597) and Miaojin wanbao quanshu (Complete Book of Miscellanea and Ten Thousand Treasures, 1612) are just two
examples.
At a glance, the Ming versions of the Five Animal Mimes look very different
from their early counterparts. Chifeng sui, for example, differs from the Yangxing
yanming lu not only because of its newly added illustrations, but also its revised
descriptions. In addition to physical movements, Chifeng sui also emphasises
instructions on breath control, descriptions of qi and blood circulation, and
spiritual state. Besides, Chifeng sui attributes the Five Animal Mimes to certain
ancient immortals and hermits, which is found nowhere else.6
Wang and Barrett 2006, pp. 2367, 242.
Sakade 1992, p. 229.
5
Tao Hongjing 1997, pian 5, p. 235.
6
Zhou Ljing 1987, pp. 627. See also Wang and Barrett 2006, pp. 239, 242. For a comprehensive research into the Chifeng sui, see Despeux 2011.
3
4
131
In the late Ming, the practices of the Five Animal Mimes are clearly elucidated in both scholarly health manuals and family encyclopaedia. We will
now look into the Tiger Mime to exemplify their general characteristics. In
the comparison with Weisheng zhenjue, Chifeng sui and Wuche bajin, they all
contain similar verbal descriptions on the purpose of imitating the tigers
motions. That is, to control breath and regulate qi in the channels of the
body, so as to maintain good spirit and prevent illnesses.7 As the Chifeng sui
suggests:
Hold the qi and bow the head, clench the fists, [adopt a stance] like a tiger making
a show of strength. As though [you were] holding a thousand jin of iron in
your hands, lift them gently and gradually, without releasing the breath. Straighten
up the body, gulp down air into the abdomen, allow the spiritual qi to rise and
then descend again, be aware of it making a thunderous sound inside the abdomen. Do this about five to seven times. Through this exercise, one can regulate
the qi in the channels [of the whole body], make the spirit bright and clear, and
prevent the myriad diseases from arising.8
The description of the Tiger Mime in the Chifeng suiand the other contemporary works as wellis far more complex than that in the Yangxing
yanming lu. In his description of the Five Animal Mimes, Tao emphasises
the vivid imitation of the wild animals actions, but in the late Ming monographs on health maintenance such as the Weisheng zhenjue and Chifeng sui,
the instructions on the mimetic exercises became more civil and less wild.
The Ming versions emphasise the harmony between action and breath, and
were associated with the control of the mental states. Just as Wang Shumin
suggests, the Five Animal Mimes by then had developed into practices that
involved gymnastics, techniques for moving qi, visualisation.9 This echoes the
view of some scholars who regard the Five Animal Mimes as the evidence
to show the increasingly blurred boundary between daoyin exercise and the
inner alchemy.10 While the original mimetic regimen was simply focused on
the imitation of animals outward behaviours, the late Ming version nevertheless emphasises to pacify the spirit and cultivate the qi inside the body.
7
Luo Hongxian 1987, pp. 604; Zhou Ljing 1987, pp. 627; Wuche bajin 1999, juan 32,
pp. 6437.
8
The original text is , , , ,
, , , , ,
, . Zhou Ljing 1987, p. 63. Part of my translation follows Wang and Barrett
2006, pp. 239, 241.
9
Wang and Barrett 2006, p. 242.
10
Engelhardt 2000, p. 81; Lin Boyuan 1996, pp. 3456.
132
The penetration of inner alchemy into the therapeutic exercises of daoyin helps
to explain why the Five Animal Mimes in the Chifeng sui moved away from
sheer imitation of animals actions to more sophisticated and elegant exercises
incorporated by breath training. The large, wild movements of the body that
imitate the wild animals in earlier records were domesticated, and the invisible breath control and the circulation of qi were only to be imagined by the
reader/practitioner through verbal instructions.
The slight differences between the late Ming books of health maintenance
should also not be overlooked. First, the phrase of the Tiger Mime in the
Weisheng zhenjue seems to have lost the word five when it suggests to [do
the exercise] or seven times. Secondly, each set of the mimetic exercises in the
Wuche bajin is accompanied by a short poem that summarises the exercises. It
does not appear in other works. The poem of the Tiger Mime in the Wuche
bajin concludes:
Shut the mouth, bow the head and clench the fists separately.
Show your strength like a tiger and stand in front of village.
As though holding heavy things you lift them up gradually.
Straighten up your body and swallow the qi usually.11
In her recent survey, Catherine Despeux sheds new light on the body images
of medical and Daoist illustrations in a comparative perspective. As she puts
it, the illustrations of the healing exercises have evinced much similarity ever
since the Song dynasty (9601279): models in those illustrations are mainly
males, with similar facial complexions, hairdos and postures. Some of them
are dressed, some half-naked; most of them seem motionless. These illustrations were produced mainly for the sake of education, communication and
memorisation.12 At a glance, the male models in the illustrations appear similar. All of them have moustaches and hair coils, and are in long robes. Yet, in
the Weisheng zhenjue and Chifeng sui the models stand and lean forward,
stretch their arms and clench their fists. It is obviously the pose when the
practitioners just rise up after mimicking the tiger on the ground. (Figs 1 & 2)
In contrast, the Wuche bajin depicts the man bending his body and touching
the ground with his fists. It seems the initial step in imitating the tiger.
(Fig. 3)
11
The original text is , ; ,
. Wuche bajin 1999, juan 32, p. 644a.
12
Despeux 2005, pp. 10, 1213.
133
Fig. 1. The Tiger Mime in the Weisheng zhenjue

In addition, the male figures in the illustrations of the Weisheng zhenjue and
Chifeng sui look slim, which implies the practitioner is neither an athlete nor a
martial artist, but a member of the literati gentry. In contrast, the male model in
the Wuche bajin appears more unkempt and wild. It suggests that household
almanacs have their unique visual style in representation and are different from
the monographs on health maintenance. To explain such differences, I suggest
that daoyin as a healing art should be contextualised in the publication and marketing of yangsheng books. I shall return to this issue later.
The Eight Brocades
The Eight Brocades refers to eight sets of exercise for self-cultivation. Literally, it means eight sections of colourful texture. The Eight Brocades was no
134
Fig. 2. The Tiger Mime in the Chifeng sui
135
Fig. 3. The Tiger Mime in the Wuche bajin

less popular than the Five Animal Mimes in late imperial China. Although it
was not recorded until the Southern Song dynasty (11271279), the Eight
Brocades might have been practised much earlier.
The renowned jotting book Yijian zhi (The Record of the Listener,
1174) gives the first hint of the Eight Brocades, but neither instruction nor
illustration is provided. Their detailed descriptions can only be traced back to
the Daoshu (Daoist Pivot) and the Xiuzhen shishu (Ten Books
for Pursuing the Truth, 1250). Still, it is not clear when the illustrations of the
Eight Brocades initially emerged. In his Baosheng xinjian (Heart
Mirror for Preserving Life, 1506), the author Hermit Tiefeng (tiefeng jshi
) made reference to the fact that he had seen the illustrations of the
Eight Brocades in the Huoren xinfa (Core Book for Saving Life,
1424).13 It is therefore plausible to assume that the illustrations of the Eight
Brocades had come into being probably in the fifteenth century and no later
than 1506, the date of Baosheng xinjian.
The various versions of the Eight Brocades in multiple late Ming texts
suggest their popularity during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Their
13
The author of Huoren xinfa is often attributed to one of the first Ming Emperors sons, Zhu
Quan (13781448). See Hermit Tiefeng (Tiefeng jshi ) 1988, p. 317; Zhu
Quan (i.e. Hanxzi ) 1987, pp. 2936. This Korean edition preserves certain illustrations of the Eight Brocades.
136
illustrations appeared in both yangsheng monographs and household almanacs.14

For comparison, I will focus on four of the texts and see how the practice of
Eight Brocades is represented. In addition to Chi fang sui and Wuche bajin as
mentioned above, I will add Gao Lians Zunsheng bajian
(Eight Discourses on Respecting Life, 1591) and Jiang Xechengs
Zunsheng yaozhi (The Themes of Respecting Life, 1592) for further
examination. To summarise the instructions of the Eight Brocades, all these
texts except the Zunsheng yaozhi provide a verse as follows:
Close the eyes and sit with meditated mind,
Hold the palms and think of spirit quietly;
Clench the teeth thirty-six times,
Hold the kunlun with the hands;
Strike the left and right tiangu ,
Make the sound twenty-four times.15
As it is not easy for all the readers to fully comprehend the meanings of this
verse due to the Daoist jargons such as kunlun (i.e. the head) and tiangu
(heavenly drums, i.e. the back of the head), the Zunsheng bajian goes further
to detail the practice:
One must close the eyes, meditate, and squat. Put the thumbs under the other
fingers, stay in calmness. Clench the teeth and stay in concentration; cross the
hands on the nape, count to the ninth breath, without hearing ones own breath.
Then cover the ears with the palms; use the index finger to cross the middle finger,
tap the back of the skull, right and left twenty-four times.16
The comparison between these four texts also shows that the publication of
the Zunsheng yaozhi and Wuche bajin are rather careless since they contain
many typos. For example, the Zunsheng yaozhi wrongly transcribes the middle (zhong ) finger as the ten (shi ) fingers. Also, the Wuche bajin
14
The yangsheng monographs include Zhou Ljing 1987, pp. 718; Gao Lian 1988, juan 10,
pp. 286a8a; Jiang Xecheng 2000, juan 2, pp. 28602. The household almanacs that contain
the illustrations include Wuche bajin 1999, juan 32, pp. 6448; Miaojin wanbao quanshu 1999,
juan 24, pp. 326; Wuche wanbao quanshu 1999, juan 33, pp. 3019; Wang Qi
and Wang Siyi (eds) 1995, juan 10, pp. 178a9b.
15
The original text is , , ;
, . Zhou Ljing 1987, p. 68; Gao Lian 1988, juan 10, p. 285b; Wuche bajin
1999, juan 32, p. 643.
16
The original text is , , ; ,
, , , , ,
. Gao Lian 1988, juan 10, p. 285b. Similar but simpler instructions can be found in Zhou
Ljing 1987, p. 68; Wuche bajin 1999, juan 32, p. 643.
Fig. 4. The First Set of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
137
138
Fig. 5. The First Set of the Eight Brocades in the Zunsheng bajian
139
Fig. 6. The First Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Zunsheng yaozhi
t ranscribes clenching the teeth (kouchi ) as and teeth (er chi ).17
Clenching the teeth is Daoist jargon with reference to an act to expel the evil
and enhance the teeth. The fact that the Wuche bajin contains such a typographical error suggests its inadvertent editing and careless typesetting.
On the illustrations of the Eight Brocades, the painting style in the Zunsheng yaozhi and the Wuche bajin are relatively simple and less elaborate than
that in the Chifeng sui and the Zunsheng bajian. Furthermore, the male model
in the Wuche bajin leaves his breasts and belly undressed; this image does not
seem to be how a literary man should behave. (Figs 47)
In addition, the accessories for self-cultivation are also noteworthy. Although
the verbal instructions of the Eight Brocades do not specify what kinds of
cushion should be used for the regimen, the Zunsheng bajian does elaborate
on cushions in an individual chapter dealing with furniture and amenities for
self-cultivation.18 It is thus not surprising to see the different cushions as illustrated in the Chifeng sui and Zunsheng yaozhi. (Figs 814) These exemplify the
new sense of self-cultivation reformulated in terms of the late Ming material
culture, which have been detailed elsewhere.19
Jiang Xecheng 2000, juan 2, p. 2860; Wuche bajin 1999, juan 32, p. 645.
Gao Lian 1988, juan 8, p. 221a.
19
Chen 2009, pp. 2945.
17
18
140
Fig. 7. The First Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Wuche bajin
141
Fig. 8. The Second Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
142
Fig. 9. The Third Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
143
Fig. 10. The Fourth Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
144
Fig. 11. The Fifth Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
Fig. 12. The Sixth Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
145
146
Fig. 13. The Seventh Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
147
Fig. 14. The Eighth Exercise of the Eight Brocades in the Chifeng sui
148
The Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms

The regimen of the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms is
usually attributed to the renowned Northern Song Daoist Chen Tuan
(?989), also known as Chen Xiyi . What it attempts to stress is a set
of gymnastic exercises governed by time.
People in China had long acknowledged the importance of time in the
practice of regimen. Some of early yangsheng experts emphasised that the regimens for health maintenance should vary in different Seasons. That is, to cultivate the body differently according to the sequence of the Four Seasons (sishi
).20 Some other Chinese, in contrast, paid attention to the order of the
Twelve Months when practising regimens. In any case, one should always do
what one should do and never do what one should not do in different
times.21
Apart from the seasons and months, many pre-modern scholars and hermits went further to highlight the role of the twenty-four solar terms (ershisi
jieqi , lit. twenty-four period-qi) for health improvement. In the
pre-modern Chinese calendars, a year could be divided into twenty-four solar
terms. Each of the solar terms matches a particular astronomical event or
signifies some natural phenomenon. This is particularly significant in the
agrarian societies in which farmers always cultivated the farms according to
the seasonal changes. Since the changes of both nature and human beings
largely correspond to the calendar times, it is therefore important to strengthen
the body and treat different diseases by gymnastic exercise in proper times. In
short, the regimen of the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms
shows an old idea of microcosm-macrocosm correspondence, in which the
20
The thought that stressed the importance of Season sequence on self-cultivation can be
found in the following works: the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi neijing
, first century BCE to first century CE), The Book of Guiding (yinshu , excavated
from Zhangjiashan , present Hubei), Chiu Chujis the Treatise on the Information of Nourishing Life (shesheng xiaoxi lun , 1287), Zou Xuans compiled New Book on Prolonging the Life of the Parents and the Aged (Shouqin yanglao xin shu
, 1307), and Leng Qians Main Theme for Self-Cultivation (xiuling yaozhi , 1442), etc.
21
The instructions for daily life based on the lunar calendar can be traced back to the early
and mediaeval canons such as the Records of Rites (liji ), Records of the Years in the Regions of
Hunan and Hubei (jing chu suishi ji ) and The Precious Canon of Candles (yzhu
baodian ). This idea of time sequence was widely elaborated upon in the instructions
for regimen. The renowned examples include Zhou Shouzhongs Monthly Views of
Nourishing Life (yangsheng yelan , 1220), Jiang Tuis Monthly Record for Nourishing Life (yangsheng yelu , 1276), Wei Xingguis Monthly Record of Preserving Life (baosheng yelu , 1276), Yao Chengs Nourishing Life for the Seasons
(shesheng yeling , and Qu Yous Suitable and Unsuitable Things for the Four
Seasons (sishi yiji , 1425), etc.
149
natural factors (e.g. seasonal changes and periodic qi) interact with human
health and sickness.
To display the feature of the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar
Terms, I will focus on the works Baosheng xinjian (1506), Zunsheng bajian
(1591) and Sancai tuhui (Collective Illustrations of Heaven, Earth
and Man, 1607), since they include not only the textual descriptions but also
illustrations of the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms.22
The first of these serial exercises is entitled as the Sitting exercise at the start of
the spring and the first month (lichun zhengyuejie zuogong
). As the title suggests, this regimen should be practised at the beginning
of a year when the new qi (chu qi ) just emerges and the circulatory
phase (yn ) falls on reverting yin (jeyin ).23 At the time, the bodily
functions are largely governed by the Channel of the Hand Lesser yang (shou
shaoyang ), which usually manifests itself by the Fire of the organ
triple burners (sanjiao ). If one suffers from pains of the neck and the
shoulders, these symptoms will be easily cured by the exercises of massaging
the hips, turning the trunk and the neck, clenching the teeth, controlling the
breath and swallowing saliva particularly at midnight and at noon.24 (Figs
1517).
In general, the written instructions in these three works look basically identical, while the styles of visual representations vary. In the Baosheng xinjian, the
illustrations seem to be those of a manuscript; its style is rather sketchy and
unsophisticated. Besides, the explanation in this illustration is shorterit omits
the detailed instructions for the exercise. In contrast, the visual style in the
Zunsheng bajian is more aesthetic; the illustrations obviously accord with its
author Gao Lian, who was renowned for his hermetic status and aesthetic taste.
As for the Sancai tuhui, its illustrations are as pedestrian as those in other popular household almanacs.25 To explain the difference between the yangsheng
monographs and household almanacs, as well as to estimate the illustrations in
22
Hermit Tiefeng 1988, pp. 317, 32331. According to the preface, the author had compiled this work partly based on his studies of earlier medical canons. It suggests that the practice
of the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms might have a longer history than the
written record.
23
These ideas were probably inspired by the theory of wuyn liuqi (The system of
the five circulatory phases and the six seasonal influences) prevalent in late Imperial China. The
theory suggests the mutual influence between seasonal changes, atmospheric evolutions and
human illnesses. For details, see Despeux 2001, esp. pp. 1345.
24
Hermit Tiefeng 1988, p. 324; Gao Lian 1988, juan 3, p. 97b; Wang Qi and Wang Siyi
(eds) 1995, juan 10, p. 172a. It is worth noting that the verbal explanations in these texts are
slightly different, possibly owing to the different source of transcription.
25
Gao Lian 1988, juan 36, Chen Xiyis Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar
Terms; Wang Qi and Wang Siyi (eds) 1995, juan 10, pp. 172a79b; Wuche wanbao quanshu
1999, juan 33, pp. 34350.
150
Fig. 15. The Sitting exercise at the start of the spring and the first month in
the Baosheng xinjian
151
the Zunsheng bajian
152
the Sancai tuhui
the visual transmission of yangsheng techniques, it seems necessary to return to
the issue of the Ming visual culture as a whole.
Commercialising and popularising the body techniques
Recent surveys indicate that the increasing amount of pictorial illustrations in
Ming publications was historically unprecedented. These illustrated editions
all emerged in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Illustrations in particular
abounded in technical manuals on agriculture, medicine, technology and
household almanacs. No less remarkable are the works of literaturehalf of
the late Ming fictions, including the renowned Xixiang ji (Romance
of the West Chamber) and Sanguo yanyi (Romance of the Three
153
Kingdoms), were illustrated.26 The texts on techniques for health preservation

were certainly not immune to this fever of visualisation.
There were two reasons for putting illustrations into the texts of health
maintenance: commercialisation and popularisation. According to Craig Clunas, illustrations could reach a larger audience whose readers were semi-literate
or even illiterate. Moreover, the illustrated texts appeared more entertaining
than the simple texts, hence making them more competitive in the publication
industry. As a result, illustrations often serve as a marketing strategy for commercial publication.27 Another survey also shows that late Ming booksellers
and publishers were very sensitive to the market trend and reader taste. Such
sensitivity had some bearing on the publication industry, especially on popular books like novels and dramas. It naturally pushed those editors and compilers to produce books in peculiar formats which would help to create new
reading publics.28
Theoretically, the pursuit of profits should increase the use of illustrations as
well as to improve their quality in book markets. Surprisingly, however, the late
Ming publications were often scorned for their careless editing and crude reproduction. Take the yangsheng monographs discussed in this article for instance.
Gao Lian published the Zunsheng bajian at his own cost. This book maintained
better quality of publication because of Gaos wealth and social networks. In
contrast, the illustrations in the serial yangsheng monographs compiled by the
book merchant Hu Wenhuan can hardly be said to have any aesthetic
and visual merits. It is also true in the case of the anonymous household almanacs printed in Fujian during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Despite
their prompt production and wide circulation, their simple formats and poor
printed quality were often criticised by later s cholars.
A more specific comparison can be made on the illustrations of the Eight
Brocades between the Zunsheng bajian and the household almanac Wuche
bajin. Both were published at the end of the sixteenth century. But the differences in their print quality and visual effect are obvious.29 (See Figs 5 and 7)
By close examination, it also revealed the mutual borrowing of both text and
illustration between the different household almanacs. Popular household
almanacs turned out to be of poor quality primarily because of their lower
costs and cheaper prices. Hence, commercialisation and mass production do
not necessarily lead to publications with high quality; rather, they may in
effect backfire.
Clunas 1997, pp. 367.
Clunas 1997, p. 34.
28
McLaren 2005, pp. 16773.
29
Gao Lian 1988, juan 10, pp. 2868; Wuche bajin 1999, juan 33, p. 645.
26
27
154
Comprehending the body techniques by illustrations

Apart from the visuality in the popularisation and commercialisation of
yangsheng illustrations, another question to be raised would be: do the illustrations make the texts more comprehensible and readable?
To be sure, comprehensibility always depends on the context of the illustrations and the ways in which readers contemplate, read or gaze at the texts.
Concerning the contexts of illustrations, I will again take the example of the
healing exercises of daoyin. It is common that the typical daoyin illustrations
offer neither background nor context; their emphasis is simply on the models
external act itself. For instance, the first set of exercises of the Eight Brocades
includes clenching the teeth, concentrating, and tapping the back of ones
head. But the relevant illustrations show nothing except for the movement of
putting ones hands behind the head. (See Figs 47) The body represented in
this way looks rather static. Other sets of exercises and their illustrations have
the same characteristics. In short, these illustrations only demonstrate some
particular steps, rather than the entire process of the regimen. What they provide is partial or supplementary information to the verbal and written instructions. Therefore, for the best results, these illustrations must be read in tandem
with verbal instructions. It is impossible to practise the regimen by looking at
the pictorial illustrations only.
Roel Sterckx has a similar view. In his survey of the animal illustrations in
classic Chinese texts, Sterckx suggests two styles of illustrations across the
transmitted corpus of the bencao (materia medica): one is performative and
the other illustrative. In the former case, explanatory text captions are often
subsidiary and serve to illustrate the images. In the latter, illustrative images
would rather offer a type of annotation, supplement or commentary to the
text. The illustrations of the bencao works in late imperial China were mainly
illustrative; they have their own limits and hence cannot completely be substitutes for the texts.30 In my analysis, the texts on yangsheng techniques have
something in common with that of bencao. Both of them differ greatly from
the performance guides in our modern times. Despite the abundance of
images, these texts were mainly for the literates and semi-literate, whether for
reading or for contemplation. Needless to say, the illustrations in these texts
helped to transmit the body techniques of daoyin and, as Despeux points out,
were of assistance to education and memorisation.31
30
31
Sterckx 2008, pp. 35794, esp. pp. 35960.

Despeux 2005, p. 10.
155
The influence of the late Ming illustrations of the gymnastic exercises is

profound. Meir Shahar suggests that the late Ming period witnessed significant
breakthroughs in Chinese martial arts. The Buddhist communities incorporated the Daoist gymnastic exercises into boxing training, and laid the foundation for Shaolin , Taiji , and Xingyi styles of boxing in the
later ages. It is easy for us to find many similarities between the illustrations of
Shaolin boxing in the Qing dynasty and the illustrations of self-cultivation in
Daoist manuals. The similarities suggest that Daoist techniques of daoyin
impacted on Shaolin martial arts in the Qing period. Such training was not
just for combat, but also for illness prevention and self-cultivation. The amalgamation of martial arts, healing and spiritual training might be traced back
to the trend of religious syncretism in the late Ming.32 In this regard, although
the illustrations could not substitute for the words in the texts of health preservation, they do serve as an important clue for mapping the genealogy of
Chinese martial arts and Daoist therapeutic exercises.
Oral transmission of the gymnastic exercises
The knowledge and techniques of yangsheng were probably first transmitted
orally, given the numerous evidences of verses, song and maxims largely preserved in the surviving yangsheng texts. In the Chifeng sui, many verses on
breath and daoyin techniques are recorded, such as the Verse of six words for
qi exercises in the supreme highness scroll (taishang yuzhou liuzi qi je
), Mr Huanzhens verse for swallowing the inner qi (huanzhen xiansheng fu neiqi je ), Immortal Lis esoteric
verse of sixteen words for longevity (Li zhenren changsheng yishiliuzi miaoje
), Song of the secrets of foetus breath (taixi
miyao geje ), Method of six words for reliving disease and
prolonging life (qubing yannian liuzi fa ), and General
verse of sleeping exercises at Mount Hua (huashan shier shuigong zongje
), etc.33 The Zunsheng bajian include other songs and
verses, such as the Verse of gymnastic exercise and massage in the true scripture of the Left Cave (zuodong zhenjing anmo daoyin je
) and the Song of gymnastic exercise for dispelling disease (daoyin
qebing gejue ).34 In addition, there are some further songs
Xia Weiming 2007, pp. 1647; Shahar 2008.
Zhou Ljing 1987, pp. 2362.
34
Gao Lian 1988, juan 9, pp. 272a4b; juan 10, pp. 307a10b.
32
33
156
about yangsheng recorded in most of the late Ming household almanacs.35 The
compilation of these verses and songs is mainly to help the readers remember
better the yangsheng knowledge. In his Leixiu yaoje (Essential
Verses for Self-Cultivation, 1592), for example, the compiler Hu Wenhuan
explained that he only collected songs and verses of yangsheng which were
convenient for memorisation.36
By examining the texts of yangsheng verses and songs, therefore, it is not
difficult for one to imagine the following scenes. While practising the yang
sheng exercises, the practitioner is more likely to recall from his memory the
tips set in songs and verses, rather than opening and referring to the books in
the midst of his practice. It is well acknowledged that the oral transmission
of knowledge could reach a wider audience than written words, even in a
period such as the late Ming when printing techniques and book publications
had become prosperous. These oral mnemonics might facilitate not only ones
solo practice but also the transmission of knowledge from a master to a
disciple.
Now, I will examine Master Xiaoyaos verse of daoyin (xiaoyaozi daoyin
je ) along with some maxims to exemplify the oral transmission of yangsheng techniques in the late Ming.
Master Xiaoyaos Verse of daoyin
The Master Xiaoyaos verse of daoyin was well known in the Ming dynasty.
The verse had initially been entitled the Song of gymnastic exercise for dispelling disease in Leng Qians Xiuling yaozhi (1442), which was followed by Gao
Lians Zunsheng bajian (1591).37 Most of the late sixteenth-century yangsheng
monographs attribute it to Master Xiaoyao (xiaoyaozi ), although we
know nothing about his identity and lifespan.38 In Fushou danshu (1624), this
verse is instead named the Method for treating various diseases by regulating
qi (tiao qi zhi zhubing fa ).39
The Master Xiaoyaos Verse of daoyin comprises instructions on 16 sets of
gymnastic exercises; each of the exercises is summed up as a verse. What follow are the titles that summarise the contents of these exercises:
35
Wuche bajin 1999, juan 27, pp. 46570; Santai wanyong zhengzong 1999,
juan 25, pp. 4539.
36
Hu Wenhuan (ed.) 1988, p. 57b.
37
Leng Qian 1987, pp. 2539; Gao Lian 1988, juan 10, pp. 307a10b.
38
Wu Zhenglun 2004, pp. 14; Hu Wenhuan (ed.) 1988, pp. 63b4b; Xiaoyaozi
1987, pp. 315.
39
Gong Jzhong 1999, pp. 869.
157
Table 1. The exercises of Song of gymnastic exercise for dispelling disease

(i.e. Master Xiaoyaos Verse of daoyin) in Ming China40
Title
shuichao chu houhuan
huoqi de changan
mengshi feng jingui
xingshuai shou yguan
guhe xiao jij
douli zhi shanghan
kouchi ya wuji
shengguan bin buban
ynjing chu yanyi
yaner qu touxuan
tuota ying qing gu
cuotu zi meiyan
bimo tong zhiqi
ningbao gu dantian
dan shi neng duo bu
wuxin de da huan
40
Summary
When the mouth is full of tidal waves (i.e. saliva),
it can dispel illness.
The rise of (yang) Fire (from the sole of foot up
to the Brain then descending to the Cinnabar
Fields) leads to long peace.
Seal the Golden Caskets (by massaging the abdomen and guiding qi into the Cinnabar Fields) to
heal nocturnal emission.
Guard the Jade Gate (of the Cinnabar Fields) to
prevent from feeble appearance.
Exhale and blow qi to relieve (the symptoms of)
bloating abdomen.
Hold the testicles and bend the head (with meditation) to cure Cold Damage.
Clench the teeth (and swallow saliva) to prevent
from illness.
Control the breath upward and downward to
prevent from white hairs.
Turn the eyes round to remove cataracts.
Cover the ears with the palms to dispel dizziness.
Raise the hands and stand still to strengthen the
bones.
Massage the face with the hands (and saliva) to
make it bright and smooth.
Hold the breath and do massage to break the
stagnation of qi.
Squat with meditation and concentration to
enhance the Cinnabar Fields.
Consume meals with light flavours to replenish
the body.
Those who have tranquil mind finally attain the
Truth.
Leng Qian 1987, pp. 2539; Gao Lian 1988, juan 10, pp. 307a10b.
158
In general, what the Master Xiaoyaos Verse of daoyin involved include the
exercises about: (1) how to swallow saliva, (2) how to manipulate the fire of
yang, (3) how to retain the semen, (4) how to remain young, (5) how to deal
with stasis, (6) how to treat cold diseases, (7) how to strengthen the teeth,
(8) how to keep the hair dark, (9) how to have keen eyes, (10) how to heal
dizziness, (11) how to solidify the bones, (12) how to beautify oneself,
(13) how to circulate the stagnation of qi, (14) how to concentrate on the
Cinnabar Fields (dantian ) where the qi originates, (15) how to ingest
insipid food for health, and (16) how to attain spiritual perfection. On the
whole, the verse deals with the issues of disease prevention, health maintenance and longevity, as well as physical beauty. Its ultimate goal is certainly to
attain spiritual perfection.
Although each of the gymnastic exercises in the Master Xiaoyaos Verse
of daoyin is entitled, not all the readers can comprehend their contents immediately. Hence, the late Ming texts also record detailed instructions for their
practice. Due to the restricted scope of this article, I will only take the initial
two sets of exercises that refer to water (yin) and fire (yang) for further
explanations.
According to the instruction for the first set of exercises, the practitioner
should wake up at dawn, sit straight up and concentrate. He should raise his
tongue against the upper gum, then the saliva naturally abounds. When the
mouth is full of saliva, the practitioner should swallow a mouthful of saliva
three times. Continual practice of this exercise will help reduce the evil fire,
improve the circulation of qi and blood, and prevent diseases. The regimen is
summarised by Master Xiaoyao in a poem: the saliva is generated at the tip of
the tongue; it was swallowed down to the inner field of essence; the saliva is
smooth and sweet; the practice will help retain youth forever.41 What is worth
noting here is the significance of saliva. In Daoism, saliva is often called the
jade spring water, the jade liquid, or the mellifluous spring. Its significance
is emphasised in the Eight Brocades and other monographs on yangsheng
as well.42
In contrast to the first set of exercises associated with water that should be
practised in the morning, the second set of exercises associated with fire should
be practised at noon and at midnight. The practitioner should envision that
some True Fire (zhenhuo ) ascends from the bottom of the feet, to the
back of the head, down through the middle between the eyebrows, and then
descends into the lower abdomen. He should repeat this practice three
41
. Xiaoyaozi 1987, pp. 34; Hu Wenhuan (ed.) 1988, p. 63b.
42
Zhou Ljing 1987, pp. 689, 73.
159
times. The exercise stresses the importance of concentration and envisioning.

The imagined True Fire rises from the lower body to the upper body, and
then descends. The circuit is said to guarantee smooth circulation in the hundred vessels, to avoid stasis in the Five Viscera, to strengthen the limbs, and to
help the hundred skeletons healthy.43 The poem by Master Xiaoyao summarises this set of exercises roughly in this way: One must know that the fire
arises from the below; it then ascends to the head; the incessant circulation
engenders stoutnessthat is how the perfect immortals transform their
bodies.44
Comparing the first and second sets of exercisesone about water (yin)
that goes down and the other about fire (yang) that goes upwe may conclude that such a balanced regimen evinced a harmonious view of the ideal
human body. By applying the techniques of meditation, envision, massage,
breath manipulation, etc. to practice, such paired exercises would render
the arcana of Daoist Inner Alchemy more comprehensible to the general
audience.
Maxims of yangsheng knowledge
There are many maxims about self-cultivation in the late Ming yangsheng texts.
Although the maxims are stylistically different from the verses and songs (as
discussed above), their aims are quite identical. That is, they all attempt to
help the practitioner understand and memorise the regimens more easily.
Such strategies of re/presenting knowledge were particularly evident in popular health manuals and household almanacs. These maxims show how the
yangsheng techniques might be simplified and transmitted at the grassroots
level.
Similar to the popular regimens of the Five Animal Mimes, the Eight Brocade, and the Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms, the yangsheng maxims were also grouped by numbers. These maxims include the Three
Admonitions (san jie ) and the Seven Prohibitions (qi jin ) attributed to the ancient sage Laozi, the Fifteen Damages (shiwu shang )
attributed to the mediaeval hermit Ge Hong (283363), and the Twelve
Excesses (shier duo ) attributed to the physician Sun Simiao
(581682). What follow are three examples of the yangsheng maxims entitled by
numbers:
Hu Wenhuan (ed.) 1988, p. 63b; Xiaoyaozi 1987, p. 4.
. See Hu Wenhuan (ed.) 1988, p. 63b; Xiaoyaozi 1987, p. 4.
43
44
160
Table 2. Some Maxims of yangsheng in Ming China45

Name of Maxim
Content
Three Admonitions Do not covet wealth, or it will do you

(san jie )
harm.
Do not get drunk, or it will confuse your
mind.
Do not exhaust the body, or the qi and
blood will be injured.46
Origin
Laozi
(laojn )
Six Long
(liu jiu )
See long will injure the Heart and damage Anonymous

blood.
Sit long will injure the Spleen and damage
flesh.
Sleep long will injure the Lungs and damage qi.
Walk long will injure the Liver and damage
tendons.
Stand long will injure the Kidneys and
damage the bones.
Listen long will injure essence and damage
the spirit.47
Twelve Excesses
(shier duo )
Excessive joy injures blood.

Excessive anger injures the vessels.
Excessive laugh injures the organs.
Excessive sorrow injures the Heart.
Excessive thought leads to absent mind.
Excessive happiness leads to dispersed qi.
Excessive love leads to confusion.
Excessive loathing leads to distress.
Excessive worry leads to muddle head.
Excessive pensiveness leads to
un-concentrated mind.
Excessive affairs lead to exhaustion of the
body.
Excessive talks consume the qi.48
Immortal Sun
(Sun
zhenren)
Zhou Ljing 1987, pp. 1115; Wuche bajin 1999, juan 27, pp. 4702, 475.
The original text is , ; , ; ,
.
47
The original text is ; ; ; ;
; .
48
The original text is ; ; ; ; ;
; ; ; ; ; ;
.
45
46
161
The maxims of the Ming yangsheng techniques listed above deal with the cultivation of both body and spirit. The cultivation of the body subsumes the
regimens of external body, such as the head, face, torso, hands, feet, teeth, hair
and ears, and the regimens of internal body, such as the liver, heart, spleen,
lungs, kidneys, bones, marrow, semen and qi. The cultivation of spirit accentuates the ways to discipline and pacify ones mind. The regimens of self-
cultivation touch various facets of life such as diet, sleep, speech and sex. The
maxims as simple tips were meant to disseminate the yangsheng knowledge to
the general public and to be practised in daily life.
The popularity of yangsheng verses, songs and maxims suggests a gradual
diversion from the religious traditions in the late Ming. The general populace
might not be aware of the original implications of clenching the teeth and swallowing the saliva (both in Daoist practices), but the maxims could help them get
the gist of yangsheng techniques easily. As Angela Leung points out, the knowledge of pharmaceutics, diagnostics of the vessel, acupuncture and moxibustion
was often written down in verses and adages in the medical introductory works
in Ming-Qing China. These verses and proverbs were aimed at the adult readers
training, edification, memorisation and tests.49 Although the songs, verses and
maxims of yangsheng techniques were not for the sake of examinations, they
were nonetheless inseparable from the expansion of education and popularisation of knowledge ever since the late Ming period.
Conclusion
This article examines the visualisation and the oral transmission of yangsheng
techniques in the late Ming period. Pictures abounded in the Ming publications, and most illustrations of the yangsheng techniques were about the gymnastic exercises of daoyin. Some scholars believe that the abundance of
illustrations was due to the fierce competition in the publication industry and
book marketing. In fact, these illustrations not only commercialised but popularised the arcana of daoyin techniques. Yet, as this article attempts to emphasise, the visual representations were subsidiary to the written texts in the
transmission of health-preserving techniques. Without verbal instructions it
seems impossible to fully comprehend the illustrations, as well as to precisely
practise the regime.
Songs, verses and maxims reveal another dimension of the dissemination of
the yangsheng knowledge. The transmission of traditional Chinese therapeutic
49
Leung 2003, pp. 13052.
162
and gymnastic exercises had initially relied on oral communication rather

than on written texts. Even in the late Ming when there was a surfeit of books
on health maintenance, the songs and adages still played a pivotal role in
popularising the knowledgeperhaps even more far-reaching than most
publications. A modern example of oral transmission is the practice of the
Taiji Quan: most Chinese practitioners nowadays still acquire this regimen,
not by reading texts nor by viewing pictures, but from living masters.
In conclusion, the visual and oral evidence displayed in this article points to
two features of the late Ming discourses on health maintenance: popularisation and simplification. The new representations of the yangsheng techniques
diversified the narratives of health maintenance which had been established by
early masters. This transformation witnessed different social contexts and the
changing meanings of the yangsheng techniques through the ages.
References
Chen Hsiu-fen 2009, Nourishing Life, Cultivation and Material Culture in the Late Ming:
Some Thoughts on Zunsheng bajian (Eight Discourses on Respecting Life, 1591),
Asian MedicineTradition and Modernity, 4.1: 2945.
Clunas, C. 1997, Pictures and Visuality in Early Modern China, London: Reaktion Book.
Despeux, C. 2001, The System of the Five Circulatory Phases and the Six Seasonal Influence,
in E. Hsu (ed.), Innovation in Chinese Medicine, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
12165.
. 2005, Visual Representations of the Body in Chinese Medical and Daoist Texts from the
Song to the Qing Period (Tenth to Nineteenth Century), translated by P. Barrett, Asian
MedicineTradition and Modernity, 1.1: 1052.
. 2011, Le Qigong de Zhou Ljing. La moelle du phnix rouge (Chifeng sui XVIe siecle), Paris:
Tredaniel.
Engelhardt, U. 2000, Longevity Techniques and Chinese Medicine, in L. Kohn (ed.), Daoism
Handbook, Leiden: Brill, 74108.
Gao Lian 1988 [1591], Zunsheng bajian Eight Discourses on Respecting Life),
Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe.
Gong Jzhong 1999 [1624], Fushou danshu (Cinnabar Book for Fortune and
Longevity), Beijing: Zhongyi guji chubanshe.
Hegel, R. E. 1998, Reading Illustrated Fiction in Late Imperial China, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Hermit Tiefeng (Tiefeng jshi ) 1988 [1592], Baosheng xinjian (The Heart
Mirror for Preserving Life), in Hu Wenhuan (ed.), Shouyang congshu (Collectanea for Longevity and Cultivation), Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 15781.
Hu Wenhuan (ed.) 1988 [1592], Leixiu yaojue (Essential Verses for Self-Cultivation,
1592), in Hu Wenhuan (ed.), Shouyang congshu (Collectanea for Longevity and
Cultivation), Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 5784.
Jiang Xecheng 2000 [1592], Zunsheng yaozhi (Essential Theme for Respecting Life), in Chen Keji (ed.), Zhongguo yangsheng wenxian congshu
(Collectanea of Chinese yangsheng Documents), Lanzhou: gansu renmin chubanshe,
v. 2, 285970.
163
Leng Qian 1987 [1442], Xiuling yaozhi (Main Theme for Cultivating Life), Taipei:
Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi.
Leung, Angela Ki Che 2003, Medical Instruction and Popularisation in Ming-Qing China,
Late Imperial China, 24.1: 13052.
Li Chan 1999 [1575], Yixue rumen (The Guide to Medicine), Tianjin: Tianji
kexue jishu chubanshe.
Lin Boyuan 1996, Zhongguo wushu shi (History of Chinese Martial Arts),
Taipei: Wuzhou chubanshe.
Luo Hongxian 1987 [1565], Weisheng zhenjue (True Verses for Guarding
Life), Beijing: Zhongyi guji chubanshe.
McLaren, A. E. 2005, Constructing New Reading Publics in Late Imperial China, in C. J.
Brokaw and K.-W. Chow (eds), Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China, Berkeley,
LA and London: University of California Press, 15283.
Miaojin wanbao quanshu (Complete Book of Miscellanea and Ten Thousand
Treasures) 1999 [1612], Tokyo: Kyko syoin.
Sakade Yoshinobu 1992, Dky to yj shis (Daoism and Thought
of Nourishing Life), Tokyo: Pelican Publishing Co.
Santai wanyong zhengzong (Santai Miscellanea for Myriad Use) 1999 [1599],
Tokyo: Kyko syoin.
Shahar, M. 2008, The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Sterckx, R. 2008, The Limits of Illustration: Animalia and Pharmacopeia from Guo Pu to Bencao Gangmu, Asian MedicineTradition and Modernity, 4.2: 35794.
Tao Hongjing 1997 [1445], Yangxing yanming lu (Record of Nurturing
Nature and Prolonging Life), Taipei: Sanmin shuju, Daozang Edition.
Wang Qi and Wang Siyi (eds) 1995 [1607], Sancai tuhui (Collective
Illustrations of Heaven, Earth and Man), in Xuxiu siku quanshu , Shanghai:
Shanghai guji chubanshe.
Wang Shumin and P. Barrett 2006, Profile of a Daoyin Tradition: The Five Animals Mimes,
Asian MedicineTradition and Modernity, 2.2: 22553.
Wu Zhenglun 2004 [1588], Yangsheng leiyao (Categorised Essentials for
Nourishing Life), Beijing: Zhongyi guji chubanshe.
Wuche bajin (Miscellanea of Various Books) 1999 [1597], Tokyo: Kyko syoin.
Wuche wanbao quanshu (Complete Book of Miscellanea and Various Topics)
1999 [1614], Tokyo: Kyko syoin.
Xia Weiming (Meir Shahar) 2007, Yixue, zongjiao haishi wushu ,
? (Medicine, Religion, or Martial Arts?), in Wang Shumin and V. Lo (eds), Xinxiang
zhongyi (Images of Chinese Medicine), Beijing: Renmin weisheng chubanshe.
Xiaoyaozi 1987 [1597], Xiaoyaozi daoyinjue , in Zhou Ljing
(ed.), Yimen guangdu (Extensive Treatises on the Gate [to Daoism]), Taipei: Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi.
Zhou Ljing 1987 [1597], Chifeng sui (Marrow of the Crimson Phoenix),
Taipei: Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi.
. 1987 [1597], Yiling dan (The List that Benefits Life), in Zhou Ljing (ed.), Yimen
guangdu (Extensive Treatises on the Gate [to Daoism]), Taipei: Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi.
Zhu Quan (Hanxuzi ) 1987 [14th century], Xinkan jingben huoren xinfang
(New Publication of Recipes for Saving Life), Taipei: Xinwenfeng chuban
gongsi.
Asian Medicine 7 (2013) 302304
brill.com/asme
Notes on Contributors
IAN BAKER studied art history, literature, and comparative religion at
Oxford University and Columbia University and Medical Anthropology at
University College London. He is the author of seven books on Himalayan
and Tibetan culture, including The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last
Secret Place and a collaborative work with H.H. The Dalai Lama illuminating
Buddhist meditation practices. His latest book, Tibetan Yoga: Secrets from the
Source, will be published in 2013. A leader of numerous Himalayan expeditions, he was proled by the National Geographic Society as one of seven
explorers for the millennium.
Ian has designed and conducted educational travel programmes in Tibet
and other parts of Asia for the Smithsonian Institution, Boston Museum of
Fine Arts, and National Geographic Society.
HSIU-FEN CHEN is Associate Professor of History at National Chengchi
University, Taiwan. She has published several articles on the topics of madness, emotions and regimen in late imperial China. Her rst book Nourishing
Life and Cultivating the Body: Writing the Literatis Body and Techniques for
Preserving Health in the Late Ming (2009) won a National Science Council
(Taiwan) award as one of the best humanities publications in 2010. She is
writing her second book entitled Empire of the Mind: Emotions, Madness and
Mental Healings in Ming-Qing China. In addition to the history of body and
mind, Chen is also interested in medical images and visual representation in
Ming-Qing China.
DAVID DEAR is a research student at University College Londons China
Centre for Health and Humanity. His doctoral thesis due for completion in
2013 is entitled Yangsheng and the Cultivation of Identity. He has been a
daily student of Taiji Quan for 25 years.
BARBARA GERKE holds a DPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a three-year
DFG-funded research project at Humboldt University of Berlin on Tibetan
pharmacological detoxication practices. Her research interests are the
Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013
ASME 7.1_302-304_Notes on Contributors.indd 302
DOI: 10.1163/15734218-12341253
4/19/2013 11:12:19 AM

2013 8 01
NSC1012410H004152
2013 7
16 2013
7 30
1593 16
34
1592
(1574-1624)
(2011)
(2013)
(2011)
1
(2012)
(2012)
(2008)
(2010)
(2003)(2006)

2013 8 01
NSC1012410H004152
2013 7
16 2013
7 30
1593 16
34
1592
(1574-1624)
(2011)
(2013)
(2011)
1
(2012)
(2012)
(2008)
(2010)
(2003)(2006)

2013 8 1
NSC1012410H004152
2012 12
13 2012
12 15
The Sixth Conference for the Asian Society for the History of
Medicine
Massage: The Oral and Written Transmission of a Healing Art in

China, 1600-1900
(the Asian Society for the History of Medicine)

(Prof. Suzuki Akihito)
2012 12 13
2012 12 14-15
Mark Harrison (Oxford)Susan Burns (Chicago)Alfons Labisch (Dssedorf)
Empire, Eugenics and the Psychiatry of Population in

Japan, 1930-1945
2012 12 15
(Transmission of Bodily Techniques in the History of China and Japan)
(Dr. Daidoji Keiko) Shinji
Kajitani
(Dr. Umekawa Sumiyo)
2014 12
(Food and Health)
Abstract
Massage is a popular healing art for treating diseases and preserving health in both traditional and
modern China. By analyzing various manuscripts and printed books, this paper is aimed at a survey
of massage involved in medical therapies, bodily techniques and secretly transmitted knowledge in
Ming-Qing China. It will be especially focused on the period from the seventeenth to the nineteenth
century when massage was gradually despised by scholarly doctors and marginalized from the
learned medical landscape. On the one hand, its application was often restricted to the treatment of
childrens diseases and bone dislocation. On the other hand, it was rather popularized by itinerant
doctors, religious practitioners, female healers and even barbers. For explanations of such transition,
I suggest that the competition among different types of healers, the differentiation of medical
knowledge, the transformation of oral transmission into written and visual forms, and not least, the
Confucian gender segregation, all help to enlarge the gap between learned and popular medicine. In
so doing I hope this paper will contribute to better understandings about how massage was
circulated in pre-modern Chinese society, and to show how secret medical knowledge became
public owing to its printed genres and book marketing.

:2013/11/04
:
:
: 101-2410-H-004-152-
101
101-2410-H-004-152
)
...
0
0
100%
/ 0
0
100%
1
1
100%
0
0
100%
0
0
100%
0
0
100%
0
0
100%
0
0
100%
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
100%
100%
100%
100%
1
/ 0
1
0
0
0
0
0
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100%
100%
100%
100%
()
/
/
/
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.
100
2.

100
Hsiu-fen Chen, Visual representation and oral transmission of yangsheng
techniques in
Ming china, Asian Medicine - TRADITION and modernity 7.2 (Dec 2012): 139-174.
2013
95-115
3.
500

Self-Cultivation in Jiangnan

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Self-Cultivation in Jiangnan

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

NSC 101-2410-H-004-152 101 08 01 102 07 31

forms. For the sake of commercial benefit, however,

Daoism, self-cultivation, recluse, commercial

27Elena Valussi (2002)Sara

1991 609 1591

2005 101-147 117-126

Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Visual Representation and Oral Transmission of

Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

There is no doubt that the Ming yangsheng publications contain more

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

The Five Animal Mimes

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Fig. 1. The Tiger Mime in the Weisheng zhenjue

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Fig. 2. The Tiger Mime in the Chifeng sui

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Fig. 3. The Tiger Mime in the Wuche bajin

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

illustrations appeared in both yangsheng monographs and household almanacs.14

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

The Sitting Exercises of Qi for Twenty-four Solar Terms

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Kingdoms), were illustrated.26 The texts on techniques for health preservation

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Comprehending the body techniques by illustrations

Sterckx 2008, pp. 35794, esp. pp. 35960.

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

The influence of the late Ming illustrations of the gymnastic exercises is

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

Table 1. The exercises of Song of gymnastic exercise for dispelling disease

mengshi feng jingui

xingshuai shou yguan

guhe xiao jij

douli zhi shanghan

shengguan bin buban

ynjing chu yanyi

tuota ying qing gu

bimo tong zhiqi

dan shi neng duo bu

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163

times. The exercise stresses the importance of concentration and envisioning.

H. Chen / Asian Medicine 7 (2012) 128163