2
The reason we love riches and honor, ease and fame, the which
others praise us for, is for our bodies. It is also for the sake of
our bodies that we hate poverty and meanness, danger and shame,
the which others despise us for. But of our bodies, what is most
valuable? Nothing is more valuable than ch`i.[1]
When a man gets
ch`i he lives; when he loses it he dies. His ch`i is not gold or silk,
pearls or jade, and it cannot be sought from others. It is not
painted cloth or the five cereals, and it cannot be got by purchase.
It exists solely in our own bodies. One cannot but be careful.
The Ode says,[2]
Intelligent he is and wise.
In protecting his body.
