Research On Internal Scene Theory Of"Taozhang"

Taoist religion started collecting its scriptures since Wei and Jin era. Each succeeding dynasty added more to the collection. During the reign of ZhengtongEmperorZhengtongTaozhang was completed, totaling5305scrolls. During the reign of Wanli Emperor, another180scrolls were added to the collection as Wanli Additional Taozhang. ZhengtongTaozhangandWanli Additional Taozhang together are called Taozhang. It is a collection of1476Taoist scriptures, totaling5485scrolls. Taozhang is a collection of Taoist scriptures which contains most Taoist writings before Ming dynasty. Since Chinese medicine classics are also considered as Taoist scriptures, many are also included in the collection. In ancient times medicine and shamanism are inseparable. Since the time of HuangdiNeijing medicine and shamanism officially separated. Taoist religion can be traced back to the ancient immortal and alchemist practices. Taoists seek immortal ity of physical body. Therefore, its theology and medical theory are closely related. Medicine and Taoism both come from the same source and have the same goal. They influence each other. Taoist religion and Neijing both emerge during Han dynasty when Huang-Lao Taoism is the most influential philosophical thinking. They have common philosophical foundation. Since the middle to late Warring States era Huang-Lao Taoism have gradually formulated its theory of Yuan-Qi. During Han dynasty the development of the theory of Yuan-Qi has become mature, becoming the most important element in ancient Chinese thinking. According to the theory, all being come from Tao. Tao is ultimately Qi. Qi maybe classified into two types:yin and yang. It is the interaction of yin and yang Qi that generates all creation. All creation come from one unified Qi and remains part of this unified Qi. The philosophy of life according to Taoist religion is based on the theory of Yuan-Qi. It believes the human life is a three layer structure of body, Qi and spirit. The body is the physical host of life. Spirit is the consciousness exhibited by the living body. Qi is that which linking both together in between. Qi really exist but it is neither spirit nor physical body. Qi is the primordial life force. It can transform into either physical body or spirit. Therefore, in seeking immortality the Taoist religion treasures the cultivation of Qi. Being alive means the spirit dwells within the body. When there is enough Qi the spirit will stay within the body. Enough Qi also elevates the spirit. The heart of the theory of immortality according to the Taoist religion is cultivating Qi, respecting spirit and treasuring Jin (essence). Jin is the most elemental building block of body. Taoist medicine has different methods to treat each layer of life in the prevention of sickness. Qi is always the primary focus. After long period of practice Taoist practitioners have formed their unique view of human physiology. They formulated a theory of internal scene which combines the theory of visceral manifestation of Neijing together with their unique experience. Taozhang contains Iluangting Jing and other Taoist classics associated with it. In this dissertation attempt is made using Huangtingjingseries of Taoist scripture as core material, drawing from all other Taozhang sources to re-construct the Taoist internal scene theory. The Taoist internal scene theory is consistent with visceral manifestation theory of Neijing, at the same time having contents that are missing or not described in detail in Neijing. These includes:A body spirit system having five visceral organ as center, with the three Dantian as axisHuangting Jing states that all physical organs are inhabited by the spirits. When the spirits leave the man dies. Taoist religion considers food abstinence for Qi cultivation an important practice. Therefore, the digestive tracts are no longer important. Their functions are include in the corresponding five visceral organs. Their viscera theory only speaks about the five visceral organs and the gallbladder. The concept of body spirit is used instead of visceral manifestation. However, its description of the body spirits is basically in line with visceral manifestation of Neijing. There are some small differences. For example, advocating food abstinence means digestive tracts become irrelevant. Therefore, the way it describes Three Burner system is different from that of traditional Chinese medicine. Huangting Jing and other Taoist scriptures do not just consider the five viscera as the center. Taoist religion thinks there are three energy centers in the human body, namely, the upper, middle and lower Dantian.The brain as master of consciousness and the heart to rule over five visceraThe internal scene theory of Huangting Jing considers the brain spirit as most dignified. Brain spirit Niwan is the king of all spirits. Brain spirit directly commands hair, eys, nose, ear, tongue and tooth spirits in the head. The description of the spirits in the head includes vision, odor, sound and taste functions together with breathing and saliva swallowing function. Huangting Jing personifies these functions as the spirits, and then states that they are all controlled by the brain spirit Niwan. This actually reflects the physiology of all sense perceptions being controlled by the central nervous system of the brain. Huangting Jing and other Taoist scriptures even describe the brain as having nine compartments. The description of brain spirit being the king of all spirits is a way of saying that the brain controls all physiological functions of the body. While emphasizing the brain as master of consciousness, at the same time Huangting Jing considers the heart as master of the five viscera. Heart is what carries out the governance of the physiological functions of the five viscera. Therefore, the brain spirit is most dignified, being the king of all spirits, but the heart spirit commands the functioning of five viscera. The brain spirit is serene, while the heart is active. The brain spirit is in a state of wuweiwhile the heart spirit is in a state of yuwei. The brain spirit relies on the heart spirit to do its bidding. This theory of brain-heart relationship is never noticed until after Ming dynasty. At that time some doctors began to propose the theory of "brain as the master of consciousness".Dantian as the virtual energy center without being associated with any particular physical organTaoist religion considers YuanQi as the primordial life force. Both body and spirit are generated from YuanQi. Dantian is the center where YuanQi concentrates. Upper Dantian is in the brain where the brain spirit inhabits. It is the storage of Shen. Middle Dantian is in the heart which is the storage of Qi. Lower Dantian is below the belly which is the storage of Jin. Upper Dantian is responsible for consciousness. Middle Dantian is responsible for the sufficiency of Qi and blood. Lower Dantian is responsible for the strength or weakness of the viscera. In order for man to achieve longevity it is essential to ensure unobstructed flow of Qi among the three Dantian. The purpose of Taoist practice is to boost up Qi in the Dantian.Mingmeng as the gateway of Qi and SpiritHuangting Jing frequently mentions Mingmeng. However, its location is inconsistent. It does not refer to any particular viscus or organ. It is the gateway through which YuanQi enters and exits. YuanQi is the source of life. That is why it is called the Mingmeng(Gate of Life). Different viscus may have its own Mingmeng. The more frequently occurringMingmeng in Huangting Jing is the nose and the navel. The navel is the Mingmeng of innate Jin and Qi. The nose is Mingmeng of Qi after birth. Lower Dantian is the storage of Jin. Therefore the navel is the Mingmeng of lower Dantian. This is different from that of the Nanjing. The lower Dantian with the navel as its Mingmeng diminishes the function of the kidney. The function of lower Dantian storing Jin is very important to longevity. The storage if Jin is in the lower Dantian but the gateway of accepting Qi is the Mingmeng. Therefore, Mingmeng is very important to Taoist practice. Doctors during the Ming and Qing dynasties are influenced by the Taoist scriptures when they advocate the theory of Mingmeng. What they mean by Mingmeng is actually the function of lower Dantian in the Taoist scriptures. The theory of Mingmeng has very practical use in guiding clinical practices.Symptom dialectics and regimen based on the five visceraLater generations have many annotations and interpretations of Huangting Jing. An important deduction comes from the female Taoist doctor Hu-an who wrote HuangtingNeijing Viscera Reinforcing and Reducing Illustration. She took a step further by combining the internal scene theory of Huangting Jing with medicine. She proposed a symptom dialectic system based on the five viscera. Hu-an used visceral manifestation of Neijingas basis and added the understanding of internal organs from the Taoist scriptures for differentiating disease based on the viscera. She described in detail the symptoms of sickness for each viscus. On the basis of detecting visceral weakness, methods of herbal formula prescription, exercise, breathing, swallowing of saliva, abstinence, food therapy are proposed to restore the health. This is a holistic treatment. It treats all three layers of life including the body, Qi and spirit. Through strengthening the five viscera it hopes to achieve longevity.Controlling Qi with mind, gathering Qi for longevityTaoist religion thinks body and spirit rely on each other. The body requires the invigorating spirit in order to exist. When YuanQi is plentiful mind and spirit becomes stable. The spirit is generated from Qi. The mind is the manifestation of spirit. The mind can control Qi. It can gather Qi. Where the mind focuses Qi will gather. When Qi is plentiful the spirit becomes stable. Therefore, spirit and Qi are mutually dependent. Taoist religion puts a lot of emphasis on the control of Qi. Through controlling Qi with the mind it seeks to gather Qi and store in the Dantian. When Qi is plentiful in the Dantian not only can it be harnessed to treat diseases in one’s own body, it can also be used to treat others. After Sung dynasty the Neidan theory is developed on the basis of internal scene theory. It puts even more emphasis on the three Dantian. At the same time it proposes the governor channel and conception channel as the main path of Qi. Using special breathing techniques and mind control Qi is directed to traverse the conception channel and governor channel, ultimately gathering at Dantian to form Neidan. The fire god school in modern times is a direct manifestation of the idea of treasuring Yang Qi in Taoist medicine.Chinese medicine and Taoist religion have common origin. Both are influenced by the same philosophical thought. Yuan-Qi theory and Yin-Yang Five Elements theory are the foundation for both of them. Due to its peculiar religious aspiration, Taoist religion is inextricably connected with medicine. Medicine and Taoist religion have a common goal for longevity. They influence each other. Throughout Chinese history there are many talented Taoist doctors. They have a great impact on Chinese medicine. Taozhangis a collection of Taoist scriptures before the Ming dynasty. It is the best source to start the study of Taoist medicine. From the Huangting Jing series of Taoist scriptures contained in Taozhang we are able to reconstruct an internal scene theory of human physiology which is very rich in content. It is consistent with viscera manifestation theory of Neijing. At the same time, it has many contents not found in Neijing. These contents remains to be discovered. They will make the basic theory of Chinese medicine more faultless and also inspire new way of thinking in clinical treatment of diseases.