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Thomas Cleary – The Taoist Classics
The Manuals of Taoist Sexual Practise – Ten Questions 05

Yao asked Shun, "What is most valuable in the world?"

Shun replied, "Life is most valuable."

Yao asked, "How does one manage life?"

Shun replied, "By close examination and thorough understanding of yin and yang."

Yao asked, "Human beings have nine apertures and twelve main joints, each set in its place; why is it that the sexual organs are there when people are born but lose their function before the body dies?"

Shun replied, "They are not needed for eating and drinking, and not used for planning and thinking. We avoid their names and conceal the organs themselves. They are used very much, without relaxation or moderation; this is why they are born with the body but 'die' before the body dies."

Yao asked, "How do we manage them?"

Shun replied, "By care, education, consideration, and nutrition, making the erection strong yet going about the act in a slow and relaxed manner, not being premature when full of desire, not ejaculating at the peak of pleasure. Vitality will build up, energy will be stored up, and even though one lives to be a hundred one will be healthier than ever."

This is Shun's way of mastering energy through sexual intercourse.