《黄帝阴符经注(俞琰)》

The Suzhou area is the foremost prefecture in the Jiangzhe region. Predecessors of such deep De (Virtue) as Shijian Weng have long been uncommon, and they are even harder to find nowadays. Shijian Weng devoted his life to studying the Yijing (Classic of Changes) and gained insights from it, enabling him to rest in tranquil contentment without ostentation and to enjoy a long life to the end.

The annotations to this Jing (scripture) clarify the principles that Master Zhu Xi did not fully express; even if Master Zhu Xi were revived, he would not alter these views. Moreover, Ziyu has inherited the aspirations of his forebears, and his grandson Zhen is diligent in his studies. The blessings granted by Heaven have not, it seems, yet ceased. Ziyu showed me this commentary and asked me to write a preface. How could I dare to compose a preface so rashly? But after reading it for many days, my impressions grew ever deeper, so I respectfully wrote a few words in response. This is also the friendship among old friends that makes it difficult to decline. I am already old—how could my words be sufficient to convince others? How could my words be sufficient to convince others?

On the fifteenth day of the tenth month of the eighth year of Zhizheng, respectfully written by Yu of Meishan.

Observe the Dao (the Way) of Heaven, hold to the movements of Heaven; that is all.

To observe the regularities of Heaven's Dao and to act in accordance with the manner of Heaven's Dao in operation—the principle is entirely contained therein.

The natural operation, genuine and without falsehood, is the original nature of the Dao (the Way) of Heaven; the celestial bodies revolving left and right, never pausing through day and night, constitute the operation of the Dao of Heaven. The Zhongyong says: “Sincerity is the Dao of Heaven.” It also says: “Utmost sincerity never ceases.” What is called “sincerity” is pure authenticity without pretense, in accordance with the natural principle of Heaven; what is called “never ceases” means not interrupting even for a moment, continuing always without rest.

If a person can observe and comprehend the Dao of Heaven and maintain sincerity within the heart, emulate the operation of the Dao of Heaven and strive unceasingly, they can accord with the Dao of Heaven. Yu Yan remarked that the eight characters “Observe the Dao of Heaven, hold to the operation of Heaven” are concise yet comprehensive, and the meaning is already fully contained therein.

Heaven has Five Thieves; those who can see and understand them will flourish. The Five Thieves reside in the human heart and, through human action, are enacted upon Heaven.

The “Five Thieves” refer to the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Zhu Xi said that all good and evil under Heaven arise from these five forces, and therefore, speaking from the adverse outcomes they can produce, they are called the “Five Thieves.” Yu Yan held that Heaven’s Five Phases are Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth, while the human Five Phases are seeing, hearing, speaking, appearance, and thinking. Heaven’s Five Phases manifest between Heaven and Earth and are easy to observe; the human Five Phases are hidden in the heart and not easy to perceive. One who can see what is readily visible and also detect what is not readily visible will have nothing that remains unclear; hence the saying, “those who see them flourish.”

Why is it said that the human Five Phases reside in the heart? When looking at things, one must think in order to discern clearly; when listening to sounds, one must think in order to hear distinctly; when speaking, one must think in order to be faithful; in demeanor and conduct, one must think in order to be respectful. The function of the heart is precisely thinking. As for how the Five Phases are “enacted upon Heaven,” this is manifested as weather phenomena such as wind, rain, clear skies, cold, and warmth.

The operation of the cosmos seems as if grasped in the palm of the hand; all manner of transformations arise from within oneself.

If a person can mobilize the key functions within themselves and seize the pivotal momentum of the operations of Heaven and Earth, then the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth will be grasped in their own hands. Therefore it is said: “The universe seems as if in the palm of the hand, and the transformations of the myriad things arise from within oneself.” Shao Kangjie (a Song-dynasty scholar of the Changes) said in his “Verses on Observing the Changes”: “Every thing that comes into the world has its own physical form; within each person there is also contained a Heaven and Earth. Since we know that the myriad things are all complete within me, why should we establish separate roots for Heaven, Earth, and Humanity as the Three Powers? Heaven differentiates creative transformation out of the ‘One’; humans establish their plans from the heart-mind. How could Heaven and humans have two different principles? The Dao (the Way) does not travel in emptiness; it is right here in the human body.” This is precisely what is meant.

The nature endowed by Heaven is the original temperament that humans possess; the human heart-mind is the pivot that sets transformations in motion.

When a person is born they are originally tranquil; this is the nature endowed by Heaven. Therefore it is said: “Heavenly nature is humanity.” When the inner functions are activated, they manifest as a person’s thoughts. Therefore it is said: “The human heart-mind is the pivot.”

Establishing the standards of the Heavenly Dao is for the sake of settling the human heart-mind.

If a person can establish sincerity and not be drawn or altered by selfish desires, then the Heavenly Dao is settled, and the person is also settled. Therefore it is said: “Establishing the standards of the Heavenly Dao is for the sake of settling the human heart-mind.”

When the Heavenly Dao activates the mechanism of killing, dragons and snakes rise up from the earth; when the Earthly Dao activates the mechanism of killing, the stars fall and conceal themselves; if humans activate the mechanism of killing, Heaven and Earth will be overturned.

When Heaven above manifests the killing Qi (vital energy) of autumn, dragons and snakes respond by rising and appearing on land; when Earth below manifests the killing Qi of autumn, the stars and constellations respond by falling and concealing themselves; when humans, situated in the middle, emit the killing Qi of autumn, both above and below respond, and Heaven and Earth are thereby overturned.

Those who understand the arts of strategy and the way of using troops grasp this principle and therefore take the snake of Mount Heng as their metaphor: strike the head and the tail responds; strike the tail and the head responds; strike the middle of the body and both head and tail respond. Practitioners of cultivation who understand this principle regard the head as Heaven, the abdomen as Earth, and the heart as the human. Their method is to let the spirit conceal itself within the body and to govern the coming and going of respiration, causing the Qi to rise to the Niwan (the upper Dantian [energy center] in the head) and to descend to the Mingmen (the key point at the waist described in the arts of Daoist Neidan [internal alchemy]). They reverse the circulation of the Qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) within the body: when descending, Metal Qi joins with Water Qi and together with Earth Qi they descend; when ascending, Wood Qi accompanies Fire Qi and together with Earth Qi they ascend. The Qi travels up and down, cycling without cease; this constitutes the overturning of Heaven and Earth within oneself.

The explanations offered by military strategists and by cultivators, though they express different intentions, secretly coincide in principle. The humane see humanity in it, the wise see wisdom in it, yet the principle remains the same. Otherwise, why would this work be called the Yin Fu?

I note that the Laozi states: “The valley spirit never dies; this is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of Heaven and Earth. Continuously, as if it were present, it is used without toil.” This refers to cultivation. The book also says “Governing a great country is like cooking a small fish” and “Fine weapons are inauspicious instruments.” Thus the Laozi likewise treats the way of governing the state and is not confined to cultivation. The same holds for the Zihuazi, Guanyinzi, Wenzi, Liezi, Zhuangzi, and similar works. Those who cling rigidly to one interpretation and explain the text from only a single aspect are mistaken. When Zhan Gu annotated this scripture, he actually took the filthy practices of gathering-and-replenishing sexual intercourse from the arts of the bedchamber and explained them as techniques for strengthening troops and gaining victory; that is an even graver error.

The timing of the movements of Heaven and Earth resonates with the thoughts of the human mind; when they stir into action and coincide exactly, this is called “the united issuing of Heaven and humanity.” Only those who truly understand the Dao (the Way) can comprehend such timing. When one understands the timing and does not act rashly, the root of the transformations of the myriad things is established. Thus it is said: “When Heaven and humanity unite in issuing forth, the foundation of the myriad transformations is set.”

Practitioners who understand this timing of correspondence between Heaven and humanity sit in stillness at midnight, gathering spirit and breath in the Dantian (energy center), the cultivation site in the lower abdomen. After a while, Shen (spirit) enters into Qi (vital energy), Qi and Shen unite, and the person remains quiet and motionless. They wait until the end of the hai hour and the beginning of the zi hour (around late night); when the Qi of Heaven and Earth arrives, they gather it promptly. If the moment has not yet come, they wait in empty stillness, not daring to act in advance.

Human nature distinguishes between cleverness and dullness, yet if the clever and wise can appear as if foolish in their great wisdom and clumsy in their great skill, they can gather their original nature within and not allow others to see through it easily. Thus it is said: “Nature has cleverness and clumsiness; they can be hidden and stored.”

The nine orifices of the human body (the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, the mouth, and the two lower orifices) readily become gateways through which selfish desires invade, of which the most crucial are the ears, eyes, and mouth. What is called “evil” refers to human selfish desires. When selfish desires flourish, heavenly principle recedes, so the gentleman must prevent their intrusion. In action, one does not look at, listen to, or speak of what does not accord with propriety; this is maintaining sincerity in movement. In stillness, one does not look or listen recklessly and carefully restrains the senses of the ears, eyes, and mouth; this is maintaining sincerity in quietude. When sincerity is maintained both in action and in stillness, one can conduct oneself uprightly at any time and in any place. Thus it is said: “The evils of the nine orifices lie in the three essentials; they can be [regulated] in movement and stillness.”

Fire arises from within wood; once the fire’s force is unleashed, the wood cannot escape being burned. Therefore it is said: “Fire is born of wood; when calamity arises it must overcome.” Wickedness hides within the state; once it seizes the moment to act, the state may collapse because of it. Therefore it is said: “Wickedness is born within the state; when the time comes to act it must crumble.”

The method of cultivation is to settle the mind in a place of profound stillness and nourish one’s own spiritual root (the inner foundation of life). When the mind is at peace it will not blaze upward like a flame; this is like wood that contains fire yet is not burned by it. By restraining evil thoughts and maintaining sincerity and uprightness, it is as if a state, though harboring wickedness within, is not thrown into collapse by it. Therefore it is said: “Those who understand this principle and cultivate accordingly are called sages.”

Heaven causes the myriad things to grow and also causes them to perish; this is the regularity of the Dao (the Way).

Spring rains bring vitality while autumn frost brings desolation; this is the inherent nature of the Heavenly Dao and also the law of nature.

Heaven and Earth nourish the myriad things yet also inflict harm upon them, so it is said: “Heaven and Earth are the thieves of the myriad things.” The myriad things nourish human beings yet also bring them harm, so it is said: “The myriad things are the thieves of humans.” Human beings make use of the myriad things yet also damage them, so it is said: “Humans are the thieves of the myriad things.” Here the text does not speak of the nourishing aspect but instead uses the opposite term “thieves,” focusing on the dimension of mutual harm. When Heaven and Earth, the myriad things, and humans each stand in proper relation and each obtains what is appropriate, then Heaven and Earth can be stable and the myriad things can flourish. Therefore it is said: “When the three thieves are all in accord, the Three Powers are at peace.”

The concluding passage “thus it is said: consuming humans, thus it is said: humans are the thieves of the myriad things” repeats what was said earlier; the meaning remains that humans take and use the myriad things to nourish themselves, and therefore humans are called the thieves of the myriad things.

Thus it is said that by according with the seasons of Heaven and Earth’s movements, the various parts of the body can be harmonized; by grasping the pivotal opportunity of the inner mind’s activation, the transformations of the myriad things can be brought to rest.

Here “shi” refers to the seasons of Heaven and Earth’s operation. If a person can accord with the seasons and coordinate with Heaven and Earth, the various parts of the body will be smoothly regulated. “Ji” refers to the pivotal moment when the human heart-mind is set in motion. If one can grasp the key to the movements of thoughts and also align with Heaven and Earth, then the various changes within the body can be settled.

People know those obvious and astonishingly marvelous phenomena, yet they do not know the reason why ordinary things can be so marvelous.

“Shen” (spirit) refers to the subtle and unfathomable condition of Yin-Yang transformations; it is an expression used to describe the exquisite subtlety of the changes of the myriad things, and is not the supernatural marvels of which the common world speaks. Ignorant people cannot see the principles of things clearly and are easily deluded by strange and fantastic talk, so they call those phenomena “shen.” As for the movements of the sun and moon, the alternation of the four seasons, and the transformations of the myriad things, people, having long grown accustomed to them, instead say they are not marvelous. Yet who knows why these ordinary phenomena operate and change in this way?

I once heard a recluse say: the sky is vast and boundless, its shape like a hen’s egg; the earth is fixed within the sky, like the yolk within the egg. Above, below, and all around the earth there is said to be emptiness, and that emptiness is Heaven. Why is the earth able to hang in emptiness through long ages without falling? This recluse believed it is because the celestial bodies rotate on the outer layer day and night without pausing even for a moment.

He further said that the celestial body is high toward the north and low toward the south, rotating obliquely, so the North Pole emerges thirty-six degrees above the ground while the South Pole is concealed thirty-six degrees below the ground. The Yellow Path (the approximate celestial region of the sun and moon’s travel according to the ancients) encircles the waist of the celestial body; the sun and moon both travel in emptiness, never leaving the Yellow Path day or night. The Book of Sui says the sun sinks into water; this is erroneous, because water flows upon the earth and cannot leave the earth. Heaven surrounds the earth on all sides—where would there be water to hold up the sun? To say that water floats in Heaven and supports the earth is likewise mistaken.

At the winter solstice the sun during the day draws near the South Pole and travels in the southern sky; the ancients considered that yang Qi (vital energy) is far from people, hence the weather is cold. At night the sun submerges into the emptiness beneath the earth, yang Qi is right under people’s feet, and therefore well water is warm. At the summer solstice the sun during the day draws near the North Pole and travels above people’s heads, yang Qi shines directly down, hence the weather is hot; at night the sun submerges into the emptiness northward beyond the earth, yang Qi is not beneath the ground, and therefore well water is cold.

The ancients held that the myriad things sprout in spring and grow in summer because the Qi of the sun beneath the earth evaporates from below upward; they are harvested in autumn and stored away in winter because the sun’s Qi gradually recedes from beneath the earth. The principle is perfectly clear; it is only the benighted who themselves do not understand.

Birds, beasts, insects, and fish have different modes of generation such as womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born; plants flower and fruit, their colors white or red, their sizes varying. Everyone can see these phenomena, yet they may not know why they are so. Therefore it is said: people know the obvious marvels, yet they do not know the fundamental principle by which ordinary phenomena can be so marvelous.

The movements of the sun and moon all follow regular patterns, and the lengths of their cycles each have a fixed number. The sages, relying on these patterns, established calendars and arranged the seasonal times, thereby accomplishing the meritorious work of governing the world and also making manifest the profound mysteries of the operations of heaven and earth.

The movements of the sun and moon may well be called marvelous. As the sun and moon alternate in their courses, they bring about the changes of cold and heat: when the cold has passed, the heat arrives; when the heat has passed, the cold returns again. The patterns within this are also quite marvelous. If not for the sages, who else could understand these patterns and clearly explain them? The meritorious achievements of the sages lie precisely in this.

The sun travels approximately one degree each day; after completing one cycle, it has traveled three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter degrees, circling the heavens once. The moon travels more than thirteen degrees each day, circling the heavens once in about twenty-eight days; sometimes it circles the heavens in about twenty-seven days and then must travel several more days before meeting with the sun, forming the “heshuo” (conjunction of sun and moon, the arrival of the new-moon day). Therefore it is said that the movements of the sun and moon have a definite number, and the lengths of the cycles also have a fixed measure.

The sages, fearing that the common people would not understand the patterns of the sun and moon’s movements and thus miss the times for spring plowing and autumn harvest, therefore established calendars, clarified the seasonal ordinances, and inserted intercalary months to adjust the four seasons and determine the years. Roughly every three years one intercalary month is added, every five years two, and every nineteen years seven, called one zhang (chapter/cycle); according to this cycle, the new-moon days can then coincide with the calendar dates. These numbers follow a definite pattern and cannot be altered at will. What the sages do in assisting heaven and earth in transforming and nurturing the myriad things is precisely this: enabling the people to understand the marvelous operations of the sun and moon and making the principles within them clear and evident. Therefore it is said that the meritorious work of the sages arises from this, and the marvelous operations of heaven and earth are also thereby manifested.

When the key to the changes of things has not yet become apparent, people of the world often cannot see it and do not understand it, and so it is called “daoji” (the hidden and unmanifested opportunity of change). The gentleman who grasps it can preserve himself; the petty person who grasps it may treat life and nature lightly.

When this opportunity of change has not yet been set in motion, it is concealed and unapparent; who can see it, who can understand it? Therefore it is called “daoji.” The gentleman who understands the patterns within it can cautiously preserve his person and not act rashly; the petty person who does not understand the patterns within it instead acts impulsively and recklessly, taking risks with his life and nature.

The blind cannot see things, so their hearing is often very acute; the deaf cannot hear sounds, so their vision is often even keener. This is because the senses have a particular focus of concentration. If those who study the Dao (the Way) can cut off selfish desires and concentrate without scattering, the efficacy of their cultivation will be ten times greater than that of ordinary people. People often simply fail to reflect upon themselves. If they can carefully guard the three vital points of the ears, eyes, and mouth, maintaining sincerity both day and night, the efficacy will be ten thousand times greater than that of ordinary people.

The mind undergoes change because of external things; this is “being born from things.” Chasing after external things and forgetting to return to the original mind; this is “dying in things.” The mind is the dwelling place of Shen (spirit); the eyes are the windows through which Shen looks outward. Wherever the eyes see, the mind follows, so the key to the mind-spirit being stirred by external things probably lies in the eyes.

Heaven does not deliberately bestow grace, yet thereby achieves great grace. When violent thunder, lightning, wind, and rain arrive, there is nothing among the myriad things that is not moved and invigorated.

Heaven follows the natural course of the myriad things, which can be said to be like not bestowing grace. Yet thunder and lightning shake the myriad things, wind and rain moisten the myriad things, and all that has life and can move under heaven receives this nourishment. Is this not achieving great grace amid what appears to be no grace?

The greatest joy fills the original nature to fullness; extreme stillness makes the original nature pure and incorrupt.

The wise know joy; those who are joyful understand their allotted fate and no longer worry, so their original nature is ample and unpressed. The benevolent delight in stillness; those who are still have a settled mind-spirit without excessive desires, so their original nature is upright, pure, and free from greed.

The Dao of Heaven appears partial, yet in its operation it is extremely just.

The Dao of Heaven is originally just and impartial. People see only a certain thing growing and flourishing and thus think Heaven favors it, without realizing that the sun and moon illuminate and the rain and dew nourish all the myriad things. Flying creatures, swimming creatures, and those that grow upon the earth—each kind of life fulfills its own nature and allotted fate while maintaining harmonious balance. This is precisely the justice of the Dao of Heaven; has Heaven ever favored only one particular thing?

The key to subduing birds and beasts lies in mastering their Qi (vital energy).

In spring, the yellow oriole begins to sing. Who causes it to sing? In autumn, the wild geese arrive. Who causes them to fly in? The activities of birds are governed by climate and the seasonal cycle; that is where the reason lies.

Life is the root of death, and death is also the root of life. Favor arises from harm, and harm also arises from favor.

Here “life” refers to the active state of the myriad things. When activity reaches its extreme it turns and returns to stillness, so life is the root of death. Here “death” refers to the still state of the myriad things. When stillness reaches its extreme it turns and becomes active again, so death is also the root of life.

“Favor” means Heaven causing the myriad things to grow; “harm” means Heaven causing the myriad things to wither and perish. Only after the gathering and storing of autumn and winter can there be the growth of spring and summer; after the flourishing of spring and summer one also meets the withering of autumn and winter. Therefore it is said that favor arises from harm, and harm also arises from favor.

The foolish regard the patterns and principles of Heaven and Earth as sacred and unfathomable; I, however, grasp those principles from the patterns and regularities of the four seasons and the myriad things.

The foolish consider the principles of Heaven and Earth sacred and inscrutable. Having decided they are inscrutable, they no longer inquire into the principles within. Even while calling them sacred they do not know how those operating principles manifest, nor what the principles actually are.

The ignorant regard the orderly patterns of heaven and earth as sacred and unfathomable. Once they have decided these patterns are unfathomable, they no longer investigate the principles contained within them. Although they call heaven and earth sacred, they do not know why heaven and earth are sacred. In my view, the wisdom inherent in things can be perceived from the temporal sequences and orderly patterns of concrete affairs; since these can be known, one may inquire into their principles and thereby increase one’s understanding. In this way, even though heaven and earth are vast and profound, I am still able to investigate them, to say nothing of everyday matters.

The temporal sequences and orderly patterns of concrete things are none other than the patterns of heaven and earth. There is no need to pursue lofty and mysterious matters: to understand the patterns of heaven, one may observe whether the movements of the seasons proceed in a timely and appropriate manner; to understand the principles of earth, one may examine the actual conditions of the myriad things upon the earth.

At the very end of the entire work there remain more than a hundred characters. Some regard them as commentary, others as part of the classic itself, as in the line “The Dao of heaven and earth soaks in, therefore Yin-Yang prevail.” This means that the waxing and waning of Yin-Yang between heaven and earth is such that when Yang Qi flourishes it overcomes Yin Qi, and when Yin Qi flourishes it overcomes Yang Qi; this transformation occurs gradually, just as water soaks into an object. Although Zhu Ziyang (Zhu Xi, courtesy name Yuanhui) treated this passage as commentary and offered no explanation of it, when answering questions from his disciples he spoke of this idea in highly favorable terms. I therefore mention it here as well.

Commentary on the Huangdi Yinfu Jing