Comprehensive Record of the Forest of Affairs

### The Essences of the Sun and Moon

...? The Sun is the essence of the Greatest Yangoriginal: "taiyang" (太陽). The supreme manifestation of the active, bright principle.; it has accumulated to form the image of a bird, belonging to the category of Yang, and its number is odd. The Moon is the ancestor of the Yin essenceoriginal: "yinjing" (陰精). The fundamental energy of the passive, cool principle.; it has accumulated to form the image of a beast, belonging to the category of Yin, and its number is even. The Huainanzi says the Moon is the Yin essence.

The Sun is the Yang essence. Therefore, the commentary by Master Zhou says the Sun is like fire and the Moon is like water. Fire radiates light, while water contains a reflection.

Moonlight is produced by the Sun's reflection. Brightness is produced where the Sun shines; one theory says the Moon's essence is dark, and it only shines when facing the Sun. When the Moon is full and near the Sun, its light is exhausted. The Inquiries into the Classics states that when a Burning Mirrororiginal: "yangsui" (陽燧). A concave bronze mirror used to focus sunlight and start fires. meets the Sun, it flares up into fire; when a Moon-Water Mirrororiginal: "fangzhu" (方諸). A ritual vessel or mirror used to collect "heavenly dew" or condensation from the moon at night. meets the Moon, it...

...moistens and becomes a stream of water. Master Ge says the "Yin mirror" is a large clam; if rubbed until warm and pointed toward the Moon when it is full, water is produced. Collect it in a copper basin, and a few drops will fall. The Lan commentary says it is a square stone or a glass bead.

The Huainanzi says there is a Crouching Croworiginal: "cunwu" (踆烏). A mythical bird believed to inhabit the sun. in the Sun, referring to the three-legged crow. From the Huainanzi In the Great Wilderness, atop the Valley of Sunshine, stands the Fusang treeoriginal: "fusang" (扶桑). A giant mythical mulberry tree in the East where the suns rest.. It is where the ten suns bathe. Nine suns dwell on the lower branches and one sun on the upper branch, all of them carrying birds. From the Classic of Mountains and Seas In the time of Emperor Yao, ten suns appeared together, scorching and withering the plants and trees. Yao commanded the archer Hou Yioriginal: "Yi" (羿). A legendary hero and god of archery. to shoot upward at the ten suns; he hit nine of them. The birds within all died and their wings fell. Quoted from the Explanatory Commentaries

The followers of the Buddha say that what is seen within the moon is actually the reflection of the earth's mountains and rivers. Others say the toad and the Cinnamon Treeoriginal: "guishu" (桂樹). Often identifying the Osmanthus fragrans, a mythical tree that grows on the moon. in the moon are the reflections of the land, and the empty space is the reflection of the water.

Why are there a rabbit and a toad in the moon? The moon is Yin, but the toad is Yang. Their appearing together in brightness signifies that there is Yang within the Yin. From the Huainanzi Hou Yi obtained the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West. His wife, Chang’eoriginal: "Henge" (姮娥). The goddess of the moon., stole it and fled to the moon, where she became the toad. From the Biographies of Exemplary Immortals In the moon there is an immortal and a cinnamon tree... ...?