"Cores" in Chinese Cultivation Novels:
"Cores" appear quite often in Chinese cultivation novels (Xianxia, Xuanhuan, etc).
There are generally two types of Cores - the type belonging to beasts/monsters, and the type belonging to cultivators. While they share some superficial similarities, the two types of Cores are actually fundamentally different!
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Beast Cores:
In these novels, Beasts are animals capable of cultivation. Some are innately magical and simply grow stronger over time, while others must actively practice a cultivation method. They tend to be much more intelligent than mundane animals, and some are capable of speaking in human languages. Beasts which have reached a high stage of cultivation may even be able to take on a human form.
The Beasts are referred to differently from novel to novel. They are sometimes called Monstrous Beasts, Profound Beasts, Spirit Beasts, Divine Beasts, and so on. But perhaps the two most common varieties are Magical Beasts (魔兽 móshòu) and Demonic Beasts (妖兽 yāoshòu).
These Beasts often possess a Core within their bodies which contains their magical energy and essence¹ (basically "lifeblood/lifeforce"). Cultivators highly prize these Cores and hunt the Beasts to obtain them. The Cores are generally either sold for money, used to craft magical items, or consumed by a cultivator to boost their cultivation.
The Cores are typically named similarly to the Beasts. So, for example, Magical Beasts possess Magical Cores (魔核 móhé) and Demonic Beasts possess Demonic Cores (妖核 yāohé).
The character 核 can also be translated as: nucleus / stone / pit / core.
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Essence: Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine)
The Three Treasures or Three Jewels (Chinese: 三寶; pinyin: sānbǎo; Wade-Giles: san-pao) are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and practices such as neidan, qigong, and tai chi. They are also known as jing, qi, and shen (Chinese: 精氣神; pinyin: jīng-qì-shén; Wade-Giles: ching ch'i shen; "essence, breath, and spirit").
Jing, qi, and shen are three of the main notions shared by Taoism and Chinese culture alike. They are often referred to as the Three Treasures (sanbao 三寶), an expression that immediately reveals their importance and the close connection among them. The ideas and practices associated with each term, and with the three terms as a whole, are complex and vary considerably in different contexts and historical periods.
In long-established Chinese traditions, the "Three Treasures" are the essential energies sustaining human life:
• Jing 精 : "nutritive essence, essence; spirit, sperm, seed; extract; refined, perfected"
• Qi 氣 : "breath, spirit; air, vapor; vitality, energy, force; vigor; attitude"
• Shen 神 : "spirit; soul, mind; god, deity; supernatural being"
This jing-qi-shen ordering is more commonly used than the variants qi-jing-shen and shen-qi-jing.
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Chinese Terms, Honorifics And Mythologies
RandomThis book provides a comprehensive guide to commonly used honorifics, terms, and units in the Chinese language. It serves as a valuable resource for individuals who are using Chinese terms to write their stories', offering explanations and examples...
