De-Virtue-Potency by
from the forthcoming chapter ‘Shamans, Physicians, and Wenwu in the Huainanzi’ in Legacy of Chinese Shamanism: The Wu and their Successors from Purple Cloud Press
“Potency, a refined form of qi, infuses all things, enabling growth and flourishing, much like water nourishes plants. This material conceptualization of de-virtue is central to the Huangdi sijing (Daoyuan chapter), Neiye, sections of the Guanzi, the Heguanzi, the Huainanzi, and the Huangdi neijing. These texts privilege water as the element that moves and acts in accordance with the Way, emphasizing its fluid, nourishing, and pervasive qualities that enable life and harmony within the universe.
The Huainanzi regards water as the embodiment of Perfect Potency, as explained in HNZ 1.12. Water moves and acts in accordance with the Way, representing a reality composed of levels of progressively refined water. De-virtue-potency, a rarified essence of qi and water, imbues things with sleekness, moisture, and the power to generate life and success. This Potency naturally gathers, disperses, and cycles, demonstrating self-leveling properties. The Potency of the Way allows things to act according to their unique nature, emphasizing clarity and tranquility as its perfections, with pliancy and suppleness being essential methods (HNZ 1.13).
The Huainanzi describes shen as the source of instructive normative force and consciousness, likening the heart-mind to a liquid structure that functions as a scrying pool, a form of lecanomancy. The heart acts as the frame of this mirror, while shen serves as the mirror itself. This setup allows the mind to reflect upon itself and emanate conscious differentiation (HNZ 2.11, 16.12b, 16.3, 16.5). Stillness leads to clarity and evenness, and when shen remains clear, consciousness becomes illumined, reflecting the normative order of reality. However, lusts and desires can obscure this mirror, and purposeful actions disturb the water’s evenness, causing one to lose the dispassionate perspective needed for proper understanding and reflection (HNZ 16.12b).
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Image: Character for wu written by Chin-fa Cheng
