Thursday, June 08, 2006

The Pace of Yu from Secret Essentials on Assembling the Perfected of the Most High

The Great Yu in prehistory was the chief of a tribe that lived along the Yellow River about 5,000 years ago. He was said to have great shamanic powers: First, legend has it that his father, when near death, turned into a bear and when his belly was opened, he brought out his son, Yu, the great. Yu was said to change himself into a bear at will and throughout his life he walked with the "bear's gait." This transformation and dance became known thereafter as the "Pace of Yu." Yu frequently traveled to the North Star to overhear the celestial will after he had shape-shifted into a bear. The dance itself is known to be at least 10,000 years old.
From: The Online Journal of the I Ching, Yi Jing

Yuan Miaozong
The Pace of Yu from Secret Essentials on Assembling the Perfected of the Most High for the Relief of the State and Deliverance of the People, from the Taoist Canon of the Zhentong Reign
Ming dynasty, Zhengtong reign
1444
woodblock-printed book, ink on paper
35.4 x 12.7 cm
From: Artnet
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