Based on the cosmology of "Heaven does nothing for nature, and everything is turned into life by vitality", this paper discusses the way of governing the country by the laws of nature, and seeks the way to make the country long-term stability and personal longevity. This is the basic content of Huang Laojia's theory since the Warring States and Qin and Han Dynasties. The developed political science and medical health preservation in Han dynasty were influenced by the thought of Huang Lao school. However, in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Huang Lao's research focused on discussing Anbang's "way of governing the country through art". River engineering is a political proposition of "quiet people decide for themselves" put forward by Huang Lao School in Qi State. Because it is suitable for the situation of economic depression and people's urgent need for rest and recuperation in the early Han Dynasty, it spread from changing jobs to Cao Can and was strongly advocated by the supreme rulers such as Wendi and Dou Taihou, which prevailed in the early Han Dynasty for more than 70 years. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, he adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", and Confucian classics became the official ruling ideology, so Huang Laoxue withdrew from the political arena.
However, although the political theory of Huang Lao School, which is regarded as "the way of politics and religion", is out of date, the theory of Huang Lao, which pays attention to personal cultivation, continues to develop. Especially under the background that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was superstitious about fairy alchemists and the pursuit of immortality prevailed in the society of the Han Dynasty, the theory of Huang Lao's health preservation obtained very favorable conditions for development. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Huang Lao Xue had evolved into a theory that emphasized personal health preservation and became immortal. Wang Chong's "Preface to the Theory of Balance" said: "The world can live by the way of Laozi, and it is easy to be indifferent, nourishing essence and accepting anger." The Book of Jiao Shen Biography of the Later Han Dynasty contains Wu Cang's Letter to Jiao Shen, saying, "If you cover up Huang Lao's words, you can take advantage of the emptiness to enter ghosts and hide in the distance, or you can help people in the country and help them in politics." It can be seen that people in the Eastern Han Dynasty believe that the main purpose of Huang Lao Xue is to preserve health and become immortal, rather than "governing the country and supporting the people and applying it to politics". Some people in the ruling class in the Eastern Han Dynasty loved the art of health preservation, and even worshipped Huang Lao as a god and prayed in the shrine.
"The History of Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han Dynasty" contains the crown prince's advice to Emperor Guangwu: "Your majesty has the wisdom of a jade hall, but he has lost the blessing of Huang Lao's cultivation, and is willing to love himself and be good at it." The Biography of the King of Chu in England also said: "England prefers Huang Lao in the evening festival. Learn to become a pagoda and fast and sacrifice. " In the eighth year of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, he sent envoys to Chen Guxian twice to offer sacrifices to Laozi, hoping to become immortal (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Huanji, Suburb Sacrifice). In the second year of Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty, the Lord of Chen moved to Wei ■ and Wang Liuchong to offer sacrifices to the gods, which was extremely sinful. Wei■ and Wang * * * offered sacrifices to Huang Laojun, hoping to live a long and happy life, but they didn't (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Biography). It can be seen that in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, offering sacrifices to Huang Lao and seeking longevity has become a common thing for emperors and nobles. This ethos directly influenced the formation of Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao, two primitive Taoist organizations offering sacrifices to Huang Lao in the world of Huan Ling.
From the development and evolution of Huang Lao's theory in the Han Dynasty, we can see more clearly that the official seal sentences on the river explain the characteristics of the times of Tao Te Ching with Huang Lao's thought. First of all, the explanation of the formation process of everything in the world in the official seal sentence on the river is completely in line with Huang Lao's theory of natural vitality in Han Dynasty. The official seal sentence on the river notes the forty-second chapter of Laozi: "Tao gives birth to one, life gives birth to two, life gives birth to three, and life gives birth to all things." Everything is negative, in order to hug Yang. Worship it as harmony ",its text says: life is at the beginning of Tao, and yin and yang are in their lives;" Yin and Yang are harmonious, clear and turbid, and divide heaven and earth. Heaven, earth, people and everything, heaven, earth and people grow up. Everything is sunny and sunny, and I die of my heart. Everything has vitality, so it can be gentle. If it is hidden in the chest, the marrow is in the bone, and the deficiency and qi pass through the vegetation, it will last for a long time.
It can be seen that Heganggong regards the cosmology of Huang's hometown as the theoretical basis of personal health preservation.
The view that heaven and man are connected is also expressed in the official seal sentences on the river. For example, Chapter 47 says: "Heaven and man are one, heaven and man are interlinked, and essence and qi are in harmony." From this point of view, He Gong discussed two basic contents of Huang Lao's theory, namely, the way of governing the country and the way of governing the body, based on natural law and inaction. The official seal on the river often puts governing the country and governing the body at the same time. "It is said that the sage governing the country and governing the body are the same" (three chapters). The purpose of governing the country is to stabilize the people's hearts and make the country long-term stability. Its main point is to cherish the people's wealth, not to indulge in extravagance and indulgence, and not to be addicted to tyrannical punishment; The purpose of treating the body is to be calm and peaceful in body and mind and to achieve a long life. Its essence lies in loving and nourishing the spirit, eliminating lust and not indulging in troubles. The similarity between the two lies in learning from nature, "doing nothing to raise the heart and be safe for the people." Therefore, the official seal sentence on the river says: those who govern the body love qi and are healthy, while those who govern the country love the people and live in peace. The doctor breathes essence, smells nothing, and hears everything; The ruler does good without giving orders. (Chapter 10)
Doctors should eliminate feelings and desires, so that the five internal organs are empty and God can do it. Rulers are the weak. They help the strong among the weak. (Chapter 11)
Sages keep the Tao, and everyone in the world is tempted to return. Healing the body will bring the gods down from the sky and come and go with themselves. If all the people go home unharmed, the country will be peaceful and peaceful. Do not harm the gods, live long. Governing the country by Tao, prospering the country and the people, and prolonging the life. (Chapter 35)
Doing nothing according to law, governing the body is beneficial to the spirit, governing the country is beneficial to all the people, and you get something for nothing. (Chapter 43) If a person can get enough Zhi Zhi, he will be blessed by himself; If he takes care of his body, he will not work hard; If he manages the country, the people will not bother him, so he can live for a long time. (Chapter 44)
Governing the country should cherish the wealth of the people, not for luxury; Those who treat the body should cherish the essence and not let it go. A husband who loves money and essence alone can get heaven first. (Chapter 59)
Governing the country is not chaotic, but governing the body is good. (Chapter 60)
Manage the country and keep it safe. (Chapter 64)
The punishment of governing the country is cool and deep, and the people are in poverty, so they are not afraid of death. People who treat their bodies indulge in lust and commit suicide in love with money, and the people do not know what to fear. (Chapter 74)
Although the official seal sentence on the river discusses the way of governing the country and governing the body, its focus is on governing the body and preserving health, which has the characteristics of Huang Lao Xue in Qin and Han Dynasties. Therefore, the first chapter of the book has a clear meaning at the beginning: Tao can be Tao-that is, the way of classics, politics and teaching; Extraordinary way-unnatural way of eternal life.
According to the original meaning of "Tao can be Tao, but not Tao" in Laozi, that is to say, the Tao that can be expressed in words is not an unchangeable Tao. "Chang Dao" is a unique concept in Laozi's philosophy, which is profound and mysterious, and can only be understood without words. He Shanggong explained that "the constant way" is "the natural way to live forever", not "the way to teach politics", which may not be in line with Laozi's original intention, but it shows the author's tendency to despise the rule of the country and emphasize the way of health and longevity. Chapter sixty-four Note that "saints and scholars can't learn. People learn wisdom and confusion, and saints learn nature; Learn to govern the world, and saints learn to govern themselves. " It clearly shows the author's thought of ignoring the country and paying attention to the body.
The content of Taoist health preservation is mainly about how to overcome disease and aging, prolong life and even live forever through spiritual exercise and cultivation. "Zhuangzi Deliberately" once mentioned: "Breathe ■, spit out the old and bring in the new, and the bear stretches out through the bird, just for longevity. This guide is a good man, and Peng Zushou's examiner is also good. " The theory of Huang's hometown health preservation is contained in two works, Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and Huainanzi. The works of medicine, residence and immortals recorded in the Records of Han Shu Literature and Art also refer to the ancient real people such as Huangdi and Rongcheng, which are closely related to Huang Lao Xue. However, there is only one book, Official Seal Sentences on the River, which directly explains Laozi's Han Dynasty classics with Huang Lao's health-preserving thought.
According to the records of Huangdi Neijing, Daoyin Map unearthed in Mawangdui and Han Bamboo Slips Yin Shu unearthed in Zhangjiashan, Jiangling, there are various methods of medical health preservation in the Han Dynasty, including taking prescriptions, guiding qi by Taoism, consolidating the foundation and strengthening the yuan, and nourishing the spirit and nature. The purpose of taking prescription drugs (including herbs and epigraphy drugs) is to use the external force of drugs to maintain the body, prolong life and get rid of diseases, and the later Taoist alchemy also originated from this. The methods of activating qi, staying in the room and nourishing the spirit are to maintain the life elements in the human body and regulate the human body's own functions, so as to eliminate diseases and prolong life, which led to the development of Taoist inner alchemy in later generations. The regimen of the official seal sentence on the river mainly belongs to the internal revision method. Huang Lao health experts believe that the essence, qi and spirit of the human body are the basic elements to maintain life, which is called "three treasures". People's birth, illness, death and illness are all exhausted because of the loss of three treasures, so people who want to live forever must pay attention to spiritual maintenance. Therefore, the Taiping Jing says, "People who want to live a long life should love gas, respect God and value essence." Activating qi, staying in the room and nourishing the spirit are the three requirements of early Taoism and Taoism for nourishing the spirit. The official seal sentences on the river are discussed in three aspects.
First of all, it is recognized that people on the river are born with the sum of heaven and earth, and if they are harmonious, they will die. Therefore, people who are good at breathing must maintain harmony. "The doctor loves qi, then it is all." The method of preservation is to adjust the mouth and nose breathing to make the breathing soft and slow. Therefore, the way to immortality lies in Xuanzang. Xuan, heaven is also human nose; For one person, the earth belongs to one person. Between the nose and mouth, the vitality of heaven and earth runs through. Breathing through the nose and mouth, when it is continuous and subtle, is nothing if it can exist. It's better to nourish your qi and relax than to be diligent in acute illness. (Chapter VI)
If a person can keep an envoy and stay with him, he will live forever. One is born from the beginning of the Tao, and the essence of Taihe is also. If you devote yourself to the essence in order not to be chaotic, then your body should be obedient.
People who heal the body breathe the essence, which is inaudible ... healing the body means nostrils, and opening means breathing, which means breathing. (Chapter 10)
Secondly, regarding the way of consolidating essence in the room, Jiang said that the essence of men and women is "essence" and that "the master should cherish essence rather than let it go". The methods of maintaining the essence are as follows: 1. Abstinence and reapplication during sexual intercourse between men and women suddenly make the essence leak out; Second, the method of replenishing essence and brain. The official sentence on the river reads: repeated love, bone marrow is full of bones. (Chapter III)
People take qi as the root and essence as the pedicle. If the root is not deep, pull it out, and if the fruit base is not firm, it will fall down. What you say should be hidden, closely related to its essence, and not leaked. Deep-rooted people are the way to live a long life. (Chapter 59)
Doctors treat the body with yang essence and feces. (Chapter 46)
Finally, about the way to keep the spirit. It is recognized on the river as: "People live because they have spirit. Spirit? Empty, like quiet. Improper diet, sudden color reading, evil spirits all over the body, logging tired. " (Chapter 72) The so-called spirit here does not refer to people's thoughts and concepts, but also means the spirit, that is, the soul stationed in the five internal organs of the human body. People's spirit is easy to fall in love with the temptation of external music and wealth, resulting in greed and greed, which makes spiritual work out of form, so life is at stake. Therefore, people who want to live forever must get rid of their feelings and desires, keep the emptiness of the five internal organs, be spiritually quiet, and embrace each other in form and spirit. There are many expressions in the official seal sentences on the river. For example, if people can get rid of lust, keep their sense of taste and clear their five internal organs, then the gods will live in them. (Chapter 5)
People who can nourish the spirit will never die. God is called the God of Five Zangs, and the liver hides the soul, the lung hides the spirit, the heart stores the spirit, the kidney stores the essence, and the spleen stores the will. All five Tibetans are hurt, and the five gods must go.
People who live by the soul should love to eat the soul. Emotion and spirit are dead, and the death is shocking. The soul is in the liver, and the spirit is in the lungs. Wine is sweet and delicious, and it has the function of rotting liver and lung. Therefore, the soul is quiet and the Tao is not chaotic, and the soul is safe and long-lived. (Chapter 10)
Doctors should eliminate feelings and desires, so that the five internal organs are empty and God does it. (Chapter 11)
The above three methods of health preservation, namely, activating qi, consolidating essence and nourishing spirit, inherited the learning of Huang Laotao in Han Dynasty and inspired the immortal Taoism in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ge Hong's Inner Chapter of Bao Puzi and Classic of Shangqing School in the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties further developed the regimen of official seal sentences on the river. This is the reason why the post-Taoism attaches importance to the official seal sentence on the river.