Page 577 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

J ji

"mechanism"; activating force

The termji designates the mechanism of the crossbow, hence the spring of
something. In Taoism, since the *Zhuangzi and the *Huainan zi, it has the
sense of "spring of the world," or its activating force. The term is cognate
to tianji k. tJ:~ (Celestial Mechanism, mentioned in the Zhuangzi), shenji fEll 11
("divine" or "spiritual mechanism"), andji ~, a word that denotes a subtle,
incipient movement whose inward spring is not yet visible outside. Ji is the
dynamic aspect of the Dao, the motive force of the world that never ceases to
function and originates in the dynamic tension between the opposites-Yin
and Yang, contraction and dissolution, movement and quiescence (*dong and
jing). It is also the point of junction between them, the mechanism of trans-
formation (*bianhua). As stated in *Liezi I, the myriad beings spring out of it
and re-enter into it.
Some Taoist authors say that ji is the *wuji (Ultimateless, Infinite) or the
"wondrous" aspect of *taiji (Great Ultimate), the "wondrous movement" that
unites movement and quiescence, the true spring that moves spontaneously
by itself (*ziran) and without intention (wuxin J!\I;{,'), and that acts without
action and interference (*wuwei). Others say that it is the extreme degree of
quiescence and purity which is on the verge of changing into movement.
On the cosmologicallevel, ji alludes to the subtle moment of the birth of
the world, or the location where it appears, which is impossible to locate. It
is related to the thunder that announces the return of the Yang. It is meta-
phorically situated between the waning and the waxing of the moon, in the
southwest, where kun tljl == (pure Yin) is located, marked by the Celestial Stem
geng fJi£, in the third day of the month; or in the cycle of the year, between
the Earthly Branches hai * and zi 1'-, in the tenth month and the northwest,
just before the appearance of the Yang line in the trigram kan JX == (Yang
within Yin). In *neidan, ji is the moment when the alchemist should collect
his Medicine and begin his work, when time is inserted into the eternal and
timeless instantaneity, and when the operation of the alchemical work begins
with inaction in an open space containing nothing. Ji is thus a synonym of
*xuanpin, the Mysterious Female.
On the physiologicallevel,ji can be located in the center of the body, which
in turn is related to *yi (intention) and to the spleen; or it can be identified with
the interval between breathing in and out (corresponding with the "closing"

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