Guest guest Posted August 7, 2002 Report Share Posted August 7, 2002 Dear Ken, Do you know where I can get the untranslated Chinese version of Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on Tai Ch'i Ch'uan ? I found a translated copy of his book early this year in a second hand bookshop in a place called Eltham which is one of the green leafy alternative places outside of Melbourne and I found it very useful. I just would like to access some of the original concepts from the Chinese original. Also , I would be interested to read some of your current research on the origins of the Qi, if this is possible. I am also looking at how this concept translates into biomedical culture . I am also trying to get a copy of your book " Who can Ride the Dragon " . I could not find it from the Melbourne University BAillieu Library. Regards, Rey Tiquia , <yulong@m...> wrote: > Marco, > > I share Ray's opinion that it's a very > good thing that you pose basic and > challenging questions. There's certainly no > reason to apologize. I can get the feeling > of loneliness that you describe. Not having > people to interact with directly can be > a great loss, but as Prof. Cheng liked > to say, " Invest in loss. " > > As it happens I am now working on > a section of a new book dealing with the > meanings of some basic Chinese medical > terms. And lo and behold, this morning > I was working over the dan1 tian2. [Can > you see this toned pinyin: d¨¡n t¨ªan?] > > You'll also find a bit about this > term in A Brief History of Qi. I think > it's in Chapter Five, the chapter about > qigong. > > Dan1 means a lot of things. It's a color: > red, the color of cinnabar, which was > a favorite ingredient in Daoist longevity > formulas and the famous External (or Golden) > Elixir formulas that constitute on of the > central themes of Daoist alchemical > literature of the Sui-Tang period. > > It also came to be the name of cinnabar > as well as general term used to describe > the little pills, dan1, that were made of > the formulas that contained the substance, dan1, > that was red, dan1...all the same word. > > It now means any little pill, but it also > retains its historical echoes and of course > it continues to mean " elixir " as it is used > to describe both the internal and external > elixirs that so fascinated the Daoists in > their alchemical literature. > > > One word of caution about this literature, > whether or not one reads it in the original > or in translation or if one only reads > expository writing about the various > traditions of Daoist alchemy, there is > a characteristic of the terminology and > the whole manner of expression that is > heavily colored with the relatively unrestrained > use of metaphor. In other words, things > are seldom what they seem in this territory; > and often the intended meaning is nowhere to > be found in the text itself, requiring that > one become a kind of literary detective in > order to suss out the " real " meaning. > > Be that as it may, the term dan1 tian2 can > be fairly accurately defined, at least in > so far is it has been used in both this > " source " literature and a number of derivative > bodies of knowledge, such as the taiji classics > and indeed certain Chinese medical texts and > traditions. > > If you don't already have a copy of Cheng Tzu's > Thirteen Treatises on Tai Ch'i Ch'uan [by Prof. > Cheng Man Ch'ing, trans. by Bejamin Lo and > Martin Inn, North Atlantic Books, 1985] you > should get one. If you can't get your hands > on a copy, let me know privately. > > Aside from being an extraordinarily clear > set of writings on taiji, it contains many > of Prof. Cheng's insights and experiences in > traditional Chinese medicine; and I think you'd > find it not only informational but inspirational. > > I do. > > He talks about both the Gate of Life and > the Cinnabar Field in various places in the > book, and rather than quote them here, I'll > just refer you to them. > > One comment I will make is that in the Daoist > alchemical literature there is often mention > made of three cinnabar fields: the lower dan1 > tian2, the middle dan1 tian2, and the upper > dan1 tian2. These are three discrete locations > in the body that were all known to Daoist > practitioners to be places where qi4 can be > stored and refined. > > Another word of caution: one cannot learn > about these things from reading books alone. > The taiji classics contain a line that says, > " To enter the door and be shown the way, you > must be orally taught. " > > Some thirty years ago, my taiji teacher added > in explanation that " orally taught " in this > case means not just by word of mouth but by > physical connection between teacher and student. > In other words, the meaning of terms such > as dan1 tian2 and Gate of Life is only > partly contained in the words that have > become associated with them. There are also > feelings and experiences that associate with > these locations in the body; and the proper > study of them involves the feeling of what > happens in these locations. > > I hope you will continue to ask the difficult > questions. I'm still working on a response > the point you raised about colonization/ > globalization. > > Best, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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