The Tradition and Evolution of Traditional Culture: A Contemporary Interpretation of the Qianfeng School’s Daojia Yangshenggong for Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi’s Objective

Abstract

Culture must be transmitted and evolved, which is a universal characteristic of all cultures globally. Taoist Neidan, a significant aspect of Chinese culture, is no different. Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi 太乙金華宗旨(The Secret of Golden Flower) is likely a creation of the Longmen school of Taoist Neidan (內丹學, Inner Alchemy methods) during the Qing Dynasty. It was introduced to Europe by German missionary Richard Wilhelm, and became an inspiration for Carl Jung’s study on the collective unconsciousness. By now the book has been translated into many languages and known around the world. The book proposes a unique methodology of Taoist cultivation, including (cultivate) first inner nature, then life (kidney), keep the mind in “tianxin 天心 (the heavenly heart)”, and “hui guang shou zhong 回光守中” (reverse the light and keep to the center). The methodology in the book had remained esoteric. However, it constantly needs to be inherited and developed by later generations, and kept up with the times. During 1911 to 1949, the 11th grandmaster Zhao Bichen of Longmen School inherited the methodology and established Qianfeng Xiantian Sect. His third-generation disciple Niu Shengxian, a contemporary representative of Taoist Neidan and author of The Exercise of Taoist Regimen, inherited and advanced the cultivation technique of Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi with a contemporary approach. He translated the book and its methodology into colloquial Chinese, as well as specifying some of the acupoints for practice and summarizing the cultivation practice into a 13-step exercise. To adapt to contemporary demands, he supported the idea that practitioners should be allowed to marry and have children, a practice that was initially prohibited by the Quanzhen School and author of Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi. Certainly, one of the drawbacks of this book on Taoist health maintenance is that it does not include interdisciplinary theories like modern physiology, biology, or physics in its explanations.