they did not set the task of turning it into a scientific report. They recorded their conversations with Wang Liping and his memoirs and called their work "reportage"

By their own admission, they did not fully understand what Wang Liping was saying. They understood to the extent of their maturity, to the extent of their readiness for understanding. To the best of my readiness, I understood what was stated in the book and the translator. Of course, the same should be said about future readers of the Russian translation. But our maturity can grow along with the growth of the degree of our integrity, our freedom, then we will re-read the book and understand in it what is now possible. didn't even notice.

A big problem for the translator was the terminology of the book. adopted in European and In Russian Sinology, the terms appearing in dictionaries do not always adequately convey the meanings of Chinese terms. In a number of cases, I had to make deviations from tradition in order to preserve the meaning of the text. I especially want to say about the term "Heart Nature", which I consider to be the equivalent of the Chinese character "sin". It is customary to translate it with the word "nature", which means the biological nature of man. But in the Taoist tradition, as well as in ancient Chinese philosophy in general, this hieroglyph, composed of the signs "heart" (xin) and "birth", "life" (sheng), refers to the mental and mental side of a person's life, the heart is considered here as the abode mind.

Paired with "Nature of the Heart" (shin), a term appears throughout the book, which tradition translates as "Destiny" (min). In contrast to "sin" as a mental and mental nature, it means biological nature, including both human corporeality and lifestyle. Therefore, I accept the term "Life" for it. The paired categories “Heart Nature” and “Life” sound unusual for the Russian ear, don't they? The pair “Nature” and “Fate” seem much more acceptable, but only in this case the meaning of the text is distorted. Why not say something like "Biological and Mental Nature"? It looks more scientific, but it also does not convey the meaning of the original text. I think this way: it is better if the meaning is conveyed more precisely, as for the “habituality” of expressions and terms, it is hardly possible to “provide” it when translating a book in which everything is unusual and which requires us to revolutionize our thinking.

Another term worth mentioning is "cultivation in smelting" (xiu liang).

The Taoist cultivation tradition uses the terminology and imagery of alchemy. This is due to the fact that the initial development of Taoist techniques followed the path of creating "Pills", "Potions" and "Elixirs" from plants, metals and minerals, which were supposed to provide adepts with health, longevity and even immortality. The preparation of these substances is associated with heating on fire and melting their components in crucibles and furnaces. These techniques of Outer Alchemy (the "Outer Pill") are still alive today, as the book makes clear. But in parallel with them, for a thousand years, there have been techniques of Internal Alchemy (“Internal Pill”), where “crucibles” "substance", "fire", "water" are the energies of qi, jing and shen, as well as various internal organs of a person. This is the alchemy of the Spirit, here a person must melt his own unity, the unity of the immortal microcosm, from the individual energies and parts that make it up. All of this is covered in the book. Therefore, I find it impossible to translate the term "xiu liang" as "perfection and hardening" or simply "hardening", because the word "hardening" both literally and figuratively means a completely different process than "smelting".

Finally, comments on the text were the subject of much thought. The book contains many unusual expressions, Chinese terms, the realities of Chinese culture and modern history. Is it necessary to accompany all incomprehensible places with detailed explanations and comments? So accepted. But is it true for this particular book?

For example, the book talks about many little-known or essentially new things that are “installed” for the first time not only in front of the Russian-speaking, but also in front of the Chinese reader. The material requires study and comprehension, all these things are not easy. Is it fair to slip the reader in the form of a commentary his immature opinion, which may be erroneous?

Many of the terms used in the book and relating to the technique of "melting" are unknown not only to the Russian, but also to the ordinary Chinese reader, who is cut off from traditional culture for the above reasons. The authors of the book are fully aware of this, since they also joined the tradition in the process of studying with Wang Liping and creating a "reportage". Therefore, sooner or later in the book all incomprehensible terms are explained. In fact, the ordinary boy Wang Liping was in exactly the same position when he began to study the Tao. He was told about completely unfamiliar and very deep things, while many words were used that he did not understand. After all, he did not have to study ancient Chinese philosophy and cultural history at school. He mastered the terminology and the meaning of concepts gradually, in the process of working on self-improvement in the Tao. The reader of the "reportage" must go the same way. He will understand a lot if he reads patiently

The book uses Chinese terms that have already entered the thesaurus of Russian culture. Does it make sense to explain to the reader what Tao, Te, jing, qi, shen are? This book It is not intended for sinologists, but it assumes that readers have sufficient erudition. And besides, the entire text of the book is devoted to the disclosure of these concepts.

Finally, I try to translate the titles of Chinese works found in the book into Russian, but in parentheses I always give transcriptions of Chinese titles that may be useful to specialists. Similarly, in parentheses, transcriptions of Chinese terms are given where necessary. To characterize separately all these books and terms in the notes as if there is no need?

Ultimately, I came to the decision to limit myself to only the most necessary footnotes to explain, basically, the realities of modern political history, which are well known to the Chinese reader, but unknown to the Russian. In addition, some everyday cultural realities will be explained. Perhaps, footnotes will seem to someone still insufficient in number. If there are such signals, we will try to correct the situation in the future.

I will be grateful for any comments on the translation of the text, no matter who they come from, whether from connoisseurs of Chinese or Russian, connoisseurs of culture or ordinary lovers of it.

And in the end, I would like to sincerely thank all those who helped me in the preparation of this work. I was supported and inspired by my spiritual teachers Viktor Moiseevich Kladnitsky and Tatyana Vladimirovna Ivanova, who are no longer with us. I received comprehensive help and support from my relatives. My friends in Vladivostok, and after moving to Sevastopol, my new Sevastopol friends stimulated me with their enthusiasm and interest in Chinese culture, and also provided me with various technical assistance in preparing the text.

L.I. Golovacheva September 11, 1999, Sevastopol.

Part one

From the world of vanity to the world of Tao

Emptying your heart

Fills up your belly

Weakening one's aspirations

Strengthens your bones.
"Lao Tzu"

Chapter first

Teachers from over a thousand li

Mr. Wang Liping was born on July 25, 1949. According to the ancient calendar of the Xia Dynasty, this is the year of I-Chow, the month of Xing-Wei, the day of Bing-Chen. This year, according to the division of the sixty-year cycle into five elements, corresponds to Thunder Fire, and the day of Bing-Chen of the month of Yi-Chou is the 30th day of the sixth month, the middle of the year. A lot is said about a person born on this day in the predictions of fate. But we will not mention these speeches.

Now let's talk about the fact that as a child, Mr. Wang Liping was generally somewhat different from other children. There were two things he remembers well now. First, when his mother, doing housework, could not find anything, she called Lipin and asked him. And wherever Liping goes, this thing lies there. This helped his mother a lot. And Wang Liping as a child was very fond of playing hide and seek with the kids, and no matter how incredible places they hid, he could always find every one.

Mr. Wang Liping was born in Shenyang, a major city of Dongbei, or Northeast China, and later moved with his parents to Fushun, an ancient city with more than a thousand years of history located near the famous Changbaishan Mountains in the eastern part of Dongbei. Fushun is cut by the Lianhe River, which originates deep in the Changbai Mountains. In this city, due to the proximity of mountains and waters, unusual energy. There are deposits of babbitt here. And it is usually called the "capital of coal", and in our time, gas has also been found here. In this city, ancient and new, Wang Liping lived for a long time.

The Wang family was considered aristocratic here, its ancestors were once noble people. Although during the life of Wang Liping's father, the former was no longer there, he still managed to graduate from the Fengtian Polytechnic Institute, which was considered very good at that time. Mother Wang was a kind woman. She gave birth to four sons and two daughters, all