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.
Part Four: The Theory of Qi -- Nourishing the Five Qi and Pre-Qin Traditions of Qi Cultivation
Chapter 1: Pre-Qin Traditions of Qi Cultivation
1. The Origins of Qi Cultivation
The tradition of cultivating Qi is very ancient. The Guanzi's "Four Seasons" says: "Therefore Yin and Yang are the great principle of Heaven and Earth. The four seasons are the great warp of Yin and Yang." Since human Qi communicates with the Qi of Heaven and Earth, nourishing one's Qi should accord with the rhythms of Heaven and Earth.
2. The Qi Cultivation Methods of the Guanzi's "Inner Training"
The Guanzi's "Inner Training" is the Pre-Qin masterwork on Qi cultivation. Its essentials include:
(1) Rectifying the body to nourish Qi: Uprightness and equilibrium form the basis. Emotions that disrupt equilibrium -- joy, anger, worry, anxiety -- must be moderated through poetry, music, ritual, reverence, and stillness. Internal stillness and external reverence lead to the great settling of one's nature, whereupon Qi flows harmoniously.
(2) Emptying the mind to welcome Qi: "This Qi cannot be halted by force, but can be pacified by Virtue; cannot be summoned by voice, but can be welcomed by intention." The method of Qi cultivation lies in mental guidance, not physical coercion.
(3) Eliminating desires to preserve Qi: "The mind's form naturally fills and completes itself. What causes it to be lost must be worry, pleasure, joy, anger, desire, and profit." Eliminate these six harms, and the mind recovers; Qi fills of itself.
(4) Single-minded focus to gather Qi: "Hold fast to the One and never lose it, and you can be sovereign over the myriad things."
3. Master Zhuang's View of Qi Cultivation
Though Master Zhuang does not take "Qi cultivation" as an explicit topic, his thought touches on it everywhere.
The Zhuangzi, "In the World of Humans" (Ren Jian Shi): "Qi is that which is empty and awaits things. Only the Dao gathers in emptiness. Emptiness -- that is the fasting of the mind (xinzhai)."
When Yan Hui asked the Master (Confucius) how to conduct himself in the world, the Master taught him "fasting of the mind." The fasting of the mind means making the mind empty like a void, empty and awaiting things. The nature of Qi is precisely emptiness; emptiness can accommodate all things. This is the core of Master Zhuang's Qi cultivation -- emptiness.
Emptiness differs from the Guanzi's stillness. Stillness is the cessation of agitation; emptiness is the clearing of content. A still mind is like motionless water; an empty mind is like a vacant valley. Still water can reflect; a vacant valley can contain.
4. Guiguzi's Method of Qi Cultivation
Guiguzi's statements on Qi cultivation: "Through Virtue the Five Qi are nourished," "the Five Qi receive nourishment," "stillness and harmony nourish Qi; nourishing Qi attains harmony."
In summary:
Nourish Qi through Virtue. Virtue is the foundation of Qi nourishment. Without Virtue, Qi scatters; with Virtue, Qi gathers.
Nourish Qi through stillness and harmony. Stillness and harmony are the essentials. Stillness avoids agitation; harmony avoids imbalance.
The essential task is to lodge the spirit. The key to Qi nourishment lies in causing spirit to dwell peacefully in its abode (the mind). When spirit is at peace, Qi is harmonious; when spirit is agitated, Qi scatters. This is Guiguzi's distinctive contribution -- not nourishing Qi directly, but nourishing it through settling spirit.
The three methods compared by analogy:
- The Guanzi: like a herder guiding sheep into the fold (welcoming Qi with intention).
- Master Zhuang: like an empty valley naturally gathering wind (emptying the mind to accommodate Qi).
- Guiguzi: like a wise ruler bringing stability so that the people naturally find peace (settling spirit so that Qi naturally harmonizes).
Guiguzi's method is the most indirect and the most fundamental of the three.
Chapter 2: "Through Virtue the Five Qi Are Nourished": The Relationship Between Virtue and Qi
The Pre-Qin concept of "Virtue" (De) evolved through several stages: from the bestowal of Heaven (high antiquity), to revering virtue and protecting the people (Western Zhou), to the Laozi's understanding of Virtue as what is "attained" from the Dao, to the Guanzi's view of Virtue as the dwelling of the Dao.
Guiguzi says: "Virtue is what makes them great." Virtue enables spirit to become expansive. Why$9 Because Virtue is the nurturing function of the Dao. Spirit issues from the Dao; Virtue nurtures spirit; hence spirit can be great. Without Virtue there is no nurturing, and spirit, though present, cannot achieve greatness.
Chapter 3: "Stillness and Harmony Nourish Qi": The Way of Stillness and Harmony
The Laozi, Chapter 16: "Attain the utmost emptiness; maintain utter stillness. The myriad things flourish, and I observe their return. Things in all their multitude -- each returns to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness; stillness is called returning to one's mandate. Returning to one's mandate is called the constant; knowing the constant is called illumination."
Guiguzi combines "stillness" and "harmony":
"Stillness and harmony nourish Qi" -- use stillness and harmony to nourish Qi. "Nourishing Qi attains harmony" -- the result of nourishing Qi is the state of harmony.
Here there is a cycle: use harmony to nourish Qi, and the nourished Qi achieves harmony. Harmony is both the method and the result. This is because "harmony" operates on two levels:
First level: harmony as method. Actively adjusting the imbalances of the Five Qi to bring them into equilibrium.
Second level: harmony as result. The natural harmonious state that appears after the Five Qi are properly adjusted.
Stillness is the prerequisite for harmony. Without stillness, harmony cannot be achieved. In the midst of agitation, how can one adjust the Five Qi$10 One must first become still, then harmonize.
Chapter 4: "Nourishing Qi Attains Harmony" and the Pre-Qin Vision of Harmony
The Pre-Qin understanding of harmony finds expression in Heaven and Earth ("preserving and uniting the Great Harmony" from the Qian hexagram), in music (the mutual complementing of different tones), and in politics ("bringing harmony to the myriad states" from the Shangshu).
Guiguzi's art of the Vertical and Horizontal, at its highest aim, also seeks harmony -- the harmonization of relations among the feudal lords to bring peace to the world. Though the Vertical and Horizontal strategists are often seen as provocateurs of conflict, the root of their scholarship is in fact directed toward "harmony."
"Enriching the Spirit by Emulating the Five Dragons" and its discussion of "nourishing Qi to attain harmony" is precisely the internal foundation of the art of the Vertical and Horizontal. Only when the strategist's own Five Qi are in harmony can he harmonize the Qi of the world.