Rootless_Tree_24Chapter#5・Enlarged image of the painting
Enlarged image of the poem below as Xieyi
Chapter 5
▶Original Text
無根樹，花正偏，離了陰陽道不全。金隔木，汞隔鉛，陽寡陰孤各一邊。世上陰陽男配女，生子生孫代代傳。順爲凡，逆爲仙，只在中間顚倒顚。
▶Modern Translation
A lopsided blossom now blooms on the rootless tree.
Without harmony of yin and yang, the Way is incomplete.
Gold and wood, mercury and lead—
If divided, they will not act.
Yang alone, yin alone—both are isolated.
In this world, life continues through the union of male and female.
Live in accord with nature and you are ordinary;
Go against it and you may become immortal—
Only through inversion within balance can truth be revealed.▶Interpretation
• Imbalance weakens power.
• Fusion is key—symbolized by metals in alchemical processes.
• “Order and inversion”: Truth lies not in convention, but in transcendence through harmony.
▶Interpretation related to Tai Chi
• One-sided training is meaningless.
• Tai Chi is the integration of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.
• Go beyond appearances—understand the inner principle.
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