Glossary

The Yang aspects of the soul, often translated as the "Ethereal" or "Heavenly Soul", which reside in the Liver. They govern the intangible aspects of a person and are said to be able to leave the physical body in dreams or meditation states and depart the body after death. This is the part of a person which dreams and fantasises, utilising the Liver's connection to the eyes to enable visions. This makes the Hun pivotal to pathology of the Liver. The seminal Liver pathology, Qi stagnation, is generally understood as caused by anger, but really describes a disconnect between our vision of how reality should and how it really is that leads to frustration and emotional disturbance. This can then lead to a number of other disorders involving sleep and dreams, sexual fetishism and delusional or dissociative states of mind which are all expressions of this fundamental disconnect, just in varying degrees of severity. The Cantong Qi v. 53, says that the Hun is formed from the 陽神 Yang Shen of the sun. This is itself formed from the Original Essence (原精 Yuan Jing) of Heaven (乾 Qian, ☰). The Po is formed from the 陰神 Yin Shen of the moon, itself derived from the Original Breath (原氣 Yuan Qi) of Earth (坤 Kun, ☷) (Pregradio, 2011). Their mingling produces Fire ☲ and Water ☵ which govern the east and west, the directions associated with the Hun and Po. The Hun is commonly divided into a trinity. According to the Yun Ji Qi Qian (云笈七签, "Seven Tablets from the Cloud Satchel by Zhang Junfang, 1016) are often depicted as three gentlemen called:

Tai Guang, 胎光, "The Light of the Fetus": the spark of life and most Yang aspect of the Hun. If lost, a person can still absorb food and water but is considered a kind of walking dead making it similar to the Gros Bon Ange of Haitian Vodou. Shuang Ling, 爽灵, "The Bright Spirit": a person's intellectual capacity. It leaves the body at night causing dreaming. Injury or dissipation with old age can cause intellectual disability. You Jing 幽精 "The Secret spirit", the most Yin aspect of the Hun that determines attraction and sexual orientation. When a person's heart is broken and they lose interest in the world around them, it is because this part of the soul is injured. It also leaves the body frequently to visit people or places it is attracted to. If this aspect is too strong it can be detrimental to the other aspects of the Hun leading to dullness and confusion.

In Chinese folk religion they are known as:

Sheng Hun, 生魂, "The Generative Soul": Multiplies life, contains the ability to grow and react to the environment. When defective a healthy person suddenly always get sick. All creatures, including plants, have this Hun. Jue Hun, 覺魂, "The Sensative Soul": Governs mood, emotions and sensation. When defective the person goes crazy, nervous and scattered, has no sense of shame and likely to have rows or commit incest. All animals have Sheng Hun, 生魂 and Jue Hun, 覺魂. Ling Hun, 靈魂, "The Spiritual Soul": Human consciousness. Understands morality, love and self-cultivation. When defective a person suddenly becomes dumb. Only humans have all three Hun.

The Yin aspects of the soul are called the seven Po. Other traditions have similar ideas of a dual soul. In Vodu there is the Ti Bon Ange and the Gros Bon Ange, wherein the infamous concept of the zombi revolves around the idea of capturing the Ti Bon Ange (the equivalent of the Hun) removing their personality, while leaving them with the Gros Bon Ange that keeps them alive, animated and able to work (Ackerman, 1991). In an Islamic context, Rothman & Coyle (2018) present a framework of the soul based on Al-Ghazali wherein the ego (Nafs), spiritual soul (Ruh), heart (Qalb) and intellect (Aql) form two opposing pairs in a four point cross. It is easy to see a parallel to the Chinese anatomy of the soul wherein the Nafs and Ruh are like the Po and Hun, while the Qalb and Aql are the Heart and Kidneys as the house of the Shen and producer of Marrow that fills the Brain, respectively. There are natural differences, in that it is the Ruh which is the part of the soul where God's imprint resides and functions as a direct access point to God, while in Chinese, Shen literally means "God" and is seen as the spark of the divine. However, it is often the Hun that engages in spiritual work and ascends to Heaven in most Daoist Neidan systems and the Qu'ran 50:16 says "We are nearer to him than his jugular vein" leading to the Qalb being the spiritual centre of the person, implying these differences may be more subtle than it would first seem and probably see greater variation within their own traditions that between them. Most of this information is taken from:

• Zhou (2016), Understanding The Human Soul, Daoist Gate Wudang Arts
• 3 Hun and 7 Po (三魂七魄) In Taoist Sorcery in taoist-sorcery.blogspot.com (2013).
• Pregradio, F. (2011), The Seal of the Unity of the Three. Golden Elixir Press.