5 Advice on Successful Sexual Intercourse from the Medical Classics “Non-action” (wu wei “One evening, a farmer from Song returned home exhausted and said to his children: ‘Today I did good work, I pulled up all the seedlings in my field.’ When the children ran out to the field to look at the result, they of course discovered a devastated field in which all seedlings were drying out. Mencius draws the following conclusion from this story: There are two types of mistakes in the world. One is to want to achieve the effect (zheng) immediately, as if effectiveness were only a question of purpose and will—a question of the project, the means, and the effort; the other error is to do nothing and to neglect one’s field. But if we may neither directly pull on the seedlings nor give up intervening altogether, what are we supposed to do, according to Mencius? Every farmer knows the answer: We have to hoe and weed around the base of the plant. This might appear insignificant, but here we touch on one of the most subtle traits of Chinese thought: How to combine the artificial and the natural in such a way that they fit; or how to assist in something that is happening anyway on its own.”2 The medical classics demonstrate in abundance how we can assist in the conception of children and making this ground fertile. In the Secrets of the Jade Chamber (Yu Fang Mi Jue “Huangdi asks Sunu: ‘It is the will of the Dao to avoid losing jing (shi jing The Yu Fang Mi Jue is one of the first collections on this topic. In addition to other quotations, this text contains the well-known Su Nu Jing ( ___________ At the same time, sexual intercourse also dealt with ways in which the man was able to utilize the woman’s jing for his own benefit. The union of yin and yang as a path to nurturing and prolonging life (yin yang yang sheng zhi dao The sought-after jing of the woman refers to her vaginal fluids, formed during sexual arousal. Because the abundant flow of these fluids is directly related to the woman’s state of arousal, men paid such great attention to sexually satisfying the woman. In this context, we might better understand advice that at times seems excessive, to have nightly intercourse with a large number of women without ejaculating but only to absorb their jing. Huangdi, for example, is reported to have slept with hundreds of women (virgins) every night to increase his strength. Any seminal emission therefore had to be considered with care, so as not to harm the man and ideally to create a (male) child: “A strong 15-year-old man may ejaculate twice a day, a frail one only once; a strong 20-year-old twice a day, a weak one once; a strong 30-year-old once a day, a weak one only every two days; a strong 40-year-old every three days, an exhausted one only every fourth day; a strong 50-year-old every five days, an exhausted one only every tenth day; a strong 60-year-old every ten days, an exhausted one only every twentieth day; a strong 70-year-old every 30 days, an exhausted one may not have any seminal emission at all.”5 If a man obeyed these recommendations, seminal emission should not cause any appreciable loss of jing. You were even safer when you furthermore conformed with the seasons and hence with the course of the world, the dao. In the Yang Sheng Yao Ji ( “In the spring, you may ejaculate every third day, but in the summer and fall only twice a month, and in the winter you should preserve your jing and not allow the semen to drain out at all. The heavenly dao intends for the husband to preserve his yang in winter. If he follows this principle, he will achieve longevity. The reason for this is that seminal emission in winter consumes a hundred times more yang than one in the spring.”5 If seminal emission does occur, it must not happen in passionate thoughtlessness. On this topic, here is a passage from the Dong Xuan Zi ( “When the man has reached the point where he wishes to ejaculate, he should absolutely wait until the woman has reached her orgasm before allowing his semen to drain. The man’s movements should then become more superficial, playful between the woman’s strings (qin xian The vital life energy jing ( At this point, we should mention the fear Chinese men had of “jing-sucking” women or fox spirits who were able to appear to the man in dreams, seduce him to emit semen, and thereby increase their own jing. There are hundreds of variations on a story in which a beautiful maiden appears to a young scholar studying at night. The maiden seduces him and mysteriously disappears in the early morning, only to reappear every evening thereafter. The scholar becomes weaker and weaker until a Daoist monk informs him that the maiden is a fox spirit who is sucking him dry to get his jing, which eventually will grant the fox spirit eternal life. Thus, the Daoist monk realizes the cause of the scholar’s loss of vital energy and warns the young man. These female spirits could also be deceased female family members who had suffered an injustice, who had not had a proper burial, or who were not receiving sufficient sacrifices. Predestined to become such restless spirits were women who had committed suicide out of unfulfilled love or protest. This could be related to an unwanted (because extramarital) pregnancy or occur before an arranged wedding, but also in an unhappy marriage or out of despair because of childlessness, intensified by pressure from the family and especially the mother-in-law. How could the man be certain that the woman was truly aroused and that her yin and jing were at his greatest disposal? We learn this information from the already mentioned Yu Fang Mi Jue: “Huangdi asks: ‘How do I recognize whether a woman is aroused?’ Sunu answers: ‘Observe the five signs, the five desires, and also the ten movements of the woman and how they change. Then you will know. The man then responds to the five signs of the woman: Almost like in an instruction manual, the man is advised on how to respond to specific signs of the woman. All this information appears to be only for the benefit of the man, so that he can receive as much jing as possible from the woman. In another paragraph, however, the text also emphasizes the importance of arousing the woman for her own benefit. Thus, the man is responsible for the woman’s orgasm (kuai “Huangdi says: ‘Very well! But how do you recognize the woman’s nine energies?’ Xuannu, the dark mysterious girl ( If intercourse lasts longer and the man cares about the woman and fulfills her desires, the nine energies flow. If there is no flow, this harms (the woman). If the energies do not flow, you can repeat the foreplay to rectify this problem.”5 To increase desire, the text also describes in detail the different positions in sexual intercourse. The variations are manifold; Dong Xuanzi describes 30 different possibilities alone. But for conception, the “normal” positions, with the woman lying flat on her back and the man above her, seem to have been preferred. The reason for this is that this position best maintained the “natural” order: the man/the male/heaven above the woman/the feminine/earth. But now the big question: what do you do when the man can’t perform as he wants to? For before the man concerns himself with the flow of female energy, he has to have reached the right energetic state himself: “Huangdi asks: ‘If you feel the desire for intercourse, but the Jade Stalk will not rise, should you force it?’ Xuannu responds: ‘No, you should not. The dao of the desire for intercourse calls for the man to fulfill four conditions. Only then can he arouse the woman’s nine energies.’ Huangdi asks: ‘What are these four conditions?’ Xuannu answers: This means that the erection opens up the jing, the enlargement moves the jing, the stiffening brings the jing to the door, and the warming makes the jing step on the threshold. When the four qi flow and are regulated by the dao, nothing opens that should not be opened and no jing is drained.”5 The qi of the four conditions hence refers to: Lung qi appears to be missing, but since it is regarded as the source of all qi, it nourishes the other four qi and is, so to speak, the precondition for the existence of any qi at all. The text offers a number of formulas to allow the man to fulfill these four conditions, for example, from the Fan Wang Fang ( “The ‘Pill for Opening the Heart’ with shu yu for kidney qi (Kai Xin Shu Yu Shen Qi Wan There is really nothing that this formula does not treat: [1 liang at the time corresponded to roughly 12.5 g;1 fen to roughly 3.15 g] ___________ * The ninth qi is missing—this is most likely the liver qi. These 12 ingredients are ground in a mortar, sifted, and then formed with honey into pills the size of Sterculia platanifolia seeds (wu zi), ca. 5 mm in diameter. One dose is 20 pills. Take two doses in the course of the day, and one in the evening. If you are depressed, either stop taking them altogether or reduce the dosage to 10 pills. After taking these for 5 days, the Jade Stalk (i. e., the penis) becomes hot and fiery; after 10 nights, the body is glistening and smooth; after 15 nights, the facial expression is rejuvenated and the hands and feet are always warm. After 20 nights, the man’s reproductive power is strengthened, and after 25 days, the channels are full. After 30 nights, the hot qi is clear and free-flowing, the face becomes tender like a blossom, the veins of the hands turn into fine blood vessels, the heart opens, and you won’t forget anything any more. You are free from sorrows and memory loss. Even if you sleep alone, you will not feel cold. You do not have to get up at night to urinate any more, and the yin is harmonized. One course of treatment is sufficient for men until (the end of age) 40. From age 50 on, you should take two rounds. As a result, even a man over 70 can still produce children. There are no contraindications, with the exception that you should not consume large amounts of spicy or sour foods while taking this formula. A similar formula with slightly less ingredients furthermore advises kneeling facing east, that is, in the direction of yang, when taking the pills. In cases where the Jade Stalk is very weak, double the amount of she chuang zi. If you need more strength, double the amount of yuan zhi. If the amount of semen is too small, doubling wu wei zi is advised. If you wish to lengthen the Jade Stalk, double rou cong rong. If the patient suffers from back pain, twice the amount of du zhong is necessary. And if you want to lengthen the duration of intercourse, add 12 fen of Xu duan (Dipsaci asperi radix) to the formula.5 But formulas could not only be taken internally, but could also be applied directly on the affected regions. Here, for example, is a recommendation from the Xin Luo Fa Shi Mi Mi Fang ( “In the middle ten days of the 8th lunar month, collect honey comb, place a flat object on top, and press for one night. After this night, wrap in a pouch made of fine raw silk and let hang on a pole in the shade. After a period of ten times ten days, you have a wonderful medicine. As soon as the man expects that he will have sexual intercourse, cut off a piece the size of six copper coins and boil it without any other ingredients in an earthen vessel until it has changed color from black to whitish grey. Now drink half of this dissolved in warm wine and take the other half in your hand, mix it with your saliva, and spread it on the hip bones and from the root to the tip (of the Jade Stalk). As soon as (the medicine) is applied, it will dry, and as soon as it has dried, you can begin with intercourse to your heart’s content. After 40 days of uninterrupted application, you will gradually see obvious results, after 100 days the positive changes in the body are so great that they will continue for the rest of your life. Harm is averted, good fortune will multiply, physical strength increases sevenfold, whatever you desire will come true, diseases stay far away, and life is prolonged. Cooling at the height of summer, warming in the deepest winter, and protective against counterflow qi, in this way, harm (to your health) is avoided. This preparation is also called ‘Increaser of Positive Effects.’ You have to apply it widely in the area of the hip bones, every time about 180 zhu. [Zhu is an old unit of measurement. At the time when the text was composed, 1 zhu corresponded to 1/24 liang, that is, 0.52 g. Hence 180 zhu are roughly 94 g, the amount to be rubbed in.] As a result, [the Jade Stalk] becomes strong like an iron hammer, its length increases by three cun, and its secretions become fragrant. The thoughts of the man and the woman become calm, but their hearts are stimulated, their vision and hearing improve, and the smells from mouth and nose become fragrant again. If you desire more strength in the Jade Stalk, drink this preparation frequently, dissolved in warm wine. If you desire an increase in length, rub the preparation on the tip of the Jade Stalk. If you desire an increase in size, rub it all over the Jade Stalk. While taking this preparation, you should avoid the following: Great worries, excessive joy, great fright, strong resentment, excessive fear, strong sweating, throwing yourself into torrents of water, climbing to dangerous heights, indulging (to an extreme) in the five flavors, cold and raw food, and strong alcohol.”5 These formulas most likely came from a Buddhist priest from Korea, because Xin Luo was the name of the two largest states of Korea during the Tang period. Besides these formulas for improving the quality of the Jade Stalk and the quantity of intercourse, we also find advice on how to achieve the opposite, that is, how to make the Jade Stalk weak and small. One formula recommends mixing mercury, Cervi parvum cornu (lu rong, normally yang-strengthening) and Croton tiglium (ba dou, croton oil, in the West a constituent of Baunscheidt oil) with deer tallow and applying this on the penis and scrotum. Another method for weakening yang is repeated moxa treatment on the point san yin jiao.5 The purpose of these formulas is not entirely clear. On the one hand, they could, of course, have been intended to dampen excessive sexual desire, hence, for example, for monks or during mourning periods. On the other hand, they could almost have been medicines for intentional castration. We only need to think of the eunuchs at the imperial court, who may not have been highly respected in society but were often very influential. Suppressing the man’s desire was not propagated in general, since, as we have already mentioned, sexual intercourse was not equated with seminal emission, and frequent intercourse (without seminal emission) was therefore desirable up until old age. And because of polygamy there were no times (except during the period of mourning) in which the man would have had to restrain himself, such as due to the wife’s illness, pregnancy, or lying-in period. Up until now, the man has been the focus of the above formulas, but the (erotic) needs of the woman were also dealt with, if not in as much detail. This includes injuries sustained during defloration, pain or bleeding during sexual intercourse, or an excessively large Jade Grotto (i. e, the vagina), which lessens the sexual pleasure of the woman and the man. To address this condition, a formula from the already mentioned Dong Xuanzi: “This formula treats the wide and cold yin of the woman, making it narrower and causing joy during intercourse. Take 2 fen each of: Rub and sieve the four ingredients into a fine powder and place a small amount of it into the Jade Grotto. Under no circumstances should she take too much, otherwise it is possible that the opening will close completely. Another formula advises to dissolve three pinches of ground sulfur in 1 sheng [approximately 1 L] of warm water. If the woman washes her yin [i. e., her genitals] with this mixture, it will soon again be like that of a 12–13-year-old.”5 With this advice, all conditions should be set for the best possible execution of sexual intercourse, and nothing else should stand in the way of conceiving a child. But not so! Prohibitions concerning specific days, locations, or climate conditions were numerous. Here are a few exemplary passages from the above-cited Yu Fang Mi Jue: “In the union of yin and yang, seven prohibitions must be observed: The text continues: “Some children are born deaf or with a darkened spirit. These are children that were conceived after sunset on the sacrificial days of the 12th lunar month (la La ( The warnings in the Yu Fang Mi Jue continue insistently by describing what can happen with the descendants when certain commandments are not observed: “Some children are born with injuries or dead, they are called ‘fire children’ because they were conceived before the candle had burned down. Such children arrive in this world with injuries or dead, or die soon. Fire children are in a sense burned and injured by sun- or daylight.”5 According to this passage, sexuality was an activity of the night and of darkness, especially when practiced for the sake of conception. Associated with yin, it was supposed to take place during the time of yin, that is, at night, when the candle had been blown out. In this way, conception could not only be successful at that time, but was even a guarantee for healthy children. Would this mean that sex for the purpose of increasing jing (of the man) and prolonging life, that is, without seminal emission and without the intent of conceiving, was a yang and therefore daytime activity? And, by contrast, that the purposeful union with the intent of conceiving sons was a yin and therefore night-time activity? In general, the time around midnight is recommended as the most favorable moment for conception, since yin qi is strongest at that time. Laozi already stated: “Children conceived at midnight have the greatest longevity, the ones conceived before midnight have medium longevity, and the ones conceived after midnight, the smallest longevity.”5 “Some children are born mentally disabled. These are ‘thunderstorm children’ because they were conceived during the great rains and thunderstorms of the 4th and 5th lunar month. The wise man practices restraint at this time, only the simple man secretly abandons himself to the union of yin and yang. This invariably results in the creation of mentally disabled children.”5 The idea that conception was a union of heaven and earth implied that disturbances of these two elements could therefore also impede the creation of new life. A “lack in heaven,” that is, thunder and lightning, storms and tempests, but also solar and lunar eclipses, were as inauspicious as a “lack on earth,” that is, disease, emotional imbalance, or overexertion. These conditions could not produce healthy descendants. “Some children are born but then become the prey of tigers or wolves. These are the children of ‘mourning clothes.’ The reason for this is that the filial son only wears plain hemp clothes during the period of mourning and does not eat meat. The gentleman puts all business activities aside during this time while the simple man secretly abandons himself to the union of yin and yang. If children are conceived during the mourning period, they invariably become the prey of tigers and wolves.”5 Mourning rituals varied considerably depending on one’s social status and clan membership. In general, the parents were to observe a 3-year mourning period. “Some children are born and then die by drowning. This is the mistake of the parents. The reason is that they have placed the placenta in a bronze vessel and buried it upside down seven chi deep on the (shaded) yin side of the courtyard wall. This is also called ‘to enclose the son,’ and these children invariably die by drowning.”5 Placenta burial was a common practice in which the placenta of a son was supposed to be buried in a hole under the bed and that of a daughter outside the house. If the placenta of a son was buried in an inappropriate location, this was bound to lead to problems. Thus, the text also states: This question could stimulate a discussion on whether the early Chinese were aware of the relevant connections between the menstrual bleeding and the woman’s fertile days. We can answer this question with a unanimous yes. Concerning this question, there is very concrete advice from Dong Xuanzi on the topic of fertile days and conception: “If you wish to have a child, you should hold off on sexual intercourse until after the end of the menstrual period. Intercourse from the first to the third day afterwards will produce a son; on the fourth and fifth day after-wards, it will produce a daughter. Seminal emissions from the fifth day on only weaken the jing and strength and are of no use whatsoever. You should wait with ejaculating until the woman has reached her climax, and then orgasm should take place for both partners simultaneously, with the man emitting all his semen completely. It is best if the woman lies on her back facing up, focuses her thoughts, closes her eyes, and concentrates exclusively on receiving the semen.”1 For exactly this moment, the imperial advisor Sunu additionally recommends the following for increasing the success of a conception: “If a married woman has remained childless, during intercourse she should hold 27 red beans (xiao dou The Bing Yuan Lun ( “When a married woman fails to bear children, this can have three causes. First, the tomb is not properly cared for. Second, the fates of the two partners stand in a relationship of mutual opposition (astrological incompatibility). Third, man or woman is ill. All of these lead to infertility. If the tomb has not been taken care of and the sacrifices have not been performed, or if the birth horoscopes do not match, in these two cases, medicine cannot redress the situation.”5 In imperial China, people generally did not enter into marriage out of love, and the choice of partner was not left to chance. For this purpose, the matchmaker existed, a profession that was not well respected but frequently used. Usually older women, matchmakers made suggestions to families with matching social status on which connections might be beneficial for both families. Obviously, the financial and social compatibility were of primary importance, but the birth horoscope of the engaged partners also needed to be harmonious and suited to guarantee an abundance of children, health, and survival. The Bing Yuan Lun continues: “If the man or woman are sick, they have to ingest medicinals to achieve success. If the woman does in fact suffer from infertility, this has different causes. Overexertion (wu lao and qi sun) harms the blood and qi, and the woman is no longer able to perfectly adapt to cold and heat. Consequently, wind and cold can penetrate. This causes the embryo (ke yu zi gong The “five taxations” (wu lao The “seven damages” (qi sun The Bing Yuan Lun further elaborates: “If the man is responsible for the lack of children, the reason is that his semen is clear like water and [the penis is] cold like ice. Alternatively, if the semen is not discharged during the emission but gets stuck in the tip of the penis (yin head), this also leads to childlessness.”5 Formulas for these problems fill whole volumes; we can cite here the Qing Yun San ( “Blessing Clouds Powder is a formula to be used for the husband’s insufficiency of yang qi, inability to emit semen, or lacking amount of semen: (Prepare a decoction until the color changes. If the patient cannot tolerate cold, leave out the ji sheng and replace with 4 liang of wild ginger root, Asari cum radice herba [xi xin Thicken and strain these nine ingredients. Twice a day, take a square-cun spoon in wine before meals. If the yang qi is too small and this is the cause of childlessness, leave out the shi hu and instead take 15 betel nuts (bing lang And for the woman: “The Cheng Ze Wan ( (1 ge corresponds to 0.1 L) People believed that the child’s gender could be changed up to the third month of pregnancy. In the Ru Yi Fang ( “Place 20 feathers from the left wing of a black hen under the woman’s mattress; then it will be a boy.” Or: “Place two tail feathers of a male duck under the woman’s kang without her noticing; then it will be a boy.”5 Instructions are numerous on which foods a pregnant woman should consume in which year in order for her to give birth to a healthy, longlived, successful son. Chinese astrology counts time in 60-year cycles, divided into 12 years each (12 animals of the zodiac), with five influences of the five phases of transformation each. Hence we have a year of the water snake, one of the wood snake, fire snake, and so on. After 5 × 12 years = 60 years, the cycle repeats itself. Each of these 60 years has its own name that can be looked up in the appropriate almanacs. As an example, we can look at the dietary advice with regard to the 60-year cycle from the Chan Jing ( “To ensure that sons born in the year Jiazi live a long life until 90, you have to eat wheat. To ensure that those born in the year Yichou reach the age of 96, you must eat foxtail millet. To ensure that sons born in the year Bingyin reach the age of 95, the pregnant woman must eat rice.”5 This way of thinking implies a certain given life span that can be reached (it spans from 63 years for persons in the year Bingzi to 105 years for those born in the year Dinghai) if the person has received enough prenatal jing as a prerequisite. The future mother can contribute to this by consuming certain foods. She can and should, however, do far more than that in order to not only experience a smooth pregnancy and problem-free birth, but also to provide the child with its fullest congenital potential and thereby ensure a successful start in life for him or her. We can find an example of advice on prenatal education in the writings of Dong Xuanzi, who we have already mentioned several times above: “After the woman becomes pregnant, she should only do nice things, she should not see or hear anything bad, she should curb her sexual desires, and she should neither curse nor argue. Additionally, she should not experience any fright or physically over-exert herself. She should be neither talkative nor gloomy. In her diet, she should avoid any cold or raw foods, as well as vinegary, oily, or spicy foods. She should no longer go out by carriage, climb great heights, or get close to precipices. She should not walk down steep slopes or walk too quickly. In addition, she should neither consume medicinals nor receive acupuncture or moxibustion. She should continuously hold good feelings and proper thoughts and she should frequently listen to the classics. If she does all this, her child will be smart, intelligent, loyal, and honest. This is what is called prenatal education.”1
Dagmar Hemm
), or in other words, non-purposive action, is a popular philosophy of life in China; allowing things to flow and develop on their own as the highest premise of life. Targeted intervention would certainly contradict this maxim, as would sexual intercourse by the numbers and targeted seminal emission. Nevertheless, we will see that Chinese people acted extremely “intentionally” particularly with regard to (male) offspring. A contradiction? On this subject, here is a quotation from François Jullien that describes how Mencius qualified these behavioral guidelines in the 6th century BCE:
How Often is the Man Allowed? Containing the Damage in Spite of “Jing Loss”
) we can read the following conversation:
) but to treat one’s bodily fluids (ye 
) with care. Nevertheless, if you desire to have descendants, how can you not have seminal emission (xie 
)?’ Sunu answers: ‘There are strong and weak, young and old men, depending on each person’s life force. Under no circumstances should seminal emission be forced or rash; this would only cause damage.’”5*
Classic of the Plain Maiden), probably the first treatment of the art of the bedchamber in early China. Sunu—as befits the Daoist ideal—the plain maiden (sometimes translated as virgin), is presented like an immortal fairy, explaining to the legendary Yellow Emperor Huangdi (2698–2598 BCE) the importance of the correct relationship between yin and yang, that is, sexual union. The Su Nu Jing was obviously not written in the 3rd millennium BCE (but rather in the 3rd century CE), but the Yellow Emperor was regarded as the ideal typical ruler, serving as an example in all areas of life. The conversations between Sunu and the legendary Yellow Emperor are written as dialogues. Sunu advises Huangdi on the topics of longevity and the preservation of vitality into old age. In this context, the notion of an original endowment of potential life energy played a key role: humans are born with a certain prenatal potential (xian tian zhi jing 
) that is exhausted in the course of a person’s life and must be continuously replenished with postnatal potential (hou tian zhi jing 
). These essential energies are exhausted, for example, by hard physical labor, illness, but also by frequent seminal emission (shi jing, literally “loss of life essence”). For this reason, retaining semen was such an important aspect of sexual intercourse. Nevertheless, the semen should not only be held back but transformed with specific techniques into valuable life energy and conducted upwards along the spine—du mai—to nourish the brain (huan jing bu nao 
) and thereby also increase the shen (
).3
).
Collection of Important Texts for Nurturing Life), one of many Daoist texts on this subject, Liu Jing (
) advises:
Master of the Dark Cave), a Daoist text from the Tang period:
, Frenulum clitoridis) and the wheat grain (mai chi 
, Labium minus pudendi), like an infant sucking on the breast. When emission occurs, the man closes his eyes, directs his thoughts inward, presses his tongue against the palate, raises the spine, stretches the head, widens the nostrils, pulls the shoulders back, closes the mouth, absorbs the qi, and can thus allow the jing to rise upward on its own. In this way, the amount can be regulated, even in seminal emission, and only 20 to 30% escape.”5
), used as a synonym for semen, is so valuable that the man is urgently advised against consuming it frivolously. For this reason, it is important for the man to wait for the moment of greatest arousal in the woman and therefore of her greatest production of jing, and then finally to allow his own jing as well as that of his partner to rise upward through the spine by means of the above-mentioned breathing technique, posture, and concentration. This replenishes the stores of postnatal jing and can prolong the lifespan beyond measure. In addition, the retention of semen makes the man’s yang and the force of his seminal emission so powerful that it will produce a male child with great certainty.3
Foreplay—Only the Excited Woman Increases the Man’s Jing
) spread over her buttocks; now slowly withdraw.’”5
) and also for any damage that he causes her if he sleeps with her without having aroused her sufficiently. For this purpose, he must have stimulated the woman’s nine energies (nu zhi jiu qi 
):
) answers: ‘Observe her nine energies, then you understand her:
“The Soldier is not Ready for Action”
Formulas by Fan Wang), a collection of formulas compiled by Fan Wang (ca. 305–370 CE):
) treats the ‘five taxations’ and ‘seven damages’ of the man. This includes the following signs: His bone marrow cannot tolerate any cold at all. When he goes to bed, he feels so bloated that his heart is confined by all the intestinal rumbling. He has no desire to drink or eat, and when he eats, it all stagnates under the heart and he cannot get rid of phlegm. In spring and summer his hands are unbearably hot, while in fall and winter his legs are cold as ice. The emptiness makes him forgetful, the kidney qi does not flow any more, and the union of yin and yang does not take place. He is exhausted like an old man. Taking this formula strengthens the center, nourishes the bone marrow, fills the emptiness, regenerates the will, opens the heart, calms the viscera, stops tearing eyes, clears the vision, relaxes the stomach, increases the sexual urge, expels wind, and protects from cold.”5
), 1 liang
), 1 liang
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
), 5 fen
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
), 6 fen
Secret Formulas of the Buddhist Master from Xin Luo):
When She Can’t Do as She Wants
)
)
)
)
The When and Where Must be Heeded as Well
, literally: grain qi) has not dispersed, causes stagnation in the abdomen and turbid urine. Children conceived then are certain to be mentally disturbed.
). This makes the channels impassable. Children conceived at this time are certain to be malicious.
) [the will-power—relation to the kidney!] has not calmed down, and the muscles and the back will be affected. Children conceived in this situation will die young [deficient kidney qi and not enough prenatal jing].
, literally: short qi). Children conceived then will be physically incomplete (bu quan 
).
). On this evening of sacrifices, all the spirits gather and do not settle down for the whole night. The wise man (jun zi 
, literally: ‘the gentleman, the man educated after the Confucian model’) restrains himself on this night, only the simple man (xiao ren 
, literally ‘the small man,’ i. e., the uneducated man) secretly abandons himself on this night to the union of yin and yang. This will invariably produce blind and deaf children.”5
) is explicitly the eighth day of the 12th lunar month, the day on which the winter sacrifices are performed. On this night, however, not only the malevolent souls of the deceased ancestors were active, but also malevolent demons (gui 
), who were able to overpower the sensory organs or the entire body of newly conceived fetuses. Even one’s own, normally benevolent ancestors could turn into demons if they felt neglected: if the location of the tomb was not auspicious or if the sacrifices had been neglected. Besides this inauspicious time, there were also baleful locations, such as cemeteries or temple compounds, where malign influences could be particularly strong. In general, virtuous conduct was seen as immunization against demons and bad influences. Therefore, always the distinction between the jun zi, the virtuous Confucian “gentleman,” and the xiao ren, the simple man who follows his urges.
) and “seven damages” (qi sun 
) of the parents negatively affect the life expectancy of the child.]
No Offspring Even Though Everything Was Done Correctly?
) in her left hand while introducing the tip of the man’s yin (tip of the penis) into her yin. At the same time as the man’s penetration, she takes the beans from her left hand into her mouth. As soon as she feels that the man’s jing (semen) is descending, she swallows the beans. This method has never failed.”5
Treatises on the Causes of Diseases), a reference to the Zhu Bing Yuan Hou Lun (On the Origins and Symptoms of the Various Diseases) by Chao Yuan Fang, further elaborates on the problem of childlessness:
, literally ‘guest in the uterus’) to develop diseases, or the menses become lumpy or stop, or discharge occurs. In that case, the energies of yin and yang are no longer in harmony, the menses run counterflow, and infertility results.”5
) refer to the following:
) refer to the following:
)
)
)
)
)
)
)5
Blessing Clouds Powder) from the text Seng Shen Fang (
Effective Formulas of [Buddhist] Monks). The poetic name of this formula stems from the highly symbolic name for sexual intercourse as “clouds and rain” (yun yu 
):
), without the inside, 2 liang
), 1 sheng
), 4 liang
), 2 liang
), 1 sheng
), 1 sheng
), roasted, 1 liang
), 3 liang
] 
), 3 liang
].)
).”5
Pill for Holding Moisture) treats women’s 36 diseases of the lower burner. It is a formula for infertility and unfulfilled wish for children:
), 1 sheng
), 1 sheng
), 1 liang
), 15 ge
), 2 liang
) grown large and straight, seven pieces
Melt and strain these six ingredients and form with honey into pills the size of a chan bean (
). Take two pills three times a day before meals, no more and no less.”5
Pregnant at Last—Now How to Avoid Mistakes?
Good Fortune Scepter Formulas), a collection of formulas for difficult cases, we find folk advice on what to do to give birth to a son:
The Classic of Childbirth):
< div class='tao-gold-member'>
), compiled by the Japanese physician Yasuyori Tamba (
) around 982 CE, but not printed until 1854. Comprising 30 volumes, this text contains the essential writings on TCM from that time. In this way, many medical classics that had been lost in China were “rediscovered” in the beginning of the 20th century indirectly via Japan. The translations used here are based on the 1996 edition (
Hua Xia Chu Ban She, Beijing).Related posts:
