《阴符经考异》

Yinfu Jing Kaoyi (Textual Investigation of the Yinfu Jing) is a critical study written by Zhu Xi of the Song dynasty.

The Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) runs to about three hundred characters. Li Quan claimed to have found it in a stone chamber, where it had been kept by Kou Qianzhi. Shao Yong held that it was composed in the Warring States period, while Cheng Yi thought it may have been written near the end of the Shang or the Zhou dynasty. Because of its great age, its origin can no longer be determined with certainty. Judging by its style and overall character, it cannot be a book of high antiquity, yet no one without a deep understanding of the Dao could have written such content.

The scripture takes utmost non-being (zhi wu) as its foundation. It regards the patterns and transformations of heaven and earth as regular laws, and holds that all things under heaven arise from non-being. A person who can return from everything that exists to non-being can grasp the whole cosmos. Li Quan explained that the scripture's first hundred words concern the Dao, the next hundred concern methods (fa), and the last hundred concern techniques (shu). The Dao relates to immortals embracing the One (baoyi), methods relate to enriching the state and keeping the people at peace, and techniques relate to strengthening the army to win battles. However, Li Quan did not see that these three are interconnected. Each sentence and each layer of meaning in the scripture in fact contains all three aspects. Someone who cultivates the Dao can grasp its principles, a ruler can grasp its methods, and a military leader can grasp its strategies. To divide the text into three separate parts would in fact go against its original intent.

Some have argued that the book was actually written by Li Quan himself, and that the claim of discovery in a stone chamber was only a pretext. Because the text is rambling and obscure, readers have each interpreted it according to their own understanding, and Li Quan's own grasp of its principles may not have been sound. Zhu Xi says he cannot determine whether this view is correct. His concern is that people see only the tangled branches of the scripture's wording and miss the central purpose running through the whole, or see only its obscure passages and miss the clear principles within. If this view were true, the Yinfu Jing would be like the case of "the Ying letter and the Yan explanation" (Ying shu Yan shuo), in which the original meaning and the later explanation no longer match. This preface was written on the winter solstice of the Chunxi yiwei year (1175).

Appendix: The Tang-dynasty figure Li Quan says that he traveled to Mount Song and obtained the Huangdi Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Yin Talisman of the Yellow Emperor). In the second year of the Taiping Zhenjun era of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei, Kou Qianzhi of the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoist school hid this scripture in famous mountains, to await its transmission to those who shared his aspirations. Later, Li Quan arrived in the Qin region, where at Mount Li he met an elderly woman. She expounded to him the profound principles of the Yinfu Jing and admonished him, saying:

The Huangdi Yinfu Jing contains a little over three hundred characters, divided into three sections: one hundred characters elucidate the Dao (the Way), one hundred characters elucidate fa (method), and one hundred characters elucidate shu (technique). When these three sections are connected, they are unified into a single whole. The first section concerns the Way of the immortals, who embrace and preserve pure oneness; the middle section concerns methods for making the state wealthy and the common people secure; and the final section concerns strategies for strengthening the army and overcoming the enemy. A sage who studies it can comprehend the Dao within it; a worthy person who studies it can grasp the methods within it; and an ordinary person who studies it can still learn the techniques within it.

Sages, worthies, the foolish, and the wise each understand it differently, yet all must grasp the heavenly mechanism within themselves and verify it through affairs in the external world. The workings of this mechanism are like the ocean receiving the rivers or still water reflecting all things. When the mechanism unfolds, it embraces heaven and earth and encompasses the four directions, and yet it still is not considered vast. When the mechanism contracts, it hides in the most minute places, and even when it is concealed within a mustard seed, it is not considered small. Regarding its subtle refinements, the Huangting Jing (Scripture of the Yellow Court) and the "Eight Scenes" (a Daoist cultivation concept concerning the bodily spirits and the inner landscape) are not enough to exhaust its mysteries; and in examining its most essential principles, the writings of the hundred schools and the masters' histories are not enough to constitute genuine learning. In applying its strategies and cunning techniques, the doctrines of Sun Wu, Wu Qi, and Han Feizi are not enough to be considered remarkable. Therefore, the natures of animals and plants, the patterns of success and failure, and the principles of life and death all contain this mechanism.

Appendix: The Tang-dynasty figure Zhang Guo says that the Yinfu Jing already existed from the time of the Yellow Emperor. The scripture's text is concise but its meaning is profound, and the various commentators' interpretations partly conceal and partly reveal it. He obtained a transmitted version of the Yinfu Jing from Daoist scriptures and therefore incorporated it into his commentary.

A supplementary note on textual criticism: both commentators revered the Yinfu Jing (Classic of the Hidden Talisman), yet their interpretations do not agree. Zhang Guo's later explanation repeatedly labels Li Quan's views as mistaken, but Zhang Guo's own explanation may not be correct either.

Take the two characters yin and fu as an example. Zhang Guo says that Li Quan explained yin as "dark" and fu as "to join," which he considers a very shallow understanding. Zhang Guo's own reading is this: to observe the Dao of nature is not to look with the eyes but to perceive with the mind. The depths of the mind are subtle and fine, with no concrete trace to see, so one can illuminate the innate nature of the natural world, and this is the meaning of yin. Grasping the operation of nature is likewise not done by seizing it with the hands, but by mastering the mechanism within it. When that mechanism changes and flows through without obstruction, it can accord with the regularity of nature, and this is the meaning of fu. The whole text is broadly of this kind.

Furthermore, some content in the Lishan Laomu Zhu (Commentary of the Old Mother of Lishan) is clearly the work of later writers who attached the name of an earlier figure to it, and its meaning is rather shallow. Its occasional citations of Zhang Guo's explanations show that this commentary also postdates Zhang Guo. For this reason, we do not dare to include these commentaries in the appendix.

Shao Yong held that the Yinfu Jing (Classic of the Hidden Talisman) was composed during the Warring States period. Cheng Yi thought it was written either at the end of the Shang dynasty or at the end of the Zhou. He reasoned that under sage kings, when the sacred Way was clear, no one dared to advance divergent doctrines. Once the Zhou royal house declined and the proper Way was no longer understood throughout the realm, many clever men emerged but did not know which direction to take. Each relied on private wisdom to speculate about Heaven and Earth and to steal the secrets of their operation. Cheng Yi also said that the writings attributed to Laozi are rather miscellaneous, whereas the Yinfu Jing is not, but both only glimpse the Way of Heaven without penetrating it thoroughly.

Zhu Xi suspected that the Yinfu Jing was written by Li Quan of the Tang dynasty, and that Li had composed it deliberately. Lüqiu Cimeng once cited these lines from the text: "The Way of Nature is still, and therefore Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things are born; the Way of Heaven and Earth is subtle, and therefore Yin and Yang prevail; as Yin and Yang alternate, transformation proceeds in order." He held that their principles, even when placed among the Six Classics of the Confucians, admitted no more lucid formulation. Zhu Xi also noted that Lüqiu, the Registrar, had presented a Commentary on the Yellow Emperor's Yinfu Jing. Yet he doubted that this work was really by the Yellow Emperor and believed it was rather written by Li Quan of the Tang, since the words of sages are naturally plain and upright. Others divided the Yinfu Jing into three sections: the first section concerns the Way of the immortals in embracing the One (the methods of holding fast to unity and cultivating body and mind); the middle section concerns the methods of enriching the state and bringing peace to the people; and the final section concerns the arts of strengthening the army and securing victory. Still others divided each section into three items for explanation. Later, a book was stolen by a court historian and presented to Emperor Gaozong of Tang, who was greatly delighted.

Ouyang Xiu held that after the decline of the Zhou, the arts of the Way fragmented, and writers each composed their own books. Works that argued directly were sometimes impure, but the Yinfu Jing expressed principles that accord with the Way through an inverted mode of statement, although no one ever knew who its author was. Cheng Yi held that it was written at the end of the Shang or at the end of the Zhou. In my view, before the reign of King Yi of Shang there were many wise rulers, and the great disorders of the state arose chiefly during the time of King Zhou; at that time the way of the former kings had not yet been lost, so it was unlikely that someone would deliberately write a separate book. At the end of the Zhou, when literary style had declined and the hundred schools competed to write books, the great Way had already receded, yet people still each had their own lineage of teachings. Shao Yong's judgment that the Yinfu Jing is a work of the Warring States period may be credible. However, it may never have been actually adopted during the Warring States, and it may have been the work of a recluse in the mountains and forests. Viewed in this way, this book is indeed highly unusual.

The Appended Notes hold that what Shao Yong and Cheng Yi said ultimately refers to the Yinfu Jing having been composed in the pre-Qin period. Although Zhu Xi doubted that it was by Li Quan, he often quoted and esteemed its words. Master Cai inherited Zhu Xi's teachings, and so his view should be regarded as belonging to the same school.

Another record states that the commentaries, annotations, and subcommentaries on the Yinfu Jing total thirty-eight works in fifty-one fascicles; these titles are listed in Zheng Qiao's Tongzhi, Treatise on Literature (Yiwen Lüe).

Part One

To observe the Dao of Heaven (tiandao) and act in accordance with it is to possess all the principles within.

The Dao divided to form Heaven and Earth, and Heaven and Earth further divided to produce the myriad things. Among the myriad things, humanity is the most spiritually aware. Human beings originally share one body with Heaven and Earth, yet the nature each receives from Heaven and Earth differs in purity and admixture. Therefore one must observe the Dao of Heaven and act in accordance with it in order to bring the Dao into realization within oneself. The text speaks only of "Heaven" and not of "Earth" because Earth is included within it.

Heaven has five "thieves" (wu zei). The five thieves refer to the functions of the Five Phases (wuxing), which may also be understood as their operations of mutual generation and mutual overcoming, through which they transform and nurture the myriad things. Those who understand them will flourish. When the five thieves reside in the heart and operate between Heaven and Earth, the movement of the cosmos seems to lie in one's hand, and the transformations of the myriad things seem to arise from oneself.

"The five thieves" are the Five Phases. The goodness in the world arises from these five forces, and so does evil; hence they are called "thieves" in a figurative, negative sense. Although the Five Phases exist between Heaven and Earth, it is precisely these five forces that constitute Heaven and Earth. When applied to the human person, the Five Phases are present in the human heart. One who understands their principles can make them operate between Heaven and Earth, as though holding the processes of creation in one's own hand. Thus it is said that those who understand the five thieves will flourish.

In the appended commentary, Zhu Xi (1130–1200) says that the Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) describes how five kinds of things generate and overcome one another between Heaven and Earth. If one observes them with an improper mind, one will regard them all as "thieves." Zhu Xi holds that the five thieves may also refer to the five virtues of nature; to say they are "enacted in Heaven" is to say that the qi of the Five Phases circulates between Heaven and Earth. Chen Zi'ang's poem "Feelings Inspired by Circumstances" (Gan yu shi) broadly expresses this kind of meaning.

The appendix further remarks that Chen Zi'ang's poetic meaning is profound and subtle. Zhu Xi believed the poem reveals the intent of the Yinfu Jing. Liu Chen-weng (Xuxi Liu), a scholar of the Southern Song, held that it closely resembles the Cantong qi (Kinship of the Three), a classic of Daoist neidan (internal alchemy). Both men drew understanding from the poem; but if one clings only to the lines themselves, one cannot grasp its meaning.

The nature that Heaven bestows becomes embodied in humanity, and the human heart is the pivot through which it is put into use and set in motion. When the Dao of Heaven is established, the nature of the human person is stabilized.

The original nature of Heaven and Earth is stillness and emptiness, and cannot be seen directly. The human heart receives precisely this nature of Heaven and Earth, which is why it is called "Heavenly Nature" (tianxing). The human heart moves of its own accord, yet does not know why it moves as it does. This is ji (the pivotal mechanism of spontaneous activation). Because of this mechanism, Heaven moves and Earth becomes settled. The mechanism within the human heart may incline one toward goodness or toward evil, and either outcome may occur. Becoming a sage-king such as Yao or Shun, or a tyrant such as Jie or Zhou, arises from the same opportunity. Only by following and establishing the Dao (the Way) can the mechanism be given a fixed course, the partial cunning of private bias be removed, and the principles of affairs be made clear.

When Heaven initiates the killing mechanism (shaji), dragons and snakes emerge from their hibernation. When humans initiate it, Heaven and Earth seem to overturn. When Heaven and humans move together, the foundation of the transformations of the myriad things is laid.

The "killing mechanism" refers to a mechanism whose momentum is excessive and exceeds its ordinary measure. When the qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth becomes excessive, anomalies arise, and dragons and snakes seem to emerge from hibernation onto the land. When the human heart becomes excessive, deluded thoughts arise, and the situation overturns just as Heaven and Earth do. "Heaven and humans moving together" means that the Dao of Heaven and human feeling tend jointly toward a certain change, and this is where the Dao manifests itself. For example, Heaven has its natural order of bonds and norms, and the human world has its rites and laws; the relations of human ethics are of this kind. Western doctrines regard these as worldly norms that bind people and seek to sever them, but in the end they cannot shake them, because the foundation of all transformations has its immovable certainties.

A supplementary note: In the Tang dynasty, Chu Suiliang obtained, in the household of Changsun, Duke of Zhao, a commentary on the Taiji Dan (Supreme Ultimate Elixir) by a Perfected Person. He held that the book was not the work of a single author. For example, the annotations to its opening two lines are attributed to the Holy Mother and Qibo, the following four lines are attributed to the Perfected Person Tianhuang, and much of the later text follows this pattern. Some wording in Chu's edition differs from other versions. It reads: "When Heaven initiates the killing mechanism, the stars shift their lodges; when Earth initiates the killing mechanism, dragons and snakes rise onto the land; when humans initiate the killing mechanism, Heaven and Earth overturn." Other editions lack the eight characters "the stars shift their lodges, Earth initiates the killing mechanism," and so Chu's edition is considered the one to follow.

Supplement: Master Liu of Xuxi remarked that "Heaven and humans moving together" describes the situation when Heaven and Earth first opened and the fortunes of the age were just beginning. When Heaven and humans move together, the foundation of transformation is thereby fixed.

Human nature varies in agility and dullness, and one can gather the mind-spirit (shen) inward and keep it hidden. The nine orifices (the nine openings of the human body) readily give rise to evil thoughts, and three of them matter most: the eyes, the ears, and the mouth. One who knows when to gather inward and when to act can return these three to their proper places, so that the nine orifices are not disturbed by evil thoughts. The eyes must look, the ears must listen, and the mouth must speak, so one cannot simply demand that they be still. What matters is that, even while they are active, the heart does not depart from tranquility. Only then can we speak of movement and stillness.

Wood can give birth to fire, but once the flames rise they may burn the wood itself. Treachery that grows within a state will, when the time comes, cause the state to collapse. The workings of the Five Thieves (the factors that harm body and mind and disrupt order) are no different. One who understands these principles and cultivates them may be called a sage. The cultivation described here refers to mastering the methods of movement and stillness, and of gathering inward and concealing.

Middle Section

The Dao of Heaven gives life to the myriad things and also brings them to death. This is the regularity of the Dao.

Life and death are the manifestations of the Dao as it takes effect within qi (vital energy, the basic force that constitutes all things). They arise naturally, and no person can escape them.

Heaven and earth draw upon the myriad things, the myriad things draw upon humanity, and humanity also draws upon the myriad things. Among heaven, earth, the myriad things, and humanity, the mutual drawing upon one another is always in accord with the proper time, and so the Three Powers (sancai: heaven, earth, and humanity) are each able to abide in their proper place.

Therefore it is said: when one eats at the proper times, the parts of the body are harmonized; when one acts in accord with the right moment, the transformations of the myriad things are settled.

The root of all things between heaven and earth lies in the human being. If a person can accord with the seasonal order of heaven and earth, the parts of the body will be in harmony. If one can grasp the pivotal points of change in heaven and earth, the transformations of all things will be stable and orderly. This is the principle of taking by following the propensity of things (shunshi er qu). Here "time" (shi) refers to the four seasons and to day and night, morning and evening, while "pivot" (ji) refers to the critical points of change such as generation, killing, growth, and nourishment.

Commentator Liu of Xuxi says: "Taking according to the proper time is like what the Liezi calls stealing the harmonious breath of heaven and earth."

People know that what manifests as numinous and unfathomable is "spirit" (shen), but they do not know why ordinary things also have marvelous functions.

"Spirit" refers to what is numinous and unfathomable, while "not spirit" (bu shen) refers to ordinary things such as heaven, earth, the sun and moon, mountains and rivers, and plants and animals. People tend to regard uncanny events as marvelous, yet they do not realize that the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, and the plants and animals visible to the eye also contain marvelous functions in themselves.

The sun and moon move according to fixed patterns, and their greater and lesser cycles have set numbers. The achievements of the sage arise from this, and the marvelous transformations also become manifest through it.

This means that people do not understand the marvelous workings of the movements of the sun and moon. The sun's great cycle is three hundred and sixty days, and the moon's small cycle is three hundred and sixty chen (double-hour units). The changes of heaven and earth do not exceed the regularity of this three-hundred-and-sixty cycle. How the sage's achievements come about need only be understood through this, and how marvelous transformations appear also arises from it.

Although the pivot of heaven and earth has always been at work, no one under heaven can see it or understand it. The gentleman who grasps it can keep himself steadfast; the petty person who grasps it instead comes to despise his own life.

The "stealing of the pivot" here refers to the regularities by which the Five Thieves operate between heaven and earth, that is, the cycles of the sun and moon mentioned above. If one can see and understand these regularities, heaven, earth, and humanity can each remain in their proper place. The Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun thereby achieved fame and longevity. Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Shen Buhai, and Han Fei also made use of this same principle, yet they ended in death and the destruction of their clans. The common people can be guided to act in accordance with it, but they need not all be made to understand its reasons. How profound this saying is!

Part Two

The blind are often skilled at listening, and the deaf are often skilled at seeing. When one cuts off the pull of one sense and concentrates the mind on a single source, its effect may be increased tenfold; when one repeatedly gathers the mind in, day and night without cease, its effect may be increased a myriadfold.

The blind listen well and the deaf see well because they concentrate without scattering. Focusing on one point can produce an effect equal to ten times the force. "Three returns" (san fan) refers to gathering the senses of the ears, eyes, and mouth back inward so that they return to their original state. Repeating this, persisting day and night, makes its effect greatly increase.

The blind hear keenly and the deaf see sharply, which shows that the mind is focused and not scattered. One can equal three, and this is what is meant by "three returns" (san fan): returning the ears, eyes, and mouth to their original state. Day and night are the manifestations of the movement of Yin-Yang. Once the ears, eyes, and mouth have all returned to their origin, one can transcend the limits of Yin-Yang's movement, so that day and night, and life and death, are unified. "One" can equal "ten thousand," as the Yijing (Book of Changes) puts it: "divine martial power, yet not killing" (shen wu er bu sha), meaning that one prevails through a spiritual and subtle power rather than through slaughter.

Zhu Xi said: The blind are good at listening and the deaf are good at seeing, which shows their concentration. "Cutting off profit and holding to one source" (jue li yi yuan) means cutting off the desires that branch outward and holding fast to a single root. "Cutting off profit" is clearing away distracting thoughts, and "one source" is devotion to the origin. "Three returns of day and night" calls for even greater thoroughness and care. This principle applies not only to warfare but to everything one does. The "doubling" here is like the way the ancients achieved twice the result with half the effort. Zhu Xi also said that "three returns of day and night" is like a cultivator practicing at the zi hour (midnight) and the wu hour (noon): doing it today and doing it again tomorrow, the more practiced one becomes, the more the results appear.

Xuxi Liu said: What people call "three returns" is simply examining oneself three times, again and again.

The mind arises through external things and also perishes through them; the key lies in the eyes.

When the mind becomes manifest through contact with external things, this is called "born of things"; when it chases after things and loses its original heart, this is called "dead to things." Human contact with the external world passes through nine orifices (jiu qiao), of which three are most important, and among these three the eyes are the most critical. Laozi said that if one does not look at things that stir desire, the mind will not be disordered. When Confucius spoke of restraining selfish desires, he too began by disciplining sight. Buddhism from the West speaks of the six roots (liugen) and six consciousnesses (liushi), and likewise begins with the eyes and the realm of form (sejing). The meaning of all these teachings is similar.

Heaven seems to bestow favor without partiality, yet it gives rise to vast benefits; when thunder roars and fierce winds rise, nothing among the myriad things fails to be stirred.

The Way of Heaven (Tiandao) does not display its favor, yet it accomplishes great kindness. Precisely because it does not act with partiality, it can widely bring things to completion; precisely because it does not act recklessly, it can truly accomplish something. This is why, in warfare, achieving a multiplied effect requires the principle of "three returns."

Note: The Chu edition has three additional characters at this point, zhi zai qi (control lies in qi).

The greatest joy lies in an original nature that is spacious and unburdened, and the greatest stillness lies in an original nature that is clean and unclouded. The Way of Heaven (Tiandao) seems the most partial, yet in its operation it is the most impartial. The mutual restraint among all things is rooted in the workings of Qi (vital energy).

What is called supreme joy (zhile) means that the mind is free of entanglements, so the original nature is spacious and one can take up the worries of the world before the world itself worries. What is called supreme stillness (zhijing) means that the mind is free of attachment, so the original nature is clean and one can bear the sorrows of the world together with its people. These principles of returning to the original nature represent the ultimate of wuwei (non-action), the path followed by the person who would not pluck out a single hair for the world. Yet although the Way of Heaven seems extremely partial, its operation is extremely impartial. Thus supreme joy and supreme stillness are also the very root of purposeful action.

So it is with the myriad things. Animals that can be caught are called qin (captured creatures). Do the myriad things restrain and subdue one another by deliberate arrangement? In truth, it is nothing more than the natural working of Qi. The tiger and leopard subdue the qilin, and the hawk and falcon subdue the phoenix, not because of any talent or fierce power that they intentionally apply. For this reason, these principles of returning to the origin operate day and night and can achieve the effect of one thing governing ten thousand.

Note: The Chu edition lacks the five characters "qin zhi zhi zai qi" (the restraint of animals lies in Qi).

Life is the root of death, and death is the root of life; grace arises from calamity, and calamity arises from grace.

The relations between life and death, and between grace and harm, hold true everywhere in the Dao. Frost and snow bring destruction, yet within them lies profound grace; rain and dew bring nourishment, yet within them lies a severe side. Pushed to its limit, the transformation between being and non-being, and between motion and stillness, is never separate, but continually alternates and returns. Therefore, when a principle is stated directly, it often sounds as though it were stated in reverse.

Ordinary people hold that Heaven and Earth possess pattern and order, and so they call Heaven and Earth sage. I, however, perceive wisdom from the things of the moment and the order within them. "Tianwen" (heavenly patterns) refers to the celestial phenomena that change with the seasons, and "dili" (earthly principles) refers to the fact that each of the myriad things on the earth has its own pattern. "Zhe" means clarity of wisdom. Speaking of the constant state of Heaven and Earth, the principle is simply so; speaking of change, it is equally so. One observes the Way of Heaven and grasps its movement, until one comprehends the transformations of day and night, merges with the process of creation, and lets both motion and stillness accord with what is natural.

Note: The meaning of this passage is that celestial phenomena change with the seasons, and each of the myriad things on the earth has its own pattern. From this one can recognize the principles that govern both the constancy and the change of Heaven and Earth, and so comprehend day and night, accord with creation, and let both motion and stillness follow what is natural.

Supplementary remark by Liu of Xuxi: "Shiwu" (things of the moment) are relatively shallow and easy-to-observe things.

Some people, thinking themselves clever, try to deceive the sage with clumsy schemes, but the sage does not deceive himself by pretending to be clumsy. The sage lets his wisdom appear beyond ordinary expectation, yet does not deliberately strive for brilliance or display. Therefore, to rashly wade into water or charge into fire is only to bring about one's own destruction.

The commentary by Zhang explains: when people try to trick the sage with stratagems, the sage cannot be deceived; when people hope the sage will become a sage, the sage does not deliberately pursue the name of sage. Hence it is said that to rashly wade into water or enter fire is self-destruction.

The Dao of nature is originally still and quiet, and from this stillness the myriad things of heaven and earth come into being. As the regularities of heaven and earth gradually unfold, Yin and Yang wax and wane in turn. Yin and Yang push and move one another, and change then develops in accordance with pattern.

Zhu Xi holds that these lines are very subtle: movement can arise within stillness, and the waxing and waning of all things also occur gradually. The term jin (gradual seeping, progression) refers to this progression. The transformations of Yin and Yang in heaven and earth are not completed suddenly but recede bit by bit and grow bit by bit. The Dao of heaven and earth often manifests in this gradual way. As Yin and Yang continually wax and wane, and the hard and the soft take turns in gaining the upper hand, there is also contained the principle that fortune and misfortune transform into one another.

Therefore, the sage understands that the Dao of nature cannot be opposed, and so he follows it in establishing standards. The Dao of utmost stillness cannot be fully matched even by calendrical and musical systems; thus wondrous instruments arise, and through them the myriad phenomena become manifest. The Eight Trigrams (Bagua), the sexagenary cycle (Jiazi), and the marvelously unfathomable arts of transformation and of Yin-Yang waxing and waning all become clearly displayed, and thereby enter the realm of forms that can be observed and known.

Gao's Weilüe records that Cai Duanming said the Yinfu Jing (Classic of the Hidden Accord) written by Liu Gongquan is the most exquisite.

Appended to the book, Gao's Weilüe records Cai Duanming as saying, "The Yinfu Jing (Scripture of Hidden Talismans) written by Liu Gongquan is the most exquisite of his calligraphic works, skillfully concealing the tip of the brush." Looking at this text, I find that Liu's brushwork is not only vigorous and tightly controlled, entirely unlike his other works, but the preface, written by Zheng Huan, is also remarkably striking. The preface states, "When thunder and rain descend from above, the statutes and institutions are thereby broadly communicated; when one seeks out the pure and subtle principle within, it manifests as intelligence and wisdom." These four sentences are superbly refined and do not resemble the ordinary prose of Tang writers. The preface also refers to the encounter at Panxi, the secret archive of the Jinkui, and how Marquis Liu and Marquis Wu exhausted its profundities. These details are especially useful for elucidating the function of the Yinfu Jing.

A supplementary note observes that the sentences at the end of the book merely introduce the subject without stating it outright, which makes them appear profound and mysterious. What "strange instruments" and "myriad phenomena" refer to is unclear. "The Eight Trigrams and the sexagenary cycle, where the divine mechanism is hidden" likely refers to the category of numerological arts (shushu), which one must silently comprehend within the mind before applying it properly.

The same note further states that Wei of Heshan said Li Jiayou read widely in the classics and the masters, and particularly mastered the Yi (Book of Changes). In his later years he grasped the principle of "concentrating the vital breath to attain suppleness." He then used the Yinfu Jing and the Cantong qi (Kinship of the Three) to examine the Yi repeatedly and study them carefully, firmly believing in their principles and never slackening. From this it follows that one who truly understands the Dao would naturally integrate these two texts with the Yi in practice.