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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
overview, November 30, 2004
This review is from: The Sexual Teachings of the Jade Dragon: Taoist Methods for Male Sexual Revitalization (Paperback)
This book is fantastic from a historical context. It really puts a strong perspective on the tradtions of sexual alchemy in traditional chinese society. The outlines of the five elements in relation to errection and ejaculation are very interesting.
The practical components of the book are a bit scewed, in my humble opinion. I am very well trained in both Chinese Medicine and Kung Fu, and have been since childhood. And though I believe this book is a very accurate and concise translation of the origional text, and the mentality of sexual alchemy in China during ancient times, I don't feel that this material is enough in itself to complete the goal of immortality.
But don't get me wrong this book is VERY important, along with the tigress manual, in achieving longevity and immortality through sexual practices. You should look outside of the reach of this text and explore the small heaven circulation in detail, the conents in this book will be enough on the topic of circuating energy, but you will need to gain further understanding in order to acheive more dynamic results.
Also a word to the wise, the herbal formulas in this book are hot in nature, do not abuse them or you will end up with significant malaise. Consult a Traditional Chinese Medical Doctor to make sure you don't have too much heat or fire before taking the formulas in this book.
[...]
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, January 4, 2006
This review is from: The Sexual Teachings of the Jade Dragon: Taoist Methods for Male Sexual Revitalization (Paperback)
I read this book as an outsider - someone curious about the Taoist alchemical tradition, the sexual yoga so deeply involved it, and its form in the current era. This collection of essays and translations is very helpful, and helpful in several ways.
Hsi starts with and outline of the White Tigress, Jade Dragon beliefs and the program of study that is involved. Next, Hsi addresses the different kinds of male temperaments and organs, and offers a series of solo and couples' exercises for strengthening the penis and the sexual energy that guides it. Hsi notes that many readers will stop there, deriving physical and sexual benefit from the practices, but not spiritual.
Next, Hsi offers a translation of the Plain Girl classic written 2000 years ago, conversations between a seeker and the immortal Plain Girl. A few more translations or guides follow, ending with an eighteenth century autobiography. It describes the induction of a young man into Taoism monasticism. His master felt that the student's physical weakness made him too fragile a vessel to hold enlightenment, and prescribed Jade Dragon practice to strengthen his body and mind. That student describes his own advance under Jade Dragon practice, and its benefit to his later life.
I don't always know whether Hsi is writing in the first person, passing on the knowledge that he was given, or rendering a classic text into English. More clarity there would have helped. Even if it lacks in academic rigor, this book lacks nothing in its main purpose. It's a happy statement that carnal energy and personal enlightenment can and must work together.
//wiredweird
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
certainly controversial, tons of information, well presented, November 23, 2004
This review is from: The Sexual Teachings of the Jade Dragon: Taoist Methods for Male Sexual Revitalization (Paperback)
So far I've spent about 4 hours going through this book, so I plan to continue to edit and update my review as I study it in more detail.
There is a wealth of information in this book, and it includes translations of several very famous Chinese texts on this topic (with good practical commentary). It is well written and easy to read, very matter of fact, has some very clear illustrations. As a person with a deep interest in the topic of dual cultivation I found it "a page turner". It also points out correctly that this is a very controversial topic both today and historically, and does a good job of presenting the subject in a neutral manner, although I think the book downplays the extent to which dual cultivation was (and is) frowned upon in China.
On the downside, there are some very complex issues of the morality about the use and treatment of the green dragons which are not discussed, the author is rather vague on the issue of informed consent.
The text presented of the "Plain Girl Classic" (Su Nu Ching) is quite different from the 'standard' versions - see Douglas Wile "The Chinese Sexual Yoga Classics" for a scholarly analysis of the publically available versions.
The herbal formulations look very interesting (I'm not a Trad. Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbalist) but the dosage information is very vague.
I think it is unlikely that many if any of the readers will be able to (or want to?) re-create the white tigress / jade dragon dynamic, but it is fascinating to read this description of the behavior of this particular lineage of Taoists in China.
The techniques are described in sufficient detail that it should be easy to practice them from the book. My personal experiences is that there are better techniques for drawing the energy upward (I did not see any references to using either sacral or cranial pumps), and I believe the ones presented in the book will work and are among the simplest. They might also be among the easiest, but that is a very relative term - this is not an easy subject.
This system is based on two particular male/female dynamics, there are other systems.
I am an experienced practicioner of dual cultivation from another school, so I will spend hours going thru this in detail. Would I recommend this as a first book / beginner's book - no. However it terms of the mechanical aspects controlling and channelling the energy it is more complete and useful than Jolan Chang's books or Stephen Chang's on the topic.
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