This ancient radical therefore depicts the bodiless head of a dead person flowing to Heaven in a
swirling movement or swimming in the realm of spirits and ghosts with a swirling movement.
The combination of the two characters for "cloud" and "spirit" in the character for Ethereal Soul
conveys the idea of its nature: it is like a spirit but it is Yang and ethereal in nature and
essentially harmless, i.e. it is not one of the evil spirits (hence the presence of the "cloud"
radical).
There are three types of Ethereal Soul: a vegetative one common to plants, animals and human
beings; an animal one common to animals and human beings; and a human one which is present
only in human beings.
Zhang Jie Bin in the "Classic of Categories" says: "The Mind and Ethereal Soul are Yang ... the
Ethereal Soul follows the Mind; if the Mind is unconscious the Ethereal Soul is swept
away".21(185) It also says: "The Mind corresponds to Yang within Yang, the Ethereal Soul
corresponds to Yin within Yang".22(186) The "Spiritual Axis" in chapter 8 says: "The Ethereal
Soul is the coming and going of the Mind".23(187) The concept of Ethereal Soul is closely
linked to ancient Chinese beliefs in spirits, ghosts and demons. According to these beliefs,
spirits, ghosts and demons are spirit-like creatures who preserve a physical appearance and
wander in the world of spirit. Some are good and some are evil. In the times prior to the Warring
States period (476-221 BC), such spirits were considered to be the main cause of disease. Since
the Warring States period, a belief in naturalistic causes of disease (such as weather) gradually
came to the fore; however, the belief in spirits has never really disappeared, even to the present
day.
What is the Ethereal Soul then and what does it do? It is basically another level of consciousness,
different from the Mind but closely related to it. The Ethereal Soul is rooted in the Liver and in
particular Liver-Yin (which includes Liver-Blood). If Liver-Yin is depleted, the Ethereal Soul is
deprived of its residence and becomes rootless. This can result in insomnia, timidity, fear and a
lack of a sense of direction in life. The Ethereal Soul, deprived of its residence, wanders without
aim.
The nature and functions of the Ethereal Soul can be summarized under seven headings.
Sleep and Dreaming
The Ethereal Soul influences sleep and dreaming, including day-dreaming. Zhang Jie Bin says in
the "Classic of Categories": "Absentmindedness as if in a trance is due to the Ethereal Soul
wandering outside its residence".24(188) Thus if Liver-Blood or Liver-Yin is deficient, the
Ethereal Soul wanders off in a day-dream and the person has no sense of purpose or direction in
life. On the other hand, the Ethereal Soul is also responsible for "dreaming" in a positive sense,
i.e. having a sense of purpose in life and "dreams" in the sense of goals. One of the main features