Returning to the Root (Guigen)

Music by Joshua Rist 

Performance Notes by Dr. Adam Con

This piece incorporates elements of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong practice into the choral setting. The Qigong meditative practice called the Six Healing Sounds begins and ends the work. The melodic text is part one of poem number 16 from the 4th century B.C. Classical Chinese text, Tao Te Ching (Book of the Way of Virtue).

The Six Healing Sounds (Liu Zi Jue) is a Qigong breathing technique in which there are six ways to exhale improving health and promoting healing and longevity. The earliest notation of Liu Zi Jue appears in a book called, On Caring for the Health of the Mind and Prolonging the Life Span written by Tao Hongjing. It dates back in history to the Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589). In traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), each of the sounds corresponds to the six major functions of the body to help regulate the flow of qi and bring vitality. The six healing sound movements were added in the Ming Dynasty (1386-1644).

Sī -  pronounced ‘s’ (Lungs: holds despair, sadness, depression; open to let in courage)

Xū - pronounced ‘shu’ with rounded “oo” lips (Liver: holds anger; open to let in generosity)

Chui - pronounced ‘chway’ (Kidneys: hold fear; open to let in calmness)

Hē - pronounced ‘huh’ (Heart: holds impatience; open to let in love joy and happiness)

Hū - pronounced ‘who’ (Spleen/Pancreas: holds worry and anxiety; open to let in fairness, openness, trust)

Xī - pronounced ‘she’ (Triple Burner – upper, middle, lower cavities circulating qi and fluids)

Text Translation:

zhì xū jí, (Juh shu gee) Seek to attain a perfect emptiness,

shŏu jìng dŭ, (shaow, jeeng, doo) Remain patient and sincere,

wàn wù bìng zuò,  (wahn, woo, beeng, jooaw) Every living thing is rising as one,

wú yĭ guān fù. (woo, yee, gwan, foo) Through this we observe the return to the root.