The Yellow Emperor’s Yinfu Classic

It was written later by people under the name of the Yellow Emperor; the actual date of compilation is unknown (most scholars believe it was between the Northern Dynasties and the Tang dynasty). The Tang-dynasty Daoist Li Quan claimed to have discovered this book in the stone cliffs of Shaoshi Mountain on Mount Song and annotated it; after that, the classic became widely circulated.

According to the Daoist and Taoist traditions of the Yellow Emperor’s Yinfu Classic, the “effects” of studying and practicing this classic are mainly reflected inself-cultivation and health preservation、mental decision-makingandpractical military strategy in dealing with the worldthree aspects:

I. Effects on self-cultivation and internal alchemy health preservation

In the Daoist internal alchemy school, the Yinfu Classic is ranked alongside the Dao De Jing and the Zhouyi Cantong Qi as one of the three sacred texts; its health-preserving effects lie in:

Balancing the yin and yang within the body: Through “observing the Way of Heaven,” one understands the mutual generation and restraint of the five phases (the five thieves) within the body, thereby harmonizing water and fire and achieving balance between yin and yang in the body.
Stealing the vitality of heaven and earth: By applying the theory of the “three thefts,” one secretly absorbs the pure yang qi of the cosmos and nature (essence, qi, and spirit) during meditation or qigong practice to nourish oneself.
Prolonging life and strengthening the foundation: The scripture emphasizes that “the evil of the nine apertures lies in the three essentials.” By managing the three key gateways of the eyes (sight), ears (hearing), and mouth (speech), one reduces mental exhaustion, gathers the spirit, and achieves the effects of strengthening the foundation, nourishing the root, and delaying aging.

II. Psychological and mental enhancement effects

Improving insight and intuition: It helps practitioners “have the mechanism arise in the heart,” cultivating extremely keen sensitivity so that when things reveal even the slightest signs (the tiniest hints), one can foresee their future development trends.
Maintaining inner peace and stability: After understanding that “the heavenly mind is the human being” and the natural laws of waxing and waning, one can take gains and losses lightly, remain unmoved by external things, reduce anxiety, and achieve a clear and tranquil state of mind.

III. Effects on dealing with the world, politics, and military strategy

Historically, strategists such as Zhang Liang, Zhuge Liang, and Liu Bowen all highly praised the practical effectiveness of this book:

Precisely grasping the timing: The book emphasizes “moving its mechanism,” teaching people to take the most correct action at the proper time. When the time has not yet come, endure in concealment (yin); when the time is ripe, strike decisively (release).
Mastering strategies that achieve victory through surprise: Military strategists use its principle of “the extraordinary and the orthodox generating one another” to formulate strategies in business competition or the workplace that appear plain on the surface but actually conceal hidden subtleties, achieving the effect of “knowing oneself and the enemy and standing undefeated.”
Optimizing decision-making and management: It helps leaders follow human hearts and the general trend (carrying out the actions of Heaven), not blindly go against the trend, and thereby improve the operational efficiency of a team or organization.

The following is the original text:

Observe the Way of Heaven, carry out the actions of Heaven, and all is complete.

Heaven has five thieves; those who see them prosper. The five thieves are in the heart; they are carried out in Heaven. The universe is in the hand, and all things are born from the body.

Heaven’s nature is human beings; the human heart is the mechanism; establish the Way of Heaven to determine human beings.

When Heaven sets the killing mechanism in motion, the stars and constellations shift; when Earth sets the killing mechanism in motion, dragons and snakes rise onto the land; when humans set the killing mechanism in motion, heaven and earth are overturned; when Heaven and humans act together, the foundation of all transformations is established.

Nature has skill and clumsiness, and it can be concealed. The evil of the nine apertures lies in the three essentials. It can be moved or still. Fire is born from wood; when disaster arises it will surely be overcome. Treachery is born in the state; when the time moves it will surely collapse. Those who know and cultivate this are called sages.

Heaven and earth are the thieves of all things; all things are the thieves of humans; humans are the thieves of all things. When the three thefts are properly regulated, the three powers are at peace. Therefore it is said: eat at the proper time, and the hundred bones will be regulated; move its mechanism, and all transformations will be at peace.

People know its divinity as divine, but do not know the reason why its non-divinity is divine. The sun and moon have their numbers; the large and small have their fixed measures. Thus the sage’s accomplishment is born, and spiritual illumination emerges. As for its theft mechanism, there is none under heaven who cannot see it, none who cannot know it. The gentleman obtains it and firmly holds to himself; the petty person obtains it and lightly risks life.

The blind are good at hearing; the deaf are good at seeing. Sever one source of profit, and use troops tenfold; turn it around day and night three times, and use troops ten thousandfold. The heart is born from things and dies in things; the mechanism lies in the eyes. Heaven’s lack of favor gives rise to favor; thunder and fierce wind leave nothing unmoved.

Supreme joy leaves nature abundant; supreme stillness is then pure. Heaven’s utmost privacy is used in the utmost public way. The control of birds and beasts lies in qi. The dead are the root of the living; the living are the root of the dead. Favor arises from harm, and harm from favor. Fools take the patterns and principles of heaven and earth as sagehood; I take the patterns and principles of things in time as wisdom. People take foolish caution as sagehood; I take not being foolishly cautious as sagehood. People take the extraordinary as the expectation of sagehood; I take not being extraordinary as the expectation of sagehood.

The Way of nature is still, and thus heaven and earth and all things are born. The Way of heaven gradually permeates, and thus yin and yang prevail. Yin and yang push one another, and transformation and change proceed smoothly.

Therefore the sage knows that the Way of nature cannot be violated, and so regulates it accordingly. The Way of utmost stillness is beyond the reach of calendars and almanacs. Thus there are wondrous instruments, and from them all phenomena are born. With the Eight Trigrams and the sexagenary cycle, the divine mechanism and ghostly concealment. The art of yin-yang overcoming one another is clearly and vividly advanced into the realm of images.