memes

April 16, 2005

Memes are to culture what genes are to biology. They are fundamental

ideas that guide development and decision. Memes may evolve like genes

and like genes may serve a useful purpose for a period of time, then

become obsolete or dangerous. I have stated before that I think the

chinese idea of associating a wide range of illnesses with loss of

essence from sexual activity to be a bogus idea. Restraining

promiscuity serves numerous social and health purposes, so there is a

survival advantage for such an idea regardless of its veracity. To the

premodern mind, it seems quite logical. Essence in the form of semen

definitely plays a role in conception. The chinese knew this. If

essence thus somehow contained the seed of life, then it followed that

conserving this essence would lead to a longer life. In the extreme

scenario, daoists claimed total conservation and transformation of

essence led to immortality. there are probably only a few among us who

believe the latter statement, yet quite a few (even most) have blindly

adopted the more confucian view that sex is just bad for health and

society.

Why do we reject the more extreme statement, but not the other?

Immortality is not considered possible by most, thus any such claims

hold as much water as unicorns and dragons do. Yet in our

fundamentalist society, with so many in our field guided by some form

of faith based adherence, it may be more wishful thinking than anything

else. For just as there is no evidence of dragons, there is also

overwhelming evidence that sexual excesses, in the absence of infection

or exhaustion, have no measurable adverse effect on health. In fact,

all evidence points to the opposite. Celibacy leads to severe health

problems, for which masturbation is the recommended medical therapy.

It is quite possible and even considered likely by mainstream

sexologists that diseases associated with sexual activity in ancient

times were actually STDs, not loss of essence, attack by demons or

retribution by god. But without a theory or data to support a concept

of infection by microorganisms, this would have hardly occurred to the

chinese, especially if the infection was low grade and chronic, like

syphilis. The confucians were moralists who already opposed sex

outside marriage when they latched on to this esoteric idea derived

from daoism and tantra. What is the difference between this idea and

the one widely held by many modern chinese and fundamentalist

christians that AIDs is due to prohibited sexual activity rather than a

virus.

Chinese Herbs

April 17, 2005

, wrote:

I have stated before that I think the

> chinese idea of associating a wide range of illnesses with loss of

> essence from sexual activity to be a bogus idea. Restraining

> promiscuity serves numerous social and health purposes, so there is a

> survival advantage for such an idea regardless of its veracity.

This meme is indeed an interesting one to analyze with an open mind.

While this notion is widely accepted both in the Chinese and Western

TCM communities, it's veracity is also questioned by many

practitioners, both Eastern and Western alike.

In many situations, Chinese medicine has a relatively poor distinction

between cause and effect. It would have been obvious that older men

have decreased ejaculate and decreased sexual performance at the same

time as they experience weakening of memory, bones, stamina, etc. The

use of correspondence systems such as five-phase theory allows us to

link these various symptoms together under the concept of waning

kidney essence. It is easy to see how a causal link could be

suggested between the obviously reduced quantity of essence (measured

by the decrease in ejaculate) and the surrounded features of a general

decline in health.

In the modern worldview, we know that the testicles are essentially

manufacturing a renewable resource. While its efficient production is

affected by general health and disease, we know semen to be something

that is not stored forever in any finite quantity, but rather

something that is manufactured on demand. If it was assumed in

ancient times that one has a given quantity of essence and that the

decreased semen production seen with aging is a sign that it is

running out, it is not hard to see how diminishing semen would be

associated with the various other maladies of aging that concurrently

present. However, the decreased semen production seen with aging may

simply be a symptom of a general waning of vitality, rather than a

causative factor that is responsible for the decline.

I recently asked Feng Ye about this subject, and he had an interesting

response. He mentioned seeing 90 year-old patients in excellent

health that claimed that the secret to their longevity was making love

every day. Thus, experience sometimes stands in direct conflict with

classical theory. Feng Ye mentioned that ancient texts related many

diseases to sexual taxation. As the medicine was increasingly

developed and acquired a more sophisticated understanding of the

etiology of diseases, we find a consistent decrease in the amount of

diseases assigned to bedroom taxation. In other words, many diseases

that were poorly understood were assigned to bedroom taxation as a

default explanation. As the notions of disease causation were

refined, there was a drop in the number of conditions associated with

excess sex. It is likely that many doctors blamed diseases that they

could not figure out on sexual excess, and as they had increasingly

better explanations, sexual excess had less prominence as a cause of

disease.

Another factor that should be taken into consideration is the set and

setting of sexual activity. This varies a great deal between

individuals, to say nothing of the variance that would have occurred

over the course of history. A positive sexual experience that has a

reciprocal exchange seems that it would not necessarily result in a

net loss of essence per se; maybe an exchange of different types of

essence, but not necessarily a loss. I think many men would say that

masturbation in very large quantities does tend to make one a bit

tired; it certainly reduces the quantity of ejaculate and the strength

of the individual orgasms until rest allows the supply to keep up with

the demand. But ill-effects from a lot of fantastic sex with a clean

partner? I think it is unlikely. One can subjectively experience a

feeling of great health after such a thing; if anything, it gets the

hormones in gear and causes the body to increase supply to keep up

with the demand.

At any rate, it is a question that should be reasonably evaluated. brought up some really good points in the prior post. Culture

has a huge effect on our perception of sex and what is or is not

healthy, desirable, and natural.

Eric Brand

April 19, 2005

At 03:41 AM 4/17/2005, you wrote:

>At any rate, it is a question that should be reasonably evaluated.

>Todd brought up some really good points in the prior post. Culture

>has a huge effect on our perception of sex and what is or is not

>healthy, desirable, and natural.

>

>Eric Brand

Eric and all -

This, to me, is the key statement in this discussion. None of what we

do/perceive, etc., can be completely divorced from our cultural

background. There is no question but that the moralistic nature of

Confucian thought informed the Chinese attitudes towards sex - but this

moralistic nature emerged later, more with the neo-confucian re-examination

of Confucian thought than with early Confucian thought. All cultures,

without exception, have had moral taboos about sex, ranging from abstinence

during menstruation to avoiding same sex partners to avoiding sex with

close relatives. In China, as in many other cultures, these taboos found

their way into the practice of Chinese medicine. Does having sex during

menstruation really cause blood stasis? Can masturbation cause blindness?

It is precisely this cultural nature of Chinese medicine that makes it so

important to study Chinese history and culture in order to understand

Chinese medicine. To study Daoism out of the context of Chinese culture

creates a very weird fantasy of what Daoist thought is. This is also true

of Chinese medicine. And, I might add, I believe to also be true of

studying " western " medicine outside of the context of western

culture. While it may still " work " it is not as well understand. TO try

to understand the Chinese conception of the body requires an understanding

of the context within which that body developed - historical, political,

cultural, economic etc. This is what Unschuld tried to get across in A

History of Ideas. It is simply that the book requires several readings

before it all sinks in.

>Another factor that should be taken into consideration is the set and

>setting of sexual activity. This varies a great deal between

>individuals, to say nothing of the variance that would have occurred

>over the course of history. A positive sexual experience that has a

>reciprocal exchange seems that it would not necessarily result in a

>net loss of essence per se; maybe an exchange of different types of

>essence, but not necessarily a loss. I think many men would say that

>masturbation in very large quantities does tend to make one a bit

>tired; it certainly reduces the quantity of ejaculate and the strength

>of the individual orgasms until rest allows the supply to keep up with

>the demand. But ill-effects from a lot of fantastic sex with a clean

>partner? I think it is unlikely. One can subjectively experience a

>feeling of great health after such a thing; if anything, it gets the

>hormones in gear and causes the body to increase supply to keep up

>with the demand.

Overall, my feeling is that Chinese medicine holds out the same philosophy

about sex as it does about food, exercise, etc., etc.. MODERATION in all

things. While it may be unlikely that ill-effects would occur from

fantastic sex with a clean partner, for a 45 year old man/woman to have

fantastic sex with a clean partner several times a day for many days/weeks

would, in the end, create taxation. Maybe not for a 20 year old man/woman,

but, as Sun Si Miao pointed out, different levels of sexual activity are

appropriate at different ages. We cannot make an exact correlation between

his age-groups and sexual activity and present day circumstances, as we are

living longer, healthier lives, and so 65 is no longer the cut-off point

for having any sex, but, his statements about moderation and appropriate

behavior for one's age group are still relevant. As we age, our sp/st is

not as capable of producing a surplus of qi/blood, therefor we must change

our habits in order to accomodate what our body is capable of. This is

true for diet, for sleep, for activity etc. Sex is no different than any

other activity we engage in. It is simply that our unique culture places

such heavy emphasis on sexual activity and libido as the metaphor for

health and vitality. Women go through menopause because the body can no

longer produce the surplus blood needed to continue this process. Men do

not have as obvious a physical change, but they do need to adjust to the

limitations of their body. Their will always be examples of individuals

who have lived lives quite different from what this type of thinking - men

who father children at age 80, women who carry children at age

60. Individuals who smoked all their lives with perfectly clean lungs

etc., but the majority of us have our weakness reflected in our

bodies. While sex may not be the cause of disease, overexertion or

inappropriate exertion can lead to disease.

Marnae

> , wrote:

> I have stated before that I think the

> > chinese idea of associating a wide range of illnesses with loss of

> > essence from sexual activity to be a bogus idea. Restraining

> > promiscuity serves numerous social and health purposes, so there is a

> > survival advantage for such an idea regardless of its veracity.

>

>This meme is indeed an interesting one to analyze with an open mind.

>While this notion is widely accepted both in the Chinese and Western

>TCM communities, it's veracity is also questioned by many

>practitioners, both Eastern and Western alike.

>

>In many situations, Chinese medicine has a relatively poor distinction

>between cause and effect. It would have been obvious that older men

>have decreased ejaculate and decreased sexual performance at the same

>time as they experience weakening of memory, bones, stamina, etc. The

>use of correspondence systems such as five-phase theory allows us to

>link these various symptoms together under the concept of waning

>kidney essence. It is easy to see how a causal link could be

>suggested between the obviously reduced quantity of essence (measured

>by the decrease in ejaculate) and the surrounded features of a general

>decline in health.

>

>In the modern worldview, we know that the testicles are essentially

>manufacturing a renewable resource. While its efficient production is

>affected by general health and disease, we know semen to be something

>that is not stored forever in any finite quantity, but rather

>something that is manufactured on demand. If it was assumed in

>ancient times that one has a given quantity of essence and that the

>decreased semen production seen with aging is a sign that it is

>running out, it is not hard to see how diminishing semen would be

>associated with the various other maladies of aging that concurrently

>present. However, the decreased semen production seen with aging may

>simply be a symptom of a general waning of vitality, rather than a

>causative factor that is responsible for the decline.

>

>I recently asked Feng Ye about this subject, and he had an interesting

>response. He mentioned seeing 90 year-old patients in excellent

>health that claimed that the secret to their longevity was making love

>every day. Thus, experience sometimes stands in direct conflict with

>classical theory. Feng Ye mentioned that ancient texts related many

>diseases to sexual taxation. As the medicine was increasingly

>developed and acquired a more sophisticated understanding of the

>etiology of diseases, we find a consistent decrease in the amount of

>diseases assigned to bedroom taxation. In other words, many diseases

>that were poorly understood were assigned to bedroom taxation as a

>default explanation. As the notions of disease causation were

>refined, there was a drop in the number of conditions associated with

>excess sex. It is likely that many doctors blamed diseases that they

>could not figure out on sexual excess, and as they had increasingly

>better explanations, sexual excess had less prominence as a cause of

>disease.