Methods for Favorable Offspring

AnonymousJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJul 2024

Rating 2.8
Word count
18K words
Chapters
38

Tags

Social Sciences Medical MiscellanyHeir MentalitySexual HealthFertility MethodsReproductive MedicineMarital UnionCosmic GenerationLife WisdomTraditional CultureFertility Culture

Summary

Heaven and earth, all things are transformed and made pure; male and female unite their essence, and all things are born. This is the natural principle of creation and transformation. It is also the way of no thought and no action. Thus there is the human way, and there are husbands and wives. Where there are husbands and wives, there is offspring. How then can there be talk of lacking offspring? Yet Heaven has times when it does not generate, and earth has regions that do not bear crops; so among people too there cannot but be those who lack offspring. If those who can bear children bear them, and those who lack them lack them, then what is the purpose of the talk about seeking offspring? Can it truly be sought? Can it truly not be sought? Within this there are also its own explanations and its own methods.

Editor's review

Yilin Ce revolves around husbands and wives, offspring, and the discourse on seeking offspring. It opens with the natural principle of heaven and earth transforming and making pure, and male and female uniting their essence, pointing out that where there are husbands and wives there is offspring, while also acknowledging that there are indeed people in the world who lack offspring, and then asking whether the discourse on seeking offspring can be sought and whether it has its own methods. This discussion advances layer by layer: first establishing the natural principle, then acknowledging real differences, and finally arriving at the discernment of methods, reflecting the ancients' way of thinking about fertility. The author of this book is unknown, and it was printed and issued by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Bureau; when reading, one should attend to its structure of argument rather than seek specific formulas. It is suitable for readers interested in traditional views of fertility, family ethics, and ancient medical discourse, and can serve as a text for understanding old discourses on seeking offspring. Because its background of composition differs greatly from today's medical context, readers should maintain a discerning eye and understand it at the level of documentary and intellectual history.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. First read carefully the opening discussion of heaven and earth transforming and making pure, and male and female uniting their essence, to grasp the starting point of the book's argument.
  2. Note the way the text first establishes principles, then poses questions, and finally speaks of methods; sort out the layers as you read.
  3. Understand the book's ideas in the context of its era, and avoid judging them directly by modern medical standards.
  4. If concerned with the topic of seeking offspring, read it alongside other traditional documents and compare similarities and differences in their statements.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 总论
  3. 时气(天时一)
  4. 阴阳（天时二）
  5. 地利（地利一）
  6. 基址（地利二）
  7. 十机（人事一）
  8. 附∶小产论
  9. 蓄外家（人事二）
  10. 药食（论方）
  11. 饮食（戒饮）
  12. 男病（疾病一）
  13. 女病（疾病二）
  14. 附∶衍庆编调经至言
  15. 辨古
  16. 大意
  17. 干道（蓄德一）
  18. 坤道（蓄德二）
  19. 精血盛衰之验（培原一）
  20. 聚精之道有五（培原二）
  21. 葆真为种子首务（培原三）
  22. 药忌燥热（培原四）
  23. 色戒男淫（培原五）
  24. 合男女必当其年（布种一）
  25. 百脉齐到则孕成（布种二）
  26. 种子须知之时（布种三）
  27. 娠子论（胎教一）
  28. 逐月养胎（胎教二）
  29. 胎教迩言（胎教三）
  30. 保孕六说（胎教四）
  31. 防磋跌（胎教五）
  32. 忌多浴（胎教六）
  33. 论胎肖（胎教七）
  34. 修造犯胎不足信（胎教八）
  35. 转女为男之理（胎教九）
  36. 孕妇饮食忌（胎教十）
  37. 孕妇药物忌（胎教十一）
  38. 附保命延生戒期

FAQ

What does Yilin Ce mainly discuss? According to the available materials, this book revolves around husbands and wives, offspring, and the discourse on seeking offspring. It opens with the natural principle of heaven and earth transforming and generating, and male and female uniting their essence, acknowledges that there are people in the world who lack offspring, and asks whether seeking offspring can be sought and whether it has its own methods. Overall, it is a discussion of the issue of offspring in a traditional context.
Can the book's statements about seeking offspring be followed directly? It is not advisable to follow them directly. This book is an ancient document by an unknown author, and its discussion is built on old ideas that differ from today's standards in reproductive medicine. Readers may use it as material for understanding traditional discourse on seeking offspring, but when it comes to fertility issues they should still consult modern medical institutions.
Does the unknown authorship affect reading? The impact is limited. The lack of author information indeed prevents us from understanding the motivation for writing through biographical background, but the book's opening argument is clearly layered, and its thinking can still be grasped from the text itself. When reading, focusing on the structure of argument and the intellectual background is more feasible than investigating the author's identity.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.