Calm and sunny day. Sakura leaves fly by with the fresh wind. A monk sits in a temple in a motionless position and looks into nowhere with a detached expression. His body is relaxed and his breathing is slow and measured. There seems to be emptiness and fullness all around him. Not a single phenomenon can affect this monk's deep immersion into the secrets of his own self.

This goes on for a long time. The sun, having met the lonely figure with its rays, is already slightly beginning to say goodbye. At this moment, the monk's body comes to life and begins to move. Awakening is slow, it takes time to come to your senses in the full sense of the word. Now he got up and walked quietly along the path that leads to a small house. Simple food and the same room await him there. There is nothing superfluous in the monk’s house, only the essentials for life.

It was a short trip back in time in order to see the image of the great thinker Lao Tzu and the essence of his teaching, which became one of the three main

Who is Lao Tzu?

According to the legend, this is the son whom a woman gave birth to under a plum tree. She carried him for 81 years and gave birth through the hip. He was born old and with a gray head. This greatly surprised the woman, and she called him “old child,” which is what Lao Tzu means in Chinese. There is also another interpretation of his name - “old philosopher”. His birth occurred in 604 BC.

It is worth noting that there is no reliable information about his life and birth. Research is still underway as to whether there was a person with that name at all. Therefore, here we present the data about him that is written in authoritative sources.

As an adult, Lao Tzu served the emperor and was a library tutor during the Zhou dynasty. For many years, studying and reading ancient treatises, the thinker matured and gained wisdom. Being in old age, he decided to leave his native country and went to the west riding a green bull. At the border checkpoint he was stopped by a servant of the emperor and recognized the great thinker. He asked the sage to leave his wisdom for posterity before leaving. It was at this request that Lao Tzu’s famous book, “Tao Te Ching,” was written. Its length is five thousand hieroglyphs.

Concept of Tao

Tao literally means “way”. The basis of all things and the law by which everything happens in this world. so multifaceted and deep that it is impossible to specifically describe it in words. Sometimes this concept is referred to as the force that moves the world. It has neither beginning nor end. It is in every particle of existence, and permeates the world through and through. Without this power, the future is impossible and the past crumbles. It is she who defines the concept of “now” as a way of existence.

In his treatise on the Tao, Lao Tzu describes how the force moves the entire world and fills all beings. The structure of the world is completely determined by Tao, and cannot be otherwise. But at the same time, Tao is an infinite number of options for which path the existence of a separate object can take. Therefore, there are opinions that with the help of this book any creature can gain immortality. This stems from the fact that the Tao, the path of which man must follow, can lead to the eternal source of life.

The concept of "De"

All changes in the world are caused by patterns or, in other words, by routes between the past and the future. This path personifies the Tao. At the same time, this power manifests itself through another facet of this world - De. Hence the title of the book, “Tao Te Ching.”

The concept of “De” is a property or ideal concept of the existence of everything in this world. Tao manifests itself in reality through the existence of De. This is the best option for the manifestation of matter, which is the flow from one form to another through the path of Tao. Some interpretations describe the similarity of this concept with determines how an object will exist, and to some extent echoes this concept.

The treatise describes the correct existence of man, which is personified by De. If one gets rid of passions, pride, excesses and other vices, then the path to a perfect life will be opened for a person, in which he will be filled with energy through De.

What is the book "Tao Te Ching" about?

The title means "Book of Tao". The author took it upon himself to describe what controls the whole world. This treatise consists of individual sayings and short descriptions. It is written using very ancient Chinese characters, which modern inhabitants have almost forgotten. The main theme of the treatise, so to speak, is a description of how one needs to behave, live and feel in this world in order for true enlightenment to be revealed to a person.

According to Lao Tzu's description, Tao is something faceless, which, however, can take form in all things. Any attempts to fit this concept into a specific framework run into contradictions. The phenomenon has a form, but you look at it and don’t see it. It is written about Tao that you hear it, but cannot hear it, you catch it, but cannot catch it.

Such contradictions run like a red thread in the texts. The main factor in this situation is the author’s desire to describe what is beyond the understanding of the ordinary person, whom he considered himself to be. If you try to define a concept, it inevitably slips away, taking on a different appearance or manifestation. As a result, there are attempts in the texts to describe the Tao as something vague and dull.

Taoism

Based on the written treatise, an entire religion with the same name arose. The followers of this teaching tried to comprehend the full depth of the meaning of what was stated through renunciation and compliance with the way of life that is described. Often the interpretations of what was stated were different, and many monks entered into an argument about the meaning of what was written. This situation gave impetus to the spread of various schools of Taoism, which understood the essence of what was written in different ways.

With the help of the teaching, you can understand that Tao is the connection of the human mind with the wisdom of nature. This is the main goal of many followers who have introduced various techniques to speed up this process. Complexes of gymnastic exercises and breathing techniques were developed. Such methods have gained great popularity in the modern way of understanding ancient scripture.

Teachings of Taoism

Evaluating the ideals of Taoism, one can understand that the main role in it is played by calmness and simplicity, as well as harmony and naturalness in human behavior. All attempts at active action are considered meaningless and only waste energy. When existing on the waves of the flow of life, effort is not needed, it only gets in the way. From tranquility comes peace in society and a harmonious life for everyone.

Sometimes actions are compared to water, which does not interfere with anyone’s movement and flows around obstacles. A person who wants strength and power must follow the example of water, which flows but does not interfere. To achieve better results in life, you need to go with the flow and try not to disrupt the flow with your actions. Also, according to the treatise, a person should not have addictions. They blind him and create the illusion that he cannot live without them.

Everyone's path in Taoism

If a person is driven by passion or has excesses in his actions and aspirations, then he is far from his true path. Any attachment to earthly things creates conditions in which a person begins to serve not himself, but specific things. This is possible if you do not listen to the aspirations of the soul and do not search for your path.

A detached attitude towards material wealth and pleasures allows you to hear the voice of your soul and, in accordance with it, begin your Tao Tzu - the path of the sage. On this path there is no question about whether it is the right one. The person becomes comfortable and his mind becomes clearer. If you remain in long thought and listen to your inner voice, over time you will come to understand the world as a universal substance for the life of every being.

Managing non-action

When China was ruled, development in the country was stable and calm. The leaders adopted the principle of Taoism, which implied that there was no need to interfere with the development of society. The inaction of the authorities in terms of governance allowed the people to live in peace and prosperity. They used their strength to develop and improve living conditions.

Modern writers and Taoism

Many personal growth and success coaches have adopted the principles of Taoism into their practice. In her book “The Tao of Life,” Irina Khakamada describes the principles that are taken from this religion. According to her, she made a certain extract from the entire text. Not all provisions are equally applicable to a Russian person and a Chinese person. Therefore, there are now a great many such stripped-down manuals. “The Tao of Life” is a guide book. It describes as specifically as possible the ancient principles that should be followed for a harmonious life.

In addition, at least one full translation of a treatise from an ancient language into a modern one is published every year. All of them represent another interpretation of truths that were written more than two and a half thousand years ago.

Khakamada Irina also presents her book “The Tao of Life” as one of the translations, but it was made more for the Russian people.

Followers who write their book "Tao"

One of the famous followers of Taoism is Anna Averyanova, who publishes books under the pseudonym Ling Bao. She did a great job of deciphering Taoist texts. He has his own understanding of this religion and writes a continuation of the book “Tao”. Bao Ling has been studying ways for humans to achieve superconsciousness for many years. In addition, she also deals with the issues of the subconscious and the immortality of the human mind.

Bao Ling describes the secrets of the Tao in the same style as the original texts of Lao Tzu. Thanks to comprehensive development and long practices around the world, she has developed her own system of understanding this religion. This is one of the differences from the way Irina Khakamada writes, whose “Tao” is more practical.

Martial arts

Martial arts also appeared on the basis of spiritual improvement. One of them was Vovinam Viet Vo Dao, which literally means “the combat path of the Viet.”

This martial art originated among village fans of fighting and soon grew into a whole hobby of the Vietnamese people. In addition to the technique of strikes and grabs, high moral and spiritual training was practiced there. She was placed at the head of all technology. It is believed that a Viet Vo Dao warrior without a spiritual foundation will not be able to defeat the enemy.

Energy "Tao"

The path is based on the energy “Qi”. She, according to scripture, is the absolute energy of all living things in this world. There is the concept of “Qi”, a person and the whole world that surrounds him. This energy helps a person to establish a connection between himself and the world around him.

The Taoists have developed a whole technique for comprehending the power of “Qi”. It is based on correct breathing using Tai Chi. This is a set of exercises and techniques that help the body tune in to receive energy. The most talented Taoists who practiced this technique could go without water or food for a long time. There were also cases when it reached unimaginable limits.

There are several techniques in Taoism that help restore connection with Qi energy. They are part of the most ancient Qigong technique. In addition to Taoist breathing practices, martial arts and meditation are used. All these systems are designed to serve one purpose - filling with Qi energy and comprehending the Tao.

Channels of filling a person with energy

According to the treatise, a person can receive energy whenever and wherever he wants. To do this, he uses special channels. But not all people work at a good level. Often, energy pathways are clogged with poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle. The modern model of man involves the use of technological progress in order not to waste one’s energy. This way of life entails many negative consequences. A person becomes passive and is not interested in developing. Everyone does things and devices for him. He becomes only a consumer.

With low consumption, Tao Te becomes clogged, and a person literally becomes dependent on external stimulants. This may be chemicals or other methods.

Special techniques are used to activate and expand channels. They represent the diet and its specific composition. Special exercises allow you to develop the spine and other parts of the body. It is through the spine that the main and largest energy flow passes. Therefore, special attention is paid to him.

Self-healing by listening to the body

Many practitioners have learned from the book "Tao" the secrets of how to listen to the body and understand the work of the internal organs. Such mastery is available only to those who have been practicing Taoist techniques for a long time. After reaching a certain level, a person begins to feel his body in the literal sense of the word. All organs seem to be transformed into a system that can be changed for healing.

Sometimes masters resort to the practice of healing other people. For this purpose, special centers of alternative medicine are opened where patients are admitted.

Symbolism of Taoism

The famous symbol "Yin and Yang" is used to explain the essence of Tao. On the one hand, the symbol shows that everything changes and flows from one form to another. On the other hand, opposites complement each other. For example, bad cannot exist without good, and vice versa. There is no absolute victory of one element; only a balance between them can be achieved.

The symbol simultaneously displays the struggle and balance of two elements. They are presented in the form of a cycle that has no end. At the same time, the black and white parts cannot be absolute, since they have particles of opposites in themselves.

Tattoos

To identify a person with the religion of Taoism, there is a technique for applying tattoos. They also represent smooth lines. They are often symmetrical and contain images of mythical characters. The culture of applying such tattoos came from ancient China, where they were very popular.

Wellness system

There is also the so-called “Show Tao” school. Literally translated, it means “The Path of Tranquility.” It is a set of measures to improve health and true peace of mind. They include both martial arts and breathing practices that help to achieve good health and calm. The Show Tao system is very close to the philosophy of Taoism and therefore it is believed that it can be part of it. The school's students call themselves "calm warriors" and improve their skills for peace of mind.

There are many practical guides out there to help you lead a healthy spiritual and psychological life. For example, there are tips to find peace and harmony in life:

• Relieve stress with an inner smile. You may not show it on the external level, but it must appear inside a person.
• Talk less. Every word that is spoken in vain or inappropriately wastes Chi energy.
• Worry dissolves into action. Instead of being nervous with folded arms, you need to start taking active action.
• The mind must develop. If it is not involved, then degradation begins.
• You need to control your sex drive.
• Be moderate in your diet. You need to leave the table when you are still a little hungry.
• Moderation in all effects on the body.
• The more joy in life, the more Qi energy comes to a person. Therefore, we must rejoice at everything around us.

Taoism and love

The concept of “Tao” is inextricably linked with love. Through the relationship of two people of the opposite sex, the tree of life grows and fills both with energy. The Taoists considered having sex something so natural and necessary that they wrote practical manuals for it. At the same time, there is not a shadow of lust or perversion in the texts with explicit illustrations. In accordance with the treatise “The Tao of Love,” a man must begin to completely control his sense of pleasure and effectively manage it. This is necessary primarily to satisfy a woman who needs special participation.

The doctrine of love has three main concepts:

• A man gains enormous strength and wisdom if he chooses the right mode of his ejaculation and desire. New opportunities will open up for him when abstinence is practiced. Thanks to this, he will be able to satisfy the woman to the fullest.
• The ancient Chinese believed that a man's uncontrollable pleasure was not the most enjoyable moment in sex. There is a deeper experience, described in The Tao of Love, which gives true pleasure. To achieve this mastery, you need to practice for a long time.
• The central idea is the obligatory satisfaction of the woman. It is considered a source of pleasure for both partners and is therefore so important.

Meaning of Taoism

Due to their popularity, Taoist schools penetrated to other continents and penetrated into different societies. Some critics have unreasonably rejected this teaching as inappropriate for other people. In their opinion, it was created for the Chinese and has no significant benefit for representatives of other nationalities. However, many people around the world practice the principles of Taoism and achieve exceptional results in the areas of body, mind and spiritual development.

As it turns out, this teaching can be used by both the Chinese and all other nationalities. Its principles are universal and, when studied, help improve the quality of life of every person. It was precisely this goal that Lao Tzu pursued when he wrote his treatises for future generations.

For China itself, this resulted in an entire religion, which for many centuries remains just as mysterious and multifaceted. It may take a lifetime to comprehend it.

For Russian people, separate abbreviated versions of ancient scriptures have been made, which are maximally adapted to this culture. Basically, such guides have a lot of practical recommendations on psychology and self-improvement.

Conclusion

In the light of modernity, Taoism has taken on the form of a spiritual practice that helps a person cope with the problems that arise today. By adopting the principles outlined in the book, each person can independently improve in several directions at once. This can be physical health, psychological and spiritual.

The basic concept of worldview set forth in the treatise "Tao Te Ching" - Tao, some unspeakable in words is the beginning in which the unity of being and non-being is embodied and all contradictions are resolved.

The translator's additions are given below in square brackets:

“The Tao that can be expressed in words is not a permanent Tao. The name that can be named is not a permanent name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth, having a name - the mother of all things.

Therefore, one who is free from passions sees the wonderful mystery [Tao], and one who has passions sees it only in its final form. Both of them are of the same origin, but with different names. Together they are called the deepest. [The transition] from one deepest to another is the door to everything wonderful.

When everyone in the Celestial Empire learns that the beautiful is beautiful, the ugly also appears. When everyone knows that good is good, evil also arises. Therefore, being and non-being generate each other, difficult and easy create each other, long and short are mutually related, high and low are mutually determined, sounds, merging, come into harmony, the previous and the subsequent follow each other. Therefore, the sage, when performing deeds, prefers inaction; when carrying out teaching, he does not resort to words; causing changes in things, [he] does not effect them himself; creating, does not possess [what is created]; setting in motion, does not make any effort; completing [something] successfully is not proud. Since he is not proud, his merits cannot be discarded. […]

Tao is empty, but inexhaustible in application. O deepest! It seems to be the forefather of all things.

Transformation into the opposite is an action of Tao, weakness is a property of Tao. In the world, all things are born into being, and being is born into non-existence.

A person of the highest learning, having learned about Tao, strives for its implementation. A person of average learning, having learned about the Tao, either observes it or violates it. A person of lower learning, having learned about the Tao, subjects it to ridicule. If it were not subject to ridicule, it would not be Tao. Therefore, there is a saying: whoever recognizes the Tao looks like a dark one; whoever penetrates into Tao is like one who retreats; whoever is at the height of Tao looks like a deluded person; a man of the highest virtue is like a simple man; the great enlightened one is like the despised one; boundless virtue is like its deficiency; the spread of virtue is like its plunder; true truth is like its absence. The great square has no corners; a large vessel takes a long time to make; a strong sound cannot be heard; the great image has no form. Tao is hidden [from us] and has no name. But only it can help [all beings] and lead them to perfection. […]

He who studies increases [his knowledge] every day. He who serves the Tao reduces [his desires] day by day. In continuous decline [man] reaches the point of inaction. There's nothing that won't do inaction. Therefore, mastery of the Celestial Empire is always carried out through inaction. Whoever acts is unable to take possession of the Celestial Empire.

The sage does not have a permanent heart. His heart is made up of the hearts of the people. I do good to the good and I do good to the bad. This is how virtue is cultivated. I am faithful to the sincere and also faithful to the insincere. This is how sincerity is cultivated. The sage lives calmly in the world and gathers the opinions of the people in his heart. He looks at the people as if they were his children.”

Tao Te Ching / Ancient Chinese philosophy. Collected texts in 2 volumes, Volume 1, M., “Thought”, 1972, p. 115-116, 127 and 129.

Unlike Lao Tzu, who interpreted “Tao” as a universal principle, Confucius, who lived later, understood it as the human “Tao” - the principle of human actions. He considered the standard of a person following the path of “Tao” "noble husband"

Modern popularizers metaphorically set out the principle of "Tao":

“Everyone understands that you cannot drink the word “water.” But it seems that few of us can be called completely free from semantic errors. In essence, these misconceptions are no better than if we tried to drink the splashes of paint that make up the word “water” on this page, or the sound waves that occur when I say the word “water” out loud. When you say: “A word is not a thing,” everyone easily agrees with you; but look around and you will see that everyone acts as if something called Sacred “really is” Sacred, and something called Low “really is” Low. These kinds of neurolinguistic “hallucinations” are so common that we usually don’t even notice them, just as some people think fish don’t notice water. If you think about it, such submission to the “hypnotic power of the word” is one of the most characteristic signs of humanity. Alfred Korzybski said that we are “confusing the map with the territory.” Alan Watts argued that we cannot distinguish the menu from the food. Whatever comparisons we make, it becomes clear that people have a strange tendency to confuse their mental files, or neurolinguistic grids, with the nonverbal world of sensory space-time.

But even 2500 years ago Lao Tzu said in "Tao Dejing": The road you can talk about is not the road you can walk on.”

Robert Anton Wilson, Quantum Psychology, M., “Sofia”, 2006, p. 82-83.

A characteristic feature of which, for example, are the concepts of “yin” and “yang”, which symbolize opposites or duality.

Taoism is more of a doctrine than a religion, since it weakly expresses a characteristic feature of religion: the presence of an idol or a person whose any words are considered to be truth, although the opposite was true in the history of China. Perhaps that is why Lao Tzu quietly left China and disappeared in an unknown direction. There is no information about the exact date of his death.

Mostly legends have reached us, some of which, for example, claim that Lao Tzu was the teacher of Buddha. Is this really known only to them, but it is interesting to compare phrases that express the teachings well:

If you call something Tao, then it is no longer Tao.

The more you try to understand Zen, the more you move away from it.

For the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that some historians believe that the Tao Te Ching had more than one author. There are also those who question not only the authorship, but also the very existence of Lao Tzu. The veracity of the chronicles cannot be verified. But many biased people consider them to be facts. As they say, hear only what you want to hear. If the chronicle of the first Chinese historian known to us, Sima Qian, is correct, then Lao Tzu is the second name, and the first is Li Er.

He was a historian - curator in the library at the palace. Had a meeting with Confucius. In his declining years he left for an unknown destination. When crossing the border, at the request of the guard of the outpost, Lao Tzu outlined his teachings in a small treatise, “Tao Ts Ching,” which has 81 sections. With modern printing it takes about 25 pages

The deceitfulness of speech

It is worth noting that no matter how extensive a language is, it will never be able to reflect all the diversity of the world. It’s like trying to express the ocean with a drop or expressing the meaning of this site with a dot. Language is an excellent reflection of the culture of a nation’s worldview. It has a lot of words and meanings that are not found in other languages. For example, in Russian there are meanings blue and blue, but in German and English there is only blue (blau or blue).

The Chinese language has the symbols "yin" and "yang", which are not in our speech. As already mentioned, if our worldview is based on good and evil, then Chinese philosophy is based on the symbols of opposites: “yin” and “yang” (for example: woman and man, long and short, night and day, and so on).

The semantic boundaries of a word are expressed differently not only among people, but also in explanatory dictionaries, that is, there are no absolute meanings. Formulation is a great art. As Buddha said, “those who can find words for this are smart.” It's really hard to put into words the music or the taste of the juice.

Therefore, in some cases the word is like only a ghostly shadow. The further the “object” is from our world, the less sense words have, since language develops from what is directly next to us and our cognition.

The only clear terminology is mathematics, but it is abstract and virtual when viewed from the point of view of objectivity, which is expressed by the fact that everything is one. A characteristic feature of the human mind is that it constantly divides the world, creating matrices that often do not have a clear formulation.

At the same time, sometimes there is an illusion of staticity (immobility) of an object, while everything is constantly changing. Many people are familiar with the surprise when, walking through the yard, we discover that the trees have become much taller - this means that the mind has been deceiving us for a long time, passing off the static past as the present. A person finds or builds something pleasant and comfortable in the world around him, and then tries with all his might not to change it and to fix it.

But this contradicts the structure of the universe. There is a legend that when King Solomon was having a hard time, he turned his ring, on which was written “this too shall pass.”

We should not forget that ancient texts are almost impossible to translate unambiguously; you can come across various versions of translations, where words are often inserted that are not in the scriptures. As usual, they are placed in square brackets.

This is done because without them the phrase may lose meaning. This means that in some cases, when someone says that it is correct to quote “this way,” he is often referring to the worldview not of the author, but of the translator.

Quotes from Tao Te Ching

(numbers indicate original paragraph)

1 The Tao that can be expressed in words is not the permanent Tao. The name that can be named is not a permanent name.

14 There is no need to seek to know the source of this, because it is one

20 Oh! I'm rushing! There seems to be no place where I can stop

25 I don't know her name. Denoting it with a sign, I’ll call it Tao

37 That which does not have a name - simple being - does not desire anything for itself. Lack of desire brings peace

41... The Tao is hidden [from us] and has no name

He who is at the height of Tao looks like one who is deluded

81 True words are not graceful. Fine words are not trustworthy. Kind is not eloquent. An eloquent person cannot be kind. He who knows does not prove, he who proves does not know.

Since time immemorial, the Chinese have designated curved, single-edged weapons with the hieroglyph Dao. Generally speaking, this is the name in China for all blades with a curved blade with a one-sided sharpening, including knives, swords and halberds, but in the case of a long blade they usually add the prefix yes - large. That is, Dadao is a large curved sword with a one-sided sharpening.

Tao swords have been known in China since ancient times. It is still difficult to say which type of sword appeared earlier - Jian or Dao. According to legend, the Chinese were taught how to make Tao swords by the legendary King Suihuang, who was the first to cast this sword in bronze. In general, this legendary king is an analogue of the Greek titan Prometheus, just like him, he taught the Chinese to use fire, melt metals - bronze and obtain tools and swords from it.

Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the use of the Tao sword has become widespread in China. Dao swords were completely different in size and purpose.

A large sword or even a halberd with a short handle, Dadao, was an accessory of mounted warriors. Usually it was armed with a few heavily armed Chinese horsemen. Infantrymen usually used a yaodao - a belt sword - together with a shield - a blade of much more modest size.

In addition to the Dadao, the cavalry also used a pudao - an analogue of a long-pole halberd, which was handled very deftly, no worse than a spear. Standing somewhat separately is Shuangshoudai - a long-bladed and long-pole halberd with a one-sided sharpened curved blade.

The heyday of Dao swords occurred in the Song Dynasty, when a large number of different variants of Dao swords appeared. But they were all divided into two main groups - hand swords - one-handed and large swords - dadao - which required wielding them with two hands.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese had to become acquainted with Japanese combat swords - tachi and nodachi. It is worth noting that the Chinese were very unpleasantly surprised that Japanese weapons were superior to their own in everything. The famous Chinese commander Qi Jiguang noted that Japanese swords are better and more practical.

The length of the tati was much longer than the yaodao, and at the same time it was much more convenient for them to chop. It was lighter and more convenient than the Chinese big swords - dadao.
If it came to nodachi, then it was more convenient than pudao, it was shorter, lighter, easier to control, and it inflicted terrifying wounds. Having met the invading Japanese in Korea during the time of Hideyoshi, the Chinese were able to see firsthand that the Japanese, who had borrowed the curved sword from China at one time, brought it to its logical perfection.

General Qi Jiguang decisively began to change the weapons of the Chinese warriors. He took the Japanese tachi as a basis and combined it with Chinese analogues of Dao swords, developing, in general, a new type of Chinese blade - a long, curved, relatively light sword with a one-sided sharpening. The Chinese commander created the so-called “Sword of the Qi Family” (qijiadao) - without false modesty, giving the sword the name of his family.

A shorter version, also created on the basis of Tao - and very popular in the coastal regions of China - was called Vodao - the sword of the Lilliputians. It was called that because it exactly repeated the size of the Japanese tati swords, which were considered short by Chinese standards. Both of these swords were extremely popular during the Ming Dynasty until its fall during the peasant revolt and the invasion of the Manchu conquerors.

After the Manchu invasion and the establishment of the dominance of the Qing dynasty (1611 - 1911), the previously dominant sword was replaced Qijiadao came another type of sword - under the general name “willow leaf sword” (luedao). It was a long, one-sided saber, with a curved blade and hilt, and a rather long sharp sting. Some specimens had an elman - that is, a weight at the end of the blade. It was with this weapon, suitable for both infantry and horse combat, that the warlike Manchus, who ruled China for almost 300 years, loved to fight.

In the Qing army, this version of the sword became commonly used; the main units of the army of the Qing Manchu Empire were armed with it.

Another type of Dao blade used in China was the piandao sword - cutting swords. This is generally a shortened analogue of the European curved saber. Due to the significant bending, the blows of such weapons were much stronger; they were good for cutting the enemy in close combat. However, such swords did not take root in the army, remaining the lot of loners - skilled fencers.

Another turn in the blade shape of Chinese swords occurred around 1700, when the classic Manchu liuedao sword began to transform into the new category of nuweidao swords. These are precisely those Dao swords that are well-established in our perception, which are now actually passed off as ancient Chinese examples of swords. Nuweidao had new features that their predecessors did not have.

Firstly, they had a blade with a short sting that widened towards the end, and accordingly had an elman at the end of the blade. They had
there was a relatively slight bend in the middle, and the handle curved in the opposite direction from the tip, so that the sword itself resembled a very stretched letter “S”. As a rule, they had a small round guard that securely covered the warrior’s hand.

These swords immediately appealed to ordinary peasants, the original Chinese, and rebels of all stripes, but did not find wide use among the Manchu invaders.

Chinese rebels fought with Newweidao swords during the Boxer Rebellion. They would have completely defeated the Manchus if they had not received help from foreign interventionists in the person of England, France, Germany and Russia.

Oddly enough, the popularity of dadao swords returned during the Sino-Japanese War in the 20th century. Some units of the Chinese Kuomintang Nationalist Army were armed with such long two-handed swords.

As it turned out, during the massive attacks of Japanese soldiers armed with long Ariska rifles with long bayonet knives, the Japanese simply could not resist the Chinese with dadao in close combat.

In the narrow alleys of the streets of Chinese cities, in battles in trenches, Chinese soldiers with dadao swords drawn en masse jump out at the Japanese in close combat they gained a huge advantage. The Japanese managed to fire one or two shots before the Chinese burst into their formations en masse and a bloodbath began - the Chinese simply could not defend themselves with their rifles. And the Dadao swords cut them down with a backhand.

General Chai Kai-shek likened the Dadao fighters to a grenade with the pin pulled out - in order to hit the enemy, a grenade must be thrown into the thick of enemy soldiers, and the Dadao fighters had to burst into the very thick of the Japanese and strike right and left.

There is no better advice in business than to be moderate.
To be moderate means to anticipate.
To anticipate means to be prepared and strong.
To be prepared and strong is to always be successful.
To be always successful means to have endless possibilities.

(Tao De Ching, Chapter 59)

Two thousand years ago, if not earlier, ancient Taoist healers wrote frank, clear books about love and sex. Taoists were not lustful or shy, for they regarded lovemaking as essential for the physical and mental health and well-being of men and women. Adhering to this philosophy, the ancients paid great attention to the mastery of sex. Everything was done for the future love courage of a person. Literature and art have created illustrations of sexual techniques. A husband who could enjoy frequent and prolonged sexual intercourse was valued much more than one who was simply young and attractive.

Taoist doctors viewed lovemaking as part of the natural order of things. Sex was not only enjoyed and savored, it was considered beneficial and life-prolonging. To preserve the art of people in lovemaking, many methods were formulated and erotic paintings were used to both study and excite men and women. In their book Erotic Art, Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen quote a poem written by Chang Zhen in the late 1st century, which describes how a bride uses an erotic book to make her wedding night memorable:

Let's lock the golden door with a golden lock,
Let's light the lamp to fill the room
Her diamond light.
I'll take off my clothes and wash off the paint and powder,
Let me look at the picture decorating the pillow.
"The pure virgin" will be my teacher,
We will be able to try all the different positions.
Which the average husband has, but rarely sees.
How Thion-lao taught the yellow Emperor.

There is no joy comparable to the pleasure of the first night. They will not be forgotten, no matter how old we become. The Kronhausens go on to describe how erotic art was used in ancient China. Let us turn to the erotic literature of China to evaluate how albums of drawings were used. In one of the best erotic works of the Ming dynasty, “Mou Zu Tuan,” we find, in particular, a description of the amorous adventures of the young and gifted student Bei Yangsheng. He married a gifted and beautiful girl, Yu-Xiang (Jade Fragrance), whose only drawback was that she was excessively bashful: she agreed to have sexual intercourse only in complete darkness and rejected any technique of sex that differed from the usual. To further horror, the maid also noticed that Jade Fragrance had never achieved orgasm during marital love. To improve the situation, the young husband decided to buy an expensive album of erotic drawings, with the help of which he hoped to educate his wife and change her attitude towards sex. Jade Fragrance, as expected, initially refused to even look at the drawings. However, when she finally agreed to study them under the guidance of her husband, under their influence her passion increased sharply and gradually she turned into an affectionate, sensual and sympathetic woman, living up to her name.

The modern Western attitude towards erotic images or so-called pornography did not take place in ancient China. The distinctive approach of the ancient Chinese to love and sex was noted by the eminent scholar and diplomat R. H. van Gulik. In the book “Sex Life in Ancient China” he wrote; “It was probably this mental attitude, which considered sexual intercourse as part of the order of nature, never associated with a sense of sin or violation of morality, together with the almost complete absence of punishments that led to the fact that the sex life of ancient China was generally healthy, remarkably free from pathological abnormalities and disorders found in so many ancient cultures.”

But it wasn't just Ancient China's attitude toward sex that surprised and interested van Gulik; it was also the concept of lovemaking and ancient Taoism. This concept, which we call “The Tao of Love,” has not been laid out in detail for Western readers, so it turns out to be a completely different practice than almost all of the Western views on sex and lovemaking. It is easy to deny it, just as the West has long denied acupuncture, which is now recognized as an important healing tool. Today, centuries later, Western doctors are amazed at its perfection and try to understand its secrets. The Tao of love must reveal its secrets to the West. Here's how van Gulik describes it:

“The theory of the Tao of love has for centuries shaped the principles of sexual relations of the Chinese, so it is interesting to note that for more than two thousand years the Tao of love has been widely practiced in China without any harm to the heredity or the general health of the nation.”

Van Gulik obviously softens his expressions. He had to agree that the Chinese were a strong and long-lived nation because of their seemingly revolutionary sexual principles.

Even today, the Tao of love seems revolutionary, but with each new discovery by Western sexologists and scientists, its recipes become more acceptable. The basic principles of this Tao - the control of ejaculation, the importance of female satisfaction and the understanding that male orgasm and ejaculation are not the same thing - became important points in the women's liberation movement, as well as in the scientific research of Kipsey, Masters, Johnson and others. while their theories gained acceptance in the West, the concepts of love and sex developed in China so long ago took their place again. When Van Gulik wrote his book, he was amazed at how modern science began to confirm what teachers of the Tao of Love had said before:

“I would like to point out here that the description of the “five signs” (of observing female satisfaction) found in the I Ching Fang (a 5th century medical book containing excerpts from several hundred Chinese works from the Tang and earlier) is completely is consistent with the data in A. S. Kinsey’s book “Woman’s Sexual Behavior” (section “Psychology of Sexual Response and Orgasm”). This speaks in favor of the sexologists of ancient China.”

The “five signs” of female satisfaction mentioned by Van Gulik appeared 2000 years ago in a dialogue between Emperor Zhuang Li and Su Nu.

Zhang Li: How does a man observe a woman's satisfaction?

Su Nu: There are 5 signs, 5 desires and 10 instructions. A man must observe these signs and respond accordingly. These signs are:

1. Her face is red, her ears are hot. This means that thoughts of lovemaking have taken over her mind. At this point, the man should initiate intercourse moderately in a teasing manner, insert very shallowly and wait, observing the subsequent reaction.

2. Her nose becomes sweaty and her nipples become swollen. This means that the fire of her passion has increased somewhat. The jade peak can now go as deep as the trench itself, (5 inches), but no deeper than that. A man should wait for the passion to intensify before inserting further.

3. When her voice lowers and dry and hoarse sounds emerge from her throat, her passion intensifies. Her eyes are closed, her tongue is hanging out, she is breathing quickly and noticeably. At this time, the male jade stem can move in and out freely. Sexual intercourse gradually reaches ecstasy.

4. Her red ball (external organs) is abundantly lubricated and the fire of passion is close to the top, and each thrust causes the lubrication to flow out. Its jade peak easily touches the valley of water chestnut teeth (2 inches deep). Now he can use this method: one push to the left, one to the right, one slowly and one quickly, or any method depending on his desire.

5. When her golden lotus (legs) rises as if she wants to hug a man with them, her fire and passion have reached the peak. She wraps her legs around his waist and holds his shoulder and back with her hands. The tongue remains protruded. When these signs appear, the man may enter deeply into the valley of the deep chamber (5 inches). Such deep thrusts allow her to achieve ecstasy with her whole body.

Although ancient Chinese writings are written in more flowery and poetic than clinical language, this does not mean that their authors did not take issues of love and sex very seriously. In fact, they understood that good health (mental and physical) and longevity are closely related to sex life, so love and sex were considered an important branch of medicine. Its benefits do not at all detract from pleasure; on the contrary, the essential idea of ​​the Tao of love is that love and sex are only useful when they lead to complete satisfaction.

A huge tree grows from a tiny shoot,
A nine-story tower is born from a pile of earth,
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

(Tao De Ching, Chapter 64)

To understand the ancient Taoist way of love, we must first have some concept of the Tao - that fountain from which the Tao of love flows. This is a philosophy that has served the Chinese faithfully and enhanced their inner potencies through prescriptions of prudence and precise timing. In the old days they said that if “Confucianism is the outer clothing of the Chinese, then Taoism is its soul.” This civilization clearly owes its longevity to its teachings, which preached patience and harmony in poetic form.

Stretch (the bow) to the greatest,
And you'll want to stop.
Temper your sharpest sword,
But its edge will quickly become dull,

(Tao De Ching, Chapter 9)

Tao itself is the wisdom of nature, born many thousands of years ago. However, no one knows exactly when. In the 6th century BC. Lao Tzu collected its basic rules in a book he called “Tao Te Ching.” It consists of just over 5,000 words, which makes it apparently the shortest of the world's books of wisdom. It has been translated into many languages ​​- more than 30 editions have been published in English alone. Each translator understood and interpreted Lao Tzu's words in his own way, but at the core of Taoist philosophy is the belief that energy and momentum are the sources of all life. In the universal scheme of things, we humans are tiny, insignificant and easily vulnerable creatures.

If we are not in harmony with this source - the infinite force of nature - we cannot hope to live long. This is the most important principle of the Tao Te Ching. The infinite power of nature is Tao.

The philosophy of Tao is patience, to follow it you need to relax and become natural in order to join your infinite power. The Tao of Love evolved from this natural philosophy of forethought, conservation of energy and flexibility.

Taoism has always been of interest to Western philosophers, but scientists and doctors have shown interest in it relatively recently. In 1939, psychiatrist C. G. Jung wrote an introduction to a book on Taoism, and included an essay on Tao in his collection of works. “Since objects of the inner world influence us more strongly because of their unconsciousness, it is necessary for everyone who is trying to develop internal culture to objectify the influence from the “anima”, try to understand what is hidden behind these influences,” he wrote. - Thus, it adapts and protects itself from the invisible. No accommodation is possible without concessions to both worlds.”

The possible and necessary follows from consideration of the demands of the internal and external world, or more precisely, from the conflict between them. Unfortunately, our Western mind, having no culture in this regard, has not developed not only a concept, but even a name for the “union of opposites through the middle path” - the most important concept of inner experience, which can be compared with some caution with the Chinese concept of “Tao” .

As I have already indicated, ancient Chinese scholars and physicians studied and discussed issues of sex and sexual practice in much the same way as Masters, Johnson, and Kinsek do today. Many of the conclusions of the ancient Chinese have been reconfirmed by modern science. For example, Masters and Johnson were the first modern sex researchers to endorse repeated breaks in sexual intercourse to prolong intercourse, provide the woman with the opportunity for complete satisfaction, and the man gradually acquire the ability to control ejaculation. This is almost entirely consistent with the ancient Chinese texts on the Tao of Love, which teach this way of controlling ejaculation.

In their post, Masters and Johnson recommend a technique they call the squeeze technique to help a man suffering from premature ejaculation. This is a fairly complex technique: the woman must be on top and as soon as he tells her that he has reached a dangerous level, she must quickly squeeze the head of his penis for 3 or 4 seconds. This will make him lose the urge to ejaculate.

The ancient Chinese "extrusion technique" is remarkably similar to the Masters and Johnson version, but is much simpler to perform. It can be used in almost all positions, since the man himself uses the pressure. The same Masters and Johnson sanctioned an indefinite delay in a man’s ejaculation: “Many men know how to limit or delay ejaculation until their partner becomes satiated. Satiation on the part of the woman may present several complete cycles of sexual responses with a constant demand for penile erection for a long time, so that the first stage of penile involution, usually very rapid, can be extended for a long time, and the second stage of involution successively delayed. No psychological explanation can currently be given for this clinical observation.”

Their open-minded thinking differs from the Tao of love only in degree. Tao also encourages all men to develop ejaculatory control and views this as the most important statement from their second book, Human Sexual Inequality. He says that if an older person takes this advice to heart, "they will potentially become a very effective sexual partner."

The Tao of Love is entirely consistent with this statement and in fact takes it even further. The 7th century physician Li Tong Hsien, head of the medical school in Zhai An, the capital of the empire, wrote in his book Tong Hsienzi:

“A man must develop the ability to delay ejaculation until his partner is completely satisfied... A man must discover and develop his own ideal frequency of ejaculation, and this should not exceed 2-3 times per 10 intercourse.”

Another doctor of the 7th century. Sun Xiu-Mo lowered the age limit to 40 years old instead of 50. After this age, he said, a man should be very careful about ejaculation. In accordance with this, the ancient Taoists taught that male orgasm and ejaculation are not the same thing. A decrease in the number of ejaculations does not mean that a man is sexually weaker or experiences less sexual satisfaction. Calling ejaculation “the pinnacle of satisfaction” has simply become a custom—and a harmful one. In this matter, a dialogue between one of the advisers on the Tao of Love of Emperor Zhang Li and a teacher of the Tao of Love from an ancient book called “Yu Fang Shi Chui” (or “Secrets of the Jade Chamber”) may be useful in this matter.

Pai Nu (one of Emperor Zhang Li's 3 Dao Advisors) says:

“It is usually assumed that a man gets great pleasure from ejaculation, but with the study of the Tao he will emit less and less; won’t his satisfaction also decrease?”

Peng Zu (Zhang Li's supreme adviser on Tao) said:

“Far from it. After ejaculation, a man feels tired, his ears are buzzing, his eyes are stuck together and he wants to sleep. He feels thirsty, and his limbs become sluggish and stiff. In the process of ejaculation he has a second of excitement, but then long hours of fatigue follow; Of course, this is not complete satisfaction. On the other hand, if a man reduces and regulates his ejaculation to an absolute minimum, his body is strengthened, his mind is clear, and his hearing and vision are improved. Although sometimes it seems that a man is prohibiting himself from experiencing the intense excitement associated with ejaculation, his love for a woman increases greatly, as if he will never get enough from her, isn’t this true pleasure?

People often ask me what kind of pleasure do I experience if I blow only once every 100 copulations. My usual response is, “I am most definitely not trading my joy for your type of pleasure.” I used your method of ejaculation for 12 years - and how long and empty those 12 years were! If a man is interested, he cannot doubt my experience because I look so peaceful, happy and so addicted to lovemaking. If a woman is interested in me and feels uncomfortable with me at the very beginning of our relationship, then my enthusiasm for a loving relationship with her very soon drives away all doubts that I am fully enjoying myself. If intercourse continues for several hours, then she discovers that she has comprehended a completely new way of love and will most likely become convinced that she has never experienced such pleasure before. In fact, many women were so satisfied that they told me that they never knew it was possible to make love with such intense pleasure.

I was born in one of the most romantic provinces of China and its capital Han Zhou is undoubtedly located in one of the most beautiful places in China. Marco Polo described it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world (in his book this city was called Kingoey). This is great praise, especially from the lips of a resident of magnificent Venice! This city was once the capital of one of the most artistic southern Song dynasties. Even today, a significant portion of Chinese writers and poets come from here. In April and May, the entire city, especially near the lake, is in an atmosphere of euphoric dream. The lake is named after Shi, probably the most beautiful woman in the history of China, born on the river flowing through the city several centuries before Christ. And one of the hills surrounding the lake is named after the famous Taoist Guo Hong, whom we will remember from time to time in this book. Many years of childhood were spent in this city and near this beautiful lake.

What is the result of this? I started being interested in pretty women at the age of 7. As any sexologist will tell you, men begin their love affairs with masturbation. I started doing it at the age of 12–13, but was not satisfied with it at all. Apparently, I was spoiled by beautiful scenes of nature, literature, poetry.

I realized that masturbation is too mechanical an act and there is no poetry in it and that I must be one of those few men who have masturbated no more than 10 times in their entire life. I sometimes wonder how many sexologists can call this boring, monotonous act the joy of sex? And it is not surprising that not a single Taoist considers this subject even worthy of mention.

I didn’t have real intercourse with a woman until I was 18, not because there were no opportunities, but simply an understanding of their usefulness came only with time. And my first intercourse disappointed me in the same way as my short-term fascination with masturbation. As I said a little above, I ejaculated - or masturbated into the vagina (as I now call it) - for almost 12 years. I don't call it great fun for several reasons:

1) a man is constantly worried about his ejaculation; 2) a woman often fears pregnancy; 3) if she uses pills or a ring, she is always afraid of the side effect, and if she uses any other means, she must take care to use them on time. How can man and woman achieve poetic ecstasy with so many fears in their minds?

Let us now compare it with a person who studied the Tao.

First of all, he and his partners are free from all the fears we mentioned, and they can make love whenever they want. They can make love so often and for so long that they have enough time to appreciate and feel each other's skin structure, lines and personal seductive scents, etc. This is impossible if the mind is occupied with apprehensions.

A person who does not use the methods of the Tao of Love is like a gourmet who would like to constantly eat his favorite dish, but unfortunately cannot, because his stomach does not allow it due to insufficient capacity. The Romans loved to eat so much that they usually vomited in order to be able to repeat their meal - from my point of view, this is not only not healthy, but also uneconomical and unaesthetic. But a couple who owns the Tao can have their favorite dishes at any time.

I'm afraid none of this really answers the question: what is sex without ejaculation?

In a sense, this question is as impossible to answer as the question: “What is the color blue?” asked by a blind man. I can only ask in response: “What is ejaculation?” Obviously, the answer to this question is: the release of tension in an explosive way - like a cry of rage or an explosion scheme, is also a release of energy.

If this is so, then I can say that sex without ejaculation is also a release of energy, but without an explosion. The pleasure of peace rather than violence, a mental and wholly satisfying transition into something greater and more transcendental than ourselves. This is a feeling of unity, and not at all of division; a rush of fusion and participation, but not exclusivity, particularity and loneliness. Above this, the words disappear.

It is necessary to pay special attention to the regulation of ejaculation in accordance with the age and health status of the man; it is not a judgment made by the teachers of the Tao of Love, but a conclusion reached by thousands of years of careful observation that a man's seed is one of the vital essences and should not be wasted in an uncontrolled manner. Sun Hsiu-Mo, the most important physician of the Tang era, wrote in his “Invaluable Remedy”: “If a man wastes his seed, he will experience weakness, and if he carelessly exhausts his seed, he will die.” It is very important for a man to remember this.

If a man achieves the ability to regulate his ejaculation, he will not only retain his vital essence, but will also gain even more from it. First of all, his love partner will no longer feel dissatisfied because he will have more self-confidence and will be able to make love almost whenever he and his partner desire, and since they will be able to love each other much more more often and longer, partners will be able to receive much more from each other’s essence; he is from her yin essence, and she is from his yang essence. As a result of this they will achieve a remarkable degree of peace. This kind of peace, which comes from true warm and joyful love, was known to the ancient Chinese as the harmony of yin (feminine) and yang (masculine).

In this book we will try to show how to achieve this yin-yang harmony, which we call the Tao of love (in ancient times it was called the Tao of Yin and Yang, the Tao of Communication or Yinyang Communication).

About 30 years ago, Rene Spitz, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Medical School, discovered that more than 30 percent of children in orphanages do not survive their first year of impersonal, institutional, loveless life, despite good nutrition, hygienic conditions, and excellent medical care. And in recent years, renowned child psychologist Jean Piaget has emphasized the vital importance of love (touch and communication) to the well-being and healthy development of children.

This kind of love (touch and communication) is no less important for spouses, and it was only recently popularized in the West by Master and Johnson in their third book, The Pleasure Bond. They believe that human happiness and well-being are almost impossible without regular love (touch) between spouses. This is no doubt similar to yin and yang, except that the ancient Taoists emphasized the importance for a man to have the ability to regulate his emission.

The special attention paid to the Tao of ejaculation control should provide men and women with sweat: an unlimited supply and opportunity to touch and love each other. It makes no sense to recommend for this an act that most men find difficult - lovingly touching a woman when she is close or resting. Almost every man will understand that if he is tired, he usually prefers that a woman not touch him (unless he already knows the Tao, of course) for two reasons: he is afraid that he will not be able to satisfy her or he simply wants to go to bed without any complications . But if a man knows how to regulate his emission, he has no such fears and, even when going to bed, he can enjoy touch and caresses before bed. He can even make a little love (when you know the Tao, love no longer requires tension). Also, every experienced woman feels deep down in her soul that she rarely gets enough love (touch) from her man. It is not an exaggeration to say that such dissatisfaction leads many women to lesbianism, and many other women turn their attention to pets, which are usually respond very warmly to touch. Often women understand that they are turning to their own sex only because another woman may well feel the need for affection. Of course, this is not always fair, because by nature a man’s need for love (touch) is just as great. The problem is that the vast majority of men do not know and do not have the opportunity to learn how to behave in such a situation.

An interesting example to explain this is given by Zoto, mentioned in this book.

When a person knows the Tao, he will be able to make love (touch) infinitely more, since there is only a very narrow line between touch love and actual love making. But a person cannot fully understand this if he has not known the Tao. An adept of the Tao of Love can not only enjoy more, but he and his partner benefit more from love. And we'll explain that shortly.

Knowing how to reduce stress and be at peace in every moment, a Taoist usually enjoys his life very much. As a result, he has a more active, longer and healthier life. It is not surprising that all the great Chinese doctors of antiquity had knowledge of the Tao; for the same reason there have been many Taoists for many thousands of years. It's not at all strange that there are many different approaches to longevity. Underlying this were two different schools: the school which relied heavily on the external elixir, and the school which believed more in the internal elixir: (we say "largely" because the boundary between the two is not clearly defined). The Taoists of the External Elixir were alchemists who were always in search of purifying poses that could lead to immortality. Proponents of the internal elixir were more realistic and more prudent: they believed that looking within oneself was more reliable and sufficient to prolong life. A convincing example is the famous physician Sun Xiu-Mo, who lived for more than a century, from 581 to 682, and was a strict adherent of the internal elixir, rejecting any medical means, even if natural remedies did not help.

We will not examine in detail the outer elixir, which relates to the purification of mixtures and metals into golden tablets, but will undertake careful studies of the inner elixir, which constitutes the most important part of the Tao of love.

The inner elixir mostly relates to the mind. We achieve control largely through the mind and learn correct breathing also largely through the mind. The proponent of the inner elixir tries to achieve the most perfect possible coordination of body and soul. He achieves this through a system of exercises.

The second important part of the inner elixir consists in preserving and preserving many things that scientifically minded people may ridicule, but personally I do not. Over time, many seemingly funny things become recognized. We will discuss the issue of sperm later, but another interesting example is sweat. Western physiologists have spent years advocating the effectiveness of working up a sweat, but anyone who has read L. E. Morehouse's popular book Total Compliance may have a different opinion. Morehouse is perhaps the first Western physiologist to declare the need to preserve sweat. He believes that sweating is associated with unnecessarily strenuous exercise, and any Taoist might add that excessive sweating is a sure sign that the person in question does not know how to remain calm enough. We will not dwell too long on the subject of the internal elixir and the external, but if you want to go deeper into this, you can find the necessary reflections in Joseph Needham's book Chemistry and Chemical Technology.