Borrowed from library. Trying to read every book referenced/shown in You, the netflix show. This was a book on display at Anavran. Yang’ 養 means nourishing or nurturing. ‘Sheng’ 生 means life, growth or vitality – with the emphasis being on the process of life developing and transforming over time. So the closest translation of Yang Sheng 養 生 would be ‘nourishing life’. Yangsheng, or health management, has become the latest fad among millennials in China. Though usually associated with elderly people, it has swept across the millennial cohort in recent years. According to a 2021 polling result released by CCTV, 33.27 percent of people aged 18 to 25 plan to increase their spending on health management, making it the second most important area of spending for the age cohort besides traveling. The sign above the door said, “Truth Is One, Paths Are Many.” When I first moved to New York City in 1987 at age 23, of all the signs, sayings and billboards across the city, this one resonated with me the most, and so began my journey of pursuing these many paths that integrated a healthy way of living to develop a sound mind, body and spirituality. In my early wanderings around the city, I was intrigued by elder Asians practicing elegant, synchronized movements in parks. What I saw was impressive health potential as these elders appeared to be really fit, possessing good muscle tone, balance, movement with grace, and possessing a calming sense of peace. I later discovered that this form of exercise was within yang sheng, which means “to keep in good health” in Chinese— martial arts forms designed to nurture the body to achieve overall wellness. These disciplines are considered the internal martial arts, as they cultivate the vital substances in the body—qi, jing and shen. Qi is your vital energy; jing, your constitution, or essence; and shen, the sum of your spirit, body and emotions. All need to be nurtured and in harmony to experience wellness. Simon Watson welcomes enquiries from anyone - beginner or experienced practitioner - who wishes to learn more about Dao Yin Yang Sheng Gong.

The 139 BCE Huainanzi is an eclectic compilation, attributed to Liu An, from various Hundred Schools of Thought, especially Huang–Lao religious Daoism. ‘’Huainanzi’’ Chapter 7 echoes ‘’Zhuangzi’’ 15 disparaging yangsheng techniques because they require external supports. The Huainanzi uses the term yangxing (養性, "nourishing one's inner nature") to denote mind-body techniques such as dietary regimens, breathing meditation, and macrobiotic yoga. "Since nature is the controlling mechanism of both consciousness and vitality, 'nourishing one's nature' produces both elevated states of consciousness and beneficial conditions of bodily health and longevity." (Major 2010: 907). For instance, According to Chinese Medicine, one of the most effective ways to stay healthy is to adopt a lifestyle that harmonizes with the changing seasons. As the weather changes, so too should our diet, our sleep patterns, and our daily activities. Here are some articles about seasonal health. is a system of exercises characterised by gentle twisting motions and involving breath control, the stimulation of key acupressure points in the body and mental development. The Yellow Emperor rose into the sky and became a genie after taking this elixir. It adds that by merely doing the breathing exercises and calisthenics and taking herbal medicines one may extend one's years but cannot prevent ultimate death. Taking the divine elixir, however, will produce an interminable longevity and make one coeval with sky and earth; it lets one travel up and down in Paradise, riding clouds or driving dragons. (4, tr Ware 1966: 75)Engelhardt, Ute (1989), "Qi for Life: Longevity in the Tang," in Kohn (1989) Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, University of Michigan, 263-96. Although the Zhuangzi considers physical calisthenics inferior to more meditative techniques, this is a highly detailed description (Engelhardt 2000: 75).

The famous physician Sun Simiao devoted two chapters (26 "Dietetics" and 27 "Longevity Techniques") of his 652 Qianjin fang (千金方, "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold [Pieces]", see above) to life-nourishing methods. The Qianjin fang is a huge compendium of all medical knowledge in the Tang period, the oldest source on Chinese therapeutics that has survived in its entirety, and is still being used to train traditional physicians today (Engelhardt 2000: 93). Sun also wrote the Sheyang zhenzhong fang (攝養枕中方, "Pillow Book of Methods for Nourishing Life") is divided into five parts: prudence, prohibitions, daoyin gymnastics, guiding the qi, and guarding the One ( shouyi 守一). The text identifies overindulgence of any sort as the main reason for illness. (Engelhardt 1989: 280, 294). Some shorter texts are also attributed to Sun Simiao, including the Yangxing yanming lu (養性延命錄, "On Nourishing Inner Nature and Extending Life"), the Fushou lun (福壽論, "Essay on Happiness and Longevity"), and the Baosheng ming (保生銘, "Inscription on Protecting Life") (Despeux 2008: 1150). The lens of Chinese medicine is based in Taoism, an ancient Chinese philosophy that embraces the idea of balancing yin and yang. It is a way of living to achieve longevity and good health. As we say in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), “Where there is harmony and free flow of qi and blood, there is good health and longevity. Some sinologists translate yangsheng and yangxing (養性) as "macrobiotic", using English macrobiotic in its original meaning "Inclined or tending to prolong life; relating to the prolongation of life" instead of its more familiar macrobiotic diet meaning, "Of or pertaining to a Zen Buddhist dietary system intended to prolong life, comprising pure vegetable foods, brown rice, etc." ( OED 2009). The first example was Alfred Forke's 1907 translation of Wang Chong's 80 CE Lunheng, mentioned below. Wang's autobiography says that near the end of his life, "he wrote a book on Macrobiotics [養性] in sixteen chapters. To keep himself alive, he cherished the vital fluid [養氣]." (tr. Forke 1907: 348). Joseph Needham and Lu Gwei-djen say, During the Ming period, various collections and compendia of longevity writings appeared. Hu Wenhuan (胡文焕), editor of the 1639 edition Jiuhuang Bencao ("Famine Relief Herbal"), wrote the main work on yangsheng, the c. 1596 Shouyang congshu (壽養叢書, "Collectanea on Longevity and Nourishment [of Life]"), which includes the Yangsheng shiji (養生食忌, "Prohibitions on Food for Nourishing Life") and the Yangsheng daoyin fa (養生導引法, " Daoyin Methods for Nourishing Life"). Some works are inclusive treatments of diverse longevity techniques, for example, the dramatist Gao Lian's (fl. 1573-1581) Zunsheng bajian (遵生八笺, "Eight Essays on Being in Accord with Life") described yangsheng diets, breathing methods, and medicines. Other works focus entirely on a single method, such as Tiaoxi fa (調息法, "Breath Regulation Methods") by the Neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Ji (1498-1582) (Engelhardt 2000: 81). Another new development under the Ming is the increased integration and legitimization of yangsheng techniques into medical literature. For example, Yang Jizhou's (楊繼洲) extensive 1601 Zhenjiu dacheng (針灸大成, "Great Compendium on Acupuncture and Moxibustion"), which remains a classic to the present day, presents gymnastic exercises for the various qi- meridians (Engelhardt 2000: 82). I'll certainly use some of the book as reference, but I'll be seeking out more information on a number of the topics covered.

Ho, Peng-Yoke, 2007, Explorations in Daoism: Medicine and Alchemy in Literature, J. P. C. Moffett and Cho Sungwu (eds.), with a foreword by T. H. Barrett, London: RoutledgeCurzon. Genki Forest, a sugar-free and low-calorie drink from a Chinese startup, is the latest one experiencing a meteoric rise, tapping into that consumer psychology of wanting a healthy lifestyle without compromising satisfaction of their taste buds. With its peach-flavored water beverage promising to be "sugar-free, carb-free and fat-free," the beverage company has amassed a loyal following among millennials and Gen Zers. The idea prevails that those who abstain from eating grain [辟穀], are men well versed in the art of Tao. They say e.g., that [Wangzi Qiao] and the like, because they did not touch grain, and lived on different food than ordinary people, had not the same length of life as ordinary people, in so far as having passed a hundred years, they transcended into another state of being, and became immortals. That is another mistake. Eating and drinking are natural impulses, with which we are endowed at birth. Hence the upper part of the body has a mouth and teeth, the inferior part orifices. With the mouth and teeth one chews and eats, the orifices are for the discharge. Keeping in accord with one's nature, one follows the law of heaven, going against it, one violates one's natural propensities, and neglects one's natural spirit before heaven. How can one obtain long life in this way? … For a man not to eat is like not clothing the body. Clothes keep the skin warm, and food fills the stomach. With a warm epidermis and a well-filled belly the animal spirits are bright and exalted. If one is hungry, and has nothing to eat, or feels cold, and has nothing to warm one’s self, one may freeze or starve to death. How can frozen and starved people live longer than others? Moreover, during his life man draws his vital force from food, just as plants and trees do from earth. Pull out the roots of a plant or a tree, and separate them from the soil, and the plant will wither, and soon die. Shut a man's mouth, so that he cannot eat, and he will starve, but not be long-lived. (tr. Forke 1907: 347).