Tianyinzi Yangsheng Shu (Tianyinzi's Book of Health Preservation) was written by Sima Chengzhen of the
Tang Dynasty. Sima Chengzhen, styled Ziwei, also known as Daoyin and self-titled Tiantai Baiyunzi, was a native of Wen County in Luozhou (present-day Wen County, Henan). He became a Taoist because he had little interest in fame and official positions. He studied the way of health preservation, especially the techniques of
bigu (abstention from grains),
daoyin (guidance and stretching), and
fu'er (taking herbal medicines).
Sima Chengzhen's Tianyinzi Yangsheng Shu, which consists of one scroll, was widely circulated. It is divided into eight chapters: "Shenxian" (Immortals), "Yijian" (Simplicity), "Jianmen" (Progressive Approach), "Zhaijie" (Fast and Precepts), "Anchu" (Peaceful Dwelling), "Cunxiang" (Visualization), "Zuowang" (Sitting in Forgetfulness), and "Shenjie" (Spiritual Understanding). The general purpose of the book is to cultivate the body and nourish the mind.
The chapter "Shenjie" in Tianyinzi Yangsheng Shu is a special article on daoyin techniques, which contains quite innovative ideas. In the book, the author does not focus on such Taoist practices as alchemy, taking elixirs, or magical transformations. Instead, he advocates calming the mind and engaging in self-cultivation, with an emphasis on studying religious idealist theories. He extensively absorbed the objective idealist theories of Buddhism and the traditional Confucian methods of cultivating virtue through rectifying the mind and being sincere, integrating them with Taoist principles.
This book is a famous document on health preservation theory in China and has extremely high research value.
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