{{Short description|Diagram in Daoism}} {{Taoism condensed}} thumb|right|The ''Neijing Tu'' The '''Neijing Tu''' ({{zh|s=內经图|t=內經圖|p=''Nèijīng tú''|w=''Nei-ching t'u''}}) is a Daoist "inner landscape" diagram of the human body illustrating ''Neidan'' {{gloss|internal alchemy}}, Wu Xing, Yin and Yang, and Chinese mythology.
==Title== The name ''Neijing tu'' combines {{zhi|p=nei|c=內|tr=inside; inner; internal}}, {{zhi|p=jing|c=經|tr=warp (vs. woof); scripture, canon, classic; (TCM) meridian; channel}}, and {{zhi|p=tu|c=圖|tr=picture; drawing; chart; map; plan}}. This title, comparable with {{zhi|p=Huangdi Neijing|c=黃帝內經|tr=Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon}}, is generally interpreted as a "chart" or "diagram" of "inner" "meridians" or "channels" of Traditional Chinese medicine for circulating ''qi'' in ''neidan'' preventative and observational practices.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Sandra |title=Reclaiming the Wisdom of the Body |publisher=Constable |year=1997 |isbn=9780094773400 |language=English}}</ref>
English translations of ''Neijing tu'' include: *"Diagram of the Internal Texture of Man" <ref>(Needham 1983:114)</ref> *"Diagram of the Inner Scripture" <ref>(Ching 1997:188)</ref> *"Chart of Inner Passageways" <ref>(Despeux and Kohn 2003:184)</ref> *"Diagram of Internal Pathways" <ref>(Komjathy 2004:40)</ref> *"Chart of the Inner Warp" or "Chart of the Inner Landscape" <ref>(Despeux 2008:767)</ref>
{{zhi|p=Neijing tu|c=內經圖}} has an alternate writing of {{zhi|p=Neijing tu|c=內景圖|tr=Diagram of Interior Lights}},<ref>(Kohn 2000:499, 521)</ref> using {{zhi|p=jing|c=景|tr=view; scenery; condition}} as a variant Chinese character for {{zhi|p=jing|c=經}}.
==History== While the original ''Neijing tu'' provenance is unclear, it probably dates from the 19th century.<ref>(Komjathy 2004:11)</ref> All received copies derive from an engraved stele dated 1886 in Beijing's White Cloud Temple {{lang|zh|白雲觀}} that records how {{zhi|p=Liu Chengyin|c=柳誠印}} based it on an old silk scroll discovered in a library on Mount Song (in Henan). In addition, a Qing Dynasty colored scroll ''Neijing tu'' was painted at the {{zhi|p=Ruyi Guan|c=如意館|tr=Palace of Fulfilled Wishes}} library in the Forbidden City.<ref>(Despeux 2008:767)</ref>
The ''Neijing Tu'' was the precursor for the {{zhi|p=Xiuzhen Tu|c=修真圖|tr=Cultivating Perfection Diagram}}. The earliest anatomical diagrams with Daoist ''Neidan'' symbolism are attributed to {{zhi|p=Yanluozi|c=煙蘿子}} (fl. 10th century) and conserved in the 1250 CE {{zhi|p=Xiuzhen shishu|c=修真十書|tr=Cultivating Perfection Ten Books}}.<ref>(Kohn 2000:521)</ref>
==Contents==
The ''Neijing tu'' laterally depicts a human body (resembling either meditator or fetus) as a microcosm of nature – an "inner landscape" with mountains, rivers, paths, forests, and stars.<ref>(Schipper 1993:100–112)</ref> Joseph Needham coins the term "microsomography" and describes the ''Neijing tu'' as "much more fanciful and poetical" than previous Daoist illustrations.<ref>(Needham 1983:114)</ref>
The textual descriptions include names of ''zangfu'' organs, two poems attributed to {{zhi|p=Lü Dongbin|c=呂洞賓}} (born ca. 798 CE, one of the Eight Immortals), and quotations from the {{zhi|p=Huangting jing|c=黃庭經|tr=Yellow Court Scripture}}.
The ''Neijing'' image of a mountain with crags on the skull and spinal column elaborates upon the "body-as-mountain" metaphor, first recorded in 1227 CE.<ref>(Despeux and Kohn 2003:185)</ref> The head shows Kunlun Mountains, upper ''dantian'' "cinnabar field", Laozi, Bodhidharma, and two circles for the eyes (labelled "sun" and "moon"). The flanking poem explains. <blockquote>The white-headed old man's eyebrows hang down to earth; <br> The blue-eyed foreign monk's arms support heaven. <br> If you aspire to this mysticism; <br> You will acquire its secret.<ref>(tr. Wang 1992:145)</ref> </blockquote> Chinese constellations figure prominently. The heart depicts {{zhi|p=Niulang|c=牛郎|l=the cowherd|tr=Altair}} holding the {{zhi|p=Beidou|c=北斗|l=Northern Dipper|tr=Big Dipper}}. Together with his archetypal lover {{zhi|p=Zhinü|c=織女|l=the weaver girl" |tr=Vega}} (see Qi Xi), they propel qi up to the tracheal Twelve-Storied Pagoda. The liver and gall bladder are a forest, the stomach is a granary, and the intestines caption reads "the iron ox ploughs the field where coins of gold are sown"<ref>(tr. Needham 1983:116)</ref> referring to the Elixir of life. At base of the spine are treadmill waterwheels (an early Chinese invention) being run by two children representing yin and yang.
==See also== * Xiuzhen Tu * Meridian (Chinese medicine) * Nadi (yoga) * Microcosm–macrocosm analogy
==References== {{Reflist}} *Ching, Julia. 1997. ''Mysticism and Kingship in China: The Heart of Chinese Wisdom''. Cambridge University Press. *Despeux, Catherine. 2008. "''Neijing tu'' and ''Xiuzhen tu''", in ''The Encyclopedia of Taoism'', ed. Fabrizio Pregadio, Routledge, 767–771. *Despeux, Catherine and Livia Kohn. 2003. ''Women in Daoism''. Three Pines Press. *Needham, Joseph. 1983. ''Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology; Part 5, Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy''. Cambridge University Press. *Kohn, Livia, ed. 2000. ''Daoism Handbook''. Brill. *Komjathy, Louis. 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050526005650/http://www.daoistcenter.org/Articles/Articles_pdf/Texts.pdf Daoist Texts in Translation] (Internet Archive copy). *Schipper, Kristofer M. 1993. ''The Taoist Body''. University of California Press. *Wang, David Teh-Yu. 1992. "''Nei Jing Tu'', a Daoist Diagram of the Internal Circulation of Man," ''The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery'' 49–50:141–158.
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150824003211/http://thelaughingidiot.yolasite.com/resources/Diagram%20of%20the%20Inner%20Channels%20%28NeichingT'u%29.pdf Diagram of the Inner Channels (Neiching T'u)] translation of the text (Internet Archive copy) *[http://www.mediafire.com/file/kcjw0zktmjh/NeichingT'u.pdf 內經圖], Bilingual (Chinese-English) text of ''Neijing tu'' with word-by-word translation and transcription (7 MB PDF file) *[http://www.daoism.cn/up/data/033njt.htm 內經圖], ''Neijing tu'' image (obsolete link) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040908215643/http://www2.cmu.edu.tw/~cmcshow/neijin.htm 內經圖], ''Neijing tu'' color image *[http://www.taoism.org.hk/taoist-world-today/current-info-on-taoist-temples/lecture43.htm 氣功與內經圖], Qigong and ''Neijing tu'' {{in lang|zh}} *[http://www.artic.edu/taoism/renaissance/k136/spinalcord.php Neijing Tu], clickable image details, The Art Institute of Chicago *[http://www.universal-tao.com/tao/inner_alchemy.html Explanation of the Inner Alchemy Chart], Universal Tao Center *[http://www.damo-qigong.net/pics/tu/neijing/neijing.htm Inner Landscape of Human's Body/Nei Jing Tu], DaMo Qigong *[http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan/neijing_tu.html Neijing tu (Chart of the Inner Warp)], from the Golden Elixir website
Category:Chinese culture Category:Qigong Category:Taoist art Category:Taoist texts Category:19th-century Taoism