In the Huainanzi, the difference between its system of daoshu, the techniques of the Way, and daoyin, a form of Daoist neigong, is highlighted through their approaches to self-cultivation: whereas daoyin equips a bipartite model of body and mind, daoshu adds a third layer of spirit that is responsible for instructing the body’s qi, the faculties of love and penetrating insight, and preserving the unity of the hun and po souls after death.

Daoyin is described as nurturing the body, focusing on bipartite holistic practices that consider the mind and body unified. This system emphasizes physical and mental exercises aimed at improving health and longevity. According to the authors of the Huainanzi, daoyin adheres to a simpler model that does not distinguish significantly between the physical and spiritual aspects of being. They observe that a leper has a fully functioning mind but not enough jing qi to sustain their body, and a madman has abundant jing qi but a mind that is broken, challenging the idea that the physical and mental are a complete whole interconnected in a way that one can directly transform the other.

Daoshu, as opposed to daoyin, uses a holistic tripartite model wherein a third faculty, shen, is valued more than the mind and body. It requires managing one’s waterways, the ever-ongoing circulation between the 形 xing (physical form), 氣 qi (qi and breath), 神 shen (spirit), and 志 zhi (will, attention). Body form is a host vessel for 元 yuan (vitality), 精氣 jingqi (essence) is the source of vitality, and shen regulates vitality. Spirit is to be nourished 養, qi and breath harmonized and softened 和弱, and form to be made content and peaceful 平夷. When the five depots are settled the qi is harmonious, circulating and purifying into jing. When the mind is calm, and attention is focused within, shen appears of-itself, attaching to jing to form 精神 jingshen (quintessential spirit) that is then stored in the heart.

Shen in the Huainanzi is the most refined form of qi that constitutes the movements of the cosmic spirit, which is the patterned flow of the Dao. Shen qi exists as One prior to the differentiation of time-space and Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, and in its differentiated state, it provides the patterns of becoming that underlay the normative order of Han ganying stimulus-response cosmology. Shen instructs the flow of qi and is contained in the heart like a scrying pool; as it accumulates via acts of loving kindness and self-cultivation, it reveals advanced levels of perceptive insight. Shen follows zhi, attention, which is where we are focused physically, mentally, and spiritually. If one directs their attention externally, shen dissipates from the interior. Hence, there is a vital need to avoid external perturbances that shake the five depots, disrupt the qi flow, and dissipate one’s shen.

Daoshu operates a more complex model that includes a spiritual body alongside the physical and mental aspects. In daoshu, body and mind are mutually opposing forces that require a neutral third party to bring them together in the same manner that a cauldron (the heart) brings together water and fire to produce a harmony of flavors. It is concerned with self-governance and spiritual cultivation, emphasizing the importance of managing fear and anxiety, acting according to one’s intrinsic nature, and achieving a state of internal harmony and potency that aligns with the Dao and preserves a unity of self that transcends physical death and ordinary human limitations.

The Huainanzi advocates daoshu for its focus on spiritual body development and its aim to cultivate a way of thinking that embodies a state of 不動心 budongxin, a mind undisturbed and unmoved by circumstances it encounters and possessed of 神明 shenming, a level of perceptual capacity that sees both being and non-being components in singularity. The text highlights four ideals within daoshu that train one to master their likes and dislikes and accept reality on reality’s terms to prevent the loss of shen that occurs when one’s attention is disturbed and qi dynamic disrupted. These ideals foster a non-preferential, meditative mindset that concentrates on internal mental activity and aligns with the Dao, contrasting with daoyin’s emphasis on physical health and mental clarity without a distinct spiritual focus.

The techniques of the Way are aligned with the text’s overarching goals of understanding and aligning with the Dao, promoting a model of self-cultivation that prioritizes spiritual insight and perception over physical practices alone. It involves developing clarity of perception and orderliness of thought, leading to a profound understanding and power. Thus, while daoyin focuses on the physical and mental aspects through practices that improve bodily health and mental focus, daoshu emphasizes a more profound spiritual cultivation that seeks to harmonize the individual with the broader cosmic order and the principles of the Dao and preserve the soul intact throughout its ever-ongoing transformations. This distinction underscores the Huainanzi’s broader philosophical stance that elevates the role of spiritual understanding and self-governance in achieving harmony and enlightenment.

Daoshu, and indeed the Huainanzi as a whole, repudiates the Confucian bipartite model of mind and body that privileges the mind at the expense of the shen, which, its authors contend, supersedes the mind and body in the same manner that the Dao transcends and contains Heaven and Earth. This assertion was contentious and politically charged in the early Han and may have contributed to the execution of Liu An’s court and the flower of Southern Chinese culture in the Western Han.