《太古土兑经》

The Taigu Tudui Jing (Upper Volume)

“Tudui” constitutes the essence of heaven and earth and the numinous Qi (vital energy) of mountains and rivers. Among these two categories of substances, some are nourished by yin Qi and generated by yang Qi, while others are generated by yin Qi and nourished by yang Qi. Only through profound investigation and meticulous reflection can one grasp the origins of their transformations.

Gold arises from within water and earth, and silver is produced inside “maoshi.” With regard to their physical forms, they correspond quite closely to the principles of the Dao (the Way); the essential natures of tin and lead, however, differ from each other. When these are applied to copper and iron, their functions and transmutations likewise vary. The decisive element is human operation, which requires studying their modes of change and the principles of selection and rejection.

Students of the Dao must first comprehend the transformation of “maoshi,” next master the furnace and fire, then understand the natures of the medicinal substances, and finally know thoroughly the techniques for subduing those substances. Failure to clarify these four points results only in wasted mental effort. Gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin are termed the Five Metals; realgar, orpiment, sulfur, and pishi the Four Yellows; cinnabar, mercury, pengxiu, niter, salt, alum, and bile the Eight Stones. Certain yang medicines must be subdued by yin methods, and certain yin medicines by yang methods. One must also understand the regularities of climatic variation, which, like the rhythm of human breathing, follow a definite cadence.

Practitioners of the Dao begin by regulating the breath of Qi, then proceed to discuss the medicines; only when the two are mutually coordinated does one attain the true meaning of the Dao. Through the accumulation of prior cultivation and accumulated blessings, one may have the fortune to encounter these marvelous scriptures, which ought to be carefully preserved in secrecy and stored deep within a golden coffer.

Huangya Technique (the method of refining “yellow sprouts” by means of mineral medicines)

The ingredients comprise realgar, orpiment, chuhuang, red halloysite, hematite, cinnabar, malachite, coptis, phellodendron, and the juice of cow dung.

Dyeing Technique for Medicines (the method of coloring medicinal substances)

Calcined sand and chalcanthite are both capable of corroding odors; dragon’s blood and luminous sand serve to maintain color; sulfur is employed to eliminate halo discolorations; hemp-ash liquor, rong salt, gardenia decoction, millet wine, perilla oil, sangrun, and fuhaimo are used to remove various defects. The foregoing constitute the materials for dyeing yellow. Should they be used in the refinement of elixirs, any adjustment in quantities is left to the discretion of the operator.

White Medicine Technique (the method of preparing white medicinal substances)

Weijin and hutonglu are employed for moistening and coloring; gardenia likewise for moistening and coloring; chalcanthite for removing halo spots; together with brine, clarified glue, lime, and calcined sand. These materials can also corrode odors and eliminate halo discolorations.

Copper Medicines (medicinal substances used in the preparation of copper)

The original text breaks off at this point.

Note: Certain terms appearing in the original, such as “maoshi,” “pengxiu,” “chuhuang,” and “ceng,” may represent textual variants or scribal errors and have been retained according to the source; designations including “pishi,” “sangrun,” and “fuhaimo” likewise cannot be identified with certainty from this passage alone.

Grind realgar (xionghuang), orpiment (cihuang), pihuang, mirabilite (puxiao), Rong salt (rongyan), cinnabar (dansha), paosha, white stone fat (baishizhi), oyster shells (muli), lime (shihui), the five alums (wufan), copper yellow (tonghuang), gypsum (ningshuishi), azurite (cengqing), and iron essence (tiejing) into powder, then add the feces of a young boy and the urine of an old ox. When these medicines are used in refinements other than the smelting of copper, they should also be combined with white materials.

This is the usage of the aforementioned medicines: they are employed in refinements of the “white” category.

The nature of mercury is able to combine with the five metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin). After being pressed and refined, it can be made into gold powder. Therefore Hu Gangzi said: “By combining gold powders with one another, one can seek the transformation of yellow and white. When silver obtains subdued mercury (mercury that has been refined so as to combine with metals), there is no cause for worry in the refining process; when copper obtains subdued mercury, results appear after a single cycle of refinement; when tin obtains subdued mercury, its nature becomes harmonious and dense; when iron obtains subdued mercury, the five metals can continue to be refined and treated.”

When gold obtains subdued realgar (realgar that has been refined so as to combine with metals), all manner of changes proceed smoothly; when silver obtains subdued realgar, the changes have a beginning and an end; when copper obtains subdued realgar, its nature harmonizes with dissimilar substances; when tin obtains subdued realgar, the refining can be brought to completion; when iron obtains subdued realgar, unfavorable aspects can be removed.

When gold obtains subdued orpiment (orpiment that has been refined so as to combine with metals), it can be temporarily constrained; when silver obtains subdued orpiment, it is able to transform; when copper obtains subdued orpiment, it remains uncertain whether a genuine product can be refined; when tin obtains subdued orpiment, it is able to remain stable; when iron obtains subdued orpiment, it is not easily dispersed.

When gold obtains subdued pihuang (pihuang that has been refined so as to combine with metals), changes appear; when silver obtains subdued pihuang, they fit together without conflict; when copper obtains subdued pihuang, the texture becomes soft; when tin obtains subdued pihuang, textures like the ridges of fields can form; when iron obtains subdued pihuang, the hard and soft natures are able to follow and harmonize with each other.

The five metals discussed above all concern their methods of mutual combination with the Three Yellows (sanhhuang: realgar, orpiment, and pihuang). Without the participation of the Three Yellows, one cannot yet speak of harmonizing the natures of the various metals. The five metals must undergo refining and treatment before they can fuse with one another. The methods of addition and harmonization, as well as the secrets of causing metals to manifest the yellow-white transformation, can all be explained from this, and can also serve to distinguish the genuine from the false. The colors of yellow, white, red, black, and so forth that the various metals display, as well as their soft or hard natures, are specifically as follows.

When gold encounters silver, its texture becomes hollow; when silver encounters copper, it becomes loose; when copper encounters iron, it contracts; when iron encounters a hard and strong substance, it expands. When contracting, the molten metal is less abundant; when expanding, the molten metal is more abundant. When copper encounters tin, changes occur; when tin encounters iron, they combine with each other.

The above describes the specific circumstances of the interactions among the five metals.

When gold meets silver it becomes thin and diluted; when silver meets copper it becomes loose and porous; when copper meets iron it contracts; when iron meets a stronger material it expands again. Contraction yields little molten liquid; expansion yields more. Copper and tin have dissimilar natures and do not readily combine, yet tin and iron can fuse with each other.

The foregoing describes how the five metals behave when mixed: some fuse, others do not. One who understands the principle and has mastered the art of subduing metals can skillfully bring them together and refine the so-called “jade treasure.”

Gold is soft yet heavy. Place it in a pot and heat it until its color matches the fire, then heat it three hundred times; dung mixed with earth makes the best fuel. Silver is heated at most two hundred times over charcoal; copper at most three hundred times, also over charcoal; iron at most five hundred times, preferably over coal. Lead is not bound by these limits. The character “chui” here is read as “chui,” meaning to blow air and fan the fire.

To turn silver into gold one may use a dyeing method to suppress “xiong” (a material employed in elixir work) or drip in raw mercury, which also yellows the silver. When raw mercury is added to silver, first decoct weijin root, red halloysite and perilla oil, then process them together with the mercury and silver; after two or three days the mixture turns yellow. Once the mercury is drawn off, the remaining material can be used to fashion objects. Further medicinal ingredients, recorded in the middle volume, must still be added; the entire process lasts no more than twenty-one days, the fire and the drugs being adjusted as circumstances require.

Copper may likewise be turned white by dyeing or by dripping in mercury. If raw mercury is used, the best reagents are stone-brain, clear glue, tonglü, chalcanthite and brine. Decoct them for three to five days, place the mixture in the pot and blow the fire, then add the previously prepared copper medicinal juice. Repeat the cycle four or five times and the product is called a “true article.” Precise adjustments, the text says, should be considered and carried out in a secluded place.

The silver medicine (yinyao) discussed above, together with the primary and secondary combinations among the various medicines and their interactions, has already been explained. Among the various methods used for refining the Five Metals (the five categories of metals), the truly effective medicines amount to no more than seven or eight in all.

Tin is by nature easily corrupted. If one can subdue tin—that is, render it stable in the course of refining—this ranks as excellent even among superior methods. To subdue tin, one generally employs materials such as unburnable wood (buhuimu), stone-brain (shinao), and aged ox urine, then decocts and refines it with stone-brain for thirty days. If it has still not been subdued, one adds brine and decocts it over fierce fire; once the tin has been refined to stability, it may be regarded as a supreme treasure.

Lead is not easy to subdue. If one wishes to subdue it, one may decoct and refine it with the same medicines previously used to subdue tin; once it has been refined to stability, it too counts as a true treasure. If one then adds subdued male medicine (xiongyao), one can produce genuine yellow metal.

Discussing the refining of the Five Metals still does not constitute the true great arts of Daoist method. Only when one thoroughly understands the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, together with the relationships of mutual generation and conquest among them) and then speaks of subduing metals can one discuss the way of transmutation (dianhua zhi dao, the alchemical notion of transforming one substance into another). Only those who completely understand the Five Phases may be regarded as persons who truly possess the Dao.

Discussing the refining of the Five Metals still does not constitute the true great arts of Daoist method. Only when one thoroughly understands the Five Phases and then speaks of subduing metals can one discuss the way of transmutation. Only those who completely understand the Five Phases may be regarded as persons who truly possess the Dao; such persons are able to cause the Three Corpses (sanshi, the three spirits or noxious entities that Daoism says inhabit the human body and affect the person) to depart from the body. Therefore Master Zhang first attained the Dao and only afterward expounded these three volumes of sagely methods, regarding them as techniques for aiding the world and nourishing life; hence it is said that these are not the methods of the true Great Dao.

If one wishes to subdue mercury and turn it into gold, one must first subdue lead. After lead has been subdued, mercury still needs to be subdued with male medicine. As long as one obtains these substances, producing yellow metal is not difficult, and there is no need to expend further effort on other medicines. People of that time could not subdue mercury, and so they employed various medicines as aids.

As for medicines that change the color of the Five Metals, none is better than subdued cinnabar medicine (zhuyao); next come subdued male medicine and female medicine (ciyao); the least effective is subdued pi medicine (piyao). Thus one part of cinnabar medicine has the efficacy of seven parts of male medicine; three parts of female medicine equal one part of male medicine; one jin of pi medicine equals one part of cinnabar medicine. If one can obtain female medicine, male medicine, and pi medicine, increase them according to the corresponding multiples and cause them to transform, one can turn silver into gold, iron into copper, and tin into silver. If one can make tin withstand fire-refining and thereby subdue it, this is a superior method for refining yellow metal.

In the text, terms such as “silver medicine,” “male medicine,” “female medicine,” and “pi medicine” are alchemical technical terms. Some medicine names and sentences appear to contain errors or omissions, especially in passages such as “ling de fu zhi” and “gong ju yi xu fu xiong,” where the original meaning is not sufficiently clear; the above is a cautious interpretation based on context.

Some medicinal substances fly upward upon encountering intense fire; these are termed “torch-fire.” Those that do not ascend when burned are called “subdued.” Certain mineral medicines remain unaltered even after repeated burning; one liang of their efficacy can match five times that of substances that melt after being fired. Herbal medicines that are hard in texture and comparatively heavy can similarly have one liang equivalent to three times the potency of mineral medicines.

“Warm subduing” refers to the use of mercury to stabilize herbs, minerals, and similar substances. Concrete procedures cannot be applied uniformly but must be selected in accordance with the transformations of each medicine. “Dry subduing,” by contrast, first requires a clear understanding of the medicine’s nature and a determination of whether it belongs to the torch-fire category. If it does, one observes whether it can withstand the length of a meal without change; success in this regard allows it to be designated torch-fire.

Iron implements may be refined as many as a hundred times. After each refining they are forged once more, remaining supple and lustrous without charring. Copper implements may be refined fifteen times; after each they are immersed in the medicines and can endure a maximum of twenty treatments. Those versed in furnace fire will not scorch the material even after a hundred refinings, whereas those ignorant of fire timing will scorch it after only three or five.

Silver may be refined two or three times without losing its inherent properties. Copper and silver should likewise be melted following the procedure used for copper. Practitioners truly proficient in furnace fire need not adhere rigidly to these frequencies; those lacking such knowledge will scorch the substances after three or five refinings. The original text contains repetitions in this section, whose sense is essentially as given above.

Method of Subduing Mercury to Render It White

One jin of mercury, half a jin of elixir lead, half a jin of iron essence, subjected to thirty refinings; half a jin of tin, one liang of mineral alkali, together with one liang each of hematite, the five alums, specially generated yushi, and chalcanthite, plus one jin of salt. The original merely enumerates the ingredients and the number of refinings, without elaborating the operational steps.

First take mercury, lead, and tin, mix them and melt them together. Then place iron-essence powder into the pot, cover it with the lid, and smelt. Once the mercury, lead, tin, and so forth have all melted, introduce the medicinal materials through the hole, then uncover and stir so that they mix evenly. After removing the mixture, pound it into powder, blend it with bitter wine (vinegar) into a paste, and place it in an iron tube.

Next put the previously refined mercury into the tube and seal the tube mouth together with the space above the mercury using medicinal mud, making the seal firm so that it does not loosen under pressure; if the seal is loose it will catch fire. Then apply six-one mud (a sealing compound used in elixir refining) according to the method, covering all around as well as top and bottom. Once the mud has dried, place the iron tube in a double-layered furnace and smelt with a mild fire. After the furnace body has slightly peeled, become red-hot, and heated through, close the furnace door. Once the moisture in the hole of the pot lid has fully dissipated, seal that hole with six-one mud, carefully applying it in successive thin layers; let each layer dry before applying the next, and do not apply too thickly at one time.

After the sealing mud has dried, slightly close the receiving door (the furnace’s fire inlet) and burn with gentle fire for three weeks; then fully open the wind door and burn with fierce fire for four weeks. The original phrasing “爻伏也” is a fire-phasing term whose precise meaning is unclear. According to the text, mercury refined in this manner can combine with the five metals, yet it still cannot be used for ingestion. This mercury that has undergone subduing refinement is called “true white sand”; medicinal substances produced by other methods will transform again after a long time.

Hu Gangzi’s Method of Subduing Realgar

Transform and process the yellow female pi (original wording, referent unknown) according to the method described above. Another edition omits the three characters “Hu Gangzi.”

Realgar one jin, white alum half a jin, mysterious essence half a jin, stone salt five liang, unash wood two jin, mercury one jin.

Use honey water with the above ingredients and boil-refine the realgar according to the preceding method. Another edition omits the three characters “Hu Gangzi.”

Realgar one jin, white alum half a jin, mysterious essence half a jin, stone salt five liang, unash wood two jin, mercury one jin.

First boil male mercury five times in honey water, then add the ash juice of Achyranthes root and boil for two days. Pound the four previously mentioned medicinal ingredients into powder, sift them finely through silk, and mix with bitter vinegar into a paste of moderate consistency. Enclose realgar (xionghuang) in this paste and form cakes two cun wide and one cun thick, then dry them; wrap them once more in the same paste, dry again, and place them in a flat-bottomed cheng (an ancient vessel used for decoction and refining).

When loading the cheng, first spread a layer of dry salt powder about two cun thick. Stand the medicinal cakes on their sides in successive layers so they do not touch, separating them with salt powder. After each layer of cakes add another layer of salt. Cover with an iron lid, seal tightly with honey luting (a sealing compound mixed with honey), and coat with Six-One Mud (a traditional furnace-sealing clay used in elixir work), leaving an opening of about one cun for vapors to escape. Once the mud is dry, place the vessel in the furnace and heat with a gentle fire until moisture is gone, then close the vent with mud. Next apply a layer of triple-honey luting followed by more Six-One Mud, again leaving about one cun open. After drying, return it to the furnace, drive off remaining moisture with gentle fire, and seal completely. Heat first with mild fire for three parts of the process, then with strong fire for four parts, and allow to cool for one week. This is the finest subduing method (a calcination practice that stabilizes and transforms the substances). Wet subduing alone will not produce color in the medicine. Realgar prepared this way is best for refining yellow; if combined with many other substances it will eventually revert to its original state.

The method for subduing cinnabar appears in the Bao chapter. Take one jin of superior cinnabar together with one liang each of Rong salt, stone-gall, alum stone and crude mirabilite, and grind them to powder.

First take cinnabar (zhusha) and wrap it well in cotton wool. Place the other medicinal substances into the pot first, then set the wrapped cinnabar on top so that it does not touch the bottom of the pot. Add lard and boil for five days, then boil it in brine for five days, and afterwards boil it in vinegar for five days. Take two jin of dry salt powder and mix it with vinegar to form a paste; likewise mix the cinnabar with vinegar to form a paste. Next make a paste from the boiled medicinal dregs, enclose the cinnabar in the center, and wrap the salt paste around the outside. Once it has dried, place it in a fierce fire and burn it for two days.

The scripture states that after this refining the medicinal substance is able to be “subdued” (fu, meaning it has been stabilized through firing and no longer changes), which is what is called “subdued without smoke.” Refined according to this method, it can be used for the refining of yellow, prepared as the medicine of the “Supreme Perfected,” and may also be ingested. Medicines refined by other methods will still change after a long time. After the medicine has dried it is fire-refined, with the fire’s intensity gradually increased; when the outer skin wrinkles and splits open, one can then see the so-called “treasure.”

Method of Subduing the Elixir with Foolish Mercury

Take five jin of tin and cold-refine one jin. After each addition of mercury, add fat and refine once more; in this way refine one jin of mercury. Separately take two liang each of white alum (after calcination), sha, and sulfur, grind them finely, and boil them in vinegar for three to five days. The scripture then says “one white two chi,” the precise referent of which is unclear. Then take one jin of crimson alum, half a liang each of realgar and xuanjing, and two liang of puxiao, and pound these materials separately into powder.

Take one jin each of tin, mercury, and salt, and pound-refine them until the ingredients disperse and assume a fish-eye appearance; it is said that at this point the mercury has been subdued into powder. Then add further salt, spreading it three or four cun thick. Sprinkle two liang of puxiao (a niter-type mineral) over the salt, then layer in mercury and salt in succession, pounding and refining as before until the ingredients again disperse and take on a fish-eye appearance. Next, spread realgar and other medicinal substances over the salt, then lay tin on top and press it down firmly. Cover this with the remaining powdered medicines, press tightly, and seal.

Then proceed according to the method of “flying the elixir” (using heat, sealed covering, and similar techniques to sublimate or refine the substances), refining by the fire regulation of “four civil and three martial.” After cooling for one week, refine once more and grind fine. Next take one jin of salt and pound it together with crimson alum (a red vitriol), dark essence (a mineral medicine), puxiao, and other ingredients, refining according to the previous method: use a fire of “two civil and three martial,” cool for one week, then remove and grind into powder. It is said that each liang of this powder can transmutate one jin of metal into a superior authentic product. Tin and mercury must be introduced together during the refining. The remaining ingredients are portioned out and refined in two separate operations. If one wishes to form nine-pills, use one liang of jujube paste as a binder for every nine pills. If one wishes to make a powder, calcine it with incombustible wood (a fire-resistant mineral), then wrap the powdered medicine in clay.

When applying the medicine, first melt the copper, then take three to five pills, place them in the hollow of a sheep’s tibia, and drop this into the pot while stirring. If the medicine has not dissolved, continue stirring with a peach branch; even if it has already dissolved, stir until evenly blended.

The Weijun Wujin Jue (Master Wei’s Formula of the Five Metals) states: to transform iron, one must add subdued lead (processed lead) together with a preparation made from tin and other medicinal substances; preparations made with tin produce a different effect. Take iron that has been refined thirty times, then extract and refine the lead from the elixir into tin, combine it with boiled and processed sluggish mercury, and adjust the proportions as appropriate—this too can yield white silver. If white mercury can be obtained, it is said that a superior authentic product can be refined, though it is not suitable for ingestion.

Taigu Tudui Jing (Scripture of Earth-Exchange from High Antiquity), Upper Scroll

Taigu Tudui Jing (Scripture of Earth-Exchange from High Antiquity), Middle Scroll

The Five Metals (Wujin, a collective term in Daoist Waidan (external alchemy) for metallic medicines) are precious things of this world. I have seen quite a few people studying the Dao who seek methods everywhere, abandoning ordinary life to roam among mountain ridges and forest springs, taking pleasure in this and claiming that thereby they can become immortals. Those who truly cultivate the Dao need not live in remote places; what matters is to still the mind and comprehend the principles. Even in daily life one can gather the heart-spirit, harmonize body and mind, without rashly pursuing a multitude of methods, and still less should one treat various hardships as capital for attracting fellow seekers or obtaining the Great Dao.

Some, upon hearing a word or half a method, turn to slander the one who transmitted it; others, having obtained marvelous techniques, search everywhere to refine Huangbai (Waidan methods of transmuting medicines into gold and silver). They begin with sincere seeking of the Dao, hoping to attain the Great Dao, yet later forget cultivation itself and pursue only private gain and immediate splendor. How can this dispel the sufferings of the netherworld? Visible examples number in the thousands. Therefore the marvelous methods of refining the Five Metals should not be lightly transmitted to such people.

The Feifu of the Five Metals (methods in Waidan for making medicines ascend, descend, or transform) is the foundation of refining mineral medicines and also concerns the harmonizing of Yin-Yang Qi (vital energy). The related secrets are all set forth in this piece. If someone seeks the way of refining and nourishing, of cultivating the body and nurturing nature, this may be given them as precious study material; those who slight their own self-cultivation should not receive it. Now this piece is excerpted and sent to those of kindred aspiration who delight in learning.

In refining gold medicines there is generally one medicine that must employ gold; following this method of preparation, success can also be achieved. Next is yellow medicine: if one obtains such medicines as “Fuxiongci Zhubi,” there is no need to use the metallic nature of gold. As for the medicine methods of the previous volume, merely putting “Shang Fuxiong” into silver can also refine true yellow; introducing “Cibi” can likewise cause “Fuxiongci” to be subdued and transformed.

Next, if “Fuzhu” is introduced into yellow medicine, it immediately refines into a purple superior authentic substance; yet this cannot be ingested.

In refining silver medicines one must pass through the steps of “Sanyi Quyun, Errou, Sanshi”; following this method it can likewise be accomplished. Next is white medicine: if one obtains “Fuxiongci Pi,” one may extract and catalyze it, refining true Huangbai.

When subduing mercury, mix “Yushi” powder into a paste to wrap the “Fushang Zhenwu”; this finished product cannot be ingested.

After silver has been refined, one must first remove the impurities and dullness within it, then treat it with two parts of softening medicine and three parts of nourishing medicine. Following this method, it can likewise be successfully refined. Next, if one obtains the white medicinal substance and can cause the male and female two kinds of pi-class materials to subdue one another and combine, then taking out a small amount for projection (dianhua), one can refine what is called “true yellow-white.”

The method for subduing and transforming mercury: Mix yushi powder into a paste and use it to wrap the mercury. First melt copper, then wrap the mercury with melted yushi powder and throw it into the copper, and a white substance will be obtained. Afterward one must still apply medicines capable of harmonizing the nature of silver to soften and refine it, and only then is it considered a truly finished product.

The nature of iron is the most difficult to handle; first one must subdue and transform tin and lead. If this method is not available, there are also ways of refining it with other medicines, only the effect is inferior to that of subduing lead and tin.

Method for Subduing and Refining Iron

In the elixir work, use five liang of lead, boiled to yield two and a half liang of inert mercury; additionally use one liang of paosha that has been refined with ox-knee, three liang of tin that has been refined with ox urine, and one and a half liang of yushi.

First melt the iron, then melt and refine the lead, tin, and mercury together and throw them into the iron. Then take sheep jing-bones and stir for a long time, after which add xiusha; after a period of time, add yushi powder to cover the surface. Forge while still hot, repeating this procedure five or six times, and finally pour it into a trough-mold, whereupon it will of itself become a white substance. The quantity of iron to be refined as recorded here is limited to one jin.

Method for Refining Iron Essence

Take four liang of raw iron and refine it. First melt xiusha into it; after a period of time, add yushi powder to cover the surface; forge while still hot, repeating this procedure five or six times, and finally pour it into a trough-mold, whereupon it will of itself become a white substance. The quantity of iron to be refined as recorded here is limited to one jin.

Another method for refining iron essence is as follows: Take four liang of raw iron and refine it. After each melting, throw it into millet wine, then melt it again; add a small amount of xiusha and half a liang of yushi, stir rapidly after a period of time, then pour it into wine to cool. Repeating this thirty times, one may obtain what is called “iron essence.”

There is yet another method of refining iron: After melting the iron, throw it into ox urine, repeating this fifty times, and “iron essence” can be refined.

Method for Subduing Tin

Place the tin in curds and repeatedly draw and refine it ten times, then throw it into xuanjing (Mysterious Essence) ten times. For each jin of tin, use three liang of xuanjing. According to this method, melt the tin together with xuanjing powder and immediately throw it into a pot, stirring rapidly; next add one liang of raw cinnabar and half a liang of refined iron, covering them over the top. Then place it into the medicines used in the previously mentioned formula for nourishing and subduing tin and boil-refine it, and superior white silver can be obtained.

Method for Transforming Yellow-White into Medicine

This passage mainly discusses using mineral materials such as lead, mercury, cinnabar, realgar, and alum, processed through heating, sealing, boiling, and refining in the so-called treatments of “subduing mercury” and “subduing cinnabar,” with claims that mercury can be refined into silver or a yellow color. Here “fu” refers to employing alchemical refining methods to alter the properties of the materials or render them stable; “huangbai” is the term used in ancient alchemy for gold and silver.

The method for refining into white silver proceeds as follows. If one wishes to refine raw mercury (unprocessed quicksilver) into white silver, the raw mercury is placed into silver, one liang of raw cinnabar and half a liang of refined iron are added, the vessel is covered, and the whole is then placed into the previously mentioned formula for “nurturing and subduing tin” to be boiled and refined. The original text claims this produces superior white silver.

The method for the yellow medicine consists of placing raw mercury into silver, adding half a jin of realgar and half a jin of cinnabar, then introducing one liang of raw lead, and boiling the mixture together in wine for one day before pouring it out. Powdered realgar is next added and pounded together with the mercury medicine, after which the combination is boiled in millet wine for fifteen days. The original text claims that the mercury turns yellow.

For the method of subduing mercury, one jin of mercury and ten liang of elixir lead are melted together, after which two liang of cinnabar, three liang of zhen’gen, five liang of mysterious-essence stone, and two liang of stone brain are added. The melted lead-mercury mixture is combined with these substances, packed into an iron tube, sealed securely, and fire-refined for thirty days. The original text states that the mercury will then be subdued and may afterward be introduced into the five metals—gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and the like—causing them to become true metals.

The method for subduing cinnabar treats male and female minerals according to the same procedure. One jin of each is taken, five liang of puxiao (a mineral medicine) are added, the mixture is ground to powder and boiled in vinegar for five days, then one jin of alum, half a liang of mysterious essence, and three liang of yushi are introduced. The original text claims that this treatment subdues the cinnabar. Another method of the same name, after the preceding steps, further requires that the medicines be placed together with those previously prepared into honey water and boiled for twenty days, then transferred into brine (a salt-containing liquid) and boiled for three days. The original text claims this succeeds in subduing the cinnabar.

The method for subduing white alum begins by placing salt in a pot, after which the alum is added and the two are fire-refined together for one day. The original text states that the alum can then be subdued.

The method for subduing stone brain takes two jin of stone brain, two jin of mysterious essence, and three liang of processed sand, grinds them to powder, adds five sheng of brine, and boils the mixture for twenty-eight days (the original notes this as “erqiri,” two periods of seven days). When the brine boils dry, more must be added. The original text claims this subdues the stone brain.

The method for flying magnetite observes that yushi, cengqing, and shilu may likewise be processed by similar methods. The original text adds that in one version “yushi” is written as “fanshi.”

Take one jin of the various medicinal substances mentioned above and add two liang of mercury. Pound and grind them until they are thoroughly mixed, then subject the mixture to three days and three nights of flying refinement (the process in alchemy by which substances are made to volatilize and sublime). After it has cooled for one day, it may be added to the five metals (in antiquity commonly referring to gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and similar metals) for use. Where ordinary practice speaks of a one-jin quantity, here only half a jin is employed.

Method for Subduing Sulfur

Take one jin of sulfur. Place the sulfur in brine and boil it for one day, then take it out and put it into a silk bag. Next boil it in ox-knee ash liquor for one day, then in honey water for one day, then in mulberry ash liquor for five days, and then once more in ox-knee ash liquor for one day. After this, add half a jin of mercury and refine it according to the method already described for three days. When the process is finished, take it out and grind it into powder.

Then take one sheng of fine cow’s milk and bring it to a boil. Place the previously refined substance into it and boil for one day; then boil it in mulberry ash liquor for five days, then in ox-knee ash liquor for one day, and add another half jin of mercury, still refining according to the previous method for three days. When finished, take it out and grind it into powder.

Then take one sheng of fine cow’s milk and bring it to a boil. Place the previously refined substance into it together with half a jin of mercury, and boil with the milk for three days. This completes the process of “subduing” (meaning that through refinement the nature of the substance is stabilized and brought under control). This medicinal product may be used for many purposes, and taking it internally is even better.

Method for Producing Geng

(The Hao edition does not contain the following text from this point onward.)

Take ten liang of fine “mountain-marsh Gen” and grind it into powder. Add one liang of the already subdued male and female substances and grind them together, then add one liang of raw mercury and continue grinding until the star-like specks of mercury can no longer be seen. Place the mixture into a “gao che pingzi.” (The original designation of the apparatus is unclear; it is then explained that a small vessel holding oil or fat is set inside a larger one, that the apparatus has an axle-pin, and that the smaller vessel is relatively small, with a slightly concave form.)

Seal the jar tightly with six-one mud (the sealing clay used in alchemy to close vessels) and place it on a chaff fire to be warmed and nourished for twenty-one days. When the period is complete, gradually increase the fire until the jar glows red-hot; allow it to cool of its own accord and do not rake out the fire. The next day break open the jar. If the contents have already crumbled into a muddy consistency, place them in a gan pot (the crucible used in gold refining) and melt them. When the liquid has clarified, take it out; this is a superior treasure.

Another Method

Take ten liang of sulfur, one jin of mercury, and four liang of lead from the elixir. Grind them together and place the mixture in a new iron ding to be warmed and nourished for forty-five days. When the period is complete, apply a strong fire for two days, then take out the reddish-purple substance and grind it into powder. Next take one liang of raw realgar and one liang of danzi fan, grind them fine together, mix with ox urine, and form a vessel resembling a crucible. Fill it with mercury and apply fire beneath. After about two or three hours, it can be refined into “Geng” (here referring to the metallic product obtained through the process).

When various fangshi jointly refine elixir medicines, they first gather the medicinal materials together and grind them into a fine powder, then mix them with ox urine and knead the mixture into a form resembling a crucible, filling it with mercury and applying fire from below. After two or three cycles (the original text does not specify the unit here), it will spontaneously generate Geng.

This comes from the middle volume of the Taigu Tudui Jing.

This comes from the lower volume of the Taigu Tudui Jing.

The methods of elixir refinement among the various schools all differ. For example, few people know of the Taiqing Danjing, and the various transmitted lineages are also difficult to fathom. In addition to those secretly transmitted oral formulas, ancient sages such as the Yellow Emperor and Liu An, King of Huainan, once abandoned their imperial thrones in seeking the true Dao; after Mao Jun and Yin Xi attained the Dao, they likewise forgot the cleverness of the secular world. The powder diagrams left by Hu Chengzi circulated in three volumes, and Zhang Jun’s writings on the refinement of metals and minerals were inscribed and transmitted in five chapters.

When discussing the mysterious arts of nourishing life, one should first treat of the fire timing (huohou) and the seasonal sequences. Tao Gong’s discourse on the natures of medicines does not clearly explain the primary and secondary combinations among the substances. If this fundamental is understood, the key can be grasped. Passages in the various scriptures that easily confuse people include some that speak only of medicinal natures yet do not know how to make the medicines fly and transform; some that speak only of flying-and-transforming methods yet do not understand how to combine them for ingestion; and some that discuss the furnace fire yet do not understand the hard, soft, and other properties of the medicines. Once these secrets are understood, all the processes of refinement can proceed smoothly.

The hidden and important secrets drawn from the various schools’ classics are now listed below; they should be kept confidential when transmitted.

For Fu Liu Zhu, refined into yellow and white substances and provided for ingestion: one jin of sulfur-cinnabar, three liang of magnetite, five liang of yellow lead, and five liang of lead from the elixir.

The above is the formula after the mineral medicines have been processed. Add three liang each of white alum and yu stone and pound them all together into powder. Then arrange in sequence the previously listed lead, yellow lead, magnetite, sulfur-cinnabar and remaining materials. Those who transmit these methods should keep them secret.

For Fu Liu Zhu, refined into yellow and white substances and provided for ingestion: one jin of sulfur-cinnabar, three liang of magnetite, five liang of yellow lead, and five liang of lead from the elixir.

First process the stone medicines completely, then add three liang each of white alum and yushi and pound them together into powder. Take the lead, yellow lead (minium), magnetite, and liuzhu mentioned earlier, place them together in a vessel, and boil for seven days; the medicines will then turn white.

Next take three liang each of Yanzhou crude mirabilite (puxiao), Guazhou yellow alum, Mount Song yushi, and Beiting xiusa; then take the white mercury and magnetite mentioned earlier and boil them together in vinegar for two days. After taking them out, the product is called “liuzhu.” Mercury is ordinarily called “liuzhu” (flowing pearl); here it is written “liuzhu” (with the characters for sulfur and vermilion)—only the written form differs, the name is the same.

Cast the zhu into the lead that is in the elixir and refine them together into strips; then pound this to pieces and boil it in pig fat for thirty days, which will cause it to become subdued and stabilized (that is, after refining it becomes stable). If it is still not subdued and stabilized and remains hard, add two liang of true Gen and boil it in pig fat; it will then become subdued and stabilized. When this substance is used in refining the five metals, it must still be mixed with powder prepared from niter, then flown and refined together with xiongzhu to form an elixir. Ingesting it can prolong life.

The method of refining is as follows: first melt and refine the mercury powder, then add salt, cover it, and fly-refine for two days. First calcine with a gentle fire (a milder fire) for two days, then calcine with a fierce fire (a stronger fire) for two days, and finally allow it to cool for one day before taking it out. Add five liang of zhuxiong, and it is refined into “Geng.” The first method recorded in the Taiqing Danjing (Scripture of the Great Clarity Elixir) can be used for the five metals: after two days of gentle fire, two days of fierce fire, and one day of cooling, take it out, then add five liang of zhuxiong, and it is refined into “Geng.” Of these, the first method can be used for the five metals; the second method is suitable for ingestion. The Yujue (Jade Instructions) explains: following this method, after adding xiongzhu, fly-refine for a further three days—first gentle fire then fierce fire, then first fierce fire then gentle fire—and it will be refined into a frost-like substance.

Mao Jun’s Method of Subduing Mercury

Take one jin of mercury, three liang of xuanjing, two liang each of the five alums, three liang of crude mirabilite, three liang of rongsheng, five liang of yellow lead (minium), five liang of jinya, and three liang of paosha.

Pound all of the above substances and sift them into powder. Using good “left flavor” (vinegar), boil the mercury and the medicines in an iron tripod, keeping the liquid bubbling like fish eyes. When the left flavor is about to be used up, warm some more left flavor and add it in gradually. First boil for five days, then put in the remaining medicines and continue boiling for twenty days. The mercury will then become subdued and stabilized, and can be used for the five metals.

Hu Chengzi’s Method of the Mysterious Pearl (the original text remarks “Hao has no this method”; the wording here is suspected to contain errors)

Take one jin of mysterious pearl (xuanzhu), five liang of lead-white powder (already refined), and two liang each of xuanjing and true Gen.

First melt the lead and pour it into a vessel, then add the Mysterious Pearl (Xuanzhu) and mix them together. In a separate place melt Gen, add mercury, and blend it with Mysterious Essence (Xuanjing). Grind the mixture one hundred times, then decoct it in vinegar for thirty days and take it out. If it still cannot be subdued—that is, made stable through processing so as to be usable in subsequent compounding—add one ge of River Chariot (Heche), and it will be fully subdued.

Next take two liang of powdered iron essence mixed with four liang of tin, throw this into the mixture and stir, and the medicinal substance will precipitate. Grind the precipitate to a powder with vinegar, add it to the previously prepared Mysterious Essence, grind another hundred times, decoct in vinegar for thirty days and remove. If it is still not subdued, add one ge of River Chariot. Again take two liang of powdered iron essence mixed with four liang of tin, throw it in, and stir so that a precipitate forms. Grind this precipitate to a powder with vinegar, add it to the mercury prepared earlier and decoct for five days, and it will be subdued.

The method for subduing realgar is the same; Cipi and cinnabar are treated by the same method as well.

Take one jin of realgar, three liang of chalcanthite, one jin of alum, five liang of Mysterious Essence, three liang of unburnable wood, and five liang of yushi. Grind all these medicinal substances together into powder. Then break the realgar into pieces the size of wheat grains, place them in a silk bag, and boil them in vinegar together with the other powdered medicines for twenty days, then take them out. Remove the realgar, mix it with vinegar, and form it into cakes. Make a paste of the boiled dregs and wrap the realgar cakes in it, then place them in a pot filled with salt and calcine for ten days. This likewise enables the substance to subdue fire, with an effect similar to the “subduing of the five metals” (processing that stabilizes metals after refining so they can be used in compounding). One may take whichever is required for the refining of the five metals.

Method of the Mysterious Yellow Paste (Xuanhuang Gao)

Use mercury, realgar, Cipi, cinnabar, sulfur, and Zengqing that have already been subdued. All of the above are first processed by flying refinement three times, then further refined and subdued with water and wine. Shangdang poria, ginseng, and pine wood may also be used to subdue fire; their effect is likewise similar to the subduing of the five metals. One may take any one of them as needed for use with the five metals.

Method of the Mysterious Yellow Paste (Xuanhuang Gao)

Use mercury, realgar, Cipi, cinnabar, sulfur, and Zengqing that have already been subdued.

After the medicinal substances listed earlier have been fly-refined repeatedly three times, they are further refined with water and wine so as to subdue them. Shangdang poria, ginseng, and the medicinal product obtained from the Songqiao refining, together with the frost taken from mulberry-firewood ash lye, coptis, honey, and apricot kernels that have been boiled and refined with honey, are all boiled in water for seven days. Warm water should be added from time to time during this period; once the seven days are complete, the preparation may be used.

The previously refined medicines are then combined with the raw drugs, two sheng of honey being allotted to each portion of medicine, with half a jin each of herbal and mineral medicines. The fire must not be too vigorous, or the medicines will burn black; a gentle fire is used to refine them for fifteen days, stirring with a dry willow-wood spatula until a paste is obtained. All the medicines are ground to powder and placed in the pot, more honey being added if it runs out. After the full fifteen days of refining, one spatula-full is taken on an empty stomach, washed down with wine. The original text states that after taking it for one hundred days one may become an immortal. While taking the medicine one must not eat the Five Pungents or the meat of the twelve animals, nor go to filthy places.

If it is used to refine yellow, half a spoonful of this medicinal paste may be added to each jin of mercury to produce what is called “Upper Yellow,” which may also be ingested. Mercury is placed in a green bamboo tube, left uncovered, and boiled and refined with the “left flavor” (zuowei) mentioned in the original text, boiling without interruption for four days and nights; once the black smoke has fully dispersed it is taken out and formed into cakes. Cast into the fire, it can subdue the mercury frost. Fly-refining with this medicinal paste can subdue and stabilize mercury as well as the male and female medicinal substances.

Coptis, apricot kernels, and black beans are all ground to powder, half a jin of each, and one sheng of honey is added. They are refined over a gentle fire for fifteen days according to the previous method. One spoonful is taken, washed down with wine; it may also be used in the refining of yellow and white, and is said to have an excellent transmuting effect.

The mnemonic verse says:

“To restore my two medicinal pastes consumes my spirit and labor; to destroy my two medicinal pastes brings punishment from the Heavenly Bureau.”

The general import of the greater and lesser two elixirs and their transmuting action can be seen from this, and so will not be set out in further detail. So long as the Great Elixir can subdue mercury, it can also subdue the Eight Minerals. Once the pairing of primary and auxiliary medicines is understood and adjusted according to one’s comprehension, these methods are broadly the same as the ancient formulas, differing only slightly. The methods of the various schools are not identical; they must be weighed and adjusted according to the circumstances before it is possible to refine what is called the Returned Elixir (Huandan).

The mnemonic verse says:

Herein are the “Three Returns” (a Daoist alchemical term whose precise referents remain unclear), which concern the sounds and colors of heaven and earth. If one can refine a single shi (a unit of weight), two people may obtain the marvelous elixir, which also possesses the power of transmutation. By studying these three volumes of sacred methods, contemplating them with care and investigating the principles they contain, one will naturally be able to produce the yellow and white (that is, alchemical methods for making gold and silver). All Great Elixirs comprise thirty-six kinds of “waters”; so long as one obtains niter, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.

The Method of Liquefying Mica

Take one jin of mica, half a sheng of onion juice, half a sheng of honey, and half a jin of cassia juice. Mix these ingredients together, place them in a bamboo tube, seal the mouth of the tube firmly with lacquer, and bury it for seven days; it will then transform into a liquid. If it has not yet dissolved, steam it for one further day, then suspend the bamboo tube in a well and immerse it in the water; it will dissolve of its own accord.

The Method of Liquefying Jade

Take one jin of jade, ground to powder; one fen of magnetite, ground to powder; and one fen of cloud liquor. Seal and bury according to the previous method for ten days, and it will transform into a liquid. If one wishes to prepare the male-female elixir liquid (a liquid compounded from the two categories of “male” and “female” elixir ingredients), take one sheng of mica for each batch, blend one jin of niter with water, boil for one day, then suspend the vessel in a well and immerse it in the water; it will dissolve of itself.

The Method of Liquefying Jade

Take one jin of jade, ground to powder; one fen of magnetite, ground to powder; and one fen of cloud liquor. Seal and bury according to the previous method for ten days, and it will transform into a liquid. If one wishes to prepare the male-female elixir liquid, take one sheng of mica for each batch, blend one jin of niter with water, then add one jin each of the male and female powders, seal and bury according to the method above, and the elixir liquid will be produced.

The Method of the Purple Oil Elixir

Take one jin each of mercury and realgar. Mix and grind these two materials, knead them until they resemble dough, and wrap them in cooked rice, using glutinous millet in the process. First place this into the “ang” mentioned in the original text, changing it three times over the course of one day and one night. When this is complete, add mercury and grind three times. Place half a jin of niter beneath a copper vessel, mix the materials, and bury them for ten days. Then add one jin of niter and cook it by the double-boiling method (a water bath); after four days it will become a slurry.

To make the Purple Oil Elixir, mix and grind this with mercury, place it in a copper vessel, and fry over a gentle fire for three days and three nights. When the color begins to change slightly, switch to a strong fire and fry for nine days and nine nights. During this time the color will continually change; one need not be alarmed. After nine days it should turn purple. Then process it for six days and six nights according to the method the text calls “dingping ri feng zhi.” When the color becomes bright red, the elixir is complete. Use it to transmute lead, and the lead will display the five colors and become rich and lustrous.

The Method of Fire-Subdued Purple Powder

(The original text does not record the specific contents that follow.)

Combine one jin of mercury with half a jin of sulfur and refine them together for nine days, until the mixture takes on a purple color. Then heat it according to a regulated fire regimen. After six days and nights the material will vividly turn red, and at that point the refining is complete. Use this product to transmute lead, and the lead will display the five colors.

Method of Fire-Subdued Purple Powder

One jin of mercury, half a jin of sulfur.

Refine them according to the “Method for Subduing Various Medicinal Minerals.” When the purple powder floats to the surface, scrape it off and collect it. Alternatively, place the mixture in an iron bowl and heat it until the fumes have completely dissipated, then put it to use.

Method of Subduing Mercury by Means of the Purple Oil Elixir

First take refined lead essence. For every two or three liang of raw mercury, place it in a crucible (a fire-resistant vessel) with a small amount of ash spread on the bottom; then add mercury powder and purple oil elixir. Grind the previously blended lead and tin into powder, spread it over the top, and cover with ash. Place the crucible in an ash furnace and heat it for a period of time, repeatedly raising and lowering the temperature five times. On the final round, fire the crucible until it glows red, then pour the contents onto the ground, and the material will turn yellow.

Method of Producing an Aqueous Solution from Iron Powder

File iron into powder and soak it overnight in the urine of a black ox. Remove it and place it in an earthenware vessel. Arrange the iron filings and the powder of emblic myrobalan (yuganzi, a medicinal plant) in alternating layers—one layer of iron filings, one layer of emblic myrobalan powder—for a total of thirty-one layers. Seal the vessel and bury it in a shaded spot on the north side of a house. After twenty-one days the preparation will be complete.

Method of Refining Lead Flowers

Take one hundred jin of lead, melt it in an iron furnace, and stir it with an iron spoon. Then follow the procedure described above of layering iron filings with emblic myrobalan powder, sealing, and burying: arrange thirty-one layers in an earthenware vessel, bury it in a shaded spot on the north side of a house, and after twenty-one days the preparation will be complete.

Method of Refining Lead Flowers

Take one hundred jin of lead, melt it in an iron furnace, and stir it with an iron spoon. Then proceed according to the method for roasting yellow lead (minium). From every one hundred parts of lead, ten parts of lead flowers (powdered lead oxide) can be obtained.

Method of Turning White into Yellow

Take dry mercury and place it in a lead vessel produced in Gong County. Then add fire-subdued realgar and orpiment, mix them with the mercury, load the mixture into the vessel, and seal it. Wrap the vessel in three layers of medicinal clay and nourish and refine it for twenty-one days by alternating gentle fire and fierce fire. When the fire regimen has reached the proper degree, the material will turn yellow.

Purple Mud Method

One jin of yellow lead (minium), one jin of realgar, and five sheng of vinegar.

Place superior-quality medicinal materials in vinegar and soak them for a short while, then remove them and dry them in the sun. Repeat this process many times until the materials have completely absorbed the vinegar. Then place them in a crucible (a vessel used for heating and smelting) and heat with a gentle fire. Stop heating once the color turns red. If they are burned too white, the medicinal potency will be lost; if the materials burn to ash, they cannot be used.

Gold Powder Method

Dui, one liang; mercury, five liang.

Process them repeatedly according to the preceding method until the materials have completely absorbed the vinegar. Then place them in a crucible and heat with a gentle fire, stopping when the color turns red. If burned too white, the medicinal potency will be lost; if burned to ash, they cannot be used.

Gold Powder Method

Dui, one liang; mercury, five liang.

After melting the two together, add three liang of Diwei, mix and grind into a paste, and place in a crucible to carry out “inverted extraction” (a refining step described in the original text, the specific operation of which is not explained). After completion, wash thoroughly to remove the Diwei, then grind into powder, after which it can be used.

Method for Refining Yellow Wash Powder

Diwei, one jin; yellow grease, one jin; Hua powder, one lump.

Mix the above materials with one sheng of ehui (noxious ash) and warm-nourish them with fire for ten days, after which the preparation is complete.

Record of Metals and Stones

Distinguishing Sovereign and Minister

Lead and mercury are the principal medicines among the metallic and mineral drugs. Lead is the “sovereign,” mercury is the “minister.” Lead can regulate the five viscera; mercury can expel the Three Corpses (the spirits that, according to Daoism, reside in the human body, causing people to commit evil and diminishing lifespan). Zengqing (a mineral medicine used in Daoist alchemy) is the envoy, able to brighten the eyes; Laixiong is the general, able to pacify the four directions. Once these four divine medicines are refined, taking them enables one to achieve longevity.

Distinguishing Flying and Hiding

The original text here repeats the previous paragraph concerning lead, mercury, Zengqing, and Laixiong, then turns to the explanation of “flying and hiding.”

There are yin flying, yang hiding, yang flying, and yin hiding. Lead can constrain mercury, therefore it is called “yin hiding yang”; mercury can constrain lead, therefore it is called “yang controlling yin.” One liang of sulfur can subdue five liang of mercury, which belongs to “yang hiding yang.” From this it can be known that the power of mercury is inferior to that of lead. Adding sulfur to mercury is called “flying”; adding lead to mercury is called “hiding.”

Distinguishing Yin-Yang

The original text lists only this title up to this point, with no subsequent text.

“Yang” refers to a substance in a state of rising and soaring; “Yin” refers to a substance in a state of sinking and being constrained. The original text’s “fei” (soaring) and “fu” (sinking) describe the changes of substances rising and settling during the refining process. Substances that rise belong to Yang, while those that are subdued and settle belong to Yin. If an originally sinking substance turns to soaring, it transforms from Yin to Yang; if an originally soaring substance turns to settling, it transforms from Yang to Yin. When Yang Qi (vital energy) sinks and then soars again, it indicates that Yin has reached its extreme and Yang begins to arise; when Yin Qi soars and then sinks, it indicates that Yang has reached its extreme and Yin begins to arise.

Refining metals and stones requires the alternation of Yin-Yang so that the two combine. Using only Yang to subdue Yang, or only Yin to subdue Yin, cannot succeed. After sulfur and mercury are refined into frost, one liang of nine-times-turned lead essence is added and they are sublimed together. Ingesting one daogui (a very small ancient medicinal measure) is said to enable a person to undergo transformation. Also, putting raw mercury into lead and subliming for nine days, the frost obtained should adhere to the vessel. Each liang of this frost can transform one jin of material into treasure; after ingesting it, it is said one can prolong life and increase longevity.

Explanation of the Hard and the Soft

When lead is put into mercury, the lead manifests as hard; when mercury is put into lead, the mercury manifests as soft. The natures of the two change through their interaction, so that hardness and softness subdue and harmonize with each other. Mercury and lead can alter the hard and soft natures of themselves and of other substances: the soft, upon obtaining it, becomes hard; the hard, upon obtaining it, becomes soft. In refining the five metals, without lead and mercury it is ultimately difficult to succeed.

Explanation of Floating and Sinking

The nature of metal tends toward sinking, while the nature of stone tends toward floating. After refining and ingesting, the medicine is said to produce an upward soaring effect; if combined with metal so that they mutually penetrate, it will no longer float. Therefore the so-called “one stone penetrating one metal” is also called the Returned Elixir (huandan, a Daoist alchemical term referring to the elixir that returns to the original after being refined).

Explanation of the Principle of Similarity

Lead and xiong (usually referring to realgar) are identical in principle.

Explanation of Floating and Sinking

The nature of metal tends toward sinking, while the nature of stone tends toward floating. After refining and ingesting, it is said to produce an ascending effect; after combining with metal and mutually penetrating, it will not float up. Therefore “one stone penetrating one metal” is also called the Returned Elixir.

Explanation of the Principle of Similarity

Lead and realgar (a mineral medicine) are of the same nature. After being smelted and transformed, they belong to the category of gold. The female and male types of substances are like paosha (processed mineral material): if realgar is not blended with paosha, its color will not appear. Lead is the principal substance among metals, and realgar is the principal substance among stones, so lead is able to change the nature of metals and minerals. To transform metals and minerals, if there is no realgar and lead, it will ultimately be difficult to succeed. To transform the five metals, if the four yellows do not participate in the transformation and steaming-refining, it is also difficult to succeed.

Female materials can also cause the five metals and eight stones (a collective term in Daoist alchemy for various metals and minerals) to be subdued and transformed. Honey water can be used to examine their mother quality. After sulfur has undergone fire-subdued refining, its original color remains unchanged, and it can also cause metals and minerals to transform and take on color. When various materials are combined with one another, lodestone can be transformed into liquid, mercury-type substances can be transformed into shitngzhi (a mineral name), pi-type substances can be transformed into stone brain (a mineral name), causing the substance to congeal immediately without flying away; cinnabar treated with strong wine can correspond with lead-type substances; mulberry wood ash can correspond with tin-type substances; litharge can correspond with cengqing-type substances, and hematite can also correspond with similar minerals. In general, when the Yin-Yang of each substance is in harmony, it will transform according to its nature.

Distinguishing Mutual Overcoming Relationships

Gold fears mercury, silver fears pig iron and paosha. Gold mixed with silver becomes loose, silver mixed with copper becomes sparse; copper encountering iron becomes hard, and encountering tin it combines with it. The five metals and eight stones all avoid yuganzi, as well as hematite and unburnable wood; these things can turn various metals and minerals into liquid. Without niter, this effect cannot be achieved.

Lead, mercury, female and male substances, as well as various medicines that can cause metals and minerals to be fire-subdued, can be tested with fire: if they remain unmoved when burned by fire, do not melt and flow even when bellows are applied, and have no luster in color, this shows that they cannot transform metals and minerals.

Distinguishing the Spiritual Nature of the Medicines

Cinnabar is the essence of the sun, known as “the essence of the sun,” and like the offspring of the sun it possesses a generating and growing nature. The medicine refined from cinnabar can cause various metals and stones to fly upward; yet without mercury they cannot fly. If this is further combined with a refining method that reverses the divine bones, these substances can condense and fly upward together.

In the refining process, chalcanthite, yellow alum and white alum serve as auxiliary materials, gold and silver as the mother substances, zengqing (a copper mineral) as the general, and the Four Yellows (a collective term for several yellow minerals) as the ruler. Among the Four Yellows, realgar is the best; among the cyan-colored minerals, zengqing is the best. Realgar can reach the mysterious and wondrous realm, while zengqing can brighten the eyes. Using the three splendors of the large knot for boiling and refining is the superior method; next is boiling with animal fat, which also moistens the substances and yields good results. Alternating cold and hot washing must be strictly avoided, or the material may turn to powder.

Superior cinnabar is placed in red salt and yellow salt, covered and lined with porcelain ware, and after ten days of fire nourishing it is called “immediately prepared spirit powder.” Using it to transmute mercury turns the mercury into purple geng; the five minerals are thereby refined into soft gold, also termed “the mysterious and wondrous.” The same powder is then used to transmute superior true geng so that it combines and becomes firm.

If sulfur is combined with Tubo purple alum, mercury can be rapidly refined into gold; Persian red salt produces the same effect. Neither method requires any other medicines, and the products are regarded as superior treasures.

Before refining geng one must first refine lead and subdue realgar and mercury, that is, process them so that their properties become stable. Once realgar and mercury have been properly subdued, true treasures can be obtained without further medicines. The two are mixed so that earth and metal combine, then covered and lined with yellow salt and red salt and burned with a clear, empty fire of firewood for fifty days to produce the purple-light elixir, which is used to transmute the five metals. To transmute white gold, cyan minerals and hematite are employed. The method of yin-subduing the metal lord may follow the “flying-frost decoction establishment” procedure; stone-pavilion fat and emperor’s-daughter blood are also required, mixed with mercury, cinnabar and silver and fire-nourished for a hundred days to yield geng.

Furthermore, one jin each of Yellow Youth and Imperial Maiden are taken, their juices extracted and boiled for thirty days, yet they retain their original properties. This preparation can also treat mercury, causing it to generate sulfur that is then fire-refined through the transformations of the so-called Six Spirits, ultimately yielding red frost, a reddish product of elixir work.

Some of the five metals contain adulterants. Adding paosha, a reagent used in refining and testing metals, immediately reveals the genuine from the false and evens the color. Qilin resin, a medicinal gum akin to dragon’s blood, likewise keeps the hue from fading. Millet wine softens the materials; gardenia dyes them; emblic myrobalan removes impurities; hematite both enhances luster and improves texture. Yellow alum extracts coloring matter from various metals, minerals, and mercury sands. When the substances are repeatedly worked a thousand times in blocking fat they turn into silver whose consistency is as soft and yielding as mud. The scripture states that ingesting this confers longevity and greatly strengthens the sinews and bones. Cinnabar boiled and refined with paosha becomes pure.

On Silver and Mercury

Lead that has passed through nine cycles of return is called the nine returns; mercury that has undergone seven recurrences is called the seven recurrences. Combined and boiled together for sixty days they first become a dust-fine powder, then fly forth again resembling soft, yielding silver, forming the Returning Elixir. The scripture claims this elixir unites with the five metals, keeps the countenance from aging, slays the Three Corpses that dwell in the body and cause illness and evil, expels the Nine Worms, and can alter the hard or soft nature of materials. Cinnabar treated with paosha likewise becomes pure.

On Silver and Mercury

Lead refined through nine returns is termed the nine returns; mercury recast through seven recurrences is termed the seven recurrences. When the two are boiled together for sixty days they first turn into a dust-like powder that then disperses and flies out like soft silver, becoming the Returning Elixir. The scripture says it combines with the five metals, prevents the face from aging, kills the Three Corpses, drives out the Nine Worms, and changes the properties of substances: when lead and mercury join, the mass hardens; once it enters the five metals it grows soft. It can transform gold and lead and also unite mercury with lead. The lead-mercury union is itself called the seven recurrences; after sulfur is added and the mixture is flown in fire it is called nine-lead; further boiling nine times yields what is also known as the nine-five-seven recurrences.

Refinement employs three sheng of Flower Pond solution and two sheng of caoxi ash. The materials are rinsed five times, then washed and boiled for one day. They are next boiled three days in pig fat, poured off, and boiled in soap-pod ash lye until thoroughly clean, after which they may be used.

On Yellow Sprout

Take the nine-lead seven-reversion (lead that has undergone nine refinings and seven reversions), mix it with the flying-formed subdued-pan frost (the frost-like substance obtained from refining), and repeatedly refine it seven times. Collect the frost flowers, knead them into a moist lump, and calcine it on a three-platform cauldron (an alchemical vessel) until it shines and hardens like silver. At this point, even without an open flame, it can combine with the five metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and other metals), but it cannot yet be ingested.

Then calcine it seven more times and treat it with Ziming (a material or method used in the refining process, not explained in detail in the original), causing it to fuse like silver, lead, and mercury; after subdued fire (sealed in a specific way and heated slowly), it is called “medicinal lead.” Place the medicinal lead in an underground cauldron and continue to cook and refine it, producing yellow sprouts (the yellow product obtained from alchemy).

Mix the yellow sprouts with raw mercury (unrefined mercury) and grind them together, then fly-refine. That which is able to rise and float to the top is called “daily light ascent”; that which cannot rise is treated again with Ziming so that it fuses like silver, lead, and mercury, undergoes subdued fire, and is still called “medicinal lead.” Place the medicinal lead once more in an underground cauldron to cook and refine, producing yellow sprouts, then grind and fly-refine it with raw mercury according to the previous method. That which flies to the top is called “daily light ascent,” and that which does not fly up is called “water mother.”

That which flies up does so because the “son” is attached to the “mother,” remaining above; that which does not fly up is because the “mother” is attached to the “son.” Therefore both the substances that fly up and those that do not can be used, and there is no need to apply any additional coating.