Chapter 12: Lichun and the Cultivation of Body and Mind: The Pre-Qin Way of "Spring Regimen"

I. The Huangdi Neijing on "The Three Months of Spring": Nurturing Emergence and Generative Growth

Although the cultivational way of Lichun is rooted in pre-Qin conceptions of Heaven and humanity, the most systematic statement concerning the specific practice of "spring regimen" is found in the "Great Treatise on Cultivating the Spirit in Accordance with the Four Seasons" (四气调神大论) of the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), "Basic Questions" (Suwen). Its discussion of "the three months of spring" states:

"The three months of spring are called emergence and unfolding. Heaven and Earth together generate life, and the myriad things thereby flourish. One should retire late and rise early, walk broadly about the courtyard, let the hair hang loose and relax the body, so as to let the will be generated. Give life, do not kill; give, do not seize; reward, do not punish—this is the response to spring's qi, the way of nurturing life. To go against it injures the liver, and brings on cold-related disorders in summer, leaving little with which to support summer's growth" (春三月，此谓发陈。天地俱生，万物以荣。夜卧早起，广步于庭，被发缓形，以使志生。生而勿杀，予而勿夺，赏而勿罚，此春气之应，养生之道也。逆之则伤肝，夏为寒变，奉长者少).

This passage is the general guiding principle for the regimen of Lichun, and indeed of the entire spring season; every phrase deserves careful contemplation. "This is called emergence and unfolding"—the essential nature of spring is "emergence and unfolding" (发陈), that is, casting off the old to bring forth the new, dispersing what has accumulated, generating new vitality. This is precisely the correspondence, within the regimen of health, of Lichun's quality of "sprouting," "generating," "stirring." "Heaven and Earth together generate life, and the myriad things thereby flourish"—the qi of Heaven and Earth is together generating life, and the myriad things thereby flourish. As one thing among Heaven and Earth, humanity too ought to accord with this trend of "generating together."

II. "Retire Late and Rise Early, Walk Broadly about the Courtyard": Adjusting Daily Routine to the Season

"Retire late and rise early, walk broadly about the courtyard, let the hair hang loose and relax the body"—this is the concrete guidance for daily routine at the season of Lichun. "Retire late and rise early" means that in spring one may go to sleep somewhat later than in winter, while rising somewhat earlier. Why$18 Because in spring the days gradually lengthen and the nights gradually shorten, and yang qi is generating and growing; a person ought to accord with this trend of yang waxing and yin waning, reducing the time spent in sleep (belonging to yin, to stillness) and increasing the time spent in activity (belonging to yang, to movement). This forms a precise contrast with winter's regimen of "retiring early and rising late, always waiting for sunlight" (also from the "Great Treatise on Cultivating the Spirit")—winter governs storage, hence one ought to sleep more; spring governs generation, hence one ought to rise early.

"Walk broadly about the courtyard" means strolling leisurely within the courtyard. In spring, as yang qi generates and grows and all things unfold, a person too ought to go outdoors often to stretch the body and exercise the sinews, allowing their own vitality to expand along with the generative qi of Heaven and Earth. "Let the hair hang loose and relax the body" means letting one's hair fall freely and relaxing one's physical form, avoiding any binding or constraint. This is an extremely symbolic piece of guidance: spring is the season of "unfolding" and "reaching through" (Wood's nature being to reach through), and a person's body and mind ought likewise to relax, unfold, and cast off restraint. In winter, the human body curls inward, drawing in to guard against the cold (belonging to storage); in spring, one ought instead to unfold and relax in response to generation and growth. "Letting the hair hang loose and relaxing the body" is precisely a matter of adopting the most unfolded, most unrestrained bodily posture, in resonance with the generative qi of Heaven and Earth.

III. "So as to Let the Will Be Generated": The Spring Nurture of Spirit and Temperament

Just as the body's daily routine ought to accord with spring's generation, so too ought one's spirit and temperament accord with spring's generation—this is precisely "so as to let the will be generated" (以使志生). "Will" (志) refers to a person's intent, temperament, and spirit. "So as to let the will be generated" means that one's will and spirit ought likewise to "generate and grow" along with spring—maintaining a positive, upward, unobstructed, vigorously vital spiritual state.

This accords entirely with the Confucian spirit of "setting one's resolve at Lichun." As discussed earlier—"the plan for the year is made in spring," "at fifteen, I set my heart upon learning"—Lichun is precisely the optimal season for setting one's resolve, awakening one's intent, and rousing one's spirit. From the standpoint of health cultivation, as yang qi generates and grows in spring, a person's spirit too is most fittingly "generated and grown"—it ought to be unobstructed rather than depressed, open rather than closed off, forward-striving rather than despondent. If, in spring, one's spirit instead becomes listless and one's temperament depressed, this is to act "against" spring's qi, harming both body and mind. "So as to let the will be generated" is precisely a matter of letting one's spirit, at the season of Lichun, unfold, generate, and flourish, just as early-spring vegetation does.

IV. "Give Life, Do Not Kill; Give, Do Not Seize; Reward, Do Not Punish": The Fundamental Principle of Spring Nurture

"Give life, do not kill; give, do not seize; reward, do not punish"—these nine characters are the fundamental principle of spring health cultivation (and equally, of spring governance), according entirely, in spirit, with the "Monthly Ordinances"' prohibition of "the felling of trees" and "killing unborn insects" in the first month of spring, as well as its injunctions to "dispense favors and grant beneficence" and to refrain from "raising arms." "Give life, do not kill" means to accord with vital qi and refrain from acts of slaughter; "give, do not seize" means to bestow generously and refrain from plunder; "reward, do not punish" means to reward generously and refrain from punishment.

Why does the principle of spring health cultivation accord so closely with the principle of spring governance$19 This precisely embodies the profound insight, within Chinese thought on "the unity of Heaven and humanity," that "nurturing life" and "governing the state" share the same origin and the same principle. Whether nurturing the life of a single body or nurturing the life of all under Heaven, the underlying principle is the same—one must accord with spring's vital qi, using the expansive virtues of "giving life," "giving," and "rewarding" to protect and cultivate that newly sprouting vitality, while strictly avoiding the stern, killing qi of "slaughter," "seizure," and "punishment," which would crush and injure this precious vitality. At the season of Lichun, when vital qi has only just sprouted and is at its most fragile, whether in caring for one's own body and mind or in caring for all the people under Heaven, one ought to bring to bear the greatest generosity, the deepest care, in order to bring this "generation" to fruition—this is precisely the deepest spiritual core shared by both the way of health cultivation and the way of governance at Lichun.

V. "To Go against It Injures the Liver": The Cost of Violating Spring's Qi and the Way of the Mean and Harmony

The "Great Treatise on Cultivating the Spirit" warns: "To go against it injures the liver, and brings on cold-related disorders in summer, leaving little with which to support summer's growth" (逆之则伤肝，夏为寒变，奉长者少). If one goes against the generative way of spring (for instance, suppressing oneself when one ought to unfold, or acting with stern severity when one ought to generate and grow), this will injure the liver (in the Five-Phase correlation of later medical tradition, the liver belongs to Wood, corresponding to spring), and by the time summer arrives, this will trigger illnesses of "cold-related disorder," leaving insufficient vitality to support summer's "growth and nurture."

The logic of this warning is of a piece with the logic of the "Monthly Ordinances"' warning that "if autumn's ordinances are enacted in the first month of spring, the people will suffer a great pestilence"—both state that acting against the qi presiding over the season (spring's vital qi) inevitably brings calamity and illness. From the standpoint of health cultivation, this reminds us that the key to spring regimen lies in "according"—according with generation and growth, according with unfolding, according with rising movement—while strictly avoiding "going against"—acting with suppression against generation and growth, acting with restraint against unfolding, acting with repression against rising movement.

Yet "according with generation and growth" does not mean one may indulge and become excited without any restraint whatsoever. Lichun's yin-yang configuration (the Tai hexagram: three yang lines rising while three yin lines still remain) reminds us that, at this moment, although yang qi has been generated, the cold of yin has not yet been fully dispelled, and health cultivation must still attend to "spring layering" (not hastily reducing one's clothing on account of a moment's warmth, so as to guard against the lingering chill of early spring). This is precisely the embodiment, in health cultivation, of the Confucian thought of "the mean and harmony" (中和)—one must both accord with generation and growth (must not suppress it) and moderately protect and preserve oneself (must not indulge without restraint), seeking that precisely fitting balance between "generation and growth" and "protection and preservation." The Doctrine of the Mean of the Book of Rites states: "When the mean and harmony are attained, Heaven and Earth occupy their proper places, and the myriad things are nurtured" (致中和，天地位焉，万物育焉). At the season of Lichun, when Heaven and Earth first interact and the myriad things first begin their nurture, only by holding fast to the way of "the mean and harmony"—according with the generation and growth of Heaven and Earth while not losing sight of one's own care and preservation—can one truly "support" this newly sprouting vitality, so that the generative growth of one's own body aligns with the generative growth of Heaven and Earth, sharing in the same rhythm, flourishing together.

VI. The Nurture of Temperament: The Dialectic between Spring's Correlation with "Anger" and "So as to Let the Will Be Generated"

In the Five-Phase correlations of later medical tradition, spring is correlated not only with the liver (viscus) and with Wood, but also with "anger" (怒) among the Five Emotions. This correlation seems puzzling at first glance—spring is manifestly a season of mild warmth and generative growth, so why should it be correlated with the seemingly negative emotion of "anger"$20 This puzzle leads precisely to a profound dialectic within the cultivation of temperament at Lichun.

To understand "spring's correlation with anger," one must first understand that this "anger" is not that anger. The "anger" in the Five-Phase correlation does not, in its original meaning, refer to the everyday sense of "losing one's temper" or "flaring up," but rather to a kind of emotional energy of "rousing," "expanding," "bursting vigorously upward," "stretching outward"—corresponding to Wood virtue's qualities of "generation and growth," "reaching through," and "ascent." The breaking of vegetation through the soil, the tender shoot pushing against stone, yang qi surging upward against the cold—that irrepressible, vigorously upward-striving force, if compared to an emotion, comes close to this "anger"—a vigorous, rousing burst of vitality. In this sense, "spring's correlation with anger" speaks precisely to that quality of vigorously rousing, upward-bursting energy in spring; it is, at root, one and the same as the spring-nurture principle of "so as to let the will be generated" (letting the will generate and grow)—the "generation" in "the will generated" precisely requires this qi of "anger" (rousing vigor) to drive it forward.

Yet once this "anger" (rousing qi) loses its balance, it transforms into truly harmful "liver fire" and "violent rage." When Wood's virtue reaches through freely, this is "generation"; when Wood's qi becomes stagnant or excessively rebellious, this becomes "illness." If, in spring, one becomes depressed instead of unfolding as one ought, and the generative qi stagnates and fails to flow freely, "liver stagnation" results; if generation and growth become excessive, rebellious and unrestrained, "liver fire blazing upward, violent rage injuring the liver" results. Thus, the nurture of temperament at Lichun rests upon a subtle dialectic: on the one hand, one must accord with spring's "anger" (rousing qi), letting one's temperament generate, flow freely, and rise upward, strictly avoiding depression and suppression (this is precisely "so as to let the will be generated," "give life, do not kill"); on the other hand, one must moderate this "anger," so that it does not become excessive, violent, or stagnant, maintaining that balance of "reaching through without becoming rebellious" (this is precisely the way of "the mean and harmony").

This dialectic accords entirely with the spirit, in Confucian cultivation, of "when the emotions are expressed and all attain due measure, this is called harmony" (发而皆中节谓之和) (Doctrine of the Mean, Book of Rites). The emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure) are not to be left unexpressed—suppression without expression is precisely stagnation, precisely illness; rather, they must be "expressed with due measure"—expressed precisely and fittingly, in proper proportion. The nurture of temperament at Lichun is precisely a matter of letting a person, at this season of generation and growth, allow their vital energy (anger, will) to burst forth vigorously and yet remain measured and proportionate—like early spring's wood, both straining vigorously upward, reaching through and unfolding, and yet not losing its mild, harmonious balance. This is precisely the profound wisdom that Lichun bestows upon humanity concerning "how vital energy may burst forth healthily": true generative growth is neither indulgent excitement nor suppressed stagnation, but rather that unfolding of life which, like spring wood reaching through, strains vigorously upward while yet remaining composed and balanced.