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Taoist sexual practices

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An ancient Chinese print depicting 'The Joining of the Essences.'

Daoist sexual practices (Simplified Chinese: 合气, Traditional Chinese: 合氣, pinyin: heqi) or ‘The Joining of the Essences,’ is the way Daoists practiced sex. The Daoists believed that by practicing these sexual arts, one could stay in good health, and eventually attain immortality.

History

The first sexual texts that survive today are those found at the Mawangdui tombs. While Daoism had not yet fully evolved as a philosophy at this time, these texts share some remarcable similarities will later Tang dynasty texts, such as the Ishimpo. The sexual arts arguably reached their peak in between the end of the Han dynasty and the end of the Tang dynasty. After 1000 CE, Confucian puritanism became stronger and stronger, so that by the advent of the Qing dynasty, sex was a taboo topic. These Confucians alleged that the separation of sexes existed two thousand years ago, and suppressed the sexual arts. Because of the taboo surrounding sex, there was much censoring done during the Qing in literature, and the sexual arts died off. As a result, many of the texts survived only in Japan, and scholars had no idea that such a different concept of sex existed in early China.[1]

Ancient and Medieval Practices

Qi (Chi)

The basis of all Daoist thinking is that qi is part of everything that exists. Humans are born with only a finite amount of qi, and once all the qi has been lost, you will die. Qi could be lost from the body in a variety of ways, but was lost mostly through bodily fluids. Daoists would try to avoid losing as much bodily fluid as possible, and would sometimes recycle and compost their own fecal matter The fluid that contained the most qi was male semen. Therefore the Daoists believed that men should avoid ejaculation in order to conserve their life essence.[2]

Male Control of Ejaculation

Many Daoist practitioners link the loss of ejaculatory fluids to the loss of vital life force: where excessive fluid loss results in premature aging, disease, and general fatigue. While some Daoists contend that one should never ejaculate, others provide a specific formula to determine the maximum amount of regular ejaculations in order to maintain health.[3] The general idea is to limit the loss of fluids as much as possible to the level of your desired practice. As these sexual practices were passed down over the centuries, some practioners have given less importance to the limiting of ejaculation. Nevertheless, the 'retention of the semen' is one of the foundational tenets of Daoist sexual practice.[4]

There are different methods to control ejaculation prescribed by the Daoists. In order to avoid ejaculation, the man could do two things. He could pull out immediately before orgasm, a method which Joseph Needham termed "coitus conservatus." The second method involved the man applying pressure on an area between the scrotum and the anus, and cause a retrograde ejaculation into the bladder. Needham called this method "coitus thesauratus."[5]

Jing (Sexual Energy)

nother important concept of 'The Joining of the Essences' was that the union of a man and a woman would result in the creation of jing, a type of sexual energy. When in the act of lovemaking, jing would form, and the man could transform some of this jing into qi, and replenish his lifeforce. By having as much sex as possible, men had the opportunity to transform more and more jing, and as a result would see many health benefits.

Yin/Yang

The concept of Yin/yang is important in Daoism, and consequently also holds special importance in sex. Yang usually referred to the male gender, whereas Yin could refer to the female gender. Man and Woman were the equivalent of heaven and earth, but became disconnected. Therefore while heaven and earth are eternal, man and woman suffer a premature death.[6] Every interaction between Yin and Yang had significance. Because of this significance, every position and action in lovemaking had importance. This resulted in a huge amount of special sexual positions being described in Daoist texts that serve to cure or prevent illness.[7]

The Position of Women

For Daoists, sex was not just about pleasing the man, but the woman also had to be pleased in order to benefit from the act of sex. Sex could only happen if both partners desired it. If sex was performed in this manner, the woman would create more jing, and the man could more easily absorb it to increase his own qi. Women were also given a prominent place in the Ishimpo, with the tutor being a woman. One of the reasons women had a great deal of strength in the act of sex was that they walked away undiminished from the act. The woman had the power to bring forth life, and did not have to worry about ejaculation.

Yet, women were still given a position of inferiority in sexual practice. All the texts discuss sex from a male point of view, and avoid discussing how sex could benefit women. Men were encouraged to not limit themselves to one woman, and were advised only have sex with a woman who was beautiful and had not had children. While the man had to please the woman sexually, she was still just an object.[8] At numerous points during the Ishimpo, the woman is referred to as the ‘enemy.’ This was because part of the act of intercourse was to assume dominance of the woman’s sexual prowess. He did this by retaining the semen. Each time he successfully practice this, he affirmed his strength over the woman. In later sexual texts from the Ming, women had lost all semblance of being human and were referred to as the ‘other, ‘crucible’ or ‘stove.’ The importance of pleasing the woman also diminished in later texts.[9]

Women were also considered to be a means for men to extend their lives. Many of the ancient texts were dedicated to how a man could use sex to extend his own life. But, his life was only extended through the absorption of the woman’s vital energies (jing and qi). Daoists called the act of sex “The battle of stealing and strengthening.”[10] These sexual methods could be correlated with Daoist military methods. Instead of storming the gates, the battle was a series of feints and maneuvers that would sap the enemy’s resistance.[11]

When and Where to have Sex

Another text Health Benefits of the Bedchamber makes very clear that certain times were better for intercourse than others. A person had to avoid having intercourse on quarter or full moons and days when there were great winds, rain, fog, cold or heat, thunder, lightning, darkness over heaven and earth, solar and lunar eclipses, rainbows and earthquakes. Having intercourse at these times would harm a man’s spirit and causes women to become ill. Children conceived at these times will be mad, stupid, perverse or foolish; mute, deaf, crippled or blind; unfilial and violent.

Also important was selecting the right day for intercourse if a person desired children. After the woman’s period, the first, third or fifth days were the best. If on these days the man ejaculated after midnight, the child would likely be male. If a female child is desired, the man needed to ejaculate on the second, fourth or sixth days after the cessation of the woman's period.

The location of sex was also important. People had to avoid the glare of the sun, moon or stars, the interior of shrines, proximity to Buddhist temples, wells, stoves and privies, and the vicinity to graves or coffins.

If these suggestions were followed the family's offspring would be good, wise and virtuous. If they were not followed, the offspring would be evil and stupid, and the family would eventually die off.[12]

Immortality

All of these various precepts about sex served to help people attain immortality. According to Ge Hong, a 4th century Daoist alchemist, "those seeking immortality must perfect the absolute essentials. These consist of treasuring the jing, circulating the qi and consuming the great medicine."[13] The sexual arts concerned the first precept, treasuring the jing. This is partially because treasuring the jing involved sending it up into the brain. In order to send the jing into the brain, one had to refrain from ejaculation during sex. According to Daoists, if this was done, instead of leaving the body, the semen would travel up the spine, and nourish the brain. A man also had to have sex frequently, any abstension would result in yin and yang not interacting. If a person performed sex in the correct manner, he could eventually achieve immortality. However, Ge Hong also states that only performing the sexual arts to achieve immortality was folly. Indeed, the sexual arts had to be practiced alongside alchemy in order for one to attain immortality.[14]

Modern Practices

While the ancient sexual arts died out, a surge of new interest in Daoist sexual practice has led modern-day practitioners to develop new exercises based on the old arts. Some of these exercises include variants on Kegel exercises, that involve the strengthening of the pelvic muscles. In addition, some modern health practitioners have advocated a modern-day version of 'coitus interruptus' that involves pressing the perineum and causing a retrograde ejaculation. Eventually through practice, men are supposedly able to avoid ajaculation all together and experience more powerful orgasms without any fluid loss or down time.

Exercises

The first is to learn the so called 'deer exercise'. This is similar to what is call a 'kegel' exercise in western medical terminology, but also involves beathing and visualization. It is called the deer exercise because it is said that "the deer wags its tail and this makes its antlers grown". Similarly, we flex our lower pelvic muscles (sometimes called the PC muscles) as we inhale and visualize the jing going up to our brain (via the spinal column). Through the practice of the deer exercises (and there are many variations, but all have the same fundamental root), one can learn to stop ejaculation from occuring. The second method is to enter the sexual practice with the mindset of not ejaculating.


Controversy

There is little evidence to support the health claims of this practice. The debate is somewhat controversial because of the lack of proper research. The opponents to these practices claim that they may be unhealthy (particularly the application of pressure on the perineum to prevent ejaculation) -- possibly inherently, but especially if done incorrectly. One criticism is the occurrence of retrograde ejaculation, where the ejaculatory fluids actually end up in the urinary bladder, to be urinated out shortly after the erection subsides. Although the health risks associated with retrograde ejaculation are rare, it is improper practice if nothing else and can be easily avoided. Another claim against the practice of withholding ejaculation is that the pressure from the force of ejaculation (the contractions of the prostate gland), can actually cause damage to the urethra, vas deferens, or other parts of the reproductive system by sudden force against the valves designed to be one way. Both of these claims have little research to back them, as do the claims of the modern-day Daoists. The modern-day Daoists use experience as the grounds of their research, with their practices evolving over generations of practioners. Western culture in general overlooks subjective data because it is not repeatable or controllable. More controlled studies may be needed on the subject to support or provide evidence for or against the health claims about this practice.

References

Contemporary texts

  • Chang, Dr. Stephen T. The Tao of Sexology: The Book of Infinite Wisdom. Tao Longevity; 1986. ISBN 0-942196-03-1
  • Chia, Mantak The Multi-Orgasmic Man: Sexual Secrets That Every Man Should Know. New York: Harper Collins; 2002. ISBN 0-00-714515-2
  • Wile, Douglas. The Art of the Bedchamber: The Chinese Sexual Yoga Classics including Women’s Solo Meditation Texts. Albany: State University of New York, 1992.
  • Van Gulik, Robert. The Sexual Life of Ancient China: A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D. Leiden: Brill, 1961.
  • Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilization in China, 5:2. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1983.
  • Zettnersan, Chian. Taoist Bedroom Secrets, Twin Lakes, WI: Lotus Press, 2002.

Classical texts

Notes

  1. ^ Van Gulik (1961), preface
  2. ^ Wile (1992), p. 6.
  3. ^ Wile (1992), p. 92.
  4. ^ Wile (1992), p. 46.
  5. ^ Needham (1983), p. 199.
  6. ^ Wile (1992), p. 85.
  7. ^ Wile (1992), p. 28.
  8. ^ Wile (1992), p. 102.
  9. ^ Wile (1992), p. 45.
  10. ^ Wile (1992), p. 11.
  11. ^ Wile (1992), p. 14.
  12. ^ Wile (1992), p. 118.
  13. ^ Wile (1992), p. 24.
  14. ^ Wile (1992), p. 24.

See also

External links

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