The Book of the Three Elements for Longevity: What to Avoid and What to Avoid

5. There are things to avoid.

The chapter "On Taboos Regarding Desire" states: "One should abstain from sexual intercourse when one is overly full, drunk, fatigued, angry, or ill, otherwise serious consequences will result." The chapter continues: "The book says: Overeating leads to sexual exhaustion, causing blood and qi to overflow and seep into the large intestine, resulting in bloody stools and abdominal pain, a condition known as intestinal obstruction. The book says: Entering into sexual intercourse while heavily intoxicated depletes qi and the liver and intestines; in men, this leads to decreased semen and impotence; in women, it leads to weakened menstruation and the accumulation of foul blood, causing malignant sores." The chapter further states: "The book says: Exerting oneself into sexual intercourse while angry depletes essence and qi, leading to carbuncles and boils. Entering into sexual intercourse while fearful causes yin and yang imbalances, resulting in fainting, spontaneous sweating, and night sweats, accumulating into exhaustion. The book says: Entering into sexual intercourse when fatigued from a long journey results in the five types of exhaustion and depletion. The book says: Having intercourse before menstruation has ceased..." It causes white spots; and cold air entering the body, causing weakness and sallow complexion, and infertility. The book says: "If one has intercourse before a wound has healed, it disturbs the blood and qi, causing the wound to fester. Those who hold back urine before intercourse will suffer from urinary incontinence, pain in the penis, loss of color in the face, or even weakness and turning below the navel, resulting in sudden death from severe pain..." The book says: "Those who take menthol and musk before intercourse will have their orifices opened, causing their vital energy to disperse; severe cases will result in dizziness, mild cases in diarrhea." The *Compendium of Materia Medica* says: "Eating too much garlic before intercourse damages the liver, causing a dark and dull face; garlic is the main ingredient." The book says: "If one commits this before recovering from an illness, the tongue will protrude several inches, leading to death." The *Records of the Three Kingdoms* states that when Zixian's illness had healed, Hua Tuo examined his pulse and said: "Still weak, not fully recovered. Do not engage in strenuous activities; if the complexion returns, death will follow. The tongue will protrude several inches later." His wife traveled a hundred li to visit him, and they had intercourse overnight. Three days later, the illness recurred, just as Hua Tuo had predicted. How terrifying!"

This discussion is quite comprehensive, but can be summarized as follows: First, sexual intercourse should be avoided when one is full, intoxicated, or struggling to urinate or defecate. The serious consequences of engaging in intercourse under these conditions have already been mentioned. Second, intercourse is most contraindicated when one is angry, indignant, frightened, or terrified. Such individuals are already emotionally distressed, and intercourse at this time is like adding insult to injury; furthermore, the strain of intercourse will exacerbate internal injuries, harming not only one's own health but also hindering healthy reproduction. Third, intercourse when one is fatigued or exhausted will cause severe damage and is also detrimental to healthy reproduction. Fourth, intercourse is not advisable when a woman's menstruation has not ended, as it is unhygienic and will cause various injuries and pains to the woman, even leading to serious gynecological diseases. Fifth, intercourse should be avoided while one is still ill; even red and painful eyes should not be ignored. Intercourse is especially contraindicated after recovering from a serious illness, otherwise, the strain of intercourse may cause a relapse of the old illness, or severely worsen the condition, and in some cases, even endanger life. The book cites the example of Dun Zixian's death from the *Biography of Hua Tuo* in the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, serving as a warning against abstaining from sexual activity after recovering from a serious illness. Many other examples exist in ancient texts. For instance, the *Biography of Bao Gong* in the *Records of the Grand Historian* recounts that Cheng, a censor of Qi, fell ill with headaches and carbuncles. "Cheng's illness was caused by drinking alcohol and engaging in sexual activity while intoxicated," meaning it was due to frequent drunkenness and sexual intercourse. Bao Gong predicted that he would "die vomiting pus in eight days," and indeed, "Cheng died as predicted." It also records that the wife of a high-ranking official in northern Qi suffered from an illness that made urination difficult, resulting in reddish urine. Exposure to cold air caused urinary incontinence, and her abdomen swelled. This illness was caused by "the inability to urinate, leading to sexual intercourse despite the discomfort," meaning it was caused by forcing herself to have intercourse despite the discomfort. And so on.

6. To avoid something

The chapter "On Avoiding Certain Things in Sexual Activity" mainly discusses taboos related to climate change and geographical environment. The chapter states: "Sun Simiao said: Do not be greedy in cold or hot weather. The book says: All strong winds, heavy rains, thick fog, thunder and lightning... are all undesirable... If you conceive at this time, it will not only harm the parents a hundredfold, but the child will also be unkind and unfilial, sickly and short-lived."

7. Pregnancy and Prenatal Education

The *Treatise on the Methods of Fertility* discusses the main reasons for infertility after intercourse. Besides explaining that men and women under the age of 18 cannot marry, it focuses on analyzing physical conditions. The chapter states: "The book says: 'If a man overworks, his kidneys become cold, his semen is clear as water, and his semen accumulates and is not released regularly, all of these will lead to infertility. Jin Ne says: This is due to damage to the essence and qi.'" In feudal society, infertility was often mistakenly attributed to the woman. However, the literature cited in this chapter objectively points out that excessive labor and clear, cold semen in men are important causes of infertility. Given the ancient understanding of sexual medicine, sexual psychology, and reproductive science of the ancients, the content of the selected ancient texts on sexual health and wellness inevitably contains errors from a modern medical perspective. Therefore, when reading them, one should adopt a dialectical view, separating truth from falsehood, and extracting the essence that can be used for one's own benefit. This is a very objective and fair approach.