《灵飞散传信录》

I and Huishu, Censor of the Censorate from Boling, both aspired to rise above the dusty world and nourish the body, and we once agreed to roam the mountains and seas together, seeking learning and the Dao (the Way). We observed that those who seek the Dao are often impractical. They are ashamed to begin with what lies close at hand and within reach, and pursue only the lofty and profound. Before laying any foundation, they long to ascend as immortals, believing that merely taking the Golden Elixir (Jindan) will lengthen their years and enroll them at once in the registers of the immortals.

If a person's heart is not truly set on the Dao, and their bodily cultivation is no different from that of ordinary people, then the teeth and hair will still age, and the countenance will still change with the years. This shows that Qi (vital energy) and blood are being depleted within, and the outward appearance changes accordingly. While illness remains uncured, desires and appetites keep scorching body and mind, and the result may be an earlier death than that of ordinary people. Many in this world who crave what is murky and benighted are in just this condition.

To undertake a cultivation different from the ordinary, one must seek reliable methods. First, examine the complexion and the teeth, and confirm that the body truly differs from the ordinary. Once it is clear that the time of decline has not drawn near, one may hope for a long life and possess the foundation for immortal cultivation. Afterward, cultivate the mind and spirit (Shen) until they are clear, still, empty, and luminous. Seek the essential methods for taking medicines such as lingzhi mushrooms and jade, so as first to preserve the body. Whenever either of us gains new knowledge, we should explain it to the other and guide one another.

On another day, Huishu said to me, "A guest spoke of Commandant Pei, whose hair had turned white early in life but who later regained a youthful face. When asked what had been taken, the answer was that it was the efficacy of Lingfei San (Powder of Numinous Flight)." We both knew that this formula is recorded in the Qianjin...

(The original text breaks off after "We both knew that this formula is recorded in the Qianjin," so it has been translated from the surviving words.)

Huishu later told me: "A guest spoke of Commandant Pei, whose hair had turned white early but later regained a youthful complexion. When asked what he had taken, he said it was the efficacy of Lingfei San (Powder of Numinous Flight). Everyone knows this formula; it is recorded in Volume 28 of the Qianjin Fang (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold)."

Huishu continued: "I have heard that Fan Yang Junyi, Supernumerary Gentleman of the Bureau of Merit, once refined elixirs together with a guest named Wu Hanren, a practitioner of the Way of Qi (气, Qi, vital energy), and sought out the formula for Lingfei San. Junyi said: 'The Qianjin Fang records it only briefly, and much of its content has not been reliably verified. This formula originally comes from the Taiqing Xianjing (Scripture of Great Purity and the Immortals). One should find the complete text and then prepare and take the medicine according to its method.' Junyi privately kept this matter in mind, though he did not know whether he would be able to find it."

At that time, Junyi was staying temporarily in the residence of the late Li Mi, Secretary of the Secretariat. One day, at leisure, he happened to walk into a small room, where books were piled high on the tables, most of them damaged and incomplete, scattered in disorder. He had looked through nearly half of them when he suddenly discovered one scroll whose opening was intact, its characters and ink exquisitely fine, titled Taiqing Zhenjing (True Scripture of Great Purity). When he opened it, he found within it precisely the formula for Lingfei San.

Junyi held the scroll and recited it, delighted to feel that this was exactly what he had sincerely been seeking, and hurried to tell his companion in elixir refining. The companion then burned incense and bowed in reverence, washed his hands clean, and respectfully held the scripture (经, Jing) in both hands. He said to Junyi: "This is truly a efficacious object that an immortal official left behind on purpose. It can lengthen a person's years; being recorded in an immortal book, it is enough to encourage later seekers of the Dao (道, Dao, the Way)."

Huishu was on close terms with both Junyi and me, and we trusted one another. We agreed to visit and, while there, to ask permission to make a copy. I rode in a carriage to Junyi's home, asked about the matter and listened to him recount how it had unfolded, and was then able to copy the formula, after which I gave the copy to Huishu.

In the formula, cloud powder is listed as the chief ingredient. That year I received an appointment to serve in Zhongling, and Mount Lu lay within my jurisdiction. The waters of Lufeng Peak rush and surge, with branches flowing into the valley streams. The local residents and fangshi (方士, masters of techniques) would draw in the spring waters from the mountain in springtime, washing the material in the water and drying it in the sun, until it became as white as frost and snow, and as round as pearls or coiled spiral shells, as though formed naturally. They took this material to village markets to sell, and relied on it for food and clothing; their shops kept stock all year round, and they drew from it daily without limit.

The ingredients this formula requires are hard to find, and only cloud powder can be obtained here. It seems that Heaven truly used this place to help fulfill my wish, and to let those of like mind benefit from it. Otherwise, how could matters have coincided so neatly, and precisely fulfilled the earlier agreement?

I have privately treasured this record of efficacious remedies and have never forgotten it, day or night. On this trip, while traveling on business through the Shangluo region, I stopped to rest at Baozang Lodge, and there I had the very experience described here. It truly seems that Heaven used the occasion to bring my intentions to fruition. I also wished to share what is beneficial with like-minded people. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence occur, so exactly confirming an earlier agreement?

A traveler who had come from Neixiang to lodge there said that a man in that district named Deng Yuanrong had once served as acting magistrate. Past seventy-five, Deng showed no aging in face or hair. The eyes were bright, and in handling heavy administrative duties and receiving guests, Deng's energy was about that of a man in the prime of life. I asked what Deng had obtained, and the traveler said it was a marvelous prescription.

After making inquiries locally, I learned that all of this came from taking "Lingfei San" (the Powder of Numinous Flight). As for how it was transmitted and what it does, it is said that someone once met Registrar Tang, to whom a Daoist priest personally imparted it, saying it was a secret formula of the immortals. To see its efficacy, one could use it to change the hair at the temples very quickly. Deng Yuanrong's father had an aged face and hair, so Deng wanted to test the medicine, sought a portion from someone, and had the father take it for thirty days. The father's appearance and hair soon returned to their former state. Deng took only half a portion and has remained unchanged for several decades. Deng regretted that the medicine's power had not yet been fully realized before the dosing was interrupted. Later, Deng sought the medicine from afar, but the household was already in straitened circumstances, and the necessary ingredients and money were hard to gather. Even so, Deng still appears different from ordinary people today. Deng also said that while in Chang'an, Deng had heard that the two imperial sons-in-law, Zhang and Pei, had also taken this medicine and that both showed changes in their eyes, which corroborated what had been heard earlier.

Seen in this light, the prescription is truly marvelous, and reports of its effects have been confirmed one after another. Some have seen it with their own eyes and then asked for details; these accounts have gradually accumulated into clear evidence. Master Sun, a recluse of profound learning and familiar with the essential techniques of the Daoist tradition, surely did not collect and compile this record by chance.

I had the good fortune to meet Huishu and Xing Junyi, and we were indeed able to fulfill our earlier agreement. We vowed to take this medicine, hoping in time to test its efficacy, and to continue adding new accounts to this book.

Recorded respectfully by Qi Tui of Gaoyang, on the fifth day of the fourth month of the seventh year of Yuanhe.

The Taiqing Jing (Scripture of Great Purity) says: Anyone who wishes to summon the myriad spirits and seek ascent to immortality should first fast and purify the heart, wash the head with scented water, and bathe the whole body. Only after practicing goodness continuously for one hundred days may the divine powers be summoned. Those who wish to seek immortality should request the Powder of Numinous Flight (Lingfei San) from the Perfected (zhenren, immortals who have attained the Dao) of the Northern Peak, the Western Peak, and the Central Peak. If one obtains and takes it, one will surely become an immortal.

The Perfected say: Anyone who wishes to become an immortal, never growing old, living forever without dying, with white hair turning black, lost teeth growing back, a lustrous complexion, and bones and flesh that glow as though the inside of the body could be seen from outside, should take the Powder of Numinous Flight.

Laojun (Lord Lao) says: This is the essential key of the esoteric arts, and the very foundation through which the Way of cultivating immortality is realized. If a Daoist priest takes it, becoming an immortal is not difficult; if a guardsman takes it, he can roam freely upon Mount Hua; if an ordinary person takes it, the years of aging will reverse and youth will return; if an elderly person takes it, their appearance will revert to that of youth.

Laojun says: Taking this medicine allows one to stay free of aging. After ten days of taking it, one need not eat for three years; after three years of taking it, one may live for three thousand six hundred years. What I say applies not to one person alone: everyone can attain the true Dao through it, preserving the self and becoming immortal.

Formula of the Powder of Numinous Flight

One jin of mica; half a jin of prepared poria (fuling), or alternatively one jin; seven liang of wutong seed kernels; seven liang of stalactite; five liang of chrysanthemum, though some accounts give fifteen liang; and four liang of mu (the original text is corrupt at this point). Another version records using seven liang of ginseng and twelve liang of dried rehmannia, which may also be fifteen liang; seven liang of cinnamon heart-bark; and seven liang of dipsacus root (xuduan).

Phrases in the original, such as "xia ling" and "also fifteen liang of mu," appear to be corrupt, so the names and dosages of the ingredients cannot be fully determined.

After the first nine ingredients have been prepared, take nineteen jin of fresh asparagus root (tianmendong), pound and wring it to extract the juice, and use this to bind the powdered medicine into pills. If there is plenty of juice, it is just right for mixing; if there is too little, add water to make up the difference. Place the medicine in a copper vessel and suspend it inside a pot used for steaming rice, then steam it together with one hu and two dou of glutinous millet until cooked. Once steamed, remove the medicine, dry it in the sun, and grind it until it is fine and even. The dose is one square-inch spoonful each time, taken once every seven days. The scripture (Jing) states that this medicine is non-toxic and may be taken in large amounts.

The scripture says that after ten days of taking the medicine the body becomes light and robust, after twenty days the ears and eyes become sharp and clear, and after seventy days white hair turns black. If the hair has already fallen out and the teeth are all gone, take twenty-seven spoonfuls of the medicine, mix them with white honey, and pound the mixture two hundred times. Form pills the size of parasol-tree seeds, which should yield about eighty-one pills. When dried, the pills are translucent inside and out, like bright moon pearls, or perhaps like pearls glowing like fireflies, and are red or white in color. The scripture says this is the medicine that immortals constantly carry with them and take.

To make the hair and teeth grow again, take seven pills a day, three times daily, until the hair has grown back and no longer turns white, and the teeth no longer fall out. If one wishes to enter the deep mountains and go without eating, the medicine can also be made into these pills; taking seven a day is said to leave one free of hunger. If the hair has not yet fallen out or turned white, one may take the medicine simply as a powder; the scripture says that in this way one may live five or six hundred years without white hair. For those whose hair has already turned white, take seven pills three times a day by the method described above; the scripture says that after taking them one may live to seven hundred years before aging and losing hair.

Those who seek the Dao (the Way) and take this medicine, if they wish to avoid white hair and tooth loss, should take it twice a day; the scripture calls this the essential key to attaining immortality. The scripture adds that the loss of teeth and the shedding of the corpse to depart as an immortal (shijie) is a lower stage on the path of cultivation.

When prepared in this way and taken as "Lingfei San" (Numinous Flight Powder), the scripture claims that after three days one's strength doubles, after five days the blood vessels are full, after seven days the body is light and robust, after ten days the complexion is lustrous and the mind is clear and sharp, and after fifteen days one does not feel tired from labor; even walking slowly, one can keep pace with a horse. After twenty days one no longer feels hunger, and after thirty-five days one can see with light at night.

Method for Processing Mica

Take one jin of white salt and mix it with one jin of mica, then pound them together until broken into small pieces.

Pound mica into a fine powder without sifting out the coarse bits, put it into a multilayered cloth bag, and knead and press it hard. There is no fixed length of time for the kneading; continue until the powder becomes fine. It is said that one who prepares it this way can walk as fast as a horse. After taking it for twenty days, one no longer feels fatigue, and by the thirty-fifth day, one sees a glow when looking at things in the dark of night.

Methods for Processing Mica

Take one jin of alum and mix it with one jin of mica, then pound them together into pieces.

Pound the mica into a fine powder without sifting out the coarse bits, put it into a multilayered cloth bag, and knead and press it hard. Then rinse it in water until the taste of salt is completely washed away. Next, place it in a silk bag, hang it up to dry, and once dry it becomes a powder.

There is another method: boil the mica in salt broth until it dissolves completely into a muddy paste, then knead and press it into powder. There is yet another method: take one jin of mica and one dou of coarse salt, soak them in a copper vessel for three or four days, steam them for a day, and finally pound them in a mortar into powder.

Another method of taking it: boil one jin of mica in water with three dou of crude Mirabilite (pu xiao), take it out and grind it into powder, then air-dry it and spread it out, examining it in the sunlight for fine glinting points. Only when none remain is it acceptable. If the powder still contains fine glinting points, do not take it. Taking this medicine over a long period may be fatal, so it must be refined with great care.

This account originally came from a genuine scripture (zhengjing) obtained by Lu Sixun, and was copied down here afterward. The scripture says that after the mica is pounded, it is placed in a thick cloth bag and squeezed, so that the powder passes through the fabric into a leather bag, and it is then pressed again and again. Broadly speaking, this method is inferior to pounding and grinding it in a stone mortar by the water's edge at Mount Lu, which produces the lightest and finest powder. If you make it yourself, it may be hard to meet the standard; if many fine glinting points remain in the powder, they will harm the body, so be extremely cautious.

After taking the medicine, one must avoid eating carp, and it is best to eat no fish of any kind. Be mindful, too, that knives and cutting boards may be contaminated by forbidden foods, causing considerable harm. In addition, avoid raw meat with blood in it, raw dried meat, and the like; soups made from cooked blood, however, are not forbidden. Raw scallions, raw garlic, raw chives, brewed vinegar, peaches, plums, quince, and sour-tasting foods are likewise unsuitable. One should also avoid food taken from running water. However, when traveling by boat along a river, or when beside the Han streams or wells, it is acceptable so long as the food is cooked before eating. Barley weakens the potency of mica and should also be carefully avoided.

Taking this medicine can stop "ye xue" (the name of the ailment as given in the original text), while also nourishing a calm mind and regulating the breath (qi); if it proves effective, the results will come more quickly. Because it cannot be taught in person, these annotations have been written here.

In his Secret Instructions on Nourishing Life (Yangsheng Mijue), Recluse Sun says: "In the more than thirty years since I obtained this formula, I at first merely found it admirable and appealing, yet I harbored doubts and dared not take it. Over many years I made inquiries in every direction, and only after several people devoted to nurturing life took it and truly found it effective did I take it according to the formula. So long as one practices it steadily without interruption, the effort expended will not be in vain."