Sex, Health, and Long Life: Manuals of Taoist Practice

As always, Cleary creates an enjoyable English rendering of important Chinese classics. These are very new classics - that's not an oxymoron, they were discovered by archaeologists only in the early 1970s. That's why I find it slightly maddening that Cleary gives so little information about the authors, origins, and approximate dates of the material. Fortunately, the translations stand well on their own, despite lack of historical context. The first three of these varied works discuss sex as a tool for ehancing health and ensuring long life. They state the theory, based in traditional Chinese medicine and ideas of "chi," then go on to list specific yoga-like exercises. These are aimed wholly at male readers, discussing how to absorb the yin principle from its source in the female partner. No similar directions appear instructing women in how to bolster their energies. Perhaps as the source of power, it wasn't needed; perhaps women's well-being was not a topic of interest. Still, the male reader is instructed in how to excite and recognize each phase of the woman's pleasure, and is instructed to use these sexual exercises only with consenting and aroused partners. The woman's pleasure is of interest mostly as a required part of the formula for the man's benefit, but is addressed nonetheless. The last two pieces in this collection address effectiveness and guidance in the world. The word "guidance" seems to be used in a specific and non-obvious sense, as some complying with The Way - I'm left to wonder how another translator will render the term. Outside of that, these pieces are brief and enjoyable writings in familiar Taoist format: oblique and mystical, but generally joyous in the unity and strength of The Way. They suggest rather than tell, and invite the mind to wander away from the text insearch of personal meaning. Any reader interested in Taoism should take a look at these. Readers interested in alchemy should also pay attention, seeing how Chinese thought differed from Western ideas. //wiredweird PS: This book's content also appears as one section of a larger collection, Cleary's "The Taoist Classics, Volume I."