The Taoist Path

Thanks snowlion for your indefatigable research. Can you share the author/link for the above text.

Someone quite knowledgeable, writing before pinyin became standard for scholars.

Quite percpetiive and comprehensive writer, but I thnk mistaken about why “yang” became predominant over “yin” in later chinese culture. he attributes it to attempt by later alchemists to reverse the flow of natural (Later heaven) chi.
I believe emphasis on yang was caused by gradual loss of connection to inner alchemy and centuries of confucian influence berating women and elevating men, i.e. slow slide into patriarchy.

The second reason Yang was advanced over Yin was because of the tendency of humans to fall into excess Yin/body-attached states. Yang thus became a balance to that tendency. I consider the schools of PURE YANG cultivation to be cosmologically confused.

He doesn’t exactly grasp the alchemical mehtod of yin and yang re-generating yuan chi, in which neither is dominant, but gets the general principle of integration.

Silver cord: this actually refers to human connection to lunar/yin energy that grounds us to matter/body, vs. golden cord that connects to solar/yang chi. I think it is more useful to think of them as METHODS rather than as inherently existing realities, i.e. methods for connecting and communicating with solar and lunar aspects of soul.

michael

Ah, the shifting sands of language. Unfortunately, people don’t find you on the internet unless you use the language they speak/seek. I just consider qigong the portal for folks to find out about neidan.
michael