My Reading of the Huangdi Neijing's "First Essay on the Heavenly Truth of Antiquity" (Part 1)
1. A few words at the head of this article
The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) is one of the four great classics of TCM and the foremost of the medical canons. Across the dynasties, many TCM theoretical systems were built and expanded on the basis of the Huangdi Neijing.
To study TCM without studying the Huangdi Neijing is like a blind man riding a blind horse, unable to find his bearings.
But one may say that TCM owes its success to the Huangdi Neijing and its limitations to the Huangdi Neijing. Because we Chinese have always had the tradition of venerating antiquity and revering the classics, the Huangdi Neijing, while laying the foundation of TCM, has also fettered its development.
My consistent attitude toward learning is critical inheritance. This attitude of mine has drawn criticism from many who venerate antiquity and revere the classics. Luckily, I dislike excitement, so I can hide in my little room and read and research according to my own habits.
I used to be reluctant to write systematic, large-scale works, because I was influenced by the two old gentlemen Qian Zhongshu and Ji Xianlin. These two kept their distance from systematic learning, believing that once a field of knowledge is systematized, it inevitably becomes full of errors, because systematizing a body of knowledge requires a great deal of self-justifying work.
I think they are right. The Buddhist sutras contain good things, but once Buddhism tried to use the Dharma to systematically explain all manner of worldly problems, it inevitably produced a great deal of self-justifying nonsense. TCM contains good things, but once TCM tries to construct a complete theoretical system, it inevitably produces a great deal of far-fetched material.
Any field of knowledge, or any school, that tries to explain everything with its doctrine, will have this problem. Genuine scholarship should be grounded in reality.
The Huangdi Neijing contains many truths that still shine with wisdom today, but it also contains much far-fetched material that still misleads sentient beings.
My interpretation of the Huangdi Neijing will also contain all kinds of errors, but I still wish, without presuming on my ability, to interpret the Huangdi Neijing with my own independent spirit of thought.
As a TCM learner with no school or faction, and no intention of founding any school, I will inherit what I recognize in the Huangdi Neijing and offer my own views on what I think is not quite right, for readers to criticize and refer to.
I began interpreting the Buddhist sutras with this attitude more than ten years ago; I have many readers, many admirers, and no end of criticism. Some devout Buddhists simply wish I would die sooner. I have a strong constitution and have not died yet. I am also thick-skinned; I have endured much abuse and learned to "expound without contending."
I suppose that now, interpreting TCM classics (the Huangdi Neijing is only the beginning; in future I will probably interpret several TCM classics, expounding my own views in the process), I will also draw abuse from many die-hard TCM fans.
Thanks to the convenience of the age of self-media, I can still control the comment rights on my own self-media; those who abuse me are simply blocked. For one thing, I am small-minded and dislike having too much rude noise, even cursing, in my ears; for another, my time is precious, and arguing with people is truly a waste of life.
But normal discussion and criticism are welcome. As a critical inheritor of traditional culture, I can hardly allow "only the magistrate to set fire, and forbid the people to light lamps." Moreover, I am a skeptic; I question not only whether the traditional classics have shortcomings, but also whether my own understanding is correct. If I am wrong and others question me, it can only reduce the harm my articles cause after being spread.
I do not advocate anyone using my views as a brick to throw at others, because I oppose authority and dislike being that authority myself. I never casually forward or quote the words of so-called school masters. The reason is simple: if a person has no prejudices, he will probably not form any school. A school must have preferences in order to form a character. And all prejudice in the world is absolutely not truth.
Ancient school masters I do not know, but I have had the good fortune to meet several school masters who spread widely in our time. With respect, I watch what they do before listening to what they say. It seems that the kind of biased views they promote not only harm others but harm themselves as well.
Several masters who could be called standard-bearers of the TCM world have treated many patients very badly according to the theories they themselves invented; after being mistreated by them, quite a few patients have come to me for help. So my own experience tells me that the biased views of school masters harm people deeply.
I have read many editions interpreting the Huangdi Neijing whose authors are cautious to a fault, flattering the ancients and fearing to offend readers who venerate antiquity; so they also flatter the readers, not daring to step beyond the boundary. It is truly a pity. The closedness and conservatism of TCM academia can be seen from this.
As for my own interpretation, whether worth referring to or not, please choose for yourselves, readers. My learning is shallow, and I have never liked to pose as an authority, but I am bold enough and have never liked to submit to authority.
2. An overview of the Shanggu Tianzhen Lun
The Shanggu Tianzhen Lun (Essay on the Heavenly Truth of Antiquity) is the first essay in the first fascicle of the Huangdi Neijing.
"Antiquity" is a general term for the times when humans lived in the distant past. The ancients in China mostly venerated antiquity. Our common catchphrase, "hearts are not as of old, and world customs decline," is also a lament that each generation is worse than the last. This is a superstition; humankind, on the whole, is of course continuously evolving.
But in a society that venerates authority and worships ancestors intensely, many authors had to frame their arguments in the words of ancient sages in order to win trust. Even the Huangdi Neijing itself can be certain was not produced through a question-and-answer between Huangdi and Qibo. Some scholars believe its true author was Huangfu Mi, author of the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing; others believe the Huangdi Neijing was not the work of one person in one period. I will not delve into such textual research here, and will discuss it only in terms of its meaning.
Many famous ancient Chinese physicians had to write books in this way, playing the supernatural. Not only the Huangdi Neijing: Liu Wansu of the Song dynasty and Chen Shiduo of the Qing dynasty were all representatives of this. They all claimed their works were inspired by ancient immortals.
The tradition of venerating antiquity is an important reason why Chinese civilization has endured. Of the four great ancient civilizations, only ancient Chinese civilization has been basically preserved intact, and this is related to our tradition of venerating antiquity. Of course, it also inevitably hindered the progress of technology and social development.
The ideal lifestyle in the Huangdi Neijing is modeled on the ways of the true person (zhenren), the perfected person (zhiren), and the sages (shengren) of antiquity. Judging from the egalitarian thought revealed in the Shanggu Tianzhen Lun, the author may have admired the lifestyle of tribal societies in the hunting or agricultural age.
Some remnants of this lifestyle can still be found in modern times. For example, among the !Kung tribespeople of Africa, or among some ethnic minorities in China's mountainous regions, this ancient way of life can still be seen. Even within some religious communities, such as Taoist or Buddhist communities, we can see traces of this lifestyle. Of course, today's religious communities, however much they hope to restore the ancient way of life, are inevitably influenced by modernization.
In fact, this way of life did not, as the Huangdi Neijing describes, "all live out their hundred years without their movements declining." The average life expectancy of people living in such societies is considerably lower than that of people in modern metropolises. As for the average life expectancy of ancient Homo sapiens hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was even lower. The average life expectancy of the Peking Man at Zhoukoudian was only a dozen years. So many of the health-preserving views in the Shanggu Tianzhen Lun are somewhat taken for granted. But this does not negate the value of the health-preserving views put forward in the Shanggu Tianzhen Lun.
The Shanggu Tianzhen Lun may be said to have set the tone for all of TCM, a tone I summarize in the two words "following life" (shun sheng). Of course, the term "following life" is not my own invention.
TCM emphasizes that people should live in harmony with nature, with society, with the community, and with themselves. It asks people to live and develop according to nature, which runs counter to the life philosophy of many people in our modern society. In TCM's view, the so-called success we modern people pursue is a ridiculous act that harms our own physical and mental health. What TCM values is a person's physical and mental health, not merely a few one-sided indicators.
This attitude toward life advocated by TCM is beneficial to maintaining maximum physical and mental health under the technical conditions of current society, but it may not be beneficial to social development. If everyone lived according to the mindset advocated by ancient TCM, technological (including medical-technological) progress would be unimaginable. But if people can draw on some of TCM's wisdom of health preservation while moderately adapting to modern life, it is very beneficial.
Modern medicine is also gradually moving from the biomedical model to the "biopsychosocial-natural" model. The latest definition of health proposed by the World Health Organization is that "health is not merely the absence of physical disease, but also the possession of mental health, good social adaptability, and moral cultivation." This proposition is very similar to what the Shanggu Tianzhen Lun advocates.
The Shanggu Tianzhen Lun put forward similar views more than two thousand years ago, showing that its thought transcends its era. I believe that in thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands or millions of years, if we humans still exist in this universe, our definition of health will still not escape this basic outline.
3. The original text of the Shanggu Tianzhen Lun
In the distant past, Huangdi was born divine and spiritual; as a child he could speak, in his early years he was quick and astute, in growing up he was honest and alert, and upon maturity he ascended the throne.
He asked the Heavenly Master: I have heard that the people of antiquity all lived out their hundred years without their movements declining; the people of today, at fifty, have all their movements failing. Is the age different, or have people lost the way?
Qibo replied: The people of antiquity, among those who knew the Way, modeled themselves on yin and yang, harmonized themselves with the arts and numbers, ate and drank with restraint, rose and rested with regularity, and did not exert themselves recklessly. Therefore their body and spirit were both intact, and they could complete their natural span, passing away after a hundred years.
The people of today are not so. They take wine as water, take recklessness as the norm, enter the bedchamber drunk, exhaust their essence through desire, dissipate their true qi through cravings, do not know how to maintain fullness, do not attend to their spirit in time, and hasten the pleasure of their hearts, acting contrary to the joy of life, rising and resting without regularity. Therefore at fifty they are declining.
The sages of antiquity taught the people, speaking of deficiency-evil and thievish wind to be avoided in season, of calm emptiness so that true qi follows, and of spirit kept inwardly guarded—how could illness ever come?
Therefore the will was relaxed and desires few, the heart at peace and without fear, the body worked without becoming weary, qi flowed and was smooth, each following its desires and all obtaining what they wished. Therefore they were content with their food, pleased with their clothing, happy in their customs, and did not envy one another's station; their people were called simple.
Therefore desires could not weary their eyes, licentiousness could not bewitch their hearts, the foolish, the wise, the worthy, and the unworthy all feared no thing, and thus they were in accord with the Way. The reason they could all pass a hundred years without their movements declining was that their virtue was whole and they were free from danger.
The Emperor said: When a person grows old and has no child, is it that his strength is exhausted, or that it is his natural lot?
Qibo said: At seven years, a girl's kidney qi flourishes, her teeth change and her hair grows. At fourteen, tiangui arrives, the Ren vessel is unblocked, the Tai Chong vessel flourishes, and menstruation comes on schedule, so she can bear children. At twenty-one, kidney qi is balanced, so the wisdom teeth grow and growth reaches its peak. At twenty-eight, the sinews and bones are firm, hair reaches its longest, and the body is strong. At thirty-five, the Yangming vessels decline, the face begins to wither, and hair begins to fall. At forty-two, the three yang vessels decline above, the face is all withered, and hair turns white. At forty-nine, the Ren vessel is depleted, the Tai Chong vessel declines and weakens, tiangui is exhausted, and the earth pathway is blocked, so the body is ruined and she bears no child.
At eight years, a boy's kidney qi is replete, hair grows and teeth change. At sixteen, kidney qi flourishes, tiangui arrives, essence overflows and is discharged, yin and yang are harmonized, so he can father children. At twenty-four, kidney qi is balanced, sinews and bones are strong, so wisdom teeth grow and growth reaches its peak. At thirty-two, sinews and bones are robust, muscles full and strong. At forty, kidney qi declines, hair falls and teeth wither. At forty-eight, yang qi is exhausted above, the face is withered, and hair at the temples turns white. At fifty-six, liver qi declines, sinews cannot move; at sixty-four, tiangui is exhausted, essence is sparse, the kidney declines, and the body reaches its limit. Then teeth and hair fall away. The kidney governs water; it receives and stores the essence of the five zang and six fu, so when the five zang flourish, it can discharge. Now the five zang are all in decline, sinews and bones slacken and fall, tiangui is spent, so hair at the temples is white, the body is heavy, the gait is unsteady, and there is no child.
The Emperor said: But some are old and yet have children—why?
Qibo said: This is because their natural span is exceeding the norm, their qi and vessels are constantly unobstructed, and they have surplus kidney qi. Though such people have children, the man does not go beyond sixty-four, nor the woman beyond forty-nine, and the qi and essence of heaven and earth are both exhausted.
The Emperor said: Those who know the Way, reaching a hundred years—can they have children?
Qibo said: Those who know the Way can delay aging and preserve their form; though their years are long, they can still beget children.
Huangdi said: I have heard that in antiquity there were true persons (zhenren) who upheld heaven and earth, grasped yin and yang, breathed in essence, stood alone and guarded their spirit, and whose muscles and flesh were as one. Therefore they could live as long as heaven and earth, with no end—such was their life in the Way.
In the middle antiquity there were perfected persons (zhiren) of pure virtue and whole Way, harmonized with yin and yang, attuned to the four seasons, leaving the world and separating from vulgarity, gathering essence and whole spirit, wandering between heaven and earth, seeing and hearing beyond the eight directions. These extended their lifespan and strengthened it; they also returned to the true person.
Next there were sages (shengren), dwelling in the harmony of heaven and earth, following the principles of the eight winds, adapting their desires within the secular world, with no heart of anger, not wishing to leave the world in their conduct, wearing robes and badges, not seeking to be observed by the vulgar, outwardly not wearing the body out in affairs, inwardly having no cares of thought, taking calm joy as their task and self-contentment as their achievement, their form not worn out and their spirit not scattered. These too could reach a hundred.
Next there were worthy persons (xianren), who modeled themselves on heaven and earth, took after sun and moon, distinguished the stars, followed and opposed yin and yang, divided the four seasons, and, following antiquity, joined in the Way. These too could extend their lifespan, though with an end.
4. Section-by-section interpretation: First section
In the distant past, Huangdi was born divine and spiritual; as a child he could speak, in his early years he was quick and astute, in growing up he was honest and alert, and upon maturity he ascended the throne.
This passage first flatters our ancestor Huangdi, saying he was unlike ordinary people from birth, exceptionally bright, and could speak very early. "Divine and spiritual" means clever. Xunqi describes Huangdi as agile; xun means swift, qi means rapid—both describe a person's fast reaction speed. Huangdi, grown up, was honest and alert, so upon reaching adulthood he could ascend the Son of Heaven's throne.
He asked the Heavenly Master: I have heard that the people of antiquity all lived out their hundred years without their movements declining; the people of today, at fifty, have all their movements failing. Is the age different, or have people lost the way?
This passage shows Huangdi consulting the Heavenly Master Qibo. This is why TCM is called the Way of Qi and Huang—the Huangdi Neijing borrows the mouths of Qibo and Huangdi to discuss TCM's way of preserving life and treating disease. Later generations therefore call TCM the Way of Qi and Huang.
Huangdi asked Qibo: I have heard that the people of antiquity all lived to a hundred without declining; people today, past fifty, have all their movements failing. Is this because the times differ, or because people have departed from the health-preserving way of antiquity?
Qibo replied: The people of antiquity, among those who knew the Way, modeled themselves on yin and yang, harmonized themselves with the arts and numbers, ate and drank with restraint, rose and rested with regularity, and did not exert themselves recklessly. Therefore their body and spirit were both intact, and they could complete their natural span, passing away after a hundred years.
Qibo replied: of the people of antiquity, those who knew the way of health preservation modeled themselves on the changes of heaven, earth, yin and yang, harmonized with the arts and numbers, ate and drank with restraint, rose and rested with regularity, and did not overexert themselves. Therefore body and spirit both remained in intact health, and they could live out their hundred years.
The people of today are not so. They take wine as water, take recklessness as the norm, enter the bedchamber drunk, exhaust their essence through desire, dissipate their true qi through cravings, do not know how to maintain fullness, do not attend to their spirit in time, and hasten the pleasure of their hearts, acting contrary to the joy of life, rising and resting without regularity. Therefore at fifty they are declining.
Qibo further explained: people today are different. They drink wine and abuse their bodies; recklessness has become habit; they enter the bedchamber drunk for indulgence, exhausting their essence and dissipating their true qi, not knowing the importance of maintaining fullness of spirit. To seek sensory stimulation and pleasure, they do not hesitate to violate the way of health preservation; their rising and resting are irregular, so past fifty they decline.
The sages of antiquity taught the people, speaking of deficiency-evil and thievish wind to be avoided in season, of calm emptiness so that true qi follows, and of spirit kept inwardly guarded—how could illness ever come?
The sages of antiquity taught the people to understand how to avoid deficiency-evil and thievish wind; if one does not avoid them, one easily falls ill. In mindset one should be calm and empty, so that true qi flows harmoniously and spirit is kept inwardly guarded without leaking; when a person's resistance is strong and one actively avoids pathogenic causes, disease will not come knocking.
Therefore the will was relaxed and desires few, the heart at peace and without fear, the body worked without becoming weary, qi flowed and was smooth, each following its desires and all obtaining what they wished. Therefore they were content with their food, pleased with their clothing, happy in their customs, and did not envy one another's station; their people were called simple.
So the ancients had relaxed minds and few desires, hearts at peace and without fear; they labored moderately but did not become over-wearied, true qi flowed smoothly, and their basic survival desires and wishes were met. Living a basically adequate life, they felt they ate well, dressed casually, and were content. There was no envy between them, so the folkways were simple.
Therefore desires could not weary their eyes, licentiousness could not bewitch their hearts, the foolish, the wise, the worthy, and the unworthy all feared no thing, and thus they were in accord with the Way. The reason they could all pass a hundred years without their movements declining was that their virtue was whole and they were free from danger.
So all sorts of cravings and desires could not weary their eyes and ears, licentiousness could not bewitch their hearts. Whether clever or clumsy, worthy or ordinary, all were free of fear toward any thing, living with a sense of security, so their way of life was in accord with the way of health preservation. That people could pass a hundred years without declining was because their virtue was intact, so the harm of illness did not befall them.
Commentary on this section:
As I said earlier, the Huangdi Neijing idealized the lifestyle of antiquity. There are many causes of human disease outbreaks, but the ancients attributed the causes too simply.
Many infectious diseases, once they break out on a large scale in a population, cause mass death; this is certainly not something avoidable by a "relaxed will and few desires."
Nor can some genetically caused diseases be avoided by this bit of health preservation. If everyone had a "relaxed will and few desires," social development would be hindered and technological progress would be difficult. Then many disease problems that could not be solved in the past would still be unsolved today.
But setting these aside, we still must admit that a person who minimizes the pursuit of material things and money, avoids a life of indulgence, and avoids overexertion can maximize his own physical and mental health.
There are many natural or external factors that are objective conditions we cannot change for now, but some factors that allow us to live more healthily depend on our own attitude toward life. Therefore the attitude toward life and lifestyle advocated by the Huangdi Neijing has a certain merit.
5. Section-by-section interpretation: Second section
The Emperor said: When a person grows old and has no child, is it that his strength is exhausted, or that it is his natural lot?
Huangdi asked Qibo: when a person is old and cannot bear children, is it because his energy is exhausted, or because of the limits of his natural endowment?
Qibo said: At seven years, a girl's kidney qi flourishes, her teeth change and her hair grows. At fourteen, tiangui arrives, the Ren vessel is unblocked, the Tai Chong vessel flourishes, and menstruation comes on schedule, so she can bear children. At twenty-one, kidney qi is balanced, so the wisdom teeth grow and growth reaches its peak. At twenty-eight, the sinews and bones are firm, hair reaches its longest, and the body is strong. At thirty-five, the Yangming vessels decline, the face begins to wither, and hair begins to fall. At forty-two, the three yang vessels decline above, the face is all withered, and hair turns white. At forty-nine, the Ren vessel is depleted, the Tai Chong vessel declines and weakens, tiangui is exhausted, and the earth pathway is blocked, so the body is ruined and she bears no child.At eight years, a boy's kidney qi is replete, hair grows and teeth change. At sixteen, kidney qi flourishes, tiangui arrives, essence overflows and is discharged, yin and yang are harmonized, so he can father children. At twenty-four, kidney qi is balanced, sinews and bones are strong, so wisdom teeth grow and growth reaches its peak. At thirty-two, sinews and bones are robust, muscles full and strong. At forty, kidney qi declines, hair falls and teeth wither. At forty-eight, yang qi is exhausted above, the face is withered, and hair at the temples turns white. At fifty-six, liver qi declines, sinews cannot move; at sixty-four, tiangui is exhausted, essence is sparse, the kidney declines, and the body reaches its limit. Then teeth and hair fall away. The kidney governs water; it receives and stores the essence of the five zang and six fu, so when the five zang flourish, it can discharge. Now the five zang are all in decline, sinews and bones slacken and fall, tiangui is spent, so hair at the temples is white, the body is heavy, the gait is unsteady, and there is no child.
Qibo's answer explains the normal process of human aging.
Here I would like to insert a comment. Many of the patients I have encountered, especially middle-aged people just experiencing a gradual decline in their bodies, have not yet adapted to natural human aging, so they are deeply anxious about the decline of their various bodily functions, using all kinds of methods to treat and preserve themselves, with results that backfire.
A person's physical and mental growth should be coordinated. When things reach their peak they must decline; when the moon is full it must wane. When the body reaches a certain age, aging is inevitable. Hair falling and the complexion yellowing are normal natural phenomena. Do not take these too much to heart; adjusting one's mindset and not fussing over oneself is the best way to slow aging.
Qibo summarized the rules of rise and decline in men's and women's bodies separately. Women go through a stage every seven years; men, every eight years. Women seem to age faster than men, which matches our intuitive judgment: men indeed do look to age more slowly than women.
But in fact, women's average life expectancy is higher than men's. This has something to do with the different social division of labor between women and men. Women are under less pressure than men, and women care more about health issues than men; various reasons determine that women live longer than men.
At seven years, a girl's kidney qi flourishes; she begins to lose her baby teeth and her hair grows lusher. Teeth and hair are the bodily signs of kidney qi. Unlike modern medicine, traditional TCM lacks modern diagnostic equipment, so it developed a diagnostic system of "observing the exterior to know the interior." TCM holds that the kidney's bloom is in the hair and that teeth are the surplus of the kidney; therefore, from the growth and decline of a person's teeth and hair, one can see the rise and fall of kidney qi.
At fourteen, a girl's tiangui arrives. Tiangui refers to the sex hormones closely related to reproduction—in women, estrogen; in men, androgen. At fourteen, sex hormones begin to be secreted, the Ren vessel is unblocked, the Tai Chong vessel flourishes, and "menstruation comes on schedule," so she can bear children.
At twenty-one, a woman's kidney qi is full, her wisdom teeth grow, and her body reaches great vigor. At twenty-eight, the body reaches the peak of growth, with firm sinews and bones and luxuriant hair.
But past twenty-eight, at thirty-five, a woman's body begins to turn from prosperity to decline. Aging starts with the Yangming vessels: the face begins to wither and hair begins to fall. Many women indeed begin at this age to develop a sallow complexion and heavy hair loss.
At forty-two, the three yang vessels all begin to decline, so the whole face withers and hair turns white. At forty-nine, the Ren vessel is empty, the Tai Chong vessel weakens, tiangui is exhausted, and menstruation ceases; the woman enters menopause and gradually can no longer bear children.
For men, at eight years kidney qi is replete, hair grows and teeth change. At sixteen, kidney qi flourishes, tiangui arrives, essence is full and can be discharged; when male and female unite, they can reproduce. At twenty-four, kidney qi is full, sinews and bones are strong, wisdom teeth grow, and the body reaches its peak. At thirty-two, a man's body develops to its sturdiest.
At forty, a man's kidney qi declines, hair falls and teeth wither. At forty-eight, yang qi is exhausted, the complexion withers, and the temples turn gray. At fifty-six, liver qi declines, the meridians become inconvenient, tiangui is exhausted, essence wanes, and kidney qi declines further, so the body is much worse than before. At sixty-four, he enters old age: teeth fall and hair sheds.
TCM holds that the kidney is the organ governing water; in the five-element theory, the kidney governs water and receives and stores the essence of the five zang and six fu, so only when the five zang flourish can the kidney discharge essence. Now, in old age, the five zang are all in decline, sinews and bones are no longer firm, and tiangui is spent; therefore the temples are gray, the body is heavy, the gait is unsteady, and one can no longer beget children.
This summary of the laws of human development and reproductive function is basically on target. Of course, we modern people may age slightly more slowly than this, and our life expectancy is longer than the ancients'. In the past it was said that seventy years of life were rare since antiquity; now many people over seventy are in very good condition.
But this summary accords with the natural growth and decline of most people. People should have an attitude of acceptance toward their own aging. Some time ago I read that some wealthy Chinese went abroad to take injections said to delay aging, and a death resulted.
From antiquity to the present, there have been many who sought immortality; many hoped, through various exercises or drugs, to extend their lives and delay aging, only to die prematurely. Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Yongzheng all did such things.
There were also practitioners of the Way who, through cultivating inner and outer alchemical elixirs to delay aging, took medicines containing lead and mercury. Reading Su Shi's works, I saw that Su Shi's brother Su Zhe could be called an expert in this; several of Su Shi's monk and Taoist friends were also cultivating inner and outer elixirs to extend life, only to die suddenly of illness. From his own experience, Su Shi understood that a person's longevity or early death is actually not determined by such health-preserving methods.
By and large, I myself endorse the health-preserving way in the first section above. Of course, the way of health preservation in the Huangdi Neijing is more than this; this is only a general outline. Over the long term, I have perhaps achieved a "relaxed will and few desires," being maximally uncontending with the world and without grievance toward others; therefore my aging appears slower than that of many people my age. I have not taken any health-preserving drugs.
Only by accepting one's own aging can one pass through each stage of life with a calm mind. Only by reducing the depletion of one's spirit and energy can one maximally extend one's life. Beyond this, there is really no more harmless method.
I barely care about Western blood-test results, because the reference standards are the same at any age, but in reality how can a person who is day by day growing old be compared with a young person? At each physical exam, as long as there is no fatal blood abnormality, no matter how many abnormal values there are, I do not care. But many of my patients, seeing one abnormal item in their blood work, treat it as a major enemy—it is truly lamentable.
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