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Thomas Cleary – The Taoist Classics
The Manuals of Taoist Sexual Practise – Ten Questions 09

Wen Zhi visited King Wei of Qi. King Wei asked him about the way in these terms: "I have heard you are versed in the way. Since I am already chief of state, I don't have time to listen to it all; I only want to hear one or two words about the essentials of the Way."

Wen Zhi replied, "I have composed three hundred essays on the Way, and sleeping is first and foremost."

King Wei asked, "Explain this. What should I eat at bedtime?"

Wen Zhi replied, "Fine wine and leeks."

King Wei asked, "Why do you recommend leeks?"

Wen Zhi replied, "When our ancestors practiced agriculture, they found leeks the only perennial herb, so they designated it as such.

Leeks receive the energy of heaven early, and they receive the energy of earth fully. Therefore, if weakly and timid people eat leeks, they will be robust; if people whose eyes do not see well eat them, they will have clear vision. If people whose ears do not hear well eat them, they will have clear hearing. If you eat them for the three months of spring, sicknesses won't develop, and your tendons and bones will increase in strength. This is called the king of herbs."

King Wei said, "Good. And why do you recommend wine?"

Wen Zhi replied, "Wine is the vital energy of the five grains. When it enters the stomach, it disperses throughout the circulatory system, penetrating the physical structure and pervading it. It goes deeply into the system without requiring you to lie down and sleep. Therefore it is a vehicle for a hundred medicines."

King Wei said, "Good. But there is something that is not as you have said. When people suffering from dysentery in spring are given leeks, why are they given eggs instead of wine?"

Wen Zhi replied, "That will also do. Chickens are yang animals; their call at dawn is clear as they stretch their necks and spread their wings. During the three months of summer, chickens and leeks alike convey positive (yang) energy; that is why Taoists eat them."

King Wei said, "Good. Now why do you recommend sleep?"

Wen Zhi replied, "Sleep is not only a human activity. All birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and insects need food in order to live, and food needs sleep to work. Sleep enables food to be digested and disperses medicines to circulate through the body.

"Sleep is to food as fire is to gold. Therefore, if you do not sleep for one night, you will not recover for a hundred days. If food is not digested, it will be like having a ball in your gut. This produces listlessness and constipation, degeneration and debility. Therefore Taoists respect sleep."

King Wei said, "Good. If I always enjoy drinking from evening on into the night, will I not get sick?"

Wen Zhi replied, "No problem. Be like the birds and the beasts: those that go to sleep early rise early, those that go to sleep late rise late. The sky gets light, the earth gets dark; Taoists investigate those phenomena and go no further.

"The energy of food is absorbed subtly and circulated silently; during the night . . . energy is sent into all parts of the body. When all parts of the body are stably vitalized, you are inwardly solid while outwardly peaceful, so you don't get eruptions or tumours. This is the consummation of the Way."

King Wei said, "Good."