The Middle Dantian
The Three Centres: Part Two
This piece, ‘The Middle Dantian,’ is Part Two of a description of the ‘three-centres’ (san dantian 三丹田) concept found in Chinese internal-arts practices for tens of centuries. The ‘middle dantian’ (zhong dantian 中丹田), located in the chest area, is often thought of as the ‘heart centre’ and is related to the ‘xin’ (心), an energetic complex having, in part, to do with emotional activity. The middle dantian, therefore, can be distinguished from the lower dantian (xia dantian 下丹田) not only by its location but by what it represents or ‘brings focus to.’
Dantian
While the term ‘dantian’ (丹田), in its literal sense, means ‘cinnabar field’ it also stands metaphorically for a number of concepts. Some other common translations of the term are ‘field of elixir’ (‘elixir field;’ elixir-of-life field, etc.), ‘red field’ (‘vermilion field,’ ‘scarlet field,’ etc.), ‘pill field,’ ‘energy centre’ (‘centre of energy,’ ‘energetic centre,’ etc.), ‘centre of gravity’ (‘centre of movement,’ ‘centre of origin,’—referring specifically to the lower dantian), ‘centre,’ ‘hara’ (Japanese), ‘crucible,’ and ‘furnace.’ There are many other terms and images used to describe the dantian concept.
Regardless of how it is named or described the concept of dantian principally represents the relationship between a region (as defined by a set of characteristics) and the central location of that region.
‘Dantian’ represents the relationship between a region (as defined by a set of characteristics) and the central location of that region.
The middle dantian
The middle dantian is generally understood to be located at the centre of the chest. Being near the lungs and heart the middle dantian is sometimes called ‘the seat of breath’ (qi) in reference to the oxygen-enriching of the blood that takes place with these organs. It is sometimes known as the 'middle palace' (zhonggong 中宫), the 'mid-body primary opening' (shenzhong yiqiao 身中一竅), the 'yellow court' (huangting 黃庭), 'mysterious feminal' (xuanpin 玄牝), and other names.
Xin: the heart
As a muscle the heart (myocardium), is crucial for life—it’s peristaltic action assists in the circulation of blood, oxygen, and qi throughout the body, delivers nutrients, and removes waste products. As a metaphor the ‘heart’ plays a central role in the human experience and is often understood to be the means by which love, care, passion, and connection are exchanged. As such, the heart is often characterized by a sense of ‘universality,’ and therefore, contributes significantly to the many languages of creative expression such as literature, music, and art.
The word for ‘heart’ in Chinese is ‘xin’ (心). In Chinese internal-arts circles much ado is made of the fact that xin can refer not only to the physical and metaphorical ‘heart’ but also to the ‘mind.’ This leads translators to render the word xin as ‘heart-mind’—an awkward phrase that is understandably counter-intuitive for apparently too-logical-to-understand ‘Western minds.’
It is true that there are several ‘heart-as-mind’ words in Chinese, where the character 心 forms part of a mental-process word: 'will' (zhi 志), 'intention' (yi 意), and 'thought' (si 思). There are also many words in Chinese that refer to specific characteristics and behaviours of the mind that have nothing to do with the xin: 'Tounao' (頭腦), literally 'head-brain,' means 'mind' or 'brain' in the sense of, "She's the brains of the outfit." 'Zhuyili' (注意力) means 'attention' (attention-intention strength). 'Jianjie' (見解)—'see-explain'—refers to 'opinion' or 'point of view.'
‘Xin,’ in reference to ‘mind,’ refers to ‘emotion-based thoughts’—the thought contents that are either direct extensions of an emotional state or that ‘loop’ back into an emotional state. For example, a deeply painful emotional experience can lead one to obsessive rumination. To the extent that interlinked activity between emotion and emotion-based thought may be dysfunctional or neurotic little or no progress can be made with ‘inner alchemy.’
When the middle dantian is clear of counter-productive emotionality, a richly rewarding process can begin leading to highly-attuned states of observation, imagination, and intuition. The term for this in taijiquan and in neidan self-cultivation practices is ‘shenming’ (神明) meaning ‘spiritual enlightenment’ or ‘clarity in consciousness.’
Emotions and desires
Regulation of distracting emotions and desires is an important factor if internal-arts practices are to be undertaken successfully. When qi is continually demanded as fuel for the xin it cannot function properly in its other areas of responsibility. Identification and regulation of emotions, emotion-based thoughts, and desires means, in part, identifying such emotional states.
Daoist tradition enumerates ‘seven emotions’ (qiqing 七情) and six ‘desires’ (liuyu 六慾). The seven emotions are ‘joy’ (xi 喜), ‘anger’ (nu 怒), ‘sorrow’ (ai 哀), ‘fear’ (ju 懼), ‘love’ (ai 愛), ‘hatred’ (e 惡), and ‘lust’ (yu 欲). Desires are considered to arise from the six senses—the eyes (yan 眼), the ears (er 耳), the nose (bi 鼻), the tongue (she 舌), the body (shen 身), and the mind (yi 意).
When the qi is continually demanded as fuel for the xin it cannot function properly in its other areas of responsibility.
The Yellow Court
In some traditions the middle dantian is identified as the ‘yellow court’ (huangting 黃庭) and located in the central heart region. In early Chinese medicine the term 'Yellow Emperor' referred to the heart which was seen as the place where emotions could be processed in a completed way. (Interestingly, the sac around the heart, the pericardium, is seen as standing at the immediate periphery of the ‘court’ and holding emotional content as yet unprocessed.)
Inside the yellow court it is imagined that metaphorical ‘water’ (kan 坎 ☷) and ‘fire’ (li 離 ☲) interact in a balancing process hosted by ‘central spirit’ (zhongshen 中神). The ‘yin-yang’ (陰陽) relationship of water to fire is also expressed by the terms ‘moon’ and the ‘sun’ and, therefore, middle dantian is also called ‘sun and moon reflect each other in the yellow court.’ It is in the ‘yellow court’ of the heart-emotional centre that anxieties are calmed.
The Yellow Court Classic (Huangtingjing 黃庭經), a central text in early Chinese self-cultivation traditions, is believed to have been composed during conditions of intense political and economic turmoil and relentless war. The sixty-year long ‘Three Kingdoms’ period (Sanguo 三國; 220–280 CE), took place upon the fall of the four-hundred-year long Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE) which collapsed due to widespread social unrest and rebellion. Extreme official corruption, crippling taxation, financial usury, and drastic inflation due to currency depreciation led to massive wealth gaps and widespread economic suffering for the peasant classes who were, simultaneously, contending with famine and natural disasters.
The Yellow Court Classic not only introduces the term dantian into ‘internal alchemy’ (neidan 内丹) but, by its title, identifies itself with the middle dantian. It is interesting to consider that a work promoting the calming and centring of one’s emotional state as prerequisite for progress was created in such a turbulent climate. Perhaps it can even be understood as a rational reaction to such chaos and disaster.
In the Chinese imperial palace the ‘yellow court’ was the place that the Emperor (the ‘sun’) and his Ministers and advisors (the ‘moon’) would gather to discuss and resolve matters of rulership in accord with the cosmic order. Metaphorically speaking, the ‘yellow court,’ whether situated in an actual imperial palace or located in the centre of one’s chest, is the place where indecision becomes resolution, disorder becomes lawfulness, and confusion becomes clarity. It is the middle of the middle of the kingdom—the middle dantian.
Other middles
There are many roadmaps and methods proffered by ancient texts and they do not all accord with one another in ascribing particular (or similar) neidan terms to the same functions or locations. Some ancient literature describes the location of the middle dantian (and the ‘yellow court’) as ‘somewhere between the heart and the navel.’ These are often related to the ‘spleen’ or the functions of the spleen.’ In some sources it is said that there are three ‘yellow courts’ each corresponding to one of the three dantians.'
The ‘scarlet palace’ (jianggong 絳宮; a.k.a shanzhong 膻中—Ren-17) is often regarded as the middle dantian although this may be better understood as a ‘seeming’ or ‘false’ middle dantian’ (xu zhong dantian 虛中丹田) in the same way the ‘sea of qi’ (qihai 氣海), often cited as the lower dantian, is only seems to be the lower dantian (xu xia dantian 虛下丹田). The scarlet palace is not far from the middle dantian and is a real point that functions to support many taijiquan forms—especially ‘squeeze’ (ji 擠).
The ‘three treasures’
Traditional self-cultivation theory posits that the ‘hormonal essences’ (jing 精) and ‘vital energy’ (qi 氣) can be guided and harmonized in such as way that they become potentiated for the ‘nourishment,’ ‘cultivation,’ or ‘raising up’ (yang 养) of the ‘spirit’ or ‘consciousness’ (shen 神). The three energetic aspects operating within a person—jing, qi, and shen (精氣神)—are known collectively as the ‘three treasures’ (sanbao 三寶) and are the principal concern of ‘internal alchemy’ (neidan 内丹).
For the jing-qi-shen balancing and enhancing process to occur the qi must initially be disentangled or ‘decoupled’ from the ‘heart.’ It is normal that vital energy is directed to emotional centres in cases of emergency, for example, instances of the ‘fight,’ ‘flight,’ or ‘freeze’ responses demand the fast recruitment of qi. The Chinese expression for, “Watch out!” or, “Pay attention!” is “Xiao xin!’ (小心) which literally means ‘Small heart!’ implying a short, intense, emotional focus for the purpose dealing with a sudden incoming threat.
Physiologically speaking, stored adenosine-triphosphate molecules provide the energy for muscles to contract. These stored supplies are often activated in times of sudden, elevated stress—but only for short periods of time. Continued activity produces lactic acid and other waste products that can produce physical and other-level blockages in the system. The demands of excessive or unwarranted emotionality, often in the form of anxieties or obsessions, drains the qi, hampering its effectiveness in fulfilling the many support roles it plays in the entire human system.
Habitual emotional states create an adverse long-term effect due to the unremitting misdirection of qi. The first steps into internal-alchemical processes, therefore, involve remedying the problem of xin-qi entanglement by decoupling the qi from the xin. Later in the process, after ‘mixing-and-melting’ operations—where qi merges with the jing in a process called ‘smelt the essence to transform vital energy’ (lianjing huaqi 鍊精化氣)—the refined energy is reoriented from the lower dantian back to the heart centre.
Care as a currency
Cultivating the qualities of the middle dantian means deepening and clarifying one’s emotional capacities. From the perspective of self-cultivation this can be understood as the clearing away of barriers to deep internal progress. Eventually, much of the work at the level of the ‘deep heart’ involves the way in which connection between oneself and the world takes place.
To quote the late taijiquan master John Kells:
“Real connexion stems from what we call the Heart. There is a circulation to the Heart—between the Heart and other Hearts—human and otherwise.
Such personal transformation also has an influence in the world. Exchanges of goodwill on the basis of heartfelt care form an intangible currency that cannot be depreciated, regulated, licensed, or taxed by forces that would wish to control and exploit. Practices and communities formed around calm and creative hearts provide sustenance, hope, and the possibility of ‘shenming’ (神明). The heart may have passionate conversations but it does not dictate.
So interesting like always. Looking forward for the next one.
I like your analysis and thinking in this article. An excellent piece. Thank you Sam.