《九转灵砂大丹资圣玄经》

At that time, the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Perfected One (a revered deity in Daoist legend) sat together with numerous practitioners on a seven-treasure jade terrace amid the Qianmu Forest on Mount Fulu beside the Yucha Great River in the Western Nayu Kingdom, burning wondrous incense blended from various aromatics. High immortals and marvelous perfected ones, celestial demons and followers of heterodox ways, totaling thirty-six thousand, also gathered there.

The Baoji Perfected One thought to himself: “I previously cultivated the arts of refining and nourishing and have now attained the Dao (the Way). Yet I still pity all beings, especially those who cultivate perfection in later times. They refine elixirs, turn stone into gold, and ingest gold-white, snow-essence frost-flowers, together with the four medicines and eight vistas, hoping to produce the nine-turn Golden Elixir (Jindan), the supreme treasure of creation, or the medicine of corpse-liberation, but they never succeed.” Thereupon the Baoji Perfected One rose, adjusted his robes and cap, walked slowly before the jeweled throne, kowtowed in salute, and said to the Taiji Perfected One: “What causal affinity from this disciple’s cultivation has allowed him to join this gathering? I formerly studied the preparation of the great elixir and have now attained the Dao. I pity those who cultivate in later generations: born into the last kalpa of the Lower Origin, they burn elixirs and refine treasures, transforming the five metals, yet never succeed. I earnestly beg the Perfected One to extend great compassion, widely transmit the dharma seals, and make clear the reasons for their failure, as well as how they may refine the Golden Elixir great medicine and master the methods of transformation.”

The Taiji Perfected One replied: “You have asked well. You have touched the crucial reasons; quiet your mind and listen as I explain. I now briefly reveal this for you, clarifying the essential purport of the methods of the Dao. This Zisheng Xuanjing presents the dharma-gate that penetrates the mysterious principles; by cultivating according to it one attains the Dao.

The cauldron for refining the elixir has three legs, corresponding to the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity; its upper and lower parts join, symbolizing the Two Modes of Heaven and Earth. The cauldron legs are four inches high, matching the four seasons; the furnace is eight inches deep, matching the eight solar nodes; eight openings are made beneath the furnace so the winds of the eight directions may circulate; the charcoal weighs twenty-four catties, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms of the year.

In refining the elixir one must cause the positions and functions of Yin-Yang to transform into one another, allowing water and fire to intermingle: the water above corresponds to the clear Qi (vital energy) of Heaven, the fire below taken from the turbid Qi of Earth. The Qi of Heaven descends, the Qi of Earth rises; the Qi of Heaven and Earth meet, interact, fuse and coil together, combining to generate two kinds of Qi. When the two Qi merge into an undifferentiated unity it is called the ‘Great Elixir of the Two Qi’; the marvelous function of elixir-refining lies herein. To seize a thousand years of creative transformation within the twelve double-hours—this is the preliminary method of refining the elixir.”

To produce the Great Elixir of Numinous Cinnabar, one must first select the “mother of the numinous medicines,” then choose a quiet place in the mountain forests whose orientation is auspicious in which to set up the furnace and cauldron (luding). The scripture next records the materials, fire phasing (huohou), and steps used in the refining; the “furnace and cauldron” are the vessels employed for elixir making, while “fire phasing” refers to the method of controlling the intensity of the fire and the duration of calcination. Specific details of the fire phasing appear in a later section.

On an auspiciously chosen day, take four liang of white “Upper Yang Essence” (shangyang jing) and sixteen liang of “Solar Palace Fluid” (taiyang gongye), fry and refine them together until a greenish-black substance is obtained. The scripture assigns this step to the Wood of eastern Jia-Yi and terms it “green-black.” The material is then ground to powder with a willow-wood pestle in a mortar, placed in the cauldron, and calcined according to the method of “water above and fire below.” The fire is started at the yin hour; after one fu period (a full day and night) it is said that a thousand years of creative transformation can be seized. Upon removal from the furnace the substance is red, and the scripture assigns it to the Fire of southern Bing-Ding, terming it “red-black.”

It is next divided into pieces the size of lotus seeds, placed in a loosely woven cloth bag, and suspended inside the cauldron, where it is boiled and refined for one day and night in a decoction of mulberry-wood ash lye together with borax, paosha, green vitriol, and Jin alum. After removal it is washed clean and sun-dried. It is then boiled in petroleum for two double-hours, taken out, washed, and air-dried. Each piece is subsequently coated with white sand honey, rolled in dried borax, and then successively overlaid with “bismuth white frost” and “bismuth yellow flower.” After this treatment the color turns yellow, and the scripture assigns it to the Earth of central Wu-Ji, terming it “yellow qi.”

Next take one jin of the powdered parental medicines; grind equal quantities of the four ingredients dark plum, dianthus, ephedra, and polygala into powder, fry them together with the medicinal powder until yellow, mix thoroughly with fine-quality vinegar, and form into pieces the size of lotus seeds. The scripture states that this is used to “plant and nourish” one jin of the parental medicines, combined with four liang of numinous cinnabar, which are then sealed and dried according to the prescribed method. The mixture is placed in the furnace and the container is covered all around with “ten-thousand-cash ash” to a thickness of about two cun; the fire is nourished for seven days (specific fire phasing again appears in a later section). After the furnace has cooled, the substance is removed; it is a fire-resistant black, which the scripture assigns to the Water of northern Ren-Gui, terming it “black qi.”

Finally the numinous cinnabar is placed in a large pot and melted into a liquid. Equal quantities of anemarrhena, croton, castor bean, saltpeter, and sea salt are ground to powder, wrapped in paper, and thrown into the medicinal liquid. This process is repeated seven times, after which saltpeter is sprinkled in continuously until the liquid becomes clear and pure white. The scripture assigns this step to the Metal of western Geng-Xin, terming it “white qi,” and states that at this point the qi of the Five Phases (wuxing) converge, completing the first transmutation. The concluding phrase “wei yimu shuiyin, yin ye” explains that the “dependent mother” is mercury and that it is called “silver.”

This passage of the scripture employs the five colors green, red, yellow, black, and white, corresponding respectively to Wood, Fire, Earth, Water, and Metal, in order to describe the successive changes in the color of the medicines and the stages of the elixir-refining process; the term “zhuan” refers to the stages of the work. In the original text a number of graphs and sentences appear to be corrupt, omitted, or duplicated, so that the precise identity of certain ingredients and the exact meaning of the final sentence remain difficult to determine.

Chapter Two: The Production of the Sacred Embryo of the Great Elixir of Numinous Cinnabar

The previously cultivated “mother-reliant mercury-silver” belongs to the white Qi (vital energy) of Geng-Xin Metal of the west. It is the root upon which the Great Elixir gathers, and also the foremost of the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). It is initially called “the first turn,” that is, mother-reliant mercury and silver.

Take one jin of the previously cultivated mother-reliant mercury-silver and, while it is still hot, grind it quickly into powder; then use a lodestone to draw out the iron filings. Select four liang of cinnabar whose surface is as bright as a mirror, and prepare a silver box. First spread two liang of the mother-reliant mercury-silver powder on the bottom of the box, then lay a layer of cinnabar; next spread another layer of mercury-silver powder and lay another layer of cinnabar. After the layers have been arranged in this way, cover the very top with the remaining four liang of mother-reliant mercury-silver powder.

Seal the seams of the box with red halloysite, then paste over them a layer of Kunlun paper two fingers wide. Afterward apply a coating of mud one finger thick on the outside and wait until it is thoroughly dry. Place the silver box into the ash pit, set it on an iron tripod, and cover the box with plant ash to a depth of about two fingers. Heat it slowly with fire. Once the fire has burned red, draw the surrounding ash inward to cover the feet of the fire; in the exact center leave a small hole with chopsticks so that the fire Qi may pass through, and also cover the top while leaving a small hole. Following the fire timing previously described for nurturing lotus seeds, nourish and refine it with a gentle fire for fourteen days.

Afterward allow it to cool, gently remove the box, and split it open with a knife. The pieces of cinnabar inside have all been refined into precious elixir substance. Discard the mother-reliant mercury-silver powder that has not been damaged by the fire, keeping only the refined elixir cinnabar. Place this into an iron box and pour in two liang of mercury. Seal the seams according to the previous method, place it in the ash pit, and nourish and refine it with the same fire timing for seven days. After cooling overnight, take it out, and the mercury will condense of its own accord. Thereafter pour in mercury once every seven days until the box is full; each firing must not exceed five liang of fuel.

When the box is full, knock open the cinnabar box and take out the contents; use a knife to cut away the mercury that has condensed on top. Grind this into powder, or pound it fine, put it into a box, seal and dry it according to the previous method, then place it in the ash pit and fire it empty for seven days. After cooling and removing it, first refine one liang of “true father-and-mother” into a liquid, then slowly add the dry mercury so that it too transforms into a clear, bright liquid, and pour it into a mold. This refined product is called “true mercury-silver.”

If one wishes mercury to solidify, one must first cause the mercury itself to solidify. One may also take twenty liang of the dry mercury-sand obtained at the outset, take one jin of it, and grind it extremely fine together with two liang of powder-frost, gold-foot, xin (arsenic), and pisha; place this in a box, then cover the top with the remaining two liang of mercury-sand. Seal and dry according to the method, nourish and refine for fourteen days, then remove it.

Separately take eight liang of red silver, melt it into liquid, add half a liang of niter, skim off the floating scum to purify it, and melt it once more. Add the previously cultivated three liang of powder-frost in four portions, stir evenly with a charcoal rod, and pour into a mold; this produces superior “bone-changing Danyang.” According to this method, for every eight liang of red silver one adds one liang and two qian of “father-and-mother.” Other refining methods each have their own ways of restoring the original nature of the medicines; the scripture declares this method the most marvelous, and once refined it never reverts. When “true mercury-silver” is combined with such medicines, the results are beyond full description.

The terms “nourish,” “fire timing,” and “sealing” in the text refer to the refining method of using a sealed vessel in an ash pit to control the fire and heat it continuously; words such as “father-and-mother” are technical terms of Waidan (external alchemy). The original text contains numerous repetitions, missing characters, and suspected corruptions; the above is a coherent rendering based on what can be discerned. The operations involving mercury, cinnabar, and various minerals are severely toxic and should not be attempted as written.

Chapter Three: The Jade Pool and White Lotus of the Spirit Cinnabar Great Elixir

Take the cinnabar extracted earlier together with the dried mercury, ten liang in all, and place them in a sealed crucible (hezi, the vessel used for refining elixirs). Nurture and refine it for seven days by the method given above, then pour in three liang of mercury. Repeat this pouring of mercury until the crucible is full. Remove the dried mercury, then nurture the contents with empty fire for seven days in the same manner as before. Next, place it in the Mother Furnace and calcine it until it becomes a treasure. Remove the cinnabar and dried mercury from the upper layer, ten liang in all, and refine it again with poured mercury. The phrase "mercury is the casket of long life" means that mercury is likened to a vessel that allows the cinnabar to continue its transformation.

The above describes the third cycle. First nurture the contents for seven days by the method described earlier, then pour in three liang of mercury, repeating until the crucible is full. Remove the dried mercury and nurture with empty fire for another seven days, then place it in the Mother Furnace and calcine it into a treasure. Afterward, remove the cinnabar and dried mercury from the upper layer, ten liang in all, and pour in mercury once more. The purpose of this is to increase the number of cycles toward "long life."

To increase the number of cycles, take four liang of bright mirror-surface cinnabar and one jin of true gold, and grind them into powder. First put in the four liang of refined vermilion cinnabar prepared earlier, then spread the true gold powder over it. On top of that, spread four liang of Jade Pool White Lotus cinnabar powder, separating the layers with Kunlun paper, and finally cover the crucible. Seal the mouth and seams as before, place it in an ash bed, and nurture it with fire for twenty-one days; the fire regulation is given in a later chapter. Let the furnace cool overnight, then remove the cinnabar lumps. The text says that these lumps have all turned into gold. Clean the crucible, return the gold cinnabar to it, and nurture it for seven days by the method given above, then pour in two liang of mercury, continuing until the crucible is full. Remove the dried mercury from the upper layer, nurture it separately, and place it in the Mother Furnace; then calcine it in the White Lotus cinnabar furnace until it becomes a treasure, called the "Bone-Changing Yang Cinnabar." The text says its efficacy is very great, and this method is called the "Golden Valley Seed."

Chapter Four: The Immortal's Palm and Bright Moon Pool of the Spirit Cinnabar Great Elixir

Place the "Golden Valley Seed Cinnabar" in the crucible and pour in three liang of mercury. Seal the mouth and seams as before, then place it in an ash bed and nurture it with fire for seven days. After that, pour in mercury once more.

Place the “Golden Valley Seed Sand” (金谷种砂) into a hezi (合子, a sealed vessel used in elixir refinement). Pour in three liang of mercury, seal the seams of the lid according to the previous method, then set it in an ash pit and nourish it with fire for seven days. After the first pouring of mercury, continue pouring until the hezi is completely full. Remove the dry mercury and pale-yellow substance from the upper layer, then combine the cinnabar of the lower layer with the dry mercury, taking a total of ten liang to serve as the mother material for further pouring and refinement. The “mother material” is the substance that receives and carries subsequent stages of the work; here mercury is called the “Long-Life Golden Coffer” (长生金匮), indicating the decisive role it plays in the process.

Grind the pale-yellow gold-mercury into powder and place it in a clean hezi. Grind equal amounts of chalcanthite (胆矾), blue salt (青盐), and hematite (代赭石) into powder, spread this mixture on the bottom and cover it over the top. Seal the lid as before and continue fire-nourishing for twenty-one days. When the work is complete the product is red and is called “Purple-Polished Yellow Gold” (紫磨黄金).

If the Golden Valley Seed Sand is ground to powder and mercury is poured in, the text states that one may plant in the morning and harvest “Geng” (庚) by evening. Continued cyclic refinement increases it into the “Purple Palace Golden Lotus” (紫府金莲), whose efficacy is excellent. Only after the “Golden Smile” (金笑) and “White Smile” (白笑) have been obtained may they be used for transmutation (点化).

Numinous Sand Great Elixir: Chapter Five on the Purple Palace Golden Lotus

Place ten liang of Golden Valley Seed into a hezi. To obtain the “Golden Smile,” pour mercury that has been boiled with chalcanthite; this yields the gold-type “Smile.” To obtain the “Jade Smile” (玉笑), pour mercury boiled with jin-alum (晋矾); this yields the jade-type “Smile.” If the mercury is not boiled, seven days of pouring and refinement produce only pale gold, because fire timing and medicinal potency remain insufficient.

After the hezi has been filled with mercury, remove the contents and, following the previous method, plant dry gold-mercury powder on top, then continue nourishing and refining. For the “Jade Smile,” still use mercury boiled with jin-alum. Unboiled mercury poured for seven days yields only pale gold, the potency being inadequate. Once the hezi is filled and the contents removed, continue planting and nourishing on the dry gold-mercury powder as before. When the work is finished, place it in the mother-material furnace to melt; it becomes yellow gold of superior color, known as the “Treasure that Transcends the World” (出世之宝).

Take ten liang of “Purple Palace Golden Lotus Seed Sand” (紫府金莲子砂) as mother material and pour and refine once more. When the Qi of Creation and Transformation (造化气) is sufficient, the mercury, upon being poured, gushes forth like a spring.

Place ten liang of Purple Mansion Golden Lotus Sand (a mineral medicinal material used in elixir refinement) into a hezi (a container used for sealing medicinal materials and heating during refinement), pour in three liang of mercury, add nourishment in the morning, and collect it in the evening. Continue pouring mercury until the hezi is filled. After removing it, the dry mercury-gold (the substance formed through the refinement process) inside is no longer further nourished, and it can then be used for further refinement. It can also transmutate the five metals, causing all kinds of metals to revert to true gold.

Take the following ten liang of sand-mercury and gradually increase the refinement up to seven returns, whereupon it becomes the Seven-Return Golden Liquid, which is mysterious, profound, and difficult to put into words. If one does not possess immortal bones from a previous life and has not encountered a high adept who has attained the Dao to provide guidance, one cannot reach this realm of refinement, nor can one use it to transmutate the five metals so that they transform into true gold.

Chapter Seven of the Great Elixir of Numinous Sand: The Seven-Return Golden Liquid Returned Elixir

Take four liang of Surging Spring Golden Sand. Do not use mercury to pour and refine; simply grind the cinnabar into a fine powder, place it into a zhenghe (a type of container used in elixir refinement), seal it firmly according to the method, and nourish it with fire for forty-nine days of refinement. Afterward, wait for the furnace fire to cool, remove the cinnabar, and place it in a well for seven days to eliminate the fire toxin. Then grind it into a fine powder and mix it with jujube pulp to form pills.

The scripture states that if a person has already died but for no more than three days, pry open their mouth and insert one elixir pill, and they can be revived; taking this elixir can spare one from death. Using it to transmutate the five metals can also turn them all into precious treasures.

Chapter Eight of the Great Elixir of Numinous Sand: The Returning-to-Origin Numinous Liquid Golden Elixir

Grind the Golden Liquid Returned Elixir into a fine powder, place it into a clean hezi, seal it according to the method, and nourish it with fire for sixty-four days of refinement. After the furnace fire has cooled, remove it and bury it seven chi underground for seven days to eliminate the fire toxin. After taking it out, carefully grind it into powder and use jujube pulp to make pills the size of peas.

The scripture states that long-term consumption can extend one's years, benefit longevity, and confer long life with enduring vision. Using it to transmutate metals can turn cinnabar into yellow gold, making it a precious treasure.

Chapter Nine of the Great Elixir of Numinous Sand: The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir

After the spiritual liquid is prepared as the reverted elixir and ground into powder, it is placed in a clean small box, sealed according to the prescribed method, and nourished with fire for nine nines—that is, eighty-one days. Once the furnace has cooled, the elixir is removed and buried underground for thirty days to disperse the fire toxin; it is then taken out, ground into powder again, and formed with jujube paste into pills, each the size of a mung bean.

Taking one pill can extend one’s years; taking two pills can confer longevity while preserving lasting vision; taking three or five pills can transform the body, making it light and vigorous; taking a full hundred pills, one can ascend in broad daylight and become an immortal of pure Yang.

If ten jin of black bismuth is placed in a pot and heated with fierce fire until it melts, then after it has boiled three times one zhu of the nine-times-reverted flower is added, and in a moment it can be refined into nine jin of white silver. Next, ten jin of mercury is placed in an iron pot and refined; ten liang of chalcanthite is added, it is boiled several times, and then five zhu of the nine-times-reverted flower is introduced, whereupon in a moment it can be refined into nine jin of yellow geng. This is the efficacy of the nine-times-reverted numinous cinnabar. Consuming it, one can ascend in broad daylight, proceed to audience at the Golden Palace (the dwelling of the Heavenly Emperor), and serve the Imperial Perfected (the honored deities of the celestial realm).

Now I have told you these things; you should cultivate them in secret. If you transmit them rashly and at random, disaster will implicate nine generations of ancestors.

The Most High Lord Lao once said: “Encountering someone worthy of transmission yet not transmitting is called ‘hiding the heavenly treasure’; transmitting to someone unworthy is called ‘leaking the heavenly mechanism.’ Either of these faults incurs extremely great culpability.”

At that time Perfected Baoji, having heard this, rejoiced and leaped, kowtowing and saluting the Perfected. The assembled Perfected gathered, looking up to the Perfected, performed three salutations, praised the teaching and called it good, then recited:

“The Great Medicine originally has no fixed form; the cauldron of the Golden Elixir (jindan) likewise has no ears or handles. The workings of creation and transformation do not depend on medicinal substances, yet the sagely embryo must be refined. Only by gathering the true qi of father and mother does it accord with the principle of Heaven and Earth. Later students should carefully inquire and examine the meanings one by one.

“Gold can transform into gold: this is the secret formula transmitted by the High Perfected; silver can transform into silver: this is the teaching clearly proclaimed by the divine immortals. After the work of creation and transformation is complete, one should keep it secret and not leak it.”

When Perfected Baoji had finished the hymn of praise, the assembled celestial immortals rose one after another, circumambulated to the left seven times, and said: “We wish together with the multitude to uphold this method and save sentient beings.” They kowtowed and saluted the Perfected, then withdrew and cultivated according to the teachings.

In the text, “nine nines days” refers to eighty-one days; “nine-times-reverted flower,” “yellow geng,” and similar expressions are alchemical terms from the original whose precise referents are not entirely clear. The passages concerning the refining of bismuth and mercury and their transmutation into metals belong to the narratives of ancient Waidan (external alchemy); the claims about the effects of consuming the elixir and ascending in flight are likewise faith-based statements of the scripture. In the original the passage from “boil several times \ldots nine jin of yellow geng” is repeated; the above has been rendered by combining the two according to their meaning.

In the “Erxi Wuhuo” ritual of the Lingsha Great Elixir, one circles to the left seven times and then recites: “Together with all of you, I universally generate the vow to uphold this method and deliver sentient beings.” One next bows to the Zhenren (Perfected One, an honorific in Daoism for those who have attained the Dao), withdraws, and carries the practice out according to the teachings.

When refining Erxi sand for the Lingsha Great Elixir, fire is begun at the Yin hour (3–5 a.m.) with four liang; at the Mao hour (5–7 a.m.) six liang are added; at the Chen hour (7–9 a.m.) half a jin is added. The fire is then increased by stages to one jin, two jin, and three jin. Peeled clean charcoal is used, totaling twenty-four jin. Fire addition ceases at this point while water is supplied, and heating continues until between the Shen and You hours (3–7 p.m.), when the sand condenses of itself. It is then warm-nourished for three double-hours. Once the charcoal is exhausted and the water no longer evaporates, the furnace is allowed to go out naturally and the bottle is removed. After cooling, hardness of the sand is preferred; if the fire was insufficient, it may be calcined again with qingjin. This is the martial-fire timing for Erxi sand. Another account holds that choosing a “Four Sha day” to refine the elixir sand is greatly auspicious.

When warm-nourishing lingsha, two liang of fire are placed on the furnace top on the first day, three liang on the second, four liang on the third, and five liang on the fourth, with an additional four liang at the furnace side for a total of seven liang. On the fifth day four liang are added to the top and one liang to each side, making half a jin in all. The fire must not exceed this amount, lest the “Mother” (the cinnabar being nourished, or the foundational material) be harmed. On the sixth and seventh days fire is added at the Zi, Wu, Mao, and You hours (roughly midnight, noon, dawn, and dusk), half a jin each time; fresh material is introduced and the old is replaced. This constitutes the true timing of the “parental civil fire.”

The original wording “there is a saying” appears at the third day, and the “Four Sha day” statement is repeated in separate passages, so the rendering above follows the existing text directly.

When nurturing and refining lingsha (numinous cinnabar), on the first day place one liang of fire on the top of the furnace; on the second day still place one liang. On the third day increase the fire around the sides by one and a half liang, making two and a half liang of fire in all. Divide one and a half liang of that charcoal fire into four strips and insert them around the hezi (the closed vessel used for refining the elixir), about three finger-widths from it, then use loose grass ash to keep the side fires separate. Do not let the ash cover the fire completely, or the fire may go out; should the fire die, quickly take out the hezi with tongs (lingzi) and replace the fire with a fresh charge of the same amount as before.

On the fourth day increase the surrounding fire to three liang, divide it into eight strips, and insert them around the hezi as before, about three finger-widths away, separating them with loose grass ash. Cover the top of the hezi with about three finger-widths of ash, place eight qian of charcoal fire beneath, then cover with one cun of ash, leaving a fire hole in the middle so that the fire does not go out. Do not let the fire burn too urgently; if the heat is too fierce, it will injure the “mother” (the fundamental medicinal substance that serves as the root of the refining process).

On the fifth day use five liang of fire around the sides, divide the charcoal into twelve strips, and insert them around the hezi about two and a half finger-widths away, separating them with loose grass ash as before; then add one liang of fire on top, for a total of six liang. If there is no fire in the ash furnace and no charcoal on top of the hezi, quickly part the ash with an iron spoon and look; test with the hand, and if the surface of the ash bed is already warm, wait a little while, then add fire according to the amounts already given.

By the sixth and seventh days the cumulative fire reaches half a jin, and new fire is added and old fire withdrawn in turn according to the zi, wu, mao, and you hours (four of the twelve double-hours). These seven days are the stage in which gentle fire (wenhuo, a milder degree of heat) is used when refining the “True Father and Mother.”

Method of yin-processing sulfur with accumulated sand

Sulfur, half a jin; zuowei (“left flavor”), half a jin; juice of mulberry ash, one sheng.

Grind the sulfur fine, pour it into a bamboo tube, and boil it with vinegar-ash juice for three double-hours.

Method of yin-processing mercury.

Note: The original text contains several repetitions, and the wording of “zuomei” and “vinegar-ash juice” may contain textual errors; they are retained here as in the original.

One jin of mercury, one sheng of vinegar, two sheng of mulberry-ash liquor, two liang each of borax and paosha, two qian each of white alum, green alum, yellow alum, chicken-dung alum and willow-floss alum, together with one qian of xinshi (an arsenic-bearing mineral drug).

The foregoing substances are ground fine and placed together in an earthenware pot, then boiled with the vinegar and mulberry-ash liquor. The sulfur and mercury are next drained separately, after which they are fried to produce the so-called “qingjin,” while the medicinal liquor is reduced to a paste.

Method of preparing “Miao Qingjin”

Sulfur is first ground fine and melted to a liquid in an iron vessel; mercury is then added and stirred with an iron spoon. Should flames appear, the previously prepared vinegar paste is sprinkled in and stirring continues until the mass begins to turn slightly. It is next wrapped in paper and raw silk, buried in moist earth, taken out and pounded, then placed in a ding and heated and refined according to the procedure given in the text, yielding “erqi suisand”; charcoal is used in conjunction.

Method of yin-processing “Erqi Sha”

Two qian each of yellow alum, white alum, green salt, Sichuan pepper, Sanguisorba, Asarum, croton, paosha, aconite, calamus and borax, one qian of mingxin (arsenic mineral drug), three sheng of mulberry-ash liquor and one sheng of vinegar.

These substances are pounded fine and placed in an earthenware pot. The “erqi lianzi” is enclosed in a silk bag, suspended in the pot and treated by steaming over water; it is afterwards placed in a “kui” for nourishing and refining.

The foregoing records the terminology of drug processing and fire control employed in ancient Waidan (external alchemy). Expressions such as “erqi lianzi” and “kui” designate specific materials or vessels used in the refining process. The text involves toxic substances including mercury, xinshi, croton and aconite and describes heating and refining operations; the material is supplied solely for the interpretation of ancient writings and must on no account be taken as a basis for actual practice.