《白云仙人灵草歌》

Song of the Spirit Herbs by the Immortal Baiyun

The preface is missing.

The Dadao herb (达道草) bears purple flowers, and its stems and leaves are blue-green.

How should one go about refining mercury? Do not set aside this Song of the Spirit Herbs. People only know that the Chiqin herb is good, yet it is the Dadao herb that is used more often. Used on its own, this herb can be made into a sandy substance.

The Bailu herb (白禄草) is blue-green in color.

The Haibao herb (海宝草) bears red flowers, and its stems, calyxes, and leaves are all green.

One may study the immortal arts for ten years and still not understand the spirit herbs. The Bailu herb can serve as the "cabinet" (a supporting or complementary substance used in refining the medicine), while the Haibao herb is good at softening metals. They grow on sandy ridges and are often prized by Daoists. When cinnabar is placed among them, true mercury can be extracted from it. Although the flowers are red, the roots reach down deep. Both herbs can soften the five metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and the like).

The Zizhi herb (紫枝草) bears pale black flowers, and its stems, calyxes, and leaves are all green.

This herb is not rare, and when unearthed it often grows three branches together. When cinnabar meets it, the cinnabar takes on a precious white color. If mercury is boiled with it, the mercury becomes sluggish and resistant to change.

The Hesui herb (合穗草) has flowers divided into two petals, pale purple in color, while the stems and leaves used in medicine are green.

Among the marvelous auxiliary substances sent down from heaven, none compares with the Hesui herb that one must seek out. Refining medicines with it is truly praiseworthy, and ordinary plants cannot be compared with it. All other herbs soften after frost, but this one alone does not wither, and neither cold nor heat can harm it. Refining medicines with it can increase wisdom. This herb can serve as an auxiliary to the Great Medicine (大药).

The Wangxian herb (望仙草) bears red flowers, and its leaves are blue-green.

When plants spread out like mist in spring, do not rush to gather it. Wait until the Wangxian herb has fully grown before harvesting. When it is used to refine cinnabar juice, the mercury will coagulate and then dry.

The Jinlian herb (金莲草) bears red flowers, and its leaves are blue-green.

In alchemical refining, one must be especially careful to choose the subtle and wondrous herbs, and only the Jinlian herb need be gathered. It can serve as an auxiliary. When one meets ordinary people, there is no need to say more.

The Yuye herb (玉液草) bears red flowers, and its leaves are blue-green.

The Yuye herb can turn medicines red and is in harmony with the Great Medicine. When it is made into an herbal sand, it shows special efficacy when it meets precious substances.

The Dami herb (大秘草) bears red flowers, and its leaves are blue-green.

Seeking the Great Dao requires a firm resolve, and this herb in particular must be remembered. It is especially able to subdue the Four Spirits, and it can also be used in refining the Great Two Qi (气, vital energy).

The Jinfeng herb (金风草).

The seeds of this herb are black, its roots white, and its flowers and leaves green. Immortals prize it as dearly as a treasure held in the palm. When boiled with true mercury, it can be made into hard grains of cinnabar sand; its white substance congeals into Geng metal (gengjin), and its weight is considerable.

Xianren Qin Herb (Immortal's Qin Herb)

This herb has red flowers and green leaves and bears horned fruits. It grows in great forests and tastes sweet, and it is especially able to subdue white sulfur.

Baojian Herb (Precious Sword Herb)

This herb grows with three stalks together, bearing yellow flowers and black seeds, and it grows on sandy ground. Its taste is bitter and its sap is white, and it is especially able to subdue solitary cinnabar. Sand made with its sap turns red in body and does not melt in fire.

Linquan Herb (Forest Spring Herb)

This herb resembles the daylily and grows among great forests, with red flowers and green leaves. Its taste is sweet, and it is able to subdue solitary realgar.

Diyu Herb (Burnet Herb)

This herb is bluish-green and grows beside wasteland. Its taste is astringent, and it is able to subdue sal ammoniac. When it is boiled to refine minerals, it is said that one who takes the result will fall ill less often and have a light, healthy body.

Jinxian Herb (Golden Thread Herb)

This herb grows beside mountain streams, with yellow flowers and green leaves, and its taste is pungent. All kinds of cinnabar sand may be wrapped in its flowers and leaves, and it is said that in this way they can withstand fierce fire.

Dibao Herb (Earth Treasure Herb)

This herb has an upright stalk and fine leaves, and its color is dark green. It grows by the water. Its leaves are fine and its taste is bitter, and it is especially able to subdue realgar sand. When its juice is extracted and used in refining, it is said to make the sand material resistant to fire, with a color like amber.

Datong Herb (Great Passage Herb)

This herb has red flowers, green leaves, and black seeds. Its taste is sweet, and it grows by riverbanks. Its natural juice can be used to congeal sand.

There is also another herb called "Datong," with red flowers, leaves that appear greenish, black seeds, and white roots. Its taste is not pungent, and it grows by riverbanks all year round. It is able to congeal solitary sand.

Tianjiang Herb (Heaven-Descended Herb)

This herb grows in yellow sandy soil. It bears blue-green flowers, green leaves, and red seeds, and its taste is pungent. It can subdue the "Four Spirits Elixir" (Si Shen Dan, a kind of elixir). This secret is hidden among eight kinds of herbs, and the herb can also be used to coagulate cinnabar.

Zhi herb (the "numinous fungus") lengthens life and extends years; Five Phoenix herb condenses into a precious elixir; Six Dragon herb can serve as the "cabinet" (gui, a vessel used in alchemy to hold or combine ingredients); Seven Treasure herb excels at nurturing and refining "geng" (an alchemical term for metallic substances). Jade Pillar herb is fragrant, while Green Spring herb tastes bitter and pungent. Ten Thousand Passes herb is used specifically for boiling and refining mercury, and Heaven Descending herb can swiftly be made into an elixir.

Ruoluoyi Herb

This herb grows at the edge of forests and is pungent in taste. It can subdue frost of arsenic or mercury-bearing "fen shuang" (an alchemical substance containing mercury) and does not fear fierce fire. When made into a juice, it can be used to refine many kinds of medicinal substances. Its leaves are green and grow along five branches. In alchemical work, it is combined with "Precious Male" (bao xiong, the name of an elixir or refining material) to boil and refine mercury into a precious elixir substance, and it can also be used to produce cinnabar and many metallic elixirs. This herb is especially well suited to alchemical work.

Great Dao Herb

This herb grows in sandy soil. It is sweet in taste, with blue-green leaves and white seeds; each flower bears two large seeds, and it can be used to refine cinnabar and extract mercury.

The fame of the Great Dao Herb spreads far and wide; the Qi of Yin-Yang condenses into a pair of new seeds. Using it to extract mercury, and refining it over many years, one finally learns of the wondrous efficacy hidden within it.

A secret transmission says: The Great Dao Herb has fine leaves, and each flower bears two seeds; it can extract mercury naturally. Its seeds are white, and each flower bears two large seeds, which can be used to refine cinnabar and extract mercury.

The fame of the Great Dao Herb spreads far and wide; the Qi of Yin-Yang condenses into a pair of new seeds. Using it to extract mercury, and refining it over many years, one finally learns of the wondrous efficacy hidden within it.

A secret transmission says: The Great Dao Herb has fine leaves, and each flower bears two seeds; it can extract mercury naturally. Once mercury touches it, it loses its potency.

Longevity Herb

This herb grows beside water. It is sweet in taste, bears red seeds, and greatly subdues arsenic.

The efficacy of this herb is rarely seen in the world; without a genuine transmitted text, few people know of it. Immortals also call it the "Longevity Herb," because it is especially skilled at subduing "fire arsenic" (huo pi, a type of arsenic substance treated by burning and refining in alchemy) through firing and refining.

White Crane Herb

This herb grows in great forests. It is bitter in taste, with blue-green leaves, and on its own it can coagulate cinnabar.

The White Crane Herb is quite efficacious: its leaves are blue-green, and its flowers are naturally red. It can subdue true mercury; this herb of long life grows in the forest.

Moluo Herb

The Moluo Herb has green stems and green leaves and bears purple flowers, with abundant sap. It is called the "Great Dao," is said to prolong life and extend years, and can also subdue ingredients and serve as the medicinal cabinet in alchemy.

Five Clouds Herb

The Phoenix Green herb bears red flowers and green leaves.

Those who set their minds on cultivating the Dao (the Way) and hope to transcend the ordinary world and become immortals should seek out the Shencao Jing (Scripture of Divine Herbs). Matters of the immortal Way must always be treated with reverence and never taken lightly, for fear of shortening one's lifespan; one should regard this text as a treasure held in the palm of the hand. If you wish to understand "gengong" (庚汞, an alchemical term referring to alchemical materials or their transformations), you must gather caofengqing (草凤青, "grass of the green phoenix").

Xianzhi Herb (显志草)

This herb grows in great forests. It is sweet in flavor, bears yellow flowers and black seeds, and has green leaves. Its juice can be used to cook and refine true mercury cinnabar.

The Xianzhi herb is truly worthy of praise: it can put forth yellow flowers even in snow, and neither cold nor heat hinders its growth. By its own power it forms cinnabar.

Yuzhu Herb and Bifengqing (玉柱草、碧凤青)

The Xianzhi herb grows in great forests. It is sweet in flavor, bears yellow flowers and black seeds, and has green leaves. Its juice can be used to cook and refine true mercury cinnabar.

The Xianzhi herb is truly worthy of praise: it can put forth yellow flowers even in snow, and neither cold nor heat hinders its growth. By its own power it forms cinnabar.

The Yuzhu herb bears jade-green flowers and has bluish-green leaves.

Grind this herb and take its natural juice, then blend it with sulfur until dry and moist are evenly balanced, and place the mixture in a Dingzhou vessel (定州合子, a container used in alchemy). First nourish it gently over a mild fire until it turns red, then calcine it over a strong fire for a whole night to produce white sulfur, which turns to liquid when it meets fire.

Mingyue Herb (明月草)

Shuihong Herb (水红草): Its flowers are red, the herb itself is clear and lustrous, and its stem is red.

This herb is naturally called Shuihong. Its power to subdue mercury is not great, but it is especially suited to subduing white sal ammoniac, and it can also subdue other minerals. The herb may also be taken as food, and it is highly effective in treating water-qi disorders (水气病, ailments associated with the retention of fluids).

Hongyan Herb (红焰草)

This herb grows in water, bears red flowers, and has green leaves and a pungent flavor. Cinnabar formed from herbs, as well as cinnabar formed from various kinds of stone, can all be subdued with the Hongyan herb, and its effect is said to be entirely reliable.

Dijiao Herb (地蕉草)

The Dijiao herb bears red flowers and black seeds, and its stems and leaves are bluish-green.

For subduing substances, and especially for its lofty and pure nature, none is better to gather than the Dijiao herb. It can not only extract true mercury but also subdue the niter found in stone.

The Dijiao herb can subdue saltpeter and extract mercury.

Baoshan Herb (宝山草)

The Baoshan herb bears red flowers and has green leaves.

This numinous herb is called Baoshan and grows in great forests. The immortals especially treasure it in secret and borrow its power, and its value can reach ten thousand coins.

The juice of this herb can be used to cook mercury, turning it into a hard, sandy substance that can also be sealed away and made into "precious cinnabar" (baosha). (The original phrase "yi gui jian baosha" appears to be corrupted or missing characters, and its meaning is unclear.)

Little White Lu Herb (Xiao Bailu Cao): Its flowers are red, while its stems, calyces, and leaves are all green.

This herb bears red flowers and green leaves, grows on high ridges, and has a pungent taste. Whenever one wishes to refine medicinal substances of the human world that tend to scatter and flow away, such as medicinal calomel powder, mercury, and drugs for ingestion, this herb can be used in the burning and refining, and it is said that the potency of the substances will not be lost.

Little Golden Thread Herb (Xiao Jinxian Cao): Red flowers, green leaves.

This numinous herb is bright and lustrous, and the Golden Thread Herb has the most solid medicinal strength. It can be made into a rare sandy substance, and when the medicinal material is wrapped in its leaves, it will naturally dry out.

This herb is pungent in taste and grows in great forests. It is able to refine the great medicine. To treat living mercury and sandy substances, one need only wrap them in the herb's leaves and place them in the fire to be refined, and a precious treasure will result.

Pearl Herb (Zhenzhu Cao)

Among numinous herbs, none is better suited to preparing medicines than the Pearl Herb. When medicines are refined with it, there is nothing to worry about, and those who take it may prolong their years and extend their lives.

The juice of this herb is sweet, and it bears yellow flowers and grows deep in the forest. It is said that those who come upon it can prolong their lives and be free from illness.

Golden Luan Herb (Jinluan Cao)

Among the secret medicines of the Great Dao (Dao, the Way) is the Golden Luan Herb, which immortals do not readily transmit. It can be used to seal and refine geng mercury (gengong), and its effect in gathering and refining precious substances surpasses that of the Spring-Gushing Herb (Yongquan Cao).

This herb grows along riverbanks, bears yellow flowers and green leaves, and is able to refine and seal away geng mercury. It can also be used to make the sealing and refining preparations that the Spring-Gushing Herb produces.

Sea Pomegranate Herb (Haishiliu Cao): Red flowers, green leaves.

For gathering and refining mercury without end, nothing is better than the Sea Pomegranate Herb. If one does not encounter this numinous herb, where else would one search, risking one's life?

This herb is bitter in taste, yet the fruit it bears is sweet. It can treat living mercury, causing it to dry up and solidify.

Sea Pomegranate Herb (Haishiliu Cao): Red flowers, green leaves.

For gathering and refining mercury without end, nothing is better than the Sea Pomegranate Herb. If one does not encounter this numinous herb, where else would one search, risking one's life?

This herb is bitter in taste, yet its fruit is sweet. Its juice can cause living mercury to dry up, and for this reason it is also called the "Withering Mercury Herb" (Kuguang Cao).

Red Indigo Herb (Honglan Cao) (The original text ends with a "3," probably a version marker.)

Gathered Treasure Herb (Juzhen Cao): Its stems and leaves are all green.

The terms "subduing medicines" (fuyao) and "preparing medicines" (zhiyao) used here are technical terms of ancient Waidan (external alchemy), referring to the treatment, sealing, and refining of elixirs or mercury using herbal and other materials.

The herb called "Juzhen" (Gathered Treasure) stays green in all four seasons. Ordinary people often fail to recognize it, for it looks like gold resting in the palm of the hand. Taking it prolongs life, and eating it raw helps regulate the heart and spirit (Shen). It is not a true immortal medicine, and so few in the world understand its subtle virtues.

This herb grows on sandy ridges. Its flavor is sweet, and it can be used in the burning and refining of many substances without letting their potency dissipate.

Haitao Herb (Sea Peach)

This numinous herb is called Haitao. Eaten raw, it helps treat exhaustion and debility. It not only prolongs life but also softens mercury and "mao" (anchor). "Mao" is a refining term in the original text, and its exact referent is unclear.

This herb grows in large forests and is used chiefly to treat consumptive disorders. Its flowers are yellow and its leaves green; its flavor is bitter, and it can soften the five metals.

Jindeng Herb (Golden Lamp)

This herb is pungent in flavor, and the immortals call it Jindeng. Eaten raw, it cures illness, and after a year of taking it the body feels light and vigorous. It can whiten "pi" and restore congealed mercury to a fresh state; it can also save human life and draw "geng" out of mercury. "Pi" and "geng" are terms from alchemy.

Jindeng herb is also known simply as Jindeng. Eaten raw, it cures illness, and after a year of taking it the body feels light and vigorous. It whitens "pi" and restores congealed mercury to a fresh state; it can also save lives and draw "geng" out of mercury.

This herb is pungent in flavor and grows on high slopes. Its flowers are purple and its leaves green, and it is able to treat mercury and cause "geng" to lie concealed.

Shanqing Herb (Mountain Green)

This immortal herb is called Shanqing, and its root resembles Huangjing (Solomon's seal). After a person takes it, their hair can turn black again, and it is especially effective for treating convulsions in children. In the burning and refining of substances, it can also serve as a "gui" (cabinet), used to contain or seal the materials. In autumn and summer, its leaves continue to put forth new growth.

This herb grows in tall forests. Its flavor is sweet, its flowers red and its leaves green, and it can likewise serve as a "gui" to seal in sulfur.

Wantong Herb (Ten-Thousand Penetrations)

The Great Way (Dao) follows the traces of the immortals, and only then does its wondrous efficacy appear. The Three Yellows are refined into the true body, and the White Tiger belongs to the same category. To seek the Golden Elixir one needs numinous herbs; relying on the stone cabinet alone, it is difficult to exhaust its mysteries. If one wishes to understand the transformations of lead and mercury, one must gather Wantong herb.

This herb grows on white sandy ground. Its flavor is astringent, its flowers blue-green and its leaves green. It is said that taking it makes a person long-lived and free of illness, and it is especially suited to serve as a "gui" in the making of the great medicine, keeping the materials from dissipating.

Following this, the original text contains fragments such as "Baizhu herb, yellow flowers, green leaves," meaning that the Baizhu (White Pearl) herb has yellow flowers and green leaves; the remaining text either repeats earlier passages or is incomplete.

The Great Dao (the Way) and the path of the immortals are connected, and the effort must begin with plants and trees. Elixirs of metal and stone can make a person ascend or vanish, and spirit herbs can communicate with them as well. If one follows the methods transmitted by the true immortals and combines spirit herbs with lead and mercury, the Golden Elixir (Jindan) may be refined. To refine it, one must go into the mountains where red plants and trees grow and gather the medicine there.

This herb grows on high ridges or earthen hills. It has red flowers and green leaves, and its taste is sweet. Tradition holds that taking it prolongs life by a thousand years.

Dragon Spring Herb

All things sprout before spring arrives, but the Dragon Spring Herb breaks through the soil earlier still. When one finds cinnabar, treasure-like, one wraps it in the herb's leaves. Mercury boiled in the herb's juice then coagulates into a dry substance.

This herb grows deep within dense thickets. It has blue-green flowers and black seeds. It is said that taking it makes the body light and strong and free of illness.

Treasure Peak Herb

The Dao dwells in seclusion within towns and cities, so there is no need to wander east or west in search of it. If one seeks the true method of lead and mercury, the four related elements will connect with one another. In practicing the immortal path, one must follow instruction and not stray from the traces left by the great immortals. To learn how the "Yellow Sprout" appears, one must gather the Treasure Peak Herb.

This herb has red flowers, green leaves, and black seeds, and its taste is pungent. It is said that taking it keeps a person free of illness for life, light and strong in body, and unaging in appearance. It can also be used to refine the "Great Medicine" and helps in obtaining the Yellow Sprout.

Gold Coin Herb

For attaining the Dao and extending life, nothing surpasses seeking out the Gold Coin Herb. Taking it can increase one's lifespan, it can also be used to process mercury, and it helps preserve one's youthful appearance.

This herb grows in dense thickets. It is sweet in taste, with yellow flowers and green leaves, and it exudes a white sap. It is said to be able to form a sand-like medicine. Taking it is said to keep a person free of illness.

Immortal Maiden Herb

Even the "Purple River Chariot" produced by the transformations of creation cannot compare with the Immortal Maiden Herb.

The flying-flow medicine: does the Dao know the principle within it?

This herb grows on blue-green sandy ground. It has yellow flowers and a sweet taste. It is said to subdue all other medicinal substances and keep their potency from going astray.

Yellow Sprout Herb

Its flowers and leaves are blue-green, and its root is white, like gold. The Yellow Sprout grows everywhere, yet how many people truly recognize it?

The root of this herb can cure toothache.

Blue Gold Herb

The Blue Gold Herb has yellow flowers and green leaves, and its root is white, like gold. Its marvelous efficacy has long been spoken of. The Yellow Sprout...

This plant grows in remote places, and very few people know it.

The root of this plant can cure toothache.

The Qingjin herb (青金草) bears yellow flowers and green leaves. People have long heard that spiritual herbs exist in the world, and among them the Qingjin herb is especially outstanding. Its branches are fresh and tender, and it is said that taking it keeps a person from aging.

This plant grows by the water and is especially effective against malignant sores.

Seven-Star Herb (七星草)

The Seven-Star Herb grows in famous mountains. If someone encounters it, gathers it, and takes it, it is said they can become deathless and prolong their years. It bears blue-green flowers and red leaves, tastes sweet, and can also be used to refine the "Great Medicine" (大药, the term used in Daoist alchemy for the principal elixir).

Mountain Nectar Herb (山浆草)

The Mountain Nectar Herb tastes sour and bears red flowers. It grows in yellow sand and is especially effective against what folk usage calls "intermittent disease" (虐病, commonly referring to illnesses with alternating chills and fever). It can also subdue sulfur.

Silver Thread Herb (银线草)

The Silver Thread Herb bears red flowers and black seeds, with green stems and leaves. It grows in famous mountains and can cure wind disorders. With its red flowers, black seeds, and sweet taste, it can also subdue nasha (硇砂, a medicinal substance with mineral components).

Yi Nan Herb (宜男草)

The Yi Nan Herb bears red flowers, and its leaves, branches, and calyces are all green. It grows in famous mountains. If someone sees it, gathers it, and takes it, it is said they can live to five hundred years. It tastes sweet, with red flowers, green seeds, and green leaves.

Golden Gauze Herb (金罗草)

The Golden Gauze Herb bears yellow flowers, with green branches and leaves. It grows beneath pine trees, with yellow flowers and a pungent taste. It is said that those who find and take it will live a thousand years, and it can also be used to refine the "Great Medicine."

Yangtao Herb (杨桃草)

The Yangtao Herb has purple thorns and a green color. It exudes a white sap and grows upon thorny brambles. It can subdue cinnabar and also cure malignant sores.

Hundred-Gold Herb (百金草)

The Hundred-Gold Herb bears red flowers, and its branches and leaves are all green. It grows in great forests, with red flowers and a sweet taste. It is said to greatly subdue true mercury (真汞, the mercury-based material used in Daoist alchemy).

Secret Words:

All seventy-two kinds of herbs possess spiritual power, and each can subdue cinnabar and has the effect of communing with the spirits. Were it not for the immortal formulas passed down from the upper realms to the human world, ordinary people would rarely hear of these things.

Here ends the Song of the Spiritual Herbs by the Immortal of the White Cloud.

Of the entries in the Baiyun Xianren Lingcao Ge (Song of the Spiritual Herbs by the Immortal of the White Cloud), three, "Five-Cloud Herb" (Wuyun Cao), "Bright-Moon Herb" (Mingyue Cao), and "Red-Blue Herb" (Honglan Cao), survive only as titles. Their accompanying images and text have been lost, so their content cannot be reconstructed from the surviving material.