Description

Claude Larre

The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, the Neijing, has been a source book for traditional Chinese medicine for two thousand years. The Way of Heaven is a translation of the first two chapters together with a commentary.

In Suwen chapter 1 the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, asks why vitality is no longer retained into old age. His minister, Qi Bo, answers that it is because human beings no longer live in harmony with heaven and earth. Following this declaration the seven and eight year cycles of fertility for women and men are described and discussed.

Chapter 2 continues with an explanation of how we should live in tune with the four seasons, and gives behaviour appropriate to the time of the year. It introduces the concept of the five elements as resonances of the energies of the four seasons.

This book is translated from the French by Peter Firebrace.