《闲情偶寄》，清代人李渔所撰写，是养生学的经典著作。它共包括《词曲部》、《演习部》、《声容部》、《居室部》、《器玩部》、《饮馔部》、《种植部》、《颐养部》等八个部分，论述了戏曲、歌舞、服饰、修容、园林、建筑、花卉、器玩、颐养、饮食等艺术和生活中的各种现象，并阐发了自己的主张，内容极为丰富。其中，《颐养部》总论养生，是一篇重要的养生文献。

李渔·《闲情偶寄·选姿第一》

“食色，性也。”“不知子都之姣者，无目者也。”古之大贤择言而发，其所以不拂人情，而数为是论者，以性所原有，不能强之使无耳。人有美妻美妾而我好之，是谓拂人之性；好之不惟损德，且以杀身。我有美妻美妾而我好之，是还吾性中所有，圣人复起，亦得我心之同然，非失德也。孔子云：“素富贵，行乎富贵。”人处得为之地，不买一二姬妾自娱，是素富贵而行乎贫贱矣。王道本乎人情，焉用此矫清矫俭者为哉？但有狮吼在堂，则应借此藏拙，不则好之实所以恶之，怜之适足以杀之，不得以红颜薄命借口，而为代天行罚之忍人也。

予一介寒生，终身落魄，非止国色难亲，天香未遇，即强颜陋质之妇，能见几人，而敢谬次音容，侈谈歌舞，贻笑于眠花藉柳之人哉？然而缘虽不偶，兴则颇佳，事虽未经，理实易谙，想当然之妙境，较身醉温柔乡者倍觉有情。如其不信，但以往事验之。楚襄王，人主也。六宫窈窕，充塞内庭，握雨携云，何事不有？而千古以下，不闻传其实事，止有阳台一梦，脍炙人口。阳台今落何处？神女家在何方？朝为行云，暮为行雨，毕竟是何情状？岂有踪迹可考，实事可缕陈乎？皆幻境也。幻境之妙，十倍于真，故千古传之。能以十倍于真之事，谱而为法，未有不入闲情三昧者。凡读是书之人，欲考所学之从来，则请以楚国阳台之事对。

Pleasant Diversion: Judging Beauty

Li Yu

‘To love good food and beautiful women is human nature.' ‘Not to know how handsome Zidu is, is not to have yes in one's head.' The sages of old chose their words carefully. The reason why they made this point repeatedly, yet without giving offence, is that they did not pretend that what is natural to man does not exist. If I lust after another man's beautiful wife or concubine, that offends his instincts; not only is the lusting immoral, it may get me killed. If I lust after my own beautiful wife or concubine, that conforms to my legitimate instincts: if the sages were to come back to life, they would find in my favour, and not regard it as a transgression. Confucius said, ‘Those who enjoy wealth and honour should behave as befits their station in life.' If a man who is in a position to do so does not buy one or two concubines for his pleasure, that would be to enjoy wealth and honour but behave as befits the poor and humble. The way of the sages was based on human feelings; what need is there for such dissembling, such feigned purity and frugality? But if you have a harridan for a wife, it would be sensible to use this pretence to disguise your motives, otherwise, your partiality for a beautiful concubine would in effect be cruelty, your tenderness might be the very cause of her death. If that happened, you could not plead in justification the belief that a beauty's fate is always sad, and act as the heartless agent of Heaven in bringing about her punishment.

I am a poor scholar, and have always been out of luck. I have not only never got near the nation's supreme beauties or come across heavenly perfection, even women of passable appearance and rough and ready quality I have rarely had the good fortune to meet. That being so, if I presume to rank women's qualities of voice, bearing and looks, and perorate on their singing and dancing, I will be laughed at by the veterans of the pleasure quarters. Yet, though my score has been low, my enthusiasm is high; though experience is lacking, the principles are easy to figure out. The wondrous pictures our minds conceive of are more appealing than the impressions of thos who have personally trod the primrose path. If you don't believe me, you can test my claim against the record of history.

King Xiang of Chu was a ruler of men. His harem was packed full of shapely females, and what he didn't get up to with them isn't worth mentioning. Yet what he has come down the ages to us is not his real exploits, but his dream of making love to the nymphs of Mount Wu, and that is known to every soul. But where can we find the terrace where the tryst took place? Where is the nymph's dwelling? The legend says the nymph turned into a floating cloud in the morning, and into drifting rain at dusk: how can we account for that? Are there any clues we can trace, any facts we can set out? It was all an illusion. The force of an illusion is ten times that of fact; that is why that story lives on.

If I can write down in some sort of order things that are ten times superior to fact for people to go on, then the secret of pleasant diversions will be open to all. If my readers wish to investigate the source of my learning, I respectfully refer them to the story of the King of Chu's adventure with the nymph.

（David Pollard 译）

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