Taoist Sex Secrets and History


Taoist sexual practices (Simplified Chinese: 合气, Traditional Chinese: 合氣, pinyin: heqi)literally "Joining Energy" or "The Joining of the Essences", is the way some Taoists practiced sex. Practitioners believed that by performing these sexual arts, one could stay in good health, and eventually, with some other spiritual practices, attain immortality. 

History 

Some Taoist sects during Han Dynasty performed sexual intercourse as a spiritual practice, called "HeQi" ("Joining Energy"). The first sexual texts that survive today are those found at the Mawangdui tombs. While Taoism had not yet fully evolved as a philosophy at this time, these texts shared some remarkable similarities with later Tang dynasty texts, such as the Ishinpō. The sexual arts arguably reached their peak 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 in public life.[citation needed] These Confucians alleged that the separation of sexes in most social activities 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 disappeared in public life. As a result, some of the texts survived only in Japan, and most scholars had no idea that such a different concept of sex existed in early China.[1] 

Ancient and medieval practices 

Qi (Lifeforce) and Jing (Essence) 
The basis of all Taoist thinking is that qi is part of everything that exists. It is related to another energetic substance contained in the human body known as jing (精), and once all this has been expended, you will die. Jing could be lost from the body in a variety of ways, most notably the bodily fluids. Taoists would use practices to stimulate/increase and conserve their bodily fluids to great extents, and some reportedly recycled and composted their own fecal matter (night soil). The fluid that contained the most Jing was male semen. Therefore the Taoists believed that men should decrease the frequency or totally avoid ejaculation in order to conserve their life essence.[2] 

Male control of ejaculation 

Many Taoist 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 Taoists 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 practitioners have given less importance to the limiting of ejaculation. Nevertheless, the "retention of the semen" is one of the foundational tenets of Taoist sexual practice.[4] 

There are different methods to control ejaculation prescribed by the Taoists. In order to avoid ejaculation, the man could do one of 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. While it is now known that this method causes a retrograde ejaculation, the Taoists believed that the semen traveled up into the head and "nourished the brain."[5] Needham called this method "coitus thesauratus".[6] This method is referred to by some Taoist scholars as "The Million Dollar Point" (reference Mantak Chia), regarding it as either a cheap lesson for income or a backup method, believing that it somehow lessened the loss of "jing" from a full ejaculation. Another method involves the Taoist to train himself to separate the impulses of ejaculation and orgasmic contraction (the contraction of the pelvic muscles that "pump" the prostate and the ejaculate). By separating these impulses, at the point of orgasm, the man can halt penetration but remain inside his partner, and forcibly clench his pelvic floor ("stunting" the initial prostate contractions), while simultainiously adopting a meditation like "intention" that these Taoists believe redirect not the physical sperm, but the life energy(jing) it contains up the back and to the center of the brain. This way the man will still have orgasm, but will not ejaculate, and most importantly will not lose his erection. This formula prescribes the man to climb a "ladder" of escalating orgasms in conjunction with the meditation like "intention", in order to cultivate and store massive amounts of "jing". If performed successfully the male should have no stagnating pain in the testes, and should have no semen in his urine, as well as the health benefits expected by practitioners. Those that practice this method believe that it is one of the keys to immortality. 

Jing (Sexual energy) 

Another 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.[7] 

Yin/Yang 

The concept of Yin/yang is important in Taoism, 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.[8] Every interaction between Yin and Yang had significance. Because of this significance, every position and action in lovemaking had importance. Taoist texts described a large number of special sexual positions that served to cure or prevent illness.[9] 

Significance of woman 

For Taoists, sex was not just about pleasing the man. The woman also had to be stimulated and pleased in order to benefit from the act of sex. Sex could only happen if both partners desired it. If sex were performed in this manner, the woman would create more jing, and the man could more easily absorb the jing to increase his own qi. Women were also given a prominent place in the Ishinpō, 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 or refractory period. 

Yet, women were oftentimes still given a position of inferiority in sexual practice. Many of 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 to have sex only 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.[10] At numerous points during the Ishinpō, the woman is referred to as the "enemy." This was because part of the act of intercourse was an assumption by the male of dominance of the woman's sexual prowess. 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.[11] 

Women were also considered to be a means for men to extend men's lives. Many of the ancient texts were dedicated explanation of how a man could use sex to extend his own life. But, his life was extended only through the absorption of the woman's vital energies (jing and qi). Taoists called the act of sex “The battle of stealing and strengthening.”[12] 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.[13] 

When and where to have sex 

Another text, Health Benefits of the Bedchamber, indicates that certain times were better for intercourse than others. A person had to avoid having intercourse on quarter or full moons and on 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 would cause women to become ill. Children conceived at these times would 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 was 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 of 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 the family would eventually die off.[14] 

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."[15] 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, the male had to refrain from ejaculation during sex. According to Daoists, if this was done, the semen would travel up the spine and nourish the brain instead of leaving the body. A man also had to have sex frequently; any abstention would result in yin and yang not interacting. If a person performed sex in the correct manner, he could eventually achieve immortality. Ge Hong also states, however, that performing the sexual arts only to achieve immortality was folly. Indeed, the sexual arts had to be practiced alongside alchemy to attain immortality.[16] 



Introduction- the nature of male and female 

"The Chinese have always held the Taoist view that sexual relations between male and female are the primary earthly manifestation of the universal principles of Yin & Yang. 

As such, the Chinese regard sex to be as natural and indispensable to human health and longevity as rain falling on the fields is to plant life. 

The intense sense of guilt attached to sexual matters in Judeo-Christian tradition is, in Chinese eyes, one of the most unpleasant and incomprehensible aspects of Western culture. 

Traditional Western hypocrisy towards sex has prevented serious study of human sexuality in the Western world until only a few decades ago. Like everything else in Western philosophy, sex is viewed through the lens of dualism; it is seen as either sacred (in matrimony) or profane (out of wedlock), with no room for anything in between. 

The Chinese, however, do not draw distinctions between sacred and profane sex. As far as the Taoist are concerned, the only important distinctions regarding sexual activities are those between healthy and unhealthy habits. 

The Chinese approach the subject of human sexuality with a blend of curiosity and reverence, just as they do all natural phenomena. 
Since sexual relations are as fundamental to human life as eating and sleeping, Taoist adepts devoted a lot of time and thought to researching its every aspect and implication for human health and longevity. In a society happily free of sexual repression, Taoist physicians took a long and careful look at human sexual behavior, and they candidly recorded their findings in journals and books, couched in the usual florid Taoist terminology. 

Consequently, the Chinese have been able to approach and study sexual relations between man and women, with open eyes and open minds, and they have, over three millennia, become the world's most astute observers of human sexuality, as well as the most inventive lovers. 

The Nature of Man and Woman 

The essential difference between the sexual nature of man and woman lies in the different nature of male and female orgasm. 
When a man ejaculates, he ejects his semen-essence from his body. 

When a woman reaches orgasm, she too 'ejaculates' all sorts of sexual secretions internally, but these are retained within her body. 
For both men and women, sexual essence is an important storage battery for vital energy and a major source of resistance and immunity. 

In conventional sexual relations, a man ejaculates every time he has intercourse, regardless of his own age or condition. This habit gradually robs him of his primary source of vitality and immunity, leaving him weak and vulnerable to disease and shortening his life span. Meanwhile, the women gets stronger and stronger, both from her own orgasmic secretions and from her assimilation of potent male semen-essence. 

"Sweetie, stop and reread that paragraph again. You've got to understand this point. 
I know it sounds strange to you, but you've got to try and open to the idea. Once you start to seriously practice it, it will make a lot more sense to you... you'll feel the difference in your health and well-being." 
 
The different nature of male and female orgasm is reflected in the various slang terms to describe that magic moment in both the Chinese and Western languages. 

The most common Chinese term for female orgasm is gao-chao, literally 'high tide', a graphic and poetic image drawn from nature. 
But when man ejaculates, the Chinese say that he has 'lost his essence, 'thrown it away', 'leaked semen', or 'surrendered'. If a man ejaculates before his partner reaches orgasm, the Chinese say that she has 'killed' him. The French refer to ejaculation as 'petite mort', or 'little death'. 

By patterning their sexual relations on the models of Heaven and Earth and conforming to the nature of Yin & Yang, men may derive life-giving benefits from the sexual forces, rather than being forever at their mercy. 
Instead of depleting precious stores of essence and energy, sex may be used to replenish them. 

Classically, appropriate analogies were drawn between human nature and Mother Nature, which illuminated the basic qualities of man and woman. Appropriate principles drawn from those analogies were then applied to regulate human sexual relations. As the Han Dynasty adept Wu Hsien put it: 

"The male belongs to Yang. Yang's nature is such that the male is easily aroused but also quick to retreat. 
The female belongs to Yin. Yin's nature is such that the female is slow to be aroused and also slow to be satiated." 

Throughout the animal and insect world, nature has fashioned the female as a superior specimen uniquely equipped for the survival and propagation of the species. 

According to the 'law of the jungle', the male exists only to provide the seed for future generations and to protect the nest while the female nurses the young to maturity. Sexual intercourse occurs seasonally, and while all females 'in heat' get fertilized, only a small fraction the strongest males perform the task. Even among primates, only the strong, dominant males are permitted to fertilize the females, while weaker male specimens are either discarded or kept at a distance from the herd. 

Among many orders of insect, such as black widow and praying mantis, nature gives the male even shorter shrift: the moment he deposits his seed in the female, she promptly kills and devours him as a post-coital snack. 

Only humans (and a few higher primates such as orangutans) engage in sexual intercourse all year long, day and night, in any season or weather, and only humans do it primarily for pleasure rather than procreation. Yet the human male, despite his inflated ego, is subject to the same inherent limitations that nature has imposed on his gender in all species. 

Matriarchy is a social acknowledgment of female superiority and is therefore a natural pattern for the human species to follow. China's prehistoric matriarchy is still reflected in Chinese language and thought. The single most common word in the Chinese language is hao, which means 'good' in all its various senses. 

The ideogram for 'good' consists of the symbol for 'women' placed next to that for 'child', indicating that the highest good is the generative relationship between mother (not father) and child. The ideogram that denotes the word 'surname' in Chinese consists of the symbols for 'woman' and 'birth' clearly indicating that family decent in prehistoric China was traced through the mother's line, just as it was in ancient Hebrew tradition prior to patriarchy. 

In all the ancient Chinese sex manuals, woman is always depicted as the guardian of sexual arcana and the supreme source of life-sustaining essence and energy. In these texts the woman plays the role of the great initiator and teacher of sex, while the man is described as a sexually ignorant bumbler. 

Because of her sexual potency, woman was regarded as possessor of great stores of Teh (power). The contemporary Taoist Jolan Chang, in his book The Tao of the Loving Couple, quotes some conclusions by Mary Jane Sherfey regarding the power of female sexuality: 

"All relevant data from the 12000 to 8000 BC period indicate that precivilized woman enjoyed full sexual freedom and was often totally incapable of controlling her sexual drive. Therefore, I propose that one of the reasons for the long delay between the earliest development of agriculture (c. 12000 BC) and the rise of urban life and the beginning of recorded knowledge (c. 8000-5000 BC) was the ungovernable cyclic sexual drive of women. Not until these drives were gradually brought under control by rigidly enforced social codes could family life become the stabilizing and creative crucible from which modern civilized man could emerge." 

Although man took control of the family, village, economy, religion and state, he still found himself at woman's mercy in bed. No amount of human artifice can mask or alter the fundamental facts of Tao. Hence, there arose a deep contradiction between man's artificial social superiority and his genuine sexual inferiority is-a-is woman, and this gave rise to the battle of the sexes that still rages in most boudoirs today. 

It also explains the deep fear and resentment that many men harbor toward women, despite women's supposed 'inferiority'. 

'Macho' men simply cannot face the fact that women are sexually superior, nor do they dare admit the realities of their own inherent sexual weakness. 
This sad state of affairs is due primarily to sexual ignorance. Any man open-minded enough to take a serious look at the Tao of Yin and Yang- and self disciplined enough to practice it- will find that the Tao completely eliminates the fundamental inequity between male and female sexual potency. 

The Tao enables the male member to become an all-weather instrument of equal competence to that of its female counterpart and permits man and woman to 'make love not war', while at the same time protecting the health and prolonging the lives of both partners. 
"Although man took control of the family, village, economy, religion and state, he still found himself at woman's mercy in bed. 
No amount of human artifice can mask or alter the fundamental facts of Tao. Hence, there arose a deep contradiction between man's artificial social superiority and his genuine sexual inferiority is-a-is woman, and this gave rise to the battle of the sexes that still rages in most boudoirs today. 

It also explains the deep fear and resentment that many men harbor toward women, despite women's supposed 'inferiority'. 
'Macho' men simply cannot face the fact that women are sexually superior, nor do they dare admit the realities of their own inherent sexual weakness." 

Send this page to someone. Touch their life. 
 

In the Western world, artists and athletes have so far been the only people who truly realize the debilitating nature of male ejaculation. In his autobiography, Charlie Chaplin wrote, 'Like Balzac, who believed that a night of sex meant the loss of a good page of his novel, so I believed that it meant the loss of a good day's work at the studio.' 

On a more contemporary note, let's listen in on an interview with jazz musician Miles Davis which appeared in the April 1975 issue ofPlayboy magazine: 

Davis: You can't come, then fight or play. You can't do it. When I get ready to come, I come. But I do not come and play. 

Interviewer: Explain that in layman's terms. 

Davis: Ask Muhammad Ali. If he comes, he can't fight two minutes. Shit, he couldn't even whip me. 

Interviewer: Would you fight Muhammad Ali under those conditions, to prove your point? 

Davis: You're goddam right I'd fight him. But he's got to promise to fuck first. If he ain't going to fuck, I ain't going to fight. You give up all your energy when you come. I mean, you give up all of it! So, if you're going to fuck before a gig, how are you going to give something when it's time to hit? 

What neither Davis nor Ali realize is that sexual intercourse without ejaculation prior to a fight or gig would improve their performances even more than if they abstained altogether. 

Artists and athletes rely on optimum levels of physical and mental vitality in order to perform, which is why they are more sensitive to the loss of semen and vital energy through ejaculation. However, other men suffer just as severely from such loss, albeit they remain fairly unconscious of it. For example, the male tendency to fall sound asleep after ejaculation is a prime indicator of complete exhaustion. If orgasm itself were so exhausting, then women would feel the same effects from it, but they don't. It is the physical ejection of semen from the body- not orgasm per se- that harms man. 

The depressing phenomenon of 'post-coital blues' that follows conventional intercourse does not occur at all when men retain semen. Taoist sex is a barter arrangement between Yin and Yang: the man sacrifices a small measure of short-term pleasure in return for the long-term benefits of health and longevity, while the woman enjoys complete unrestricted sexual pleasure in exchange for a measure of her abundant supplies of life-prolonging essence and energy. 

The contrasting nature of male and female orgasm has important implications for two types of sexual activity that have aroused a lot of controversy over the ages and appear to be gaining in popularity today: masturbation and homosexuality. 

Viewed from the angle of Yin and Yang, the results of these two activities are very different indeed for men and women. 

For men, masturbation represents an irretrievable and uncompensated loss of Yang semen-essence. While healthy males between the ages of 16 and 21 are veritable 'fountains of semen' for whom masturbation is relatively harmless, by the time they reach 25 or so, all the old shibboleths regarding males masturbation come true: weakness in thighs and knees, numbness in lumbar region, loss of vitality, depression, etc. 

By the time they reach 30, men should entirely give up this self-defeating habit and start conserving semen exclusively for intercourse with women. Men who continue masturbating habitually into their 30's, 40's and 50's rob themselves of the very essence and energy that fuels their lives and protects their health. 

A woman, by contrast, may masturbate to her heart's content without damaging her stores of essence and energy. In the polygamous households of ancient China, female masturbation and sapphism served important social and psychological functions in the harems of sexually beleaguered gentlemen. And since women do not reach their peak of sexual potency until their mid-30's (unlike men who 'peak out' after 18), masturbation is likely to become even more important as they grow older since so many men begin losing their potency just as women 'hit stride' around age 35. 

The same point applies to homosexual relations: they are harmless for women but highly detrimental to men, both physiologically and psychologically. 

Nature has made Yin passive and yielding, and two passive forces do not conflict. The Chinese refer to sapphic love as 'polishing mirrors', a term that reflects the fact that female homosexual practices are largely limited to the rubbing together of similar parts, rather than actual penetration of the body. And even when the body is penetrated with a surrogate phallus, it is done through the orifice intended for that purpose. Like masturbation, sapphism was a common practice in the household harems of wealthy Chinese families, where up to a dozen women might find themselves completely cut off from male company for months at a time when the man of the house was off on official business. 

Taoist physicians regarded homosexuality among men, on the other hand as a dangerous practice- for several reasons. First of all, Yang is by nature an active, aggressive force, and, when two aggressive forces meet, a fundamental conflict of energies and intentions result. Male homosexuality requires that one partner yield to the other by adopting the female role, both physically and psychologically, and when this practice becomes a habit it completely undermines the fundamental role of Yang in the order of nature. Looking at this situation of Yang conflict at a microscopic scientific level, when sperm from two different men are mixed together and observed under magnification, they may clearly be observed fighting one another in a desperate struggle for supremacy. 

Psychology aside, the greatest threat posed to men by homosexual practices are physiological. 

Anal penetration, the mutual exchange of Yang sexual fluids, and frequent uncontrolled ejaculations are the culprits. Ancient Taoist physicians noted a pathological condition called 'Dragon Yang Syndrome' which occurred exclusively among promiscuous male homosexuals. 'Dragon Yang' (lung-yang) is a common Chinese euphemism for male homosexuality, equivalent to the English word 'gay'. Symptoms of this ailment included weakness and fatigue, skin ulcers and boils, low immunity, and impotence. 

The foregoing observations on the nature of Yin & Yang make it clear that man and woman are not created equal. 

Yin is abundant and enduring, while Yang is limited and vulnerable, and this is reflected in the fact that throughout the world women tend to outlive men by a factor of five to ten years.

The key to redressing this inequity is properly regulated relations between 'fire' and 'water'. As the Taoist alchemist Ko Hung wrote in the fourth century AD: 

"Both fire and water can kill, 
yet both may also bestow life. 

It depends entirely on whether one knows Tao. 
If a man knows Tao, then the more he makes love, 
the better becomes his health. 

If he ignorant of Tao, just one woman 
is sufficient to hasten his journey to the grave." 
"Lest male readers further hasten their journeys to the grave due to ignorance of Tao, let us now get down to the crux of the matter- the Way of Yin and Yang- a way that shows us how to use sex to pave a path to health and longevity rather than to perdition." 

Tao sexual yoga - learn how to have sex that actually promotes your health and 
the health of your partner. "Traditional Western hypocrisy towards sex has prevented serious study of human sexuality in the Western world until only a few decades ago. 
Like everything else in Western philosophy, 
sex is viewed through the lens of dualism; 
it is seen as either sacred (in matrimony) or 
profane (out of wedlock), with no room 
for anything in between." 

The Chinese have always held the Taoist view that sexual relations between male and female are the primary earthly manifestation of the universal principles of Yin & Yang. 

As such, the Chinese regard sex to be as natural and indispensable to human health and longevity as rain falling on the fields is to plant life. 

The intense sense of guilt attached to sexual matters in Judeo-Christian tradition is, in Chinese eyes, one of the most unpleasant and incomprehensible aspects of Western culture. 

Traditional Western hypocrisy towards sex has prevented serious study of human sexuality in the Western world until only a few decades ago. Like everything else in Western philosophy, sex is viewed through the lens of dualism; it is seen as either sacred (in matrimony) or profane (out of wedlock), with no room for anything in between. 

The Chinese, however, do not draw distinctions between sacred and profane sex. As far as the Taoist are concerned, the only important distinctions regarding sexual activities are those between healthy and unhealthy habits. 

The Chinese approach the subject of human sexuality with a blend of curiosity and reverence, just as they do all natural phenomena. 

Since sexual relations are as fundamental to human life as eating and sleeping, Taoist adepts devoted a lot of time and thought to researching its every aspect and implication for human health and longevity. In a society happily free of sexual repression, Taoist physicians took a long and careful look at human sexual behavior, and they candidly recorded their findings in journals and books, couched in the usual florid Taoist terminology. 

Consequently, the Chinese have been able to approach and study sexual relations between man and women, with open eyes and open minds, and they have, over three millennia, become the world's most astute observers of human sexuality, as well as the most inventive lovers." 

The essential difference between the sexual nature of man and woman lies in the different nature of male and female orgasm. 

When a man ejaculates, he ejects his semen-essence from his body. 

When a woman reaches orgasm, she too 'ejaculates' all sorts of sexual secretions internally, but these are retained within her body. 

For both men and women, sexual essence is an important storage battery for vital energy and a major source of resistance and immunity. 

In conventional sexual relations, a man ejaculates every time he has intercourse, regardless of his own age or condition. This habit gradually robs him of his primary source of vitality and immunity, leaving him weak and vulnerable to disease and shortening his life span. Meanwhile, the women gets stronger and stronger, both from her own orgasmic secretions and from her assimilation of potent male semen-essence." 

Source: Daniel Reid, 
The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity. 

TAO SEXUAL YOGA RULE #1 

"A man may attain health and longevity if he practices an ejaculation frequency of twice monthly or 24 times in a year. 
If at the same time he pays careful attention to proper diet and exercise he will have a long and healthy life" 

[Sun Su-mo] 
"As the great Taoist Doctor Sun points out, diet, exercise and sexual discipline form the three pillars of Taoist health and longevity regimens. 

The principles of Tao apply equally to men and women. 

In both men and women, semen-essence is the fuel that drives sexuality. It is the source not only of physical capacity for sex but also of sexual interest and emotional affection for the opposite gender. 

However, since women do not 'leak' when they ejaculate, orgasm does not rob them of sexual drive and interest after the 'first act'. 
Therefore, the practices required to achieve the harmony of Yin & Yang must be cultivated primarily by men. This chapter is thus addressed mainly to men, although the information contained herein should be studied and understood by women who consort with Taoist men or who wish to convert their men into Taoists." 

A man may attain health and longevity if he practices an ejaculation frequency of twice monthly or 24 times in a year. 
If at the same time he pays careful attention to proper diet and exercise he will have a long and healthy life" 

[Sun Su-mo] 

"As the great Taoist Doctor Sun points out, diet, exercise and sexual discipline form the three pillars of Taoist health and longevity regimens. 

The principles of Tao apply equally to men and women. 

In both men and women, semen-essence is the fuel that drives sexuality. It is the source not only of physical capacity for sex but also of sexual interest and emotional affection for the opposite gender. 

However, since women do not 'leak' when they ejaculate, orgasm does not rob them of sexual drive and interest after the 'first act'. 

Therefore, the practices required to achieve the harmony of Yin & Yang must be cultivated primarily by men. This chapter is thus addressed mainly to men, although the information contained herein should be studied and understood by women who consort with Taoist men or who wish to convert their men into Taoists. 

Western medicine claims that men naturally replenish their semen supply soon after ejaculation and that the male's capacity for producing semen is virtually limitless. 

This is a highly misleading generalization. Simply compare ejaculation with blood donation, and you'll see the fallacy. After donating a pint of blood, you feel week and tired for a day or two, until the lost pint is replenished. Blood clinics advise donors not to give blood more than a few times each year in order to avoid chronic fatigue, low resistance and excessive strain on the circulatory system.
 
According to Chinese physicians, the same point applies to semen, except that the loss of semen is even harder to replace than blood. 

The body must invest a lot of essence and energy to fully replenish semen supplies and re-establish proper hormone balance after a man ejaculates. 

When ejaculation frequency exceeds the capacity of the body to fully replenish semen, men experience chronic fatigue, low resistance, irritation and other symptoms of essence and energy deficiency. They also lose all sexual interest in their partners, who may well be ready for more action. 

True, teenage boys and young men in their early 20's replenish semen faster than they could possibly expend it, but the notion that this capacity continues indefinitely into adulthood is patently false. 

It is women, not men, whose sexual potency is 'inexhaustible'. Celibacy, however is not the answer. for that deprives men of the therapeutic benefits of sexual stimulation. The answer is ejaculation control. Frequent intercourse with infrequent ejaculation maintains a mans interest in the act as well as his capacity to continue indefinitely until his partner is fully satisfied. 

Men who ejaculate once or more on a daily basis may eventually 'lose their minds', since 20 percent of male semen is composed of cerebrospinal fluid. Frequent ejaculation thus causes a chronic drain of the vital fluids that the brain and spine require to function properly. 

The resulting deficiency of cerebrospinal fluid can cause such increasingly common conditions as premature senility, inability to concentrate, chronic depression, loss of sexual drive and a host of other related symptoms. 

Furthermore, recent medical evidence indicates that with each and every ejaculation men suffer a significant loss of zinc, a rare but vital trace element. 

Frequent ejaculation thus results in a chronic, critical deficiency of zinc, symptoms of which include loss of memory, mental confusion, paranoia and hypersensitivity to sunlight. These facts seem to verify the 'old wives tale' that excessive male masturbation addles the mind, weakens the spine and leads to blindness. 

The Tao enables the male member to become an all-weather instrument of equal competence to that of its female counterpart and permits man and woman to 'make love not war', while at the same time protecting the health and prolonging the lives of both partners. 

"Western medicine claims that men naturally replenish their semen supply soon after ejaculation and that the male's capacity for producing semen is virtually limitless. 

This is a highly misleading generalization. 

Simply compare ejaculation with blood donation, and you'll see the fallacy. After donating a pint of blood, you feel week and tired for a day or two, until the lost pint is replenished. Blood clinics advise donors not to give blood more than a few times each year in order to avoid chronic fatigue, low resistance and excessive strain on the circulatory system." 

Regulating Ejaculation Frequency 


All schools of Taoism agree that retention of semen and proper regulation of its emission are indispensable skills for male adepts of the way. 
In their writings, the adepts of ancient China each left us their own personal guidelines for determining emission frequency. 
By combining their various suggestions with your own individual requirements and practical experience, you may readily determine an emission schedule that suits your personal needs. 

Let's start with some plain talk from our old friend and sexual mentor, the Plain Girl. Confused by the concepts of 'sparing vital essence' and 'regulating leakage', the Yellow Emperor addressed his doubts to the Plain Girl and got this reply: 

Some men are strong, some are weak, some men are old and others are in their prime. Each should live according to his own vitality and not try to force the joys of sex. Forcing joy is harmful. 

Thus a robust male of 20 may ejaculate twice daily, but an emaciated one should do so no more than once daily. 
A 30-year-old male may ejaculate once a day, but only once every two days if he's an inferior specimen. 
A flourishing man of 40 may emit semen once every three days, but if he's weak he may do so only once every four days. 
A robust man of 50 may ejaculate once every five days, but only once every ten days if he is weak. 
A 60-year-old man in good health may emit once every ten days, or once every 20 days if his health is poor. 
At 70, a robust man emit once a month, but a weak one should no long emit semen at all. 

The Tang Dynasty physician Lee Tung-hsuan, in Mysterious Master of the Cave, used frequency of intercourse rather than day-intervals as his recommended measure for regulating emission: 

When having sexual intercourse with women, a man should emit semen only two or three times in ten. 

Master Liu Ching, a Han Dynasty adept credited in dynastic archives with achieving a life span of over 300 years, preferred to regulate his emissions according to the cosmic cycles of seasonal change: 

In spring, a man may permit himself to ejaculate once every three days, but in summer and autumn he should limit his ejaculations to twice a month. During the cold of winter, a man should preserve his semen and avoid ejaculation altogether. The Way of Heaven is to accommodate Yang essence in winter. A man who follows this guideline will live a long and healthy life. One ejaculation in cold winter is one hundred times more harmful than an ejaculation in the spring. 

The most practical advice of all on the subject of ejaculation control comes from the centenarian physician Sun Ssu-mo, the Tang Dynasty adept who outlive three emperors by practicing what he preached. His general yardstick, quoted at the head of this chapter, was twice a month, or 24 times per year. His own personal regimen, however, was only one emission per 100 copulation's. Dr. Sun lived to the age of 101. 

According to Sun Ssu-mo a man should 'become acquainted' with Tao by the age of 30, and 'acquire a thorough working knowledge' of it by 40: Before the age of 40, most men are still full of vigorous passion. But as soon as they reach their 40th birthday, they suddenly notice their potency declining. Just at that very point of declining potency the myriad ailments will descend upon him like a swam of bees. If this situation continues unchecked, he will soon find himself beyond cure. 
Dr. Sun repeatedly warned his male patients of the dangers involved in excessive ejaculation. He compared the situation to that of as sputtering oil-lamp: just before the fuel is spent and the lamp is about to extinguish, the flame suddenly flares up brightly, then dies: 

Each and every time a man restrains himself and retains his semen it is like adding new oil to a lamp that is about to extinguish. But if a man fails to control himself and ejaculates every time he lies down with a woman, it is like removing oil from a lamp that is already nearly burnt out. 

As Sun Ssu-mo sums up so well, 'If a man squanders his semen, he will soon die. For a man, this is the most important point to remember about sex.' 

If a man has no intercourse with a women, his mind will grow restless and he will yearn for female company....Forcibly suppressing the natural urge to emit semen at certain intervals is not only difficult for a man but will actually make it easier to lose semen. He will lose it during sleep through nocturnal emissions [i.e., wet dreams] ...One emission of semen in this manner is equivalent to the loss suffered by one hundred emissions during normal sexual intercourse. 

Sun Ssu-mo's advice to men on regulating ejaculation frequency can be summarized as follows: 

By the age of 30, a man begins to lose vitality and should stop squandering his semen recklessly. It is time to give up the habit of masturbation and to become acquainted with the Tao of Yin and Yang. 
By the age of 40, a man has reached the critical turning point in his life. If he wishes to prevent the rapid downhill slide into the grave which undisciplined sexual relations cause at this stage in life, he must now start practicing ejaculation control as a habit. 
By the age of 50 his ejaculation frequency should be no more once every 20 days. 
By the age of 60, most men should completely curtail ejaculation (but not intercourse). Exceptionally healthy men with strong libidos, however, may continue emitting semen about once a month, or, better yet, once in every 100 coition's. 
By the age of 70, if a man is still hale and hearty, he may continue using Dr. Sun's ideal measure of once in every 100 indefinitely. 

Practicing ejaculation control is just as important for strong, healthy males as it is for the weak and elderly. Those who's start this regimen early in life avoid the worst ravages of old age, retard the loss of vital energy and live longer lives than those who wait until middle age to begin. 
For most men, complete abstention from ejaculation is just as harmful as excessive emission. It creates a deep yearning for sex that disrupts the harmony of essence, energy and spirit, and ultimately leads to the even greater loss of sexual essence and energy through the uncontrollable, intense ejaculations caused by 'wet dreams'. 

In order to determine your own ideal emission schedule, you must first master the methods of semen retention introduced below, then follow the guidelines already given in a trial-and -error appraisal of your own vitality. 

An ejaculation should leave a man feeling as light and refreshed as a woman feels after orgasm- not exhausted, empty and uninterested in further sex. 

Such an ejaculation may be experienced only when semen supply is what the Chinese call "full" and "flourishing". If an ejaculation leaves you tired and depressed, you should increase the interval between emissions. 

You may also help minimize the loss of essence and energy due to semen emission by learning to 'come lightly' when you choose to ejaculate. 

Instead of thrusting to a frenzy just prior to ejaculation, approach the brink slowly and gently and savor the exquisite sensation of release, then deliberately 'squeeze off' the urogential canal with a deep contraction of the anus and penile shaft before ejaculation is over. This will conserve about 20-30 per cent of your semen while still providing the desired ejaculatory release. Immediately after emission, rhythmically contract the entire urogenital diaphragm for a minute or two by practicing anal sphincter locks. This tightens up the pelvic floor, which becomes loose and flaccid after ejaculation, and thereby prevents post-coital loss of chee through the perineum, anus and urogenital canal. This exercise is highly beneficial for women as well, because it prevents loss of chee through the vagina and encourages sexual energy to move up the spinal channels to the brain. 

Since few men will be induced to adopt such a disciplined and unconventional approach to sexual relations unless thoroughly convinced by personal experience of its necessity and efficacy, here are a few simple experiments any man may perform to establish the truth of Tao is sex: 

Try engaging in a vigorous bout of intercourse about half an hour before participating in an athletic event or stage performance- once with ejaculation and once without - and compare your resulting performances. You'll be amazed by the difference. 
Or try intercourse with and without ejaculation late at night and compare the amount of sleep you need and how you feel upon arising the next morning. 

An even more stark comparison is the difference in vitality felt throughout the day after having sexual intercourse first thing in the morning, with and without ejaculation. 

Try experimenting with other factors as well, such as weather, mood and physical condition. You will most certainly notice a profound difference in how you feel after intercourse with and without ejaculation on freezing cold day in mid-winter, when, as Peng-Tze point out, 'one ejaculation is one hundred times more harmful than one in spring'. 

Men who sharply reduce their emission frequencies during the winter season without reducing intercourse suffer far less from colds, influenza, chills, and winter 'blues' and other symptoms related to cold weather. And when you're feeling in 'low spirits' to start with, ejaculation will only drag you deeper into depression, while a prolonged bout without emission of semen is an excellent way to 'pick up your spirits'. 
The same goes for physical condition: when a man is ailing, the loss of semen only makes his condition worse by robbing him of his greatest source of resistance just when he needs it most. Disciplined intercourse, on the other hand, is an excellent palliative for many chronic ailments, especially those influenced by hormone levels. Miles Davis and Mohammed Ali came to these conclusions in precisely this manner- by trial and error- and so can you. 

Every man must establish his own ideal emission rate as an overall guideline, but he must also consider the unique circumstances of each occasion before deciding whether it is appropriate to ejaculate or not. 

The calendar may tell you that it is time to treat yourself to an ejaculation, but if you happen to be drunk at the time, or gorged with food, or ill, then you'd best forgo that brief spasm of pleasure and keep your batteries fully charged. In the Taoist text entitled ESSENTIALS FOR NURTURING LIFE, we find the following warning: 

Ejaculation is strictly forbidden when a man is drunk or gorged with food. Such emissions injure a man a hundred times more than under normal conditions and may cause dizziness and ugly sores. 

"Throughout our adult lives, 
our sexual organs and hormones exert a profound 
and decisive influence on our thought and behavior. 
They literally 'drive' men and women into each other's arms 
in order to insure propagation of the species, 
and this drive is so powerful and compelling that it completely 
overrides the instinct for safety and personal survival. 
When 'in love', both men and women will defy death 
and disregard social conventions in order to be together and 'make love'. 
'Love', of course, is a Western euphemism for 'lust', 
which, despite its negative connotation in the West, 
is regarded as a natural sign of health and vitality in the East." 

Hormones and Health 

Chinese physicians pinpoint what they call the 'kidney glands' (shen hsien) as the key regulators of sexual potency, especially in men. These glands, which straddle the tops of the kidneys like hats, are called the 'suprarenal glands' in Western parlance. 

The suprarenal, also known as the adrenal cortex, produce a variety of hormones of vital importance to various metabolic processes and biological functions. 

In both male and female organisms, adrenal hormones include small but physiologically significant amounts of androgens (male hormones) and relatively minute quantities of estrogens (female hormones). 

These sex hormones, or Yin and Yang 'essences', regulate the secretions of all other sex glands such as the ovaries, testes and prostate, and also influence secretions from the pituitary, pineal and thyroid glands. 

It is the balance, not quantity, of these microscopic elements of Yin and Yang essence that counts. 

Insufficient secretion of androgens in males, for example, results in the loss of sexual drive and potency. Excessive androgen secretion in the female can cause such masculizing effects as beard growth and breast shrinkage. 

Thus, a primary goal of Taoist sexual regimens is the enhancement of male and female hormone secretions in optimum balance. 
Belatedly, Western science has also established intimate links between sexual stimulation and hormone production, and between hormone production and health. 

In 1974, for example, the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany, conducted tests on the physiological effects of mildly erotic films on healthy males aged 21-34. After half an hour of viewing, 75 per cent of the subjects showed marked increases in testosterone levels in their blood, thereby establishing a clear connection between sexual excitement and hormone excretions. 

Subsequent research revealed that men with high testosterone levels, high sperm count and dense, viscous semen were completely immune to many communicable diseases and were highly resistant to others, while those with low testosterone and sperm count and thin, watery semen had only partial immunity to diseases. 
It is also well known to Western medical science that women have always enjoyed higher immunity and resistance to disease, recover more quickly from illness, and live longer lives than men. 

According to the Taoist view, the ravages of aging are caused by the progressive depletion of hormone production and the dissipation of vital energy. 

Since essence is the 'root' of the Taoist Trinity, with energy as the 'stem' and spirit as the 'blossom', the entire planet may be nourished simply by cultivating the roots, which consist of blood bile, enzymes, hormones and other forms of 'essence'. 

Of all these elements of essence, hormones exert by far the most profound and powerful physiological influences, even in the most minute quantities, and, of all Taoist regimes, disciplined sexual intercourse provides the most direct stimulation to vital hormone production and endocrine balance. 

While sexual excitement remains one of the most effective means of stimulation vital hormone production in both men and women, women have the additional mechanisms of menstruation and pregnancy to promote production of sexual hormones, even in the absence of sexual intercourse. 

Men, on the other hand, have no such alternative mechanism, and for them sexual intercourse remains the best way to stimulate hormone production. As a person gets older, it stands to reason that sexual intercourse grows ever more important as a form of preventative therapy against disease and aging. 

When enhanced secretions from the male 'kidney-glands' are preserved through properly disciplined intercourse without ejaculation, they enter the bloodstream, travel throughout the body, and prevent hair loss, skin wrinkling, poor muscle tone, arthritis, rheumatism, impotence and other disasters associated with aging. 

For Taoists, the issue of sexual intercourse in old age is not a moral or social one- it's a matter of life and health. 

To keep things in perspective, lets again verify this fundamental Taoist view point with some solid medical evidence from Western science. 

A recent study conducted in America revealed that frequent sexual intercourse considerably relieves the chronic pain of rheumatism in elderly couples by stimulating secretion of cortisone in the adrenal cortex. According to the Taoist view, the adrenal cortex is the gland most directly influenced by sexual excitement. 

On the other hand, according to Western science, excessive coitus inhibits adrenal functions in the male. Since 'coitus' includes ejaculation in Western medical and sexual terminology, we see that the Taoist view that excessive ejaculation ruins the 'kidney-glands' in men is essentially correct. 

Absorbing Essence and Storing Energy 

In both men and women , sexual secretions contain many pure, potent, biochemically active substances: hormones, enzymes, proteins, vitamins and other elements. 

When female secretions are released into the warm, moist environment of the vagina during intercourse, they come into direct contact with the sensitive, paper-thin skin of the man's blood engorged penis. Body heat opens wide the pores of this stretched skin, and the rhythmic rubbing of vagina and penis caused biochemically significant amounts of female 'essence' to be absorbed by the male. 

In fact, less than a pinhead quantity of essential hormone suffices to exert profound physiological effects upon the entire endocrine system once it enter the bloodstream. In the sexually excited male, blood courses powerfully through the penis and picks up whatever hormones are absorbed in the vagina by friction and osmosis. Similarly, the spongy tissues of a woman's vagina absorb active elements from her own secretions and from male semen after a man ejaculates inside. 

Despite its obvious logic, most Western physicians still deny that such mutual exchange of vital hormones takes place during sexual intercourse, even though they fully acknowledge that 'germs' can be exchanged in this manner. If syphilis, herpes and AIDS can be 'picked up' through contact of sexual organs of diseased people, then why can't hormones and enzymes be exchanged in the same way in healthy people? 

Look at it this way. If you crush several cloves of garlic and place them on your thigh or abdomen or anywhere else on the body, cover them with a warm, damp cloth and rub them against the skin, then your breath will soon smell of garlic! 

Garlic oil, which like hormones is a highly concentrated substance, enters the skin in microscopic quantities and is absorbed by the bloodstream, which carries it to every part of the body, including the lungs. If a tiny drop of garlic 'essence' can permeate the skin, enter the bloodstream and cause 'garlic breath' far from the point of entry, then a drop of sexual essence from male or female semen should be able to do the same thing through the even thinner, moister, warmer surfaces of the vagina and penis, especially if one uses Taoist techniques to prolong direct contact. 

For women, frequent intercourse with orgasm is the most efficient method of cultivating sexual essence and energy. For men, frequent intercourse with infrequent ejaculation is the key technique for cultivating sexual essence and energy. 

Furthermore, retaining semen during intercourse enables a man not only to preserve and reabsorb his own essence, it also enables him to prolong the act sufficiently for his partner to reach full orgasm, thereby releasing her most potent secretions for his benefit. In effect, he 'kills' two birds with one stone, preserving his own essence while releasing and absorbing hers. 

As noted earlier, a mans sexual responses are largely limited to his penis (the four Attainments), whereas a woman's occur throughout her body (Five signs, Ten Indications). The same goes for sexual secretions. A man's essence comes mainly from his sexual organ, but a woman emits essence from all 'Three Peaks': tongue, nipples and vagina. Men who practice Tao benefit from all three 'libations'. 

In Secrets of the Jade Bedroom, Peng-Tze points out the medicinal benefits of the 'upper libation', but her states clearly that only the saliva secreted 'during intercourse' contains the magic elixir: "During intercourse, if a man takes in a lot of the woman's saliva, it will purify his stomach like medicinal broth". 

As for the potent therapeutic value of the 'middle libation' secreted from a woman's nipples, Western medical science has uncovered in the last 15 years evidence that tends to confirm the traditional Taoist view. 

It has been firmly established that mother's milk contains powerful immunity factors secreted from certain glands in the breasts which protect nursing infants from a wide range of degenerative diseases. It is logical to assume, therefore, that the ducts that produce these immunity factors in a woman's breast may be stimulated to secrete those factors by a combination of intense sexual excitement and strong, prolonged sucking of the nipples during intercourse, and that these secretion form the 'Great Libation of the Middle Peak'. 

Regarding the lower libation, it should be noted that Taoist have always regarded cunnilingus as an excellent way to absorb this elixir, although they advise against fellatio ('blowing the flute') owing to the risk of uncontrolled ejaculation. 

That covers cultivation of sexual essence through intercourse. 

Now let's take a look at the energy situation. 

According to Tao, a brief burst of explosive energy occurs when a man or woman reaches orgasm. Western science has already established that, at the point of sexual orgasm, human brain wave patterns alter radically, literally putting the person into an 'altered state of consciousness'. Profound physiological and electrical changes occur throughout the system during orgasm, and a burst of energy is indeed emitted. Partners may absorb one another's burst of sexual energy at the moment of orgasm by following three basic guidelines: 

keep your head nuzzled under your partner's ear when he or she ejaculates in order to avoid inhaling the 'muddy breath' exhaled at that moment. Owing to the intense 'fire' that occurs in the lower abdomen during orgasm, this burst of breath is regarded as a sort of waster product. 

Hug your partner very tightly and maintain maximum surface contact between your skins. At orgasm, the entire body radiates energy from its surface contact. 

Press and rub the public regions closely together. The biggest burst of sexual energy during orgasm naturally occurs in the region of the 'Sea Of Energy' (chee-hai), located below the navel. 

Now let's take a look at the various possibilities for exchanging essence and energy between Yin and Yang during intercourse. 


If the man ejaculates before the woman reaches orgasm, she gains the benefits of both his semen-essence and his energy, while he loses both and gains neither of hers. If the couple ejaculates at the same moment, the woman again gains the man's essence and energy, but the man gains only her burst of energy, because he loses his erection before it has had a chance to absorb the essential secretions of her orgasm. 

If the man controls himself long enough for the woman to reach orgasm then suppresses his own ejaculation, he absorbs both his own and her essence as well as her energy, while she still derives the benefits of reabsorbing a measure of her own sexual secretions. The fourth and final alternative is for the man to permit himself and ejaculation (when his emission schedule calls for it) after his partner has reached orgasm, but only after he has spent some time 'dragging the Yin essence in through the Yang peak'. In this case, both partners absorb each other's sexual essence and energy in a perfectly balanced coition. 

For a man who has thoroughly mastered the techniques of ejaculation control, there are additional steps he may take to facilitate absorption of female secretions and to further stimulate re-absorption of his own semen-essence. 

The first method is to 'thrust inward fiercely but draw outward slowly, thereby dragging the Yin essence in through the skin of the Yang peak'. 

Swelling and contracting the penis deep inside the vagina by deliberately flexing the muscles of the penile shaft is another highly recommended technique for promoting absorption of Yin essence during intercourse. After the woman has experienced one or more orgasms and is thoroughly satisfied, the man should start thrusting again deeply and rhythmically. When the pressure to ejaculate mounts, he should stop and 'return the semen' to his prostate, using methods introduced in chapter 7-Ejaculation Control (HPS on line highly recommends that you purchase Dan Reids book, The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity and learn these methods to promote your health and sexual prowess). When his semen is back under control and his heart once again calm, he may repeat this process again, three to five times. 

The prolonged friction between Jade Gate and Jade Stem facilitates absorption of Yin essence, while the excitement of repeatedly approaching the brink of ejaculation greatly increases a man's own internal sexual secretions. Such serial retention's also redirect the man's unexploded sexual energy inward and upward. This can often be felt coursing up along the spine as 'goose bumps' or as heat waves at various points in the body. 


Men should not attempt this method of 'pumping up' extra essence and energy by repeatedly 'playing with the fire' of ejaculation until they have first mastered semen retention and established their own ideal ejaculation frequencies. 

Otherwise, they risk the loss of even more essence and energy than normal owing to enhanced secretions when a man is due for emission because it primes the prostate with extra semen and thus increases the loss due to ejaculation. It should be done only when semen is to be retained. The old adage 'practice makes perfect' applies to this and all the other methods used in the Tao of Yin and Yang, and these practices must be mastered step by step. 

To borrow another adage, 'to the victor go the spoils'. 
A sexually active man who is unwilling to hone his sexual skills and correctly adjust his attitudes in preparation for the 'flowery battlefield' of sexual intercourse will, sooner or later, deplete his sexual potency, dissipate his vital energy, lose his immunity and foreshorten his life. 

Such men become as expendable to the species- and as useless to women- as drones driven from the beehive. 

Practical tools: The Four Attainments 

 Foreplay, the Four Attainments, the Five signs, the Five Desires, the Ten Indications and the Five Virtues. 

The Yellow Emperor's chief advisors on sexual affairs were all good Taoists, so they did not rely entirely on clever words and philosophical arguments to illustrate the Way. They peppered their dialogs with all sorts of practical guidelines and concrete instructions They taught the Yellow Emperor how to observe his partner's responses, how to approach the 'flowery battlefield' and how to engage in the 'combat' of sexual intercourse. 

The Plain Girl and the rest of the Emperors Taoist retinue introduced their most important practical instructions under the headings of Foreplay, the Four Attainments, the Five Signs, the Five Desires, the Ten Indications and the Five Virtues. These serve as signposts along the winding road to woman's orgasm, and every man should learn to read them. 

Foreplay 

Foreplay is a primary preventative measure against the common problems of insufficient female lubrication and insufficient male erection prior to intercourse. The Plain Girl explains the lubrication of the vagina and engorgement of the penis before the two organs meet directly is the first fundamental sign of the interplay of Ying and Yang. Foreplay also primes the body's energy system for the intense stimulation of sexual intercourse. In Taoist parlance, foreplay helps to bring the 'water' to a boil while keeping the 'fire' burning slowly. 

Foreplay should commence a the body extremities, not at the genitals. Start by massaging the hands and wrists, feet and ankles, and working your way up the arms and shoulders to the chest and up the legs and thighs to the abdomen and waist. Learn the routs of the major energy meridians and the locations of their most sensitive vital points. Massaging these points is highly stimulating and generates a lot of energy. Under the influence of sexual excitement, this energy travels along the meridian network to the sexual organs. 

The Nature of Male Vs. Female: Article To Share
November 13, 2008 at 12:01pm
PublicFriendsFriends except AcquaintancesOnly MeCustomClose Friends1See all lists...Tantra TeacherLiberty UniversityScotia - Glenville High SchoolTantra TeacherWriterHeartacheHelper.ComScotia - Glenville Senior High SchoolUniversity at Albany, SUNYFarrahNayka.ComWashington, District of Columbia AreaFamilyAcquaintancesGo Back
Introduction- the nature of male and female 


"The Chinese have always held the Taoist view that sexual relations between male and female are the primary earthly manifestation of the universal principles of Yin & Yang. 

As such, the Chinese regard sex to be as natural and indispensable to human health and longevity as rain falling on the fields is to plant life. 

The intense sense of guilt attached to sexual matters in Judeo-Christian tradition is, in Chinese eyes, one of the most unpleasant and incomprehensible aspects of Western culture. 

Traditional Western hypocrisy towards sex has prevented serious study of human sexuality in the Western world until only a few decades ago. Like everything else in Western philosophy, sex is viewed through the lens of dualism; it is seen as either sacred (in matrimony) or profane (out of wedlock), with no room for anything in between. 

The Chinese, however, do not draw distinctions between sacred and profane sex. As far as the Taoist are concerned, the only important distinctions regarding sexual activities are those between healthy and unhealthy habits. 

The Chinese approach the subject of human sexuality with a blend of curiosity and reverence, just as they do all natural phenomena. 

Since sexual relations are as fundamental to human life as eating and sleeping, Taoist adepts devoted a lot of time and thought to researching its every aspect and implication for human health and longevity. In a society happily free of sexual repression, Taoist physicians took a long and careful look at human sexual behavior, and they candidly recorded their findings in journals and books, couched in the usual florid Taoist terminology. 

Consequently, the Chinese have been able to approach and study sexual relations between man and women, with open eyes and open minds, and they have, over three millennia, become the world's most astute observers of human sexuality, as well as the most inventive lovers. 

---