Preface
Visiting Qichun during the National Day holiday, this is my second time going to the south. The last time was to Zhejiang to learn moxibustion; this time I’m combining travel and study, taking things as they come, learning whatever I can without overexerting myself. According to the habits of Zhejiang people, Qichun is actually not considered southern China. Although it’s close to the Yangtze River, it is still on the northern side of the river, so it’s considered northern China. As for the people of Qichun, they think of themselves as being in the center. The center is pretty good—neither too hot nor too cold, no typhoons or major floods. At least during the few days I was there, the weather was clear with a comfortable temperature and humidity.
Taoist Temples, Buddhist Temples, and Energy Fields
I stayed in a Taoist temple; the Taoist priests rise at five to perform rituals, and we lodgers get up around six. It’s still a bit cold in the morning—at least a shirt is needed. The temple is very quiet. Although there was a study class going on recently, plus special occasions like the Nine Emperor Festival bringing more people than usual, it was still quite few. Every morning they go to the main hall to study or work, while my roommate and I would sleep or get up to practice exercises.
Speaking of sleeping, I didn’t really believe before that Taoist or Buddhist places had any kind of energy field. But in recent days sleeping and dreaming at the temple, I found it really did feel different. In the past, I would dream of being chased or chasing others, feeling frustrated because I couldn’t run fast. Often upon waking, that feeling would linger (which is related to liver qi stagnation—see the second lesson of Longxitang’s Zhuangzi course about the seven emotions; I won’t elaborate here). But in these days sleeping at the temple, in similar dream scenarios, I ran like parkour, dodging those chasing me with ease and feeling very refreshed. My body knows its own condition. During this period, I basically maintained my usual lifestyle and did no systematic treatment, so the dream changes over two or three days I can only attribute to the influence of the temple.
Talking more about my roommate “Tianya Luren,” who is about my age, used to work in frontend development but in recent years has been seeking immortality and Taoism on his own and learning Traditional Chinese Medicine. I asked him many questions about his self-study on TCM and his views on folk medicine—this part of the interview is already uploaded to Xiaoyuzhou and is quite insightful. Additionally, I consulted him about Taoist deities: With so many gods, why does the temple only worship a few? He made a summary concluding it’s about practicality; these gods handle matters that people want to pray for, so they are worshiped. Emmm, I think there’s no problem with that 
Besides that, we exchanged some insights about qigong practice. I realized the heart-mind methods I learned from Longxitang are truly treasures, which he loves as well. I also learned some Vajra (Diamond) Qigong from him that improved the dynamic parts of my system. I found the Vajra Qigong moves very rigid, whereas my previous methods were gentle and flowing. Adding this firmness better mobilizes qi and blood. There’s a clear difference between gradually perfecting a movement and suddenly nailing it with a sharp “pop.” However, this rigidity can easily cause injury, so I think one should first be gentle, adjust the state, and then use a few final strong movements to break through obstacles that gentler methods can’t overcome.
Besides the Taoist temple, I also visited three Buddhist temples. The most impressive was Qizhou Zhaohua Temple, which felt very warm and familiar. At first, I thought it was because of its artistic decoration style appealing to younger aesthetics. Now I think familiarity is quite subjective. For example, a famous large temple in my hometown always made me feel uneasy inside, while another old-fashioned temple made me feel very comfortable. Coupled with my dreams at the temple, I now believe energy fields really exist, which has led me to believe in feng shui as well and decided to tidy my dorm well after returning.
Moxibustion
Now for what I gained in moxibustion on this trip—not much, but very exciting: After harvesting mugwort, the first step is to crush it to get the fluff. It’s crushed once, then twice, and the more it’s crushed, the less impurity in the final moxa floss. I didn’t see the whole processing flow, but I saw results after different numbers of crushes. Usually, three to four crushes achieve an 8:1 to 10:1 ratio (8 jin of mugwort yields 1 jin of moxa floss). When I held it and rubbed it, I could barely find any stalks myself. Going further to six crushes achieves about 15:1, which is softer, but doesn’t seem significantly different. In fact, professionals mostly use 8:1 to 10:1 floss, which is enough. The products sold on online platforms claim to be 15:1 floss, but from the samples I collected, they contain many impurities, seeming more like 3:1 floss from a single crush.
Identifying moxa floss quality isn’t so difficult—just compare some correct samples and you naturally spot the problems in inferior products. But these things can’t be taught well through text or videos; you must see and touch them yourself.
Conclusion
I’m very glad I decided to travel during National Day. Following my usual habit, I probably would have stayed in my dorm for seven days, playing on the computer, looking at my phone, making myself dizzy, tired, and weak, and on the last day deeply reflecting and blaming myself. This time, changing the environment and encountering many new things reignited my curiosity. I began doing activities that truly bring me joy and fulfillment—taking photos, conducting interviews, asking questions, even tutoring middle school students in math, geography, and history.
I increasingly realize that it’s not the lack of things that make me happy—it’s that I often choose routines that do not bring me happiness. I do not know the exact reasons behind that, but I believe being aware of the problem is already the beginning of solving it.