《太平经合校》Vol. 14

Question: Is there no longer any of those stubborn, hard-to-cure strange illnesses in the world? Can one still hear of such things?

Answer: Your question is apt. Emissaries sent from Heaven cut off all that is false, evil, and vicious, so that what is true may stand forth.

Behind every image and every written word there is a corresponding “spirit”: true matters align with true spirits, crooked matters with crooked spirits; good deeds have good spirits, evil deeds have evil spirits. A household that long accumulates heterodox ways will later suffer harm from evil forces; a household that accumulates genuine scriptures and the upright Way will later produce someone who can transcend the world and attain immortality. What is authentic and what is false differ, and the spirits they attract differ likewise. Thus Heaven has its auspicious and inauspicious times—in auspicious times auspicious spirits preside; in inauspicious times inauspicious spirits preside. Earth too has auspicious and inauspicious phases, by the same principle.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors each had their own kin and brethren; the Three Kings and Five Hegemons likewise each had their own kin and brethren. Only rank and scale differ—each belongs to its kind. When the age flourishes, standing is high; when it declines, standing is low, like the alternation of day and night, as it has been since Heaven and Earth were opened. The poor are petty people, the rich are “gentlemen”—they drive and govern one another in turn. This is the “kinship” relation within Heaven and Earth. Not all things can prosper at once; some phenomena look alike yet are not the same thing.

Heaven has the six jia, the four seasons, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), hard and soft, yin and yang, and the first, middle, and last months of each season—they are kin and brethren to one another. They should be honored without losing their original nature, so as to transform and guide the world and make people masters of good conduct. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, culture, and martial prowess are likewise kin and brethren to one another.

Dao and Dao are kin and brethren to each other: whatever belongs to the Dao ultimately merges into one whole, mutually attesting and giving birth to one another in turn. Now that you have attained the Dao, all who possess the Dao will come; kin share one heart like a single household, all bearing good intent. Great and small no longer destroy one another; disasters depart and calamity is gone. If a sovereign practices this Dao, the realm flourishes; he may rule through Wuwei (non-action), transcending the world and enjoying long life. If officials and common people practice this Dao, principle grows clearer day by day; likewise they no longer destroy one another, and all disasters are removed.

This passage teaches the principle of governing the body and the state through “like summoning like and De (Virtue/Power) resonating with De.” If one drapes one’s robes, folds one’s hands, and practices Wuwei (non-action) without rash intervention, one can transcend the world and enjoy long life. If officials and commoners practice this, the principle will become increasingly clear; all Daoist arts will manifest and shine with light. Dao (the Way) and Dao are kin to each other and are passed on in turn; summon Dao with Dao and seek Dao through Dao, and one treats Dao as kin and brother. If this teaching is honored, all under heaven will cherish life and detest killing—how could there still be people without Dao?

De is likewise: if one holds fast to great De and keeps De in mind in every thought, then people of De will yield to one another and treat each other with humility, and all the De-filled in the world will appear. Take this as a principle: sit at ease and keep affairs few. If rulers practice it, the state will be wealthy; if officials and commoners practice it, all affairs can be ordered. Summon De with De, and De naturally arrives.

Ren (benevolence) is the same: if one practices Ren oneself, benevolent people naturally come seeking; summon Ren with Ren, and all benevolent people come. If rulers practice it, all under heaven return to Ren; if officials and commoners practice it, everyone is affectionate to one another. This is “Ren and Ren join as one family,” each being kin and brothers to the other.

Yi (righteousness) also seeks through Yi: when one has become Yi oneself, all who speak of Yi will come to attach themselves and unite through Yi. However, Yi carries restraint and judgment; when rulers promote it, pleasure and pain are mixed; when officials and commoners promote it, it is accompanied by a mix of vitality and injury. Seeking Yi through Yi still makes them kin and brothers.

Li (ritual propriety) also seeks through Li: when one has become Li oneself, all who speak of Li will come. Those who practice Li keep to the norms, but their lives are often unsettled, inwardly empty, outwardly circling through affairs like a ring, rushing about, kneeling, bowing, and rising, exhausted by responding to demands; their time is short and their clothing thin. When rulers practice Li, they are troubled by sorrow and worry; when officials and commoners practice Li, their duties become disordered; adult laborers (ding) are drained of strength, and the old and weak injure their sinews. When Li and Li draw close, they become kin and brothers.

Wen (culture/adornment/regulation) and Wen also summon each other: when one has become Wen oneself (culture and education, adornment, regulations, and the like), Wen of the same kind naturally gathers.

When “culture and ornament” (wen)—superficial polish, empty brilliance, and the “wen” of name-and-ritual teaching—is used to attract more of the same, everyone who studies and performs this kind of wen gathers like drifting clouds, piling up inside and out like mountains. Where sincerity falls short, great hypocrisy rises up. If a ruler governs the realm this way, success and failure alternate unpredictably. If officials and common people learn it, they bind one another with wen, frighten one another with wen, scheme against one another and drive one another on—this is wen calling forth wen as kin. Mutual expectation and empty mutual praise then draw in every kind of disaster, anomaly, and disease, and human life grows shorter day by day. Binding by wen and threatening by wen, the cycle turns ever tighter toward mutual extraction and mutual breeding—this is the kinship of wen.

Wu (the martial) and wu are also kin and brothers: once the world’s martial temper is set, using wu to summon wu brings together all who honor force and love strife. Their qi is hard, fierce, and explosive; military might blazes; strength doubles; eyes bulge and rage will not subside. The martial ghost (the daemonic force of slaughter) holds the corner position; victory alone matters, and life is no longer cherished. If the noble person follows this path, government grows daily more perilous; if officials and people follow it, extinction and killing fill the world, goodwill vanishes, and in principle there is only the gathering of harm—this is wu begetting wu, the kinship of wu.

Disputation (bian) and bian are also kin and brothers: once great disputation is established, all who love argument flock to it. Disputers tangle with disputers without end. One sentence becomes a hundred, a hundred become a thousand—and the sense repeats: a thousand become ten thousand, passed back and forth in endless supply, mouths and tongues churn like clouds and mist, not one word true. If the ruler acts thus, orders multiply without number; officials and people have nowhere to rest their lives. Seeking bian through bian is the kinship of bian.

Law (falu) and law are also kin and brothers: once esteem for legal codes is fixed, using law to gather law brings together everyone under heaven who loves statutes and litigation. Guilt is found in matters great and small, as if there were no innocent person in the world. From birth to old age, how many offenses can one body commit? Yet it is said that “there is no one without guilt.” Relying on this temper to breed itself, among noble persons nine out of ten die violently (before their natural span, by sudden death).

If one governs the world with principles opposite to these, chaos will never cease. Apply the same logic to how kin and siblings call on one another for help: each follows its kind and its proper affiliation. Once you examine clearly the roots of order and disorder and the foundation of Great Peace through these layers of relationship, the picture becomes largely clear.

The spirits of heaven say: for those who delight in practicing the Way, the “Dao qi” (vital energy of the Way) throughout heaven and earth will come forth to assist them; for those who delight in practicing De (Virtue), “De qi” will assist them; for those who practice benevolence, heaven will send “benevolent qi” to help them; for those who practice righteousness, heaven will send “righteous qi”; for those who practice ritual propriety, heaven will send “ritual qi”; for those who uphold culture (rites, music, institutions, and edifying writings), heaven will send “cultural qi”; for those skilled in disputation and clear reasoning, “discursive qi” also assists them; for those who apply law and act according to legal norms, “legal qi” assists them as well. All things in heaven and earth operate according to kind, and the spirits respond in kind.

When heaven is willing to help, the spirits will also hasten to respond. Reflect deeply and thoroughly on the gist of this passage, and the qi of Great Peace can be summoned quickly.

Plain-Language Reading of Taiping Jing (Collated Edition)

Question: Is the greatest good easy to accomplish? Is the greatest evil easy to commit as well?

Answer: When Yang reaches its extreme, that is utmost goodness; when Yin reaches its extreme, that is utmost evil. At the Yang pole one may become an immortal; at the Yin pole one harms things and injures life—such are the extremes of Yin and Yang.

On Filial Piety and Rebellion against Principle

If ordinary people fail to serve their parents with all their heart, yet seek strange arts and secret methods so that their parents worry themselves to death; and if they then teach others to “fulfill filial duty” with fine clothes, rich food, song and dance for pleasure—such people are great rebels against the Way, and how would Heaven grant them blessing?

Heaven too follows the human pattern of written correspondence and response, binding heaven and humans with heavenly law: mutual collusion and fraud are forbidden; there is a proper upright method for this. The same holds on earth among people. Would zhenren (true cultivators who have attained the Dao) not know this?

From antiquity to the present, many sycophantic ministers and cunning schemers have twisted words and phrases, deceiving those above and misleading those below, so that lords and fathers are troubled while they themselves gain office and salary—enjoying stipends without merit toward heaven and earth. Heaven deeply hates this; earth deeply loathes it. In heaven it is called luan ji (disruption of the cosmic order).

Now as ping qi (harmonious, balanced qi) is about to descend from heaven, such things must be cut off—yet one still fears these people will again disturb the path of good governance.

On Authenticity, Falsity, and Verification

Today the foolish are many; they obtain office through deceit. Yet natural calamities cannot be evaded by trickery, nor removed by fraud.

What is true and what is false must accord with heaven. One need not lay everything out plainly for people of later ages; test and apply it: if disasters are all removed, that is authentic scripture in accord with heavenly law—do not doubt it.

There is no need for many words; the outcome will clarify itself. If you apply it and it does not succeed, that path is false—likewise, without extra talk, it will become clear.

Heaven’s way of judging does not look at clever speech; it looks only at whether things are accomplished. It is like sitting facing the sun and moon: both give light—how do you know which is warm and which is cool? From far away it is hard to tell; you must verify by results: sit facing the sun and you feel warmth; sit facing the moon and you feel coolness. Authentic scripture works the same way—if use brings verification, it is true; if use brings no effect, it is false.

Heaven has a set of “laws.” With the eyes open, one regulates yang qi, the visible forms, and the human body; with the eyes closed, one regulates yin qi, the formless, and the human spirit. Taking this as the standard, yin and yang each return to their proper places, with no dereliction or disorder. The same holds on earth, until the state of “dongji huangping”—profound penetration and great peace in full completion—is reached.

Heaven sends down books; spirits send down talismans and registers and sacred writing; sages compose scriptures; the words of the highest worthies—all of these belong to “speech.” Therefore the sacred superior adepts of heaven and earth exert themselves on behalf of people; through speech accumulated over years and months, they can stabilize heaven and earth and dispel disasters. When emperors put this into practice, they can roam free without care, ascend the immortal path, extend life, and align with heaven’s intent; their descendants flourish without cutting off the line. When the age declines, it can rise again: the world receives heaven’s mandate; the deep caverns of the six directions and eight extremes all connect, and yin and yang are both pleased; the seasons are not afflicted, wind and rain come on time, thunder and lightning do not strike amiss, sun and moon grow brighter, the three luminaries do not miss their measures, the four seasons and Five Phases proceed in order, each in its place—all of this comes from sacred and good speech, and the merit cannot be called small.

This passage repeatedly makes the point that although the myriad beings on every level—above in heaven, throughout the realm below heaven, and on the earth—take different forms, they all alike follow the same patterns of natural primordial Qi and Yin-Yang: the original energy from before heaven and earth were separated, and the two basic forces that depend on each other. Those patterns match the teaching conveyed in this text (the Taiping Jing).

Above in heaven: the Three Lights (usually the sun, moon, and stars) at the boundless reaches each differ from one another, each with its own natural Qi and Yin-Yang; what dwells in the middle of heaven also differs in each case, each with its own natural Qi and Yin-Yang; the Three Lights themselves likewise have natural Qi and Yin-Yang; clouds and vapors, and sound together with thunder and lightning, also differ case by case, each with natural Qi and Yin-Yang—all of this parallels the meaning of this text.

Throughout the realm below heaven: wind and rain differ in each instance, each with natural Qi and Yin-Yang; the winds, clouds, and vapors that occupy the middle of the world below heaven also differ in each case, each with natural Qi and Yin-Yang—again in the same relation to this text.

On the earth: people differ from one another, and crawling creatures (things that crawl among the insects) also differ, each with natural Qi and Yin-Yang—again parallel to this text.

What is required in common is this: in every place and every kind of being, in line with local custom and habit, if people memorize and put into practice the words in my book, they can reach Taiping—the ideal of universal harmony under heaven, without disaster or disorder.

Creatures that crawl upon the earth are not all alike, yet each receives the natural yuanqi (primordial qi) and Yin-Yang; they accord with the principles this scripture expounds. When each keeps to its own nature, memorizes, and follows the words in the book, the realm is at peace.

The same holds for the grasses and trees on the earth, the mountains, the river valleys, and the marshes: their forms differ, yet each has its natural qi and Yin-Yang, matching what the scripture says; when each keeps its local custom, remembers the book’s words, and acts on them, there is peace.

So too for all things beneath the earth and the boundless Yin-Yang transformations underground—Five Phases, the four seasons, the Six Jia paired with the ten stems and twelve branches, the eight directions—none is otherwise: each has natural qi and Yin-Yang, akin to my text; when each follows its custom, remembers my book’s words, and acts on them, there is Taiping (Great Peace).

Spirit beings differ from one another, yet all receive nature’s primordial Qi (vital energy) and Yin-Yang, in line with the principle set out in this text. Each, following local custom, records good and evil in writing and lives accordingly, and the realm can be at peace. If teaching does not proceed from each type’s own proper category, great disorder follows. Take this to heart.

Heaven commanded me to write out this entire text in full, to remove the afflictions of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, emperors, the common people, and the myriad beings. Every hardship borne by people and the myriad beings ought to be cleared away.

For this reason, Heaven’s child (the author’s self-designation) showed the world the method of Fa Wuji (the Limitless Way)—after aligning, gathering, and fully checking the sacred writings of sages past and present against ordinary people’s common speech, afflictions throughout Heaven and Earth can all be removed. Once those afflictions are gone, emperors may extend life and years, ruling with robes draped and hands folded, free of care.

Heaven is like the sun; Earth is like the Great Yin (the lunar principle). Human beings stand in the center of Heaven and Earth; the myriad beings are the same.

Heaven constantly bestows downward; its qi flows down. Earth constantly receives upward; its qi rises to meet. The two qi meet in the center. Humans occupy the center—the correct position. The two qi constantly take turns in their work, converging in the center, and so together they give birth to the myriad beings. All beings take shape through these two qi, which compose temperament and nature; without these two qi, nothing can be generated. Thus the life and fate of all beings depend on these two qi; within form, the two qi act on each other.

Therefore when one does good, Heaven and Earth know; when one does evil, Heaven and Earth know as well. So the ancient persons of highest De (Virtue/Power), knowing Heaven’s intent inwardly and alone, constantly practiced good according to fixed principles.

【Heavenly Revelation (Tianchen)】

Heaven declares: When joy is reciprocated, joy returns; when goodness is reciprocated, goodness returns; when evil is reciprocated, evil returns; when delight is reciprocated, delight returns; when compliance with Heaven’s will is reciprocated, compliance returns; when truth is reciprocated, truth returns; when the Dao is reciprocated, the Dao returns; when contentment is reciprocated, contentment returns. Whatever people reciprocate in the human realm, the spirits of Heaven and Earth likewise reciprocate through resonance and influence.

When ornamentation is reciprocated, the pleasure of ornamentation comes back; when deceit is reciprocated, deceit comes back; when clever disputation is reciprocated, clever disputation comes back; when flattery and sycophancy are reciprocated, flattery and sycophancy come back; when martial aggression is reciprocated, martial aggression comes back; when rebellion against proper order is reciprocated, rebellion comes back; when peril is reciprocated, peril comes back; when deviation and perversity are reciprocated, deviation comes back. In every case of what is reciprocated, the spirits of Heaven and Earth respond and return in kind.

The law of fortune and misfortune, safety and danger, depends entirely on what you reciprocate within yourself.

【Household Wealth and Going Against the Dao】

Some families are prosperous and powerful, yet they hoard private wealth; afterward they often sink into poverty and misfortune. Why? The shenren—those who receive heavenly revelation and transmit the scriptures—say: This usually happens because the clever oppress the simple, the strong oppress the weak, and the young oppress the old—all acts of defiance against Heaven, so Heaven does not bless them for long. Why? The wise ought to embrace and support the foolish, yet they do the opposite—this is the first inversion; the strong ought to support the weak, yet they do the opposite—the second inversion; the younger ought to support the elder, yet they do the opposite—the third inversion. Such conduct clashes with the heart of Heaven, so misfortune must follow in time.

Wealth is what remains in surplus between Heaven and Earth. It is like water, always flowing and following one another, always humbly settling below. Those who gain much wealth are often those who stay low and modest; the proud and greedy lose Heaven’s protection.

Plain-Language Explanation

Someone asked: Ever since heaven-and-earth yin-yang and the “Three Methods of Central Harmony” (zhonghe sanfa) fell away from the right path, a great many “surplus life tallies” (yusuan)—extra entries on the registers of allotted lifespan—have piled up in heaven yet are slow to be issued for people to use. Why is that? They wished to hear the reasoning behind it.

The lifespan heaven assigns has a highest tier of one hundred thirty years, called “yang calendar intercalary surplus” (yangli yunyu); next, one hundred twenty years, called “years counted and removed from the record” (suishu chuji); and below that, one hundred years, called “harmonious calendar and things recorded” (heli wuji). People were originally meant to live out their lives to these counts. After the three methods lost the Dao, many could not reach their proper span. Whatever years went unused were reckoned year by year as one tally each and entered on heaven’s books; if people went against heaven’s way, they could not receive these surplus tallies.

Now, if one does good according to this scripture (“our text”), heaven will send these surplus tallies down and add them to those who act well—some may “transcend the world” (du shi: escape the round of birth and death and endure in the world), others may extend life and increase years.

Since ancient times, emperors have mostly worried only when the realm was unsettled or policies went wrong; without such troubles, they need not have been so troubled at heart. Good people, loyal ministers, and filial children under heaven have worried about this too. But as long as one follows what this text says, that worry can be set aside.

Heaven’s revealed principle is this: when yang qi is at its peak and fully prevails in the season, ghostly and evil things cannot harm people at will. Why? When yang flourishes, yin must wane; once yin weakens, yin-affiliated ghosts lose the power to act recklessly. What forbids them? It is “yang refined essence” (yang jing) that restrains them.

On what grounds can yang refined essence restrain ghosts? Yang refined essence belongs to shen (spirit) and resonates with Heaven; its color is red and it presides in the human heart. The human heart-spirit is originally Heaven’s spirit. “Jing” (essence) often refers to the refined qi of Earth; ghosts are the ghosts of human beings. Earth is like the mother, ghosts like the son—mother and son share one category, both on the yin side and moving along yin paths.

When the qi of Great Peace (taiping qi) arrives, yang flourishes greatly, the Way of Heaven is clear and strict, and the way of spirit is luminous. In that clarity, Heaven makes people together rise up and employ the way of spirit; once the way of spirit rises, there are means to subdue and dissolve the ways of ghostly things. The way of spirit walks with the noble person—the noble person acts with fairness, and spirit is likewise fair and clear; the petty person acts with treachery, and ghostly things are likewise treacherous, because qi of the same kind and ways of the same kind respond to one another.

Now the yang Way rises and the fire phase holds sway; weapons ought to be eliminated—fire can overcome and restrain the killing qi of yin-affiliated arms. Thus piled-up weapons mean flourishing yin qi, while accumulated fire and yang qi mean flourishing yang; flourishing yang can dissolve armies—this is Heaven and Earth’s natural mutual resonance, not human force applied against nature.

People living in the world must receive heavenly qi (Heaven’s yang qi) to be born. The highest good person entrusts good to Heaven; the middle good entrusts it to people; the lowest good entrusts it to fields. Therefore the upper adept studies the Way to transcend the world and ascend; the middle adept should govern the people; the lower adept should manage fields and property.

The upper adept may travel riding cloud qi; the middle rides in a carriage; the lower walks on foot—the three roles differ and do not obstruct one another. After transcending the world, the upper adept ascends to Heaven and is responsible for harmonizing wind and rain and maintaining central harmony; the middle adept is subordinate to the county official and governs the people; the lower adept manages wealth, goods, and farmland. Each keeps his place and does not harm the others.

This passage links yang spirit and yin ghosts, noble and petty persons, and the ideal of Great Peace: when yang qi and the way of spirit rise, ghostly harm naturally fades; and through upper, middle, and lower adepts it shows that in an age of Great Peace, cultivating the Way, governing people, and managing farming each have their division of labor—all should fulfill their duties under Heaven’s Way when yang is correct.

This passage explains the stages of learning the Way in Heaven, the differences among students of the Way of upper, middle, and lower rank, and uses “bǐ” (empty husk grains without rice) as a metaphor for the lower student.

Levels of Learning the Way, Seeing Spirits, and Attaining the Dao

Heaven has fixed rules for learning the Way: one must devote one’s whole heart to seeking the Dao.

First one lightly aligns with the lesser Way—able to see certain spirits; this counts as a small gain, but the path has not yet merged with the middle Way; going further, one can reach the great Way; only at the great Way can one connect with the true spirits.

• Light alignment with the lesser Way → communion with minor spirits
• Alignment with the middle Way → communion with intermediate spirits
• Alignment with the great Way → communion with major spirits

Once major spirits arrive, a person can transcend the world and endure long (escape birth-and-death, exist for a long time).

Yet at this stage, great evil spirits and ghosts often appear; they do not wish people to transcend the world and constantly bewilder people and make them slack; they also speak of transformations and strange events, so truth and falsehood mix. At such times one must discern evil from orthodox, and only then truly transcend the world.

Upper, Middle, and Lower Students

• Upper student (as Heaven names them): from birth to death without a single malicious intent, honored and loved by ordinary people, common folk of the five directions, and county officials; all together bestow gifts and offerings upon them.
• Middle student: honored and loved by neighbors; neighbors jointly bestow gifts and offerings.
• Lower student: lacks good intent, cannot obtain legitimate gifts and offerings, and dares only steal from private family property to give to others—this is what people under Heaven call the conduct of “bǐ.”

What Is “Bǐ”?

The upper student is purely good; intent without evil belongs to upper Yang.

The middle student has intent half good, half evil—middle Yang.

The lower student entirely lacks good intent—lower Yang; hence the name bǐ.

Bǐ cannot ripen into grain: hollow inside, no rice, a metaphor for no genuine faith and substance. People without faith and substance are bǐ people.

• The upper student receives from county officials and the four quarters gifts for the household, showing they do not forget their root ancestors.
• The middle student receives from four neighbors gifts for the household, showing they do not forget their parents.
• The lower student steals family wealth to give to outside neighbors, like bǐ: shell outside, no kernel within—turning against the root.

Harm and Warning

Such people all harm Heaven; the scripture says: they turn against their own house; discord in the household often starts with such a person.

When ministers and subjects befriend outsiders, the state must hollow out; when family members befriend outsiders, the home must hollow out; Heaven’s blame and punishment often begin here.

Safety and danger arise in the belly and heart of a person; spirits can appear from afar, move above, below, and sideways, penetrating hundreds of millions of miles—how can one not be cautious?

Main idea: Learning the Way requires progress from the lesser Way and middle Way to the great Way, with evil and orthodox clearly distinguished; in conduct there are upper, middle, and lower students, matching pure good, half good, and no good to upper, middle, and lower Yang; the lower student is like bǐ grain—no solid faith, stealing from the family to help others, betraying the root and disordering the household—so the scripture repeatedly warns to be careful in the heart and careful in outward ties.

Taiping Dao (the Peaceful Great Way): Its language is plain and spare; where its teaching is applied, the land grows rich—this is a treasure ordained by Heaven and rooted in human life. Its principle can be grasped close at hand in one’s own heart, yet it can circulate through the whole world. When ruler and people act by this scripture, the state is secure and households prosper.

The pattern of Heaven and Earth: The good ought to govern the bad, the upright ought to govern the perverse, the clear ought to govern the turbid; one must not reverse this—using the bad to rule the good, the perverse to rule the upright, or the turbid to rule the clear. If the Way is inverted, bandits never cease, treachery grows day by day, and great disorder follows; calamity and chaos often begin here. When a sovereign employs ministers, he must examine selection with care and take the mind of Heaven as his standard—only when the lie su (the stars’ positions and their auspicious or inauspicious alignments) match may he appoint them. The sun embodies the virtue of the ruler, the moon the virtue of the minister; if the lie su do not accord, true Taiping (Great Peace) cannot be achieved and wickedness will breed.

Question: What are the food, clothing, lodging, and rest stations—the youting (post stations and inns)—of Heaven and Earth above and below, at the center, and in the eight directions to the farthest reaches? Those who practice De yet still doubt in their hearts may find judgment in this chen (prophetic verse and fulfilled omen).

Answer: Today there are official quarters and youting in the heavens to receive travelers for rest and lodging, and the same exists on earth; the eight directions and the center all have them. In the heavenly quarters dwell immortals; in the earthly quarters dwell sages and worthies; in the subterranean quarters dwell benevolent spirits of Taiyin (the Great Yin) and good ghosts. The quarters on famous mountains and great rivers near and far in the eight directions are for spirits between Heaven and Earth and for human immortals who have not yet ascended to Heaven. The quarters in clouds and in winds serve those stationed in the northern Kunlun region. Official quarters and youting await and host meritorious sages, worthies, and benevolent spirits.

Dao is the head, De the belly, Ren (benevolence) the feet—walk by this. Heaven establishes official quarters and youting; those with De obtain them and dwell therein. Whoever seeks Heaven’s power practices Dao; whoever seeks Earth’s power practices De; whoever seeks human power practices Ren. These three are the inexhaustible right path; to lose them is the root of disorder; not to follow them is called going against Heaven. Therefore the sage holds Dao and De within and fulfills Ren in action; whatever goes beyond this belongs to the ordinary conduct of the myriad things.

This passage explains that within the qi of the four seasons, spirits assist in promoting good and punishing evil; whatever kind of qi one dwells upon in thought, one draws the corresponding kind of spirit or ghost.

Question: Under what circumstances does one draw great spirits, middle spirits, or lesser spirits?

Answer: When the mind fixes on the sovereign qi of daily contemplation and monthly establishment (the qi that opens the month and governs the period), great spirits are drawn. When it fixes on mutual/generating qi (qi of support and harmony), middle spirits are drawn. When it fixes on killing qi (qi of punishment and harm), lesser spirits are drawn. When it fixes on the declining old qi after monthly establishment, old things (decayed entities) are drawn. When it fixes on the sick and waning qi after monthly establishment, wayward ghosts are drawn. When it fixes on the death qi after monthly establishment, pure ghosts (ghosts that chiefly preside over death) are drawn. When it fixes on the breaking qi after monthly establishment, destructive killing, fierce evil, and calamitous harm are drawn.

(Later text repeats the same scheme: generative and mutual qi bring middle spirits; killing qi brings lesser spirits; old, sick-waning, death, and breaking qi respectively bring old things, wayward ghosts, pure ghosts, and fierce harm.)

Generative qi belongs to Heaven, to Yang, and to the “front” (the segment before the dipper handle). The way of Heaven uses spirit-qi to generate the myriad things, so the six spirits before the dipper all preside over generation. The six spirits behind the dipper belong to Earth and Yin; the way of Heaven uses death-qi to form ghosts and the misfortunes of things.

Heaven wants people of later ages to be ever cautious and ever sincere, personally guard the body and cherish themselves, so that spirits and essential qi do not leave the body—then one does not know aging or death. Spirits and essential qi move with a person’s intentions and do not leave the bodily form; when spirits are constantly present, one is neither ill nor aged, and on the road one does not meet evil. Once spirits scatter and vanish, the sick die at once and travelers meet fierce harm—this is a great proof. If one wishes not to fall ill, one should guard oneself with utmost sincerity.

In all matters one must not go against nature (ziran); if within the natural order there is no spirit and mind (jingshen), the matter cannot become efficacious. Yet according to the Great Dao and the nature of Heaven and Earth, if there is no great spirit and mind in between, even preservation is impossible—how much more so for small affairs? Therefore the way of Heaven and Earth acts by spirit and mind and by nature. Thus whether the affair is great or small, there is spirit and mind: great affairs have great spirit and mind, small affairs have small spirit and mind; only by each nurturing its spirit and mind can it long endure. When spirit and mind are depleted, one ages; when spirit and mind are lost, one dies—this is the natural allotment and cannot be forced.

The safety or peril of all affairs depends entirely on spirit and mind. Take the physical form as home, qi as carriage and horse for coming and going, and spirit and mind as chief official; rise and fall, coming and going, are all governed by it. A body without spirit and mind is like fields, houses, and walls without a chief. The chief official is the arbiter of life for the people; what loyal ministers, filial children, and greatly obedient persons ought to practice is just this principle. While alive in the world, if one is not loyal to superiors and not filial to parents, one betrays oneself, brings punishment upon oneself, and loses the root.

If one constantly thinks good thoughts, spirit and mind gather and follow the person; if one constantly thinks evil thoughts, spirit and mind also gather and follow the person, enter the belly, and move with what one thinks, making one worried, knotted, and unable to forget.

[Opening] On the conditions within the womb: if a person often thinks of doing good, Jing (essence/life energy) gathers and follows that person; if one often thinks of evil, Jing likewise gathers and follows. Jing enters the belly and moves with whatever one dwells on, so worry and stagnation bind the person and are hard to release.

[Opening] On the fetus in the womb that does not eat yet takes Qi: inside the mother’s belly it draws ziran zhi qi—the Qi heaven’s Dao gives, which needs no outward seeking. After birth, one takes Yin–Yang Qi through breathing—the everyday Qi that waxes and wanes with each in-breath and out-breath. Guard the Dao and cultivate diligently, and one can return to ziran zhi qi. When the heart is like an infant’s, one can attain long life; if one only follows the turning of Yin–Yang Qi with breath, one moves toward death. [End]

[Supplement] The Taiping Jing also says: Why does the child in the womb not eat yet take Qi? Heaven’s Dao originally has ziran zhi qi, and also has xiaoxi zhi qi—Qi that waxes, wanes, and changes with breathing and with life and death. Whoever is in the womb and receives Qi first takes heaven’s Dao as ziran zhi qi; once born, taking Qi through exhaling and inhaling Yin–Yang is xiaoxi zhi qi. If one guards the Dao, studies it with effort, and returns to ziran zhi qi, one lives; if one only holds to xiaoxi zhi qi, one dies. Therefore those who obtain the true Dao can use nei qi—Qi that moves within and does not depend on outer breath—rather than relying on outer Qi. Nourishing one’s nature with this inner Qi is what makes one return to being like an infant and recover one’s original destiny. Hence one should cultivate nei qi and inwardly nourish the bodily form.

(Quoted from San Dong Zhu Nang, fascicle 4, “Category of Abstaining from Grain”)

The Taiping Jing, fascicle 120, says: Therefore, those who rely on food have a limited lifespan; those who eat nothing commune with the spirits. Those who cultivate by “eating qi” find the spirits open to them; those who neither drink nor eat may end together with heaven and earth.

(Note on the fascicle)

This passage belongs to the Ren section of fascicles 137–153 in the collated Taiping Jing; in the Taiping Jing Chao it is classified under the Ren section.

Main meaning of the text

Ordinary people cannot control one another, so each must take charge of his or her own life. If one acts badly, heaven will punish. Then petty wrongdoers are corrected by middling people, middling people by superior ones, and superior ones by the “great persons” (those of high virtue and authority). Even small offenses bring danger and ruin on oneself. Spirits punish according to rank and scale in the same way. If people cannot restrain themselves, heaven will surely punish.

“Heaven fears the Dao; the Dao fears nature” (heaven dreads straying from the Dao; the Dao dreads straying from “nature”—the inherent way things run, not nature in the casual modern sense).

Heaven “fears the Dao” because heaven must follow the Dao completely. If the Dao is abandoned and not practiced, the way of heaven is disrupted and the “great persons” suffer harm.

When the way of heaven is chaotic and ruined, there is no longer any standard to speak of. Therefore heaven and earth must be made to hold to the Dao naturally: practice it without slack, and yin and yang pass on and nourish each other.

The Dao is lord of generation: if the Dao is cut off, the myriad things are not born; if they are not born, there are no kinds to carry on in the world; if the myriad things cannot beget and pass on to one another, they perish—how then could one speak of heaven and earth? Yin and yang of heaven and earth ought to beget and pass on to one another; if they are now cut off and extinguished, they head toward ruin, so heaven fears that the Dao may be “cut off” and fall into danger and extinction.

The Dao fears nature: if the way of heaven does not come about through “nature,” it cannot succeed. All things exist because of “nature”; going against nature, true accomplishment is hard. Even when something seems achieved, it is deceit and pretense and cannot last.

Though heaven and earth are far apart, whoever governs fate and inflicts restraint—none can escape.

Someone asked: “The qi of Great Peace has already arrived. If one wishes to use good intentions continuously to eliminate craftiness and evil deeds, where should one begin?”

The answer was: “Heaven and earth by nature are half yang and half yin. Yang governs what is good and presides over reward; yin governs what is evil. The evil aspect shows itself as punishment and presides over craftiness and falsehood. When rewards are many and punishments few, crafty people multiply; when rewards are few, the gates of evil and craftiness open wide. This happens because when punishments are many and severe, the emphasis is on injury and killing. Those who break the law are often treated as wicked criminals, so the gates of craftiness open and the crafty become numerous. Yang presides over reward; when giving is abundant, De (Virtue/Power) acts as king. Yang and De govern nurturing and growth—this is the natural law. Therefore day is yang, the sun, the ruler, and De; night is yin, the moon, the minister, and craftiness. Heaven and earth by nature are half good and half evil, so the noble person blocks the gates of craftiness by doing much good. Those who promote much good receive good; those who promote much evil receive evil. It is like striking one dipper against another—the one that is not a dipper naturally moves aside; or striking one ruler against another—the one that is not a ruler naturally falls away. It is also like square and circle not fitting together, compass and square not aligning, vertical and horizontal not joining. Therefore when yang qi rises, things necessarily move according to their kind. That is why when fire flourishes, thunder must sound, and the Vermilion Bird (zhuque, the bird of southern fire virtue, symbolizing summer fire) is within it. So in summer there is thunder; in winter thunder lies hidden. Each thing follows its root, and only then can the way of heaven be seen clearly. If one does not seek by kind, how could sages and worthies know deeply? From the opening of heaven and earth until now, whether people are good or evil, true or false—look at what they do, seek by category, and divining whether they will succeed, gain and loss in good and evil, worthy or unworthy—all can be seen. Why sit and argue in vain?”

Question: From antiquity to the present, the worthy, the clear-sighted, the wise, the eloquent, the strong, and the brave—each of these six kinds of person has talent ten thousand times beyond ordinary people. Can there still be a distinction between good and evil among them?

Answer: Though all six possess talent ten thousand times greater than others, if that talent can dwell in peace and harmony with heaven and earth, so that every kind of evil and harm does not arise, the ruler enjoys long years without worry and a long life, and they themselves can remove illness and each fulfill their natural span, with their grace reaching even common people—then such worthiness, clarity, wisdom, eloquence, strength, and bravery count as great good and great benefit. Conversely, if they cannot share harmony with heaven and earth, cannot secure the ruler’s carefree longevity, still suffer illness themselves and cannot dispel disaster, or die before their time no differently from ordinary people—then these six bring no benefit. One should only take them as models where they succeed, without pressing further questions. What succeeds is right; what fails is wrong. If one follows them in this way, one deeply accords with the intent of August Heaven; the ruler thereby extends his years, and the myriad things are all well governed.

Question: At times the myriad things ought to be born but are not, ought to be nurtured but are not, fail to grow to completion or grow too large—where do these faults ultimately come from?

Answer: When they ought to be born but are not, the fault lies with what images heaven; when they ought to be nurtured but are not, the fault lies with what images earth. Heaven and earth are the house of the myriad things; the worthy are the craftsmen of the myriad things. The ruler images heaven and must constantly enable the myriad things to be born; the empress images earth and must constantly enable them to be nurtured; ministers image humanity and must constantly reflect on how to bring the myriad things to completion. When these three work with one mind, the myriad things from birth to death suffer no harm. Whoever wishes to follow the Way of Great Peace must, in making laws and governing, achieve exactly this.

Someone asked: “Does the Way of Heaven favor the weak or the strong—the few or the many?” The sage replied: “The Way of Heaven favors the weak.”

Asked again, “Why?” he said: “Weakness is how the Dao works; the few are what the Dao hinges on. The north pole has but one star, yet it commands all the stars—governing the many through the few. The Dao takes the One as its foundation, and the myriad things all belong to it. A king is the smallest in number, yet everyone under heaven comes to help him rule—that is what it means to aid the few. Parents are strong, yet they must nurture a weak infant—that shows the strong supporting the weak. Those of highest goodness are few and soft; those who lack goodness are strong and numerous. When the many pile up, they become the few in effect; when force is pushed too far, it turns into weakness. So the noble person seeks to be soft, not hard; seeks to be few, not many—and the Way of Heaven protects him. He does not compete with the world, yet the world competes among themselves; he does not vie with the world for dominance, yet the world helps him grow strong. Thus, by not contending, he is good at winning.”

Title in plain language: On how to distinguish the Dao, essence (Jing), the body, and De (Virtue/Power), and the key points involved.

Someone asked: “If one has already decided to gladly follow the Dao, what are the effects that can be clearly seen?”

The divine person answered: “I received this text from the gods of heaven. The gods said: the Dao must accord with Yin-Yang, wind and rain, cold and heat—only then is the great verification complete. Heaven delights to see the Dao practiced throughout the world, yet people have not yet believed with full heart, so rain-making and rain-stopping are used to make the verification visible. When the Way of Great Peace (Taiping) is practiced, prayers are answered; when it is not practiced, prayers go unanswered—this shows that the Dao is truly realized in Great Peace. When the myriad things do not come to birth, the problem lies with the sun (Yang, the power of generation); when they are born but not nurtured, the problem lies with the moon (Yin, the power of nurturing); when they are nurtured but do not mature, the problem lies with central harmony (Zhonghe). Thus: generation is like the father, nurturing like the mother, and maturation like the son; generation relies on the Dao, nurturing on De, maturation on benevolence (Ren)—all within central harmony. If one thing fails to be born, one channel of the Dao is blocked; if one thing is not nurtured, one aspect of De is neglected; if one virtue of De does not mature, one act of Ren is not carried out. To know for oneself whether one has Dao, De, and Ren, look at the myriad things and you will know. For emperors, rulers, fathers, and teachers who wish to know deeply whether their Dao, De, and Ren are strong or weak, looking at these is enough.

In principle, the highest good is to delight in giving life; next, to delight in nurturing; after that, to delight in bestowing. Thus the one who gives life is like heaven, the one who nurtures like earth, the one who bestows like benevolence—these three are the great framework of heaven, earth, and humanity; what lies below them is kept in reserve for use only when all else is exhausted. Then heaven’s qi will naturally be at peace, harmful influences will perish of themselves, the good will come of themselves, and the evil will depart of themselves—nothing will fail to respond.

Whoever can understand this is the “Master”—one who knows beforehand and takes the title of teacher, and who should uphold, attest to, and explain it. From antiquity to the present, whenever scripture appears in the world, it comes forth from heaven and earth; therefore heaven and earth come first. Whoever can clarify it is the Master; therefore there is verification. Whoever can understand this is the Master—one who knows beforehand and takes the title of teacher, and who should uphold, attest to, and explain it. From antiquity to the present, whenever scripture appears in the world, it comes forth from heaven and earth; therefore heaven and earth come first. Whoever can clarify it is the Master; therefore there is verification.

Those who grasp principles are the masters (those who transmit the Dao and its methods). All written teaching therefore comes from the master, while what is put into practice throughout the realm falls to the county officials (central and local officers). In antiquity, emperors received Heaven’s mandate and instruction from masters, applied it faithfully to ward off disaster, aligned with Heaven’s intent, and thus extended their years and preserved life—that is the point. Creation belongs to Heaven, clarification to the master, execution to the emperor; the three rely on one another to succeed. If Heaven does not issue the texts, the master has nothing to learn; if the master does not explain the texts, the emperor cannot know how to govern. When Heaven is about to raise an emperor, wondrous texts appear; enlightened masters instruct emperors and county officials so that people may extend life—clear proof that Heaven supports the throne.

“Among the myriad people and myriad things, some never come to be; some are born but not nourished; some are nourished but do not grow; some grow but do not mature; some never complete their natural span—where does the blame lie?”

“When the myriad people and things are not born, the blame is Heaven’s; when they are not nourished, Earth’s; when they grow but do not mature, humanity’s.”

“So the blame is humanity’s?”

“When things are not born at the right season, the blame is the sovereign’s; when they are born but not nourished, the minister’s; when they grow but do not come to completion, the people’s. Heaven, the sovereign, and the father preside over birth—the domain of Taiyang (Yang qi), the root of generation. If Heaven does not will birth, nothing is born; if the father does not will to bestow (beget and give), nothing is born; if the sovereign does not will birth, nothing is born. Hence Heaven, sovereign, and father hold birth. When sovereign and father constantly intend life and take no pleasure in killing, the myriad things all live. One thought of killing kills one thing; ten thoughts kill ten; a hundred kill a hundred—and so on to myriad thoughts. Earth is mother; ministers receive Yang’s bestowal and preside over nourishing and raising the myriad things, always intending nurture—is that not so? One thought of failing to nurture harms one thing; ten thoughts harm ten; a hundred harm a hundred—and so to myriad thoughts. That is why emperors of high antiquity, in appointing ministers, always sought kindness and benevolence, loving to nourish the myriad things and govern with the people.”

Plain-Language Explanation

In the middle antiquity (the era between high antiquity and low antiquity), rulers practiced only half of benevolent governance, so the ten thousand things suffered only half as much harm. In low antiquity, they appointed ministers without careful selection, so the ten thousand things were all harmed.

Dehuang (the sovereign of virtue): the sovereign’s words are bright, upright, illustrious, and trustworthy.

Di (emperor): one who bears the role of wisdom between Heaven and Earth, so that the world does not fall into evil—hence called emperor.

Wang (king): governs together with the ten thousand things; causes the people and the ten thousand things to turn to the king without being harmed—hence called king. Wang also carries the sense of “going toward” (guiwang: turning toward, attaching to).

Jun (lord): each settles his own domain; people attach to him without being harmed—hence called lord. Jun is a title.

Li (official): means to govern—assisting superiors in ordering affairs so that common people and the ten thousand things, great and small, do not lose their proper place—only then may one be called an official.

Shi (master): one who fully comprehends the literary expressions of the world may be called a great master; a great master is one who can interpret the world’s written texts and their meaning.

Thus arose the titles emperor, king, lord, and master. So the way of the sovereign (Huangdao) is the head; the way of the emperor (Didao) is the belly; the way of the king (Wangdao) is the thighs; officials are the hands and feet. The way of the master (Shidao) takes the plumb line and inked cord (the carpenter’s standard, standing for law and measure) as its rule; above and below depend on each other for it to hold.

Therefore those who govern well constantly hold the Huangdao in mind, in the middle hold the Didao, below hold the ways of lord and official, and constantly recite the methods of the great master—then they can keep to the legal cord and measure. Thus the heart of Heaven can be at peace, the intent of Earth can accord, the four seasons naturally keep order, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) do not clash, the three lights of sun, moon, and stars stay bright, ghosts and spirits and vital essences do not harm people, the five senses and the five soils each find their place, bandits and thieves do not arise, and emperors and kings rule with robes draped and hands folded—all hailed as “ten thousand years.” Such is Heaven’s Dao as law. If one does not act according to the meaning of my (the Scripture of Great Peace) text, it is truly difficult! One should ponder its meaning deeply and put these two practices into effect (holding the Dao in mind and reciting the law)—and there are still precepts to observe.

The inherent pattern of Heaven and Earth involves beings of the kind Jing, Qi, Shen, and Gui—they take part in governing affairs among humans, learn from people, and also teach how one ought to act.

In traditional terms, they correspond to the yin side and the zang-fu organs of the human body: Shen is linked to the yin aspect of the heart, Jing to the yin aspect of the kidneys, and Gui to the yin aspect of the liver. When a person steadily keeps integrity and good intentions in the mind, they naturally teach others toward goodness in accord with the flow of things; when what is yin in a person—the depths of the heart, habits, and hidden thoughts—often leans toward evil, then forces of the gui type also push people toward evil and teach wrongdoing.

In antiquity, sages and worthies often intended good in the belly and in hidden thought, so what they drew to themselves was also good; ordinary people who often intend evil in hidden thought meet with evil outcomes and cannot control themselves. The issue often lies not elsewhere but in whether hidden thoughts habitually aim at good or at evil—gui and shen also follow those intentions toward good or toward evil. Placing Gui in the liver yin in this teaching is meant to compare and verify whether the hidden mind and the matching of good and evil with retribution are aligned.

(Note: In this scripture, Jing, Qi, Shen, and Gui describe how the human mind corresponds with Heaven and Earth; this is not the same as everyday talk of “ghosts that scare people.” Hidden thoughts (yinian) mostly mean intentions and habits that are not shown outwardly.)

Plain-Language Explanation

Taiping qi (Great Peace qi) means wind and rain in balance and the seasons in order; the ten thousand things flourish, the land is fit for fertilizing and tillage, and it grows richer and stronger day by day so that life can endure.

Inauspicious years are when rain and moisture come at the wrong times, little grows on the ground, and what does grow is stunted and weak. When the land cannot restore its own fertility, it grows poorer and can no longer sustain the ten thousand things.

For heaven and earth to run properly, Yin and Yang must match and harmonize; only then is there Great Peace, and from that the officers of the four seasons and the Five Phases (heavenly functionaries who govern the seasons and Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) are set in place.

Diwang zhi qi (emperor qi) and yuejian (the monthly “establishment” of the twelve Earthly Branches, e.g. yin in the first month, which governs that month’s seasonal qi) align before and after one another. Their role is to uphold the emperor’s upright qi and drive off evil officers.

Jian qi and wang qi are heaven’s qi of the four seasons and the Five Phases in their “emperor” aspect. Xiang qi and chu qi stand before them: one sets what lies ahead in line with emperor qi, the other expels evil officers. (A repeated sentence below carries the same meaning.)

The first five who “hold” (zhi) go ahead to guard emperor qi in advance and to execute and remove great evil. The five generals before jian (monthly establishment) all receive heaven’s upright qi; they are officers of heavenly spirits and should act as heaven’s envoys. All things, great and small—including the myriad categories counted in the tradition of “ten thousand and two thousand kinds”—should accept their virtue and follow their transforming influence.

When wang qi falls on si (Death) and yuejian on po (Break), that is the most solemn qi of the first rank and must not be violated; violators die. This is called sha qi da hao (killing qi and great depletion).

After yuejian comes bi (Close): block treachery and evil, lest resting, hidden qi from behind interfere with the emperor’s jian qi—so heaven closes what follows; after closing comes opening, so resting evil qi withdraws.

What follows is cheng (Completion): treachery and evil should then be gathered in and restrained. The last five are wei (Danger): their positions lie near sealing off evil (the text repeats the idea that resting qi behind must not harm jian qi, with the same sense).

Wei means the place is close to heaven’s execution of great killing (da sha); one turn and po brings the strike—hence “danger.”

The last five generals: heaven intends them to rest and share qi with earth; they preside over closing in and hiding treachery and evil, dwell in the same realm as ghostly beings, and must not be put to use.

Brief notes on terms

• Taiping qi: qi symbolizing universal peace and balanced Yin-Yang.
• Yuejian: the monthly “establishment” of one of the twelve branches (e.g. yin for the first month), governing that month’s seasonal qi.
• Jian qi, wang qi, xiang qi, chu qi: qi-names tied to yuejian and wang qi, associated with establishing the month, emperorship, assistance, and clearing.
• Qian wu, hou wu: five “generals” or officers before and after yuejian—guarding upright qi versus closing in and gathering evil.
• Si, po, bi, cheng, wei: here mostly positions from the jianchu (Establish–Remove) twelve-day cycle or similar calendrical qi-names, used to say what must not be violated, when evil should be closed off, and when it should be restrained.

Someone asked: “The north is where the Way of the Sovereign (Huang) begins, the east where the Way of the Emperor (Di) begins, the south where the Way of the King (Wang) begins, and the west where the Way of the Hegemon (Ba) begins. Now that heaven has the Six Jia and the Twelve Branches (the stem-and-branch system of reckoning time), from what point should the Sovereign’s Way be counted?”

The answer was: “Yes. Heaven has the Three Unifications (the calendrical schemes of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity), and each has its own supreme origin and starting point. The first unification is the Heavenly Sovereign, the second the Emperor, the third the King, and the fourth the Hegemon. The Heavenly Sovereign begins at the upper jiazi, the Earthly Sovereign at yichou, the Human Sovereign at bingyin, and the Hegemon’s Way at dingmao—this is how the celestial calendar arranges the numbers of qi. In the terrestrial calendar, the Sovereign’s Way begins at zi, the Emperor’s Way at chou, the King’s Way at yin, and the Hegemon’s Way at mao. These four, having at first received the subtle qi of heaven and earth and been brought into being, must not undergo punishment (xing). If they do, the Sovereign’s Way is harmed; the Dao too must not be injured. That is why zi punishes mao, chou punishes xu, and yin punishes si—all due to punitive qi (the baleful energy of mutual punishment among the earthly branches)—so they cannot occupy the same place as these four who were originally generated from heaven and earth’s subtle qi.”

Question: Can it be explained clearly that Heaven confers upon people, Earth confers upon people, and humans (the ruler) confer upon people, each with distinct ranks and differences?

Answer: Heaven confers upon people with the Dao; Earth confers upon people by nurturing De (virtue); humans confer upon people with stipend and provisions (salary, clothing, and food).

Question: What does this mean?

Answer: Heaven takes the Dao as unique and enduring, so it bestows the Dao upon people, granting long life and the ability to be nourished by eating wind and qi until satisfied. Earth governs nurturing and enables people to dwell peacefully in good land; Earth can make people wealthy, so it bestows “wealth through De” upon them. The ruler bestows stipend and provisions, granting garments. All three are beneficent acts.

Those who cherish the Dao and do not slacken therefore receive Heaven’s conferral. Those who cherish De, love the land, understand surveying land to grant fields and choosing land to dwell—leaving misfortune and gaining auspiciousness—therefore receive Earth’s conferral. Those who love learning and benefit governance above cannot be kept at a distance by ruler or father; they must be entrusted with affairs of state, and therefore receive conferral from humans (the ruler).

The sages and worthies of antiquity strove to study and practice and dared not neglect these three matters. Thus some obtained the Dao and departed; some withdrew from the world to marginal or blessed lands; and some received stipend and provisions from their ruler.

Brief note: “Confer” (feng) here is not merely the granting of fiefdoms; it is the blessings and standing that Heaven, Earth, and the ruler each assign to people: Heaven gives the Dao and longevity, Earth gives De and wealth, the ruler gives stipend, provisions, and clothing. The three correspond to the paths of cultivating the Dao, thickening virtue, and assisting in governance—none of which the sages dared to forsake.

Someone asked: “For those who cultivate the Five Tones, what happens when they attain the correct tone? What happens when they do not? Can all of this be discerned from the sound itself?”

Answer: Sound is not empty. It uses the empty to reach the full, and uses formless presence to move what has form—this is the function of music (yue). Music moves things through sound, just as when a person opens the mouth to speak, there is good and bad: what is good draws fortune, what is bad draws misfortune. The meaning of the classics all comes forth from the human mouth, so good and evil receive their responses. Musical sound is precisely the “language” of Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang, and the Five Phases. By listening to the tone, one can know the sentiment of Heaven and Earth; whether the qi of the four seasons and the Five Phases is harmonious—those who do not understand find it hard to know fully. The superior practitioner grasps its meaning and uses it to order principle and govern the realm; the middling practitioner applies it to assist the ruler in governing and to extend life; the worthy practitioner applies it and thereby obtains freedom from worry. With one tone unifying the myriad, the myriad rides upon the limitless (wuji), and the Way of all under Heaven is thereby made complete.

This passage addresses the question: Why does the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace) take the form of one hundred and seventy scrolls, and what is that scale meant to signify?

Answer: “One” is the beginning of number. Before heaven and earth were separated, qi gathered into a single whole; then they divided into two, becoming Yin-Yang and husband and wife. Heaven bestows upon earth; in the hidden depths things are nurtured, marked by jiazi as the designation. Root qi spreads through the northeast; chou is the start of yin; it appears in the east, the sun rises at mao; it grows in the southeast; from chen to si branches hang toward the south and are nourished at wu; it ages toward the southwest at wei and shen; it completes in the west, the sun sets at you; it ends and is stored in the northwest at xu and hai. Thus number begins with “one” and ends with “twelve.” The foundation of the Heavenly Stems is also the root of the Five Phases. Hence “one” can become “ten,” and “a hundred” is then complete. When heaven produces the myriad things, the spring thunder sounds, and within a hundred days their cycle tends toward completion. Therefore heaven’s Dipper (the Northern Dipper) is “established” at chen and “broken” at xu. “Establishment” means setting up and birth: the myriad things are fully born at chen; “breaking” means decay and death: the myriad things fully die at xu. Thus number runs from heaven down to earth and the eight directions, made complete by “ten”; Yin-Yang establishment and breaking move in cycles of “seven,” returning again to the former state. Affairs are clarified by following where the celestial dipper points; hence the dipper has seven stars, to make clear the beginning and end of Yin-Yang. For this reason the Taiping Jing is composed in one hundred and seventy scrolls: it images the numbers of heaven and earth, responds to the methods of Yin-Yang, follows the four seasons and Five Phases as its course of practice, and dares not err by the slightest fraction. If it errs, it departs from heavenly affairs and has no basis; it does not answer heaven and earth’s intent, does not follow the numbers of heaven in making scripture, is of no use for ordering the world, does not image the methods of heaven and earth, and cannot remove harm. If you wish to know its proof: gather idle writings of the world, pile them thirty li high—even up to heaven—and put them into practice, and they still cannot dispel disasters and calamities.”

Beneath the great heaven there are eighty-one regions; among the myriad countries within them, each land has its own documents, all wishing to banish evil and bring goodness and to dispel disasters and calamities—yet even if practiced up to heaven, they still cannot dispel disasters and calamities.

Beneath the Great Heaven lie eighty-one great domains; among the myriad nations, each keeps its own records, all seeking to drive out evil, foster good, and ward off disaster. Even if every classic were gathered and piled across a hundred square li until the heap reached the sky, calamity would still not be removed. This scripture is brief, yet if a ruler truly follows it, clear results will soon appear.

In antiquity, first-rank divine beings, second-rank true persons (zhenren), third-rank immortals (xianren), and fourth-rank Daoists (daoren) all took the Way of Heaven as their model and grasped the heart of the true Dao (Zhendao). Though the eyes might swim, they turned inward in contemplation—using mind to order the inner realm, the yin brightness within reflecting back upon the sun, until alone within they seized the Dao’s essential point. It is like fire that brightens only inward and not outward, so that one endures long without disorder. Those today who study the path of deliverance, imitating the ancients in this inward looking, mean precisely this.

In time, transmission waxed and then waned again; people came to reject daily what they practiced, and teaching lost the Dao’s intent—unable to shine inward, order slipped day by day. Therefore Heaven sent down sages who patterned themselves on celestial images and the patterns of culture (wen). When the celestial pattern is upright, Heaven is upright; when the earthly pattern is upright, Earth is upright; when the human pattern is upright, humanity is upright. When Heaven, Earth, and humanity are all upright, the ten thousand things are upright. The human being is chief among the ten thousand things. When people fail in their role, are harmed, and die before their allotted years, the ten thousand things follow; when Earth’s pattern is upright, Earth is upright; when humanity’s pattern is upright, people are upright—and when all three are upright, all things are upright. Again: humanity is chief among the ten thousand things. When people fail, are injured, and die without completing their heaven-given span, the ten thousand things suffer likewise, and Heaven and Earth with them. Heterodox qi (xieqi) runs rampant, the sick never cease, and people cannot live out their natural years. The practices of past and present each have their proper order; none may overstep another’s place.

Among the most honored divine beings of the upper sovereign age, one styles himself the Duke of Entrusted Breath (Weiqi zhi gong), also called the Great Spirit (Dashen). He stands always at the Celestial Sovereign’s left, chiefly arranging the Mingtang texts so they may be distinguished—bearing the great charge of the curved collar. He opens the ruler to immortals and spirits, registers those not yet born, each with name, year, month, day, and hour fixed. When the time of ascent arrives, he sends the spirit to instruct and transform the person’s body so they may rise.

Duties should be assigned according to each person’s capacity and talent, so that no one forgets their proper role. Every regulation must be clear enough for people to understand, and they should state for themselves what they can perform; only after verification may they be appointed.

When reporting to Heaven, it should be stated thus: the Great Deity is the supreme lord over all spirits; each spirit has its own charge, and this must be accepted and understood without doubt. Long life that is allotted by fate must be entered in the registers and checked with care. Those with a sage-like heart should report in daylight on everything under their charge, truthfully; after verification they may be put to use.

Besides oral reports, tallies and reckonings must be worked out clearly in ledgers and with counting rods; such matters fall under the Accounting Bureau (Ji Cao), which is responsible for the numbers of grain, funds, and precious goods. All who must submit accounts should inform the bureau in advance. The Accounting Bureau formally reports to the Director of Agriculture (Simu), who oversees tax collection and revenue. In long months on the thirtieth day and in short months on the twenty-ninth, all must assemble at the Bright Hall Great Deity to submit reports; deadlines must not be missed. According to the Celestial Sovereign’s instructions, nothing may be late beyond three quarters after dawn. At the fifth quarter, the Bright Hall Great Deity receives and consolidates the memorials, handling them according to the Celestial Sovereign’s established orders.

The Great Deity, by the Celestial Sovereign’s command, assigns tasks to the Director of Agriculture; the Director of Agriculture, having received the command, passes it down to the provinces, commanderies, and states under his charge. Each area’s division of labor and what it administers must be stated; whatever should be entered in the books and whatever should be delivered to the Director of Agriculture must be documented according to the amounts issued. If there is slackness, delay, or failure to deliver on time, the Director of Agriculture reports to the Bright Hall Great Deity, who in turn informs the Celestial Sovereign; the Celestial Sovereign issues instructions to the Director of Agriculture, ordering the commanderies and states to press for completion, so that later documents are not held up.

Fixed dates and handovers timed by the clepsydra must be observed; roles must be distinct and must not be confused. Document formats must be uniform, and duplicate copies kept separately. Heaven itself should not suffer flood or drought; the ledgers must not be altered at will. What is due for rotation and submission must be handed in when due—excuses for delay or private retention are forbidden. Once discovered, there are officials in charge; Heaven too will know, and guilt is generally not pardoned. Each person should guard his post carefully and handle his own affairs clearly.

The Celestial Sovereign (the supreme ruler in Heaven) foreknows all affairs and need not wait for reports from the human realm to learn of them. What people ask should be explained in full; one must not speak rashly or at random. Floods and droughts follow no fixed pattern; various calamities arise together, and countless people fall ill and die—these often occur because the Celestial Sovereign’s teachings have not been followed.

The Celestial Sovereign promulgates his teachings, informing the great spirits (high-ranking deities), matters under the jurisdiction of officials equivalent to “middle two-thousand-dan” rank, and the host of spirits who each hold their posts in Heaven: you must be utterly loyal and must complete what ought to be done, so as to accord with the Celestial Sovereign’s intent. The Celestial Sovereign, together with the various masters, guides and transforms living beings; those who deserve “ascension and deliverance” (transcendence and rebirth in the celestial realm) are corrected according to the true Way.

Each person cultivates the luminous form of a spirit; according to rank, high or low, the spirit one becomes also holds a distinct office and belongs in sequence to a particular bureau. The Celestial Sovereign commands the great spirits to guide and transform the people constantly. People should measure themselves, straighten their intent; each cultivates the luminous form of a spirit—and likewise, according to rank, the spirits they become each have offices and subordinate ranks in order. The Celestial Sovereign commands the great spirits to guide constantly. People should measure themselves and raise their intent day by day, longing for the path of ascent. After transformation, their light shines as in broad daylight; they accompany penetrating upright spirits and drift through the “eight directions” (the farthest reaches in every quarter). They observe what Heaven does, know its movement and stillness, and each acts as is fitting.

There are fixed days for audience with the Celestial Sovereign, generally around the “establishment day” of each month (the kind of date reckoned from “establishment” at the month’s start). Great and lesser spirits have an order among themselves; selection and arrangement follow rank, high and low. Ministers attending audience need only arrive by plain dawn; the host of spirits each understand their deployment, inspect cases on schedule without a fixed term, must clarify the documents, supervise those in office, handle first what must be handled, and act as the Celestial Sovereign’s commands require. To report affairs, one must open the Bright Hall (the place of assembly and memorial) before speaking. Each has what is clear to him and what he carries (duty and credentials); there must be no lack of effect. The Celestial Sovereign commands the great spirits: when the officials assemble, each corrects his august bearing and must not commit faults; distinctions follow the statutes, and each oversees his jurisdiction. Heaven will know; faults not cleared remain. Each guards his post carefully and must not let the spirits seize upon his shortcomings.

The Celestial Sovereign again commands the great spirits: within the commanderies and kingdoms, there are people of sage wisdom and upright intent who constantly think of the arts of “coveting life” (seeking longevity and deliverance), who wish to walk with the “spirit of life” (the deity who governs life and delivers people) and to be of one mind and will with Heaven. If they wish to spread grace widely among people, they must reflect and awaken—(likewise) faults not cleared remain; each guards his post and must not let the spirits obtain grounds against him. (The final sentence repeats the preceding line; such repetition is a conventional emphatic device in the scripture text.)

The Heavenly Lord commanded the great deities: In each commandery and state, if someone has the heart of a sage, the resolve of wisdom, constantly seeks the way of “cherishing life” and “nurturing life,” wishes to walk with the spirit of life, and aligns mind and intent with the will of Heaven; if they also wish to spread kindness widely among people and always think how to foster growth and guard life—helping Heaven order the birth of the myriad things and helping Earth nurture form and substance; and if they look up to humaneness and virtue and turn toward good teaching—such persons should have their names reported to the great deities so that the relevant divine registry has records on file and documents on record, with their merit reported again and again so that people may trust and rely on them. The divine registry then informs the Heavenly Lord of their intent; the Heavenly Lord has fixed allotments, and each deity who recommends someone bears responsibility for that recommendation. When commanderies and states select talent, they must take the best.

The Heavenly Lord further commanded the Hall of Enlightenment (the agency that oversees governance, teaching, and official duties): All who handle the many offices on behalf of the Heavenly Lord must keep mind and intent fair. Each person acts according to the department assigned from Heaven, each line of duty in order, with full loyalty and sincerity, mastering what their office requires, and must complete their work and put their share of affairs in good order.

Everyone should be honest and clear in communication; they should bring forward what they think and intend. Wherever voice reaches, though the heart still holds words not yet spoken, the Heavenly Lord already knows those words beforehand—since that is so, why hide anything or fall short of full loyalty?

Question: Now, to explain further the method of sagehood, humaneness, and virtue, and to cut off corrupt writing completely, one should offer up what one has thought; where voice reaches, intent is present, and the Heavenly Lord has heard the words—why still conceal and not give full loyalty?

Question: “We now wish to explain more clearly the principles of sage benevolence and love, and to abolish false and deceptive writings altogether—how can this be made still clearer?”

Answer: “Heaven detests such false and deceptive writings and would remove them so that the Way of Heaven may shine forth again. The writings of sages through the ages were meant to govern Heaven and Earth. When the Way of the sages is clear and bright, the great pattern of the Way of Heaven is also opened. What High Heaven abhors and dislikes is why wars arise and floods and droughts never cease. Rulers are worn down with care, and all say that the writings of the sages have gradually fallen into confusion and obscurity—therefore the Way of Heaven too is chaotic and hard to set in order. When the writings of the sages are in disorder, the Way of Heaven is in disorder; when the writings of the sages are cast aside and unused, the Way of Heaven is cast aside and unused.”

Question: “In antiquity there were no written characters, yet the Way of Heaven was not in disorder. In those days the heavenly tally scriptures—the covenant texts sent down from Heaven—had not yet appeared. The supreme ancient divine beings governed the high ancestors; originally they shared one body with High Heaven and later became separate forms. Over long ages they drifted far from the Way of Heaven and sank into ruin and chaos, no longer understanding Heaven’s intent. So High Heaven sent down the tally texts for sages to write and transmit from master to disciple. Sages cannot long remain in the world, so they recorded these things to pass them on to later generations. Thus when the breath of Great Peace arrives, the Way of Heaven ought to be set in order once more.”

Question: “If we now wish to govern the realm according to principle and attain long life, can we hear and understand these teachings?”

Answer: “You can. Reflect carefully on my words: High Heaven has its constant laws. One who stands as ruler above others should take Heaven as model in conduct and take Dao, De, and benevolence (ren) as the three unifying foundations of rule. If the ruler delights in seeking a realm without turmoil, let him each morning constantly hold Dao in mind, by day constantly hold De in mind, and at evening constantly hold benevolence in mind—then nothing will remain to disturb him.”

Someone asked: “I wish to know why one should attend to the Dao in the morning, to De during the day, and to Ren in the evening.”

The reply was: “The Way of Heaven may be followed; it must not be resisted. To align with Heaven brings flourishing; to go against Heaven brings ruin.”

They asked again: “I would hear the essential point.”

The reply was: “Heaven has four seasons, divided into three parts—morning, day, and evening: morning governs birth and growth, day governs nurturing, evening governs bestowing and spreading. Thus the southeast governs generation, the southwest governs nurturing, and the northwest governs bestowing. I would hear the essential point.” (This passage repeats in the original with the same meaning.)

The reply continued: “Human beings take Heaven as their model in action: in the season dominated by qi from the southeast they sow to generate life; in the season dominated by qi from the southwest they nurture to foster growth. After mid-autumn, when summer qi turns inward and is stored, they marry and bestow blessings to continue the line of descendants—this is the natural command of August Heaven. The people follow it silently of themselves; if one can constantly accord with this, one aligns with Heaven’s intent; if one cannot accord with it, one is said to resist Heaven’s command, and thus often suffers harm. Harm differs in severity and in who is harmed: if the young are harmed, spring’s produce suffers; if strong adults are harmed, summer’s produce suffers; if the elderly are harmed, autumn’s produce suffers; if pregnant women are harmed, winter’s produce suffers—this is the law of nature. The sage kings of old constantly kept the Way of Heaven in mind as they acted and dared not deviate by the slightest measure.”

They asked again: “I wish to endure and nourish like the earth itself—may I hear how?”

The reply was: “You may. Constantly follow what Heaven does in nurturing growth, and constantly keep the Way of Heaven in mind as you act, daring not to deviate by the slightest measure.”

Question: I wish to be nourished in lasting abundance like the earth itself—can you explain how?

Answer: You can. Those who constantly align their conduct with the Way of Heaven may share Heaven’s longevity and depth; those who slight or oppose the Way of Heaven become estranged from Heaven and cannot endure.

From antiquity, sage kings who governed the realm practiced roughly five approaches: first, constant preservation of life—taking safeguarding life as the root; second, constant nurturing—taking nurturing the myriad people as the root; third, constant bestowing—taking broad distribution of virtue as the root. Those who practiced these three guarded and followed the Way of Heaven and did not dare claim to “govern without principle.” Fourth, punishing without principle—stressing penalties while neglecting reason; fifth, killing—taking slaughter as the extreme. By this distinction: first-rank rulers devoted themselves purely to “preserving life”; second-rank to “nurturing”; third-rank to “bestowing”; fourth-rank to “punishing”; fifth-rank to “killing.” Preservers of life extended the state’s fortune and brought the realm to flourishing; nurturers added years and lengthened allotted lifespan; bestowers committed no grave faults; punishers fell ill themselves in many ways; killers were violent and ended in want.

Ancient sage kings saw the prohibitions of the Way of Heaven clearly and did not act recklessly. They also obtained from the Liu Jia (the method of choosing days by the stem-branch cycle) such auspicious days as Wang Xiang and Wei Qi, and on those days they did not give way to anger or speak evil, but spoke only of good matters, eating and making music to halt calamity and dispel perverse influence. Thus Wang Qi (the upright qi of sovereign nurturing) constantly desires people to revere and follow it in submission. In high antiquity, those who crossed the generations and sage kings who governed acted accordingly; hence they could lie at ease in reflection with never a matter to grieve over, halting calamity and dispelling perverse influence. Wang Qi constantly desires people to revere it.

Seasons and directions: In spring face east, in summer south, in autumn west, in winter north; in each of the four seasons the Jiao position (the eastern quarter) leads. When ruler, ministers, and common people all know this method, perverse qi in the realm vanishes.

The patterned law of Heaven (the rules fixed by the Way of Heaven): On Wang days (days in the stem-branch cycle belonging to wang qi) weapons are regularly taken from storehouses and arranged beneath the ground; on Xiu Fei days (days when qi is depleted and unused) they are taken back in—hence bandits do not arise and arms and warfare cease.

Someone asked: “Can we know whether it is only Heaven that is angry and unwilling to respond to people?”

The answer: Yes. Heaven’s way of communicating is through qi, expressed in the four seasons. Spring belongs to the jue tone and jue qi. When jue qi is out of balance and people cannot perceive it, the liver pulse does not flow freely, the jue group among the five tones is disharmonious, and clear tones do not respond—this is Heaven displeased and unwilling to “speak.” Ancient sage kings, seeing such signs, would examine their gains and losses and find ways to restore the qi.

Where the king’s qi resides, benevolence (ren) should assist in completing its pattern; these two kinds of qi arise together in that place. If instead they are neglected and left to decay, inauspicious qi comes to “assist” the pattern, and three kinds of qi become intertwined. The qi of petty persons sometimes also seems to receive benevolence’s assistance in completing the pattern—two kinds of qi arise there together; if they are again neglected, inauspicious qi assists once more, and still three qi appear together. When petty persons’ qi manifests in this way yet they lack the qualification to hold Heaven’s mandate, they are symbolized as “petty persons.” Heaven can see and recognize its own kind, and causes sages and worthies to reflect: they should seek reclusive Daoists, persons of virtue, and persons of benevolence to reverse those perverse qi, and immediately they can respond to Heaven.

Therefore, when a king steers the way of Heaven, he takes the people and his ministers as his left and right hands; if he steers wrongly, he disrupts the way of Heaven. Ancient sages, to steer the way of Heaven, sought Daoists, persons of virtue, persons of benevolence, and the wise to steer it together—only then could they dwell in peace. Daoists belong to Heaven, persons of virtue belong to Earth, persons of benevolence belong to the mean of harmony. When the three unities of Heaven, Earth, and humanity are not in harmony, these three kinds of worthies must be relied upon to set things right. When the qi of Great Peace arrives, the myriad things each obtain their place and their proper pattern.

Someone asked: “How can all the people under heaven practice benevolence (Ren)?”

The answer: Heaven’s way naturally gives rise to De (Virtue/Power); De in turn gives rise to Ren (benevolence). Therefore the ruler should take as teacher one who understands the Great Dao (the Way), and take the Dao as law. When the ruler models the Dao, ministers will value De; when the people model the ministers, and the ministers have De, the people will turn toward Ren. Orders flow downward and imitation upward; at the top one models Heaven. Layer by layer, transformation and mutual generation follow—how could the people fail to do their utmost in Ren?

In antiquity the sage kings took the person of the Great Dao as teacher precisely to transform those below. A ruler of the highest grade governs like Heaven; one of the middle grade, like Earth; one of the lowest grade, like a human being.

Like Heaven: not going against Heaven’s intent, honoring the Great Dao with the rites due a father. Like Earth: not going against Earth’s intent, honoring the earthly way with the rites due a mother. Like a human being: not going against ordinary human feeling, single-mindedly seeking the path of Central Harmony (Zhonghe).

When the sage sees that all things can be born, he knows to value principle (li) and the Dao; when he sees that all things can be nourished, he knows true De; when he sees that all things can be completed, he knows true Ren.

One who embodies true Dao holds only the mind of giving life (the intent that all things may live); one who embodies true De holds only the mind of nourishing (nourishing all things); one who embodies Ren holds only the mind of bestowing (giving and completing).

Without these three unities—Dao, De, and Ren—one cannot be called a ruler of Great Peace (Taiping).

Officers of Heaven (immortals commissioned by Heaven, ranked with the Dao): formed from the qi Heaven commissions, nurturing within the formless, sharing office and action with primordial vital energy (yuanqi). They dwell in the Hall of the Limitless (Wuji), judging documents together with Heaven; above and below each keep their place, so that forms that can live live and things that can be completed are completed; they also reach down to earthly forms, so that the myriad things are fulfilled and all gain splendor.

Officers of Heaven are honored by Heaven and looked up to by the gods, like the crown prince of an emperor—who would dare not revere them? The Heavenly Lord (Tianjun) receives the qi Heaven commissions and gains his name; supreme and without peer. Who would dare disobey what he decrees and teaches?

Question: In an age of Great Peace (Taiping), the ruler’s Dao is vast and his De (Virtue/Power) ranks only below Heaven. After receiving the scripture he practices it alone, and his teaching spreads through the realm—only then can peace prevail everywhere. The greatest numinous powers are none other than Heaven and Earth; the greatest brightness none other than the sun and moon—and they too are each “giving half their force so that, joined together, they form one whole.” Heaven and Earth each contribute half their strength; with the same heart and the same will they harmonize as one, and only then do they give birth to the ten thousand things. Day and night each contribute half their strength, and together they make one day. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter each contribute half their strength, and together they make one year. The moon first appears in the west—again, two halves make one month; as it waxes from west to east, the fifteenth day is called “Yang,” and after the fifteenth it wanes and is called “Yin”—likewise, each gives half its strength to complete one month. Man and woman each give half their strength; when their intentions align, they form one household. The Way of Heaven and Earth is fundamentally one Yin and one Yang: each gives half its strength, they unite as one, and only then do they together constitute the whole. Therefore ruler and minister must also unite in heart and combine their strength, each giving half, thinking as one and aiming as one, before the principle of Great Peace can be realized.

Question: In that age there were many men of letters, yet they claimed that everything was already in order—while disasters and banditry still recurred without end, people suffered long years of grief, and on inauspicious days their worry grew worse; officials and commoners tried together to remedy the situation and still could not hold it back; what ought to have ended rose up again. Now I can use the enduring Dao to supply what is lacking, so that calamities do not break out anew. Since the heavenly talisman documents (the written mandates and decrees sent down from Heaven) have appeared, can there fail to be points of agreement among the writings of the wise and the sages? In fact they still differ in detail. Therefore Heaven sends forth the ordained master (the teacher who appears in the world bearing Heaven’s mandate) to remove evil virtue, to shelter and protect the people and the ministers, and to extend gracious light to the four directions—near and far respond, and even grass and trees receive that grace—because in the opening of heart and intention they share a common thread; yet the contents of their scriptures remain distinct from one another.

Someone asked about the Way: From ancient times to the present, the most important teaching has been to guard the One (to focus and gather the spirit, and hold fast to the One as the root)—only then can one endure long in the world and not grow old. Whoever knows how to guard the One is said to follow the Way of No Limit (a path of practice that joins with the boundless and the root).

Human beings have only this one body; form (the physical body) and spirit should stay together. Form governs death; spirit governs life. When the two stay united, it is auspicious; when they separate, it is inauspicious. Without spirit there is death; with spirit there is life. Constant union is the One, and only then can one endure.

What people fear most is that spirit scatters, fails to gather within the body, and instead wanders after stray thoughts. So the sages teach guarding the One: keep the whole self as one. When thought does not stop or slacken, spirit returns of itself, everything responds, and the hundred diseases are cleared—this is the proof of long life and lasting vision (living long with sight that does not fail).

Yang guards the One; Yin guards two, which is why the yin side shows signs of “dispersal and cutting down.” Thus daytime belongs to yang, and a person’s Hun (the yang aspect of soul) stays with the body; at night, yin prevails, and when Hun and Shen (spirit) struggle and stir, dreams arise—wild imaginings lose the form, the self splits in two, and in the end one dies: spirit is wholly lost and only the corpse remains. To guard the One is truly to become one.

From birth, a person’s spirit is complete; guard it so it does not scatter, and one may even pass beyond the world (escape the calamities of ordinary birth and death). Becoming a virtuous parent to the people (one whose virtue nurtures and protects all like a mother and father), one may behold the sage ruler of great peace (the holy sovereign of an age of peace) and be loved by the divine powers.

(1) What Those Who “Attain the Dao and Leave the World” Eat

Someone asks: How do people of the upper, middle, and lower ranks who attain the Dao and transcend the mundane world sustain life?

Answer: The upper rank’s first tier feeds on wind-Qi (nourished by the clear Qi of heaven and earth, not relying on ordinary food); the second tier feeds on medicinal flavors (herbs, elixirs, and the like); the third tier eats sparingly (only enough to keep the intestines working).

It is also said: Heaven is high and far, without a fixed visible form; if one does not feed on wind-Qi, how can one move swiftly and circulate through the way of heaven? One must also work in concert with shenli (spirit attendants sent by the celestial gods to assist the path) and become companions in merit—hence taking wind-Qi as food. The next level should join forces with dijing (spirits of the earth, earth deities, and similar beings), harmonize the five soils, raise and lower mountains and rivers, follow mountains into water, connect with earth-Qi and share in the work—they must not eat the five grains, so they travel on water alone. The level below that takes moderate eating as the path; the stable “image” (the body of accomplishment, the form in which spirit is preserved) is not yet fully formed—the difference from ordinary people is only a very small measure of intake—so they eat little to clear the bowels; they too count among those who accomplish the Dao.

(2) The Taiping Jing Chao, Gui Section, and the “Great Way of Great Accord”

The Taiping Jing Chao, Gui section (corresponding roughly to original scripture volumes 154–170), can be read in three main parts: Shen Dao Shu (writings on the divine path), He Shi Wen (texts on verifying affairs), and Qu Fuhua Ji (record of stripping away ornament)—together called the Great Way of Great Accord (da shun zhi dao).

“Tai” (supreme/great): means great; the greatest refers to Heaven. Heaven covers and nurtures the ten thousand things; its merit is greatest.

“Ping” (peace/level): refers to Earth; earth’s nature is level and flat, able to nourish the ten thousand things.

“Jing” (classic/scripture): means constant, enduring; heaven takes sun, moon, and the five planets as its constant track; earth takes peaks, rivers, and mountains as its constant pattern. If heaven and earth lose their constant way, all things suffer harm. Emperors and kings should take the august heaven as their upper model and the sustaining earth as their lower model, and in the middle follow the warp and woof of the cosmos, stars, and sacred mountains and rivers, to nurture the ten thousand things—this is what is meant by the Great Way of Great Accord (acting in accord with heaven, earth, and the constant way).

In ancient times, divine beings, perfected ones, sages, and worthies could judge for themselves what was feasible and what was not, what was right and what was wrong. When they divined right and wrong, gain and loss, the outcome appeared at once—not dimly or in secret, but plainly and clearly.

The way of spirit (shen) is vast. One must cultivate and refine the spirit within the body, straighten the mind, and leave nothing hidden in the heart. What is good comes to light; what is evil stays subdued. Then one knows fortune and misfortune for oneself, as if looking in a mirror.

At that point, the wise person naturally finds stability. The right moment does not return; things do not repeat their signs in the same way. Then one alone flourishes, influence reaches distant places, old matters appear, and confirmations appear as well. Do not resist or go against this—treat this method as a treasured vessel, and you may be said to have gained the heart of Heaven and Earth.

When the time comes to act, each keeps his role. The way of spirit descends; the worthy plan; the auspicious person arrives and the harmful one does not. Clarity appears; the four directions rejoice. Recluses in seclusion emerge—they gain Heaven’s heart and the art of governance. Disorder does not arise; things open naturally. The perfected one comes to assist; the world responds well; each comes according to his task, and confusion disperses.

Such confirmation rises from within the belly, from the heart within the chest, like the proof of thunder and lightning.

Auspicious responses come from the chest and follow thought back and forth. In an instant they circulate through the world. What the heart seeks can move August Heaven; yin and yang shift for it. Sincere speech that moves Heaven—this is what is meant.

This passage, drawn from the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace), mainly explains how a ruler’s virtue and inner sincerity resonate with Heaven and Earth, the body, and the signs of disaster or blessing.

When the ruler cultivates goodness within, auspicious responses arise from the heart

If a ruler can uphold goodness in the inner heart, the outer world will enjoy timely wind and rain; thus auspicious omens often spring from the human heart and from the chest. When what one intends in the mind is upright, corresponding auspicious responses appear—how could what ought to come fail to come?

Utmost sincerity can move Heaven; Yin and Yang shift in response—who is it that “moves”? It is not the physical form personally rushing to stir Heaven and Earth; rather, in the unseen it all hinges on the single mind. With sincere heart one moves Heaven, and Heaven and Earth follow in motion.

Thought can lead to the upright or to the deviant

Human thoughts can draw forth the correct Way or draw forth what is crooked and perverse—all arise from will and intention.

If will and intention can move Heaven and Earth, harmonize Yin and Yang, and accord with the myriad things, inwardly they can transform the self and outwardly they can establish a name; worthiness and unworthiness both arise from this. Therefore the worthy person is skilled at governing thought, never missing the mark.

Facial color and its correspondence with the five viscera and faults

Question: When a person has fault within the belly, the face turns red—why?

Answer: The heart is master of the five viscera; the master is like a sovereign. When the sovereign holds to the correct Way and has fault, he confesses it to Heaven, hence the face turns red.

Question: When startled, the face turns green—why?

Answer: The liver governs “the person” (in connection with human emotion); people are often anxious and fearful; moreover liver and gall govern anger—anger makes qi rise, hence green appears on the face.

(Statements in the text such as “the heart is master of the five viscera; when there is fault one confesses to Heaven and the face turns red” echo back and forth here with the question about fright and a green face; the passage uses bodily signs to show how the inner mind and Heaven respond to each other.)

The various spirits each have their domains; people should be careful

The various spirits each have what they govern, corresponding with the myriad things. Therefore people are told to be constantly careful themselves and follow Heaven and Earth, so that calamities will find it hard to arise again.

Brief summary of the main idea

The whole passage stresses:

Utmost sincerity in the heart → moving Heaven and stirring Earth → auspicious responses and wind and rain follow;

When will and intention are not upright → the face and the five viscera all show omens → when there is fault one “confesses to Heaven”;

Therefore one should guard the inner heart carefully and accord with Heaven and Earth, to avoid disaster and ill fortune.

Outward learning runs deep while inner learning runs shallow; external affairs grow more clamorous day by day while inner affairs grow weaker, so people fall ill easily and society fills with emptiness and show without substance.

“Floating” (fu) means the surface; “flowery” (hua) means twigs and leaves—not the root.

When the true meaning of the Dao of Heaven goes astray and sinks into crooked paths, it often cannot find its way back on its own.

What are called books of the Shen Dao (the divine Way) must be jingyi—refined and single-minded, never straying from the root—truly holding fast to the foundation, in harmony with Yin-Yang and tuned with the spirits and gods.

Writing used to verify affairs must examine likeness and difference, resolve doubt and correct error, and leave nothing out.

Those that record floating, flowery phrasing have already drifted too far from the root, like being cast into the wild: meaning and wording go awry and cannot serve as a steady standard—at most they may be noted once in a while.

Those who hold the root govern in a way close to the wondrous; those who hold only the middle layer have less disorder and vexation; those who hold only the twigs and leaves grow dim and confused. Therefore the worthy hold the root, stay wary of holding only the middle, and dare not chase after twigs and leaves.

If one can hold fast without ceasing, goodwill arriving from the four directions is neither rejected nor twisted; it is fashioned into a treasured vessel (baoqi), unchanged for ten thousand generations.

If people rely on their own strength to do good, will they still be blocked and harmed? Will the perverse and the barbarian tribes withdraw? Will weapons and war be cut off?

(The following text repeats and is corrupt; the gist continues:) Once policy and the plumb line are set and nothing is refused or resisted, it is composed as a treasured vessel, unchanging for ten thousand generations—can people doing good by themselves still be obstructed? Will the crooked and the Yi and Di be turned back? Will arms be stilled?

The meaning of the divine precepts (shence): great persons who hold them can move the four directions; moderate officers who hold them make ministers and officials good; petty people who hold them do not harm one another. The wording is spare and the method is clear. Can one fail to follow the divine script in divination and verification? If one cannot hold and keep them, still be careful—not to injure people while trying to guard against treachery and evil.

(This section ends here; the original’s later portion repeats and has miscopied characters—the interpretation follows only the text as it stands.)

Methods to Guard Against Ill Omens

Align with the four seasons and the Five Phases; keep the heart upright so outer devils cannot invade. Use the practice of “suspending the image and holding it in thought” (xuanxiang er si shou)—visualizing and guarding—to act in harmony with the qi of each season, balance Yin and Yang, and gather ghosts and spirits like a net so they cannot run wild and harm people.

From the winter solstice to the beginning of spring

The main influence is the qi of great Yin (taiyin), with a slight admixture of lesser Yang (shaoyang). Often examine your thoughts: if you feel unwell, visualize the spirit-officials in charge wearing black robes and hold this image in quiet solitude for forty-five to ninety days; this can clear the ears and eyes. (The original repeats this idea in places; the sense is the same.)

Beginning of spring

Abundant virtue rests in benevolence (ren); the qi governs lesser Yang; royal qi turns to the east, and the Wood phase holds command—its qi is gentle and close to humaneness. Spirit-officials wear green; if you guard this image in a secluded place for forty-five to ninety days, illness can fade; if you keep practicing this method, day by day the heart grows more loving and kind.

Before the spring equinox

Lesser Yang qi leads, with a slight boost from great Yang (taiyang) to assist lesser Yang. Watch your intention without doubt; ponder it deeply, and a hundred kinds of evil will submit.

Beginning of summer

Abundant virtue is in Fire; royal qi turns south; governance follows the harmonizing qi at the center of great Yang. Spirit-officials wear red; if you guard the rule correctly, sweetness arises in the mouth and a hundred ghosts stay a thousand li away.

Summer solstice

Abundant virtue is the qi of great Yang, also harmonizing. Visualize the spirit-officials, and myriad illnesses can be healed.

Last month of summer (the sixth lunar month)

Abundant virtue is combined governance; royal qi turns to the southwest and returns to the central palace. Spirit-officials wear yellow; holding this in thought can make the mouth sweet; each season, guard the image for eighteen days.

Beginning of autumn

Abundant virtue is in Metal; royal qi turns west and completes the cutting off and ripening of the ten thousand things. Spirit-officials wear white; guard this for forty-five to ninety days to remove illness; grasp the meaning and the bones grow strong and life lengthens. (The phrase “each season, eighteen days of guarding” appears here and in the last-month-of-summer section; it can be read as the seasonal rule for this kind of vigil.)

Autumn equinox

Lesser Yin (shaoyin) qi leads, with a slight admixture of great Yin; for those whose illness runs contrary, adjust by going with the flow.

Beginning of winter

Abundant virtue is in Water; royal qi turns north. Spirit-officials wear black; guard for forty-five to ninety days so intent reaches far, hearing sharpens, and a hundred illnesses clear.

General conclusion

These qis of the Five Phases and four seasons nourish the body within and restrain evil without. Heaven uses them and becomes clear; earth uses them and becomes still; heaven uses them and things live; earth uses them and things are stored; humans use them and flourish—those who follow seasonal qi may be called loyal ministers and filial children. This is the great way of accord with heaven and earth, Yin and Yang, and the four seasons and Five Phases. Thus the Dao (the Way) appears for the humane and wise, not generated for the foolish.

Method of Flourishing the Body and Averting Calamity

A person who lives to ten years can retain twenty years’ worth of Shen (spirit) within; at twenty, forty years; at thirty, sixty; at forty, eighty; at fifty, a hundred; at sixty, a hundred and twenty; at seventy, still counted as a hundred years of Shen; from eighty to a hundred and twenty, that Shen is used up. In youth Shen can still increase; as one ages it gradually fades—here Shen means the spirit housed in the five viscera, an inward sign of the body. One thousand two hundred and twenty benevolent spirits serve at one’s command, advancing and retreating in watch and guard; the myriad spirits are like the people, all shifting with one’s flourishing or decline. This is the constant principle of Heaven and Earth. If one makes Shen a fortress and governs it well, stills the body and nourishes spirit, illness will not easily take hold, life can be lengthened, and numinous powers will protect one.

Heaven and Earth establish humankind with stillness as the root of the body, Shen as guardian, and Dao as what brings flourishing. Whoever keeps pure stillness, holds fast to spirit, and does not let thought stray from the upright Way keeps vicious harm from entering. True Shen dwells within, keeping one glad at heart—light, neither grasping wealth nor quarreling in lawsuits nor striving for rank; in time one communes with the numinous. Shen is about two feet five inches long; its adornment and form vary with the Five Phases and the five viscera.

When the ruler is benevolent, Dao flourishes; when the ruler is yielding, De (Virtue/Power) arises. A trace of evil intent in the heart can stir disorder far away. Shen and Qi circulate faster than lightning; one should quickly return them to numinous awareness, illumine the inner landscape, and illness may heal itself and one find peace. Thus living beyond a hundred and twenty years counts as upper longevity; eighty as middle; sixty as lower. Dying before these limits often means Shen has wandered outward while disease strikes within.

Reflect on the root and walk the upright path, and people may love one another. The ancients sought long life without losing this Dao. Heaven and Earth have their constant course; one must not leave the root. Those who seek peace and lasting preservation must not forget the root source of this Way. Hence this chart is left for later generations, showing that from receiving life until now, through long ages, without losing Yin-Yang transmission and mutual begetting for enduring life—for myriads of generations it cannot be omitted. Decline and flourish alternate; high and low balance each other; in flourishing one may become ruler, in decline become subject; in flourishing one may attain Dao, in decline one may suffer punishment.

Nothing in filial piety surpasses preserving the bodily form—continuing the ancestors’ line, making a name in later ages: this is the good and careful person. Heaven and Earth cherish such a one; the Five Phases work for them; the four seasons benefit them; the hundred kings rely on them; the myriad people favor them; ghosts and spirits protect them; the spirits of the five viscera stay. Originally one received the One and lived; lose it now, leave this divine vessel, and one returns to ash and dust—change without fixed form, and again becomes the myriad things.

Methods for Dispelling Evil and Purifying the Body Through Distinct Practices

Those whom the Dao nurtures are originally formed from essence and qi (jing and qi); within them there is also spirit (shen). They are simply called “human beings” by name. The foolish do not know how to preserve and gather spirit and qi back into themselves, and so they turn away from the Dao. If one can instead gather and restore spirit and qi, one may enjoy one’s full span of years; those whose life can even be doubled are all people of very high talent. If someone wishes to be delivered from disaster and hardship, the proper approach is this: set up a retreat chamber, shut doors and windows firmly, and do not allow outsiders to enter casually. Each day go in alone to practice; if the mind is not yet steady or the qi not yet settled, come out first and do not force it. Going in again and again in this way, as you gradually grow skilled the mind becomes settled. Once settled, you no longer wish to come out; the mouth does not want much speech, food and drink seem plain, and you do not wish to hear human voices. With doors closed, refine qi and accumulate good deeds; close the eyes and look inward at your own form, as if seeing yourself in a mirror or as a reflection in clear water—at that point you have achieved a small success. Without a whip you are strict with yourself; without weapons you have dignity; the ten thousand affairs arrange themselves. Is this not marvelous? This is what is meant by the path of “communicating with spirit” (tong shen). Keeping “three” is not as good as keeping “two”; keeping “two” is not as good as keeping “one.” Reflect deeply on this saying and you will grasp the profound meaning of attaining the Dao.

Method for Communicating with Spirit and Delivering Oneself from Worldly Calamity

Heaven creates human beings with everything complete, so birth comes only after ten months; they share ending and beginning with the ten thousand things, and therefore can be delivered from disaster and hardship and bring about great peace. Upper-grade aspirants who study the Dao assist emperors and kings; they should cherish life and accumulate merit so that their work may last long. Middle-grade aspirants study the Dao wishing to deliver their whole household. Lower-grade aspirants study the Dao seeking only to free their own body from suffering. The Dao appears for the wise and enlightened; it does not reveal itself for the foolish. Those who can use the Dao are auspicious; those who cannot—must they only suffer harm and meet misfortune?

Plain-Language Reading of “How the Worthy and Unworthy Know Themselves” from the Taiping Jing

Title in brief: How to tell whether you are “worthy” or “unworthy”—look at whether you have genuine reverence and genuine understanding toward heaven, earth, and the myriad things.

Upper person (the most capable worthy): In matters great and small, reverence fills the heart.

Middle person: Reverence about half the time.

Lower person: Almost nothing inspires reverence.

Why can the upper person reverence everything? Because in every affair they turn inward and examine themselves, not using others as the measure. The mind is broad and intention unobstructed; they grasp yuanqi (the primordial qi of heaven and earth) and the root of nature itself; they honor heaven and respect earth, knowing that sun, moon, and stars, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the four seasons, jia and yi yin-yang (the rules by which the sexagenary cycle records time and days), and every crawling, stirring, living thing are not “appearing from nowhere with no meaning.”

Ghosts and spirits, essences and sprites, and between heaven and earth in the six directions (above, below, and the four quarters)—wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning in the inner and outer realms—do not wander empty and random; each has its shen (spirit), each has its lord, much as people signal and warn one another. Hence the upper person is reverent and dares not act recklessly.

The middle person is half reverent: Above, they do not know the root method of yuanqi and nature; below, they only know the wind, rain, clouds, and qi before their eyes and living creatures. Sometimes they even say “heaven has no spirits,” unafraid of sun, moon, and stars—at most they still acknowledge the Great Fire (perhaps Mars or a certain omen) and the Northern Dipper.

The lower person: They do not know how vast land and mountains and rivers are or what they can do (the text here has lacunae); they only know tilling fields, planting what they have, and managing the household. They do not know how to follow the four seasons and Five Phases—they merely plant and harvest by the season for profit; they do not know that jia-yi yin-yang has numinous verification, and flatly say “there is none.”

Closing: The fool who studies diligently can become worthy; the worthy who never stops can become a sage; the sage who never stops can attain the Dao; one who never stops learning the Dao can become an immortal; one who never stops immortal learning can become zhen (true perfection); one who never stops zhen learning can become shen (spirit)—all are reached step by step through unceasing accumulation of learning.

Extending Life

“Extending life” means that among all peoples and kinds of human beings under heaven, customs may differ, yet whoever cultivates according to this method can live out their full span of years. Heaven and earth will also protect them, so that body and mind suffer fewer faults and lapses.

Why is this so? Because this is called the way of great accord—accord with heaven, response to humanity, and unity with the Dao. When the Dao is realized, the whole person shares one realm with heaven and earth; they are no longer cut off from each other.

The ancients acted in this way, and the myriad spirits naturally gathered to them. To know whether it works, look whether auspicious signs come of themselves and whether misfortune and disaster vanish on their own. A ruler who governs the realm by this need not rely on armed conquest. Whoever can know and practice this Dao will see outer tribes submit of themselves; persevere, and one may become a zhenren (True Person).

The Teaching of the Sage

The sage’s teaching does not rely on whipping and coercion; it follows human nature in establishing the teaching.

A ruler can settle the realm because he follows the hearts of all under heaven in settling the realm—thus he wins people’s hearts.

Human Beings, Heaven, and Earth as Three Shares

This Dao continues the ancient meaning: humans are born from received qi, and from the start possess a dimension of shen (spirit). Like heaven and earth, each shares in authority, substance, form, shen, jing (essence), qi, affairs, work, and dwelling—hence it is said there are “three loci”: one for heaven, one for earth, and one for humanity.

One portion of qi is heaven, one is earth, one is humanity; the rest of qi disperses through the myriad things. Therefore one must honor heaven, value earth, and respect human beings.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors all appointed teachers to transmit the Dao; when in doubt they knelt and asked—thus their states often enjoyed great order. Even when disaster and hardship arose, there were means to resolve them.

Note

Several sentences in the original text are repeated in the middle (such as “the way of great accord” and “one portion of qi is heaven…”), likely from copyist error. This vernacular rendering follows the readable thread of the passage and does not alter the original meaning.

Plain-Language Reading of “The Method for the King to Be Without Worry” in the Taiping Jing

Title “The Method for the King to Be Without Worry”: This section explains how a ruler can keep worry from weighing on the heart and how the realm can reach great peace.

Great Accord—the great Way that aligns Heaven and the people—can lessen a ruler’s cares and bring about great peace (Taiping). When Heaven and Earth are not violently shaken and wind and rain do not run wild, the hundred spirits each keep their place and strange disasters in the realm grow rare. When the ten thousand things each stay where they belong, people more easily feel ease and joy and carry less sorrow. Why? Benevolence (ren) keeps the ruler often glad; Dao (the Way) keeps people’s hearts from heavy grief. If the ruler is bitter all day, the realm is hard to settle.

The ruler is like the heart of all under Heaven; ministers are like arms and legs; the common people are like hands and feet. When the heart is distressed, the limbs move rashly; hands and feet cannot rest; the people easily scatter. That is the natural way things pull and push one another. Heaven is the same: when Heaven loses Dao, clouds and vapors go chaotic; when Earth loses Dao, it cannot properly hold the ten thousand things. So the king must be in accord with Heaven—the child delights in the father, the minister in the lord, Earth in Heaven, Heaven in Dao; only then can the qi of great peace be drawn down, the weather of Heaven gradually return to one order, and the virtue of supreme great peace (Taishang huangping) gradually descend below.

(The scripture repeats this passage; the point is stressed again and again: the king in accord with Heaven, child delighting in father, minister in lord, Earth in Heaven, Heaven in Dao—that is how the qi of great peace is achieved.)

When Heaven and Earth are in harmony and the ruler also practices our Dao (here, the great Way of Taiping), what fault remains? Dao is Heaven’s heart and Heaven’s head; when heart and head go first, how could the limbs not follow? So when the king follows Dao and joins with Heaven, the realm naturally tends toward stability.

Note: The original has broken repetition and a few characters that look like copyist errors; this plain reading follows the usual sense and does not add private interpretation. For a character-by-character version against a specific edition, name the recension.

The Method by Which Returning the Shen Makes Disturbance Dissolve of Itself

You must distinguish what each of the three kinds of qi does, and gather the shen back inward to guard the self.

Qi of the sun belongs to heaven, so it is called shen (spirit). Form is ruled by Taiyin (the greater yin), and is called qi (an earth spirit); it wraps and nourishes the ten thousand things, so shen and jing are stored in the belly. Jing is the refined essence of central harmony among the ten thousand things; it advances and retreats without fixed rule. The refined essences of heaven-and-earth yin and yang together generate the ten thousand things—this is the calendrical logic of the three unifications. Shen governs birth and growth, jing governs nourishing, form governs completion; the three together make one vessel of “central harmony,” like the relation of ruler, minister, and people—none can be missing.

Therefore when mind-and-shen waver, the body is not secure; what should be kept is not kept, what should be retained is not retained. What favors stability stays; what does not favor stability leaves. Beginners should apply and teach according to what “can be settled”; in time, stability comes naturally, and shen and jing will not depart casually.

Yin qi and yang qi rub and stir each other before they can mutually generate. Human qi also circulates through the whole body; shen and jing ride qi in and out. Shen and jing need qi as fish need water; when qi is cut off, shen and jing scatter—as when water dries up, fish die.

Way of nurturing life: settle the body and nourish qi; do not often swing between great joy and great anger. (Ancient clear masters who taught emperors first had them settle the body and be free of heavy worry, so emperors could devote themselves to governing the realm.)

When heaven welcomes the qi of great peace, nothing among the ten thousand things fails to be generated; when heaven detests the qi of punitive form, nothing escapes injury and killing—the ten thousand things suffer its harm, so heaven and humans share the same worry.

If heaven does not guard shen, the three luminaries (sun, moon, and stars) lose their brightness; if earth does not guard shen, mountains and rivers collapse; if people do not guard shen, the body dies; if the ten thousand things do not guard shen, they are harmed. Therefore one should return the shen—only after returning can one speak of strength; not returning and guarding form alone is called extinction and passing away.

Brief Glossary of Terms

Harmonizing Yin and Yang

Heaven and earth, sun and moon, yin and yang, spring and autumn, summer and winter, day and night, left and right, exterior and interior, white and black, light and darkness, hard and soft, male and female, front and back, above and below, ruler and minister, first stem and second stem (jia and yi), first branch and second branch (zi and chou), five and six, wood and grass, female (pin) and male (mu), male and female, mountain and hillock—each pair stands opposite yet depends on the other. This is the root and master outline of the Dao, the pivot of yin-yang’s turning, and the highest intent embodied by the spirits.

Method for Longevity, Governance, and Peace

(Opening) Jing, shen, and qi originally form one whole; united, they are the root of shen. One is jing, one is shen, one is qi; the three share one place, grounded in the supreme intent of the qi of the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

Shen is endowed from Heaven, jing from Earth, qi from the harmonious mean; the three unite into one Dao. Thus shen rides upon qi in its movement, jing dwells within, and the three support and sustain one another to bring about good order. If one wishes long life, one should cherish qi, honor shen, and value jing.

When you wish to accomplish great affairs, accomplish them through “having no busyness”—from no busyness arises no busyness. This is Heaven and Earth’s constant way and nature’s art, like sound answering echo, form answering shadow. The superior person uses it to pacify the realm; the middling person uses it to extend years; the inferior person uses it to order the household. One may say: success without striving, order without forcing rule.

The Great Dao is broad and level; it does not depart from the human body. Cherish the body inwardly, and governance naturally turns back upon oneself.

The Seven Practices for Clearing Confusion

If one cultivates oneself and governs the people with De (Virtue/Power), so that the realm attains the great harmony of qi—how would that be? Yet if one stops at “goodness” without carrying it through to the end, how can there truly be stability?

If one cultivates oneself and governs the people with ren (humaneness) and yi (righteousness)—how would that be? Goodness that does not reach completion—how can there be stability?

If one cultivates oneself and governs the people with li (ritual propriety)—how would that be? Goodness that does not reach completion—how can there be stability?

If one cultivates oneself with wen (cultural refinement and moral education) and uses it to restrain the myriad people so they cannot do wrong—how would that be? Goodness that does not reach completion—how can there be stability?

If one cultivates oneself and governs the people with fa (law)—how would that be? Goodness that does not reach completion—how can there be stability?

If one cultivates oneself and governs the people by ceasing warfare and putting aside arms and armor (replacing conflict with harmony)—how would that be? Goodness that does not reach completion—how can there be stability?

These seven matters—De, ren, yi, li, wen, fa, and wu (martial restraint)—none may be absent, yet none may be pursued alone to the exclusion of the rest. In antiquity, divine persons who cultivated themselves had a root foundation; those who governed the people also had a great Dao: letting the ten thousand things each obtain their proper place, so that the six directions and eight quarters, near and far, all give rise to joy, and nothing loses the position it ought to occupy—only then does one accord with nature, stabilize the eight regions and four reaches, and extend kindness so that not even a single hair is left out.

If one still cannot fully nourish both root and branch, how can one say governance is done aright? Today these seven affairs each go their own way; even if each counts as “good,” there remain points where they cannot connect; each also has its strength, so none may be discarded, and none may be practiced by itself alone.

To cultivate the person, settle the state, and bring about great peace, one must deeply grasp the essential keys. What gathers and holds the seven affairs together is the Dao (the Way). In accord with guarding the One (shou yi), it divides without end; when the Highest Lord acts through it, it is unfathomably deep, and is called the “pattern of penetrating illumination.”

Heaven, in creating human beings, broadly divides them into three kinds: the first receive the qi of Heaven at birth, the second receive the qi of Earth, and the third receive the qi of Humanity. Those who bear the mandate of Heaven become rulers; those who bear the mandate of Earth become ministers and officials; those who bear the mandate of Humanity become the common people. Rulers should act in accord with Heaven, ministers in accord with Earth, and those below should defer to those above; the people belong under their ministers, and all turn to serve one another in turn. In sum, when the three qi of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are governed as one, accomplishment can be achieved.

Therefore when those above are secure, it is because ministers are worthy; when ministers keep their roles clear, the people stay orderly and unconfused. When both people and ministers turn toward the good, the ruler is enlightened and state policy endures. What is called “Great Peace” (Taiping) is acting by the Dao: all three qi are good, aligned with law and measure, holding De (virtue/power) in the heart and not harming one another. Thus the great person governs the realm by the Dao, pacifies the four seas, saves the myriad people, extends grace to the four directions and to foreign tribes, so that calamity cannot arise, good signs grow day by day, and misfortune cannot come.

Daoists of the middle rank serve the state as ministers, assist in governing, settle their own households, and keep away disaster. Those at the next level who “practice the Dao” may fail their parents (they cannot fulfill filial duty) and instead wander far abroad; their virtue is narrow and shallow, and they can only preserve themselves—how could they assist a wise king or help the country? One who can pacify the four seas receives Heaven’s help; one who serves as minister and aids governance works with the virtue of Earth; one who can only save himself has small Dao-power and cannot take part in great governance.

Can all three kinds deliver the world and live long? Is there also a difference between greater and lesser longevity among the aged? (The scripture poses this question here to compare how high or low each type’s achievement ranks.)

On Whether Spirit Stays or Leaves, and How to Test the Dao

The divine person says: To know clearly how to practice and verify the Dao, look at who holds your xing (nature) and ming (life) in hand. Help people wake up and see where life comes from. What “examining who holds the law” means is upholding the central and correct. Human beings arise from Yin-Yang: Yang is usually upright, Yin usually deviant; Yang tends to endure, Yin tends to vanish; Yang tends to rest and gather, Yin tends to disperse and fade; Yang tends to give life, Yin tends to bring death. In one day a person undergoes three Yang shifts, standing for the three Qi (Heaven, Earth, and Human), each with its own “command”—they pull against one another and cannot simply follow one line. If you habitually keep each in its proper place and preserve the human form, that is auspicious. Only the true follower of the Dao can be single-minded and pure, truly unlike ordinary people. Without study, you will not know how spirit’s coming and going proves the teaching; what appears at once cannot be hidden. Hence the noble person “restrains the corpse” (rectifies and governs the bodily self) rather than making the main task “restraining ghosts” (subduing outer demons).

While you are awake, in walking, sitting, speaking, and reasoning, you distinguish light from dark and stand, stay, or move in the right way, taking words and ritual as your measure—then spirit is inside the body. When you close your eyes and lie down, the inner light is stored; what you think may be achieved but is not spoken aloud—spirit is still within. When you fall deeply asleep, the spirit travels abroad: the body cannot move, the mouth cannot speak, the ears cannot hear; you may mingle with all sorts of stray thoughts, yet the single Qi (upright, unified vitality) remains—this is clear proof. Therefore spirit must be constantly guarded: guard it and life is long; lose it and life ends.

Gaining the Dao depends on intention and resolve; losing the Dao also depends on intention and resolve.

The Method of Saving the Confused and Assisting the Sovereign in the Way

The Great Dao transforms without fixed form; it can respond across ten thousand miles as if face to face. Above and below it has no limit, circulating through the six directions and eight quarters. Hold fast to it and you gain good fortune; let go and you suffer harm—Yin and Yang open and close, the myriad things arise and perish, all taking this as the constant. The Dao is entrusted to those who possess the Way, so that the good may put it into practice; their lifespan can match heaven and earth.

Virtue (De) has high and low; affairs have root and branch—everything should take the Dao as its measure. What is about to flourish receives the good; what is about to decline receives the ill. It is like soil: good soil yields good, thin soil yields ill. The good person aligns with heaven’s Way; even the lowly can receive its moistening. The one who sits is master of the household; the one who walks is a passing guest—all of this illustrates the Dao. When the good put it into practice, blessing follows; when the wicked put it into practice, disaster follows; the good thereby gain merit and blessing. The honored who obtain it may ride chariots and horses; the humble who obtain it may walk in peace. Sages and worthies who obtain it can cross over birth and death; petty people who obtain it do not harm one another—all of this is the working of the Dao.

Teaching must not be missed again and again; the opportune moment does not return. One should urgently instruct the sovereign to practice the Way of Great Peace (Taiping zhi dao). When the Dao prevails under heaven, though the body be lowly one may still walk in peace; sages can deliver the world; petty people who obtain it do not mutually injure—this again is the Dao. Once more: teaching must not be offered twice too late; time does not come again. Be sure to hasten in teaching the sovereign to practice the Way of Great Peace. When the Dao is practiced, the self can be delivered, and merit can benefit all living beings throughout the six directions.

Appendix: Lost Passages from the Taiping Jing

If Heaven loses the harmony of Yin and Yang, the way of Heaven falls into disorder; if Earth loses that harmony, wealth and resources fall into disorder; if people lose it, their lineages die out; if ruler and ministers lose it, the art of governing cannot be put in order; if the Five Phases and the four seasons lose it, calamities follow. Today Heaven displays signs in the sky as laws humans should follow, so one ought to align with them. (See commentary on the Hou Han shu, biography of Xiang Kai.)

The Perfected One asked again: “Why are so few children born nowadays?” The Celestial Master said: “Well asked! You have hit the point—but the ‘sowing’ is not directed at the right intention. If one sows when the person wishes to conceive, opens the jade gate, and places the seed within—like planting seed in the earth in spring—ten sowings bring ten responses, and they unite and give life. If one sows out of season, it is like planting in the tenth month: ten sowings bring ten deaths, and nothing can live. If the Perfected One wishes to probe further: a woman who bears no children, even if seed is placed within her a hundred times a day, still produces nothing; she does not receive it where life should take root—that is how it is. Therefore the sages of old did not scatter seed where it could not nourish life; this was called wasting seed and vital breath to no generative end. Now the qi of Great Peace has arrived, yet some still bear no children—this cuts off the thread of Heaven and Earth and leaves the state with too few people. The principle of governing a state is: many people make the state rich, few people make it poor. Today the sovereign qi of Heaven has arrived; the sovereign qi of Heaven generates the myriad things—it ought to increase ten thousandfold compared with when Heaven and Earth first opened.” (Commentary on the Hou Han shu, biography of Xiang Kai; the three sentences from “The principle of governing a state” onward appear in abbreviated form on folio 4 of juan 69 of the scripture.)

Laozi traveled west for more than eighty years and was born at the juncture of the Yin and Zhou dynasties. (Sandong zhunang, juan 9, “Laozi’s Transformation in the Western Regions.”)

De (Virtue/Power) means mutual fit—each side in its proper place. (Du Guangting, Guang sheng yi on the Daode jing; also in juan 69 of the scripture, folio 4.)

It is said in tradition that Laozi traveled westward for more than eighty years, and that he was born at the turn of the Yin and Zhou dynasties. (From the “Laozi’s Transformation in the Western Regions” section of Santong Zhunang, fascicle 9.)

“De (Virtue/Power)” means a proper mutual fit—each side responding to the other as it should, without discord. (From Du Guangting’s Guang Sheng Yi on the Daode Zhenjing, fascicle 5.)

The De that is constantly preserved is not lost. (Same source.)

In the Da Dao Lun, “Zhì Dé” chapter: “De” is De in the sense of right mutual attunement; “cheng” means accomplishment and deliverance; “not lost” means not forfeited.

To cherish clarity and stillness is to understand the principles of governing and the Dao. (From the Li Guo chapter of the Da Dao Lun.)

The Dao is what heaven and earth always practice, and by which the myriad things receive life. (From the Tang compilation Yiqie Daojing Yinyi Miaomen Youqi by Shi Chong and others.)

Only those who can align with the heart of the Supreme (Taishang) are wholly formless and natural. Only celestial immortals and great persons who possess the true Dao can obtain the heart of the Supreme; by what means could others hope to meet them face to face? (Same source.)

One awakened teacher instructs ten disciples; the ten teach a hundred, the hundred a thousand, and the thousand ten thousand—a cascade of transmission. (From Chuxue Ji, fascicle 22; closely parallel to the Taiping Jing, fascicle 37, “Five Matters Explaining the Law of Inheritance and Burden,” on “one teacher teaching ten disciples.”)

Spirit (Shen) is the Dao: inwardly it operates as numinous clarity; outwardly it appears as literary and ritual form—both are partial realizations of the Dao. (From Zeng Zao’s Dao Shu, fascicle 30, Song dynasty.)

The balanced qi (vital energy) is now at work; “ping” (balance) is also stability. (From Yunji Qiqian, fascicle 6.)

To restore the ancient method of Great Peace (Taiping), one must first settle the central qi. (Same source.)

When the “three-five” harmonies blend and sun and moon shine constantly, that is Great Peace. (Same source.)

Clear harmony accumulated over time becomes essence (Jing); hence the gallbladder is called the essence of the six fu organs. (Commentary on the gallbladder section of the Shangqing Huangting Neijing Jing in Yunji Qiqian, fascicle 11; Liangqiuzi’s commentary on the Huangting Neijing Yujing, middle scroll, cites the Taiping Jing as “accumulated essence becomes green/cyan, hence the gallbladder is the essence of the six fu.”)

Clear accumulation becomes cyan/green—a line in the same vein as above, pairing the gallbladder with wood and the color green in correlative cosmology. (Yunji Qiqian, fascicle 12, commentary on the “Hidden” chapter of the Huangting Neijing; Liangqiuzi, lower scroll, citing the Taiping Jing.)

What is meant by “much speech”? If a single remark brings great calamity, that person ranks as “much speech” of the highest degree; if one remark brings disgrace, of the middle degree; if one remark leads to destitution, of the lowest. Sages and worthies of past and present have filled heaven and earth with their writings, yet they still lament that good words are too few and fall short—hence disasters never cease. Later sages and worthies restate and amplify; the world takes this as law and does not dare to treat their words lightly. Words that remove harm are always felt to be too few; thus good speech need not be many, and harmful speech need not be few—the point is quality, not quantity. Therefore the sages of old, before speaking, always reflected. What issued from the sage’s heart became scripture and was set up as human norm; the fool’s words first harm himself and rebound as self-injury. (From Yunji Qiqian, fascicle 89; Xianji Yulun Yaoji, fascicle 92, gives largely the same text, with an extra “speech” in the line about writings filling heaven and earth.)

If you rely only on your mouth to speak and explain, the Dao will be hard to truly realize; when words pile up, they easily turn into harm. So you should seal the lips and speak little or not at all—then the myriad troubles will not arise from the mouth, and both cultivation and self-governance can be held steady.