The Prophecy, Earlier Heaven, Ripening

The Kidney – Innate Essence

In the year 624, Wu Zhao was born in Sichuan. Her mother was unstinting in her nurture and care. Her father gave her a roof over her head. Both of them left her to herself. Thus passed the first years of the girl who would later be Empress of China, just as it was spoken by the wise Laozi:

He who is fulfilled by his innate
gift is like the newborn child.
Wasps and snakes will not sting it,
wild beasts will not tear it apart,
birds of prey will not snatch it.
Soft bones, delicate muscles,
but what a strong grip.
The child knows nothing of the
union of the sexes,
yet its sexual power is strong:
this is the fulfilment of essence.
It may cry from morning to evening
yet it does not become hotter:
this is the fulfilment of harmony.

One day an astrologer came to the village. Wu Zhao's father, a timber merchant, asked the stargazer for a prophecy about his business. But the astrologer looked at Wu Zhao, in her nurse's arms. She was small, barely three years old.

'This child looks unique and exceptional,' he said. 'It is unfathomable.' When the nurse let her go, the wise man was even more amazed. 'This child has the countenance of a dragon and the neck of a phoenix. These are the marks of an extraordinary personage. If it is a girl, she will one day be ruler of the empire.'

The father laughed dismissively and quoted from the Book of Songs: 'A clever man builds strong dams. A clever woman destroys them. The clever woman is beautiful, but her heart is as ugly as the owl. Women with long tongues are messengers of doom. Perdition is not sent by Heaven. It comes from women.' Having said these words, Wu's father turned away.

But her mother kept the prophecy in her heart and treated the little Empress with all the respect that was due to her.

The unknown works without effort

There is a story of a famous Chinese gardener. When asked why everything grew so well under his care, the old gardener replied: 'I plant the tree and then I leave it in peace. That's the entire secret.'

The more something delicate is allowed to develop without interference, be it a young plant or a child, the more strongly it will grow, the more nature's intentions for it will be realised – as long as it receives sufficient nourishment and protection from harsh winds.

The wisdom of non-intervention in the mysterious mechanisms of the Unknown, the Dao (old spelling: Tao), is called Wu Wei.

Life rises out of the Unknown; it is sustained by the elemental life-force, essence. Whatever is allowed at its outset to unfold and develop undisturbed will later be stable and powerful. The wise do not interfere. They trust the Unknown, the Dao. The Dao has also been compared to the dark and mysterious womb, the source of all life. From here things step forth of their own accord into the light,