《纯阳吕真人药石制》

The Chunyang Lü Zhenren Yaoshi Zhi (Master Lü Chunyang's Treatise on the Regulation of Minerals and Herbs) uses the coded language of alchemy to call certain plants "Dragon Sprouts." The text repeatedly speaks of "subduing and regulating" (fuzhi) and "turning copper into treasure," meaning that medicinal substances are combined in refining to alter the nature of metals or minerals. The explanations below follow the original's own claims and should not be taken as alchemical methods proven in the real world.

Heavenly Treasure Dragon Sprout: Red Celery (Chiqin)

Red celery is the most important of all the plants. It can turn what is false into what is true, and it works especially well with blue-green materials. Used to refine the Five Metals (various metals) and the Eight Stones (various ores and minerals), it is said to make hard copper as soft as cotton floss.

Precious Cinnabar Dragon Sprout: Mulberry Leaf

The mulberry has green leaves and white flowers, grows in the fields, and is a plant farmers commonly cultivate. Ordinary people do not know its wondrous use in alchemy; it is said to be able to soften hard copper.

Matching-Node Dragon Sprout: Motherwort (Yimu)

Motherwort has green leaves and white flowers and grows in wild fields. When burned and refined, it can be made into a frost-like medicine of great potency. It is said to refine the Five Metals and the Eight Stones, and even crows that eat it are said to gain longevity.

Flavor-Pear Dragon Sprout: Birchleaf Pear (Duli)

The birchleaf pear tree grows without being planted, often on high slopes. When it bears fruit, the rice vinegar brewed from it should not be taken lightly. It is said to refine mercury and make it congeal into a hard substance; those who know how to use it will, in time, resolve their doubts and difficulties.

Two-Qi Dragon Sprout: Mountain Lotus Leaf

When the workings of water and fire join, they congeal into cinnabar sand. The author says they cultivate themselves behind the mountains and streams. Sulfur and mercury, once refined, are said to become a treasure; those who understand the method within can obtain flawless white jade.

Five-Phoenix Dragon Sprout: Guanzhong

Guanzhong mostly grows deep in mountain ravines, tall and dense, often in clusters. It should be gathered in the fifth month or at the Mid-Autumn Festival, and its shape resembles the markings on a phoenix's wing and tail.

Here "Guanzhong" is the plant name used in the original text and does not necessarily refer to the historical figure Guan Zhong. The passage is repeated below in the source, with the final line reading "flaw" (xia) in one place and "same" (tong) in the other, which may reflect a copying error or a difference between editions.

Heavenly Blade Dragon Sprout: Sweet Flag (Jupu)

When sweet flag first sprouts, it is shaped like a sword, with white roots and lush green leaves. It should be gathered in the fourth month, and only a small amount of realgar need be added; it is said to surpass gold and jade.

Earth Brocade Dragon Sprout: Yiban

Yiban bears red flowers and grows in deep mountains; its leaves are red and round, like copper coins. It is said to refine realgar into a medicine that, when taken, prolongs life.

Brocade Smelting Dragon Sprout: Xuduan (Himalayan Teasel)

Ordinary people regard it as just another common plant, never imagining that it enters the immortals' elixir formulas. It is said to refine saltpeter into a treasure, and also to transform copper into precious metal.

Sweet Dew Dragon Sprout: Licorice (Gancao)

Licorice has a single stem and many leaves, and is said to possess marvelous efficacy. The Yellow Emperor bestowed on it the title "Elder of the State" (Guolao). "Guolao" is another name for licorice, and in traditional medicine it is often used to describe the herb's role in harmonizing the other ingredients in a formula.

Once the root and sprout are gathered, one has obtained the Great Medicine. After "fudu" (a refining method that stabilizes the nature of the substance), it becomes as white as frost and as bright as silver.

Golden Beauty Dragon Sprout: Sheep's Hoof (sheep's hoof is an herbaceous plant)

The root is red and the leaves are purplish, shaped like a triangular ridge. It grows well in damp places near water and reaches maturity in summer.

Its leaves are harvested in midwinter (the second month of winter). Made into a yellow powder, it is said that the Yellow Emperor enthroned it as "Elder of the State."

Once the root and sprout are gathered, one has obtained the Great Medicine. After "fudu," it becomes as white as frost and as bright as silver.

Golden Beauty Dragon Sprout: Sheep's Hoof

The root is red and the leaves are purplish, shaped like a triangular ridge. It grows well in damp places near water and reaches maturity in summer.

Its leaves are harvested in midwinter. Made into a frost-like powder and refined, it is said to transmute copper into silver.

Seeking the Black Dragon Sprout: Cherry

Like a dragon, it grows where trees hang thick and shade the cliff face; its leaves resemble the first leaves of spring in the area of Menglu Village. (Note: "Menglu Village" appears to be a place name, which the original does not explain.)

After picking, it is dried in the sun, and the larger the piece, the better suited it is as medicine. Refined with borax, it becomes lustrous as jade.

Golden Thread Dragon Sprout: Tusi (that is, dodder, a parasitic plant)

Its form resembles golden thread, coiled and hanging from the tips of branches. It is gathered in the seventh month and simmered in water.

Used to refine sulfur, it yields a marvelous treasure; it is said that a person who takes it for a hundred days will surpass the ability to fly and roam afar.

Sorrowless Dragon Sprout: Zhi Herb

It is a common herb called "Sorrowless," often growing in high spots beside the railings within a dwelling.

Ordinary people do not know the methods of the immortals; those who grasp the secret can tend plants and trees as though spending many years in the immortal realm of Penglai.

Shattered Flame Dragon Sprout: House Guardian

This herb is widely planted beside the basin ponds of small courtyards. If a wise person truly understood its principle, what would they make of it?

It is said that it can refine "blasted cinnabar" and white copper; after a person takes it, coughing quickly disappears.

White Snow

Shattered Flame Dragon Sprout: House Guardian

This herb is widely planted beside the basin ponds of small courtyards. If a wise person truly understood its principle, what would they make of it?

It is said that it can refine "blasted cinnabar" and white copper; after a person takes it, coughing quickly disappears.

White Snow Dragon Sprout: Bald-Sore Flower

The flowers resemble white snow, and the leaves resemble indigo. Used to refine realgar, it is said to make the medicine's nature firm.

The immortals often think of this herb of the wilds; it is said that those who ingest it ascend and enter the Grotto-Heaven (Dongtian, the dwelling of immortals in Daoist legend).

Heartless Dragon Sprout: Banxia (banxia is a medicinal herb)

Its leaves are curled and suit pairing with long leaves and round leaves. After "Yibin division," new sprouts grow. (Note: "Yibin division" is as given in the original; its meaning is unclear.)

Taking three of its leaves is enough to refine the Great Medicine. It is said that after refining by Danyang, it can transmute silver sand into silver.

Golden Thread Dragon Sprout: Tusi

Simmered out in the wild fields, it takes on a golden color. Only those who know how to recognize it understand how precious its nature is.

It is said that it can refine mercury and stabilize its nature; among the medicines used by the immortals, it is the most abundant.

Deer Antler Dragon Sprout: Indigo

It is suited to planting on dry land; after a year of growth, its leaves become thick and fleshy.

Prepared as a frost preparation according to the prescribed method, it is used to subdue cinnabar (a mineral substance commonly used in Daoist alchemy).

Jade Vase Dragon Sprout: Radish

The radish has a large head and a round root, shaped like a jade vase, and it becomes effective when it meets cinnabar. Hollow out the radish root to make a cavity and wrap the cinnabar inside; in this way one produces a preparation known as the "Sacred and Marvelous."

Jade Blossom Dragon Sprout: Willow Catkins

In the third month of late spring, willow catkins drift everywhere along the flowered embankments and are found all around the pavilions and terraces. Gather the catkins and process them according to the procedure of "proper subduing" (the refining method for subduing cinnabar and similar minerals) before use; the scriptures (Jing) call this a convenient method praised by the immortals.

Hanging Bean Dragon Sprout: Honey Locust Pod

The honey locust pods hang from the tree like swords. An adept who knows this method will obtain great effect: it can subdue roasted cinnabar and make it resistant to fire; once the refining is complete, it can also be used to transmute hard copper.

Golden Essence Dragon Sprout: Euphorbia (Daji)

The leaves of the euphorbia are golden yellow, and when newly sprouted they cling brightly to the trunk; its roots go deep, as though reaching the Yellow Springs, and no one knows how many years it has grown. Harvest it in the second month of mid-spring, when the "spirit is fully dark"; as the scriptures say, once gathered it is subdued with mercury and then placed in a house.

Five-Leaf Dragon Sprout: Purslane

The skin of purslane is red, its seeds black, its leaves green, its stalk white, and its flowers yellow, corresponding to the colors of the five directions. Use it to subdue cinnabar and refine it into a golden color; then nourish life through the Dantian (the place in the body where, in Daoist teaching, vital energy gathers), which can prolong life and increase longevity.

Water-Floating Dragon Sprout: Duckweed

Duckweed has no roots and drifts on the water's surface, resembling green coins. The duckweed in ponds in the fifth month has tender, round leaves. Gather it and dry it in the sun, and it can be made into the "Great Medicine"; used to subdue roasted cinnabar, it is said to give a complete and marvelous effect.

Penetrating-the-Summit Dragon Sprout: Pipewort (Gujingcao)

Pipewort mostly grows in abandoned fields, white as snow; it grows in clumps without needing to be planted, each cluster like lotus leaves in a pond. Worthy men who see it regard it as a treasure; when it is used to refine cinnabar, it can make the cinnabar take on a goose-yellow color.

Earth-Bone Dragon Sprout: Goji Berry (Wolfberry)

The fruit of the goji berry resembles cinnabar, and its leaves resemble clouds; it sets roots in winter, and in spring and summer puts forth branches, leaves, and flowers.

In autumn, harvest the Red Maiden (Hongniangzi) and use it to prepare cinnabar, and the cinnabar will take on a color like silver.

Dingding, Dragon Sprout, Plantain Seed

The dingding has slender leaves but puts down no roots, and it likes to grow alone in remote places.

Used to subdue mercury, it can turn the mercury into a precious treasure. If the alchemist does not know this, how can they display any marvelous skill?

Wood Ear, Dragon Sprout, Buddha's Ear Herb

The wood ear grows on trees and is shaped like an ear. People cannot see what use it has, but could it truly be without effect?

It can refine the "Eight Minerals" into a great medicine, and with only a little realgar added, the color turns as golden as gold.

Coiling-Dragon of the Earth, Dragon Sprout, Lotus Leaf

Through transformation, powdered frost can be transmuted into silver. It floats round and full upon the water, a deep, fresh green.

If an alchemist stops refining the moment they meet an ordinary person, then the subduing of Pi-frost will reveal great spiritual efficacy.

Ten-Thousand-Fathom Dragon Sprout, Pine Moss

Several long tendrils hang down from a tall pine, their branches spreading wide, with flowers whose colors mingle deep and pale.

Used to subdue cinnabar, it can be refined into a great medicine, and even chickens and crows can take on the appearance of phoenixes.

Purple Bloom, Dragon Sprout, Thistle

The purple bloom grows in untended fields, with green stalks. Its roots and leaves can both be gathered, without regard to the year.

After harvesting it in midsummer, dry it thoroughly in the sun. Once it has been subdued, the Pi-mercury will never revert to its former state.

Fragrant Wood, Dragon Sprout, Sentiment Wood

It grows in deep courtyards and dense groves, its branches evergreen. The best time to gather the roots and leaves is early summer.

Used to subdue Pi-frost, it can yield a substance like white snow, and its power to transmute copper and iron is beyond imagining.

Golden Medicine, Dragon Sprout, Chrysanthemum Blossom

Its rootstock is strange, and its flowers are unlike any other, bursting into beautiful bloom only at the Double Ninth Festival.

Used to subdue sulfur, it makes the sulfur a treasure. Taken as medicine, it can eradicate the roots of illness.

Wudeng, Dragon Sprout, Black Indigo

This evergreen seedling grows on high mountain ridges, and only those who recognize it know how precious its branches and leaves are.

Used to subdue cinnabar, it makes the cinnabar bright as a mirror, truly a treasure. Taken as medicine, it can eradicate the roots of illness.

Wudeng, Dragon Sprout, Black Indigo

This evergreen seedling grows on high mountain ridges, and only those who recognize it know how precious its branches and leaves are.

Used to subdue cinnabar, it makes the cinnabar bright as a mirror, a substance whose embryonic color is stable and wholly unchanging.

Round Leaf, Dragon Sprout, Epimedium

Lush grasses grow thick, their fine leaves gathered in clusters, on the green mountains. Gathered in summer, they are just right for subduing "Qian" (probably the name of an elixir ingredient or medicinal substance).

Once realgar has been subdued, its color becomes like gold. After nine cycles of refining (jiuzhuan), it can be made into the Great Elixir (a high-grade elixir in Daoist alchemy).

Xiangfu (also called Suocao, nutgrass)

Its root is called Qingfu, and it belongs to the family of fragrant herbs. It often grows in great numbers beside streams.

It should be known that it can subdue "Pi" and be made into a liquid; after taking it, one is said to pass from the ordinary world into the path of the immortals.

Cisha (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Arisaema (Tiannanxing). Its spikes resemble scallion blossoms and are flesh-pink when they first open; people gather its roots and leaves, and it is said to be highly efficacious.

If it can subdue realgar, it becomes a great medicine; it is also said to transform withered iron into hard copper.

Yihua (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Peony (Shaoyao). In late spring, at the time of Grain Rain (Guyu), when the flowers are about to open, it may be gathered whole, with flowers, leaves, and roots.

Combined with fenshuang (refined powder frost, a substance used in alchemy), it is said to yield a great medicine; it is also said to transform withered iron into hard copper.

Yihua (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Peony. In late spring, at the time of Grain Rain, when the flowers are about to open, it may be gathered whole, with flowers, leaves, and roots.

Combined with fenshuang, it can yield a silver liquid; it is said that when the transmutation is carried out, there will be no error.

Longbao (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Tree Peony (Mudan). It too puts forth red buds at the time of Grain Rain, and its flowers are deep and vivid in color, quite outstanding.

Used to prepare fenshuang, it makes the powder's luster bright. If the alchemist understands the method, he can reach the realm of the immortals.

Yongqing (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Pine. It grows on lofty, steep, and distant green mountains. Its leaves are a verdant green, shaped like the tail feathers of the luan and phoenix.

Used to subdue mercury, it brings about transmutation; it is said that this method has remained effective through the ages.

Cexiang (a drug name as listed in the text)

Many of these plants grow beside streams on the shady side of the mountains, with abundant leaves, and one variety among them is particularly renowned.

It is called "Never Aging" (Bulao). Its leaf-heart is green and it bears fruit; it is said to subdue "Pi frost" and turn it into white silver.

Jinhua (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Mallow (Kui). It grows luxuriantly in spring, and when mature it bears yellow flowers.

It is said that once the Great Medicine has been refined, it possesses divine powers and may be counted a fine formula of the immortals.

Zijin (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Pokeweed (Zhangliu), with purple roots and white leaves, growing beside trees. Those who have attained accomplishment in the Dao take it into their finest elixir formulas.

It is said to subdue the "flying and running metals and minerals," making them stable; with just a little sulfur, they are made to lie hidden.

Didan (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Dodder (Tusizi), with purple flowers and green leaves, growing in the fields. It is said to subdue "chu powder" and, combined with sulfur, to produce marvelous effects. Tiesuo (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Goat's-Horn Sprout (Yangjiaomiao).

(The original is fragmentary: "...a bit of yellow, and it lies hidden.")

Didan (a drug name as listed in the text)

This is the Dragon-Sprout Dodder.

The purple-flowered, green-leaved herb grows in the fields. It can subdue "arsenic powder" (chushan fen) and can be combined with sulfur and similar substances to bring out their effect. Tie Suo Longya, the Goat-Horn Sprout. Zheng Tu Longya, the Unrivaled Herb.

It needs no planting and grows by itself, often beside houses and near wayside pavilions. It allows the essences of the sun and moon to become a great medicine, and it can also restrain cinnabar, with especially marked efficacy.

Dao Sheng Longya, the Woven-Bamboo Plant.

Its leaves look as though inlaid with gold, and its flowers are bright red. It grows by the roadside. How would any traveler recognize it as an immortal herb among medicines? It can subdue Pishuang (arsenic frost) and turn it into liquid. With only a touch, it can make hard copper as soft as cotton.

Xian Yi Longya, the Pine Lichen.

Pine lichen (songluo, a thread-like plant that grows on tree branches) hangs high on the pine boughs and grows exceptionally lush. People of Wei go deep into the mountains to gather it. It can subdue flying and running substances, minerals, and metals, and it can also restrain mercury and "dead" sulfur.

Chi Zhua Longya, the Spinach.

It can endure fierce heat and withstand harsh frost, yet it is damaged by violent winds.

Once Pishuang has been subdued, it becomes like jade. Immortals gather it and place it in the alchemical chamber where the elixir is refined.

Xian Zhang Longya, the Cangpeng and Gold-Hook Sour Jujube.

It grows beside cold ponds and near caves. In early summer, when the plants are flourishing, it is gathered and made into a frost-like medicine. Ordinary people do not know that it can subdue sulfur. Taking it can turn white hair black and restore a youthful appearance to an aged face.

Yin Fa Longya, the Scallion.

Its root resembles garlic, and its leaves are long and fine, like a person's temple hair. It can subdue Pishuang so that not a trace of it disperses. The world does not understand this immortal medicine; it can subdue both Pishuang and "dead" powder frost.

Xian Li Longya, the Chive.

It can subdue Danyang and give it a silvery color. To meet someone who understands the way of the immortals would be a rare opportunity. I urge you not to proclaim this to others: its leaves can also treat those who are emaciated.

Chang Sheng Longya, the Cold-Resistant Plant.

It flourishes in all four seasons, with its flowers and grasses thriving, and its tender sprouts grow beside green-watered ponds. It can subdue sulfur and make it like jade. Applied to copper, it can even transform the copper into iron, an effect of great value.

San Huang Longya, the Rehmannia.

It grows by streams and in the wilds, standing upright among the grasses and trees. If you can recognize it, you can understand the wonderful uses of the Three Yellows, and it can treat those who are emaciated.

"Longevity Dragon Sprout: Naidong": There is a kind of plant that hardly flowers in any season, yet grows vigorously; its tender sprouts emerge beside green pools. It can subdue sulfur with an effect as fine as jade, and it is highly prized for transmuting copper and altering iron.

"Three-Yellows Dragon Sprout: Rehmannia": Rehmannia grows by streams and in open wilds, its stalks standing upright. One who knows its nature will grasp the mystery of the "Three Yellows," and its efficacy is marvelous. It subdues sulfur and retains its essence; fire cannot harm it, so its potency proves effective.

"Tree-Clinging Dragon Sprout: Trumpet Creeper": The trumpet creeper has perennial roots, and its vines climb distant trees, reaching full growth only in summer. Gathered in the seventh month, it becomes a precious medicinal material; with only a little of it, the essence of mercury can be turned into silver.

"Life-Forsaking Dragon Sprout: Tile Fern (Orostachys)": Tile fern grows neither on the ground nor in the mountains, but in the gaps between the tiles of houses. Cultivators gather it and put it into the furnace; with only a little, quicksilver dries naturally.

"Cold-Enduring Dragon Sprout: Self-Heal (Prunella)": Self-heal has dense leaves growing joint by joint, and bears purple-white flowers; it flourishes in spring and withers in summer. Gathered and made into a juice, its effect is marvelous; with only a little, the essence of mercury turns into dry sand.

"Mulberry-Smile Dragon Sprout: Mulberry Leaf and Twig Strips": In early spring, mulberry branches are cut and burned to ash; the ash is then leached, and the liquid boiled down until it condenses into a frost-like substance, which can immediately serve as the base of the medicine. It allows sulfur to exert its full power; when the furnace fire glows red, a small amount keeps mercury from scattering.

"Central Dragon Sprout: Yellow Herb": The yellow herb is ground into a fine powder; a small amount is placed in a crucible and heated until red, then wrapped in ash. After the "blackening" treatment is carried out on level ground, even if the quicksilver boils, it will not fly off.

"Dark-Sphere Dragon Sprout: Eggplant": The eggplant bears its fruit among the flowers, shaped like a sphere. It can subdue sulfur, and its effect is profoundly deep; it is also said to transmute stubborn copper, making it white as snow, lasting and unchanging, surpassing ordinary things.

"Censer Dragon Sprout: Perilla": Perilla grows on pond-side slopes, with yellow flowers and green leaves. It subdues sulfur and weakens the potency of the Eight Minerals. Tradition holds that this is a method left behind by immortals, hard for ordinary people to comprehend and hard to use for treating illness.

"Azure Dragon Dragon Sprout: Kudzu Vine": It grows in spring, its vines stretching out like dragon heads, winding and twisting as they spread in every direction. It can turn the Eight Minerals into a great medicine, and when paired with mercury, it makes it thicken naturally.

Note: Terms such as "Eight Minerals," "subduing sulfur," "transmuting copper and iron," and "essence of mercury" are ancient alchemical terminology. This text describes methods of refining that combine plants with furnace fire, minerals, and quicksilver; they are not conclusions of modern chemistry or medicine. In the original, the final line of "Central Dragon Sprout: Yellow Herb" contains a repetition, and the passage on "Dark-Sphere Dragon Sprout: Eggplant" has garbled wording; the translation above follows the legible content.

Earth-Ginseng Dragon Sprout and Zhimu

Take zhimu (anemarrhena), beimu (fritillary), and tiannanxing (arisaema), pound them and sift them into a fine powder, then mix the powder evenly with vinegar.

Form the "grass mother" (the name of an herb) into pills and place them in a sand-lined cauldron. Burn and refine three jin of it over fire until the substance melts and becomes silver.

Purple-Backed Dragon Sprout and Oil-Dotted Leaf

The purple leaves of shema (a plant name) are rarely seen in the world; the red leaves of Li Shouhua (possibly the name of an herb) are marked with patterns.

Cinnabar, once it appears, loses its potency of its own accord; mercury, once subdued, will wither and dry up.

Heavenly Flame Dragon Sprout and Lotus

The roots and leaves of the longevity plant grow in water, and its flowers resemble flames, with the undersides of the leaves a reddish color.

When harvested in the sixth month, it can be used as an offering; it can also subdue mercury and turn it into silver.

Song of Preserving Nature (on how to preserve the potency of the medicinal substance during refining)

Burn and refine the dragon sprout herb to treat its fumes; once the fumes disperse, its essence and potency are retained.

Even refining five jin over a slow fire will hardly subdue it completely; the methods of the immortals appear profound, yet in truth they are not mysterious.

Discerning the Genuine

Harvest the dragon sprout herb at the proper season; so long as one follows the method, it can be used for a long time without loss.

Root, leaf, stem, and fruit each have their own use; if misused, there will be errors and danger.

The Green Record (the title of a chapter)

Of the seventy-two kinds of dragon sprout herb, each should be gathered in its proper season and treated as a household treasure.

It can transform the false into the genuine; this is a provision of food and clothing bestowed by Heaven, and it also serves to relieve impoverished practitioners of the Way.