Ho-ch’i Chin., lit. “unification of the breaths”; collective sexual orgies practiced since the time of the Han Dynasty by the Taoist school of the Way of Supreme Peace (t’ai-p’ing tao) and by Five-Pecks-of-Rice Taoism (wu-tou-mi tao). These practices continued until the time of the Sung Dynasty. Ho-ch’i aims at the unification of yin and yang (yin-yang), the female and male essence, respectively, thereby nourishing the life principle (Yang-hsing). It is said that the practice of ho-ch’i can enable the practitioner to attain immortality.
Ho-ch’i ceremonies were held on the days of the new moon and the full moon. After performing the dances of the dragon (a symbol for yang) and of the tiger (symbol for yin) the participants withdrew to private chambers, where they endeavored to have sexual intercourse with as many different partners as possible. We have no details of the precise ho ch’i ritual, because all descriptions of it were deleted from the Taoist canon (Tao-tsang) under the pressure of Confucianist morality. The practice of ho-ch’i is based on the idea that male semen (ching), the essence of yang, can best be nourished by the female orgasm (yin). If a man has intercourse with many female partners, each of whom experiences an orgasm, but does not allow himself to ejaculate until the final copulation, he will accumulate a large quantity of yang. This has a positive effect on the duration of his life. It is said that the legendary Yellow Emperor (Huang-ti) had sexual intercourse with twelve hundred concubines yet suffered no damage to his health, because he was acquainted with the technique of ho-ch’i.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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