Nature and Principle in Islam

The second volume sets out what the first volume left unexpressed. Where it speaks of principle, it completes the principle that was not fully spoken of before; where it speaks of images, it completes the images that were not fully spoken of before. Yet principle is not one thing and image another: the image is the principle. To speak of images is precisely the means of making plain what in principle cannot be seen. If those who have a mind for it can seek it in the very substance before them, they will grasp both principle and image. If they cannot seek it in the very substance, then principle and image are far from them; though they leaf through these diagrams and this text every day, it is no more than a skimming, and what benefit is that to nature and mandate?

Scan vol. 2, p. 61Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The grades of the Former-Heaven nature were already explained in the Diagram of the Initial Division of Nature and Principle. That a diagram is drawn here again and the account given in detail is because the more detailed the text that investigates principle, the more evident the principle becomes. The nature of the Former Heaven comprises fourteen grades in all. The nature of the Utmost Sage is the Real Ruler's own first manifestation; though it is called the nature of the Utmost Sage, in reality it is the knowing, ability, virtue and nature of the Real Ruler. Below the nature of the Utmost Sage, those that are set out in order by rank all obtain their several natures from the overflowing light of this one nature. Below this one grade, three are called sagely natures, one is called the great worthy, one is called the knowing, one is called the upright; the natures of the good man and of the ordinary man then descend in order after them. The natures of birds and beasts, grasses and trees, metals and ores, and stones come lower still. As for the dregs (mingzi), they are what is left over from all natures and mandates, formed by combining and transforming. From the nature of the Utmost Sage down to the dregs there are fourteen grades in all. The nature of the Utmost Sage is neither the same as nor different from the Original Suchness of the Real Ruler; the remaining grades of nature too are not very far from the Original Suchness of the Real Ruler; and that some reach such dullness that they bear no comparison at all is due to the limits of their rank. When the natures of all the grades have been disclosed in form and color, and number is exhausted and principle reaches its limit, the myriad things return to the root; they must still all go back into the nature of the Utmost Sage, and only then, by way of the nature of the Utmost Sage, return to the Original Suchness of the Real Ruler. This is why the nature of the Utmost Sage is the beginning and end of the myriad natures! Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'The greater numbers end at nine, the lesser numbers end at five; joining the greater and lesser numbers, the fourteen grades are complete. The principles of the Former Heaven and the images of the Latter Heaven are all numbers without excess or deficiency. But the transformation of the Former Heaven ends in the dregs, and the transformation of the Latter Heaven ends in the three offspring; and man is born after the three offspring, so the human body is the lowest of the low. When lowness reaches its extreme, the end is exhausted and returns to the beginning, and it is united with the Real: this is what is called "wondrously united and congealed."'

Scan vol. 3, p. 4–7Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The Former-Heaven nature has fourteen grades in all. What distinguishes them from one another, so that each differs, is the knowing-and-ability (zhineng) within their nature. The knowing-and-ability of this sage is not the same as that of that sage, and so their ranks are clearly divided; the knowing-and-ability of the foolish and unworthy is not the same as that of the worthy and wise; the knowing-and-ability of things is not the same as that of human beings, and so their ranks lie apart by fivefold and countless degrees. The Utmost Sage has merged-identical knowing-and-ability: 'merged-identical' means that his knowing-and-ability is merged with the knowing-and-ability of the Real Ruler into one body, lacking nothing and exceeding in nothing. The great sage has commissioned knowing-and-ability: 'commissioned' means that his knowing-and-ability does not reach the merged identity, yet the knowing-and-ability of the Real Ruler lets him use it. Holding heaven and earth in order, for example, is the knowing-and-ability of the Real Ruler, yet the great sage too can raise the dead to life, move heaven and earth and the like, being allowed its use. The revered sage has responsive knowing-and-ability: being responsive, he cannot use it by commission, but only accords with the operation of the Real Ruler. The line of sages has manifesting knowing-and-ability: 'manifesting' means that whatever they receive of the disclosure of the Real Ruler's knowing-and-ability they proclaim in full to humankind. The great worthy has aspiring knowing-and-ability; the knowing one has realizing knowing-and-ability. 'Aspiring' means that he cannot be a sage yet seeks to reach sagehood; 'realizing' means that he seeks to understand the One Root and to realize it in himself. The upright have steadfast knowing-and-ability; the good man has habitual knowing-and-ability; the ordinary man has self-serving knowing-and-ability. When knowing-and-ability comes to be self-serving, it is very nearly that of a thing. Though things possess knowing-and-ability, it cannot be called knowing-and-ability: in birds and beasts it is called perception, in grasses and trees growth, in metal and stone firmness. It is the same knowing-and-ability, but the class of things received it last, so its grade is lower and it is felt to be gradually further from the Real Ruler. If one erases the traces of their distinction, removes the forms of before and after, and brings them back to the one source, things and human beings are not seen to be very far apart. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'Knowing-and-ability is the native endowment of each thing, received from the Creator. The Creator bestows it whole; men and things receive it partially. Yet it is not partial: each use has its fitness. Used fittingly, the partial is whole; used unfittingly, the whole is partial. It only depends on how a person uses it. "Each rectifies its nature and mandate, preserving and uniting the Great Harmony": that is what this means.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 8–12Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The forms and vessels of the Latter Heaven are fourteen layers in all, matching the number of the grades of nature in the Former Heaven. The layers of the upper realm are nine: these are the positions of the nine heavens. The layers of the lower realm are five: these are the four vital energies and the three offspring born of them. The Arsh (ā'ershi) is the purest, supreme heaven; the heavens hang in position within it like pearls hung in a crystal chamber. The body of this first heaven has form on the side facing downward and no form on the side facing upward. What is formless and faces upward does so because it still belongs to the Former Heaven; what has form and faces downward does so because it is where the Latter Heaven begins. Here positions are divided and heaven is divided into Former and Latter, yet there is no gap between the two realms. Its second layer is called the Kursi (kuerxi), the heaven to which the twenty-eight lunar mansions and the host of stars are fixed; though it has form, its form is truly beyond thought and discussion. When the primal fire burst into the body of heaven and formed images, its force could reach only this far; above this all is so pure that nothing can be fixed there. The seven heavens below each have only a single star fixed to them: Saturn to the third layer, Jupiter to the fourth, Mars to the fifth, the Sun to the sixth, Venus to the seventh, Mercury to the eighth, and the Moon to the ninth. Of the nine heavens, the uppermost is called the first layer and the lowest the ninth, counting from above downward, which is counting them in their proper order. To call the lowest the first heaven and the uppermost the ninth heaven would be counting them in reverse order. Each heaven is given one star because each heaven has its own function, and a star is placed in each as the lever of that heaven's function. Below the nine heavens, next to heaven comes wind, next to wind fire, next to fire water, next to water earth. Earth turns back toward water and congeals together with it, and metal is born. Metal can draw fire downward; when fire descends, vital energy follows it into the earth, and wood is born. Wood can grow and metal can resound; the two come together and are further matched to the stirring of the four vital energies, and the flying, soaring energy of life is born. Wood, metal and life (huo) are the three offspring born of the four vital energies wind, fire, water and earth; the three offspring together make only one of the fourteen layers. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'Scripture says: "Only the Arsh carries out the work of creation and nurture on His behalf." The principle of the Arsh is the wisdom of the Former-Heaven nature-and-wisdom; when it comes to rest in things it is called principle. As form, it is formless above and formed below; as vessel, it is empty above and congealed below. For the Former and Latter Heaven receive the current and spread the transformation, and it is the eggshell of the Latter Heaven; at the Kursi it is the white membrane within the shell. The order in which the three offspring are generated is set out here in greatest detail.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 13–17Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

Of the fourteen layers of form and energy, each layer has its own function. The multiplicity of the myriad things and the differences in human affairs are all shone upon and joined together by the functions of these fourteen layers. The Arsh has the function of carrying out the work of creation on the Creator's behalf, because it stands at the very head of the forms and vessels and has received the full power of the Real Ruler's creation and nurture. One face turns toward the world of principle, one face toward the world of images; whenever a thing of the world of principle is about to come into the world of images, it must come by way of this realm before it can become a person or thing of the world of images. The functions of the heavens below it are likewise all obtained from this heaven, so its function is the general governance of the functions of all the heavens. The Kursi has the function of combining and transforming. The functions of the heavens are each fixed and cannot substitute for one another, but this heaven alone can carry out the functions of the other heavens: above, it acts for the Arsh in gathering the motions of all the heavens; below, it acts for the heavens in carrying out the work of each. The reason is that each heaven carries one star and its function likewise returns to a single matter, whereas the stars of this heaven are beyond counting, the twenty-eight lunar mansions and all the host of stars being fixed to it, so its functions too are beyond counting. The heaven of Saturn creates being from non-being: that persons and things are given shape and substance and pass from non-being to being is all the function of this heaven. The heaven of Jupiter brings the hidden into manifestation: that things grow and flourish, that people are talented, quick and eminent, and all auspicious signs and portents, are the function of this heaven. The heaven of Mars turns the small into the great: that persons and things go from small to great and one shelters another, and all bitterness, poison, calamity and prodigy, are the function of this heaven.

Scan vol. 3, p. 18–21Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The heaven of the Sun makes bright, noble and eminent. Its function falls short only of the two heavens of the Arsh and the Kursi, but compared with the six heavens above and below it, it is the most abundant. The six heavens above and below all depend on the force of this heaven's function before they can carry out their own. The reason is that it stands at the very center of the Seven Governors and is truly their ruler; the six heavens above and below are merely its assistants. Thus the life of men and birds, the growth of grasses and trees, the transformation of metals and stones, the abundance of flowers and fruit, the eminence of persons and things, the health and long life of the strong: all are done by this heaven's function. Clouds, rain, thunder and lightning, mist, dew, frost and snow, cold, heat, damp and dryness, the coming and going of the four seasons, the waxing and waning of the myriad things, and every change and action, are all accomplished by the function of this heaven. The heaven of Venus has the function of bonding and parting: the meeting and joining of persons and things, their mutual attraction and pairing, and all sounds and colors, looks, fragrances and odors, tastes and smells, are all done by this heaven's function. The heaven of Mercury transforms the dull into the spiritual: that persons and things go gradually from dullness to spirit and from darkness to brightness, the removal of dirt and stain, and all soaking, moistening and transparency, are all done by this heaven's function. The heaven of the Moon is good at shifting and flowing: all sudden increase and decrease, swift success and failure, the ebb and flow of the tides and the upheavals of affairs, are all done by this heaven's function. The function of wind is to release what is pent up and so assist life; the function of fire is to steam and so assist warmth; the function of water is to moisten and so enrich the savor of life; the function of earth is to bear and carry and so give a secure place. Metal is good at fixing and firming; wood is good at building and establishing; life is good at moving and circulating. With the functions of the upper and lower realms complete, the work of the forms and vessels is finished. Function is the trace of the Real Ruler's wondrous operation; wondrous operation is the lively flowing of the whole substance, not stuck in any one fixed form. If from the forms and vessels one comes to know their functions, and from the functions of the fourteen layers comes to awaken to the whole substance and great function of the Real Ruler, then one may call the forms and vessels forms and vessels, and one may equally call them not forms and vessels. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'In man it is called knowing-and-ability, in things function: all is the one wondrous operation of the Real Ruler flowing forth and appearing in the myriad things. The wondrous operation is the same while the functions differ, as the mind moves a single brush yet writes ten thousand different characters. Knowing this, one awakens to the fact that the whole substance and great function of the Real Ruler penetrates and permeates everywhere, and every single thing is the manifestation of the Real Ruler's Original Suchness. How then can it be confined to forms and vessels?'

Scan vol. 3, p. 21–24Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

Nature and principle are the Former Heaven; forms and vessels are the Latter Heaven. The nature and principle of the Former Heaven are what the forms and vessels of the Latter Heaven come from; the forms and vessels of the Latter Heaven are where the nature and principle of the Former Heaven are lodged. Hence principle and image belong together from the root. Someone asks: 'The forms and vessels are where nature and principle are lodged; but I do not know how they are lodged. Are nature and principle lodged within the forms and vessels? Or do they not depend on the forms and vessels, but have some other wondrous way of being lodged?' Answer: 'The forms and vessels of the Latter Heaven are the allotted positions of the nature and principle of the Former Heaven. "Allotted position" speaks of where nature and principle are directed; it does not mean that the nature and principle of a given grade are confined within that grade.' Someone asks: 'The images of the various grades are not confused with one another; but I do not know whether the natures of the grades are one merged principle filling the space beyond sight and hearing, or whether each has its own place and so they are not confused.' Answer: 'What distinguishes the nature and principle of the Former Heaven is a distinction of meaning and principle, and meaning and principle have no traces. So though there is division, no trace of division is seen; within the undivided oneness of principle there is of itself a wonder by which nothing is confused. Seen from its profound flowing, penetrating above and below, there is nothing that is not filled by the one principle, and one may call it united without division. Seen from its timely manifestation, sages and ordinary men, persons and things, have never overstepped their place by a hair, and one may call it united yet divided. As for the belonging together of principle and image, it too is only a belonging in meaning, not a confinement in traces.' The Arsh is the position of the Utmost Sage, the Kursi the position of the great sage, the heaven of Saturn the position of the revered sage, the heaven of Jupiter the position of the line of sages, the heaven of Mars the position of the great worthy, the heaven of the Sun the position of the knowing, the heaven of Venus the position of the upright, the heaven of Mercury the position of the good man, the heaven of the Moon the position of the ordinary man. All are assigned positions according to their rank, and each also takes as its position the heaven whose meaning is close to its own nature. The things of the lower realm take their positions each according to the class from which it was born: what exists by having the nature of life follows wind; what exists by having the nature of wood follows fire; what exists by having the nature of metal follows water; what exists by having the nature of stone follows earth. All follow the class from which they were born, and their positions belong together of themselves. In the belonging together of principle and image, sages and ordinary men, persons and things, are not two. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'Nature and principle are a wondrous thing, enfolding heaven and wrapping earth, beyond all measure. Not only human nature is so: even down to ants, insects, mosquitoes and gnats, measured by their original capacity, they are no less than human nature, and no less than the whole substance and great function of the Real Ruler. Only, seen where they are manifested, each has a fixed position. Its position is like thought in the mind, which is after all not bound within the mind; like nature in the body, which is after all not confined within the body. Otherwise a five-foot body would have only a five-foot nature. The teaching of belonging by meaning deserves reflection.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 25–29Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

Heaven is divided into nine layers, yet what divides them is formless. That the formless can be known as near or far is because one observes how near or far the star of each heaven is, and from that knows how near or far that heaven is. The heaven of the Moon is about 470,000 li from the earth; the heaven of Mercury about 904,000 li; the heaven of Venus about 2,400,000 li; the heaven of the Sun about 16,000,000 li; the heaven of Mars about 27,400,000 li; the heaven of Jupiter over 126,750,000 li; the heaven of Saturn over 205,750,000 li; the Kursi about 322,770,000 li; and the Arsh is twice as far from the earth as the Kursi. These figures for the distance of each heaven from the earth are fixed as the radius of each heaven. Knowing the radius, one can know the diameter; reckoning from the diameter by 'diameter one, circumference three', one can know the circumference, and how great the whole body of each heaven is, without the slightest error. The distance and size of the heavens are known from their stars, and the stars of each heaven also have a fixed size. The mansions and host of stars of the Kursi fall roughly into seven magnitudes: the first magnitude is 110 times larger than the earth, the second 90 times, the third 70 times, the fourth 53 times, the fifth 35 times [the passage continues on vol. 3 p33]. [Continuing the explanation of the diagram of the distances of the nine heavens:] … those of the sixth magnitude are seventeen times larger than the earth, and the smallest are seven times larger than the earth. Saturn is ninety times larger than the earth, Jupiter seventy-four times larger, Mars one and a half times larger, and the sun one hundred and sixty-five times larger. Venus is thirty-six times smaller than the earth, Mercury more than twenty thousand times smaller, and the moon thirty-eight times smaller. The distances of the heavens and the sizes of the stars are as plain as a row of eyebrows; whoever studies forms and vessels must go on to know what is greater still. The earth lies within the nine heavens like a single grain of sand in a vast wilderness; the nine heavens lie within human nature, and whether they count as great or small there is just as with the earth lying within the nine heavens. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'Tracing back to when the primordial vital energy divided into images, there was originally no count of li that could be recorded from earth to heaven; yet the ratio of a diameter of one to a circumference of three does not err. Apply it to the heavens and their distances can be known; apply it to the stars and their sizes can be understood. The worthies of Tianfang made a square rule one foot long and measured out the full dimensions of heaven and earth, and they also wrote treatises on the method of measurement, to put an end to fanciful doubts. Yet this too is measuring vessels with a vessel. If the original nature becomes manifest, it sees the nine heavens as a single grain of sand; what number would then be hard to know? Let the reader not stay at the bottom of the well.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 30–34Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The revolution of the Arsh ('Throne') runs from east to west; this is natural motion. The revolution of the other heavens runs from west to east; this is counter-pulled motion. Once the teaching of the two motions is clear, one knows that the working of the nine heavens' revolution is in every case the doing of the four vital energies as they connect and combine with one another. Why does the Arsh move from east to west? Because the east is the proper seat where living vital energy (qi, air) gathers. The seat of qi is in the east, so the Arsh's revolution starts from the east; starting from the east, it travels toward the west. This is called natural motion. Why do the Kursi ('Footstool') and the seven heavens below it move from west to east? Because the west is the correct position allotted to earth. The root mandate of all eight heavens is bound up with earth, and the correct position of earth is in the west; so their revolution starts from the west, and starting from the west it travels toward the east. Why are the Kursi and the seven heavens below it all bound up with earth? When the primordial fire burst into the bodies of the heavens and they took on their images, the Arsh alone was something the primordial fire could not attach to; the other eight heavens all have it. Earth is the trace that fire leaves behind; therefore all eight heavens are bound up with earth. What is counter-pulled motion? The Arsh revolves from east to west and drags along the eight heavens below it, so that they too have a tendency from east to west. But the eight heavens' own course is in fact from west to east. So although their tendency is pulled along by the Arsh, their own course does not follow it: they have an east-to-west tendency, yet in fact they travel from west to east. This is called counter-pulled motion. Of the nine heavens' revolutions, one is natural motion and eight are counter-pulled motion. Because the two motions never cease, not only do the qi of the east and the earth of the west enter into each other, but the fire of the south and the water of the north are also, through the dragging of this revolution, carried around and spread in. That the four vital energies blend and become the source of the nurturing transformation of all things is in every case the work of the nine heavens' revolving power. This teaching is something those who exhaust principle and investigate things must know. As for talk of the equator and the ecliptic and the names of the south and north poles, these are the common talk of observers of the celestial images, and I will not repeat them. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'The teaching of the two motions has been understood only in recent times. The simile of the ant on the millstone grasps only the outward form; does it know that counter-pull and dragging are why the revolutions go as they do? The teaching that the two energies enter each other and that water and fire blend is of great help to the investigation of things.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 35–39Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The four agents are the four images. Qi (air) is born from water, and earth comes out of fire: qi, earth, water and fire are the four agents. The four agents are the mother of all things, and each of them has a seat on which it is concentrated. Qi is seated in the east and moves from east to west; earth is seated in the west and moves from west to east; fire is seated in the south and moves from south to north; water is seated in the north and moves from north to south. Each moves out from its own seat until, where everything is filled and no gap remains, the four vital energies mix into one another and roll together into a single qi. If the four moved singly, the myriad things would have no way to be born; because the four mix together, the myriad things are here transformed and nurtured. Someone objects: 'That the south is the correct position of fire and the north the correct position of water is nothing strange. But the east is the correct position of wood, and here you say the correct position of qi is in the east; the west is the correct position of metal, and here you say the correct position of earth is in the west. What does this mean?' I reply: 'Wood is born from water and metal is born from earth. When the four agents first divided, wood and metal did not yet exist; the children had not taken form, and their mothers in fact occupied these places. Qi is the true yang within water that rises upward. Although qi is not called water, it is in fact the essence of water and the mother of wood; therefore its allotted seat is solely in the east. Once wood was born, the child came to share its mother's palace. Metal is the child of earth; before metal was born, its mother's correct position was set solely in the west; once metal was born, the child likewise came to share its mother's palace. That the correct position of wood is in the east and that of metal in the west belongs to the Latter Heaven; that the correct position of qi is in the east and that of earth in the west comes before what comes first. Once the meaning of before and after, child and mother, is clear, the wonderful working of these eastern and western positions yields more the further one seeks it.' Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'North and south have fixed positions; east and west do not. North and south take the two poles as their fixed positions; east and west take heaven and earth as theirs. For heaven belongs to qi and is the east; if heaven is the east, then earth is the west. Those who match the five agents to directions and allot earth to the centre do not know the teaching that east and west have no fixed positions. The account of wood and metal as child and mother is precise and worth pondering.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 40–43Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

Before the four vital energies existed, there were no four seasons in the void. The four seasons are formed by the four vital energies turning in rotation and flowing. Within this rotating flow, each season is named after the position where one particular energy is most abundant. When the flow reaches the place where the qi of the east is most abundant, the season is spring. Knowing that spring is spring because it is mild and harmonious in this way, one knows that what qi holds within itself is exactly like this. When the flow reaches the place where the fire of the south is most abundant, the season is summer. Knowing that summer is summer because it is blazing and abundant in this way, one knows that what fire holds within itself is exactly like this. When the flow reaches the place where the earth of the west is most abundant, the season is autumn. Knowing that autumn is autumn because it draws in and absorbs in this way, one knows that earth, having given forth, takes in again exactly like this. When the flow reaches the place where the water of the north is most abundant, the season is winter. Knowing that winter is winter because it is hard and congealed in this way, one knows that water, clinging to earth, stores itself away exactly like this. For qi and fire flow by spreading out and rising forth, so as seasons spring and summer both show the image of spreading forth; earth and water flow by gathering in and storing away, so as seasons autumn and winter both carry the sense of gathering and storing. When the force of gathering and storing is spent, the impulse to spread forth arises again; when the impulse to spread forth arises, the qi most abundant in the east begins here once more. This is why the four seasons come and go.

Scan vol. 3, p. 44–46Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

Someone objects: 'The order of the four seasons is the cycle of the five agents. Yet you say the four vital energies bring it about, and wood and metal take no part in it. Where, then, will you put the two agents wood and metal? Moreover, without wood fire is not produced, and without metal water is not produced. If fire is not produced, how could summer suddenly arrive among the four seasons? If water is not produced, how could winter abruptly appear?' I reply: 'Qi, fire, water and earth belong to the Former Heaven; they are the mothers of wood and metal. Wood and metal belong to the Latter Heaven; they are the children of the four single agents. Suppose that without wood fire were not produced: then before wood was born, where would the fire of the Former Heaven have come from? Suppose that without metal water were not produced: then before metal was born, where would the water of the Former Heaven have come from? The fire and water of the Former Heaven are not produced by wood and metal; rather, the four agents gathered together are in fact the mother of the Latter Heaven's wood and metal. Once wood was born, its power could also assist fire; this is the origin of the saying that wood produces fire. Once metal was born, its power could also assist water; this is the origin of the saying that metal produces water. Because wood assists fire, wood was inserted before fire and people said "wood produces fire"; because metal assists water, metal was inserted before water and people said "metal produces water." This is the wonderful working of the Real Ruler's nurturing transformation: within the pairing of the four vital energies, He also uses the two agents metal and wood to go between them and draw them together, using the Latter Heaven to supply what the Former Heaven left incomplete.' Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'The four seasons are formed from the four agents. Heaven belongs to qi, which is honoured and first; therefore spring comes first among the four seasons. Next, fire is summer, earth is autumn and water is winter, all in their natural order. Qi and fire reach upward, so in spring and summer the myriad things are born; earth and water reach downward, so in autumn and winter the myriad things come to rest. One birth and one rest: this is how creation is accomplished and how the ceaseless giving of life goes on forever.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 47–49Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

The earth is what takes form when earth and water cling together. Its body is perfectly round and sits in the very centre of the void. Its circumference is ninety thousand li and its depth twenty-eight thousand six hundred li. Its form divides into seven, which are the seven regions: Aerbi, Faerxi, Ouriba, Chini, Xieryang, Xindusitang and Suodang. The seven regions correspond above to the Seven Governors (the sun, moon and five planets). Where a region is the special domain of a given Governor, the character and temperament of its people and creatures resemble the temperament of the star to which it belongs, and the good or ill fortune and the auspicious signs of that region depend on the light that star casts upon it. Aerbi holds first place among the seven regions; humankind was first born there. Its land belongs to the sun; its people are bright, upright and strong-willed, and its products include many treasures. Faerxi belongs to Jupiter; its people are stalwart and capable, and its land has many fine plants. Chini belongs to the moon; its people's aims are easily shifted, and its land is often damp. Ouriba belongs to Mars; its people love argument and delight in contention, and its creatures are often secretly venomous. Xindusitang belongs to Mercury; its people are intelligent and value skill, and its creatures take many strange shapes. Xieryang belongs to Venus; its people are handsome, firm and upright, its products are often beautiful, and its land has many rare products. Suodang belongs to Saturn; it has much salt land and few plants, trees, birds or beasts; its people are dull, obstructed, dark and small, and good at carrying loads; the people of Tianfang call this land the country of servitude. The lands are seven, and they differ in cold, heat, warmth and coolness because the degrees of the ecliptic to which they correspond above are at different distances. Taking the whole earth together, from south to north it divides into five great zones. The first is the ecliptic zone, whose land is very hot because it receives the direct rays of the sun's wheel. Then there are the south polar zone and the north polar zone; these two are very cold because they are far from the sun's wheel. Then there are the zone south of the ecliptic and the zone north of the ecliptic; these two are moderate in cold and heat because they are neither far from nor near to the sun's wheel. The causes of cold, heat, warmth and coolness in the earth's climates all come from the ecliptic of the upper realm casting its light among them. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'The three teachings and the maps of the Western Ocean differ in the number of regions, which is hard to settle by reasoning. Yet heaven has seven Governors and earth has seven regions; this is a natural number. That Aerbi occupies the central position is not an arbitrary honour; it can be proved by the absence of shadows at noon.'

Scan vol. 3, p. 50–53Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

In the void, from earth up to heaven, there are four zones. Nearest the earth is the warm zone; above the warm is the moist zone; above that is the cold zone; nearest heaven is the hot zone. The four zones are formed from the four agents wind, fire, water and earth. The energies of the four zones always act from above downward to nurture the myriad things; none has ever acted from below upward. The energy of the warm zone does not reach the moist zone, and the energy of the cold zone does not reach the hot zone. The warm zone belongs to earth, and its energy is mild and even; the moist zone belongs to water, and its energy is somewhat cool; the cold zone belongs to wind, and its energy is severe and piercing; the hot zone belongs to fire, and its energy is blazing hot. The energies of the four zones are what all things rely upon, so that each, according to its season, can set its nature and mandate right. It is also said: the four zones are the membrane that receives heaven and nourishes earth. It is like the space between skin and flesh: without a membrane to join them, the flesh could not nourish the skin and the skin could not protect the flesh. As for the accumulated yang energy within the earth, at times it rises. Some of it reaches only the warm zone; some passes the warm zone and reaches the moist zone, the cold zone, or the hot zone. Because the heights to which it rises differ, it becomes dust, mist, cloud, rain, hail, sand, shooting stars or comets, taking all these different forms. The accumulated yang energy in the earth is what the sun has shot into it. When it rises, some floats upward and some shoots straight up; of what shoots straight up, some rises slowly and some rises with violent force. What floats upward reaches only the warm zone: energy mixed with earth becomes dust, and energy rising alone becomes mist. What shoots straight up becomes cloud: if the cloud penetrates deep into the moist zone there is rain; if the cloud reaches only the warm zone there is no rain. Of what shoots straight up, what rises slowly carrying earth becomes sand; this energy cannot reach all the way to the moist zone, because its body is heavy. What rises with violent force goes straight into the cold zone, where the cold congeals and freezes it into hail. What rises with violent force and very great strength, like a loosed arrow or a flung pellet, goes straight into the hot zone. The hot zone is the proper seat of fire; the accumulated yang energy, meeting fire's burning once more, turns into a ball of fire and falls: this is a shooting star. This energy occurs on days when yang prevails, so shooting stars are more frequent in summer than in winter. If the accumulated yang energy is extremely fierce and its upward force stronger still, it can shoot to the far edge of the hot zone and come near to heaven. Near heaven, this energy is drawn in by heaven's energy and cannot fall back; it travels along with heaven as comets and the like, and only after a long time does it gradually dwindle and disperse until nothing is left. Note (Hei of Qingyuan): 'The hot zone belongs to fire and the cold zone to wind; one would expect the hot zone to lie below the cold zone. [But] the zone said to belong to water is the warm zone [as printed]; if water and fire dwelt together, each would consume the other and neither would thrive. Only when wind comes between them can water stay moist and fire stay ablaze. Look at the positions of the four agents: fire in the south, water in the north, with qi and earth between them. The idea is the same. This is enough to show how wonderfully the transformation of things is interwoven.'