Page 125 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

OVERVIEW 85

Birth

Most Taoist sources consider *jing or "essence" to be the life germ: when
Heaven and Earth "exchange their essences" (jiaojing x~IIf) , Yin and Yang
generate the "ten thousand things." A human being similarly "receives life"
(shousheng 5t~ or bingsheng ~~) at conception through the exchange of
essences between father and mother. Birth is only one step in a person's
development, which culminates at the age of sixteen for males and fourteen
for females. According to this view, one is "born" as soon as one is conceived,
and birth represents only a transition from inner to outer life. From the Song
period onward, this event was seen as the transition from the precelestial state
(*xiantian) to the postcelestial state (*houtian).
Gestation therefore is an essential period of life. During this time, the vari-
ous physiological elements are progressively formed, and one receives the
different cosmic pneumas (* qi) as well as the spirits and divinities who inhabit
the microcosm of one's body. This process, however, also creates blocks that
one must overcome during one's lifetime in order to attain immortality (the
so-called "mortal knots" in the embryo).
The various Taoist traditions interpret the phases and elements of gestation
in different ways, as shown by the following examples.
Physiological development. Several sources, both Taoist and medical, cite with
minor variations the classical description of embryonic development first
found in *Huainan zi 7 (trans. Schipper 1993, Il7). In the first month, a ball of
lard (gao n) appears; in the second, the preliminary form of the embryo (die
Jl5I(); in the third, the full form of the embryo (tai ~€l); in the fourth, the muscle
tissues (ji 1lfL); in the fifth, the tendons (jin $); in the sixth, the bones (gu 1f);
in the seventh, the embryo is complete; in the eighth, it moves; in the ninth,
it turns upside down; and in the tenth, it is born.

Inner spirits and divinities. The most frequently cited description of embryonic
development is found in the Neiguan jing i*J iflJ~ (Scripture of Inner Obser-
vation; eT 641, 1b; trans. Kohn 1989b). In the first month, essence and blood
coagulate in the womb; in the second, the preliminary form of the embryo
takes shape; in the third, the three *hun appear, and in the fourth, the seven
*po; in the fifth, the five viscera (*wuzang) are formed and their divinities
take up residence within them; in the sixth, the six receptacles (liufu /\ Mf;
see *wuzang) take shape; in the seventh, the seven orifices are opened; in the
eight, the "eight effulgences" (*bajing) descend into the body; in the ninth, the