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#Guiguzi #Enriching the Spirit by Emulating the Five Dragons #Pre-Qin Philosophy #Daoist Thought #Scholarly Textual Research
An In-Depth Interpretation and Pre-Qin Scholarly Inquiry into 'Enriching the Spirit by Emulating the Five Dragons' from the Guiguzi
This article focuses on the opening chapter of the Guiguzi, 'Enriching the Spirit by Emulating the Five Dragons' (Sheng Shen Fa Wu Long), offering exegesis and critical analysis of the original text from a Pre-Qin perspective, drawing upon texts no later than the two Han dynasties. It explores the meaning of 'enriching the spirit,' the cosmogony of Dao and Qi, the distinction between the True Person and the Sage, and the inner connections among method, spirit, mind, and vital breath, aiming to reveal this chapter's scholarly value as the programmatic foundation of the entire Guiguzi.
Works Cited
- The Laozi (also known as the Daodejing)
- The Zhuangzi
- The Zhouyi (including the Yijing proper and the Commentaries -- the Xici, Tuan, Xiang, etc.)
- The Guanzi (especially the four chapters: "Inner Training," "Art of the Mind Part 1," "Art of the Mind Part 2," and "The White Mind")
- The Zuo Zhuan
- The Guoyu
- The Shangshu
- The Shijing
- The Mozi
- The Mengzi (Mencius)
- The Xunzi
- The Lushi Chunqiu
- The Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States)
- The Sunzi Bingfa (Art of War)
- The Guiguzi
- The Huangdi Neijing (the Pre-Qin portions of the Suwen and Lingshu)
- The Shuowen Jiezi (by Xu Shen)
- The Hanshu Yiwenzhi (Bibliographic Treatise of the History of the Former Han)
- The Guodian bamboo slips: "The Grand One Generates Water" (Taiyi Sheng Shui)