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The *Da Sheng Yao Zhi* (Essentials of Great Life) states: After the severe cold, there must be a warm spring; this is the way of heaven and earth. If one does not hibernate and seal [energy], development cannot occur. Nowadays, those who are childless often engage in sexual activity with diligence. Do they not know that excessive ejaculation leads to thin seminal essence? Indulging desires to gratify emotions injures the True Qi (vital energy). Can one who vainly wishes for offspring conceive? The man corresponds to Heaven, which bestows; the woman corresponds to Earth, which receives. Only through this bestowing and receiving can pregnancy begin. What is currently bestowed is entirely lacking the dense Qi of the Pre-Heaven (innate constitution); it is merely the dregs of the Post-Heaven (acquired constitution). Even if the Yin can transform it, the function of Yang's bestowal is truly lost. Therefore, those who wish for offspring should not injure themselves with overthinking, nor deplete their Shen (Spirit). Let not the mind wander outward causing internal emptiness, nor let the will be injured inwardly causing external disorder. Do not use alcohol as an intermediary for lust, nor use drugs to assist fire. Preserve Jing (Essence), gather Shen, and nourish quietly for a long time. When Yin and Yang unite, and the two Shens collide, that single point of Pre-Heaven Yuan Zhen Qi (Primordial True Energy), the vigorous mechanism of life, resides at the moment of great sexual arousal. In this way, every action will be appropriate. The *Nei Jing* (Inner Canon) says: "When Yin is peaceful and Yang is secreted/stable, Spirit governs; when Yin and Yang separate and rupture, Essence and Qi perish." Laozi said: "Be clear and quiet; do not shake your Jing." The *Ren Jing Jing* (Mirror Classic of Humanity) says: "When Jing and Qi are abundant, two sons are born." The proverb says: "Few desires yield many men." These clear words serve not only as a mirror for the old who have no children but also as a rule of restraint for the young who struggle to conceive. The chapter *Gua Yu Guang Si Pian* (Chapter on Few Desires and Numerous Heirs) states: People are eager to have children, knowing that conception relies on the union of Jing and Qi, melting into a fetus. Thus, those with few desires often have many children and raise them easily because their Qi is solid and Jing is condensed. Those with many desires struggle to conceive and their children often die young because Qi leaks and Jing is thin. It is like brewing wine: one dou of rice with one dou of water yields strong, durable wine with complete quality. One dou of rice with double the water yields weak wine; triple or quadruple water makes it neither wine nor water, for its primordial essence is diminished. Today, people indulge nightly, engaging with many external concubines, leaking Jing wantonly. Evil Fire rises; the fiercer the evil fire, the more withered the True Yang becomes. How can a fetus form? Even if a child is luckily born, they cannot be raised, dying either from smallpox or fright. Smallpox is heat-toxin; fright is wind-heat. Toxin arises from insufficient True Jing of parents; wind arises from unconsolidated True Qi of parents. Once, someone struggled with infertility. A physician advised him to restrain desires and practice quiet preservation, not to labor the heart-mind. When the heart is quiet, Jing does not shake; when Shen is complete, Qi does not flee. He engaged in intercourse only once after his wife's menstruation ceased; otherwise, they slept in separate beds. After half a year, his wife conceived. They separated beds during pregnancy. At full term, a son was born, who later had only three or five spots of smallpox. That man sought heirs by hoarding concubines and women outside, yet did not know how to restrain desires. Was this appropriate?