The Lost Chapter: River Diagram in the Hermit's Cave

Tales of the Fat Monk

Tales of the Fat Monk
The Lost Chapter: River Diagram in the Hermit's Cave
Jul 31, 2024
Xiaoyao Xingzhe

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This is one of the "lost chapters" intended to appear earlier in the series but was skipped over.

Xiaoyao loses his way at evening in the deep mountains, but a chance meeting saves him from a freezing overnight sojourn.

The hermit takes the opportunity to try and teach Xiaoyao the arcane secrets of the River Diagram--the 河圖--which communicates its crucial message symbolically, using a structured pattern of black and white dots. The structure itself is based upon a magic square of fifteen.

This can be confusing unless you have the diagram in front of you (and maybe even then) so there are several options.
You can download the original pdf article with all the illustrations from this URL:
https://thefatmonk.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/9-2_river_diagram.pdf

You can refer to this wikipedia article for the illustration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_River_Map

or if you want more deeper reference for the relationship of the River Diagram and the verses quoted from the book "Understanding Reality" see this link (in Chinese):
https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=9ecbf4e3de00c2d59ec0e147

SHOW NOTES:

Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crossed the Gobi in a decrepit jeep, lived with a solitary monk in the mountains of Korea, dined with the family of the last emperor of China, and helped police with their enquiries in Amarillo, Texas.

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Visit the Fat Monk Website: https://thefatmonk.net/
for pdfs of all recorded chapters and a few more, as well as other bits of interest on Daoism, Buddhism and Neidan, with an emphasis (but not a limitation) on pre-twentieth century authors such as Huang Yuanji and Li Daochun.

If you would like to support the production costs of  this podcast, you may do so at Ko-fi.

Check out the wonderful Flora Carbo and her music:
https://floracarbo.com/

Episode Artwork The Lost Chapter: River Diagram in the Hermit's Cave 27:23 Episode Artwork Master Nan Huaijin Discusses a Daoist Poem 7:28 Episode Artwork Li Daochun's Preface to his Dao De Hui Yuan 8:59 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: Resolving Confusion, Cultivating Transcendence 18:22 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: Yum Cha as Life Training 11:42 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: Two Letters of Liu Yi-Ming 14:09 Episode Artwork Chapter Twenty-Four: A Visit into the Monastery 23:46 Episode Artwork Chapter Twenty Three: Pacing the Cosmos 26:23 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode Intermediate Worlds Part II 37:52 Episode Artwork Chapter Twenty-Two: Gathering Medicine 15:10 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: Intermediate Worlds 23:24 Episode Artwork Chapter Twenty-One: Tea Tales in the Hermit's Cave 28:17 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: the Art of Living and the Game of Go (Wei Qi, Baduk) 17:36 Episode Artwork Chapter Twenty: Thirty Spokes 30:08 Episode Artwork Chapter Nineteen: Wild Grass Writing 23:57 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: Master Nan describes Zhuge Liang's "Letter to my Son" 14:05 Episode Artwork Chapter Eighteen: Billie and the Shaman 26:03 Episode Artwork Chapter Seventeen: Fire on the Mountain 32:58 Episode Artwork Chapter Sixteen: Trigrams Mountain to Marsh 17:08 Episode Artwork Chapter Fifteen: Trigrams Heaven and Earth 31:28 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: A Review of Thomas Cleary's "Vitality, Energy, Spirit" 8:17 Episode Artwork Chapter Fourteen: Sword and Lute 38:32 Episode Artwork Bonus Episode: Liu Yiming's Preface to "The True Intent of the Journey to the West" 11:17 Episode Artwork Chapter Thirteen: The Nine-Toothed Rake 26:44 Episode Artwork Chapter Twelve: Silent Accord 27:41