The Yellow Emperor Asks Guangchengzi

The Art of the Dao

Huangdi travels to Kongtong to learn stillness and self-cultivation, the root of good rule.

Hearing that the immortal Guangchengzi dwells on Mount Kongtong, the Yellow Emperor goes to ask the secret of the supreme Way. The sage answers that its essence is dark and deep: close the senses, hold the spirit still, and the body will endure. Huangdi returns and rules the world by the same stillness, giving Daoism its founding lesson that self-cultivation is the root of good government.