《橐钥子》

Tuoyuezi (The Bellows-Flute Master) says: Heaven holds essence and splendor, and Earth holds numinous Qi (vital energy). If a person can obtain them, they can attain long life. Heaven's essence appears as the constellations, and Earth's numinous Qi congeals into physical form. Form and celestial image alike are brought into being by receiving Qi, and Qi in turn gives rise to Jing (essence) and spirit-power. One cannot abandon form to seek the celestial image, nor abandon the celestial image to seek form: if one takes only form, one loses the celestial image, and without the celestial image there is no way to take form.

Someone asked: "What is Heaven's essence, and what is Earth's numinous Qi? How can they bear on a person's life and death?"

The answer: "Heaven's essence and Earth's numinous Qi are both treasures. What are these treasures? Gold and jade. In ancient times the Mysterious Emperor (a deity of Daoist legend) carried gold into the grotto-heavens, and the Azure Youth (an immortal of Daoist legend) buried jade in the Palace of Yin. From this we know that if Heaven had no treasure, the sun and moon could not shine for long; if Earth had no treasure, the mountains could not remain steady for long; and if a person had no treasure, body and Shen (spirit) could not stay whole."

Someone asked: "Where do these treasures come from?" The answer: "The Qi of Yin-Yang congeals, and Heaven and Earth cover and bear it. Spring nourishes it with warmth, like benevolence; summer rears it with heat, like propriety; autumn tempers it with cool, like righteousness; and winter forges it with bitter cold, like wisdom. Through these transformations the treasure takes form. Where Yin Qi predominates, it becomes gold; where Yang Qi is stronger, it becomes jade. What I understand of the principle is no different."

Another asked: "Can it be refined from other substances?" The answer: "In refining any medicine, one uses Yin Qi to set Yang Qi in motion, turning softness into hardness. It is then nourished by the Qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and driven by the Qi of the four seasons, so the transformations of refining can themselves accord with nature."

The questioner asked: "Do Heaven and Earth endure because they possess treasures?" The answer: "Yes." "Are humans the same as Heaven and Earth?" "The same." The questioner continued: "If we are the same, why do Heaven and Earth last while a person ages in the blink of an eye?" The answer: "Heaven and Earth have no private desires, so their treasures are always preserved and they endure. The human heart has desires, so the treasures are depleted and life is brief."

The questioner said: "I understand the treasures of Heaven and Earth. Please explain the treasures of a person." The answer: "A person's treasures are these: bone as gold, marrow as jade, Shen as Jing, and numinous awareness as consciousness. Once a person is sunk in desire, bone and marrow are exhausted. When the marrow is spent, Jing and Qi can no longer fill the Shen; when the bone withers, numinous awareness can no longer perceive clearly. When awareness loses its clarity, the Shen scatters; when Jing and Qi cannot fill the Shen, Qi declines and perishes. Then the mind grows dull, the face wrinkles, mental strength fades, and the hair turns white. All these are the result of the body's treasures gradually draining away. When the treasures are gone, the person dies."

The questioner asked: "My face is already wrinkled and my hair is white. Am I about to die?" The answer: "Yes." They asked again: "If from now on I have no desires, can the treasures be restored?" The answer: "They cannot be restored." The questioner was bewildered: "You said earlier that Heaven and Earth endure because they are without desire, and that humans are no different from them. If I model myself on Heaven and Earth and have no desires, why can I still not restore my treasures?" The answer: "Treasures are hard to obtain and easy to lose. You have already lost them, so they are very hard to recover."

The questioner protested: "Are you deceiving me? You say that with treasure one lives and without it one dies. I have not died yet, which shows the treasure is still within me. And if it is still there, then so long as I have no desires I should endure. Yet now you say that even without desire I cannot restore it. Life is of the utmost importance. Is it something to joke about?"

The answer: "I am not mocking you." The questioner pressed: "Is there any other way to restore the treasures?" The answer: "You do not yet understand shenjian (the spirit's mirroring), and that is why you are confused." The questioner then went three days and nights without sleep or rest, thinking hard but still unable to grasp it, and so asked the teacher for detailed instruction.

The teacher said: "Shenjian means observing external things while also turning the gaze back upon oneself; that is why it is called shenjian." The questioner said: "I only knew how to observe external things. I never heard that one must also observe oneself." The answer: "If you cannot look back upon yourself, how can it be called shenjian? Since you do not understand, I will explain further. Although Heaven and Earth have no desires, their treasures are still steamed away by the four seasons and worn down by the turning of the Five Phases. The Mysterious Emperor and the Azure Youth buried gold and hid jade precisely to replenish what Heaven and Earth lose, so that the brightness of sun and moon does not fail and the stillness of Heaven and Earth does not shift. Now you have desires and your treasures are nearly spent, yet you do not know there is a principle of replenishment. You only want to guard withered bone and dried marrow. If you cling to this stubbornness, how can you compare yourself to Heaven and Earth?"

The questioner said: "I understand now. Ignorance and wisdom truly differ, and darkness and brightness can blind a person. Having heard these words, I believe that an aged face can regain its youth and white hair can turn black again."

The teacher said: "Without gold, an aged face cannot be restored; without jade, white hair cannot turn black. If you seek them diligently, you may hope to obtain them. I received my master's command and know that you can be taught. If you are willing to follow me and serve with your whole heart, I will surely transmit the method to you."

In this text, "gold" and "jade" refer both to the treasures used in cultivation and, metaphorically, to the marrow and the Jing and Qi within the human body. Shenjian emphasizes observing external things and turning the gaze back upon oneself. The original contains several repeated passages and apparent copyists' errors; the translation above follows the main sense to produce a coherent reading.

Tuoyue Zi (橐钥子) said: "Between Heaven and Earth there are five basic substances: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Not one of them can be missing, let alone in the Way of the Golden Elixir (金丹, Jindan). How could anyone overlook them? I see that you study diligently, and you will not blame me for guarding a secret. Now I will explain it to you. Please calm your mind and settle your body."

"What are called the 'Five Materials' (五才, Wucai) receive the Dao (道, the Way) from above, and so there are the five luminaries in the heavens, the five planets. Below, they gather in the earth, and so the Five Peaks stand guard over it. In the human body they form the five viscera. They circulate through all things without harming the true origin (真元, zhenyuan) of any of them."

Someone asked: "What is the true origin?" The answer: "It is primordial Qi (元气, yuanqi)."

The questioner asked again: "Are primordial Qi and the Five Materials the same thing?"

The answer: "When primordial Qi expands, it envelops the eight directions. When it contracts, it hides in the tiniest of places. It breathes Heaven and Earth in and out, passes between being and non-being, and governs the Five Materials, so that all things may be brought into being. Thus the Five Materials cannot be separated from primordial Qi, nor primordial Qi from the Five Materials. Spoken of together, their names seem the same, but seen separately, their functions differ. Primordial Qi is the ruler of the Five Materials, and the Five Materials are the ministers of primordial Qi. Ruler and ministers depend on each other, and neither can be lacking."

The questioner asked again: "Does refining the Golden Elixir require primordial Qi and the Five Materials?"

The answer: "Exactly so."

The questioner asked: "Do primordial Qi and the Five Materials have a definite form?"

The answer: "Primordial Qi is originally formless, and it appears as something with form only by relying on refined Qi. One who obtains and takes it can transcend life and death. Apart from the Five Materials, primordial Qi has no way to manifest itself, and without primordial Qi, the Five Materials cannot operate."

The man said: "Since childhood I have sought the profound Way, for more than ten years now. Everything you have said makes my eyes and ears feel new, and it has awakened something in my mind and spirit. Please tell me exactly what primordial Qi and the Five Materials are in the Golden Elixir."

The answer: "How could I have found anything outside the work of the Dao? These names seem distinct, but they speak of one and the same principle. Primordial Qi refers to mercury, and the Five Materials refer to the five metals."

The man said: "That mercury stands for primordial Qi I roughly understand, but I still do not know what the five metals are."

The answer: "The five metals refer to black lead."

The man asked again: "Is there only one kind of black lead, or are there others?"

The answer: "You do not know these things, so of course you are puzzled. Listen carefully as I explain. Mercury represents primordial Qi because it is in a state of chaos, and chaos is hard to explain through concrete images. When mercury is refined into cinnabar, it represents Lesser Yang. When cinnabar is in turn refined back into mercury, it represents Lesser Yin. When black lead is transformed into yellow lead oxide, it represents Greater Yang, and when yellow lead oxide is transformed back into black lead, it represents Greater Yin. The transformations of these two substances are marvelous beyond fathoming, and even the sages could not exhaust them. One is Yin and the other Yang (阴阳, Yin-Yang); they spread through the four directions, can change in a thousand ways, and can subdue the many minerals. They are the root of the Dao and the source of alchemical refining."

"Black lead is black on the outside, and black belongs to water, which in the numerology is one. Cinnabar is white within, and white belongs to metal, which in the numerology is four. One joined with four makes the number of the Five Phases (五行, Wuxing)."

The man said: "Your reasoning has come close to the utmost, and the crux lies in the divine elixir. Hearing your explanation today, I am both moved and grateful. Does the refining of the elixir use only these two substances, or are there other materials? Are these two the root, with the eight minerals as branches, leaves, and stalks?"

The answer: "Since you follow me, you need not worry about failing to learn. The Way cannot be sought in haste, and the truth is not obtained in a single morning or evening. On another day I will explain it to you in detail."

Note: The original text contains repeated passages and several suspected corrupt characters, and the above has been arranged according to the sense of the text. "Five Materials" refers to the Five Phases, "five luminaries" refers to the planets matched with the Five Phases, and "five metals" and "eight minerals" are alchemical terms.

According to the Tuoyuezi (橐钥子), the essentials of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) are revealed through the changes of the moon. The principle is very profound and cannot be explained in a few words, so I have drawn diagrams for you so that you can tell the phases apart.

On the evening of the third day, the moon rises from the Geng direction. The corresponding trigram is given in the original text as "Chen" (宸), though this character is suspected to be corrupt. Its essence (Jing) belongs to Wood, its flavor is sour, and its color is green-blue.

On the evening of the eighth day, the moon rises from the Ding direction, corresponding to the Dui trigram. Its essence belongs to Metal, its flavor is acrid, and its color is white.

On the evening of the thirteenth day, the moon rises from the Jia direction. It belongs to Metal, its flavor is acrid, and its color is white. The original text does not state which trigram corresponds here.

At dawn on the sixteenth day, the moon appears in the Xin direction, corresponding to the Xun trigram. Its essence belongs to Wood, its flavor is sour, and its color is green-blue.

At dawn on the twenty-third day, the moon appears in the Bing direction, corresponding to the Gen trigram. Its essence belongs to Earth, its flavor is sweet, and it is called "male" (xiong, 雄).

At dawn on the twenty-ninth day, the moon sets in the Yi direction, corresponding to the Kun trigram. Its essence belongs to Earth, its flavor is sweet, and it is called "female" (ci, 雌).

In this way, the passage uses the directions and dates on which the moon rises, appears, or sets to correlate the phases of the moon with the Bagua, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the five flavors, and colors. Several passages in the original appear to contain textual errors or omissions, so the translation follows the surviving text as it stands.

Master Tuoyue said: "If you wish to grasp this matter, you must devote your whole mind to cultivating Shen (spirit) and the Dao (the Way), so that you naturally become attuned to the Heavenly Tally (the verification or accord of the Way of Heaven)."

Someone asked: "I once heard you say that the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) are eight kinds of minerals. I have now seen six of them, but two remain unseen. Could you tell me all of them?"

He answered: "These two images are still concealed even by Heaven and Earth. How would I dare divulge the Dao? In truth, I never received secret instructions from a teacher. I came to understand only because my sincerity moved me into communion. Later, when I went forth to lecture, I gathered in my thoughts and entered a state of emptiness and non-being. After seven days and six nights, I awoke to understanding. When my Shen came into union, I seemed to see the Lord of the Five Metals (the immortal in charge of refining metals and minerals), who taught me the way of the "Three Transformations and Five Turnings." Yet I did not understand what it truly meant. Later, as I walked along the road, patting my belly and singing, [he] came to my door and said, 'I understand now!' I told him, 'Wonderful! You have attained the Dao of long life!'"

The Qi of the Four Seasons Shifts Between Hard and Soft, Forming the Order of the Year (Chapter Four)

Master Tuoyue said: "Heaven relies on the four seasons to bring forth the myriad things, and human beings rely on four kinds of breath to nourish the body. How, then, could the wondrous way of refining elixir over the furnace fire fail to model itself on the Dao of Heaven?"

Someone asked: "What is the wondrous way of refining elixir over the furnace fire?"

He answered: "As the Dao of Heaven moves, Yang qi (Qi, vital energy) stirs at the hour of Zi (midnight) and rises through the hour of Si (morning), corresponding to spring and summer. Yin qi begins to sprout at the hour of Wu (noon) and descends through the hour of Hai (night), corresponding to autumn and winter. When the qi of the four seasons moves without obstruction, the year is thereby formed. On the ninth day, the fire flares strongly, and the five metals soar and transform." Someone remarked: "When I heard you explain this before, it was as though I had emerged from a perilous, impassable place and then crossed the vast sea!" (The wording of the original text here appears to be corrupted.)

The Nine Turnings Are Complete and Return to Wuwei (Chapter Five)

Master Tuoyue said: "One Yin and one Yang together are called the Dao. The Dao begins with one and ends with nine. Therefore the Golden Elixir must pass through nine turnings, and one must cross a journey as arduous as the vast sea."

Master Tuoyue (橐钥子) said: "The alternating movement and transformation of Yin-Yang is the Dao (the Way). The Dao begins with 'One' and ends in 'Nine.' For this reason, the Golden Elixir's nine transformations (a Daoist alchemical term referring to the nine successive stages through which the elixir method is refined) must be accompanied by the Five Constants (five enduring principles or virtues). Emperors and kings are born of Yin-Yang, and they too must observe all the phenomena of heaven and earth in order to carry out the Way of Heaven.

All phenomena interpenetrate, and spirit (Shen) is luminous and clear. If one cannot unite and integrate these principles, and understands only a single strand of them, how is one any different from a broken tile or a pebble? Therefore, one who succeeds in cultivation can transform bone and flesh, make the body light and agile, perfect the true body, and attain an expansive, unobstructed freedom and ease, until reaching the liberated realm of the Great Luo Heaven (the highest heaven in Daoist cosmology).

At that point, life and death are like ice melting or foam floating on water, and the defilements of the mortal world disperse like smoke. One may pay homage at Daojing (the "Inverted Shadow," a realm of the immortals in Daoist legend), travel to where the Jade Emperor dwells, and bow before the palaces of pure numinous light. Some receive their commission at Shuhua (a place or divine realm name in the original text), and others receive their registers of appointment in the Xiaohan (the high firmament, the celestial realm). One can also bring blessings upon seven generations of ancestors. By accumulating good deeds and following the Way of Wuwei (non-action), without any deliberate display, accomplishment comes about naturally."

Note: The closing phrases "Master Qiyue's text concludes" (弃钥子竟) and "'Rou' (柔) should read 'Qi' (弃)" are annotations from the original text, indicating that the character in the title at the end of the chapter should be 弃.