peer reviews
Xiang'er Commentary
The Xiang'er commentary was meant for a wide audience especially those interested in original Dao's teachings and also contains strong advice for a stable Daoist community that was looking for a worthy monarch to adopt its ideas of governance based on Dao's teaching. The Xiang'er emphasizes on the idea of unity where it says that those who keep and do not transgress the precepts maintains unity and those who do not practice the precepts looses unity. He was addressing a worthy monarch. The commentary also advices human beings: especially the leaders to gauge any action against the precepts of the Dao and carefully establish whether their actions contravene the Dao expectations. It argues that those who follow and pursue the precepts of the Dao, the Dao of life will not depart from them. It warns those who do not keep the precepts of the Dao in everything they do, they will miss the intentions of the Dao and the Dao will depart from them. The commentary is a worthy advice for a ruler since it teaches them on good leadership based on Dao's teachings and intentions.
The Xiang'er also encouraged leaders to remake a society on the model of the Dao. He advised leaders to remake a society that is not based on the desire for wealth and fame. It called for a society that was based on fear for the Dao and the respect of heaven. The Xiang'er commentary gave 27 precepts that would direct the society towards the intentions of the Dao. The precepts warned against acting recklessly, killing, seeking fame, coveting glory, neglecting the law, injuring the ascendant pneumas among other warnings. These precepts include guiding laws to both the rulers and subject for a just society. The precepts portrayed morality in a way that encompassed the necessity of physiological cultivation practices. It also warned that material goods usually led contravening of the precepts. The Xaing'er taught that common people and the rulers pursued morality in hope of earthly rewards and societal acclaim that led to a sad state of affairs. It went ahead to advice that the solution for the good state of affairs was religious morality that was not based on earthy things desire but that was based on fear and respect for heaven.
The Xiang'er was advising rulers on the ways of creating a good society which follows the Dao's intention. The Xiang'er targeted the rulers when it stipulated punishment for offenders. Minor offenders were given road repair duties. The Xiang'er was written when the community offered leniency and concern for suffering of the coon people. It is said that the commoners and non-Chinese people were very happy about the Celestial Masters rule. The libationers during those days used to set up responsibility huts along roads leading to their territories so that they can feed travellers and refugees. They had rules regarding the eating habits and even those who broke the ordinance were pardoned. The Xiang'er wants rulers to learn from that administration in order to create a stable Daoist society.
The Xiang'er commentary gave sufficient information regarding the physiological practices for healing and transcendence according to the early Celestial master movement. It taught on ways of achieving transcendence where a person was required to preserve and harmonize the internal spirits.It warned against desires, anger and violent emotions consequences as they could only result to destructive movement of the pneumas. It stipulated that an individual was supposed to avoid these tendencies of the heart so that they can achieve clarity and stillness in their lives. These teaching were meant for rulers since a good ruler is supposed to eradicate the heart deviant tendencies for a just society in accordance to the Dao's needs and expectations.
The Xiang'er commentary targets a wide audience of human beings seeking to follow the teaching of the Celestial Masters and the Dao when it creates its new methods for physiological cultivation. The advance method was identified with the rite of merging pneumas which is referred to as Celestial Master marriage rite. It called for a sexual penetration after a thorough series of massages and visualizations of one partner by the next. It attacked the classics of sexual hygiene.In addition, it taught that since the Dao had unconditional love for humans and he had desire for the species to continue, sexual intercourse was only meant for reproduction purposes only. At the age of fifty, one was supposed to stop the essences to produce life according to the Xiang'er. Youths were advised to preserve their essence but not to cut it off according to the Xiang'er.
The Xiang'er commentary was largely addressed to a stable Daoist community that was looking for a worthy leader who would adopt the Dao's teachings in his or her leadership. It also targets the society that needs the original teachings and rules of the Dao. It gives an insight of what the Dao expects from the humans.
Work cited
Bokenkamp, S. R., & Nickerson, P. S. (1997). Early Daoist Scriptures (Vol. 1). Univ of California Press.
