Interpreting the Ancient Codes Back Cover

Interpreting the Ancient Codes

Exploring the Classics of Taoist Alchemy
An Introduction to the Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi
TCCII Publications 2012

Contents
1)      Introduction
2)      Interview with Fabrizio Pregadio
3)      Book Review of the Can Tong Qi
4)      Essay on Interpreting the Ancient Codes
5)      Resources for Further Study

Interpreting the Ancient Codes paper is available as a free PDF download.

Q: How did you become interested in Taoism and Taoist alchemy?

A: I was, and I still am, delighted by how Taoism represents the relation between the absolute principle (the Dao) and its manifestation in the world in which we live, and by how clearly it formulates several ways to realize the “return to the Dao.” The essential features of these teachings are found in the Dao De Jing and are elaborated on (with some differences in emphasis) in the Zhuang Zi. Taoist Internal Alchemy (Nei Dan) is the main tradition that applies those teachings to the human being and offers a way to comprehend and realize them at the individual level.

Q: What benefit can internal alchemy practitioners derive from studying the classic texts?

A: What you call “classical texts” are signposts in the history of a tradition. By studying those texts, one can study the history of a tradition and how it has been transmitted and adapted to different circumstances.

Texts, moreover, are often the only sources we have to reconstruct the history of a tradition, and this is especially important with regard to Nei Dan. We often think of Nei Dan as a “school” of Taoism, but this is by no means correct. Nei Dan is best described as a tradition with Taoism, with its own branches, schools (or rather, lineages), and individual representatives. There are often major differences among the different Nei Dan lineages. Studying texts is virtually the only way to identify those differences.

There’s one more important thing. I can hardly imagine a Chinese — or Indian, Japanese, Tibetan, Persian, etc. — adept of a tradition who does not know, study, and often memorize the main texts of his or her tradition. Knowledge of the written records of a tradition should also be important for a Western follower. Without that knowledge, a Western follower could easily end up twisting and distorting the tradition that he or she claims to belong to, according to his or her own particular perspective. Any Eastern tradition teaches exactly the opposite attitude: until one reaches a truly advanced stage, one should follow the tradition “as is,” with no attempt to reinterpret it or adapt it to any contingent circumstance. The re-adaptation (or rather, re-codification) of a teaching to different historical or social circumstances is a very important and interesting phenomenon in the history of any traditional teaching.

Q: Who is the intended audience of your translation of the Can Tong Qi?

A: The intended audience is, generally, everyone who is interested for any reason in the doctrines of the Way of the Golden Elixir, as they are presented by the main textual source of this tradition.

Q: You mention in your translation of the Can Tong Qi that you began your work on it back in 1990. Why is this text so interesting to you?

An Introduction to the classics of Taoist Alchemy. Available for free download from TCCII.

A: Why is the Can Tong Qi so interesting to me? Well, first of all because, in 1990, after I finished my dissertation on Wai Dan, I told myself, “I’d like to work on the main text in Taoist alchemy” and less than one second later I thought, “This means I should translate the Can Tong Qi.” Second, because this text is crucial to understand Taoist alchemy in virtually all of its aspects. One important point here is that the Can Tong Qi talks almost exclusively of doctrine, but we (in the 21st century) should not think that the “doctrine” of a traditional teaching is equivalent to a “theory” in the modern sense of the term. A theory is something that requires proof, and is subject to change in the course of time. A doctrine is something from which a whole tradition develops, and from which the practices are devised. The concepts of “theory” and “proof” are entirely alien to traditional thought; you have, instead, a doctrine that requires personal comprehension and verification. This is why the Can Tong Qi is so important: it has provided the basic doctrine for virtually the entirely history of Chinese alchemy, in all of its forms, with the only exception of the Wai Dan texts written before it was composed, and of some later Wai Dan texts that are not related to it. Download the full interview now.

Zhouyi cantong qi zhujie 周易參同契注解 (Commentary and Explication of the Cantong qi), by Chen Zhixu 陳致虛 (1290-ca. 1368), composed in ca. 1330 — Jinling shufang 金陵書坊 edition, printed in 1484 — Exemplar kept at the Shanghai Library. Image courtesy of Fabrizio Pregadio. Used with permission.

Pregadio’s book consists of three major parts. The first part places the Can Tong Qi in its historical context, addresses issues of dating and authorship, and introduces concepts critical to understanding the coded language in the text. The second and most important part of the book renders a full translation of the classic text. The third part provides detailed commentary on the symbolic language and images used throughout the text. The book concludes with a few textual notes and series of useful tables and charts which summarize many of the key correspondences and symbols used in the text.

In the first part of the book, Pregadio challenges some of the long held views about composition and authorship of the text. This section of the book will be of interest to scholars and historians; however, anyone interested in the practice of Internal Alchemy would do well to read it. Readers will find that familiarity with the historical context of the classics aids greatly in understanding the text itself. He also offers a glimpse of the painstaking detective work required to produce a high quality translation. The first section concludes with an overview of the major themes and images found in the text. This section will be of special interest to those who read the text from the perspective of Internal Alchemy.

The complete book review can be found in the paper Interpreting the Ancient Codes available as a free download from TCCII.

陈氏太极拳：传统套路和基本功

Contents

1 Warm Up                 热身

2 Post Standing           站桩

3 Silk Reeling              缠丝

4 Four Directions        四正手

5 Four Corners            四隅手

6 Five Steps                五步法

7 Thirteen Postures     十三式

8 First Form (36 Moves)         三十六式

9 Teaching Commentary         分解教学

We had about an hour wait, so we filed off the bus and started doing Tai Chi and the Eight Brocades, creating much excitement among the local Chinese. They got out of their cars to watch and take pictures with the group Americans. Since highway-closing wrecks are not uncommon in the tunnel a few enterprising locals have developed an impromptu market. They showed up with baskets of fruit and vegetables for sale. A few even brought cigarettes and Bai Jiao for the stranded travelers! We hope the drivers of the other cars aren’t drinking the rocket fuel, but it probably helps the passengers. Once the road was open we headed to Wudang without incident.

Wudang Shan is a protected sanctuary. The natural beauty of the place is evident even at the base. Mountain peaks ascend into the mist like an ancient Chinese painting, while clear mountain streams cascade down the sides. The Feng Shui of the place is sublime; drawing many Taoist hermits over the centuries looking to complete their immortality training and ascend to the celestial realms. But first they had to get up the mountain. In the old days it was a long slow hike, almost a test of the sincerity of the aspirant. Modern roads and tourist associations have made the climb less physically challenging, but there is a test of a different sort!

A view from the edge of the mountain road in Wudang Shan

We had to leave our tour bus and transfer to the mountain’s small buses. They only allow their trained drivers on the roads since they are narrow and winding, clinging to the cliff with a small rail between you and a shear drop to oblivion. Of course, it doesn’t stop the driver from driving like a bat out of hell. Any mishap is likely to result in the entire bus plummeting thousands of feet down the side of the mountain. They zoom with many near misses but, thankfully, no real hits. They have some unbelievable bus driving Kung Fu! One interesting feature is that the front section of the bus has the seats facing each other. This means that as they whip around the curves, you will be thrown across the bus unless you grab the hand rail above your head for the duration of the 40 minute ride. You would be forgiven for thinking that this was part of the monks’ Eagle Claw training. That is, until you notice that the locals have better sense than to sit in those seats. They graciously leave them for the Lao Wei.

Our hotel is in the mountain, just a five minute walk from the Purple Cloud temple. You would have to be a Taoist priest to live closer than this! The teacher we selected for the group joined us for dinner after we checked into the hotel. Master Wang, a disciple of Master You Xuan De, learned both the Xuan Wu and Zhang Sang Feng school martial lineages. A very personable and open teacher, he has vast knowledge of Taoist cultivation practices as well. Already a master become becoming a Taoist priest, he is a lineage inheritor of the original form of Xing Yi, called Xin Yi, which was passed down to him directly from the Dai (Tai) Family. The Dai family is credited with combining martial arts with Taoist practices to create this awesome internal art.