《九还七返龙虎金丹析理真诀》

I have devoted myself to studying Daoist classics and have read many scriptures on immortals and texts on alchemy, including the Record of the Cavern’s Origin, the Classic of the General Path, the Secret of Primordial Unity, the Classic of Gold and Jade, The Jade Flask, Dragon Embryo, and Phoenix Wings, The Great One, and The Seal of the Three. I have also examined what these works say about the firing process—the timing and control of heat during alchemical practice. I found three accounts of the “Nine Returns and Seven Reversals” and the “Returning Elixir of Golden Liquids,” along with many different methods of practice whose explanations often contradict one another. Their principles are not beyond reach, yet although many study them, very few truly succeed. The problem is that they cannot distinguish lead from mercury or recognize the Yellow Sprout, and so they often lose sight of the essential method and fail to understand its core. I began writing this text many years ago.

In the second month of spring in the Ren Shen year of the Great Song, I met a reclusive Daoist from Mount Siming. I stayed with him and asked about the principles of the Returning Elixir of Golden Liquids. He said, “This matter is at once the most difficult and the easiest; you must not ask about it lightly.” After I pressed him repeatedly, he said, “Some take golden flower to be the Yellow Sprout and mineral lead to be true lead. Of those who practice this way, not one in ten thousand is likely to succeed. The so-called Yellow Sprout is the essence of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water); true lead is the genuine essence of the Great One, the original vital energy of the cosmos. It was born within undifferentiated chaos and arose within the Great Beginning. It existed before Heaven and Earth were formed and is the mother of all things. The power of the Great Elixir can harmonize the Five Phases and is comparable to the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth.”

I bowed again and asked, “May I ask where the Returning Elixir of Golden Liquids begins?” The Daoist replied, “The Golden Elixir begins with the Great Beginning. The Great Initiation gives rise to chaos; chaos gives rise to the Two Modes (Yin and Yang); the Two Modes establish the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and humanity); the Three Powers move and form the Eight Trigrams; and the Eight Trigrams give rise to the Nine Palaces. The Nine Palaces are the culmination of the Elixir Way and the starting point of the Great One.”

I asked again, “May I ask what the name ‘Great Initiation’ refers to among the substances of the elixir? Please instruct me, Master.” The Daoist said, “It refers to true lead.”

Lead is the essence within Water, and Water represents the Yin substance. When Yin reaches its extreme, Yang arises, and through this transformation the myriad things come into being. Without Yang, they cannot grow; when Yang Qi vanishes, life comes to an end. Therefore, to bring about transformation, one must first establish Yang Qi.

When Yang Qi first arises, it is in a profound, obscure state, difficult to perceive, and people cannot see it. The Dao De Jing says: “Within the deep darkness there is vital energy; this energy is real and true.” The Cantong qi uses the Earth-over-Thunder hexagram Fu from the Zhouyi to explain this: the sun begins to rise at the hour of Zi, corresponding to the eleventh lunar month. When Heaven and Earth are about to create the myriad things and urge the hundred flowers to bloom, they receive a Yang line at the height of Yin’s power, using Great Yin—the state in which Yin is at its fullest—to support the faint, newly arisen Yang. This is what “Great Beginning” means: the initial stage in which the myriad things begin to form.

People in the world do not understand that the Golden Elixir is born from the Great Beginning. They carelessly take minerals and metals as medicines, hoping to achieve transformation by this means. It is like pouring colored liquid onto the soil and expecting it to alter the original appearance of the flowers and trees.

Someone else bowed and asked, “What exactly is the chaos born from the Great Beginning?” The Daoist replied, “Chaos is a state that has not yet divided, yet is full and complete, white on the outside and yellow within, like an egg. Although Yin and Yang have already come together, their vital energies have not yet mingled; hence it is called chaos.”

The questioner then asked, “What does the name ‘chaos’ refer to among the ingredients of the elixir?” The Daoist said this was the meaning taught by Perfected Cui in the Dragon Embryo Scripture: when Yin and Yang within Lead have come together but their vital energies have not yet mingled, this is called chaos. When Lead and Mercury first unite, when Dragon and Tiger—the alchemical terms for the two forces of Yin and Yang—first join, when Sun and Moon meet, and when Yin and Yang respond to one another, the elixir begins to emerge within the state of chaos.

The Moon gives forth its radiance, and the Sun unfurls its light; the Dragon receives the breath of the embryo, and the Tiger releases its breath. At this moment, it is as though gold and jade quietly join together, while the spirits embrace one another. After awakening, if one can still keep hold of it, the Dragon unfurls its breath and the Tiger releases its essence; the spirit chamber—the inner place in alchemy that contains and gathers vital energy—draws close to itself, never to part again.

The Scripture on Embracing the Origin says: “By containing the original Qi and receiving the transformations of Qi, there is nothing among the myriad things that cannot be aided. By obtaining its Qi and receiving its Origin, there is nothing among the myriad things that cannot take complete form.” If a thing in the world contains no awareness, it cannot bear the Origin. Nothing has ever taken bodily form by abandoning both the Origin and awareness.

People do not understand the roots of the Dragon and Tiger—alchemy terms for the two Qi of Yin and Yang, lead and mercury, and the like—or the source of Yin-Yang transformation. They rashly turn to metals and minerals in the hope of refining the Returning Elixir. This is like retreating while still trying to move forward, or walking toward the sun while hoping to escape one’s shadow. Wei the Perfected One says in the Cantong qi that those who try to find chickens and rabbits in water or fish and dragons on a mountain are indeed describing this very situation.

The Cantong qi takes pity on later generations who love the arts of the Dao. It ranges widely over ancient teachings and does its utmost to explain the meaning of the old texts. The scripture uses the sayings “a son inherits his father’s work” and “a grandson follows in his ancestor’s footsteps” to show that things receive primordial Qi and inherit their nature from particular sources. It also says that a hen must hatch an egg for a chick to emerge, and that sowing grain produces grain. A luan bird and a sparrow cannot produce a phoenix; a fox and a hare cannot raise a horse. These examples express the same principle.

People do not understand the way of containing the primordial and embracing the embryo—the pattern by which primordial Qi is received and life brought forth—so they travel far in search of ingredients and refine metals and minerals. If the Great Elixir could be made simply from the Five Metals and Eight Minerals, Wei the Perfected One would not have needed to write the Cantong qi, and Cui the Perfected One would not have needed to explain the Taiji Diagram.

The Cantong qi describes the two Qi of Yin and Yang responding to one another, the Eight Trigrams shifting in relation to one another, cold and heat alternating, and Yin and Yang opening, closing, and transforming. If the two Qi lose their proper measure, the myriad things cannot grow. If the Five Phases move out of their proper order, the order of the myriad things is thrown into confusion. How, then, could the Great Elixir be refined by mixing in materials of a different kind?

The Taiji Diagram also says that the Supreme One, the ruling Qi at the center of alchemy, moves through the Nine Palaces but does not enter the central palace. Understand the meaning of the Supreme One, and you will know that water belongs to Water and the central palace belongs to Earth. Since Earth overcomes Water, Water does not enter the central palace. The Elixir moves through the positions of the Eight Trigrams and eventually enters the central palace, where it is refined into a mature elixir like gold. The generals, attendant spirits positioned on either side of the Supreme One, symbolize the transformations and movements that must occur. The scripture also uses the Supreme One as a metaphor for mercury.

The various generals, the stars surrounding Taiyi, are positioned near Taiyi, indicating phenomena of displacement and movement. Here Taiyi is used as a metaphor for mercury, and the generals for metals and stones, to explain that refining the Great Medicine does not depend on mineral substances. When the stellar generals share a palace with Taiyi, this is called “imprisonment,” symbolizing that matters are blocked and cannot be carried out. This is used to explain that the Dragon Embryo Great Elixir is not mixed with other kinds.

Zi and Wu signify changes in Qi; Mao and You signify the severing of Qi. These are all symbols used in alchemical methods to mark the seasons and their turning points.

Someone asked, “What are the Two Modes?” The Daoist replied, “The Two Modes are Heaven and Earth opening and dividing, taking shape, with Yin and Yang each in its proper place: the sun is in the east, the moon in the west; Li is in the south, and Kan in the north.” He then asked, “How do the Two Modes appear in the ingredients?” The Daoist said, “In the medicine, the Two Modes are lead and mercury kept apart. Once the Two Modes are established, they appear between Heaven and Earth as the sun, moon, and stars; in the medicine, they appear as ‘three, five, and one.’ When the medicine has been refined to this stage, wondrous transformations are not far off.”

Someone else asked, “What is meant by ‘three, five, and one’?” The Daoist replied, “One is Water, two is Fire, and together they make three; these three themselves also contain five. This refers to Water, Fire, and Earth, also called lead, mercury, and the vessel. It is also called ‘three things in one body,’ or ‘one thing in three forms.’” Yinluozi said, “This is the Way of the Three Ones. Within the Great Elixir there are only Metal, Water, and Earth.” The original repeats a sentence here; the meaning remains that Water, Fire, and Earth illustrate the relationship of “three things in one body.”

Someone else asked, “What do Metal, Water, and Earth each refer to?” The Daoist replied, “Metal refers to lead. By lead, I mean the true Gold and true Earth within, not the lead of the ordinary world. It is born in the depths of the mysterious and remote; it is the true essence of Taiyi, that is, the single line in the Kan trigram. Thus it is said: Heaven becomes clear by obtaining the One, Earth becomes peaceful by obtaining the One, and human beings become spiritually aware by obtaining the One. If people wish to attain spiritual awareness, nothing is better than learning the Way of long life and immortality. Laozi said that by obtaining the One, all things can be accomplished. The ancient immortals kept the true meaning of lead secret and did not pass it on, which is why an old verse says: If lead is true, it will not lose its household retainers; if lead is not true, it will be difficult to unite it with mercury. Lead and mercury were originally things of the same household.”

The Jing of the Dragon’s Nest says that when sages receive the Mandate of Heaven, they are sure to have companions whose intentions and Virtue accord with their own; they belong to the same family and kind. The ears, eyes, limbs, and torso are joined to one another, just as waterways connect at a harbor; neither spirits nor ghosts can separate them. When they rise and develop, the powers of Heaven and Earth work together. This is meant to show that lead and mercury originally belong to the same kind, rather than being assembled from unrelated materials brought in from outside. An old verse says, “The roads of north and south cross; in the mist, they were one family all along.”

People in the world often take gold, silver, lead, tin, or things called “silver sprouts,” “golden gorge butterflies,” and “golden ants” as materials for refining lead into an elixir. This is like watering rotten wood in hopes it will flower, or drilling into ice to get fire: it shows no understanding of the kinds of things in the world, or of their roots and connections. The substances mentioned above are all hard, lifeless things. How could they possess the power of wondrous transformation and alter the marrow and sinews?

Thus the Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three, a Daoist alchemical classic) says, “Foxes and rabbits cannot give birth to horses; swallows and sparrows cannot give birth to phoenixes.” It also says, “Work is easily done with things of the same kind; with things of different kinds, skill cannot bring success.” It further says that a hen must brood for enough days before an egg hatches, and a mother must carry a child for ten months before it is fully formed. To grow grain, one must sow grain; to hatch a chicken, one must use a chicken egg.

The twelve kinds of lead spoken of in the world are not materials for making the Great Elixir. Black lead, yellow lead oxide, Jiazhou lead, raw lead, grass-joint lead, Longtuo lead, white tin lead, silver lead, gold-smelted lead, and the rest are all inert, lifeless substances found in the world. Even if one forced oneself to swallow them, they would simply pass out through the large intestine. How could they become a path to long life and deathlessness?

Someone asked, “If the lead found in the world cannot be swallowed for cultivation, where does true lead come from?” The Daoist replied, “True lead comes into being from nonbeing. It receives the Qi of Heaven and Earth and takes on form; it then relies on the essence of the sun and moon to become substance.”

When the medicines of ruler and minister join, it is like a ruler meeting his minister; when the medicines of father and mother give birth, it is like parents conceiving a child. It begins with an extremely tiny quantity and gradually grows until it reaches a weight of one jin. Its form and essence are both complete, and its blood vessels are full and abundant. As soon as Mercury appears, it is immediately subdued. Thus Qingxiazi said, “When feelings and intentions come together, many medicines are unnecessary; when breaths come together, no words are needed to explain.” This is what he meant.

Someone asked, “Where does Mercury come from, and which kind can be used to refine an Elixir?”

The Daoist replied, “There are several kinds of so-called ‘mercury earth’: natural mercury, white-sand mercury, and cinnabar mercury. Only cinnabar mercury is used in refining an Elixir. There are also many kinds of cinnabar: Heavenly Seat cinnabar, Spirit Seat cinnabar, Purple Spirit cinnabar, Bright cinnabar, Shang cinnabar, Iron-Seeing cinnabar, Stream cinnabar, and Earth cinnabar. Among these, cinnabar such as Heavenly Seat, Jade Seat, Golden Seat, and Spirit Seat is naturally formed returned cinnabar. It needs no firing or refining; after taking it twice, one can become an immortal. The immortals of the heavens ride cranes and dragons down to obtain it, though ordinary people cannot see them. Bright cinnabar, Purple Spirit cinnabar, and the like are suitable for refining the Great Medicine. Shang cinnabar and Earth cinnabar are not suitable for ingestion and can only be used in the practice of techniques for gaining benefits.”

Someone asked, “I do not understand what ‘earth’ means here.”

The Daoist replied, “The medicine called ‘earth’ has a profound and mysterious meaning; it is not ordinary earth from the world. People often mistake sulfur, realgar, orpiment, arsenic sulfide, litharge, silver, lead oxide, white silver, or gold for this earth, then put them into water. None of these is the true earth used in Elixir refinement. Earth has no fixed form: when it encounters Qi, it comes forth; when it finds a configuration, it takes shape. It is born in the four Meng months, flourishes in the four seasonal transitions, and declines and ends in the four Zhong months. It resides in the center, is also lodged in Bing and Ding, and shares the same Qi as water. In general, if one takes the substances mentioned earlier to be true earth, then…”

Broadly speaking, what was described earlier should be understood as “true Earth.” Could its source really be black, like water? True Earth is the genuine essence and Qi of the Five Phases. It must be joined through the union of spirit and Qi and brought into accord with the workings of creation and transformation before it can change and give birth. It can therefore unite with Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth); its wondrous transformations are inexhaustible, making it a sufficient vessel for alchemical practice.

Someone else asked, “When Metal, Water, and Earth combine to form the great elixir, the ingredients are few, yet their effects are great. How many days must it be refined before it is mature, and what kind of cauldron should be used?” The Daoist replied, “The Cantong qi says: ‘Beginning on the seventh day, after thirty days have passed, all three hundred and sixty periods are brought into harmony and balance; in this way, the elixir is refined in a single year.’ This is the Great One’s celestial cycle. Without understanding the Great One’s celestial cycle, the great elixir cannot be completed. When Wei the Perfected discusses the cycle, he speaks of a year on the grand scale and a day on the small scale. Thus the year corresponds to the month, the month to the day, and the day to the double hour. In circulating Qi and nurturing it through the celestial cycle, one treats a single day and night as one complete cycle.

Qingxiazi said, “The cauldron in question is not one cast from metal, and the furnace is not one used for refining medicines. Li (symbolizing Fire) stirs beneath Kan (symbolizing Water), while Mercury (an alchemical term for a kind of ingredient or essence) dwells within Earth. Form the embryo and seal it fast so nothing leaks out; then transformation is complete in an instant. There is no need to seek a cauldron outside oneself.” An old verse says, “It is in your home day after day. Know the white and hold to the black, and the principles of the divine will become manifest.”

Someone asked, “What does it mean to know the white and hold to the black?” The Daoist replied, “White is the essence of Metal; black is the foundation of Water. These two ingredients are the great treasures of Heaven and Earth and the essences of the sun and moon. They also symbolize ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife, and woman and man.”

Someone else asked for guidance: “Where does the cultivation of the Golden Elixir begin, and what is its sequence? Please reveal the essential method.” The Daoist replied, “Cultivating the Golden Elixir means embracing the Origin (guarding the fundamental original Qi), forming the embryo, then allowing it to flower and bear fruit, and finally returning to the root and restoring the Origin.” Yinluozi also said, “When the roots are deep and the base firmly secured, this is the Way of long life and enduring vision.”

The Master of Yinluo said, “When the roots are deeply planted and the base is firmly held, this is the way to long life and enduring vision.” He also said, “Deep roots bring abundant blossoms and rich fruit. Therefore, the noble person devotes attention to the foundation. Once the foundation is established, the Dao arises of its own accord.” When the heart is in accord with the Dao, the Golden Elixir will appear naturally, following one another like form and shadow, or sound and echo.

The Daoist said, “At first there is sand; the sand changes into mercury, the mercury changes into gold, the gold changes into liquid, and the liquid then transforms into the Elixir. This is why it is called ‘the return of the Elixir through liquid gold.’ The Elixir is red. ‘Return’ means returning to its earth, restoring it to its original source—that is, returning to Wood and restoring the source.” Master Yuanyang said, “Gold becomes gold and silver becomes silver; how could the sacred spirits be anything else?” The phrase “fire subdued naturally” refers to something that remains unburned after repeated refinement: placed in water, it flows like grease; cast into fire, it solidifies into gold. It melts as soon as it enters the mouth and tastes sweet and fragrant. What ordinary metals, stones, plants, or trees in the world could undergo such wondrous transformations?

Someone else asked, “What does it mean to cast off the original embryo and bring forth blossoms and fruit?” The Daoist replied, “It means forming the dragon embryo and refining the tiger essence. Spirit water nourishes the yellow sprouts. These methods have been passed down orally from the time of the Three Sovereigns, without being written down, for fear of revealing Heaven’s secrets. Those who speak of them recklessly will sink into the Three Calamities. You should keep them hidden and say nothing.”

The person asked again, “I am grateful for your instruction, which has allowed me to glimpse the essential teaching. The vessels and ingredients required are few and easy to obtain. If I refine them according to the method, can I succeed?” The Daoist replied, “Three conditions are necessary for refining the Elixir to succeed: good fortune, virtue, and resolve. Without good fortune, it cannot be done. As the Scripture of the Dragon and Tiger says, once the Elixir is complete, if it looks like a mound, a grave, or a withered bone, it is unfit to consume. You must follow the method and cast it into flowing water, then refine it again. This is a sign that good fortune is lacking.”

Without De (Virtue/Power), one cannot receive and preserve the formulas of the Elixir. For example, when Zhao Yuanbo transmitted the alchemical method to the crown prince in Yan, the prince coveted wealth and goods, so he refined gold and silver, cast vessels, and smelted external medicines. Before the medicine was ready, the prince grew angry and threw Shen Yuanbo into a well. This was the consequence of lacking De.

Without firm resolve, one cannot endure hardship in study; the slightest setback brings deep regret. For example, when the Xue brothers of Hezhong failed to make the Elixir, they burned all the Daoist books and alchemical implements in their home by the roadside. When they encountered practitioners of the Dao, they drew their swords and chased after them, shouting, “You deluded and absurd people should leave!” Before long, one of the brothers fell from his horse and died. This, too, showed a lack of resolve.

Though you are committed to this path, your good fortune and De are not yet complete. You should seek out people richly endowed with good fortune and broad in De, and cultivate together with them. Only then can you succeed.

He then asked, “Earlier, you said that those who recklessly transmit the alchemical method will sink into suffering for three kalpas. Now you tell me to seek people to cultivate with. Does this not go against the warning of the spirits?”

The Daoist replied, “People of like resolve have cultivated together since ancient times; this is not reckless transmission. The three people refer to Metal, Water, and Earth. More than three people constitutes reckless transmission. A gentleman need only follow my teaching: copy and arrange it, recording in order its origins, the methods of circulation and coordination, and the proper times and signs of response, then make it available to the world, so that those destined to encounter it may find it naturally. As for the oral formulas, they must be passed from mouth to mouth and mind to mind; the spirits’ warning must not be violated.”

A short while later, day broke. The Daoist took his leave and departed, and no one knew where he had gone. I received and followed the Daoist’s instructions, recording everything point by point and passing it on to those who love cultivating the Dao, in the hope that they will not dismiss or abandon it.