《轩辕黄帝水经药法》

The Xuanyuan Huangdi Shuijing Yaofa (Yellow Emperor's Water Classic and Methods of Medicinal Preparation) is traditionally attributed to the Yellow Emperor, though its actual author is unknown. Part of its content also appears in the Chunyang Zhenren Yaoshi Zhi (Master Chunyang's Preparation of Minerals and Stones). The text was probably compiled during the Song dynasty and comprises one fascicle. The surviving edition is included in the "Miscellaneous Techniques" category of the Dongshen (Three Caverns) section of the Zhengtong Daozang (Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era), while the Zhonghua Daozang (Chinese Daoist Canon) places it within the Taiqing Jindan Jing (Scripture of the Golden Elixir of Great Purity).

Preface to the Xuanyuan Huangdi Shuijing (Yellow Emperor's Water Classic)

Since ancient times, there have been numinous and extraordinary things between Heaven and Earth, each undergoing its own transformations. The movement of qi (气) represented by the Gen trigram (艮卦) is the starting point of all things, and from it the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity stand side by side. Through guidance and transformation, an ordinary person can become a sage, and an ordinary stone can be refined into a treasure. This is simply the natural order of things.

The plants and trees of the world change after the passing of a single autumn. When a person finds the right herb and takes it, they can prolong their life and live a thousand years. How much more so with water that has been transformed over ten thousand years: could it not enable a person to transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood? This, too, accords with the natural order.

Long ago, Xu Jiu lived in the mountains for many years, studying in all directions. He had practiced alchemy for many years without ever succeeding, and could only sigh deeply. Later, in his travels, he came to the side of Lianxi Cave on Mount Tiantai, where he met an ancient immortal of unknown origin. The immortal asked, "Would you like to learn my secret method of the Returned Elixir (还丹)?" Xu Jiu bowed and said, "I have studied for a very long time and still have not succeeded." The immortal said, "Whether the Returned Elixir is completed or not, you need not trouble yourself. The Way of the immortals is, at root, easy."

Xu Jiu then followed the ancient immortal and studied for five years. Later, he saw the immortal point at some grass, and the grass turned into a dragon, and only then did he grasp the immortal's art. He bowed and said, "I beg my master in compassion to save the people sunk in the mortal world. I dare not ask for much, and hope only to obtain one small technique." The immortal said, "You were always destined to attain the great Dao (道), and now the time has come. I have a scroll, the Water Scripture (《水经》, Shuijing), which I will pass on to you."

Before the immortal had finished speaking, three people suddenly arrived together. The immortal said, "These three also have the affinity to complete the great Dao." He then transmitted the Water Scripture to all four. In less than half a ji (纪, an ancient unit of twelve years), they had all attained the immortal Way. Afterward, more than three thousand people who obtained this Water Scripture completed the Dao and understood their true nature. The medicinal substances and methods of preparation listed in the book are recorded in separate chapters according to the principles of Yin-Yang (阴阳). Their effects are said to be marvelous and efficacious, their transformations inexhaustible, and failure is said to be impossible. This preface was written on a chen day in a jiazi year.

Section One: Divine Cinnabar Stone Water

Take one jin of divine cinnabar (神砂) and grind it extremely fine. Rinse it three times in well-flower water (井花水, water drawn from the well at early dawn), then dry it in the sun. The scripture states that a substance prepared in this way has the effect of "brocade-colored dragon sprouts," with inexhaustible transformations and no possibility of failure.

Take one jin of divine cinnabar (a vermilion mineral commonly used in alchemy) and grind it into a fine powder. Rinse it three times in "well-flower water" (well water drawn at dawn), then dry it in the sun. Take four liang of brocade-colored dragon-sprout herb and boil it with one sheng of bitter wine (a sour wine) in a vessel of silver or stone until the wine has boiled away. Rinse it again in well water, remove the dragon-sprout residue, and dry the cinnabar in the sun.

Next, grind four liang each of chalcanthite and saltpeter together into a fine powder. Take a section of living bamboo of suitable size and put in one pill, about the size of a pellet. Place half of the ground chalcanthite and saltpeter powder inside, add the cinnabar powder, spread a layer of earth over it, and cover it with the other half of the chalcanthite and saltpeter powder. Seal the mouth of the bamboo with pills made of lacquer-bone powder, and bury it three chi deep in shaded ground. After forty-nine days, take it out, and it will have turned into water. Pour the water into a vessel of silver or stone, and its color will be dazzling.

The scripture continues: if a person drinks one "clam-cup" (an ancient unit of volume whose exact size is uncertain) and is able to finish it quickly, they can purge dampness and impurity, live forever without dying, see ghosts and spirits, and be unaffected by cold or heat. After a hundred days of taking it, the water in the vessel still gleams brilliantly. The one who takes it feels the body grow light and nimble, goes without sleep day and night, fears no dangerous terrain, and moves with flying steps, swift as a gale or a sudden downpour. After a year of taking it, shadowy spirits will serve as attendants, tigers and dragons can be subdued, all things can be foreseen, and its efficacy is as marvelous as that of the spirits.

Drinking two clam-cups, it is said, allows one to ascend to the Nine Heavens and descend to the Nine Earths, to transform, appear, and vanish at will, penetrating and understanding everything, and so to become, quite naturally, a numinous sage. Drinking three clam-cups, within a hundred days one naturally attains the Dao (the Way) of Heavenly Truth, leaves the physical body behind, passes directly beyond the Three Realms, and becomes a Supreme Immortal, realizing the state of Wuwei (non-action) and transcendence of the mortal world.

At the end of the original text, "Part Two: Realgar Stone Water" begins on a new line, apparently serving as the heading of the next section. The passage above beginning "Again, if a person takes one clam-cup..." appears twice, and the translation has merged the two according to their meaning. Certain phrases, such as "if able, then finish at once," seem to contain errors or omissions, and their precise meaning cannot be determined with certainty.

Take one jin of realgar (xionghuang) and grind it into a fine powder. Rinse it three times in well water drawn at dawn, then dry it in the sun. Take two liang of hu-onion and three sheng of bitter wine (vinegar), place them together with the realgar in a silver or stone vessel, and boil until the vinegar has boiled away. After boiling, the realgar turns reddish-yellow. It has no other efficacy; prepared in this way, it can only neutralize the poisons of all manner of birds and beasts.

Fifth: Pumice Water

Take one jin of pumice (haifushi, literally "sea-floating stone") and grind it into a fine powder. Rinse it three times in well water drawn at dawn. Take two liang of kelp and grind it into powder. Place it with three sheng of bitter wine (vinegar) in a silver or stone vessel and boil until the vinegar has boiled away. Remove the mixture and rinse it again in well water to wash out the kelp powder. Then add four liang each of dan xiaoshi (the original uses this name, and its exact identity is uncertain), and grind everything together until evenly blended.

Treat the ingredients according to the method given above, then bury them five chi deep in shaded ground. After fifty days they become what is called "water." When it is taken out and poured into a silver or stone vessel, its color will vary, but it has no other efficacy. If a person drinks one clam-cupful (a cup held in a clam shell, roughly a small cup), it is said they will be able to dive underwater without drowning. If they drink three clam-cupfuls, it is said they will be able to have an audience with the Dragon King and naturally be in accord with him.

One jin (catty) of crystal stone is ground into an extremely fine powder and rinsed three times with "well-flower water" (jinghuashui, well water drawn at dawn). Four liang (taels) of red lotus medicine are ground into powder and placed, together with three sheng of bitter wine (vinegar), in a vessel of silver or stone, then boiled until the liquid is completely gone. It is then removed and poured into well water, and rinsed to wash away the lotus powder. Four liang each of gall and saltpeter are then added and ground together evenly, blended finely into the preparation, and the whole is again rinsed three times with well-flower water by the method described above.

Next, four liang of red lotus medicine are once more ground into powder and boiled with three sheng of bitter wine in a silver or stone vessel until the liquid is completely gone. It is removed and poured into well water, and rinsed to wash away the lotus powder. Four liang each of gall and saltpeter are added, ground evenly, and blended into the preparation. After it is treated according to the earlier method, it is buried three chi (feet) deep in a shaded place. After forty-nine days it is taken out, and it will have turned into water. When poured into a vessel of silver or stone, it is bright and crystalline, as white as frost or snow.

If a person takes one "gejian" (as in the original; the meaning of this dosage term is unclear), it has no other effect, and serves only for entering fire and being burned; even if one were treading on hard ice, one would feel no fear. If one takes two "shen gejian" (as in the original; the meaning of the dosage term is unclear), then even where the flames are fierce and the coals are piled like mountains, one can spread a bed mat over the fire. If one takes three "gejian" (as in the original; the meaning of the dosage term is unclear), one can sit within the roasting fire day and night without fear, as though dwelling in an ordinary house.

Seventh: Yangqishi Water (Actinolite Water)

One jin of yangqishi (actinolite) is ground into an extremely fine powder and rinsed three times with well-flower water. Two liang of buhuimu (an ancient medicinal term referring to a fire-resistant mineral) are ground into a fine powder and boiled together with three sheng of bitter wine until the liquid is completely gone. It is removed and rinsed with well-flower water to wash away the buhuimu powder. Four liang each of gall and saltpeter are then added, ground evenly, blended into the preparation, and treated according to the earlier method.

It is then buried three chi deep in a sunlit place, and after forty-nine days it becomes water. It is taken out and poured into a vessel of silver or stone. If a person takes two "gejian" (as in the original; the meaning of the dosage term is unclear), it has no other effect; but when the preparation is blended according to the earlier method, one can rise a hundred chi above the ground and extend one's life by three hundred years.

Eighth: Yushi Water (Jade Water)

One jin of jade. First place four liang of crane lice (heshi), half a jin of Wulingzhi (flying squirrel droppings), and one sheng of light rice liquid into a porcelain vessel, and soak the jade in it together with these for twenty-one days. After removing the jade, boil it in a silver or stone vessel with three liang of crane lice, four liang of Wulingzhi, and three sheng of bitter wine, until the wine has boiled away. Then rinse it in "well-flower water" (water drawn from the well at dawn), remove the powdered herbs, and dry it in the sun. After about one double-hour, the jade will give off a sound and crumble into powder of its own accord.

Next, grind four liang each of bile and saltpeter finely, mix them with the prepared material, and treat it by the same method as before. Bury it three chi deep in the ground in a shaded place, and take it out after forty-nine days, when it will have turned into a liquid. Pour the liquid into a silver or stone vessel; its color is a bright, clear blue-green, like shining light. This potion has no other effect. Someone who takes "three clam preserves" (the dosage or method of taking given in the original text) is said to extend their life by only a thousand years; this is the true "Jade Liquid."

Ninth: Golden Crystal Stone Water

Grind one jin of golden crystal stone into a fine powder and rinse it three times in well-flower water. Then add two liang of "divine herb dragon sprout" and three sheng of bitter wine, and boil in a silver or stone vessel until the wine has boiled away. After taking it out, rinse it in well water and remove the powdered divine herb dragon sprout. Then grind four liang each of bile and saltpeter finely, mix them with the prepared material, and bury it three chi deep in a shaded place by the same method as before. Take it out after forty-nine days, and it is said to turn into a liquid. Pour it into a silver or stone vessel, where the liquid is a deep yellow.

The original text goes on to claim that this potion can be mixed with mercury and heated so that the mercury turns into a golden-yellow liquid, which, once poured out, becomes red gold. The text says its color is pleasing, but that it has no other effect.

Tenth: Silver Crystal Stone Water

At this point the original text gives only the title and provides no further content.

Grind one jin of silver-crystal stone (yinjing shi) into fine powder and rinse it three times in "flower-of-the-well water" (water drawn from the well at dawn, the first draw of the morning). Grind two liang of crane-crest herb (heding cao) into powder, then place it in a silver or stone vessel together with three sheng of bitter wine (sour wine) and boil it until the wine is entirely boiled away. Take out the material and rinse it again in well water, washing away the crane-louse herb powder.

Grind four liang each of chalcanthite (blue vitriol) and saltpeter finely, mix them evenly, and add them to the material following the method above. Bury the material underground in a sunny place at a depth of three chi. After thirty days, take it out and place it in a silver or stone vessel, and the material will take on a jade-like color.

For every jin of mercury, add half a "clam-pot" measure of the liquid prepared above and stir it evenly. In a moment it will dry. If it is fanned with qi, it can be made into superior silver. It can also be used to transmute "cooked mao," turning it into a treasure.

Eleventh: Great Blue Stone Water.

Twelfth: Great Verdigris Stone Water.

Thirteenth: White Talc Stone Water.

Fourteenth: Arsenic-Frost Stone Water.

Fifteenth: White Alum Stone Water.

Sixteenth: Roasted Cinnabar-Sand Stone Water.

Seventeenth: Borax Stone Water.

Eighteenth: Wangjing Stone Water.

Nineteenth: Cold-Water Stone Water (Gypsum).

Twentieth: Well-Spring Stone Water.

Twenty-first: Great Ochre Stone Water.

The preparation and transformation of all these water methods follow the method for silver-crystal stone, with the sole difference that each is boiled with an added half liang of goji herb (gouqi cao) powder. All of them can only be used to dry mercury, transmute mao, and bring all flying and running things into submission to fire.

Twenty-second: Magnetite-Crow Stone Water (Ciwu shi shui).

Take one jin of magnetic black stone (ciwu shi), grind it into a fine powder, and refine it by rinsing three times in well water. Then grind two liang of hemp-nettle leaves (shema ye) into powder, and boil it together with three sheng of bitter wine in a silver or stone vessel until the wine has boiled dry. Take out the substance, rinse it in well water, and remove the leaf powder. Grind four liang each of gall and saltpeter finely and mix them into the substance. Treat it by the method given above, then bury it three chi deep in soil in a shaded place. After forty-nine days it will have turned to liquid. Take it out and pour it into a silver vessel; the liquid is black and lustrous.

It is said that a person who takes a small amount of this medicine gains no other effect, but can pass unharmed through the perils of crossing blades, for the edges cannot wound the body. It can also shatter all manner of hard things: at a touch of the hand, the hardest substances break apart of their own accord.

Chapter 23: The Intoxicated Mao and the Trusted Water

Grind three liang of xinshi (a mineral drug of the arsenic trioxide kind) into powder and place it in an iron pot, covering it tightly with a small cup. Add three dou of mulberry-leaf ash lye to the pot and heat it with alternating gentle and strong fire, keeping the heat even, until the lye is used up. Take out the substance and refine it in a sweet-bone vessel until it melts into liquid. Pour it out, grind it into powder, and set it aside for later use.

Boil red mao down into a juice. For every ten liang of red mao, add one liang of the powder to the juice it yields and stir. When the sound has ceased, take it out and pour it into boiling wine. Then hold it in a black-bone vessel and boil and add the medicine as before. After repeating this three times, the substance will become like white snow.

For every ten liang of mao juice, add a further six liang of Shanze Gen and boil them together. The text says that it transforms into liquid by itself and its color turns white. The finished product does not change color however many times it is put to the fire. It is said to be as white as congealed fat and as tender as spring snow, able to aid the world and to keep for a long time without altering.

The verse says:

White jade frost, boiled with the lye, is the immortals' secret of the intoxicated mao.

On the day of its making it is divided into ten packets, and ten liang were once boiled in the pot.

The mao scraps are refined into golden liquid, and white glue is dropped into the liquid from time to time.

When the divine radiance transforms, it becomes the true substance; its nature remains within the mao of a thousand hours.

From the materials refined on different days, select portions and wrap each into a packet, ten packets in all. Then take ten liang of material that has been refined before and boil it in a pot.

When the boiling is done, turn the thatch shavings (shredded thatch grass) into a golden liquid. While it boils, drip white glue into the liquid from time to time.

Once it has been transformed by divine light and has shed its old form, it becomes the true finished product. Its potency is said to take a thousand mornings to be restored.

Section 24: Purple Efflorescence Stone Water

Take one jin of purple efflorescence stone and grind it into an extremely fine powder. Rinse it three times with well-flower water (well water drawn at dawn). Grind two liang of Qiugen into powder, and boil it with three sheng of bitter wine (vinegar) in a vessel of silver or stone until the liquid has boiled dry. Take it out and rinse it with well water to remove the Qiugen powder.

Next, grind four liang each of chalcanthite (dan) and saltpeter fine, and mix them with the earlier ingredients. Process the mixture as before, then bury it in a sunny spot three chi underground for forty-nine days, and it will turn into water. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. The finished product is reddish-purple. The scripture (Jing) says that if a person drinks three ge-qian (a unit of volume), it can be used to make wine poisonous; the number of cups to be drunk is not specified. Apart from this, it has no other effects.

Section 25: Black Stone Water

Take one jin of black stone and grind it into an extremely fine powder. Rinse it three times with well-flower water. Grind two liang of Hezi into powder, and boil it with three sheng of bitter wine in a vessel of silver or stone until the liquid has boiled dry. Take it out and rinse it with well water to remove the Hezi powder.

Next, grind four liang each of chalcanthite and saltpeter fine, and mix them with the ingredients. Process the mixture as before, then bury it in a sunny spot three chi underground for forty-nine days, and it will turn into water. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. The finished product is a glossy, jet-black color.

The scripture claims that after a person drinks one ge cup of it, they will in time return from old age to youth, with a youthful complexion and black hair, and will be freed from illness and gain three thousand years of life. Apart from this, it has no other effects.

Section 26: Yuyu Root Stone Water

Grind one jin of Yugen stone (a mineral) into a fine powder and rinse it three times in jinghua water (water drawn from a well at dawn). Grind two liang of dianthus (qumai) into powder, and boil it together with three sheng of bitter wine (vinegar) in a silver or stone vessel until the vinegar has boiled away. Take out the material, rinse it again in well water, and remove the dianthus powder. Grind four liang each of gall and saltpeter into a fine powder and mix them together. Add this to the material as before, bury it three chi deep in the ground in a sunny spot, and after thirty days it will turn into a liquid. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. This liquid can only be used to transmute the two classes of substances, yellow and white: heat silver, copper, iron, and tin over a gentle fire until red, then immerse them in the liquid. It is said that they will immediately turn into red gold (gold of a reddish hue), and that it can also fix mercury, making it a lasting treasure.

It is also said that the liquid made from Golden Sprout Stone can only be used to transmute the two classes of substances, yellow and white: heat silver, copper, iron, and tin over a gentle fire until red, then immerse them in the liquid described above. It is said that they will immediately turn into red gold, and that it can also fix mercury, making it a lasting treasure.

Another Golden Sprout Stone Liquid

Grind one jin of Golden Sprout Stone into a fine powder and rinse it three times in jinghua water. Grind four liang of sophora seeds into powder, and boil it together with three sheng of bitter wine in a silver or stone vessel until the vinegar has boiled away. Take out the material, rinse it in well water, and remove the sophora seed powder. Grind four liang each of gall and saltpeter into a fine powder and mix them together. Add this to the material as before, bury it three chi deep in the ground in a shaded spot, and after forty-nine days it will turn into a liquid. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. This liquid is said to be able to transmute only the two classes of substances, yellow and white: heat silver, copper, iron, and tin over a gentle fire until red, then immerse them in the liquid, and they will immediately turn into red gold.

Section Twenty-Seven: Yellow Crow Stone Liquid

Grind one jin of Yellow Crow Stone into a fine powder and rinse it three times in jinghua water. Grind two liang of lily bulb into powder... The scripture then reads: "iron and tin are first heated over a gentle fire until red, then immersed in the liquid described above, and they will immediately turn into red gold." Here the original text is incomplete, and the connection between what precedes and what follows is unclear.

Take one jin of yellow crow stone and grind it into a fine powder. Wash it three times in "well-flower water" (water drawn from the well at dawn). Grind two liang of lily bulb into powder, then put it in a silver or stone vessel with three sheng of bitter wine (vinegar) and boil it until the liquid is completely gone. Take it out, wash it again in well-flower water, and discard the lily powder.

Grind four liang each of chalcanthite and saltpeter into a fine powder and mix them evenly. Treat the mixture by the method given above, then bury it in a pit three chi deep in a sunny spot. After forty-nine days it becomes a liquid medicine. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. It is said to be usable only for transforming the two kinds of metal, yellow and white. Heat silver, copper, iron, tin and similar metals over a gentle fire until they glow red, then dip them into this liquid. When the sound subsides, they will have turned into red gold.

Number Twenty-Eight: Bran-Gold Stone Water

Take one jin of bran-gold stone and grind it into a fine powder. Wash it three times in well-flower water. Grind four liang of epimedium (yinyanghuo) into powder, then put it in a silver or stone vessel with three sheng of bitter wine and boil it until the liquid is completely gone. Wash it again in well water and discard the epimedium powder.

Grind four liang each of chalcanthite and saltpeter finely, add them to the prepared ingredients, and treat them by the method given above. Bury the mixture in a shaded spot, in a pit three chi deep. After forty-nine days it becomes a liquid medicine. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. The liquid is a deep yellow and is said to be usable for transforming the two kinds of metal, yellow and white. Dip the metals into this liquid by the same method as before, and when the sound subsides, purple gold will have been refined.

Number Twenty-Nine: Purple Mica Stone Water

Take one jin of purple mica stone and grind it into a fine powder. Wash it three times in well-flower water. Grind four liang of polygala (yuanzhi) into powder, then put it in a silver or stone vessel with three sheng of bitter wine and boil it until the liquid is completely gone. Take it out, wash it in well water, and discard the polygala powder.

Grind four liang each of chalcanthite and saltpeter finely, add them to the prepared ingredients, and treat them by the method given above. Bury the mixture in a shaded spot, in a pit three chi deep. After forty-nine days it becomes a liquid medicine. Take it out and pour it into a silver or stone vessel. It is said to be usable only for transforming the two kinds of metal, yellow and white. It can turn metals into purple gold, though the colors will vary.

Number Thirty: Azurite Stone Water

Take one jin of azurite (kongqing stone) and grind it into an extremely fine powder, then rinse it three times with "well-flower water" (well water drawn at dawn). Separately, grind two liang of descending incense (jiangzhen xiang) into powder. Put it in a vessel of silver or stone with three sheng of bitter wine (kujiu) and boil until the wine has boiled away. Take it out, rinse it in well water, and discard the incense powder.

Next, take four liang each of chalcanthite and saltpeter, grind them fine, add them to the medicine, and process them as before. Bury the medicine in a sunny place, three feet underground. After forty-nine days it becomes the "water." Take it out and pour it into a vessel of silver or stone; the liquid will be a deep emerald green. If someone swallows about a clamshell's measure of it, and then rubs benzoin (anxi xiang, a fragrant resin) on the philtrum, then in times of danger they can leave according to the directions without looking back. Even in a crowd, no one will see their body. This is what is called the method of invisibility.

No. 31: Silver Sprout Stone Water

No. 32: White Mother Stone Water

The two medicines above are made by the same method described below. After taking them, one can likewise leave according to the directions without looking back, and even in a crowd no one will see one's body. This is what is called the method of invisibility.

No. 31: Silver Sprout Stone Water

No. 32: White Mother Stone Water

These two medicines are made in the same way as the first cinnabar preparation below, except that one liang of immortal sprout powder is added to each. Their transformations and efficacy are identical to those of Divine Cinnabar Water, and their marvelous qualities cannot all be described. This substance must not be carelessly revealed, lest calamity fall upon the Nine Ancestors (from distant forebears down to later descendants).

Identifying the Names of the "Dragon Sprouts"

"Joint-Matching Dragon Sprout" refers to motherwort (yimucao). "Silver-Whisker Dragon Sprout" refers to scallion. "Earth-Gall Dragon Sprout" refers to dodder (tusizi), which is used to subdue and fix sulfur. "Green-Tree Dragon Sprout" refers to the toon tree (chunshu). "Earth-Coil Dragon Sprout" refers to the lotus leaf and flower. "Dao-Born Dragon Sprout" refers to bianzhu (knotweed). "Side-Facing Dragon Sprout" refers to the wutong seed. "Rooster-Sprout Dragon Sprout" refers to chickweed (jichangcao).

According to the text, all of these "dragon sprouts" can be used to subdue the Five Metals and Eight Minerals (the general term in alchemy for metals and mineral medicines) without harming the Embryonic Light (taiguang, one of the three hun souls in Daoism).

"Immortal-Strength Dragon Sprout" refers to chives. "Flower-Treasure Dragon Sprout" refers to the tree peony. "Strange-Flower Dragon Sprout" refers to the herbaceous peony. "Jade-Juice Dragon Sprout" refers to lettuce. "Golden-Wheat Dragon Sprout" refers to the wutong seed. "Rooster-Sprout Dragon Sprout" again refers to chickweed.

The original repeats some headings and entries at the end; the above follows their content as given. The specific referents of the "dragon sprout" names and their corresponding substances are as the original text lists them.

Different Flower Dragon Sprout ("Dragon Sprout" is the name this chapter assigns to medicinal herbs): peony (shaoyao).

Jade Sap Dragon Sprout: lettuce (woju).

Golden Wheat Dragon Sprout: sheep's sorrel (yangti).

Heartless Dragon Sprout: pinellia (banxia), used together with cinnabar to tint copper.

The substances above are said to have been subdued (fuzhi, that is, processed by alchemical methods so that their properties are restrained and stabilized), allowing the Cinnabar Yang (danyang) to become a treasure and enabling the transmutation of red gold into a precious thing of the world.

Golden Thread Dragon Sprout: pokeweed (zhangliu).

Golden Medicine Dragon Sprout: chrysanthemum.

Mulberry Grade Dragon Sprout: mulberry leaves, gathered after the frost and used to transmute sulfur.

Long Life Dragon Sprout: frost-enduring herb (naidong).

Three Yellows Dragon Sprout: rehmannia (dihuang).

Two Qi Dragon Sprout: lotus leaf, used to subdue mercury (that is, to restrain and stabilize it).

Immortal Robe Dragon Sprout: usnea lichen (songluo), used to refine the Five Metals and Eight Minerals, and to transmute and subdue cinnabar.

Hanging Sphere Dragon Sprout: eggplant, used to transmute copper.

The substances above are said to subdue sulfur so that it no longer disperses.

Purple Gold Dragon Sprout: pokeweed (zhangliu).

Jade Green Dragon Sprout: bamboo.

Wood Ear Dragon Sprout: cudweed (fo'er cao).

White Snow Dragon Sprout: scalp-sore herb (tuchuang cao).

Earth Brocade Dragon Sprout: "running" (zou).

Purple Gold Dragon Sprout: pokeweed (zhangliu).

Jade Green Dragon Sprout: bamboo.

Wood Ear Dragon Sprout: cudweed (fo'er cao).

White Snow Dragon Sprout: scalp-sore herb (tuchuang cao).

Earth Brocade Dragon Sprout: "clothing spots" (yi ban).

Heaven's Blade Dragon Sprout: calamus (jupu).

Compassion Cinnabar Dragon Sprout: arisaema (nanxing).

Sweet Flavor Dragon Sprout: sugarcane, using fresh sugarcane to transmute copper.

The substances above are said to subdue realgar so that it no longer disperses.

Heaven's Flame Dragon Sprout: lotus flower.

Frost-Enduring Dragon Sprout: self-heal (xiakucao).

Central Dragon Sprout: yellow grass (huangcao).

Azure Dragon Dragon Sprout: kudzu vine (gegen).

Ever-Green Dragon Sprout: pine.

Golden Essence Dragon Sprout: euphorbia (daji).

Tree-Entwining Dragon Sprout: trumpet creeper flower (lingxiaohua).

Bird-Holding Dragon Sprout: "house pine" (shesong).

Golden Color Dragon Sprout: dodder (tusizi).

Jade Blossom Dragon Sprout: willow catkins.

Earth Nail Dragon Sprout: plantain seed (cheqianzi).

Red Claw Dragon Sprout: spinach.

Fastening Cord Dragon Sprout: "half-shell" (banjia).

Flavor of Crabapple Dragon Sprout: "Du Li'er" (duli'er).

The substances above are said to subdue willow catkins.

Earth Nail Dragon Sprout: plantain seed (cheqianzi).

Red Claw Dragon Sprout: spinach.

Fastening Cord Dragon Sprout: "half-shell" (banjia).

This chapter takes "Dragon Sprout" as its organizing name, setting many plants and trees alongside alchemical terminology, and records claims about their use in transmuting copper, refining metals and minerals, or subduing substances such as mercury, sulfur, and realgar. "Running" (zou) and "not running" (bu zou) here refer to whether a drug or mineral disperses or is lost. Some herb names and sentence meanings in the original are unclear, so the original names have been kept and rendered literally.

Crabapple Dragon Sprout (Tang Longya) corresponds to Du Lier.

The above is a formula for taming mercury: cinnabar is used as the raw material and refined nine times to produce the "Great Medicine" (the finished product in alchemy).

Jade Vase Dragon Sprout corresponds to radish.

Five-Leaf Dragon Sprout corresponds to purslane.

Black Stone Dragon Sprout corresponds to Heideng.

Zheng Earth Dragon Sprout corresponds to Dudedi.

Golden Garden Dragon Sprout corresponds to Sichuan pepper.

Ten-Thousand-Fathom Dragon Sprout corresponds to wisteria vine.

Round-Leaf Dragon Sprout corresponds to epimedium (yinyanghuo).

Earth Ginseng Dragon Sprout corresponds to anemarrhena (zhimu).

Sweet Dew Dragon Sprout corresponds to licorice.

Purple-Back Dragon Sprout corresponds to Youdian leaf.

Deer Antler Dragon Sprout corresponds to indigo leaf, which is used to make Shuangdian Pi.

All of these herbs can tame the essence of cinnabar; through continued refining, it can be made to coagulate into a treasure.

Golden Hook Dragon Sprout corresponds to wild jujube.

Golden Flower Dragon Sprout.

Five Phoenix Dragon Sprout corresponds to Guanzhong.

All of the above are herbs.

Purple-Back Dragon Sprout corresponds to Youdian leaf.

Deer Antler Dragon Sprout corresponds to indigo leaf, which is used to make Shuangdian Pi.

All of these herbs can tame the essence of cinnabar; through continued refining, it can be made to coagulate into a treasure.

Golden Hook Dragon Sprout corresponds to wild jujube.

Golden Flower Dragon Sprout.

Five Phoenix Dragon Sprout corresponds to Guanzhong.

All of these herbs can be refined together with the Five Metals and Eight Minerals (the general term in alchemy for metal and mineral raw materials) to produce the "Great Medicine."

Penetrating-Crown Dragon Sprout corresponds to pipewort (gujingcao).

Earth Bone Dragon Sprout corresponds to goji berry (gouqi).

These two herbs can tame cinnabar and make it display varied colors, with a brilliance like that of treasure.

Heavenly Treasure Dragon Sprout corresponds to red mustard.

Hanging Bean Dragon Sprout corresponds to Sophora pods (huaijiao).

Brocade Sand Dragon Sprout corresponds to mulberry leaf.

Brocade Lock Dragon Sprout corresponds to copper-transmuting agent, followed by niter.

The formulas above all share the same function.

Water Float Dragon Sprout corresponds to duckweed.

Tiger Claw Dragon Sprout corresponds to daylily (xuancao).

Censer Dragon Sprout corresponds to perilla (zisu).

These herbs can tame borax and are used to transmute the Five Metals and Eight Minerals.

Shattered Flame Dragon Sprout corresponds to house-guarding herb; it can tame fired sal ammoniac and is used to transmute gold.

Cyperus Dragon Sprout corresponds to nutgrass root and can tame realgar.

The formulas above all share the same function.

A poem says:

When the Dragon Sprout flowers bloom, it is exactly the time to gather them; when harvesting, take them whole, with root, shoots, leaves, and branches together.

(Terms such as "taming" and "transmuting" are traditional alchemical expressions, referring to treating minerals and metals with medicinal substances and heat so that they undergo transformation; "varied colors" and "like treasure" describe the colors and luster that appear after refining.)

When the "dragon-sprout flower" (longyahua) is in full bloom, it is the ideal season for gathering. When it is picked, the root, shoots, leaves, and branches should all be collected together.

Only by processing it according to the prescribed methods can a true medicine be made. Even minerals and metals, the hardest of materials, can quickly have their properties subdued and transformed.