The Highest Good Is Like Water: The Nourishing Virtue of Yushui and How Heaven-One Begets Water
This article offers a deep reading of Yushui (Rain Water) among the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, drawing on pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, etymology, and astronomical phenology. Through an examination of the original meanings of the characters "雨" (rain) and "水" (water), the astronomical positioning of the sun at 330° of celestial longitude, and the three phenological signs of the term, combined with Laozi's teaching that 'the highest good is like water,' Guanzi's view of water as the origin of all things, and the Book of Changes' vision of Heaven-One begetting water and clouds moving to bring forth rain, the essay reveals the virtue of water and the meaning—between Heaven and humanity—of spring rain nourishing all things.
Chapter 11 Cultivation of Body and Mind: The Way of Nurturing Life During the Yushui Season
1. Spring Qi's Germination and the General Principles of Nurturing Life
Nurturing life during the Yushui solar term is rooted in the pre-Qin holistic view of "the unity of Heaven and humanity"—humans are part of Heaven and Earth, and the rhythm of human body and mind ought to remain in step with the rhythm of Heaven and Earth. During the Yushui season, the character of the qi of Heaven and Earth is "the germination of Wood qi, the gradual flourishing of yang qi, and water nourishing all things"; human self-cultivation, likewise, ought to accord with this character.
Although the "Great Treatise on Regulating the Spirit in Accordance with the Four Seasons" chapter of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon (Huangdi Neijing) is a later medical text, its thought directly continues the pre-Qin tradition of "nurturing life through the four seasons," and offers a penetrating discussion of spring self-cultivation: "The three months of spring are called 'issuing forth the old.' Heaven and Earth together generate life, and the ten thousand things flourish. Retire a little later and rise earlier; walk leisurely about the courtyard; let the hair hang loose and the body relax, so as to let the will be roused into life. Give life, do not kill; bestow, do not seize; reward, do not punish—this is what accords with the qi of spring, and is the Way of nurturing life."
Let us appreciate how this passage accords with the Yushui solar term. "Issuing forth the old"—clearing out the old to bring forth the new, all things bursting into fresh life out of winter's staleness. "Heaven and Earth together generate life, and the ten thousand things flourish"—both Heaven and Earth are generating life, and all things are flourishing. This is exactly the scene of spring rain rousing all things into being during the Yushui season. "Retire a little later and rise earlier; walk leisurely about the courtyard"—go to sleep a bit later, rise a bit earlier, and stroll leisurely in the courtyard. "Let the hair hang loose and the body relax"—let the hair hang loose and the body relax, allowing the body to enter a state of stretching and ease. "So as to let the will be roused into life"—so as to let the vital force of one's inner will germinate. The core of all these methods of nurturing life lies in "according with spring's germination"—letting body and mind unfurl, germinate, and brim with vitality, just like the plants and trees of the Yushui season.
Especially worth noting is "give life, do not kill; bestow, do not seize; reward, do not punish"—this accords perfectly with the spirit of governance for the first month of spring set out in the "Monthly Ordinances" of the Book of Rites. In this season of spring's germination, whether in governing the state or nurturing one's own life, one ought to make "giving life," "bestowing," and "rewarding" one's task, and avoid "killing," "seizing," and "punishing." The Way of nurturing life lies precisely in letting one's body and mind accord with Heaven and Earth's "virtue of loving life"—during this Yushui season when all things revive, maintaining a mindset of germination, giving, and generosity, and not allowing emotions of severity, depression, or harshness to injure the vitality now germinating within.
2. Water and the Kidneys: The Correspondence of the Virtue of Water Within the Human Body
In the correspondence of the viscera in Chinese medicine (whose theory is rooted in pre-Qin yin-yang and Five Phases thought), water corresponds to the kidneys. The kidneys are regarded as "the root of one's congenital constitution," the source of the body's vital force, governing the storage of essence and the metabolism of bodily fluids. The Yushui solar term, as the season when the virtue of water is active, bears an intrinsic connection to the care of the kidneys.
Why does water correspond to the kidneys, and why are the kidneys "the root of one's congenital constitution"$3 This resonates deeply with the notion of "Heaven-One begets water." Water is the beginning of the ten thousand things (Heaven-One begets water); the kidneys are the beginning of the human body (the root of one's congenital constitution)—the two correspond perfectly in the sense of "origin" and "beginning." The kidneys store essence, and essence is the primordial substance of life; water is the origin of the ten thousand things—the kidneys are to the human body exactly what water is to Heaven and Earth. Thus, nurturing the kidneys is, in essence, tending to that "Heaven-One-begotten" origin of life within the human body.
How, then, should one nurture the kidneys during the Yushui season$4 The key lies in grasping the Yushui characteristic of "the virtue of water transitioning into the qi of wood." During the Yushui season, kidney water (the essential qi stored through winter) begins transforming into liver wood (spring's germinating power), just as, in nature, winter's water transforms into spring's wood. Self-cultivation at this time must both continue to guard kidney water (not excessively dissipating the essential qi stored through winter) and accord with the germination of liver wood (keeping the mood at ease and the flow of qi unobstructed). In other words, nurturing life during Yushui is a practice that "attends to both water and wood"—both guarding the origin of life (kidney water) and according with the germination of life (liver wood). This balance corresponds precisely to the essential nature of the Yushui solar term: "the handover between winter's water and spring's wood."
3. Regulating and Harmonizing the Emotions: According with Spring's "Generation"
Nurturing life during the Yushui season places particular emphasis on regulating and harmonizing the emotions. As discussed earlier, spring belongs to Wood, and in the correspondence of the five viscera (according to Chinese medical theory), the liver belongs to Wood, governing the free flow of qi and governing the emotions. The germination of Wood qi during the Yushui season corresponds, in the human being, to the germination and free flow of the emotions and the movement of qi.
Why is the regulation and harmony of the emotions so important in spring$5 Because the nature of Wood qi is "to germinate" and "to flow freely"—it needs to stretch out, needs to flow unobstructed, and above all fears "stagnation." If, in spring, one's emotions become stagnant and the flow of qi is obstructed, this runs counter to Wood qi's nature of "flowing freely," and will "injure the liver," leading to all manner of disorders of body and mind. Thus, nurturing life during Yushui requires keeping the mood relaxed, cheerful, and generous, letting the "vitality" within one's heart germinate and unfurl freely, like the plants and trees of the Yushui season, and not allowing "stagnant" emotions such as worry, anger, or depression to obstruct the germination of vitality.
This wisdom of "regulating and harmonizing the emotions" resonates deeply with the Confucian effort of self-cultivation. As discussed earlier, Master Zeng "examined himself three times daily"—this continuous work of self-reflection and cultivation has different emphases in different seasons. In this season of spring's germination, Yushui, the focus of cultivation lies in "nurturing the germinating impulse"—cultivating the sprouts of goodness and vitality within one's heart, letting them germinate and grow like the plants and trees of spring rain. Master Meng says: "Given proper nourishment, there is nothing that will not grow; deprived of proper nourishment, there is nothing that will not perish" (Mencius, "Gaozi, Part 1"). Given proper care, nothing fails to grow; deprived of it, nothing fails to wither. The Yushui season is precisely the crucial season for "receiving proper nourishment"—whether nourishing the body's vitality or nourishing the heart's sprouts of goodness, one ought to accord with this season of germination for all things, offering full "nourishment," so that the impulse of life may germinate and grow.
4. The State of Self-Cultivation Embodied in "The Highest Good Is Like Water"
Nurturing life during the Yushui solar term can, in the end, be summed up as a state of self-cultivation that takes water as its teacher. We have already discussed at length Laozi's teaching of "the highest good is like water"; here let us translate it into concrete practices of self-cultivation.
Taking water as one's teacher, one must first learn water's "softness." Water, utterly soft, is able to overcome the hard and strong; utterly weak, is able to gallop through the utmost hardness. If the practitioner of self-cultivation can learn water's softness—keeping the body soft and unfurled (as in "letting the hair hang loose and the body relax"), keeping the mind gentle and humble (neither stubborn nor obstinate)—one will be able, like water, to remain unobstructed amid life's various dangers, "moving through danger without losing one's trustworthiness."
Taking water as one's teacher, one must also learn water's "stillness." When water is still, it can reflect Heaven, Earth, and the ten thousand things, down to the finest detail. The "Way of Heaven" chapter of the Zhuangzi says: "When water is still, it illuminates the beard and eyebrows clearly; its level surface serves as a standard, which the master craftsman takes as his model. If water, when still, is so clear—how much more so the spirit$6" Water, when still, is clear enough to reflect one's beard and eyebrows, and its level surface is what the craftsman takes as his standard. If water, when still, can be so clear, how much more so the human spirit$7 If the practitioner of self-cultivation can let the heart become as calm and still as motionless water, one can attain the clearest reflection and the most profound wisdom. Though the Yushui season is a season when water flows once more, flowing water also has its aspect of "the abyss" (deep pools)—Laozi's teaching, "in mind, excel through depth," is precisely meant to urge the practitioner of self-cultivation to maintain inner calm and depth even amid germination.
Taking water as one's teacher, one must, in the end, learn water's "not contending." Water excels in benefiting the ten thousand things without contending, and dwells in the places that people disdain. If the practitioner of self-cultivation can learn water's non-contention—simply giving, nourishing, and bringing things to completion silently, without contending for credit, fame, or gain—one can attain the state of "it is only because one does not contend that one is without fault," and can endure together with Heaven and Earth. During the Yushui season, when we see the spring rain silently nourish the earth, bring all things to completion, and then withdraw in silence, we receive the most profound teaching on self-cultivation that water offers us: the highest good is like water, benefiting all things without contention. This is the highest state to which the Yushui solar term points, on the level of the cultivation of body and mind.