《秘本种子金丹》

Human reproduction depends first of all on the ability to conceive and bear children. The key to seeking offspring lies mainly in two respects: a man must nurture and preserve his Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), while a woman must regulate and nourish her blood and Qi. When a man’s Jing and Qi are abundant and not excessively depleted, and a woman’s menses arrive on time, Yin-Yang is harmonized and Jing and blood unite, an embryo can form, and fertility has its foundation. If a man’s Yang Qi is weak and cannot join with a woman’s Yin Qi, or if a woman’s Yin blood is insufficient and cannot receive a man’s Yang Qi, so that Yin and Yang are not in accord and Jing and blood do not come together, conception may be difficult.

In regulation and treatment, a man should replenish Jing and Qi and restrain desire, so that reproductive function remains vigorous; a woman should nourish blood and Qi and harmonize the movement of Qi, so that menstruation comes at the proper time. Only when man and woman each tend to their own regulation is there a basis for conception. Ordinary people do not understand these principles. They often reason only from the generation and restraint of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), or rely entirely on medicinal tonics, using human contrivance against the patterns of nature. The result may be that, after pregnancy, the child cannot be successfully nurtured, or that the child can be raised yet does not live long.

Pulse Guide for Seeking Offspring

In examining the pulse for seeking offspring, the emphasis falls on the chi pulse (the portion of the cunkou pulse that reflects the lower burner, the kidneys, and reproductive function). A relatively exuberant right chi pulse is commonly taken to indicate stirred fire Qi and strong sexual desire; a relatively exuberant left chi pulse is taken to indicate Yin deficiency, and is not necessarily a favorable sign. When the chi pulse is deep and slippery, with an even dynamic, the chance of fertility is greater. A pulse that is faint and choppy may indicate that Jing and Qi are cold and thin; a pulse that arrives slowly may indicate a predominance of cold. If the pulse is faint and without strength, there may be weakness in sexual intercourse; if a woman does not conceive easily, the chi pulse may also appear choppy.

There Is a Method for Assessing a Woman

Anyone who wishes to obtain offspring must first choose a suitable woman, just as, in planting crops, one must first select the land. Where sand and stones lie everywhere, one can hardly hope for rice and millet to grow; how, then, can a woman of shallow fortune be expected to bear sons and daughters? Therefore, with descendants in mind, one cannot but choose with care.

Broadly speaking, according to this passage of the Jing (scripture), a woman’s constitution is valued when it is calm, solid, and robust, and held in low regard when it is restless, slight and weak, or thin and frail; a dusky, moist complexion is prized, while delicacy and tenderness are disdained. The Jing further judges the capacity to bear children by appearance, bodily form, and pulse. Short lips and a small mouth are said to be unfavorable to offspring. Small ears with thin outer rims are said to be the outward sign of insufficient kidney Qi (vital energy). A thin, feeble voice is taken to indicate insufficiency of the Qi of the Dantian (energy center). A frail body is thought hardly able to nurture a fetus. Eating too little is regarded as an insufficient source of Qi and blood. Dry, scorched hair and damaged teeth are explained as depletion of liver blood and kidney Jing (essence). Protruding eyes and thin, wasted buttocks are taken to mean that the body can hardly harbor and nourish a fetus. A bluish tinge that often appears at the root of the nose and around the lips and mouth is said to indicate insufficient Yang Qi and an obstructed movement of Qi in the liver and spleen. A pulse that is tight, rapid, wiry, and choppy is held to mean depletion of true Yin, irregular menstruation, and a lack of the vital force required for childbearing.

The Jing further says that in a girl who has not yet reached the hairpin ceremony (one not yet adult, who has not undergone the coming-of-age rite), Yin Qi is not yet fully developed, and that a woman of intense desire mostly gives birth to girls. Those of mild temperament have menses that are relatively easy to regulate, while those given to jealousy have irregular menstruation. Those of unattractive appearance are said to be solid and heavy in build, whereas those of beautiful looks are said to be of shallow fortune. Much flesh with a weak frame is taken to mean too much fat in the uterus; a body so thin that only the bones remain is taken to mean that the uterus lacks nourishment from blood. As for such features as a tiger’s head and a bear’s neck, wasp-like eyes and a jackal’s voice, or a broad face with bristling brows, the text holds that they bring punitive clash, xingke (in the conceptions of fate calculation, the notion that disaster, affliction, and injury abound among kin). Those of fierce temperament, or who are crafty, sinister, and harsh, are likewise considered unfavorable to offspring. Therefore, anyone who wishes to seek children should early on be exacting about these conditions of selection.

The matter of offspring is entirely the man’s responsibility.

In the past, the lack of offspring was often blamed on the woman. The claim that responsibility for the inability to conceive in fact rests entirely with the man does not hold. The Yijing says, “The Dao (the Way) of Kun (the Receptive) compliantly receives the Dao of Heaven and moves in accordance with the seasons.” The earth brings forth and nourishes the myriad things by compliantly receiving the Dao of Heaven; a mother, in bearing a child, likewise only compliantly receives the father’s Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy). How, then, can the responsibility be laid upon the woman?

If one says that the responsibility lies with the woman, then wealthy families keep many concubines—can it be that among them there is not one whose menses come on time and whose body is free of illness? Some women have borne children several times with a former husband, and later remarry a man who hopes by this means to obtain a son, yet still do not conceive; marrying yet another man, they give birth before long. Since she is able to conceive, why could she not conceive in the previous marriage? This passage therefore holds that responsibility for whether there are offspring or not lies entirely with the man.

Whether a man is old or young, strong or weak, his Jing and Qi must be abundant. For Jing and Qi to be abundant, he must lessen desire and refrain from frequent sexual union, so as to store up his strength and preserve Jing and Qi, and only engage in intercourse at the proper time—then conception is more readily achieved at a single attempt. People of the world have not seen this clearly, and so they blame miscarriage entirely on the mother, attribute the inability to bear children entirely to the child, and assign length of life entirely to fate. Is this not absurd?

Children born to the young are often frail, because desire is frequent and Jing and Qi are thin; children born to the old, by contrast, are often robust, because desire is less and Jing and Qi have been preserved more intact. In intercourse one should not thrust violently in and out, but proceed gently and slowly. The original text holds that excessively violent movement easily subjects the fetus to the influence of so-called “fetal wind”; after an older man obtains a child, this occurs less often, because he is not so violent in intercourse. Once pregnancy has begun, intercourse must on no account be resumed: first, for fear of injuring the fetus and causing a hidden miscarriage; second, for fear of subjecting the child to the harm of “fetal toxin.” A man should first regulate and restrain himself, and only then speak of the woman’s responsibility; only so is there hope of obtaining a child.

Seeking a child begins with nourishing Jing.

The root of seeking a child lies in the man first nurturing his Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), and the woman first nurturing her blood and Qi. Nowadays some people remain childless, often because they indulge desire to excess. They do not realize that when semen is discharged without restraint, Yang Jing grows deficient, and that giving free rein to desire, even when one believes oneself moderate, still injures true Qi. Bent on having a child in this way, how can they enable the woman to conceive?

The man is responsible for emitting Jing, and the woman for receiving it. Only when one side gives and the other receives can a fetus take form. If what the man now emits is not abundant, dense prenatal Qi, but merely weak semen formed after birth, then even if the woman is able to conceive, the fetus will still lack the nourishing action of Yang Jing.

Therefore, those who wish for a child should not injure the body through anxious thought, nor deplete the mind and Shen (spirit). They should not let the mind race outward and leave the interior empty, nor allow the will to be harmed by inner emotion so that the Qi and blood without fall out of harmony. They should not rely on wine to heighten arousal, nor use drugs to stir the fire of desire. One ought to clear the mind and lessen desire, settle the Shen, treasure Jing and Qi, and over a long time keep the breath calm and even. When Qi is full and Shen is complete, one may then join in intercourse at the proper time, so that a trace of prenatal true Jing naturally overflows as Yang Qi surges forth. In this way, seeking a child readily succeeds.

The Neijing, a Jing (scripture/classic) of Chinese medicine, says: “When Yin Qi is peaceful and Yang Qi is firmly sealed, Jing and Shen are settled; when Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang) separate, Jing and Qi are cut off.” Laozi says: “Be sure to remain clear and still; do not disturb your Jing and Qi.” The Renjing Jing says: “When Jing and Qi are full and flourishing, one can give birth to two boys.” This is precisely the principle meant here.

To nurture Jing, one must lessen desire.

The ancients offered many accounts of how to choose the time for conception. The Guangsi Jue says that when menstruation has just ended and the uterus is suited for conception, one should unite promptly. The Daozang Jing says that after menstruation has ceased, conception on an odd-numbered day produces a boy, while conception on an even-numbered day produces a girl. Li Dongyuan says that conception one or two days after menstruation ends produces a boy, and conception four or five days afterward produces a girl. Zhu Danxi says that when Jing and Qi (essence and vital energy) enter the uterus on the left a boy is born, and when they enter the uterus on the right a girl is born. The Shengji Jing says that a pulsation on the left produces a boy, and a pulsation on the right produces a girl. The Chu Shi Yishu says that when blood envelops Jing a boy is born, and when Jing envelops blood a girl is born. Each of these views advances its own claim, yet none can guarantee success in every case.

The true key to improving the outcome of childbearing lies in restraining desire. With few desires, one does not unite casually, but can accumulate Jing and Qi and concentrate the mind and Shen (spirit), waiting for a suitable time before engaging in sexual intercourse. What, then, could one seek and fail to obtain? Restraining desire, however, must begin with purifying the thoughts of the mind. According to traditional medical theory, the heart governs the blood and stores Shen; as soon as a thought stirs, Shen scatters outward. Even if the body has not yet emitted Jing, Jing and Qi may already have left the kidney palace, and kidney Qi becomes disordered in turn. In mild cases this brings nocturnal emissions and turbid urine; in severe cases, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases. Even if one is fortunate enough to avoid these illnesses, should the union lack original Qi that is calm, lucid, even, and abundant, the semen released is regarded as spoiled and turbid, and is unlikely to conceive a fetus.

The heart is the ruler of the whole body. If one can sweep away improper thoughts and nourish body and mind through quiet sitting and similar methods, not allowing the fire of desire to stir rashly, and wait until Yang Jing is abundant before choosing a time to unite, there is hope of conceiving at a single attempt. Thus, restraining desire can make Jing and Shen abundant. This not only favors the bearing of offspring but also contributes to longevity.

Nourishing Jing Requires Restraining Overexertion

Jing is generated by transformation from blood. It is not only the exertion of sexual activity that depletes Jing and Qi; many activities of daily life also injure Jing. For example, when the eyes are strained by prolonged looking, blood and Qi are consumed.

Jing (essence) is formed through the transformation of blood. The causes that deplete Jing and Qi (vital energy) are not limited to excessive sexual activity; many things in daily life can also injure Jing. For example, when the eyes gaze for a long time, blood and Qi are consumed through the fatigue of seeing; when the ears listen and discriminate for a long time, blood and Qi are consumed through the fatigue of hearing; and when the mind is overtaxed, blood and Qi are likewise consumed through excessive thought. If a person can at all times restrain these forms of strain, blood and Qi will be nourished and can accumulate day by day.

Nourishing Jing Requires Calming Anger

The kidneys are responsible for sealing and storing Jing and Qi, while the liver is responsible for coursing and discharge. Both the kidneys and the liver possess Ministerial Fire (a kind of yang heat within the body), and the connections of both ascend to the heart. The heart is the Sovereign Fire (the yang Qi governed by the heart). Anger injures the liver and stirs the Ministerial Fire; once the Ministerial Fire is aroused, the liver’s function of coursing and discharge becomes excessive, and the kidneys’ function of sealing and storing can no longer operate properly. Thus, even without sexual activity, Jing and Qi may drain away unnoticed and gradually be depleted.

Nourishing Jing Requires Abstaining from Alcohol

Foods and drinks each have their own suitability for the body’s organs, and one need not be rigid in every case, but alcohol is especially unsuitable. The prenatal Qi on which the gestation of a fetus depends ought to be pure and abundant. Alcohol is acrid and hot in nature; it disturbs both a person’s temperament and Jing and Qi. When Jing and Qi are disturbed by alcohol, damp-heat becomes mixed within them, and true Jing is damaged as a result. When Jing and Qi are insufficient, the fetal foundation (the basis of the fetus’s formation and growth) is unstable; when damp-heat is excessive, it may also become the root of later illnesses such as pox and eruptive rashes, infantile convulsions, and the decline of the spleen and stomach.

Therefore, those who wish for offspring should strictly abstain from alcohol. Drinking much is not as good as drinking little, and drinking little is not as good as not drinking at all—this is a crucial point in nurturing the fetal foundation. If one engages in sexual activity after becoming drunk, Jing and Qi will scatter, and the quality of Jing will also become thin and weak.

Nourishing Jing Requires Caution with Flavors

The scripture says that those whose Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are insufficient may regulate and nourish themselves through diet. Rich, greasy, and strongly flavored foods, however, cannot generate and nourish Jing and Qi; plain and lightly flavored foods are more suitable. All things have their original savor; if the seasoning is too heavy, it covers the food’s inherent taste. Whether meat or vegetable dishes, so long as they are properly cooked, they can retain a mild and delicate quality, and eating them helps to nourish Jing.

There are many kinds of food, among which the five grains are held to best embody the balanced evenness of the five flavors. After porridge or cooked rice is prepared, a thick layer of rice broth congeals on the surface. The text regards this as the quintessence within the rice and holds that eating it can replenish and nourish Jing and Qi relatively quickly, adding that in practice it does indeed prove effective. The text considers that if one can accomplish these things, it not only helps in seeking offspring but is also a method of nurturing life.

The Method of Refining Jing

Refining Jing must begin from the region of the kidneys. The text calls an acupoint in the internal kidney region Guanyuan, and calls the orifice of the external genitals the Pinhu. According to the traditional Neidan (internal alchemy) account of nurturing life, if Jing and Qi have not yet been leaked and depleted and the body has not been damaged, the Yang Qi of the external kidneys will arise at the zi hour (midnight).

The text holds that the Qi of the human body corresponds to the Qi of heaven and earth. If Jing and Qi are leaked and depleted and the body is damaged, the time at which the body’s Yang Qi arises is gradually delayed: in some it arises only at the chou hour (1 to 3 a.m.) or the yin hour (3 to 5 a.m.); in some it appears only as late as the mao hour (5 to 7 in the morning); and in others it never appears again at all. Correspondence with the Qi of heaven and earth is thereby lost.

The method of practice described in the text is this: at the zi hour of midnight, one puts on one’s clothes and sits up, rubs both hands until they grow warm, supports the external kidneys with one hand and presses the center of the navel with the other, while gathering in the mind and Shen (spirit) and concentrating on the internal kidney region. Practiced in this way over a long period, the text holds, Jing and Qi can be made full and vigorous.

What Should Be Known of Sovereign Fire and Ministerial Fire

The heart is the master of the “hundred fires,” and the kidney is the root of ministerial fire. Heart fire and kidney fire respond to one another: the moment the heart’s Shen (spirit) stirs at all, the fire within the kidney answers as well. The heart should therefore remain quiet. If the heart is not still, desire will arouse heart fire and then agitate kidney fire.

To move the heart first and the kidney afterward is to scorch and consume yin Qi (vital energy) with yang fire; it comes of forcing the matter. When one acts by force, Qi descends, the Dantian (energy center) is hard to keep secure, and the root of primordial yang is damaged as well. When kidney Qi is abundant, yang Qi arises from below and ascends from the kidney to the heart. To move the kidney first and the heart afterward is to lend assistance by means of fire, and it comes of what is natural. The movement of Qi therefore rises, and the channels throughout the body open and flow freely with it. This is the natural mechanism by which life is brought forth and nurtured. The Jing (scripture/classic) holds that frivolous and restless people often force what they do, readily harming the body and also working against fertility, whereas sincere, steady, and composed people are better able to accord with nature, so that the impulse of life circulates freely. Those who hope for a child should likewise follow the natural mechanism by which yang Qi moves.

When the affections of man and woman are in accord

When man and woman delight in one another’s feelings and come together only after both have been stirred, yang Jing (essence) is emitted and the yin body receives it, so that an embryo has a chance to form and a child can be conceived. If the man is already aroused while the woman is not yet aroused, and their bodies have barely joined when the man first releases his semen, then although yang Jing has been given forth, the woman has not been able to receive it. If the woman already feels affection while the man’s mind is not on this, then although she responds, he does not emit semen. When Yin-Yang cannot unite, it is like heaven and earth shut off from one another, so that the myriad things have no way to come into being. How, then, could there be offspring?

On the timing of conception

Heaven and Earth bring forth and nurture the myriad things, each in its fitting season; the transformation and generation of the myriad things likewise have their corresponding moments. Even such small creatures as cats and dogs, when about to conceive, have females that run and leap about in excitement. This comes from being stirred by the Qi (vital energy) that prompts reproduction, which they cannot control themselves. This is the season of Heaven and Earth’s working and of the transformation and generation of the myriad things, and it is also the true juncture at which life comes into being.

After a woman’s menstruation has ended, it is said that there is one day on which a change called the “lotus-flower stamen” appears in the womb. The body grows hot, the spirit is drowsy and oppressed, and an unbearable desire for sexual union arises. The scripture (Jing) takes this day to be the moment of fertilization and the forming of a fetus. If at this time one takes and uses it against the ordinary course, the elixir can be refined; if one takes and uses it in accordance with the ordinary course, a fetus will form. Women, however, are often too shy to speak of it, so the man should tell her beforehand and have her take the initiative to explain. It is said that in this way success can be achieved in a single instance.

The Subtle Formula for Advancing the Fire

The “Jade Lake” should ripple only shallowly (meaning that during intercourse the movement should be shallow; the original note says that in this way the woman will be beautiful). If one goes deep, it instead gives cause for worry (the original note says it may harm the woman). Yin blood gathers first (meaning the woman first undergoes a change in the blood), and Yang Jing (essence) flows forth afterward (meaning the man’s semen arrives later). The red flower holds the jade dew (the original note explains this as the blood enveloping the semen, whereupon a boy is born), and it arrives steadily at Yingzhou (the original note says this indicates immediate conception).

The Man Has Three Arrivals

Before man and woman have joined in intercourse, the man has the “three arrivals.” Of what the scripture then enumerates, the given text contains only the sentence “When the yang pathway rises vigorously, a boy is born”: the meaning is that the male organ is aroused and erect, and it is said that in this way a boy will be born.

Before sexual union, the man has the “Three Arrivals,” three bodily responses. If the penis becomes erect and vibrates, liver Qi (vital energy) has arrived; if the erection is vigorous and warm, heart Qi has arrived; if it is firm and lasting, kidney Qi has arrived. Only when all three are present does the woman feel pleasure.

If the penis is limp and does not rise, liver Qi has not arrived; forcing union then injures the sinews and vessels, and the semen may only drip out rather than be ejaculated. If it is erect but not warm, heart Qi has not arrived; forcing union injures Qi and blood, and the semen is clear, cold, and without warmth. If it is firm but cannot last, kidney Qi has not arrived; forcing union injures the Qi of the bones, and semen may not emerge, or only very little if it does. Thus, one who seeks offspring should value reducing desire and quieting the mind and Shen (spirit), so as to nourish the Qi of the liver, heart, and kidneys.

The woman has the Five Arrivals. Before union, if her face flushes and a look of delight shows between her brows, heart Qi has arrived; if her gaze is tender, her eyes moist, and she glances sideways to convey feeling, liver Qi has arrived; if she lowers her head without speaking and mucus flows from her nose, lung Qi has arrived; if she draws close and nestles against the man and her body moves of itself, spleen Qi has arrived; if the vaginal opening opens and its secretions moisten it, kidney Qi has arrived. Only after the Qi of these five viscera has all arrived should the man unite with her, using the method of “nine shallow and one deep” (nine shallow entries and one deep entry during union). The scripture (Jing) holds that, with the feelings of both in harmony in this way, conception comes easily.

During sexual union, a woman may suffer five kinds of harm. If the vaginal opening has not yet relaxed and entry is forced, the liver is injured. If the woman is already aroused but the man does not respond, and union takes place only after her arousal has subsided, the heart is injured, leading to irregular menstruation. If the woman is young and the man is old, the man’s penis lacks firmness and readily goes soft; should the woman’s desire remain unsatisfied, the liver is injured, and vision may even be impaired. If menstruation has not yet ended and the man forces intercourse, the kidneys are injured. If the man engages in intercourse while drunk, his penis is hard and he thrusts back and forth for a long time without pause; when the woman’s arousal has already faded and the man still cannot stop, the spleen is injured. When such harms occur, how can conception take place?

The Woman’s Five Manifestations

A woman speaking in a soft, tender voice is a manifestation of the heart; keeping her eyes closed and not opening them is a manifestation of the liver; a dry throat and rapid breathing are manifestations of the lungs; and the legs bending and stretching by turns, if this continues without ceasing, will injure the spleen. When such harms occur, how can conception take place?

The Woman’s Five Manifestations

A woman speaking in a soft, tender voice is a manifestation of the heart; keeping her eyes closed and not opening them is a manifestation of the liver; a dry throat and rapid breathing are manifestations of the lungs; the legs bending and stretching by turns, then lying supine and motionless like a corpse, is a manifestation of the spleen; and cold breath issuing from the mouth and nose, together with a viscous fluid flowing from the vaginal opening, is a manifestation of the kidneys. These five manifestations are all signs that pleasure has reached its peak. If the man can observe the woman’s condition and act in accordance with it, this not only aids conception but also has a replenishing effect.

Differences in Quickness and Slowness

Men and women differ in desire and constitution: those with a strong capacity to secure and retain Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are usually slower, while those whose capacity for retention is weak are usually quicker. The slower partner finds the quicker one too fast, like someone long hungry who has no time to swallow the food; the quicker partner fears the slower one, like someone already drunk who is still being poured more wine, wanting to vomit yet unable to. If quickness and slowness do not match, how can a fetus be formed? Therefore, when the slower partner meets the quicker one, they should respond flexibly and adjust with the situation, and not rush to display themselves from the outset; when the quicker partner meets the slower one, they should remain calm and self-possessed, first guiding with teasing and stimulation, and only join in intercourse when the moment is right. Only then can the two match properly.

When Yang Qi (vital energy) flourishes and Yin Qi declines, the situation is as fearsome as facing bees and scorpions or knives and spears, and one can only keep away. When Yang Qi declines and Yin Qi flourishes, one is as frail as a person who collapses at the sound of the wind and flees in defeat at the sight of dust. The two sides differ too greatly in strength to be a match for each other; how, then, could conception take place?

There is, however, a way to aid the weaker side: one must accord with benevolence and righteousness and find a means of winning the other’s heart. To subdue the stronger side is difficult to begin with. If one does not gather Jing (essence) and concentrate Shen (spirit), how can the other’s heart and Shen be brought under restraint? Once this method of regulation is truly mastered, the stronger side need not fear, and the weaker side need not worry.

The Inability of the Very Young to Conceive

The flower has only just formed a bud, and its vitality has not yet unfolded. A boy has only just entered childhood, and a girl has only just reached the year of the hairpin ceremony—in antiquity, a woman performed the hairpin rite upon turning fifteen—and the tiangui in the body, the Jing and Qi associated with reproductive development, is not yet sufficient. Can unripe grain serve as seed? Can a silkworm that has not fully grown spin a cocoon? Even if one forces the matter and exhausts every effort, it is all in vain. When, in later years, one grows old and the body declines, can the body still afford to wait? This is nothing more than letting the proper moment pass to no purpose.

Taboos of Sexual Union

When a man and a woman join in sexual union, the ancient method requires that one avoid the days Bing and Ding, as well as the first quarter and the last quarter of the moon, the last day of the lunar month, the new-moon day, and the day of the full moon. If, however, the aim is to seek offspring, it seems one need not be bound by these particular days. Yet when there is a great wind, heavy rain, violent thunder, dense fog, severe cold, or intense heat, or when the sky is dim, the sun or moon is obscured, a rainbow appears, or an earthquake occurs, union should in every case be avoided. The scripture calls such weather and celestial signs the anger of Heaven and Earth and the irregular Qi (vital energy) of the four seasons, holding that union at such times will gravely injure the man and leave the woman prone to many illnesses. Even if she conceives and bears a child, that child may be foolish or dull-witted, mute or deaf, with contracted limbs or a lame foot, impaired in sight, beset by disease, short-lived, and lacking in filial devotion and humaneness. This is the first class of circumstances that ought to be shunned.

One must likewise not join in union beneath the light of the sun, moon, and stars, within temples or Buddhist monasteries, beside a well, a stove, a latrine, or a grave, next to a door pivot, or in dark and perilous places. This is the second class of circumstances that ought to be shunned.

The scripture holds that if, at the time of union, one knows what to avoid, spirits of blessed virtue, wisdom, and goodness will enter the womb, so that the child will be gentle and kindly in temperament and the family’s affairs will gradually prosper. The child will not only seldom fall ill, but will also be intelligent, fair of appearance, and long-lived. If one does not observe these avoidances, then foolish, deceitful, and vicious persons will enter the womb, so that the child will be treacherous in temperament and the family’s affairs will decline. The child may not only be disabled, but may also meet with unexpected calamity. The scripture says that the recompense of such blessing and misfortune is as plain as a shadow following the body or an echo answering a sound, and therefore one cannot fail to be cautious.

Guarding Against Hidden Miscarriage

When the fetus has only just taken form, its shape is like a dewdrop. It has as yet nothing to rest upon, and its foundation is not secure. If it can be protected and sustained, it will grow firm; if it is harmed, it may slip away and be lost. Therefore, after conception one should above all restrain desire, lest the fetal Qi be injured and miscarriage follow. Young people who give free rein to passion and do not know what to avoid often rely on their own…

When the fetus has just taken form, it is as tiny as a dewdrop. At this stage it has no firm support and has not yet taken root; only if it is carefully protected can it gradually become secure, and if it is subjected to a shock it may be lost. For this reason, after conception one must be especially restrained in sexual intercourse, so as to prevent injury to the fetal Qi (vital energy) and miscarriage.

Some young people indulge themselves without knowing the prohibitions. Trusting in the robustness of their bodies, they even continue intercourse after a single act. At that moment the woman’s body needs quiet rest, yet the man is still unwilling to stop. If the man is compared to a reckless intruder forcing a gate, while the woman is yielding and passionate by nature, her gate easily opened, how could she fail to comply with the momentum? The fetus is then lost together with the Jing (essence) and Qi, yet neither party necessarily knows it: she may have conceived only yesterday and miscarry today, or conceived at the beginning of the month and miscarry by mid-month. This loss immediately after conception leaves no obvious signs.

When miscarriage occurs after the fetus has grown, it is usually noticed; but at a very early stage, when the fetus still flows away like water, how is anyone to know? The author therefore holds that some households which seem to have had no obvious miscarriage may in fact have undergone many early miscarriages that were hard to detect. That men who frequently visit prostitutes find it difficult to have heirs is likewise attributed by the author to frequent sexual intercourse damaging the fetal Qi, and to women’s susceptibility to miscarriage.

I have seen people who find it hard to have children. Asked whether their sexual activity is frequent, they say they often have intercourse; asked whether they understand restraint, they say they understand everything; and when they speak of their feelings, they complain, “Others all have children—why am I the only one who does not?” They do not realize that what others may have experienced is a miscarriage that can be seen, while what they themselves have experienced is an early miscarriage of which they were unaware.

In addition, some women miscarry at three or five months of pregnancy, or at seven months. Women of weak constitution are more prone to this, but the author considers the more common cause to be unrestrained sexual intercourse, which injures the mother’s primordial Qi and leads to miscarriage. Thus those who rely on their vigor and engage in excessive intercourse often find it hard to have children; and those who indulge without measure are also liable, through damaging the primordial Qi that is the root of the fetus, to be unable to raise offspring. Should all these cases be blamed on women? Those who wish to obtain heirs ought to consider these risks in advance and guard against them; only then may there be some benefit.

Methods of Keeping Concubines

Taking a concubine without good cause is not a good thing, and many families have been ruined by it. If the wife is old and frail, there are no children, and continuing the family line has become an urgent matter, then sometimes one truly has no choice but to take a concubine.

Taking a concubine is easy; getting along properly is difficult. The key therefore lies in knowing how to settle her. First, she must not be controlled too strictly. The principal wife is usually unwilling to accept a concubine. She may often grow angry and scold her, punish her on the pretext of everyday affairs, or deliberately put on a stern face; all of these are common reactions. Yet whether a concubine can bear children is influenced by Qi (vital energy) and blood, and Qi and blood are in turn bound up with emotion. When the emotions are obstructed, they injure the Chong and Ren vessels—the meridians associated with reproductive function—and leave the body unfavorable to conception. One should therefore not be excessively harsh toward the concubine.

Second, the concubine is best housed in quiet surroundings, keeping a suitable distance from others and receiving less watching and disturbance. The scripture holds that, in sexual union, the man should concentrate his Shen (spirit) and the woman should receive in calm; the condition of both is related to Qi. When attention is focused, Qi can gather and the union proceeds more smoothly; if fear arises in the heart, Qi weakens and the union is hard to complete. Courage and timidity are further shaped by the mind: when there is doubt and fear within, attention cannot gather and Qi cannot arrive. If, during union, one hears a sound and is startled, attention is carried off by the sound; if one sees something suspicious, Shen is drawn away by the sight; if one feels anger or dread, the Qi of the heart becomes congested and concentration is likewise difficult. When Qi cannot fully penetrate, conception is hard to achieve. The scripture compares this to battle, holding that when two armies meet, what is most to be avoided is someone spying or stirring up trouble; likewise, sexual union requires an undivided mind. The concubine’s dwelling should therefore be quiet and little disturbed.

These two arrangements, however, apply only to cases in which a concubine is taken because there is no alternative. If the principal wife is wise, gentle, and wholly concerned with the continuation of the family—not only free of jealousy but considerate of the concubine—then having the concubine live nearer will instead put both at ease, and deliberately keeping her at a distance would go against human feeling. If the principal wife cannot manage this, then even if a concubine is taken in name, she may still not be properly settled. What benefit, then, is there in taking a concubine?

“Planting the seed” means seeking offspring. There is no single fixed set of formulas for aiding conception; they should be chosen according to the person. Those of a cold constitution are suited to warming and tonifying, and those of a hot constitution to cooling; those with slippage and leakage are suited to astringent securing, and those who are constitutionally deficient to supplementation. Only when the body’s imbalances are corrected and Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang) are brought into harmony can fertility be expected to recover. This is the key to seeking heirs. Nowadays some people do not understand this and merely pass on ready-made formulas, as if a medicine suited to one person must also suit another. Others, seeing that something happened to help someone else, take it themselves without asking whether it suits them—like forcing the Zhang family’s hat onto the Li family’s head.

Formulas for seeking offspring now in circulation mostly lean toward arousing Yang and toward warmth and heat. Some even use mineral and metal drugs refined by calcination, or materials that are toxic, foul, and violent. Such formulas often parade their effects with strange claims, intent only on stimulating sexual activity and heedless of the harm they may do to the body. Couples seeking children should therefore be cautious.

The causes of a man’s difficulty in begetting lie chiefly in Jing (essence); for a woman they lie chiefly in the blood. At root, both concern insufficiency. When a man’s Jing and Qi (vital energy) are insufficient, the semen may slip away easily, be thin and clear, or tend toward cold; at intercourse the penis may fail to become firm, or semen may flow out without being ejaculated. There may also be frequent nocturnal emissions, or urine that is turbid and dribbles without ease.

Some, infatuated with women, develop Yin deficiency and then pain and exhaustion in the lower back and kidneys. Some, infatuated with male lovers, develop exuberant Yang Qi, and when that exuberance goes too far it consumes and injures Yin Qi. Others insist on forcibly securing their Jing, which instead unbalances Yin and Yang and makes sexual relations hard to harmonize. If one already suffers from yin hernia—a hernia in the scrotal region—the liver and kidneys are likewise disordered. Moreover, debility of Yang Qi makes a person prone to cold, while insufficiency of Yin fluids makes a person prone to heat. All of these are the man’s own illnesses; difficulty in producing offspring cannot be blamed entirely on the woman. If the cause can be identified and treated, the pursuit of heirs may be expected to improve.

For women, blood is what matters most. Only when blood can unite with Jing (essence) can a fetus take form. In observing disorders of this kind, one looks chiefly to the conditions that follow menstruation; in regulating and treating them, one should likewise begin from the Yin aspect—the aspects related to blood and reproductive function. Menstruation is blood, and blood belongs to Yin. Yin corresponds to the moon, and so the menses arrive on schedule month after month; this is the normal condition.

When menstruation becomes pathological, it may come early or be delayed; it may come twice in one month or only once in two months; it may dry up and cease to flow, or arrive frequently without stopping. Some have abdominal pain before the menses, others after them. The menstrual blood may be pale, purple, or black, or may stagnate and congeal into pieces without forming strands of blood. Insufficiency of Jing and blood may transform into leukorrhea, and the sinking of original Qi (vital energy) may lead to flooding and spotting—menstrual bleeding in great quantity or continuing without cease. If the uterus is deficient and cold, Yang Qi cannot promote generation and transformation; if latent heat lies in the blood, Yin Qi cannot condense and take form. If there are blood masses or Qi masses—lumps formed by the accumulation and binding of blood and Qi—or if the uterus fails to gather and hold, menstruation may become blocked. All of these are disorders of true Yin. The specific methods of treatment are recorded in detail in the upper and lower volumes on “Regulating the Menses” in this book.

When true Yin is diseased, insufficient Yin blood cannot nourish and rear the fetus, and insufficient Yin Qi cannot secure and hold the fetus. Whether the fetus can be contained and nourished turns on the Mingmen, the visceral concept in traditional medicine associated with reproduction and original Qi. The Mingmen is regarded as the sea of blood in which the Chong and Ren vessels converge, and the fetus takes blood as its foundation. Blood cannot generate itself; it still requires Qi to move it. All of this, therefore, pertains to true Yin. To supplement the Mingmen, whether by supplementing Qi or by supplementing blood, may be called supplementing Yin; and to supplement Yin is to cultivate and protect the root and to consolidate the foundation.

Whether in the prime of life or in old age, the regulation and nourishment of the body is something people require; all the more is this so because the Mingmen is the foundation of the vital activity of both the prenatal and the postnatal, and apart from it there is nowhere to apply one’s effort. The method of regulating the menses and assisting conception should therefore take as its chief aim the replenishment of the Mingmen and the cherishing of Yang Qi. Yet although Jing and blood gather at the Mingmen, their source lies with the heart and the spleen and stomach. The heart governs blood, and nurturing heart Qi helps to nourish blood; the spleen and stomach govern food and drink, and only when the spleen and stomach transport vigorously can Qi be distributed. When the heart and the spleen and stomach are harmonized, Qi flows freely and blood too can circulate. The regulation of the emotions and of diet should therefore be considered even before the regulation of menstrual blood; all of this is the nourishing of the source of the Yin aspect. If one does not understand root and branch, or the order of what comes first and what comes after, and treats rashly, one cannot be said truly to understand the method of regulating the menses and assisting conception.

Clarifying Erroneous Treatment in Matters of Conception

The semen a man emits can be taken in and retained by a woman’s Yin blood. Jing (essence) forms the body proper of the fetus, while blood forms the sac that nurtures it, and pregnancy is established in this way. When a woman has no children, it is often because her Yin blood is insufficient and cannot receive and retain the semen. Scant blood has more than one cause, yet one ought to regulate, nourish, and tonify the Yin blood so that it is no longer depleted; only then is conception possible.

Unskilled physicians do not understand this. In every case they declare the uterus cold from deficiency and treat it with acrid, heating drugs. The nature of these medicines scorches the viscera, so that blood and Qi (vital energy) surge and boil; the menstrual flow then turns purplish black and gradually grows scant. At first the appetite may suddenly increase, but in time the mouth becomes bitter and dry, and one symptom follows another. How, under such conditions, can a child be conceived? Even if pregnancy and birth do occur, the child is often not long-lived.

Male Yin Deficiency and Difficulty in Begetting Offspring

When the true Yin within a man’s kidneys is insufficient, it cannot nourish the Ying and Wei—the Qi and blood that circulate at the surface of the body and within the vessels—and the body gradually weakens. There may be deficiency-heat that comes and goes, spontaneous sweating, or night sweats (sweating after one has fallen asleep). The spirit may be unable to settle, and the blood may fail to return to the channels; or Yin may be injured through depletion, with seminal emission, incessant dribbling or urinary incontinence, clouded dizziness from Qi deficiency, blurred vision, deafness, a dry mouth and tongue, and aching weakness of the lower back and legs.

In every case of depleted Jing and marrow, or of dried-up fluids, one should tonify the true Yin of the left kidney as early as possible. Zuogui Wan (Left-Restoring Pill) may be used.

Zuogui Wan

Eight liang of prepared rehmannia root, pounded into a paste; Chinese yam stir-fried with ginger juice, goji berries, Cornus fruit with the pits removed, deer glue fried into beads, tortoise glue fried into beads, and processed dodder seed, four liang of each; and wine-steamed Sichuan cyathula root, three liang. Grind these medicinals into powder and, with honey, form pills the size of Chinese parasol-tree seeds. Before meals, take one hundred pills with lightly salted water.

If true Yin cannot be held secure and deficiency-fire flares upward, choose medicinals whose nature and flavor are purely Yin and settling: omit the goji berries and the deer glue, and add three liang each of privet fruit and ophiopogon tuber. If deficiency-fire scorches the Yin of the lungs, with dryness and frequent coughing, add three liang of lily bulb. For fever at night and bone-steaming heat—a sensation of heat within the bones—add three liang of lycium root bark. If urination is difficult or the urine is turbid, add three liang of poria. If the stool is dry and bound, omit the dodder seed and add three liang of cistanche. For Qi deficiency, add four liang of ginseng. If the blood is deficient and its movement is somewhat obstructed, add four liang of Chinese angelica. For aching of the lower back and knees, add three liang of eucommia bark stir-fried with salt water.

If the viscera are in harmony and there is no deficiency-fire, yet physical strength is lacking, omit the tortoise glue and add three liang of psoralea fruit, together with four liang each of lotus seed with the plumule removed and walnut kernel.

When a man’s semen is scant, conception is difficult.

In a man with scant semen, even if he can ejaculate it inward, the semen is thin because of vacuity and decline. The scripture holds that when the mouth of the uterus gapes open and too little semen enters, it cannot meet what conception requires and therefore readily flows out at once. Guben Wan (Root-Securing Pills) is appropriate.

Guben Wan: cuscuta seed processed with wine; prepared rehmannia steamed with wine and then pounded; dried rehmannia soaked in wine and then pounded; tianmendong (asparagus tuber) with the core removed and soaked in wine; maimendong (ophiopogon tuber) with the core removed and soaked in wine; schisandra and fushen (poria with hostwood), four liang each; Huai Chinese yam, lightly stir-fried, three liang; lotus seed with the skin and core removed, ginseng with the rhizome crown removed, and lycium fruit, two liang each.

Grind the above medicinals to a fine powder and, with honey, form pills the size of firmiana seeds. Take eighty to ninety pills each time, swallowed with a weak salt decoction.

For the various vacuity impairments in men, with wasting of the flesh, deafness, and dim vision, Wubi Shanyao Wan (Incomparable Chinese Yam Pills) is appropriate.

Wubi Shanyao Wan: Chinese yam, two liang; cuscuta seed, three liang; processed schisandra, six liang; cistanche, four liang (soaked in wine); eucommia, three liang (stir-fried with wine); achyranthes (soaked in wine and then steamed), prepared rehmannia, alisma, cornus, poria, morinda flesh, and chishizi, one liang each.

Grind the above medicinals to a fine powder and form them into honey pills. Take fifty pills each time, before meals, with rice broth.

When a man’s semen is thin, conception is difficult.

Excessive desire and too much discharge of essence (jing) bring about kidney vacuity and thin semen that is difficult to ejaculate into the uterus. Mengxiong Wan (Dreaming-of-a-Bear Pills) is appropriate.

Mengxiong Wan: astragalus, four liang (honey-fried); yellow-fish swim-bladder glue, one piece (stir-fried with clam-shell powder until it puffs up like pearls); shayuan jili, eight liang (soaked in mare’s milk, steamed, and then dried).

Grind the above medicinals to a fine powder and form them into honey pills. Take eighty pills each time, on an empty stomach, with warm wine.

When a man’s semen readily slips and leaks away, conception is difficult.

Astragalus, four liang (honey-fried); yellow-fish swim-bladder glue, one piece (stir-fried with clam-shell powder until it puffs up like pearls); shayuan jili, eight liang (soaked in mare’s milk, steamed, and then dried). Grind the above medicinals to a fine powder and form them into honey pills. Take eighty pills each time, on an empty stomach, with warm wine.

If a man’s Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are not secure, he may often suffer nocturnal emissions in dreams. His urine may also be turbid and dribble without fully emptying, or he may leak and discharge semen to excess, and for these reasons he finds it difficult to father children. The scripture holds that this condition is suited to taking the “Seed Pill” (Zhongzi Dan).

For the Seed Pill, select four liang of lotus stamen, the stamens of the lotus flower; three liang of cornelian cherry with the pits removed; two liang of Chinese raspberry with the calyces removed; five qian of dragon bone that has been calcined and processed by water levigation; and four liang of Euryale seed. Of flatstem milkvetch seed, take four liang of the cleaned powder, then sift out two liang of the very finest to enter the medicine; boil the remaining coarse powder in water to make a paste. Grind the medicinal ingredients into a fine powder, add four liang of prepared honey, and blend them with the milkvetch paste to form pills. Take them on an empty stomach with a lightly salted decoction.

When a man’s semen is thin and watery, and he finds it difficult to father children

When a man’s Jing and Qi are clear and cold, or when excessive sexual activity has injured the body so that Kidney Water is insufficient and he cannot ejaculate forcefully into the uterus, the scripture holds that it is appropriate to take the “Pill to Secure the Root and Strengthen Yang” (Guben Jianyang Dan).

For the Pill to Secure the Root and Strengthen Yang, use three liang each of prepared rehmannia and cornelian cherry; two liang of morinda root flesh; one and a half liang each of dodder seed picked clean, Sichuan teasel soaked in wine, polygala root flesh that has been processed, and cnidium seed that has been dry-fried; one liang each of fushen, Chinese yam steamed with wine, achyranthes root washed in wine, eucommia bark washed in wine with the broken fibrous strands removed, the body of Chinese angelica washed in wine, cistanche soaked in wine, schisandra, alpinia fruit stir-fried in salt water, and deer-antler velvet roasted with butter; three liang of lycium fruit; and two liang of ginseng. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder and, with honey, form pills the size of Chinese parasol-tree seeds. Take them on an empty stomach with a salted decoction, and take them once more before sleep.

When a man’s semen is cold, and he finds it difficult to father children

The scripture holds that only when a man’s Yang Qi is vigorous can he ejaculate forcefully into the uterus. If there is impotence and the semen is clear and cold, it is appropriate to take the “Dodder Pill” (Tusi Wan); if the movement of Kidney Qi is obstructed, it is appropriate to take the “Five Seeds Pill for Continuing the Lineage” (Wuzi Yanzong Wan).

Tusizi Wan (Dodder-Seed Pills). Soak dodder seed in wine, steam it until cooked, and grind it into powder. Mix the powder with the whites of sparrow eggs and form pills the size of Chinese parasol-tree seeds. Take seventy pills at a time, on an empty stomach, with warm wine. If the man is past fifty and suffers from impotence, four liang of tianxiong may be added to the formula. Wrap the tianxiong in dough and roast it until cooked; remove the skin and the navel, process it with a boy’s urine, and grind it into powder. Make pills from this together with the medicinal powder and take them; the effect is better.

Wuzi Yanzong Wan (Five-Seed Pills for Continuing the Lineage). Eight liang of goji berry, eight liang of dodder seed boiled in wine, one liang of schisandra, four liang of raspberry with the calyx removed, and two liang of stir-fried plantain seed. Grind the above medicinals into powder and make pills with honey. On an empty stomach, take ninety pills with plain boiled water.

Cold Jing (essence) in men, with difficulty begetting children. What is called “cold Jing” in a man means that the Jing and Qi (vital energy) in the kidneys are cold and weak. Although semen enters the womb, if primordial Yang is insufficient, Yin Qi cannot be transformed and generated, and so conception is difficult; even if pregnancy occurs, daughters are more often born. Yulin Zhu is appropriate.

Yulin Zhu (Pearls for Nurturing an Heir). Four liang each of prepared rehmannia, Chinese angelica, and processed dodder seed; two liang each of Huai Chinese yam processed with ginger juice, goji berry, walnut meat, morinda flesh, deer-antler glue, deer-antler frost, eucommia stir-fried in wine, cornelian cherry with the pits removed, Sichuan pepper with the seeds removed, ginseng, white atractylodes, poria, and white peony stir-fried in wine; and one liang each of Sichuan lovage and honey-fried licorice. Grind the above medicinals into powder and, with honey, form pills the size of Chinese parasol-tree seeds. Take them on an empty stomach with plain boiled water, seventy to eighty pills each time.

Deficiency-cold in men, with difficulty begetting children. If a man has deficiency-cold of the spleen and kidneys, poor appetite, and such symptoms as fever, night sweats, seminal emission, white turbidity, depletion of primordial Qi, and bodily emaciation, Huanshao Dan is appropriate.

Huanshao Dan (Youth-Restoring Pill): Take four liang of prepared rehmannia, and two liang each of Chinese yam, cornelian cherry, eucommia bark processed with ginger juice, and goji berry; then one liang each of achyranthes root soaked in wine, polygala root soaked in ginger juice and then stir-fried, cistanche soaked in wine, northern schisandra, Sichuan teasel, paper-mulberry fruit, imported fennel, processed dodder seed, and morinda flesh. Grind the herbs to a fine powder, form them with honey into pills, and take fifty pills at a time, on an empty stomach, washed down with a mild salt decoction.

Impotence in Men and Difficulty in Having Children

When a man grows old, children come only with difficulty. He suffers impotence and a weakening of Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), and cannot carry sexual intercourse through to the full so as to give his partner pleasure. Sometimes desire no sooner arises than it quickly fades; sometimes, just as intercourse is about to begin, he suddenly cannot achieve an erection. The woman’s passion is at its height, yet the man can only sigh. How, then, can a line of descendants be continued? In such cases it is appropriate to take Zanyu Dan (Pill for Assisting Procreation).

Zanyu Dan: eight liang of prepared rehmannia, steamed and then pounded; eight liang of white atractylodes, honey-fried; six liang each of Chinese angelica and goji berry; four liang each of eucommia bark stir-fried with wine, curculigo steamed in wine for one day, morinda flesh stir-fried in a licorice decoction, cornelian cherry with the pits removed, epimedium stir-fried with sheep fat, cistanche washed in wine until its scaly coat is removed, and chive seed stir-fried until yellow; and two liang each of cnidium fruit lightly stir-fried, fully processed aconite, and cinnamon bark. Grind the herbs to a fine powder and form them with honey into pills to be taken. If ginseng and deer velvet are added, the effect is still better.

Yang Deficiency in Men and Difficulty in Having Children

When a man has difficulty fathering children because his primordial yang (Yuanyang) is insufficient, the cause may be a weak innate endowment, or it may be excessive injury from overwork and strain. The fire of the Gate of Life (Mingmen) then declines and can no longer warm and nourish the spleen and stomach, so deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach arises.

Symptoms may include a poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, fullness and distension of the abdomen, regurgitation, difficulty swallowing, an aversion to cold, pain about the navel and abdomen, and stools that are loose and soft or amount to frequent diarrhea. There may also be inability to control the urine, a weak dribbling flow that does not pass freely, or cold hernia (pain in the abdomen or genitals caused by cold pathogens). When cold pathogens invade the intestines and stomach and the sinews and vessels, numbness and pain may appear in the limbs and joints. When cold pathogens settle in the lower burner (Xiajiao, the organs of the lower part of the body), edema may also occur.

In general, people whose true yang (Zhenyang) is insufficient tend to be weary in spirit and short of Qi (vital energy) and strength. They may also have palpitations and unease, weakness of the four limbs, or visions that seem to be of malign spirits; or their yang Qi may be so weakened that they have difficulty fathering children. In such cases one should promptly warm and tonify the primordial yang of the right kidney—the fundamental yang Qi that maintains the warmth of the body and its reproductive function. Yougui Wan, the Right-Restoring Pill, is suitable.

Yougui Wan (Right-Restoring Pill)

Prepared rehmannia (Shudihuang), eight liang, pounded into a paste; Chinese yam (Shanyao) stir-fried with ginger juice; goji berry (Gouqizi), lightly stir-fried; deer-antler glue (Lujiaojiao), stir-fried until it forms beads; dodder seed (Tusizi), processed; eucommia bark (Duzhong), stir-fried with ginger juice—four liang of each of these; Chinese angelica (Danggui) and cornelian cherry (Shanzhuyu), three liang each; cinnamon bark (Rougui) and fully processed aconite (Fuzi), three liang each.

Grind the medicinals to a fine powder and, with honey, form pills the size of a small pellet. Each morning chew two pills and swallow them with plain boiled water.

If yang Qi is debilitated and there is Qi deficiency, five to six liang of ginseng (Renshen) may be added. If yang deficiency is accompanied by seminal emission and leakage, turbid urine, or loose, unformed stools, omit the Chinese angelica and add stir-fried psoralea (Buguzhi). If diarrhea persists for a long time, add three liang each of the fruit of northern schisandra (Beiwuweizi) and of nutmeg (Roudoukou) stir-fried with flour to remove its oil. If the appetite is poor, digestion is impaired, and there is nausea or acid regurgitation, and the pattern is deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach, three liang of dried ginger (Ganjiang) stir-fried until yellow may be added. If abdominal pain does not cease, add two liang of evodia fruit (Wuzhuyu) soaked in hot water and then stir-fried. If the lower back and knees ache, add four liang of walnut kernel with the skin left on. If there is yin deficiency together with impotence, add four liang of morinda flesh (Bajirou) and three liang of cistanche (Roucongrong) soaked in wine; one may also add one pair of the external kidneys (testicles) of a yellow dog, boiled in wine until soft, pounded, and mixed in.

A man may have difficulty fathering children when his fire-Qi is exuberant.

What is called “excess of fire” means that the ministerial fire within the body—the fire Qi (vital energy) which, in traditional medical theory, is linked to vital activity and reproductive function—has grown too strong. Three liang of cistanche may be soaked in wine; one may also add one pair of the external kidneys, that is, the testes, of a yellow dog, boil them soft in wine, and pound them in.

When a man’s fire is excessive, begetting offspring is difficult. If a man’s ministerial fire is overabundant and sexual intercourse goes on too long, the woman’s interest may already have passed before the man ejaculates; and when he does ejaculate, her interest has subsided once more. In the wording of the original text, this is unfavorable to conception. It is appropriate to take the Yin-Supplementing Pill.

For the Yin-Supplementing Pill, phellodendron bark stir-fried with salted wine and anemarrhena stir-fried with salted wine are used in the amount of four liang each; prepared rehmannia root, steamed with wine and then crushed, and tortoise plastron roasted crisp with butter are used in the amount of six liang each. These medicinals are ground to a fine powder, steamed pig spinal cord is added, and the mixture is blended with honey and formed into pills the size of firmiana seeds. Fifty to sixty pills are taken at a time, on an empty stomach, with a lightly salted infusion.

When a man’s yang reaches its extreme, begetting offspring is difficult. When a man’s ministerial fire blazes fiercely, it consumes and injures true yin—the yin Jing (essence), or nourishing power, of traditional medical theory—so that yang Qi attains its greatest abundance; once yang Qi is excessive, it becomes agitated. Some men are also overly firm and unyielding, so that during intercourse the partners’ rhythms are difficult to coordinate, and thus there are no heirs. It is appropriate to take the Elixir for Prolonging Years and Benefiting Descendants.

For the Elixir for Prolonging Years and Benefiting Descendants, ginseng, asparagus root soaked in wine and cored, and ophiopogon soaked in wine and cored are used in the amount of three liang each; prepared rehmannia root, steamed with wine and then crushed, and raw rehmannia root are used in the amount of two liang each; poria soaked in wine and dried in the sun, and lycium root bark soaked in wine, are used in the amount of five liang each. Separately, take half a jin of fleeceflower root, soak it through with rice wine, pare away the outer skin with a bamboo knife, slice it, and place it in a wok. Add one piece of black mutton and three ge of black soybeans, then add a suitable amount of water. Set a steamer grate over the wok, spread the fleeceflower root on the grate, and cover it tightly so that no steam escapes. Steam for one to two hours, until the mutton is thoroughly cooked and soft. Remove the fleeceflower root, dry it in the sun, grind it to a fine powder, and with honey form pills the size of firmiana seeds. On an empty stomach, take seventy to eighty pills with warm wine.

When a man has chicken Jing, begetting offspring is difficult.

A man’s penile foreskin is tender and delicate; the slightest touch can produce an itch almost impossible to endure. As a result, in intercourse the man has often already ejaculated before the woman reaches orgasm. The book calls this condition “chicken essence” (jijing) and recommends “Yang-Strengthening Decoction” (Zhuangyang Tang).

The formula for Yang-Strengthening Decoction uses equal amounts of cnidium fruit (shechuangzi) and lycium root bark (digupi). The ingredients are decocted, and the liquid is used for fumigation and washing, with the area also rubbed by hand. During fumigation and washing the penis must be erect for the treatment to work well. If the rubbing is too heavy and breaks the skin, there is no need for alarm; it will heal in a day or two. Fumigate and wash several times a day. The aim is to make the foreskin coarser and tougher, so that it can better withstand friction and last longer.

When a woman is physically weak, fumigation and washing likewise require that the penis be erect for the effect to be good. If the hand rubs too hard and abrades the skin, there is no need to panic; it will recover in a day or two. Fumigate and wash several times each day. This is done so that the foreskin becomes coarse and tough, able to tolerate friction and to endure somewhat longer.

Women’s Weakness and Infertility

When a woman’s qi and blood are both deficient, the channels and vessels fall out of order. Menstruation sometimes ceases and sometimes comes only intermittently. There may also be turbid vaginal discharge, abdominal pain, aching in the lower back, poor appetite, and similar symptoms. The body grows thin and weak, and she therefore fails to conceive. It is recommended that she take “Yulin Zhu” (the formula recorded in the book); after one or two doses she may become pregnant. Among all formulas that aid conception, none surpasses this one.

Yulin Zhu (Pearl for Nurturing Offspring): ginseng (Renshen), honey-fried white atractylodes (Baizhu), and wine-fried white peony (Baishao), two liang each; Chuanxiong and honey-fried licorice (Gancao), one liang each; Chinese angelica (Danggui), prepared rehmannia (Shudihuang), and prepared dodder seed (Tusizi), four liang each; wine-fried eucommia bark (Duzhong), deer-antler frost (Lujiaoshuang), and Sichuan pepper (Chuanjiao) with the seeds removed, two liang each.

Grind these medicinals into a fine powder and form them with honey into pills the size of a pellet. On an empty stomach, chew one or two pills and take them with plain boiled water; they may also be made into small pills and swallowed.

If menstruation is delayed and accompanied by abdominal pain, wine-fried psoralea fruit (Buguzhi) and cinnamon bark (Rougui) may be added, one liang each; if the symptoms are severe, add a further five qian of evodia fruit (Wuzhuyu) that has been soaked and then stir-fried. If leukorrhea is copious and accompanied by abdominal pain, add one liang of wine-fried psoralea fruit and five qian of northern schisandra (Beiwuweizi); one liang of dragon bone (Longgu) calcined with vinegar may also be added. If the symptoms are severe, add a further five qian of soaked and then stir-fried evodia fruit. If cold in the uterus is very severe, with diarrhea or pain, add several qian each of fully prepared aconite (Fuzi) and processed dried ginger (Ganjiang). If depression and anger impede the movement of Qi (vital energy), producing distension and fullness, add two liang of wine-processed cyperus (Xiangfu); if the symptoms are severe, add a further five qian of agarwood (Chenxiang). If there is blood heat with exuberant internal fire, early menstruation, and internal heat, add two qian each of Sichuan dipsacus (Chuanxuduan) and lycium root bark (Digupi); one may also first take a decoction for a time to clear heat, and only afterward take this formula. When the pills are taken, a suitable decoction may be chosen as appropriate to wash them down.

Infertility from Visceral Cold in Women

When a woman’s five viscera are weak and the uterus is cold, deficient, and exhausted, with symptoms such as red and white vaginal discharge, night sweats, shortness of breath, and aversion to cold, Xusi Jiangsheng Dan (Elixir for Continuing the Lineage and Promoting Birth) may be taken. This formula contains no medicinals regarded as overly drastic or attacking; its nature tends toward warmth, and it also has a securing, astringent action. For those whose Sea of Blood—the functional system in Chinese medicine associated with menstruation and conception—is deficient and cold, this formula is generally suitable. Its power to warm and disperse is, however, relatively strong, while its power to tonify is insufficient. If one liang each of ginseng, white atractylodes, prepared rehmannia, Chuanxiong, and honey-fried licorice is added, its warming, tonifying, and fertility-supporting effects are strengthened; it is therefore called Jiawei Xusi Jiangsheng Dan (Augmented Elixir for Continuing the Lineage and Promoting Birth).

The Pill for the Continuation of the Lineage and for Birth (Xusi Jiangsheng Dan) is composed as follows. Chinese angelica, washed in wine; eucommia bark, washed in wine; poria with pine root; bitter cardamom fruit; calcined dragon bone; cassia heartwood; evodia fruit, soaked in hot water; dried ginger, half raw and half prepared; Sichuan pepper, with the seeds removed; and lindera root, stir-fried—one liang of each of the above. White peony root stir-fried with wine; Sichuan achyranthes root soaked in wine; processed pinellia; saposhnikovia root; large gentian root; grass-leaf sweetflag with the hairs removed; northern asarum; and platycodon root—five qian of each of the above.

One qian of cinnabar is placed in a hole opened at the navel of a large aconite root, enclosed within it, and roasted until done. The cinnabar is then taken out and ground to a fine powder; the aconite is discarded and not used. The cinnabar is further purified by the water-flying method and processed in this way.

Large pieces of oyster shell are soaked in a boy’s urine for forty-nine days, the urine being changed every five days. After they are removed, one liang of sulfur is ground to powder, mixed with wine, and spread over the oyster shell. This is wrapped tightly in bark paper, moistened with rice vinegar, and sealed on the outside with salt mud. When dry, it is calcined over five jin of charcoal fire and then ground to a fine powder. Two liang are used for each batch of the formula, and the remainder is kept in store for later use.

The above medicinals are ground to powder. Glutinous rice is boiled in wine to make a paste, and pills the size of firmiana seeds are formed and coated with cinnabar. Thirty pills are taken at a time, the dose gradually increased to eighty or ninety pills, and swallowed on an empty stomach with plain boiled water.

When a woman’s bodily form is obese and she does not conceive, the scripture holds that a person in whom phlegm and Qi (vital energy) are exuberant readily grows obese in form. If the lower body is excessively fat, the uterus draws inward, and conception is therefore not easily achieved. Even if the man’s reproductive organ is vigorous and semen is able to enter during intercourse, conception may still be difficult because dampness overflows by way of the bladder. In such a case it is fitting to take the Phlegm-Cleansing Pills together with the Phlegm-Cleansing Decoction.

The Phlegm-Cleansing Decoction consists of wine-washed Chinese angelica, honey-fried white atractylodes, white peony root, processed pinellia, cyperus rhizome, tangerine peel, and licorice, two liang of each; poria, four liang; and Sichuan lovage rhizome, seven qian and five fen. These are divided into ten doses. To each dose three slices of ginger are added, and the mixture is decocted in water. When it is taken, the Phlegm-Cleansing Pills are swallowed with it.

Ditan Wan (Phlegm-Cleansing Pills): Baizhu (white atractylodes), two liang—a traditional unit of medicinal weight—honey-fried; Banxia qu, a processed preparation of pinellia; and Chuanxiong (Sichuan lovage), seven qian and five fen. Divide the ingredients into ten doses. For each dose add three slices of fresh ginger, decoct them in water, and use the decoction to take the Ditan Wan.

Ditan Wan: Baizhu, two liang, honey-fried; Banxia qu, Chuanxiong, and Xiangfu mi (cyperus rhizome), one liang each; stir-fried Shenqu (medicated leaven) and Fuling (Poria), five qian each; Juhong (red tangerine peel), four qian; and Gancao (licorice), two qian. Grind these medicinals into a fine powder and form them into pills with rice gruel, taking eighty pills each time. If there is internal heat, one liang each of Huanglian (Coptis) and Zhishi (immature bitter orange) may be added after they have been coated in wheat bran and stir-fried.

Women Who Are Thin and Weak and Do Not Conceive

When a woman’s body is thin and weak, it is often because her blood is scant and conception is difficult. She should take Dabuo Wan (Great Tonifying Pills) over a long period.

Dabuo Wan: Tiandong (asparagus tuber, core removed), Maidong (ophiopogon tuber, core removed), Shichangpu (acorus), Fuling, Renshen (ginseng), Yizhi ren (alpinia fruit), Gouqi zi (goji berry), Digupi (lycium root bark), and Yuanzhi rou (the fleshy part of polygala root), in equal amounts. Grind them into a fine powder and, with honey, form pills the size of a Chinese parasol seed. On an empty stomach, take thirty pills with wine.

Women Who Are Constitutionally Weak and Do Not Conceive

For a woman to conceive, her Qi (vital energy) must be ample and her blood full, so that the fetus can be nourished. If Qi is deficient, yang Qi weakens; if the blood is deficient, yin blood is insufficient. When both Qi and blood are depleted, the baotai—the fetus together with the womb in which it rests—tends to sink and is difficult to secure, and miscarriage may result. Bazhen Yimu Wan (Eight-Treasure Motherwort Pills) is appropriate.

Bazhen Yimu Wan: Renshen, Baizhu (honey-fried), Fuling, and Chuanxiong, one liang each; Danggui (Chinese angelica) and Shudihuang (prepared rehmannia), two liang each; Gancao (honey-fried), five qian; Baishao (white peony, stir-fried with vinegar), one liang; and Yimucao (motherwort), four liang. Yimucao is gathered in the fifth and sixth months of the lunar calendar. Only the upper half is used, not the leafy portion; it is sun-dried in an iron vessel and then pounded to a fine powder. Grind all the above medicinals into a fine powder and, with honey, form pills the size of a pellet. On an empty stomach, take one pill with plain boiled water; smaller pills may also be made. If the spleen and stomach are deficient and cold and prone to accumulation and stagnation, add one liang of Sharen (amomum fruit), mixed with ginger juice and stir-fried. If there is distension and oppression in the abdomen, add one liang of Shanzha rou (hawthorn flesh), steamed on top of rice until done, and then use it. If there is a tendency toward constraint and stagnation, add one liang of wine-processed Xiangfu.

Women with Exuberant Ministerial Fire

When ministerial fire (xianghuo) is overly strong, it scorches and depletes a body that is already dry, just as grasses and trees can hardly grow in parched soil. When, in addition, fire Qi (vital energy) is excessive, men are prone to premature ejaculation, while a woman’s desire has not yet fully arisen—how, then, can she conceive? It is advisable to take Yiyin Decoction.

Yiyin Decoction (Yiyin jian): dried rehmannia (gan dihuang) and prepared rehmannia (shu dihuang), three qian each; white peony (baishao), ophiopogon with the core removed (maidong), and salvia (danshen), two qian each; achyranthes (niuxi), one qian and five fen; licorice (gancao), one qian. Add two cups of water and decoct until seven-tenths of the liquid remains, then take. If fire is intense and there is restlessness, two qian of tortoise-plastron glue (guijiao) may be added; if Qi is deficient, one to two qian of ginseng (renshen) may be added; if the heart is deficient and there is insomnia, one to two qian each of stir-fried sour jujube seed (chao suanzaoren) and Chinese angelica (danggui) may be added.

Cold of the Spleen and Stomach in Women

When the spleen and stomach are deficient and cold, the belt vessel (daimai)—the channel that encircles the waist and abdomen and is linked with women’s menses, vaginal discharge, and pregnancy—loses its strength. Semen is then easily expelled straight out, and how can the uterus receive it? It is advisable to take Buzhong Pills.

Buzhong Pills (Buzhong wan): Sichuan lovage (chuanxiong), Chinese angelica, honey-fried astragalus (huangqi), honey-fried white atractylodes (baizhu), ginseng, white peony, eucommia stir-fried with salt water (duzhong), Sichuan teasel (chuan xuduan), donkey-hide gelatin (ejiao) stir-fried into pearl-like beads, and stir-fried schisandra (wuweizi), one liang each; honey-fried licorice, five qian. Grind the above into a fine powder, form pills with honey, and take them with plain boiled water.

Infertility in Women from Constrained Qi

When a woman broods and becomes excessively constrained by worry, the heart and spleen are injured, and the Penetrating and Conception vessels (chongmai and renmai)—the sources of the channels associated with Qi, blood, and reproduction—are depleted. Qi and blood grow more deficient day by day, menstruation gradually becomes irregular, and how can she conceive? It is advisable to take Hehuan Pills.

Hehuan Pills (Hehuan wan): Chinese angelica and prepared rehmannia, three liang each; poria spirit (fushen) and white peony, one and a half liang each; stir-fried sour jujube seed and prepared polygala root-flesh (zhi yuanzhi rou), one liang each; wine-fried cyperus (xiangfu) and honey-fried licorice, eight fen each. Grind the above into a fine powder, form pills with honey, and take them with plain boiled water. For those with Qi deficiency, add one liang of ginseng.

Infertility in Women from Blood Stasis

When a woman, owing to deficiency of the blood and to menstrual blood that is stagnant and fails to flow, so that it accumulates within the body, suffers pain in the lower abdomen and has long been unable to conceive, the Five-Ingredient Decoction (Wu Wu Jian) may be used.

The Five-Ingredient Decoction consists of Chinese angelica and prepared rehmannia root, three qian each; white peony root stir-fried with wine, two qian; and Sichuan lovage rhizome and cinnamon bark, one qian each. Decoct them in water and take the decoction. If there is stagnation of Qi (vital energy), one qian of processed cyperus may be added; if weakness of Yang Qi gives rise to shan pain, one qian of fennel seed may be added; if urination is obstructed, one qian of alisma may be added; if there is nausea and vomiting, one qian of dried ginger may be added.

When a woman cannot conceive because her menstruation is irregular, the Five-Ingredient Decoction may also be used. The dosages in the formula and the method of taking it are the same as above, with additions or reductions according to the different symptoms.

When a woman’s menstruation is disordered and Qi and blood are not in harmony, so that she cannot conceive, or when, after having borne one child, she has not conceived again for many years, she may take Zhongyu Wine (the Wine for Planting Jade). Taken continuously for a hundred days, it is said to enable conception; if Qi and blood are insufficient, the menstrual blood is stagnant, or phlegm has congealed, it must be taken for half a year before any effect appears.

Zhongyu Wine: five liang of whole Chinese angelica, sliced, which has the action of invigorating and nourishing the blood; and five liang of polygala root, washed in a decoction of licorice, which helps to clear stagnation within the blood, regulate the movement of Qi, and transform phlegm. Place the two ingredients in a thin, loosely woven grass-cloth bag, put the bag into ten jin of sweet wine, and seal the mouth of the jar tightly. After soaking for seven days, warm the wine and drink it every night before sleep, taking as much as one’s own capacity for wine allows, without interruption; when it has been finished, prepare another batch according to the same formula.

After menstruation has ended, take one green-shelled duck egg each day and pierce seven small holes in it. Place five fen of Qi mugwort (a kind of mugwort) in a bowl of water, then set the duck egg in the bowl of mugwort water, place it over rice, and steam it until cooked before eating. In the course of a month, as many as five or six may be eaten, and as few as two or three is also acceptable.

A woman can conceive only when her menses arrive. Irregular menstruation is not a favorable sign for conception; even if she does become pregnant, the fetus may not develop fully. She should take Dasheng Wan (Great Generating Pill), a general formula for regulating the menses. If there is red or white vaginal discharge (red or white secretions flowing from the vagina) and she has long been unable to conceive, Tiaojing Zhongyu Wan (Pill for Regulating the Menses and Planting Jade) is appropriate; if the infertility is of the yin-deficiency type, Jiawei Dihuang Wan (Supplemented Rehmannia Pill) is appropriate; if abdominal pain comes with the menses, Kunhou Zisheng Wan (Pill of Ample Kun for Nourishing Life) is appropriate.

Dasheng Wan consists of wine-steamed prepared rehmannia root and the body of Chinese angelica root, four liang each; dipsacus root stir-fried with salt water, donkey-hide gelatin stir-fried with powdered cattail pollen until bead-like, eucommia bark stir-fried with salt water, and stir-fried salvia root, two qian each; honey-fried astragalus root, wine-fried white peony root, corydalis rhizome, and chuanxiong rhizome, one liang and five qian each; aged tangerine peel of the Guang variety, five qian; and cyperus rhizome processed by four methods, one liang. These medicinals are ground to a fine powder and made into pills with honey. Three qian are taken at a time, on an empty stomach, with plain boiled water. During menstruation an additional two qian are taken. If the menses come early and the blood is purple, change to a decoction: reduce the one liang of honey in the original formula to one qian, add eight fen of scutellaria root and three slices of ginger, decoct in water, take it on an empty stomach, and take it once more before sleep. If the menses are delayed and the color is pale, add cinnamon bark, prepared mugwort, and dried ginger, five fen each, together with three slices of fresh ginger, and decoct in water. If the menses have not yet come but there is abdominal pain, grind one liang of salvia root to a fine powder and take two qian of it with yellow rice wine. All these medicines are taken until menstruation ends; thereafter the pills described above are continued regularly.

Tiaojing Zhongyu Wan consists of cyperus rhizome processed by four methods and eucommia bark stir-fried with ginger juice, eight liang each; chuanxiong rhizome, white peony root, the body of Chinese angelica root, dried rehmannia root, aged tangerine peel, fennel seed stir-fried with wine, lightly stir-fried corydalis rhizome, cistanche stir-fried with wine, unripe tangerine peel, and Chenqian Wan.

The Tiaojing Zhongyu Pills (Pills for Regulating Menstruation and Planting Jade) are made as follows. Cyperus rhizome is processed in four separate ways, and eucommia bark is stir-fried with ginger juice, eight liang of each. Chuanxiong rhizome, white peony root, the main body of Chinese angelica root, dried rehmannia root, aged tangerine peel, fennel fruit stir-fried with wine, corydalis rhizome lightly stir-fried, cistanche stir-fried with wine, aged green tangerine peel stir-fried with bran, lindera root stir-fried, withered scutellaria root stir-fried with wine, and cuttlebone roasted with butter are used at four liang each.

The medicinals are ground together into a fine powder and made into pills with a paste of vinegar and wheat flour. One hundred pills are taken each time on an empty stomach and swallowed with good wine. Another formula omits the dried rehmannia root and aged tangerine peel and uses ginseng and astragalus root instead.

The Jiawei Dihuang Pills (Supplemented Rehmannia Pills) use four liang of prepared rehmannia root; two liang each of cornus fruit and Chinese yam; one and a half liang each of moutan root bark and poria; one liang each of alisma rhizome and cyperus rhizome processed with a boy’s urine; and five qian of Qi mugwort, with its fibrous veins removed and roasted in vinegar.

The medicinals are ground into a fine powder and made into pills with honey. Seventy pills are taken each time and swallowed with plain boiled water.

The Kunhou Zisheng Pills (Pills of Generous Earth That Support the Generation of Life) use four liang each of prepared rehmannia root and Chinese angelica root steamed with wine; three liang of white peony root stir-fried with wine; one liang and five qian of chuanxiong rhizome steamed with wine; three liang of salvia root steamed with wine; and four liang of motherwort seed steamed with wine. Cyperus rhizome is processed in four batches, soaked respectively in vinegar, ginger juice, and salt water and then stir-fried, one liang of each. Four liang of white atractylodes rhizome are roasted in honey water until yellow.

The medicinals are ground into a fine powder. Separately, eight liang of motherwort herb are boiled down with equal parts of wine and water into a thick paste, which is then blended with honey to make pills. Four qian are taken each time on an empty stomach and swallowed with plain boiled water.

If menstruation comes early and the pulse is rapid, the condition is a heat pattern, and one liang each of raw rehmannia root and moutan root bark may be added to the formula. If menstruation is delayed, the hands and feet are cold, and the pulse is slow, the condition is a cold pattern, and cinnamon bark may be added. If there is abdominal pain as menstruation is about to arrive, this is stagnation of the movement of Qi (vital energy), and lindera root and costus root may be added. If the appetite is poor, Qi is deficient, the complexion is pale, and the limbs are weak, the condition is dual deficiency of Qi and blood; the cyperus rhizome in the formula may be reduced by half, and ginseng, astragalus root, spirit poria, the fleshy portion of polygala root, and sour jujube seed may be added.

Here, kongxin means that the medicine is taken on an empty stomach, while liang and qian are traditional units of weight for medicinal materials.