《大丹铅汞论》

The key to the Great Elixir (the method of refining the Golden Elixir) lies in lead and mercury; the medicines of lead and mercury are the foundation of the Great Elixir. The mechanism by which lead and mercury transform into each other and mutually respond, together with the subtle wonder of their mutual restraint and subjugation, all arise from the natural processes of Heaven and Earth and cannot be produced by human effort alone.

Lead belongs to Yin and is black in color. It symbolizes the Dark Warrior (Xuanwu, the divine beast of the north), corresponds to the Kan trigram, occupies the northern direction, and belongs to Ren-Gui Water. Water is able to generate Metal: within Water there is Metal, which is white in color, symbolizes the White Tiger (the divine beast of the west), corresponds to the Dui trigram, occupies the western direction, and belongs to Geng-Xin Metal. Mercury belongs to Yang and is azure in color. It symbolizes the Azure Dragon (Qinglong, the divine beast of the east), corresponds to the Zhen trigram, occupies the eastern direction, and belongs to Jia-Yi Wood. Wood is able to generate Fire: within cinnabar there is mercury, which is red in color, symbolizes the Vermilion Bird (Zhuque, the divine bird of the south), corresponds to the Li trigram, occupies the southern direction, and belongs to Bing-Ding Fire. From this it can be seen that Kan represents Water, the Moon, and lead, while Li represents Fire, the Sun, and mercury; these correspondences hold without the slightest discrepancy.

I used often to cultivate only halfway before regret arose in my heart and I abandoned the work midway. Later, after consulting various people, I came to understand that Heaven is generated from within Kan and Earth is generated from within Li. Kan belongs to Water and represents the Moon and lead; Li belongs to Fire and represents the Sun and mercury. When Kan and Li are applied in mutual operation, the Sun and Moon conjoin, lead and mercury sustain each other, and the Dragon and Tiger (symbolizing the two forces of Yin and Yang) reverse and unite; only then can they bring each other to completion.

Thereupon I first used the lead within Water to subdue the mercury of Li Fire, then employed the mercury of Li Fire to refine it into True Lead. Next I used True Lead to subdue the essential soul of mercury, causing it to become True Mercury. By thus refining Waidan (external alchemy), one obtains the complete wondrous functioning of the creative transformation of Heaven and Earth. From this I finally comprehended the art of reversing the circulation of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water): the Dragon is born from Fire; if the Five Phases do not operate in their ordinary sequence, the Tiger will be born from Water.

What the elixir scriptures say is not empty talk: when lead is used to subdue mercury, one obtains the treasure within mercury; when mercury is vanquished by lead, the Metal within Water becomes manifest. Use lead to control mercury, then use mercury to produce the elixir. It is called lead and it is also called mercury; neither should be favored exclusively, nor should one rely on only a single one of them. When lead and mercury mutually restrain each other, the Yellow Dame (Huangpo, the intermediary that harmonizes lead and mercury) is able to bring them into union—how then could the successful refinement of Waidan be something remote and unattainable?

Using “true lead” to subdue “true mercury,” then employing true mercury to refine the elixir: lead and mercury each have their own functions and cannot be used in a one-sided way, nor can one rely exclusively on only one of them. Once both lead and mercury have been modulated and brought into mutual coordination, and the “Yellow Dame” then mediates between them, the refining of Waidan (external alchemy) is no longer difficult. The “Yellow Dame” is a symbolic designation in elixir methods for the agent that matches and harmonizes lead and mercury.

When gathering true lead and true mercury, one takes eight liang of black lead together with four liang of mountain-marsh silver (silver refined from ore), casts the silver into the lead, melts and refines them, and extracts the essence to obtain eight liang, which is called “lead yellow flower.” Next, eight liang of cinnabar are ground into a fine powder and placed in the divine cauldron, where they are tempered by the alternating application of water and fire through three cycles, thereby producing the foundation of the elixir. The mercury contained within the cinnabar is regarded as a treasure capable of continual transformation and refinement.

The method of forming the elixir is as follows. The essence extracted from black lead is called “lead yellow flower” and symbolizes the White Tiger; elixir scriptures (Jing) refer to it as “gold in water.” Mercury is then extracted from cinnabar by means of water and fire and is called “jade fluid,” symbolizing the Green Dragon; the scriptures refer to it as “mercury in sand.” Eight liang each of “gold in water” and “mercury in sand” are taken and blended according to the principle of the mutual pairing of Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun. They are placed in the divine cauldron, tightly sealed, and buried in the divine furnace, where they are repeatedly refined by the method of water and fire assisting one another, with the fire timing increased or decreased as appropriate. Lead, upon receiving mercury, descends; mercury, upon receiving lead, is subdued. This is known as the Dragon-Tiger Great Elixir.

The elixir is then transferred into an earthen cauldron for continued warming and nourishing, so that the cinnabar may transform and mature and the potency of the medicine steadily increase. Through rigorous sealing and refining in the divine furnace, together with the proper increase and decrease of fire timing, the elixir is obtained. The expressions “three-seven four-six,” “black-white snow,” and “yellow sprouts” that appear in the text are all technical terms employed in elixir scriptures to describe the process of lead-mercury transmutation and its products.

Perfected Zhang said: “If one does not recognize true lead and its root, all the refining one may perform is merely wasted effort.” Master Zhongli said: “Cinnabar is endowed with the Qi (vital energy) of Taiyi and stands as the foremost of the eight minerals; mercury is present within the cinnabar, and mercury is the child of cinnabar. Lead is endowed with the Qi of Taiyi and stands as the foremost of the five metals; silver is present within lead, and silver is the child of lead. Extracting silver from lead is comparatively difficult, while extracting mercury from cinnabar is comparatively easy. When lead and mercury are combined and tempered, they become the supreme treasure.” This is a concise and secretly transmitted wondrous principle of the immortal elixir methods; those who obtain it must not treat it lightly.

Three materials meet in the Yuangong (the vessel or position used in elixir methods to combine the medicines): musha (mother sand), lingsha (numinous sand), and zhusha (cinnabar), called the “three surnames.” First wrap the lingsha with musha and place it in the qianhuang taiyi gui (lead-yellow Taiyi container, the vessel employed for elixir cultivation) to nourish and refine until the medicines reach a “dead” state. Next wrap the zhusha with lingsha, then wrap that with musha, and place the whole in the qianhuang taiyi gui to nourish and refine for seven days. The musha, lingsha, and zhusha all retain their natures, termed the “three remainings”; when the three blend into one they are called the Four Images (sixiang). This is a secret method transmitted by the immortals and regarded as the supreme treasure of the world.

In the fifth the three surnames meet again: wrap the zhusha with raw lingsha, then wrap the exterior with musha, and place it in the sixiang gui (Four Images container, the alchemical vessel holding the Four Images medicines) to nourish and refine for seven days. After the three materials have once more been refined to a “dead” state, grind them into fine powder and add more continually as required.

Sixth, White Snow (baixue) is generated: take four liang of fenshuang (powder frost), press raw realgar (shengxiong) closely against it, and place the combination in the powder of the large gui to nourish and refine for seven days so that the fenshuang attains a state of “true death,” snow-white in color and most striking. This powder possesses great potency and can be used to point-transform dry mercury, said to be applicable in every circumstance.

Seventh, White Snow turns into yellow powder: take the dry true treasure refined from the White Snow, crush it into white fine fragments, and employ the method of fire above and water below, cycling repeatedly through the jiji and weiji stages (the phases of yin-yang water and fire mutually completing and not yet completing in alchemical nourishment) until the color becomes yellow powder. Upon meeting fire it melts into liquid; when poured out it congeals into a paste of sweet taste. According to the text it possesses the virtue of restoring yang and raising the dead, as well as the marvelous use of scattering the powder to bring the refinement to success.

Eighth, lead-yellow xin is converted into the great treasure: take one jin of purified lead and half a jin of silver, melt them together into liquid, then add half a jin of xin; after a time remove the mass, place it in a pot to cool, and smash it. Select one piece of the “xin,” separate the lead and silver, grind the xin to powder, mix it evenly with zhusha, and place the mixture in the fire ding to refine to a “dead” state, xin above and zhusha below. This zhusha constitutes the foundation for preparing the great medicine; it must still be decocted and refined until reduced by half so that its medicinal nature becomes efficacious, after which it may serve as the “covering.”

Ninth

To refine the Lead-Mercury Great Elixir (an elixir prepared from lead, mercury, and related materials): take the substance from the lead pit, combine it with cinnabar (zhu), and place it in a fire tripod (the furnace-cauldron used in elixir refining) to be refined until it is “struck dead” (an alchemical term meaning that fire has transformed the medicinal substances). Position the “xin” above and the cinnabar below. This cinnabar is the foundation for preparing the Great Medicine and must be decocted and refined down to half its original quantity; only then will the formula prove efficacious, and it may also be used as a covering lid.

Ninth

To refine the Lead-Mercury Great Elixir: take the supreme treasure from the lead pit, which is shaped like cloth threads and weighs eight liang—this is what is called “the old man’s whiskers.” Crush it and store it together with sand. Then add eight liang of mercury and refine and nourish it through forty-nine fu (in elixir alchemy this indicates forty-nine cycles or stages of “subduing” refinement; the exact method of counting is unclear). It will naturally transform into elixir powder. Once the elixir has been formed in the furnace, it is no longer a treasure. This substance can be used to make a Great Coffer (a vessel for containing and nourishing-refining elixirs), in which to nourish and refine Chen cinnabar.

Transforming the Four Spirits into the Great Elixir

First Secret Method: Employ the marvelous formula of the Three Immortal Elixirs. Take sixteen liang of the supreme treasure of mountain and marsh and twelve liang of the Prenatal Taiyi of mountain and marsh, and place them together in a crucible (the pot used in elixir refining) to be decocted and refined. Grind half a jin of lead yellow into powder to serve as a supporting bed, then introduce five liang of cinnabar into it in successive portions, refining until “released from death,” and grind the result into powder. Take five liang of numinous sand, form it into a single lump, and wrap it closely with five liang of the already-refined cinnabar; then bind it tightly on the outside with one jin of four-six mother sand. Afterward refine it with lead white frost. As a rule the outer wrapping must be sealed tightly and placed in an oil jar to be closed and secured. Once this is done, nourish and refine for seven days, then calcine once more, and after cooling remove the contents. Pound the cinnabar and numinous mother sand within into powder and form a Great Coffer. This is the First Secret Method.

Second Secret Method: Decoct and refine mountain-marsh lead-silver and extract half a jin of yellow flower. First wrap cinnabar in portions with one jin of mother sand and gradually nourish and refine it until “dead,” then peel away the mother sand. Next wrap it with equal amounts of cinnabar and numinous sand, and gradually place it into the yellow-flower coffer powder, nourishing and refining until “dead.” After removing it, pound everything together and form a Great Coffer. This is the Second Secret Method.

The original text repeats once at the heading of the “Second Secret”; the account above combines the two passages according to their content. Terms such as “supreme treasure of mountain and marsh,” “Prenatal Taiyi,” “yellow flower,” “released from death,” and “nourished to death” are all technical terms of elixir alchemy; their precise referents and operational meanings cannot be determined from this passage alone.

The method of the Three Secrets is as follows: according to what was previously described, take half a jin of yellow flower and gradually place four liang of lingsha into it for nourishing and refining, causing the lingsha to “die” and transform. Then grind the dead lingsha together with an equal quantity of cinnabar into powder and calcine it into zhoutuo. Wrap the exterior with four-six mother sand, place it once more into the yellow-flower chamber (kui) for nourishing and refining so that it thoroughly “dies” and transforms, and afterwards mix it as one with the mother sand to produce the great chamber. This is what is called the “Three Secrets.”

These Three Secrets are the true secrets of the Great Cavern (Dadong zhenjue): ordinary lead is used to cause mercury to “die” and transform, becoming true lead; true lead is then used to cause cinnabar to “die” and transform, becoming true mercury. When lead and mercury are joined in one place and refined and nourished, the “infant” (ying’er) is achieved. This is the most numinous among all numinous marvels, the most sagely among all sagely marvels.

Detaching and Nourishing the Infant

The “Infant” (Ying’er) and the “Maiden” (Ninü)—metaphorical names in elixir methods referring to medicines or alchemical products at different stages—although originating from the same source, differ in the states they form. The Maiden has not yet coagulated into an embryonic body, while the Infant has already condensed into shape. Once the Infant is refined, it is said to possess marvelous, numinous, and sagely powers that penetrate transformations; its applications know no fixed limits, and its changes are difficult to fathom.

It is called “White Snow” in heaven, “Lead Pot” in the world, and “Powder Frost” in the human body. The immortals liken it to the Maiden, yet in substance it is simply mercury. Generated from within cinnabar, it is the essence of mercury. Although cinnabar is black, it does not become turbid when stirred nor clarify when left standing. Hidden in high mountains, even if the rocks split open its form remains hard to find. Soft in texture, bright and pure, not even chaff or similar impurities can stain it.

The scripture calls it the medicine of longevity and the treasure of transmutation, a precious rarity without compare in the world. Ordinary people of turbid constitution, who neither understand the root of creation nor have received the oral secrets transmitted by immortals, yet wish to refine it into the supreme treasure of “Dry Mercury,” take it into their own bodies for personal use, and satisfy private desires—this is truly to overestimate their abilities.

If one wishes to obtain the oral secrets, one should first seek a teacher and lineage; if one wishes to obtain the elixir formula, one should first cultivate character. One must also observe the movement and stillness of Yin-Yang, examine the circulating operations of heaven and earth, distinguish the medicinal materials, explore the methods of combining Water and Fire, and, through reference, comparison, and verification, read widely in the elixir scriptures while seeking enlightened masters. Only when what one has learned accords with the laws of heaven and earth’s operations and connects with the key points of Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation may this Dao be discussed. Ought such secrets not be closely guarded? If leaked to unsuitable persons, the offense may even implicate seven generations of ancestors.

“Extracting and nurturing the powder chest to form the Great Medicine” is a heading at the end of the text or an alchemical mnemonic phrase, meaning that through extraction and nurturing, medicines such as “Powder Frost” are transformed into the Great Medicine.

Take four liang of powder frost (a mercury-containing medicinal used in Waidan (external alchemy) refining), add one liang of silver powder, grind them evenly, and place the mixture in an oil jar. Spread the previously refined Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) medicinal elixir powder over the mouth of the jar, then cover it with yellow earth powder and seal it firmly. Warm-nourish it with a four-liang fire for five days and five nights.

Afterwards remove the powder frost and grind it finely once more. Roll silver sheets into tubes, fill them with the powder, wrap them tightly, and place them in the Three Caverns elixir head to warm-nourish for twenty-one days. This powder possesses great efficacy and can serve as a method of transformation and addition of medicinal materials when refining the great elixir.

This passage calls the art of Waidan (external alchemy) the “Great Vehicle,” emphasizing the aims of aiding the people of the world, benefiting others, strengthening the body, and cultivating the Dao (the Way) together with proper conduct.

I once heard an extraordinary person say: Heaven takes the Qi (vital energy) of Earth, Earth takes the Qi of humans, and humans in turn take the Qi of the myriad things. This is the principle by which the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity take from one another and transform into one another. The functioning of Waidan (external alchemy)—the art of firing medicinal substances to refine elixirs—likewise cannot be separated from it.

Waidan takes lead as the ancestor, silver as the mother, and mercury as the wife. Lead takes the black Qi of Heaven, silver takes the black Qi of lead, and mercury in turn takes the black Qi of silver; they take from one another in succession, and the principle behind this is the same. Waidan must rely on transformation so that the medicinal substances continually generate. If one does not understand the principle by which the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity swallow and combine, take from, and blend with one another, how can one grasp the wondrous way in which the substances of Waidan generate and nourish one another, swallow and combine with one another?

The functioning of Waidan is no different from the creative transformation of Heaven and Earth. The Great Elixir takes lead as ancestor, silver as mother, and mercury as wife: combining lead with silver is to resonate with the precelestial One Qi; removing the lead and retaining the silver, then using silver to nourish mercury, is to resonate with the postcelestial Qi of the silver mother. Mercury, through transformation, congeals into lead, and is therefore called “true lead.” From this we know that mercury taking from silver is like a child taking from its mother; this is the same as Heaven taking from Earth and Earth taking from humanity—all are processes of resonance and transformation.

After true lead has congealed, what exactly is the so-called “true mercury”? In fact, mercury is born by resonating with postcelestial Qi and has not yet been refined, and so is called true mercury. Grind the true lead into a fine powder, mix it with true mercury, and then take cinnabar to nourish and refine them; lead and mercury can then combine, refining and nourishing each other like a Yin-Yang pair. Only then can one say that lead and mercury have truly congealed into elixir. Once mercury has congealed, the dissipation of the mother Qi becomes self-evident. At this stage, one must still understand the principle that form and Shen (spirit) both attain wondrous union and become one with the true Dao (the Way), before one can say that although the manifestations differ from the creative transformation of Heaven and Earth, the root is the same.

Silver is the mother of mercury; the physical form is the dwelling of Shen. When Shen returns to form, this is the union of form and spirit. When lead and mercury conjoin, mercury congeals and becomes lead; when silver and lead combine, it is as when child and mother meet, never again to separate or be cut off from each other. This is what is called “harmonizing the Four Images” (bringing four symbolic forces into coordinated union), and thereby the complete efficacy of Waidan is brought into play.

The Four Images and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) cannot lack even one. What is the indispensable key factor among them? It is Earth. The Earth spoken of here refers to sulfur, also called the “Yellow Dame” or “Yellow Sprout.” The elixir scriptures say, “Though one uses the Yellow Dame as the matchmaker’s gift,” and also “reverse lead into Yellow Sprout.” Quicksilver is the so-called true mercury. The elixir scriptures further say: “In the ash pool under fierce heat, lead and mercury become silver. Pure white, the treasure appears, and gold can be made.” If true lead and true mercury, through firing, yield silver, this is precisely what the elixir scriptures mean by “reversing mercury into Yellow Sprout”; continuing to fire and nourish according to the method described above until one obtains cinnabar is what is meant by “reversing quicksilver into true mercury.” The wonders of these reversal transformations must not go unknown.

Why do Daoists say “following the course produces humans, reversing the course produces the Dao”? Using silver to nourish cinnabar, the silver is depleted; the key lies in close, intimate nourishment. Using cinnabar to nourish cinnabar causes depletion; using cinnabar to irrigate quicksilver, the cinnabar can nonetheless survive. Even after a thousand or ten thousand years there may be no result, because solitary Yin cannot generate by itself, and solitary Yang cannot accomplish by itself. When people of the world refine silver, the silver is depleted; fortunately mercury replenishes the silver. When they refine cinnabar, the cinnabar flakes away; fortunately sulfur holds the mercury fast. In this way silver does not dissipate, and the Jing (essence) of mercury does not fly off. Using silver to nourish mercury is like entering a new womb and changing abode, returning to the origin and restoring the source; then using sulfur as intermediary to continue the firing—how can one say there is no result? The ancient worthies said: “Without cinnabar and sulfur, mercury cannot congeal; without cinnabar and sulfur, lead cannot remain stable for long.” This is precisely that principle.

Lead and mercury are the Jing of sun and moon. Sun and moon issue from Heaven and illuminate the four directions; the light of sun and moon shines upon mountains and marshes, and thus the five metals and eight minerals are produced, congealing into pearls and jade. What is called “light” is Shen made manifest; what is called “elixir” is the Reverted Elixir formed when the true Jing of lead and mercury resonate and transform. When the elixir, through long refining and nourishing, emits light, and the radiance appears, then the yellow-and-white substances (in alchemy, referring to transmutable metals) and numerous treasures arise from it. The techniques known as “dry mercury,” “projection,” and the like all come from this elixir. The methods spoken of in the world—sensing Qi, irrigating with mother sand, and so on—all likewise originate from the generation of this elixir.

However, the art of refining the yellow and white is only a side branch among the arts of the immortals. If those who cultivate the Dao can concentrate on ingesting the elixir and further apply themselves to inner cultivation, they can settle the mind in a state free of worry and harm, and proceed toward the path of long life. This is precisely what I earnestly hope those who share my aspiration will understand.