Page 741 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

LIUZI JUE

script from *Mawangdui (Harper 1998, 129-30,305---9) and in Wang Chong's
3::: YE (27-ca. 100 CB) Lunheng liffl f~f (Balanced Discussions; trans. Forke 1907-II,
I: 348-50 and 5II). The technique's principles were laid down in the Jin period,
and it became widespread during the Six Dynasties and Tang periods. From
the Song onward, it is described in texts on Nourishing Life (*yangsheng) and
in medical texts, and more recently in *qigong texts.
The six breaths are related to the five viscera (*wuzang) and to a sixth organ
which, according to different sources, is either the "triple burner" (sanjiao ~
1*; see *wuzang) or the gallbladder. Essentially they have a therapeutic or
prophylactic action upon the viscera and their corresponding symptoms ac-
cording to the principles of Chinese medicine. Chui heals ailments resulting
from cold and wind, hu ailments resulting from heat, xi ailments resulting from
wind and heat, he relaxes the *qi, xu clears away stagnations, and si dispels
heat. *Sun Simiao's Qianjin fang T~1f (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand;
j. 29), however, also mentions an exorcistic action of these sounds.
Three fundamental systems can be distinguished in the liuzi technique:
1. The system of the *Huangtingjing (Scripture of the Yellow Court) tradi-
tion, described in the Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu jt M r*J ~ 1i
!lI: ;\ !lJ(f fffi ~ iI (Charts of the Strengthening and Weakening of the Five
Viscera and the Six Receptacles, According to the Scripture of the Inner
Effulgences of the Yellow Court; CT 432).
2. The system based on the lost *Yangsheng yaoji (Essentials of Nourishing
Life), described in the Songshan Taiwuxianshengqijing ~ ill *~7t~*Ci.\lf
(Scripture on Breath by the Elder of Great Non-Being from Mount Song;
CT 824, 9a-b; trans. HuangJane 1987---90, 2: 24-25), the Huanzhen xiansheng
fu nei yuanqi jue Z:1 ~ 7t ~ ij& r*J ft *C ~ (Instructions on the Ingestion of
the Inner Original Breath According to the Elder of Illusory Perfection;
CT 828, 7a-b, and YJQQ 60.20b-2Ia; trans. Despeux 1988, 79-80, from
I the version in the *Chifeng sui), the Tiaoqi jing :lIM *\~.'E (Scripture on the
Regulation of Breath; CT 820, 7a; trans. Huang Jane 1987---90, I: 75-77),
the Taixi biyao gejue ij~ }~I,1i'*~~ (Songs and Instructions on the Secret
Essentials of Embryonic Breathing; CT 131, Ib; trans. HuangJane 1987---90,
I: 50-51), and several other texts.
3. The system attributed to Zhi Dun 5[ J§ (314-66, also known as Zhi Daolin
5[j]Hf.), described in the Daolinsheshenglun j]Hf.m~~ ([ZhiJ Daolin's
Essay on Preserving Life; CT 1427) and the Qianjin fang 0. 27)·
The number of repetitions of the six breaths was sometimes codified: eighty-
one times after midnight, seventy-two times at cockcrow, sixty-three times at
dawn, and so forth. A more complex method is described in the mid-twelfth-
century *Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao; j. 35). Here the six sounds are uttered in