One drop of semen, ten drops of blood
"Renal deficiency" has long been something feared by Chinese men. But just what is it?
In ancient times, sexual dysfunction was ascribed to excessive "fire" and insufficient "water" in the "kidneys" and this was called "renal deficiency." The saying went that "[to produce] one drop of semen [consumes] ten drops of blood." In traditional thinking, a man's seminal fluid was very precious. In ancient ideas about sex, excessive nocturnal emissions or masturbation were thought to result in "renal deficiency."
Chiang Han-sheng points out that the shen ("kidneys" in modern Chinese) referred to in "renal deficiency" are not in fact the kidneys of Western medicine. Some believe the "kidneys" of renal deficiency are the testes; others identify them with the adrenal glands, located at the top of the kidneys.
Chiang Han-sheng notes that from the point of view of modern Western medicine, "renal deficiency" is a very simple type of neurasthenia, while nocturnal emissions are something quite natural, and masturbation does not lead to any loss of sexual function.
In Chinese medicine, jing (meaning both "semen" and "vital essence"), yuan ("innate vital energy"), qi ("breath" and "vital energy") and shen ("spirit") are known as the "four treasures." Dr. Wen Jung-kuang of the psychiatric department at Taipei's Chang Gung Memorial Hospital believes that "renal deficiency" expresses a neurotic fear in ancient culture of "losing seminal fluid." Chinese herbal doctor Li Chen-yu also believes that the reason the ancients sought to avoid ejaculation may have had to do with inadequate nutrition.
Thus the methods described in the old fangzhongshu or "bedroom arts" for "locking yang" or "safeguarding the semen" have no basis in modern medical theory. Chiang Han-sheng says that forcing oneself not to ejaculate can lead to such symptoms as blood in the semen, burst blood vessels, and anxiety, and has no advantages.
Lifting the curse of ages
Moreover, fangzhongshu continually stresses notions such as how men should be "stronger" and how they should satisfy women, which places great "pressure" on men. Thus even today, as in the past, Chinese men blindly believe in tonic medicines purported to strengthen yang by fortifying the jing and the blood.
Chinese medicine embraces the idea that an organ can be treated with a medicine of similar shape, and this has led to animal reproductive organs such as tiger penises, seal penises and snake penises being valued by the Chinese as tonics. Tiger penises are said to command prices up to several tens of thousands of NT dollars each, and despite their dubious efficacy and the abundance of bogus products, many people are still eager buy them.
Apart from extolling the wondrous effects of such organs, almost all the fangzhongshu books end with an appendix of sexually restorative remedies, such as "bald rooster powder," intended to "cure a man's fatigue and injuries, impotence and incapacity," or "antler powder," to "treat inability to rise to the needs of the moment, wilting halfway through, inadvertent release," and so on.
Chiang Han-sheng observes that the sexual remedies have some value and some degree of efficacy. Clinical experience shows that some of the substances do indeed increase sperm motility. But their effectiveness varies from person to person, and for some people they have no effect at all.
Cure-all for men and women
Understanding ancient sexual culture can help us to free ourselves from certain sexual "curses" of today, but the heritage of our ancestors' sexual culture of several thousand years ago is still worth studying and applying for other reasons too. A good example is the use of ancient fangzhongshu concepts and techniques in modern sexual therapy.
Looking from the perspective of modern Western medicine, Chiang Han-sheng affirms the attitude promoted in China's ancient fangzhongshu that sex is something healthy. For example, the ancient sex handbook Su Nu Jing describes the highest plane of sex as the "union of yin and yang," with the final aim of "curing loss of vigor in men and myriad ailments in women."
Moreover, fangzhongshu analyzed the sex act in great depth. Chiang Han-sheng believes that some of the techniques described in fangzhongshu are still very useful today. Premature ejaculation is a case in point. People who have not learned to control their sexual sensitivity may easily be prone to premature ejaculation. Fangzhongshu techniques for delaying ejaculation, such as "nine shallow [thrusts] to one deep" are very effective in alleviating premature ejaculation problems. Or again where impotence is concerned, fangzhongshu also includes a variety of techniques for restoring sexual function.
Li Feng-mao, a scholar of Taoism at the Academia Sinica, also holds a positive view of the traditional health-promoting methods contained in fangzhongshu. He believes that fangzhongshu can be helpful to both individuals and families alike.
A secret art
However, for several thousand years, fangzhongshu has not only not been widely known in China, it has been treated as knowledge to be hoarded and sold at a high price. This has to do with its degree of difficulty.
Because fangzhongshu involves difficult techniques requiring the use of qigong to guide the qi and train the body, it requires an instructor, and for this reason since ancient times it has always been an "art transmitted in secret."
Li Feng-mao says that in fact quite a large number of people practice fangzhongshu today--it is just that they don't like to let others know. The majority are intellectuals or business people.
Whether one wishes to apply the ancient knowledge today or simply to sweep away outdated superstitions, these both require a comprehensive understanding of ancient sexual culture. In the words of Liu Dalin, who has put much effort into researching ancient Chinese sexual culture, "if we want to understand the present, we have to properly understand the past." This identifies the value and importance of ancient sexual culture for people today.
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Taoist fangzhongshu calls on men to refrain from ejaculation and guide their masculine qi upwards along their spinal column during coition, in order to improve their health and strengthen their bodies. (courtesy of Golden Maple Publishing co.)
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Many muddled ancient sexual ideas still influence people today, thousands of years on. Men's blind belief in sexual tonic medicines is a "curse" which is still hard to dispel. (photo by Hsueh Chi-kuang)