《上清经真丹秘诀》

The two Yin-Yang (yinyang) materials are both yellow. They need not undergo compounding or processing in order to interact with each other and serve as a medium of transformation. When placed in divine water (a specific liquid used in Daoist elixir refinement), they sink to the bottom yet also float in the center; layers of blood-colored spots are visible within them, and each flake gleams with a scale-like luster. It can be used to refine golden treasures; ingesting it is said to extend one’s years and prolong life. It can also transform and communicate throughout the four directions.

This is the method of elixir refinement practiced by the divine immortals and of cultivation by the earth immortals. Originally it was for the relief of the poor that the medicine was extracted in order to transmutate metals. Nowadays those who study the Dao, upon obtaining this method, are often drawn by selfish desires and think only of using it to seek profit, so that in the end they cannot refine and ingest it. Therefore if those who obtain this method employ it extensively in pursuit of glory and wealth, they will incur the punishment of the gods, and their cultivation will be difficult to bring to success.

The refinement of this medicine should be carried out in a clean chamber or in an uninhabited mountain valley, while avoiding women, persons in mourning, chickens, dogs, and the like. Before beginning one must burn incense, pray to the celestial images, make extensive vows, and also set one’s mind aright, and only then may one proceed with the refinement. If these requirements are not followed, even if the elixir is successfully produced it will provoke the wrath of thunder and lightning, and one’s efforts will have been in vain.

This method was transmitted in the world not for the transmutation of metals or the pursuit of wealth, but for the healing of the illnesses of all sentient beings. If one refines and ingests this medicine according to the method, it is said that one can become an earth immortal (an immortal capable of longevity who nevertheless remains in the human world). If one wishes to use it to relieve suffering from illness, the original text further notes that a small quantity of the medicine may be taken and combined with alum (a mineral medicinal substance).

The phrase “method for treating the multitude of illnesses” at the close of the chapter means “the method of treating various diseases,” indicating that the subsequent text will go on to describe the specific applications.

This medicine may be employed to attack and treat any location suffering from various diseases, as though ten thousand people were joining forces, and its efficacy can readily be imagined. For this reason the medicine is known by ten names.

It is called the Ice-Melting Pill, for it eliminates all manner of stagnations and accumulations and flushes away fluids that have long lingered in the body. It is called the Internal-Roasting Pill, because when the medicine enters the abdomen it resembles a burning fire capable of attacking the ailment. It is called the Snow-Irrigating Pill, as it dispels illness in the manner of the sun melting ice or hot soup poured over white snow. It is called the Ten-Purging Pill; after taking it, it is said, one can expel the noxious matter from within. It is called the Unblocking-and-Harmonizing Pill, since it dredges the five viscera—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—and attunes the six bowels—the gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, bladder, and triple burner. It is called the All-Qi Treating Pill, also known as the Multitude of Qi Pill. It resolves congestion wherever the mechanism of Qi (vital energy) is blocked. It is called the Evil-Sweeping Pill, for it drives out the Qi of evil spirits and ghosts, and it is said that there is nothing it cannot expel or heal. It is called the Stomach-Unblocking Pill, because it opens the stomach and enables one to eat. It is called the Disease-Sweeping Pill, as it sweeps away all kinds of illnesses, and it is said none cannot be eliminated. It is called the Myriad Diseases Pill, because it is reputed to treat every disease; the medicine causes itching upon entering the abdomen and never fails to take effect.

Furthermore, there are seven kinds of disorders: those of Qi (vital energy), of cold, of accumulation, of binding, of scarring, of hernia, and of blood. These seven pathogenic factors may gather in one place in the body, either on the left side or the right. If left untreated for a long time they develop into a deficient swelling that resembles a turtle’s back and ultimately endanger life.

People live in this world with the Four Great Elements of earth, water, fire and wind as the fundamental constituents of the body, and all manner of diseases may accumulate within it. When the Qi of heaven and earth falls out of balance a person becomes drowsy and weary, the spirit grows confused, illness follows and death may even result. Imbalance of water and fire produces pain in the heart, prevents food from being digested and over time threatens life. Imbalance of wind and rain weakens the four limbs and emaciates the body, which may likewise prove fatal.

Some illnesses are regarded as originating in karmic connections from previous lives, such as blindness, deafness, sores and poxes, foolishness, physical incompleteness and all sorts of inauspicious hindrances. Evil demons and spirits, epidemics and disasters are likewise said to arise from past evil karma and destiny. Yet provided one takes this medicine with a sincere heart, it is claimed that every kind of disease can be eliminated.

Chronic conditions such as ganli (illnesses of indigestion and diarrhea), cunbai (intestinal parasites such as tapeworms), shishen (an original term of unclear meaning), the five kinds of hemorrhoids, leukorrhea and flooding (gynecological disorders of vaginal discharge and abnormal bleeding), nine kinds of wasting sores encircling the neck, pus and blood flowing from the nostrils, dysfunction of the five viscera, yongzhong beiqi (an original term of unclear specific meaning), drum-like distension of the heart and abdomen, fullness and pain in the chest and diaphragm, sores on the back, leprosy, seasonal epidemics and other worldly ailments are all said to be treatable.

The pills are the size of hemp seeds. One is taken daily on an empty stomach, the dose gradually increased to three, and they may be swallowed with tea. The scripture claims that even the already deceased can thereby be restored to life. One pill is taken at sunrise and another before sleep at night. Anyone who has taken the medicine, walking five or ten li after dark, will find that wild beasts, venomous snakes, ghosts and sprites all keep away and dare not approach.

When the sick first begin to take it they experience diarrhea, discharging the impurities of the five viscera, and feel itching. The scripture states that encountering this formula is owing to karmic affinity from a former life. Prolonged use can restore youth and confer immortality. Should one meet with misfortune in the human world, the buried corpse remains undecayed for a long time, its complexion unaltered, becoming a “corpse immortal.” The scripture further remarks that only those whose cultivation has fully penetrated the Dao can comprehend these matters. Those who attain the Dao by taking the medicine cannot be recorded one by one, so only the refining procedure is here noted with care.

Two liang of “sinking silver” from Wudu (explained in the scripture as superior realgar) are taken together with two liang of imported orpiment. A Hunan-made hezi (the lidded vessel used in elixir work) is employed: ten sheets of gold foil are first laid inside, after which the orpiment and realgar are mixed, ground to powder in a mortar, packed firmly into the hezi and the lid closed. The seams around the vessel are sealed tightly with salt-mud according to alchemical method.

A porcelain ding of a little more than one dou capacity is prepared separately and charged with twenty jin of yellow lead. Three to five jin of yellow lead are first introduced and tamped down gradually until a layer about five cun thick is formed; the hezi is placed exactly in the center, then more yellow lead is added and lightly compacted until the ding is full, without regard to the exact weight used. The ding is coated with six-one mud (the sealing compound of alchemy) to a thickness of two or three fen. It is set in a basin, covered with ash, and allowed to dry slowly in a cool, shaded place so that the mud unites from top to bottom into a firm seal. Once the ding is thoroughly dry, firing may begin.

On the first day, surround the medicinal substance on all four sides with half a jin of already heated fire, keeping it going day and night without interruption. On the fifth day, add another half jin of fire; thereafter add half a jin every three days until the fire totals five jin. Then wrap the medicinal substance on the outside with furnace clay, simply allowing the fire qi to envelop it without employing any other methods, and nourish and refine it thus for forty-five days. Next add three jin of heated fire and continue nourishing and refining until the forty-ninth day, at which point stop using fire. Once the fire has cooled, remove the hezi (the vessel containing the medicinal substance) and open it for inspection: the contents should be vermilion red or golden yellow. When most of the yellow dan has taken on a purple-gold hue, collect it; this may be used to treat all kinds of malignant sores.

Take the first portion of the medicinal substance from the hezi and add one liang of mercury. Grind it slowly in a mortar over the fire until it gradually forms a sandy consistency. Strike the medicine hezi in a cross pattern using needle-like rods and iron tools, then seal the hezi with liuyi mud (the clay used to seal vessels during elixir refining). After the mud has dried, place it in the water-fire furnace for nourishing and refining.

To construct the water-fire furnace, take an earthenware rice vessel and seal its four sides with mud, leaving only a hole in the center of the bottom. Position the medicine hezi over this hole so that it extends about half a cun below the vessel's base. Keep a bowl of water constantly beneath the vessel, with the water surface approximately half a cun from the hezi's bottom; this is adequate provided the water does not moisten the hezi.

Begin with three liang of fire, increasing it gradually; after half a day, raise it to half a jin and continue the nourishing and refining. Increase the fire by one liang with each addition. After seven full days, allow the fire to cool before opening for inspection; the medicinal substance should now be subdued and stabilized (rendered stable through the refining process). Reseal it as before and nourish and refine for another seven days. Upon opening, test a small amount by throwing it into the fire; it is said this can turn into gold, though its color is like that of licorice.

Add another liang of mercury and grind it into sand according to the earlier method, then nourish and refine it again in the water-fire furnace. Open the vessel once every seven days, adding one liang of mercury each time, until the total reaches one jin. If the aim is to produce a treasure, take half of the material and refine it separately with further assistance; otherwise, continue the nourishing and refining while occasionally adding two liang of ground sulfur before returning it to the furnace; it is said this will yield cinnabar.

Then take one portion of the previously refined golden medicine, add half a jin of mercury and three liang of sulfur, grind and blend them together, and take half of the mixture. If one does not intend to withdraw it for use, continue the nurturing refinement: from time to time add a further two liang of sulfur, grind it, and place it in the furnace, whereupon it will be refined into cinnabar.

Then take one portion of the previously refined golden medicine, add half a jin of mercury and three liang of sulfur, and grind them into a sand-like granular form. Following the method described earlier, seal the vessel firmly with six-one mud (liuyi ni), then heat it slowly over a gentle fire so that the ingredients gradually transform; afterward continue the nurturing refinement in a water-fire cauldron (shuihuo ding), and open the vessel after seven days.

Thereafter add one liang of mercury and one portion of sulfur, again sealing and nurturing according to the previous method, gradually increasing the mercury until one jin is reached. After six months of nurturing refinement, add a further jin of mercury and four liang of sulfur, and continue according to the previous method. If one wishes to withdraw the medicine, open the furnace and take it out; if not, continue the nurturing refinement as before.

There is another method: if one wishes to obtain the True Origin (zhenyuan)—here meaning the pure, refined substance sought in elixir practice—one need only set the initial portion of the medicine aside and store it separately for nurturing refinement. After three years of refinement, a pellet the size of a millet grain can transmute one liang; after four years, one pellet can transmute two liang; after five years, one pellet can transmute three liang; after nine years, one pellet can transmute one jin. The “pointing” (dian) referred to here means using a small quantity of the medicine to cause other substances to undergo transformation. This medicine was originally a method for preparing what was called the great elixir of the immortals, and was later employed to bring relief to the people of the world. First use it to transmute other medicinal substances; once it has been nurtured and refined for three years, it may be ingested to treat illness.

The method of ingestion is as follows. Grind the medicine very finely, then repeatedly wash and clarify it with water until it is as fine as powder. Place it in a porcelain bottle and suspend it in a well for seven days, then remove it. Next boil it in licorice water thirty to fifty times; when the liquid has dried through, mix it evenly with jujube pulp and roll it into pills the size of hemp seeds. Place one pill into one jin of meat; if, in the sixth month, the meat still does not spoil or stink after a full month, this is said to serve as a means of verifying the medicine’s efficacy.

Whenever taking the medicinal substances, one must first bathe, change into clean new clothes, observe a vegetarian diet for seven consecutive days, and avoid all filthy and unclean things. Every morning on an empty stomach, swallow three pills with clean water; they may also be taken with wine. After taking the medicine, one must replenish and replace it. If one encounters impoverished people, one may use the medicine or material wealth to provide aid, but one must never casually disclose such medicines and methods. (The original text contains a repeated passage reading “Every day on an empty stomach, take three pills with clean water; wine is also acceptable. Replenish and replace the medicine taken...”; it is here combined and restated according to its meaning.)

Those who obtain this method are all people who possessed a karmic affinity with the Dao (the Way) in the past, and thus have the opportunity to learn it. If it is transmitted rashly, misfortune may extend to later generations, so it must be strictly kept secret. If transmitting it to a cultivator of the Dao, the recipient should withdraw from the mundane world, go into the mountains and valleys to cultivate, and properly keep the secret.

If the male and female materials are not pure, even good medicine will be difficult to refine; even if refined, its potency will likely be weak. Obtaining “Shen Yin” (a type of alchemical material so named in the original text) is the best. To seal the hezi (the small container used in alchemy to hold the medicinal substances), take the white ash produced by burning charcoal and mix it in equal parts with the “Lingzhong” substance, using this mixture to seal it. To seal the ding (the vessel used in alchemy), mix sand-pot powder, charcoal powder, and yellow earth, then add paper fiber and old straw sandals as binding material, mix into a thin mud, and seal it with this; all procedures must be carried out according to the prescribed methods.