Sima Chengzhen's Treatise on Qi Absorption 服气精义论

Composed by Sima Chengzhen, patriarch of the Shangqing School during the Tang Dynasty.

Volume 57 of Yunji Qiqian (Seven Bamboo Slips of the Cloudy Satchel) contains this text, which consists of nine chapters: Treatise on the Five Teeth, Treatise on Qi Ingestion, Treatise on Daoyin, Treatise on Talisman Water, Treatise on Taking Medicinal Herbs, Treatise on Cautionary Taboos, Treatise on the Five Zang-Organs, Treatise on Healing Illnesses, and Treatise on Disease Symptoms.

Sima Chengzhen's Treatise on Qi Absorption

The edition in The Daozang splits the text into two separate works: the preface and the first two chapters are titled Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Qi Ingestion, included in the Methods Category of the The Dongshen Section; the remaining seven chapters are titled Miscellaneous Treatises on the Essential Meaning of Cultivating the True, included in the Various Techniques Category of the Cavern True Section.

These two parts should be combined into a single text, with collation based on Yunji Qiqian. The Daozang edition of Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Qi Ingestion includes a preface written by the author, stating that embryonic breathing and Qi ingestion can cure diseases and attain longevity. He notes that many texts on Qi ingestion circulated in the world, but they were scattered and difficult to verify. "Therefore, I have compiled and categorized the chapters, detailing their origins and development" to create this work. The first chapter, Treatise on the Five Teeth, expounds the method of ingesting the Five Teeth. The Five Teeth refer to the vital Qi of the five directions and the five elements; practitioners who ingest the Five Teeth can nourish and moisten the five zang-organs, and cultivate essence and Qi. The text elaborates on the specific methods of ingesting the Five Teeth, which take spirit contemplation, Qi ingestion, and incantation recitation as core secrets. It is claimed to be derived from The Numinous Treasure Five Talisman Scripture and The Shangqing Scripture. The second chapter, Treatise on Qi Ingestion, discusses the methods of grain abstinence (bigu) and Qi ingestion. It states that Qi is the fundamental source of the embryonic form; when this source is abundant, essence is full and spirit is complete, enabling one to prolong life. Thus, concentrating Qi to attain gentleness and preserving primordial Qi are the essentials of health maintenance. The practice of Qi ingestion requires choosing the time after midnight and before noon. One must first abstain from grains to cleanse the intestines, reduce food intake and take medicinal herbs, wait until Qi and bodily fluids flow smoothly, and then perform Qi ingestion. Specific methods include reciting The Five Numinous Heart Elixir Chapter and Hymn to the Great Dao, the method of ingesting the Qi of the Six Wu, the method of ingesting the Qi of Three-Five-Seven-Nine, and the method of nourishing the Qi of the five zang-organs corresponding to the five elements. The Daozang edition of this chapter contains missing passages.

See the entry for Miscellaneous Treatises on the Essential Meaning of Cultivating the True.