Page 273 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

234 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A- L

jade vessels by Jade Women and Golden Boys (see *yunii), especially the Jade
Women of the six cyclical signs jia Itl or ding T (*liujia and liuding). The Yaoxiu
keyi jielii chao ~1~H1iM~~ (Excerpts from the Essential Liturgies and
Observances; CT 463, 14.6b-8a) describes a related rite that includes abstaining
from cereals and drinking water containing talismans of the six jia. Such rites
were said not only to benefit Taoist adepts, but even to prevent whole armies
dying of hunger and thirst.
Abstention from cereals should also be situated in the historical context of
social unrest and famine. The Mouzi lihuo lun 4- T It ~ Mli (Mouzi's Correction
of Errors; T. 2102, 1b; trans. Pelliot 1920) states that after the fall of the Han
dynasty more and more people refrained from eating cereals. Despite his skepti-
cism regarding these methods, Ge Hong similarly wrote: "Those who hide in
mountain forests in case of troubles or famines in the world will not starve to
death if they know this method" (Baopu zi 15.266; see trans. Ware 1966, 244).

Catherine DESPEUX
m Campany 2002, 22-24; Harper 1998, 141-42; Hu Fuchen 1989, 283- 86; Levi
1983; Maspero 1981, 331-39; Stein R. A. 1972; Stein R. A. 1973
* yangsheng

hiqi

breath retention

Biqi denotes retaining one's breath between inspiration and expiration. This
practice, which probably originated in Han times, is attested in the Jin period
and is mentioned several times in the *Baopu zi. A quotation from the lost
*Yangsheng yaoji (Essentials of Nourishing Life; early fourth century) in the
*Ishinpo (Methods from the Heart of Medicine) describes one of the relevant
methods as follows:
Breath must be retained while one silently counts to 200, then must be let
out through the mouth. The time of breath retention is progressively increased
to 250; then one's eyebrows become luminous, one's ears hear very well, and
all diseases disappear. (Ishinpo, 27.I7b; also in *Yangxing yanming lu, 2.2b)
This method was preferably to be practiced during the time of the "living
breath" (shengqi ~~), i.e., between midnight and midday, and adepts could
count breath retentions on their fingers or using wooden cards, incense sticks,