" The yellow emperor asked:

I have heard that in ancient times people lived 120 years without weakening. Today, however, people age prematurely and are old at age 60 years.

Is this because of changes in nature or because people lost their correct way of life?

The ancients practice the Tao, the way of life which gives the structure of heaven and earth. They live a modest life, ate and drank in regulation and avoided stress and overindulgence in their lives. Their bodies and souls resonated in harmony; thus it is not surprising that they lived well to 120 years.

Today people are blind to the Tao. They are unaware of the infinite potential hidden inside them and live their lives fearing death.

For this reason people seek emotional excitement and momentary pleasures and disregard the natural rhythm and order of the universe.

They fail to regulate their lifestyle and diet and know not the secret of conserving their energy and vitality.

So it is not surprising that they age at 60 and die soon thereafter."

This is the first discussion in the Huang Di Nei Ching, the first and foremost of Chinese medical texts.

In it is laid the foundation to Chinese medical thought: Every person has great potential for health and happiness.

The way to fulfill this potential is to live every moment in life with awareness to the constant interaction of energy between man and the world around him.

In the next chapters this thesis develops and offers practical advice on medicine, health, life style, nutrition and cosmology.

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