The Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Hidden Talisman (Yinfu Jing) is traditionally attributed to Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor. Through history, Jiang Taigong, Fan Li, Guiguzi, Zhang Liang, Zhuge Liang, Li Chunfeng, Li Quan, Li Zhi, Li Jian, Li Rui, Yang Sheng, and others wrote commentaries on it, and it is included in the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries.
The Classic of the Hidden Talisman is a work of thought that brings together Taoist strategies for governing the state, the way of nurturing life, and the art of war and tactics. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Hidden Talisman grounds its meaning in society and points toward human life.
The Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Hidden Talisman has a little over four hundred characters, in three parts: upper, middle, and lower. The upper part mainly sets out the relationship between the way of heaven and human affairs. The middle part mainly discusses the principles of enriching the state and bringing peace to the people. The lower part mainly concerns the art of war and tactics.
The Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Hidden Talisman
Immortals Embracing the One: Chapter on Expounding the Tao, Part One
Observe the way of heaven and hold to the workings of heaven, and that is all. Heaven has five thieves; those who see them prosper. When the five thieves are in the mind, they are carried out in heaven. The universe is in one's hands; the myriad transformations are born from one's body. Heaven's nature is humanity; the human mind is the mechanism. Establish the way of heaven in order to settle humanity. When heaven unleashes its killing force, the stars shift and the constellations move; when earth unleashes its killing force, dragons and snakes rise onto dry land; when humanity unleashes its killing force, heaven and earth are overturned. When heaven and humanity unleash it together, the myriad changes have their foundation fixed. Nature has skill and clumsiness, which can be kept hidden. The evils of the nine orifices lie in the three essentials, which can be moving or still. Fire is born from wood; when disaster breaks out, it is sure to overcome it. Treachery is born in the state; when the time moves, the state is sure to collapse. One who knows this and cultivates and refines is called a sage. Heaven gives life and heaven kills: this is the principle of the Tao.
Enriching the State and Pacifying the People: Chapter on Expounding the Law, Part Two
Heaven and earth are the thieves of the myriad things; the myriad things are the thieves of humanity; humanity is the thief of the myriad things. When the three thieves are in proper order, the Three Powers are at peace. Therefore it is said: eat at the right time, and the hundred bones are in order; set the mechanism in motion, and the myriad transformations are at peace. People know the spirit as spiritual, but do not know that what is not spiritual is what makes it spiritual. The sun and moon have their numbers; the great and small have their fixed measure; from this sagely achievements are born and spirit-brightness comes forth. As for the mechanism of the thieves, no one under heaven can see it, no one can know it. The noble person who gains it strengthens himself; the petty person who gains it makes light of his life.
Strengthening the Army and Winning Victory: Chapter on Expounding the Art, Part Three
The blind hear well; the deaf see well. Cut off one source of benefit, and the use of the army is tenfold; reflect three times day and night, and the use of the army is ten-thousandfold. The mind is born through things and dies through things; the mechanism lies in the eyes. The mind of life and death lies in things; the mechanism of success and failure is seen in the eyes. Heaven has no kindness, yet great kindness is born from it. Swift thunder and fierce wind—nothing does not stir. Supreme joy makes one's nature abundant; supreme stillness makes one's nature pure. Heaven is supremely selfish, yet its use is supremely impartial; the control of birds lies in qi. Life is the root of death; death is the root of life. Kindness is born from harm; harm is born from kindness. The foolish take the patterns of heaven and earth as sagely; I take the patterns of time and things as wise. Others, being foolish, speculate on the sage; I, not being foolish, speculate on the sage. Others expect to be sages; I do not expect to be a sage. Therefore: sinking into water or entering fire, one brings destruction upon oneself. The way of what is so of itself is still, and so heaven, earth, and the myriad things are born; the way of heaven and earth permeates, and so yin and yang prevail. Yin and yang push against each other, and change and transformation follow. Therefore the sage knows that the way of what is so of itself cannot be defied, and so governs by it. The way of supreme stillness cannot be matched by pitch-pipes and calendars. Thus there is a wondrous instrument, which gives birth to the myriad phenomena. The Eight Trigrams and the sixty-day cycle of jiazi, divine mechanisms hidden with the ghosts. The art of yin and yang overcoming each other shines forth clearly, advancing into images.