Temple Blog Bigu 辟谷

Since the Han Dynasty, there has been a legend that Taoist priests were convinced of bigu. Many imitators existed in all dynasties.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas contains the people who “eat Qi”, and later there is a legend that “whoever eats Qi will live a long life”. Zhuangzi transformed similar concepts into the power of gods and people. “Zhuangzi Xiaoyaoyou” contains Gods and people living in the mountains. The skin is like ice and snow. The skin is like a virgin. I don’t eat five grains, breathe the wind and drink the dew, ride the air of the clouds, ride the flying dragons, and swim beyond the four seas…”. 

Bigu started in the pre-Qin period, around the same time as Qi-Xing. The treatise on the etiquette before the Qin and Han dynasties, “The Book of Rites of the Great Dairy: Yi Benming”, said: “The meat-eater is brave and fierce, the grain-eater is wise and skilful, the Qi-eating person will live a long life, and the non-eating person will not die and become a god”. 

From the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, Bigu 辟谷 has been very popular in Taoism. After the founding of Taoism, many people inherited this technique and practised Bigu. In the Western Han Dynasty, there is a chapter on “Going (but) Grain to Eat Qi”: “Those who go to (but) the grain eat Shiwei. The head is heavy, the feet are light, and the body is cramped, then smash (呴) cook (blow) it, depending on the benefit.” It means that the hunger phenomenon of top-heavy and weak limbs is often caused when starting Bigu, which must be overcome by “Blowing”. The linking of Bigu and Qi here is the same as the linking of Qi and Daoyin in Zhuangzi Jiyi, which seems to indicate the initial state of these three techniques in the pre-Qin period.

In 1973, two Qigong cultural relics that attracted worldwide attention were unearthed from the Han Tomb No. 3 in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province: the guide map and the chapter “Qi Gu Shi Qi”. The former is a colourful silk painting with various guiding postures; the latter is a silk book that records the specific methods of Bigu-eating Qi. According to textual research, the silk script was written in the early Han Dynasty, about the time of Emperor Gaozu (206-188 BC). The details of its content may be an ancient Yishu handed down from the pre-Qin period.

“Historical Records: Liuhou Family” records that Liuhou Zhangliang had many illnesses. He used Daoyin, bigu and other techniques to treat his diseases and practised the power of lightening his body. According to “The Biography of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty”, Wang Zhen, an alchemist of the Eastern Han Dynasty, “has broken the valley for more than two hundred years, and his flesh is bright and beautiful.” “Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Fangshu” contains: “(Hao) Mengjian can last five years or ten years if he does not eat jujube seeds.” To try it, “a hundred days in the valley, you can walk and live freely”. Among the alchemists Cao Cao brought in, Gan Shi, Zuo Ci, Feng Junda, and Lu girls practised Bigu. Ge Hong, a Taoist priest from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, objected to the idea that one-way Bigu could lead to immortality, but he did not doubt the effect of the Bigu technique on fitness and prolonging life. He said in “Baopuzi Nei Chapter Miscellaneous Yings”: “The remaining people saw that there were more than three or two years of Danggu people, all of them were light and good looking”, and gave specific examples to prove it. 

The Book of Northern Qi records a cultivator who lived in seclusion in Langya Mountain, practised the art of Bigu, and took crude medicines such as pine nuts, Baizhu, and Poria to seek immortality. According to “The History of the South: Hermitage Biography”, Deng Yu, a Taoist priest in Nanyue, “broken the valley for more than 30 years, and only took mica chips with the stream, and recited the “Dadongjing” day and night”. In ten years, he is strong and when he is over eighty years old.” “The History of the North: Hermitage Biography” said that Chen Taoist Xu Ze “has no grain nourishment, and only uses pine techniques. Although it is cold in the middle of winter, he is not satisfied with cotton wool”. According to the “Old Tang Books: Recluse Biography”, Tang Taoist Pan Shizheng lived in Songshan for more than 20 years, “but he only took pine leaves to drink water.” The “Old Tang Book” records a man named Wang Yuanzhi, who practised the technique of breathing and navigating, took Lingzhi and Baizhu, etc., and lived to be over a hundred years old, with black hair and brisk walking. According to “History of the Song Dynasty: Hermitage Biography”, in the early Song Dynasty, Taoist Chen Tuan lived in Jiushiyan, Wudang Mountain. According to the History of the Song Dynasty, Fang Ji Biography, Zhao Ziran “doesn’t eat, his air is refreshing, he vomits every time he smells fire and eats gas, only fruits and clear springs are born”, Chai Tongxuan “is over a hundred years old, and he is good at fasting and roaring. Only drink.”