《黄帝九鼎神丹经诀》Vol. 2

Did the ancients not know how to make furnaces and crucibles from iron? They could have cast them to shape and made them quickly. But the five metals—toxic in various combinations—should not be used casually, so the great methods of alchemical refinement do not use iron vessels. Instead, crucibles were made from clay. Although shaping one and firing it in a single firing is easy enough, making it airtight is the hardest part: if the walls are even slightly uneven, the medicinal ingredients will leak out. Since ancient times, people have labored for years and reached old age without completing the process, often for this very reason. The ancients considered this method of making crucibles important and did not pass it on lightly.

To make an earthen crucible, one uses “Six-One Mud.” “Six-One” means that six and one combine to make seven. The sages kept its secret, which is why it is called “Six-One.”

How to Make Six-One Mud

Take alum stone, yushi stone, rong salt, and lujian salt, and first roast them for twenty days. Then take shu-hai zuogu oysters, red halloysite, and talc, making seven ingredients in all. The amounts of each ingredient may be adjusted as needed. Pound them ten thousand times, sift them finely, and mix them with vinegar that has been aged for a hundred days to form mud pellets.

The mud used in various methods of alchemical refinement is often called “Six-One Mud,” though it does not necessarily contain these seven ingredients. Each method has its own recipe; what matters is that the mud be strong and dense. The sealing mud for the Seven Treasures Unending-Life Pills of Hu Gangzi, transmitted by Zuo Yuanfang, was made from twenty jin each of amethyst, white stone, red halloysite, powdered oyster shell, and white talc. There are also records of a pounding method that works just as well, so it too is classed as “Six-One,” though it uses only three ingredients.

Although the name “Six-One” is used for sealing mud, these ingredients are also thought to help prolong life through their effects. Alum stone is said to make the body light and agile, strengthen the bones, and extend life while warding off aging; yushi stone is said to brighten the eyes…

Materials referred to as “Six-and-One,” even when used only to make clay, are said to aid longevity when their effects are considered. Alumstone can make the body light and agile, strengthen the bones, and prolong life without aging. Yu-stone can brighten the eyes, lower Qi, nourish the liver, and quench thirst. Rong salt can dispel toxins and strengthen the muscles. Brine salt can clear accumulated heat from the internal organs and ease vomiting, asthma, and abdominal distension. Red ochre can enhance the intellect, reduce hunger, make the body light and agile, and prolong life. White talc can make the body light and agile, extend one’s lifespan, and also help one endure hunger and quench thirst. Used to make the cauldrons that hold medicines during elixir preparation, these materials confer benefits associated with long life through the cauldrons alone. The ancients therefore used them for more than simply making cauldrons: first, they shaped the main body of each cauldron from red clay, then repeatedly coated it with Six-and-One mud, and finally applied Dark Yellow Blossom. The materials are introduced here in order; the specific method follows.

Method for Making Red-Clay Cauldrons

Take yellow red clay the color of a parrot’s liver. Pound it thoroughly and sift it through silk, then steam it from sunrise until after noon. Remove it, mix it with weak wine to form a paste, and pound it repeatedly until it is thoroughly worked and smooth. Use this to make three sets of clay cauldrons, six in all; this is the prescribed quantity.

Make another three sets, six cauldrons in all, to test whether the cauldron walls have dried. Adjust the number of cauldrons as needed, depending on the amount of medicine. Make the walls about five fen thick, and leave them to dry in the shade for thirty days. A small cauldron holds about eight or nine sheng; a large one holds about one and a half dou. Another account says the walls should be three fen thick; once made, they should be dried in the sun until completely dry, then fired.

Next, take thirty jin of white bark from the xie tree, cut it into small pieces, and boil it in three shi of water for one day. Strain out the residue, then simmer the liquid until it is reduced to one sheng. The finished liquid is reddish-black and is called “xie lacquer.” If more cauldrons are made, increase the amount of xie lacquer accordingly, and use it to coat both the inside and outside of the clay cauldrons. This treatment makes them strong and resilient, less likely to break, and less likely to crack when placed in the fire. This is the secret method for making the clay cauldrons used to refine divine elixirs.

Take three hundred jin of oysters from the Eastern Sea whose shells curve to the left. Remove the meat and pound it in a large iron mortar. Pass it through a silk sieve into a basin, add water until it has the consistency of a white drink, and stir it several hundred times. Let it stand overnight. Pour off the water on top, then take out the fine sediment and dry it in the sun. If coarse particles remain at the bottom, pound and sieve them again, and process them as before.

Put the fine powder in an iron vessel and place it on an open-air furnace. Burn it over a strong wood fire for twenty days, keeping the material the same color as the flame throughout. Let it cool for one day, then pass it through a silk sieve again. Return the powder to the iron vessel and the open-air furnace, and burn it over a strong wood fire for another twenty days, until it is the same color as the flame. After cooling it for one day, sieve it once more. Then mix it with the medicinal substances from the “Hundred-Day Medicine Pool” to make a paste. Dip a brush made from sheep’s whiskers into the paste and coat the inside and outside of an earthen crucible.

Next, take equal amounts of special Shengyu stone, alum stone, talc, red ochre, Rong salt, and halite. Combine and pound them together; there is no need to sieve them. Burn the mixture for twenty days as well. Then take some of the oyster powder prepared earlier, mix it with an appropriate quantity of these six substances, and add vinegar to make a paste. Coat the inside and outside of the earthen crucible with it. Use one hundred jin of oyster powder and two jin of each of the six substances.

Method for Making the Central Yellow Sealing Paste

Take good-quality yellow earth with a texture as fine as grease. Dry it in the sun, pound it, and sieve it, then wash it with water using the same method as for making oyster powder. After drying it in the sun, break it into pieces the size of plums or apricots. Burn them over a strong fire for three days, until they glow red like cinnabar. When cool, pound and sieve them again. Take three jin and add one jin of yellow lead oxide. Separately, soak one jin of paper until soft and pulpy. Then boil five jin of donkey-hide gelatin in wine and collect enough of the gelatin liquid. Combine the paper, earth, and gelatin liquid into a paste, and pound it three thousand times. Put it in a porcelain vessel and steam it for half a day, then apply it over the “Six-One Paste.”

Method for Coating the Elixir Crucible

Take crucibles made of red earth. First coat the inside and outside of two red-earth crucibles with oyster paste: make the outer coating five fen thick and the inner coating three fen thick. Leave them in a cool place for ten days until completely dry. Then apply another layer of “Six-One Paste,” to the thickness specified in the original text.

Take two earthenware cauldrons made from red clay. First coat both the inside and outside of each cauldron with oyster-shell clay, a sealing compound made from oyster shells and other materials. Apply a layer five fen thick on the outside and three fen thick on the inside, then leave the cauldrons in the shade for ten days until completely dry. Next, apply a layer of Liuyi clay, a sealing material used in Daoist alchemy, two fen thick. According to the account later in the scripture, the layer should be five fen thick on both the inside and outside. Judging by this, Liuyi clay should be applied only inside the cauldrons, not on the outside.

How to coat the cauldrons

Apply the clay gradually over ten days until the layer reaches five fen thick. After coating, leave the cauldrons in the shade for ten days, then dry them in the sun for another ten days. This gives a coating five fen thick on both the inside and outside. By usual standards, this is still considered thin, and the whole process takes only twenty days.

How to apply oyster-shell clay

Apply oyster-shell clay in the same way as Liuyi clay, spreading the work over the same number of days.

How to seal the alchemical furnace

After placing the substances inside, coat the rims where the two cauldrons meet with Liuyi clay, then fit them together. Next, seal the outer seam with Liuyi clay, building up the layer gradually. Let each layer dry before applying the next, until the coating is more than one cun thick. Make sure the seal is firm and airtight. Then cover the entire outside with Zhonghuang divine clay, a mud used to seal alchemical vessels; a layer six or seven fen thick is best. Once sealed, the cauldron should look like an upside-down basin, with an overall shape resembling an egg. This is the method for making an airtight seal.

If the vessel is not sealed this way, the heat will cause the vital essence of the Liuyi clay to dissipate, and the seal will crack and become porous, allowing the essence of the elixir to leak through the gaps. In the past, Master Anqi followed the Venerable Guangcheng for more than thirty years. Although he obtained the alchemical scripture and heard explanations of various instructions, he was not taught this crucial method, and so his nine attempts at refining the elixir all failed. Only after asking again was he taught the secret of this divine clay. His next attempt succeeded, and he then ascended to Taiqing, the Daoist name for a higher celestial realm.

I believe this explanation is sound. I have often suspected that sealing the elixir furnace with mud mixed with horsehair or wool is unwise: the hair chars in the fire, leaving gaps, so the seal is no longer airtight and the vapors from the ingredients may escape through the cracks. On closer consideration, the mud must be spread with extreme care and smoothness.

The seal must be completely dry before the fire is lit; if it retains even a little moisture, heating will cause it to crack. You can also coat another vessel with mud, following the same thickness and procedure used for the elixir furnace, as a test. Peel off the test coating to check whether it has dried thoroughly on both sides, or fire it to determine whether the furnace mud is suitable. This step is crucial: first let the mud dry in the shade, then leave it in the sun for another ten days. Vessels that have already been fired should be treated in the same way.

Even after several hundred days of drying in the shade, earthenware may still retain some dampness and softness when exposed to fire. Since vinegar and other moist substances are now mixed into the mud, it is all the more important to coat a small cauldron with it first and fire it several times as a test.

How to prepare furnace mud

Coat the inside of the vessel first, then apply mud to the outside. Make a frame and set the vessel in place, and prepare a measuring template to control the thickness of the mud layer. To make it round, use a compass to measure out the mud and mix it evenly. While the mud is nearly dry but not yet dry, smooth it frequently by hand so that it gradually adheres and dries. Do not leave it to dry all at once, or it is likely to crack. On rainy days, light a fire indoors to warm the room. The required drying time has already been set; do not wait for it to dry on its own, or the schedule will be delayed.

How to mix the mud

Mix the mud until it is soft, moist, and fine. Make a brush from goat’s beard hair and use it to apply the mud. First wash the hair in water containing plant ash, then fit it into a brush handle. Prepare several brushes for use.

The wine used to mix the mud

When mixing muds such as “Six-and-One,” use fine, full-bodied wine directly; there is no need to use “Flower Pool.” For making “Golden Sand,” follow the method described in other scriptures; there is no need to follow it here. The scripture says the mixture must stand for one hundred days, so do not leave it for less than that. If it can stand longer, for several years, that is better.

When pounding the ingredients, if they have already been finely crushed, it is enough to sift them through a fine sieve. A high-quality silk sieve is best; there is no need to grind them further.

Hu Gangzi’s Method for Making an Immortal Crucible

Take reddish-yellow soil from the south, wash it and let it settle, removing sand, stones, and other impurities. Then mix it until it is neither too hard nor too soft. First make a crucible seven inches deep, with a mouth one foot two inches across. Its walls should be evenly thick, and its top and bottom neatly aligned; make the walls one inch thick. Make other crucibles for alchemical work in the same way. Choose the crucible’s size according to the quantity of ingredients, and make it in a single batch. Once finished, leave it to dry in a shaded place for one month.

Next, make a pottery furnace and place the crucible inside. Heat it first with a gentle fire, then with a strong fire, watching the heat carefully. When the fire gradually weakens, stop heating and remove the crucible. Keep it in a clean room, where it will not be exposed to anything impure. If the crucible is not fired beforehand, it will be difficult to control the heat when using it later.

Hu Gangzi’s Method for Preparing Crucible-Sealing Mud

To prepare the sealing mud for a large immortal elixir crucible, use one pound each of purple quartz, white clay, oyster shell powder, and white talc. Pound each separately and sift it finely, then mix it into mud with “the juice of Yin Beast Mysterious Essence,” a liquid used in alchemy. Shape each mixture into lumps about the size of an egg and dry them in the sun. Stack them in a furnace and fire them continuously for ten days and nights. When the fire goes out, cover the furnace and leave it for ten days.

Once cooled, pound each material separately into a fine powder. Add rong salt, an alchemical salt, and salty brine; moisten the mixture with water, then use Huachi decoction to work it into mud. Coat the crucible with this mud, let it dry, and apply another coat. Apply three coats in all, each one fen thick. The outside of the earthen crucible should also be coated with mysterious yellow mud, one fen thick per coat. This method is especially precise. Inspect the mud coating often and do not let even tiny cracks appear. The essential point is to seal it tightly and securely.

Method for Preparing the Mysterious Yellow Substance in the Immortal Crucible

Hu Gangzi used ten pounds of mysterious silver, one pound of white bismuth, five pounds of three-times-transformed lead yellow flower, and …

Hu Gangzi used ten jin of dark silver, one jin of bismuth white, and five jin of lead yellow treated three times. He spread them out, covered them, and placed them in an earthen crucible. From sunrise to sunset, he heated them over a fierce fire. The essence of the lead separated out completely, its color like gold. It was called “Dark Yellow,” and also “Flying Light” or “Flying Flow.” Next, he took lead white and simmered it in an iron vessel until it turned golden. He used equal amounts of this and Dark Yellow, pounded them together ten thousand times, then mixed them with “left-flavor” and pounded them into a paste.

This is the method for making the mud medicine of the Immortal Crucible. It is not a method used in the orthodox instructions for the Nine Elixirs. I, your servant, consider these methods truly ingenious, having tested them, and so have preserved them here. No other method compares with this superior one.

End of Scroll Seven of the Instructions on the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor.

Scroll Eight of the Instructions on the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor: Transforming Stone into Water and the Method of Niter

Preface on Transforming Stone

I, your servant, have heard that whenever one refines the Great Elixir…

I have heard that the making of the Great Elixir always depends on the aid of “stone-transforming divine water.” Although the method for refining this divine water originated with the Yellow Emperor, it was later perfected through the Way of the “Eight Lords and Thirty-Six Waters.” The “Eight Lords” were the teachers of Liu An, the King of Huainan during the Han dynasty.

Liu An was the great-grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han, and his father was the Prince of Li. At that time, most of the noblemen in the realm were keen on building capital cities, hunting, and raising dogs and horses. Liu An alone cherished the Way of the immortals, placing particular value on secret arts passed down privately. When he heard of people skilled in magical arts of transformation, he would invite them to come, even from a thousand li away, with humble words and generous gifts. They gathered around him in great numbers, numbering in the thousands. He compiled the Inner Book in twenty-one chapters, the Middle Book in eight volumes, and the Hongbao Prescriptions in three volumes. He also sent word far and wide that he was seeking worthy men, and at last his appeal brought the Eight Lords to him, willing to become his teachers.

At first, the gatekeeper would not let the Eight Lords enter. They then appeared in forms that varied from young to old. When the attendant reported this to Liu An, he hurried forward on his elbows, not even stopping to put on his shoes, and went out to welcome them. He invited them up to the Terrace for Seeking Immortality, prepared brocade curtains and seats of gold and jade, and, in the manner of a disciple, asked them to teach him the secret of long life.

The Eight Lords said, “To cultivate the Way of the immortals, one must first refine the divine elixir; only then can one live forever and escape death. I can refine earth into gold and congeal mercury into silver; steep and refine eight kinds of minerals in water; make flowing pearls and jade soar and transform; and transmute and refine the five metals into the Seven Treasures. Those who take these elixirs can ride clouds and dragons, roam through the Great Clarity—the lofty realm described in Daoist teaching—enter and leave the Purple Palace, the abode of immortals, and dwell in the Mysterious Capital, the Daoist paradise. This is the wondrous method of ascending on clouds and becoming an immortal with feathered wings. Your Majesty should cultivate it.”

Liu An bowed solemnly, weeping as he pleaded for the secret of long life. The Eight Lords therefore took pity on him, …

Jin An received the Upper Scripture of the Five-Spirit Divine Elixir, along with thirty-six methods for refining water and the method for consecrating an altar. To consecrate an altar meant ascending it, swearing an oath and making a covenant, sealing the vow with blood, and kneeling to receive the divine elixir’s formula. Then one began firing the furnace and refining the elixir. In time, he succeeded in making the medicine.

Wu Li secretly denounced Jin An to the emperor. Enraged, the emperor sent an official of the Imperial Clan Court, bearing the tally of authority, to arrest him. The Eight Lords, legendary immortals, urged him: “An, now is the time to leave. Anyone who plots against those entered in the register of immortals will die; anyone who offends them will bring ruin upon their entire family.” Before long, disaster did indeed befall Wu Li, just as the Eight Lords had said. They told Jin An, “This is Heaven’s arrangement. Your Majesty need not resent it.” Then the Eight Lords and Jin An climbed a mountain and performed a grand sacrifice. That very day, they ascended to Heaven and departed. Legend says that traces of human feet and horses’ hooves can still be seen on the great stones they trod. That is why chickens crow in Heaven and dogs bark among the clouds.

In ancient times, the Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate ascended to Heaven by means of this divine scripture. The great stones he had trodden also bore the traces of human feet and horses’ hooves, preserved for thousands of years. Hence the saying, “Chickens crow in Heaven, and dogs bark among the clouds.”

Long ago, the Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate passed this divine scripture and the water-and-stone method to the Lord of the Azure Lad of the Eastern Sea. The Azure Lad passed them to Master of the Golden Tower, who passed them to the Eight Lords, who in turn passed them to Liu An, King of Huainan. On the day Liu An ascended to Heaven, he passed them to Zuo Hao, the person Liu An had held dear. Before departing, Liu An told Zuo Hao, “If you seek long life, you should refine the divine elixir. Once it is complete, you will be able to do as you please.” The divine elixir handed down by these immortals, however, was the Five-Spirit Divine Elixir. Its preparation required great care, and the medicines and minerals selected were similar to those used for the Nine-Cauldron Divine Elixir. In its effects, however, it was somewhat weaker than the Yellow Emperor’s Nine-Cauldron Divine Elixir. The method for turning stone into water came from the Eight Lords, so its origins are described in detail below.

The method for preparing yellow alum water.

The mercury used to refine the Nine-Cauldron Divine Elixir must first be detoxified. Alum water must not be used for detoxification, or the poison cannot be completely removed. Using the method recorded here usually takes fifty days; when following the old method, the number of days should not be increased arbitrarily.

One method is as follows: Take one jin of alum, but do not use horse-tooth alum. Put it into a green bamboo tube and shave the tube’s outer wall thin. Cover it above and below with four liang of saltpeter, then seal the mouth of the tube tightly with lacquer and place it in the “Flower Pool” (a term in alchemy for a liquid used to refine or soak medicinal substances). After forty days, the alum will have turned into liquid. Mix this liquid with the Flower Pool. It can be applied to iron objects to give them a copper color. This liquid can be used in all the various refining methods. Ten tubes yield about one dou of liquid; prepare it according to the amount of medicine required, and add three liang of stone gall.

Another method: Take three jin of alum, seal the mouth of the tube tightly, and place it in the Flower Pool. After forty days, it will have turned into liquid. Mix it with the Flower Pool; it can be used to coat iron and give it a copper color. It can be used in all the various refining methods. Ten tubes yield about one dou of liquid; prepare it according to the amount of medicine required, and add three liang of stone gall.

Another method: Take three jin of alum and put it into a fresh bamboo tube. Shave the tube’s outer wall thin, tie the mouth tightly with a fine cord, and bury it in damp ground. After five days, it will have turned into liquid.

Yet another method: First mix the alum with a strong, well-aged wine until it is slightly moist. Put it into a container, add two liang of saltpeter, and seal the mouth with lacquer. Bury it three chi underground. After fifteen days, it will have turned into liquid.

The Mysterious Pearl Method

Take one jin of alum and three liang of stone gall. Cover them above and below, put them into a bamboo tube, seal the mouth tightly with lacquer, and place the tube in the Flower Pool. After fifty days, the contents will have turned into liquid. Each of these three methods is used together with one portion of “Mysterious Pearl,” an alchemical term whose precise referent depends on how it is used in this scripture.

The Three Essences and Six Liquids Method

Take one jin of white alum, put it into a green bamboo tube, and shave the tube’s outer wall thin. Add two liang of saltpeter, cover the contents above and below, seal the mouth of the tube tightly with lacquer, and place it in the Flower Pool. After forty days, it will have turned into liquid.

The text also records methods for refining the Nine-Cauldron Divine Elixir. To make the first elixir, “Elixir Flower,” first prepare Dark Yellow, an alchemical substance or intermediate product. Then put it into a bamboo tube together with orpiment water and cinnabar water, and shave the tube’s outer wall thin.

The Hundred Steaming and Nine Sublimations Method

Take one jin of orpiment and put it into a bamboo tube. Add four liang of saltpeter, seal the mouth of the tube tightly with lacquer as prescribed, and place it in the Flower Pool. After forty days, it will have turned into liquid.

There is another method: Take two liang of saltpeter and put it into bitter wine held in a vessel made of tangti. Then place it in a dark yellow bamboo tube, whose outer layer should be shaved thin.

Method for steaming and refining nine times, then subliming and refining nine times

Take one jin of realgar and put it into a bamboo tube. Add four liang of saltpeter, seal it firmly with lacquer as prescribed, and place it in the Flower Pool. After forty days, it will have turned into liquid.

There is another method: Take two liang of saltpeter and put it into bitter wine held in a vessel made of tangti. Seal the mouth of the tube and bury it three chi deep in the earth at the center of a courtyard. After twenty days, it will have turned into liquid. The resulting liquid tastes sweet and is yellow and cloudy.

Method for making cinnabar water

Take one jin of cinnabar and put it into a fresh bamboo tube. Add two liang each of mineral gall and saltpeter, then place it in bitter wine held in a vessel made of tangti. Seal it and bury it three chi deep in the earth at the center of a courtyard. After twenty days, it will have turned into liquid. The resulting liquid tastes sweet and is yellow and cloudy.

There is another method: Take one jin of cinnabar and put it into a fresh bamboo tube. Add two liang of mineral gall and four liang of saltpeter. Seal it firmly with lacquer as in the previous method, then place it in the Flower Pool. After thirty days, it will have turned into liquid.

There is yet another method: Add two liang each of mineral gall and saltpeter, contain them in tangti and bury them as described above. After thirty days, they will have turned into liquid. The resulting liquid tastes bitter and is reddish.

After examining these methods, I conclude that the procedures for turning alum stone, realgar, and cinnabar into liquid all follow the Correct Classic of the Thirty-Six Waters of the Eight Lords, which describes methods for refining various medicinal liquids. All these procedures require saltpeter to succeed; refining cinnabar also requires mineral gall. The formulas for the various Great Elixirs include Rong salt. Now that the four seas are connected, all kinds of medicines can be obtained—yet saltpeter alone is difficult to find. Some people in the community make what they call “water” without saltpeter; others prepare saltpeter using different medicines and claim it has transformed into saltpeter, calling its efficacy miraculous.

I have carefully examined these formulas and fear they will not produce the effects of genuine saltpeter. I therefore list below the methods that use other medicines.

Method for making alum stone water using other medicines

Pound three jin of alum into powder. Take a flat tray made of mulberry wood and heat the ground with charcoal. Concerned that this method might not produce genuine alum in time, the text also gives another procedure using substitute materials, as follows.

Method for Making Vitriol Water from Substitute Materials

Pound three jin of alum into powder. Heat the ground with charcoal, and leave the mulberry-wood tray over the fire to heat overnight. Sprinkle vinegar over the hot ground, then spread the alum powder on it. Turn the wooden tray upside down over the powder and bank white lime around its edges. Once the heat from the ground has dissipated, remove the lime, lift the tray, and take out the material from the top. Sweep away impurities with a feather, then soak it in three dou of vinegar. Use one dou of vinegar for every jin of the material. After seven days it can be used in an emergency; after one hundred days, it works better. Prepare the ingredients and vinegar as described earlier, adjusting the exact quantities as needed.

Method for Making Glauber’s Salt and Saltpeter

This material, made from substitutes, is called mangxiao stone; it is not genuine saltpeter. Take Glauber’s salt and saltpeter without pounding, sifting, or grinding them. Pour warm water over the Glauber’s salt and collect the clear liquid. Boil it until its volume has been reduced by about half. Pour it into a clean small basin, then place the basin in cold water and leave it to soak overnight. Crystals the size of white quartz, with angular edges, will form. Avoid contaminating them when removing them. The scripture says that if someone else watches, the medicine’s vital essence will be harmed and the transformation will fail. Keep replacing the cold water until the crystals form; the water must remain cold so that it changes quickly.

Method for Making Rong Salt from Substitute Materials

Take a suitable amount of clean rock salt and melt it in an iron vessel until it boils. Pour it into powdered alum. Melt it again and pour it into brine salt. Melt it once more and pour it over powdered dry salt, covering it. Repeat this refining process three times to make Rong salt. The scripture says it is equivalent to genuine Rong salt and can serve as a base ingredient for many medicines. Add it when making the five-colored divine salts and the essences of the Five Emperors, and the preparations will be complete.

Method for Making Stone Gall from Substitute Materials

Take one part green vitriol, one part yellow vitriol, and one part white mountain fat. Put them in a large iron vessel and heat until they melt and boil. Immediately add two parts of genuine cengqing ground into a fine powder, stir quickly, then pour the mixture out and cast it into bars or blocks. This produces high-quality litharge. If the vitriols have not melted completely, add more cengqing powder and heat the mixture until it boils. Then add two parts of genuine cengqing powder, stir quickly, and pour it out to cast into bars or blocks. This will also produce litharge. Another method is to mix cengqing powder with bitter water until they combine, then pour it into the vitriols and let them melt. Pour out the mixture and cast it into bars or blocks.

A method for making a substitute for saltpeter from other substances

Take one part each of stone spleen, pu xiao, and mang xiao, and grind each separately into powder. Put three dou of bitter water in a copper pot and bring it to a boil ten times, then add the three powders and boil until the water has been reduced by half. Let the mixture settle, take the clear liquid, and simmer it over low heat until tiny bubbles just begin to appear on the surface. Stop heating, pour the liquid into a porcelain vessel, and leave it immersed in cold water overnight. It will form saltpeter crystals like frost or snow, shaped like icicles; they will dissolve as soon as water is added. Boil the liquid again over a fire, and when tiny bubbles appear on the surface, pour it back into the porcelain vessel and immerse it in cold water again. Saltpeter will form once more. Repeat this refining process, and the saltpeter produced will resemble frost, snow, and icicles; it will dissolve as soon as water is added. Boil it again and cool it in water, and it will form saltpeter once more. Repeated refining in this way weakens its potency. The preparation must not be carried out in an unclean place, and the mixture must be kept out of wind and sunlight.

Stone spleen is said to be an essence formed by the condensation of Yin-Yang Qi. It is the essence of the five salts, grows attached to alum stone, and takes shape through the stone. This mineral is found on Mount Emei, but few ordinary people know of it, and even local people have never seen it. Only those who seek the Dao sometimes have use for it. The ancients searched widely for it but found it difficult to obtain, so they made a substitute from other substances, believing it even more effective than genuine stone spleen.

A method for making a substitute for stone spleen from other substances

Take one jin of genuine white alum stone and one jin of Rong salt, and crush them separately. Pour two sheng of bitter water into a copper pot. After bringing it to a boil four or five times, add the two substances and continue simmering until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain out the residue, then boil the liquid until all the water has evaporated. The contents of the pot will bubble vigorously, leaving behind a white substance called stone spleen, a kind of medicinal mineral, as white as snow. It is said that saltpeter made by this method never fails to work; the method of preparation is now complete.

Master Peng says: “Saltpeter, Rong salt, stone gall, a blue-green copper-bearing mineral, mirabilite, and other substances, if genuine, can undergo marvelous changes through refinement and reveal their effects, despite each having its own Yin-Yang properties and inherent nature. Those who seek immortality but do not know this method will waste ten thousand gold pieces and achieve nothing. Few among the common people can identify stone spleen. Using it in place of the required ingredient is a practical expedient. Among the medicines for long life transmitted by Ge Hong, none is more important than this formula in its effects, transformations, and preciousness. Ge Hong now records it for fellow seekers in generations to come. If a suitable person cannot be found, it is not to be taught even to one’s own son; it is not to be taught for ten thousand gold pieces.”

Taiyi says: “I have heard that when preparing the thirty-six waters, a Daoist alchemical term for a class of liquids or medicinal solutions used in alchemy, the difficulty lies in the need for saltpeter. The preparation of yellow and white, a Daoist alchemical term for techniques involving the transmutation of gold and silver, is likewise constrained by the need for Rong salt. I have now mastered these methods, and they must not be passed on casually. Later students should treasure and safeguard them together, and not transmit them to unsuitable people.”

A method for making Bundye saltpeter by substituting other substances.

This medicine is used only in the “River Cart” method. It is not the same as the medicine used for the Divine Elixir. It seems that, while refining, some people saw the substances change and mistakenly assumed that all the resulting medicines were the same and could be used interchangeably. A separate explanation is therefore given here: this medicine is only for the River Cart method. If it is used to make a River Cart, the saltpeter will lose its medicinal potency.

To prepare it, take five dou of powdered brine salt and boil it ten times with seven and a half dou of water drawn from a well that has not been used for three years. Sprinkle and filter the mixture, collecting three dou of clear liquid. Add ten liang of mirabilite and boil it down to one dou. Then grind two jin of crude saltpeter into powder and add it to the liquid until it has dissolved completely. Remove it from the heat, let it stand until clear, and remove the sediment. Use the clear liquid from the top to prepare the River Cart. Only then will the various medicines show their effects.

The instructions say that “Dongye” refers to a salty substance produced in the Dongye region, an area in Hedong. The “Jin saltpeter” mentioned in the River Cart method is this product of Dongye. The Dongye method is also one of the eight saltpeter refining methods that Taiyi learned from the Primordial Lady. Each refining method has its own corresponding ingredients. The medicine for the River Cart method must not be mixed with others; if this is done incorrectly, the saltpeter used will be the kind intended for the Divine Elixir.

Rapid Water Method

In his note at the end of the Pearl Scripture, Hu Gangzi says that this “divine spring” can also be used in this method.

Various Water Methods

The original text already contains thirty-six water formulas, so there is no need to prepare any more. To make the divine spring more quickly, place the Huachi urn on a steamer and support its base with an iron ring. Heat it with horse manure or chaff, keeping the fire seven cun from the bottom of the urn. Put the tube inside the urn and warm it for seventy days, maintaining only a gentle heat.

There are thirty-six methods for preparing liquid preparations in the authoritative texts handed down from antiquity; no other methods should be used. To make “Divine Spring” (a liquid preparation said in elixir methods to have special effects) as quickly as possible, place the water-filled Huachi jar on the stove and set an iron ring beneath it to support its base. Use horse manure or bran as fuel, keeping the fire seven inches from the jar’s base. Place the tube inside the jar and warm it gently for seventy days. Maintain only a low heat and watch it carefully. The liquid preparations used to refine various mineral and metal substances can also be made in the same vessel.

No more than two or three people should take part in combining the ingredients, and they must wear clean, new clothes. No blood or meat offerings should be kept nearby, lest they offend the essence and Qi of the medicines; anyone who takes them will then be unable to attain the Dao. This procedure must be kept strictly secret. Once the Divine Spring is ready, its transformations are difficult to discern; this is called the achievement of the highest sages.

Method for Making Three-Turn Wine

Take one shi of red millet and brew it as you would ordinary wine. When the wine is ready, strain off the liquid and use it to soak two jin of “Gou” (a medicinal ingredient named in the original). After about three days, steam one shi of red millet until soft and mushy, mix in the dried powder of “Gou,” and seal the mixture in a jar. After three periods of seven days—that is, twenty-one days—the second turn is complete.

Next, add the roots and stems of Manjing and simmer over a low flame until about five dou remain. Strain out the dregs. Then add “Divine Gou Powder,” prepared on the seventh day of the seventh month, and mix thoroughly. Seal the mixture in a jar and leave it for another three periods of seven days; the second turn is then complete. Add the roots and stems of Manjing again, simmer over a low flame until about five dou remain, and strain out the dregs. Add the “Divine Gou Powder” prepared on the seventh day of the seventh month once more. Mix thoroughly, seal it in a jar, and keep it sealed for another three periods of seven days. The Three-Turn Wine is then complete.

This wine can be used to refine various poisons and can soften objects that are hard and rigid; hence it is called “Three-Turn Wine.”

Threefold-processed chaste-tree wine (wine made by treating it three times) is an essential ingredient in refining the Great Elixir. It softens the properties of medicines, reduces silver’s toxicity, and can be used together with yellow alum. The properties and effects of the various materials are not all complete in themselves, and gold, mercury, and other substances are toxic. One should therefore not expect a single treatment to remove their toxicity entirely.

To refine the Ninefold, Nine-Cauldron Great Elixir, first obtain aged wine that has matured for three years. It should have a strong flavor and is called “left-flavor.” Put the medicines into the wine, blend and ferment them, and process them repeatedly to make “saltpeter’s Flower-Pond Water.” In addition, prepare “Golden Medicine Flower-Pond” separately, to test the essence of the Five Minerals used in elixir making and prevent their medicinal properties from dispersing. Also prepare a separate threefold-processed “yellow-white left-flavor” for boiling and refining mercury so that it settles out. Then refine it by the same method and add the “Five-Planting Flower-Pond.” If the Five-Planting Flower-Pond is unavailable, use it to boil and refine subdued mercury. Any method other than these is not the correct method.

Without any one of the threefold-processed chaste-tree wine, the various Flower-Ponds, or the various mineral medicinal waters, the boiling and refining cannot be completed. If the boiling and refining are incomplete, the toxicity will not have been fully removed. If one hastily places the medicine in the furnace and cauldron for refinement, the elixir will remain toxic and cannot be taken. Processing these materials depends on saltpeter; without it, the work cannot succeed. One must therefore first find genuine, high-quality saltpeter. Saltpeter looks much like mirabilite and is extremely difficult to distinguish from it. If you obtain a mineral suspected to be saltpeter, use it to prepare medicinal waters from realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, alum, and other minerals. Only a mineral that works for these trials is the saltpeter meant here.

Saltpeter tastes bitter and pungent, but is in fact non-toxic. It treats accumulated heat in the five viscera, stagnation in the abdomen, and internal heat. It also relieves restlessness, distention and fullness, and wasting thirst, and promotes urination. Long-term use can make the body light and vigorous. It is called a most numinous mineral of Heaven and Earth, and is also known as mangxiao. It is found in the mountain valleys of Yizhou and in the regions of Wudu, Longxi, and Western Qiang, and may be collected at any time of year.

Tao Yinju (Tao Hongjing) says: Saltpeter’s uses are similar to those of mirabilite. The classics often use saltpeter to melt various minerals, but the two have never been clearly distinguished. Saltpeter is found in the mountain valleys of Yizhou and in the regions of Wudu, Longxi, and Western Qiang, and may be collected at any time of year.

Tao Hongjing says that saltpeter’s principal medicinal effects are similar to those of mirabilite. Ancient texts often describe using saltpeter to dissolve various ores, but do not clearly distinguish it from mirabilite. People who have recently searched for its source also say that saltpeter and mirabilite come from the same mountain. As a result, some have used “mirabilite” as a general name for both. Yet these accounts indicate that the two are not the same substance.

In the past, someone found a mineral whose color and markings closely resembled mirabilite. Its grains were fine and scattered, like salt snow held in the hand. When burned, it gave off purple-blue smoke and then turned to ash; it did not keep boiling as mirabilite does. Some say this is genuine saltpeter, also called mangxiao. What is called mangxiao today, however, is made by refining mirabilite. Neither this account nor Huangfu Shian’s is necessarily accurate. The effects should be examined carefully, and the relevant texts checked.

Method for refining saltpeter: using water thirty-six times

Longxi belonged to Qinzhou and lay among the Qiang lands west of Chang’an, roughly corresponding to the area north of present-day Gongchang. Salt-bearing mountain country is common there, and saltpeter can generally be found.

Huangfu Shian says that when a prescription calls for mirabilite but none is available, saltpeter may be used in its place. Saltpeter comes from the shaded side of a mountain and is the essence of salt. Boil “stone spleen” and mangxiao in water; one hu of raw material yields one or two dou of the finished product. It is white as snow and becomes saltpeter when placed in water. It tastes bitter and is non-toxic. It is gathered from Red Mountain in the third month. Mirabilite also dissolves in water, but its principal medicinal effects differ slightly from those of saltpeter.

The author believes this method must involve boiling and refining mangxiao into genuine saltpeter, but does not know what “stone spleen” refers to. Huangfu Shian was from Anding and was well versed in medicine; perhaps he had studied this refining method in detail. Today, people in Yizhou use alum stone to make saltpeter. The resulting substance is soft and white, but its taste still resembles that of alum stone.

The Kongshi Methods for Dispelling and Dissolving also says: “Boil and refine saltpeter until its liquid boils away completely, yet the saltpeter still contains liquid.” The saltpeter used by Daoist adepts today must be able to melt mineral substances and take effect. The method described earlier alone is not a reliable enough test.

Puxiao is found in Yizhou, among the cliffs near the border between Canling County in western Sichuan and Yushan Commandery. It is usually bluish white, sometimes with mottled markings. People of that time selected white, soft-textured puxiao and used it as saltpeter. When fired and refined, it boils up into a liquid and looks like alum stone. Still, this appearance alone is not a reliable enough way to judge whether it can be used in Daoist alchemical preparations.

Daoist scriptures repeatedly say that saltpeter can melt other mineral substances. They say here as well that it can melt stone; this must surely be true, and can be tested directly. The scripture says that puxiao can melt seventy-two kinds of stone and, once refined, resembles silver. Taking it can make the body light and enable one to become an immortal. Puxiao already has eight qualities—cold, hot, astringent, slippery, pungent, bitter, salty, and sour—and it can also melt stone. How does the effect of puxiao described here differ from that of saltpeter?

The instructions say: “Fine saltpeter is difficult to obtain. Poor-quality saltpeter cannot melt realgar or cinnabar into liquid. If you obtain genuine saltpeter, first take a few liang and try melting realgar or another mineral substance, then see whether it succeeds. If it cannot melt stone, it must not be used; this shows that it is not genuine saltpeter.”

Genuine saltpeter looks very much like puxiao, but is somewhat loose in texture. First place a small piece on charcoal and burn it: the best quality gives off purple smoke and turns to ash; if it boils for a long time, it is puxiao. Genuine saltpeter is hard to find, so you should also test it with realgar or cinnabar to see whether they melt into liquid. Otherwise, you cannot determine whether it is genuine.

End of Volume Eight of the Instructions on the Nine Cauldrons Elixirs of the Yellow Emperor

Volume Nine of the Instructions on the Nine Cauldrons Elixirs of the Yellow Emperor

Understanding the Qualities of Gold and Silver and How to Prepare Them for Ingestion

I have heard that gold and silver, these two precious substances, can calm the mind and spirit and stabilize the internal organs. For this reason, in his method for ingesting the Mysterious Pearl, Hu Gangzi used them to preserve the potency of the medicine. The quality of gold, however, must be carefully assessed. If silver is mixed in, its color will turn blue-green or yellow; if gold is mixed in, it will turn purple or red. If, after being heated, black soot marks remain on the surface, it cannot be used. Fine gold is yellow-red and does not diminish even after repeated hammering and refining.

Even when gold has been found, it should first be hammered into thin sheets. Following the method used at the time, roast it in salted earth for a full day and night. Remove it, melt it, hammer it, and roast it again, repeating the process until it no longer diminishes during firing. This shows that gold meant for ingestion cannot simply be taken from gold bought on the market. In ancient times, when Hu Gangzi devised the method for refining gold powder through seven cycles, he used riveted gold. Gold used today to refine divine elixirs should likewise be riveted gold, with newly made gold being best.

Anyone who ingests gold or silver must understand that both are poisonous. They must first be refined to remove their toxicity before they can be taken. Hu Gangzi held that all Five Metals contain poison. If they are not refined until every trace of toxicity is gone before being made into powder, then even if they are transformed and refined into divine elixirs or great medicines, the poison will remain. During prolonged use, even a slight breach of the prohibitions could therefore cause the person taking them to die. For this reason, Hu Gangzi left behind diagrams and instructions for refining riveted gold; only the essential points are presented below.

Some gold deposits lie in water, while others are found in streams in the mountains. They take the shape of bran flakes, grains of rice, date pits, beans, millet grains, or foxtail millet grains, and lie about one inch or seven inches beneath sand, stone, or soil. Gold found beneath the bed of a stream flowing north to south, on its eastern bank, is of the highest grade. Gold found five or nine inches beneath sand, stone, or soil, on the southern bank of a stream flowing east to west, is also of the highest grade.

Gold deposits in the mountains are round, with their veins facing the sunny side. They lie nine feet underground, sometimes as deep as ninety feet, in soil mixed with sand and stone. They are reddish yellow, fine, smooth, and heavy, and do not crumble when broken. When smelted over a fire, their color turns white like silver. They are then mixed with reagents and washed and refined in an Eight-Winds Furnace, a furnace used for refining metals and minerals, yielding gold. This type is called “Eastern and Western Mountain Gold.” It forms on the shaded northern side, amid water, sand, and stone, and is buried at depths similar to those described above.

Another type of gold lies in strata mixed with sandy soil. Its vein faces the sunny side, and it is about seven feet deep. Its shape and texture resemble those of the previous type. Called “Southern and Northern Mountain Gold,” it forms on the shaded western side. This is second-grade gold. It is refined until it turns white, then mixed and treated, and washed and refined in an Eight-Winds Furnace in the same way as before.

If gold deposits lie in water or are exposed on a mountain, but their location does not conform to the terrain’s orientation—east, west, north, or south, sunny or shaded—and the mineral fragments, large and small, are angular and blue-yellow, they all contain iron. Though they may look like gold, they are unsuitable for refining.

Make a crucible from yellow earth (clay) and dry it over a fire. Put pine charcoal in the furnace, then place the gold alloy in the crucible and heat it while pumping air with bellows. Add salt powder and stir until the metal has melted completely. Scrape away the impurities with a thorn branch, then add powdered guan and continue stirring; scrape away the impurities again. Pour the molten metal into an animal-fat membrane. Remove it and hammer it repeatedly to inspect it. If the metal crumbles, filter it through iron vinegar to make a powder. Mix this with equal amounts of cow-dung ash and salt powder, then roast and nourish it in a cow-dung fire until it congeals into a lump again. Remove it, melt and hammer it once more; if it has softened, hammer it into thin sheets.

Mix equal amounts of yellow vitriol stone and hutonglü into a paste and coat the gold sheets with it. Heat them over charcoal until they glow red, then stop. Repeat this heating four or five times to produce what is called superior red gold. Then roast and nourish it in the remaining heat until it congeals into a lump again. Remove it, melt and hammer it; if it has softened, hammer it into thin sheets. Coat it with the paste as before and heat it until red, repeating this four or five times. Finally, add the remaining ingredients. The scripture says that other methods are unreliable and only deceive people.

To make gold leaf or gold paste for decorating objects, melt one jin of gold again and add one liang each of stone sulfur and zengqing. Stir the mixture in a crucible. The gold will soften and can then be hammered for use as needed. If one firing with cow-dung ash does not work, fire it again until all the impurities are gone.

Method of Removing Tin from Gold with Residual Ash

Take equal amounts of yellow vitriol, hutonglü, and salt, and boil them with vinegar into a paste. The scripture goes on to say that salt and vinegar are absent here; it only mentions smelting the material and extracting it from the mountain stone.

Gold Alloy Method

Take two liang each of gold essence, stone bile, cinnabar, realgar, stone sulfur, mirabilite, roasted saltpeter, white alum, and dragon’s-blood resin; only the qilin blood resin is to be ground into powder. The scripture says to place the ingredients in a porcelain vessel, add no salt or vinegar, and smelt them directly, extracting the result from the mountain stone.

This passage gives a recipe and procedures for refining and treating metals. The names of many ingredients refer to minerals or alchemical materials, and their precise identification may vary across periods and versions.

First take two ounces each of gold essence, stone bile, cinnabar, realgar, stone sulfur, mirabilite, processed nitre, alum, and dragon’s blood. Grind only the dragon’s blood into powder, place it in a porcelain vessel, and soak it in vinegar. Then heat it over a fire of rice chaff, taking care not to let it boil, until the material becomes soft and mushy. Heat it from the hour of the Dragon until the hour of the Goat. Remove it, then add five ounces each of litharge and amethyst, along with one catty of salt.

Grind each of the twelve ingredients listed above into a separate powder. Next, put eight ounces of mercury into a small copper pot and pour vinegar over it. Heat the pot from below with a fairly strong fire. At the same time, melt tin in another iron vessel and pour it into the mercury to combine the two. When the vinegar is nearly dry, add more; use a total of two dou of vinegar. Then put all the powders and the mercury into a porcelain vessel and grind them together for about half a day to make the preparation. Take metal filings and hammer them until they are about the size of millet grains or beans.

Mix ten catties of metal filings with two ounces of the preparation and ten ounces of yellow vitriol powder. Put the mixture into a “Eight Winds Watering Furnace” (a type of furnace) and heat it with charcoal from chengliu willow. Spread the charge evenly so the heat can penetrate it, and fire it until the metal is thoroughly cooked. If it is not cooked through in one firing, put it back in the furnace and fire it again. Then work it in a sand basin with fine sand. Remove the cooked gold and make it into particles like bran or fine sugar grains, separating them from the sand.

Next, mix one dou of cattle-dung ash and half a sheng of salt powder with two ounces of the cooked gold sand. Use “Mysterious Essence Water” (a kind of water used in alchemical processes) to bind the mixture into lumps the size of eggs. Smoke-dry them, then fire them in a cattle-dung fire. If the result is satisfactory, one firing is enough; if not, fire it once more. Finally, melt the gold sand in a crucible, pour it into a mold, and hammer it into thin sheets. Mix equal parts of hutonglü and yellow vitriol, combine them with vinegar, and coat the thin gold sheets. Fire them until their color changes; this is called “applying gold.”

To make this gold material into a thin paste for decorating objects, follow the method above: for each catty of gold, add one ounce each of yellow vitriol and zengqing. Melt and stir them together in a crucible, and the gold material will soften so it can be hammered into the shape required. If the metal filings are too large to crush easily, add one ounce of the preparation for every ten catties of filings, and still add ten ounces of yellow vitriol powder. The original text also says that if the material is not genuine metal, forcing it through casting will only waste effort; and if the preparation turns the metal into iron, the result will not yield an equivalent weight of real gold. If dragon’s blood is unavailable, it may be replaced with zimao.

Next, prepare the “Eight-Wind Fanning Furnace” and explain how to refine tin ash step by step.

If some material cannot be fully refined in the crucible used earlier, purple gum may be used in its place; it works as well.

Next, prepare the “Eight-Wind Fanning Furnace” and explain how to refine tin ash in successive furnaces.

First, refine lead and tin together twenty times in the crucible. Take three jin of the refined tin and put it in a heated wrought-iron pan. When it has melted and is boiling red-hot, add one jin of finely chopped gold-bearing tin and mix them together. Skim off the impurities produced during smelting, then pour out the metal. Separately, burn charcoal until it is thoroughly hot. Build a square furnace from clods of earth, line it with refining ash, and shape the ash into a mould. Put the gold-bearing tin into the ash mould, cover it with an iron ring, and heap hard charcoal over it. Leave an opening at the top of the furnace and make a small opening at the front. After a while, the tin will separate from the gold and the other impurities. Remove the gold; its color will resemble silver. Then boil and refine it in a copper vessel with orpiment and good wine to remove impurities and restore its original nature. If it is still not fully refined, hammer it thin and refine it again to draw out the discoloration, using the same method as above.

Once the tin has been properly refined, place it on the iron ring. Mix equal amounts of Hutonglü, yellow alum stone, and salt, and simmer them with vinegar until they form a paste. Coat the gold-bearing tin ingot with this paste. Surround it on all sides with a cow-dung fire and continue heating it until the tin has burned away, leaving only the gold. Remove the gold and place it in a heated copper pan. Add yellow alum stone and salt, and boil it for about half a day. Take it out, prepare another paste from equal amounts of the ingredients, and simmer them with vinegar. Coat the gold-bearing tin ingot with the paste again, and once more heat it on all sides with a cow-dung fire until the tin is gone and only the gold remains. Then place the gold in a heated copper pan with yellow alum stone and salt, boil it for about half a day, and take it out. Melt it and cast it into an ingot. The quantity of furnace residue and the weight of the refining ingredients are the same as in the method described earlier.

This is the procedure for refining progressively with gold-refining ash.

Put the tin successively into beef tallow and red earth, then into grape juice and mustard seeds, then into pear and tea-ash liquid, then into black salt, rock salt, and white wine, and finally into Langyanzi and Hu wine. Refine it seven times with each set of ingredients; it is then considered refined.

The method for making red salt.

Take one jin of yellow alum stone and eight liang of rock salt. Pound them together into a powder, place the mixture in an iron vessel, and heat it until molten. Watch the color: once it has become a sufficiently vivid red, stop heating. This produces a red, salt-like substance. Grind it into a powder and set it aside for use. This is the “Method for Making Red Salt.”

Huzi says that when preparing this kind of medicine, gold essence, Zengqing, cinnabar, and realgar must first be refined. Used directly, they would simply waste a thousand pieces of gold, without yielding even a trace of gold. The essence of stone bile must also be extracted by refining. Gold essence and Zengqing can each be placed in a porcelain vessel and soaked for two hundred days in three-turn left-flavor liquid. Then remove them, dry them in the sun, and grind them finely; they are ready to use. Place cinnabar and realgar separately in porcelain vessels and soak each in fine spring wine for one hundred days. Remove them, dry them in the sun, and grind them into a fine powder; they are then ready to use.

To extract the essence of stone bile, build two square furnaces out of earth, two feet apart, and coat both their interiors and exteriors with fine clay. Make an opening in the side between the furnaces, seal it with fine clay, and heat the furnaces until dry. Place a copper tray in one furnace, secure it, and seal it tightly with fine clay. Put stone bile in the other furnace and heat it over charcoal until it gives off fumes, then use an implement to fan the fumes along. The essence of the stone bile will enter the furnace containing the copper tray. Once the fire is out and the furnaces have cooled, open them and remove the essence. It can then be added to various medicines for use. The text says that medicines prepared this way are all highly effective.

Hu Gangzi’s method for the Golden Furnace has six versions, to be chosen according to the nature and quantity of the minerals. One method is enough; there is no need to make them all, which would waste labor. The two methods recorded here are the best; their diagrams appear earlier in the text.

Extracting silver: If the silver is of good quality and has a bright white color, add white alum and powdered stone pao, then heat it to extract the silver. If the silver is not white enough, take one jin of impure silver, mix it with one jin of refined lead, and process it using the ash filtration method. This is said to yield high-grade white silver.

Inside the building, construct an ash trough from packed earth. Its height, length, and width can be adjusted as needed. First place a mold in the trough, then sift fine ash into it until it is full. Add water and mix until the ash is soft and fine, neither wet nor dry. When ready to use, gently compact the ash, then shape it as required with a knife and shovel. Sprinkle a thin layer of salt over the ash. Place the silver-lead alloy in the trough and cover it with refined yellow earth. Pile charcoal on top, then set the furnace lid over the trough. Make a hole above each piece of silver-lead so the hot air inside the furnace can escape, and seal the edges tightly with clay.

Make another opening at the front of the ash trough so you can check the fire at any time. During smelting, use an iron hook to break up the hardened furnace slag and let it drain away. After a while, when the fire has heated through, the tin and lead will boil and churn, separating from the silver. Once the tin and lead have flowed out, the silver will become still, and purple, green, and white gleams will appear on its surface. When you see these colors, gently tap off a little silver with a stick, moisten it, and inspect its condition. Once the silver has solidified, lift the “dragon head”—the head formed as the silver liquid congeals—and separate it from the silver. When the tin and lead have drained away and the silver has stopped churning, wait for the purple, green, and white gleams to appear again, then press down on the silver with an iron spoon. This silver is called “dragon-head white silver.”

Shaping the Earth-Furnace Ash Trough

Making a Leaking-Tin Ash Furnace

First forge an iron plate of whatever size is needed. Punch holes across it in a staggered pattern, each about as wide as an arrow shaft. You may make many holes, but bear in mind that doing so could weaken the earth trough. Shape the trough inside the iron plate roughly like a turtle. Spread a thin layer of refined ash inside the plate and press it down firmly, then level any uneven places with a knife and shovel. Next sprinkle on salt and lay out the ash. The steps for filling the trough with ash, removing furnace slag, and checking the fire are the same as in the previous method. The difference is that a stronger fire must be built beneath the iron plate so the tin and lead flow out and separate more quickly.

Another Method for Making a Leaking-Tin Ash Furnace

Hu Gangzi says there are three ways to make a furnace for smelting silver-lead. Choose a furnace to suit the amount of silver-lead; there is no need to laboriously build the largest furnace every time. The two more important methods are selected here, with their construction and forms described above.

Recovering Tin from the Ash Trough

After removing the silver, quickly mix grease with powdered sulfur and stone sulfur, then pour the mixture through the silver outlet so the grease flows into the ash trough. When flames rise, insert an iron rod through the opening beneath the lead and stir the material in the ash rapidly. The tin will flow out again and solidify into a lump.

To smelt silver ash and recover the tin from it, let the grease drain from the ash trough as the silver flows out through the silver outlet. As soon as flames rise, immediately insert an iron rod through the hole beneath the rivet and stir the ash briskly. The tin will flow out again and gather into a lump.

To smelt silver ash and extract the tin from it, first steam and wash the silver ash to remove the greasy film on its surface. Then hammer it repeatedly until the ash is very fine and thoroughly worked. This produces twice as much silver; if the ash is not worked enough, the yield is cut in half. If the ash trough cracks during the process, the tin will flow back into the earth and the silver will be lost as well. The ash must therefore be hammered carefully until it is fully worked. Ash from burning mulberry wood, or good charcoal ash, can also be used.

To make the medicinal mixture for silver riveting, take one liang each of raw realgar, white quartz, roasted sand, rongguan, stone bile, and white alum, and ten liang of green vitriol.

The instructions say that the mixture for extracting silver specifically calls for raw realgar. For the realgar used in refining gold rivets, however, it should first be processed by roasting, as in refining cinnabar. This shows that realgar’s effect varies with how it is treated: used raw, it makes silver appear; used after processing, it makes gold appear.

Grind each of the seven ingredients separately into a fine powder. Put four liang of mercury and two liang of tin into a small crucible. Pour vinegar over the mercury and heat the crucible over a fierce fire. Separately, melt the tin in an iron vessel, then pour it into the mercury and mix the two together. Boil away two dou of vinegar, then put out the fire. Remove the mixture and place it in a porcelain vessel. Add all seven previously prepared ingredients and grind them together until evenly mixed.

Watch the ash trough. If the tin does not flow and flames have just begun to rise, sprinkle a portion of the powder about the size of a jujube into the trough. The tin should then flow quickly. If no flames rise, it is said that the tin can be obtained more quickly.

The charcoal method for gold and silver.

When smelting metals, choose the kind of charcoal according to the material and control the heat so that the metal’s texture changes from hard to soft; then melt it in the fire. Gold can be smelted with charcoal made from willow, pine and wutong, wood from earthen embankments, or dried cow dung. Charcoal made from firewood also seems able to melt gold directly, with less effort and a greater yield. Silver, copper, and iron are all smelted with charcoal from hardwood. Tin can also be smelted with pine charcoal or hard charcoal.

A method for making silver white

Take white plums and dark plums from Shu and pound them until finely mashed. Put them in a copper vessel and add one dou of water, two sheng of plums, one sheng of vinegar, and one sheng of salt powder. Boil until thoroughly cooked. First hammer the silver into thin sheets and heat them red-hot over charcoal. Then use a wooden stick to press them into the plum pulp, immersing the hot silver in it. Repeatedly boil the plum pulp, heat the silver, and immerse it again. After about half a day, even silver that was already of good quality will be white throughout.

There is another method for making silver white: take silver and roast it with paosha, a mineral substance, and water. The silver will turn white.

A method for softening the gold made earlier

Melt high-quality gold, then quench it ten times in Jing wine, a liquor brewed from Jing plants. Leave it immersed in the wine for another day, and the gold will become soft and lustrous. To make gold liquid, first soften the gold in this way.

A method for refining gold

Take unused gold and melt it in a ganguo, a crucible for smelting metals. Then quench it three hundred times in good-quality clear wine, until the gold no longer makes the wine boil. At this point, if you hold it in your hand and find that it can be pressed with your fingers, it is called “refined gold.” The scripture says that those who refine and ingest it with single-minded devotion may ascend to Taiqing, the lofty celestial realm described in Daoism. Silver is refined in the same way. Hammering the metal treated in this manner into thin sheets before using it to make gold liquid produces better results.

Another method for refining gold and silver is to melt newly obtained gold and quench it three hundred times, until it no longer makes the wine boil. This is likewise called “refined gold.” Silver is treated in the same way.

Newly smelted gold or silver, repeatedly smelted two hundred times in clear wine, full-bodied wine, or pure honey, will become soft and pliable. When held in the hand, it will flow through the fingers. Gold or silver simply soaked in these liquids for many days can also be taken as a preparation.

Gold smelted two hundred times in animal fat will likewise become soft. Hammer it into thin sheets, cut these into tiny pieces, and mix them with non-toxic mercury to form a paste. For every ounce of gold, use six ounces of mercury, then add about half a bowl of wheat gruel. In an iron mortar, add water and pound the mixture a thousand times. When it is finely ground, pour it into a basin and wash it with water to separate out the sand and grit. Take care not to let the gold wash away with them. Filter the mixture through two layers of silk, removing some of the mercury and keeping the mercury paste.

Place the retained mercury paste in a porcelain vessel. Gradually add powdered white salt, grinding as you go, and stop when you have added about one bowl of salt. Sift the ground mixture, then continue grinding the fine material caught by the sieve. Put it in an earthen crucible, cover it with powdered salt, and volatilize it for about half a day to remove the mercury. Wash away the salt, and the gold powder will remain.

Take one ounce of gold powder and mix it with five ounces of refined cinnabar. Choose cinnabar that is bright and clear. Add vinegar and simmer over a low flame for thirty-six days, replenishing the vinegar continually so it does not boil dry. An iron vessel is best. When the mixture is ready, pound and grind it again, wash it with water to collect the fine powder, then mix it thoroughly with date paste and form it into pills.

How to make date paste

Take three sheng of dried jujubes and add six sheng of water. Boil until the jujubes are soft, then add another three sheng of water and continue boiling. Strain out the jujube pulp. Once the liquid has cleared, reduce it to three sheng. Add six small he of fine sheep marrow and simmer over low heat until the mixture thickens to the consistency of malt syrup. This is jujube marrow paste. It may also be taken over a long period; it is said to strengthen the body and give the complexion a healthy glow. Divide it into three portions and take one portion every nine days, each portion being about one sheng. Another account says to combine this paste with the medicines mentioned earlier and make pills the size of adzuki beans. Take them three times a day. After taking them for thirty days, one will no longer fear cold or heat and will be able to command the spirits.

Gold is soft and weak in nature. When it encounters poisonous substances, even a small additional amount is enough to make it vulnerable. Silver is prepared in the same way as gold. To soften gold of inferior quality, boil the roots of stout chaste trees and use the liquid to brew red millet wine. Soak the gold in this wine, and it will dissolve. Gold filings placed in wine with realgar added will also dissolve. The method described here does more than simply soften gold.

Another method is to take fine lodestone that attracts iron, pound it, and soak it in pure vinegar. Remove it and soak it once more, then pound it finely and sift it. Put gold filings in the palm and rub them with this lodestone powder; the filings are said to disappear at once. Taking a medicinal liquid extracted from stone, or a certain medicinal juice, is said to keep one free of hunger and thirst for a long time and to prolong life.

Your servant believes that those who take prescriptions made from gold powder or gold water in amounts exceeding five liang may indeed live as long as Heaven and Earth. But they must especially abstain from sexual relations and avoid meat. They must devote themselves wholeheartedly to cultivation, preferably living in the mountains and forests. This is what ordinary people esteem, not what emperors value. How can it compare with the medicine of the Great One’s Golden Liquid?

The Nine-Cauldron Elixir of the Yellow Emperor is said to let one ascend to Heaven when one wishes, or remain in the human world when one wishes. It does not keep one from one’s wife and children, nor interfere with holding office and enjoying its honors.

The ninth scroll of the Instructions on the Scripture of the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Cauldrons of Divine Elixirs ends here. The tenth scroll begins.

Understand the prohibitions involved in refining elixirs, and handle Yin-Yang and methods of subduing with care.

A note by the minister: Lord Peng says that the sages of antiquity all nourished their bodies and prolonged their lives with elixirs. Later scholars, however, harmed their bodies and endangered their lives through elixirs. The difference between ancient and modern practices lies in the fact that people of old were simple and sincere, while later generations grew shallow and frivolous, unable to learn the true secrets. Though later scholars wish to preserve their lives, they lack a way to do so over the long term. If they do not first cultivate and discipline their own minds and dispositions, how could they harmonize the properties of the medicines? Even if they prepare and refine medicines according to methods found in ancient commentaries, the result may look like an elixir; yet if the medicines’ poisons have not been removed, taking it will bring death. Thus elixirs, too, can be deadly.

Another note by the minister: Lord Peng says that although one may have heard of medicines made from minerals and metals, unless they are first treated through “fire transformation and subduing” (using controlled heat and refining methods to alter the medicines and remove their toxicity), they may disperse and their properties may become unstable. The impurities remain while the essence disperses, leaving no reliable means of verifying whether the medicines have been successfully refined. Medicines of this kind must therefore all undergo subduing by fire first.

I will now explain the secret: the divine elixir is the purest part of superior mineral medicines. For example, when cinnabar is split open and shines with a clear, dazzling brilliance, that is its essence.

This is like the Dao, deep and hidden, difficult to grasp, yet containing what is subtle and fine. In a state of seeming vagueness, there is something real within it. One must not be too hasty in taking the medicine, nor delay without end. It seems to exist and yet not to exist; it seems absent, yet is truly there. Haste defeats the purpose. There is a proper method for extracting and refining it.

Consider how a cow eats grass: after digestion, the grass first becomes milk; the milk is then made into curds and cream, and through successive stages of processing it finally becomes clarified butter. Though all these products begin as milk, milk is not curds, cream, or clarified butter. One must not say that something does not exist simply because it has not yet appeared; nor assume that, because it does exist, it has already become the finished product. Only with the proper method can its essence be extracted; with the wrong method, it cannot be obtained.

This is like driving a flock of parrots: if you drive them too slowly, they will not move; if you drive them too hard, they will scatter and fly away. Once scattered, the parrots can still be called back by some means, but medicine that has dispersed cannot be gathered together again. In the end, only dregs remain, and the subtle essence is lost. Once that essence is gone, what can be transformed and refined into the divine elixir?

How to Refine the Medicine Without Letting It Disperse

Whenever you prepare medicines from minerals, break them into pieces the size of beans, or smaller, like millet grains or hemp seeds. Put them in a silk pouch and place it in an iron pot, then soak them in wine. Use only enough wine to moisten the medicines. Assign someone to watch over them carefully: whenever the fire goes out, add more fuel. Keep the fire about five inches below the pot and spread it evenly beneath the entire base; do not let it burn more strongly on one side. This allows the medicinal vapors to rise slowly, gently, steadily, and straight upward. If the fire is too strong, the vapors will rush out and become disordered; if it is too weak, they will stagnate. Keep the wine gently warm and do not let it boil over. It should remain as warm as the human body, with its temperature adjusted as needed.

Thus, the scripture says that all methods of “flying refinement”—Waidan (external alchemy) techniques for refining medicines with fire—should keep the materials warm, but never so hot that they burn the hand. When the medicines have become as white as snow, this is called the “nourishing method.” It is like the warmth of spring sunshine, which enables all things to grow: when the weather is clear and mild and rain falls in season, the grasses flourish and gradually turn green. You should not immerse a plant for a long time in a cold pool simply because it needs water, nor scorch it with fierce fire because it needs warmth. If a branch has grown crooked, you cannot dig it up and replant it; if its roots and shoots are unclean, you cannot wash them and plant them again. Such actions would sever the vital force a plant needs to grow. Moistening and warming must both be done at the proper time. It is like someone making fire by drilling wood: they must not suddenly stop when the flame is strong. Nor should someone who is cold warm their hands in scalding water. These practices all violate the proper rhythm of growth and change, and do not accord with the way of refining and nurturing. Master this essential point, and the principles of refinement and nourishment are contained within it.

I have heard that Lord Peng’s method follows the principles of Yin-Yang, preparing and subduing each kind of medicine separately. Once each medicine has been treated, they are combined according to the instructions and refined into an elixir. Whether the elixir is large or small, it can be successfully refined; those who take it can become immortals. Anyone who seeks the Great Dao and wishes to refine the Great Medicine but does not know this essential method will only toil in vain, spend a fortune, and leave bones strewn across the land.

I consulted the Book of Changes (Yijing), which says: “When two women live together, it is called Transformation; when Heaven and Earth join, it is called Peace.” When the Qi of Heaven and Earth mingles, all things are nurtured and flourish. When man and woman join, all things grow from this. The changes of Yin and Yang are beyond measurement; this is called Shen (spirit). The interaction of Yin and Yang is called the Dao (the Way). Thus Yin and Yang can bring forth all things and give life to living beings. These are the wondrous workings of Heaven and Earth’s creation, and the mysterious power of Yin and Yang in interaction. The secret essentials of the divine elixir follow the same principle.

The Great Yin is lead; the Great Yang is cinnabar. These two substances interact to refine the Great Medicine. The Nine Cauldrons method—the Waidan (external alchemy) method of refining elixirs in a cauldron—and the Way of Long Life, traced to their beginnings and followed to their ends, both center on these two substances: cinnabar and lead.

Thus, the section “The Nine Cauldrons Come First” in The Song of the Perfected One uses verse to explain the essentials of Waidan refinement:

The father dwells on Spirit Mountain, the mother by the riverbank;

their roots lie in the south, in Yue, and also in Ba.

They emerge from Wuling and meet in Changsha;

their ancestors and brothers dwell in the house of Yuzhang.

A Daoist took me on a journey through Five-Flower Mountain,

where Ziming combined lead with red li, a red shellfish or mineral.

After the transformation, many dark and yellow substances appeared;

the flowing elixir liquid gleamed, reflecting the rivers within.

Then male water and cinnabar were brought together

and blended again and again until they became one.

Add oyster shell and red stone to keep the medicine from spoiling;

its color is like frost and snow, tinged with purple,

and suddenly it appears like a flower.

Later, when the two substances respond to one another

and Yin and Yang are in harmony,

they stir once more at dusk, and signs of good fortune appear.

The medicine stirs playfully, bright and vivid without being insubstantial;

Yin and Yang are brought together, and their union proceeds without error.

The two Qi give birth to the medicine; then add accumulated sand.

Use a parrot’s feather to sweep up earth-dragon, a substance used in elixir-making, and blend it in.

The amount may range from one zhu to one jin; what matters is not the quantity.

After it is swallowed, the medicinal grains, like millet and panicled millet, seem to fly away.

Sit quietly and observe Heaven and Earth, and you can see into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, it is as if you have traveled ten thousand miles

and crossed rivers. Take a dragon for a horse and clouds for a carriage;

your radiance matches that of the sun and moon. What else could you seek?

The worthy sages of the heavens sit facing one another.

Pairs of numinous turtles bear their carriages back and forth,

gliding at ease through the evening twilight.

Boyu plays the zither, jade maidens sing;

the azure-waisted immortal dances, and sorrowful voices join in harmony.

Taking these pills and elixirs oneself can prevent pernicious influences from arising and illness from arriving. In this way, one may extend life and enjoy peace without misfortune. These are words of ultimate truth spoken by a Perfected One—a person who has attained the Dao.

The Song of Master Hu (Huzi Ge) also says: When plants and trees receive the Qi of Yin-Yang, their vital essence remains evergreen; when stones receive the Qi of Yin-Yang, their vital essence endures; when Heaven and Earth receive the Qi of Yin-Yang, all things continue to grow. Thus, in the transformation and generation of all things, nothing is not born of Yin-Yang as its parents. Yang Qi represents Heaven, while Yin essence represents Earth. The Qi of Heaven is numinous Qi; the essence of Earth is treasure. Refine the two together into an elixir, and taking it can bring long life.

It also says that each of the Five Stones—the five minerals used in elixir-making—has its own origin: cinnabar is the essence of Great Intestine, magnetite the essence of Great Yin, blue vitriol the essence of Lesser Yang, and realgar the essence of stone. They absorb the balanced Qi of Yin-Yang and correspond to the directions of the Five Regions (east, west, south, north, and center). They can restrain one another so that their medicinal properties do not take effect. After they have been blended and refined and their toxicity removed, they can keep a person from dying.

To refine mercury and make it submissive, one must choose a yang month, yang day, and yang hour. Even if one knows other methods, missing this timing means the toxicity cannot be completely removed. The key lies in the Three Yangs. Even if some minor steps are not carried out fully, the toxicity can still be eliminated. Lead and mercury are both essences of Yin-Yang. Without the Yang Qi brought by the season of the Three Yangs, one cannot subdue the essences of the Yin Qi of the sun and moon. Yellow and white are the vital essences of the sun; left flavor is the fluid of the morning sun; metal thief is the sinews and marrow of the evening sun. Use the Qi and flavors of the Three Yangs to subdue lead and mercury, and their toxicity can be removed completely. People in the world do not understand this principle. If they mix these substances together and take them directly, they will die, so be extremely careful. Treating them only by boiling them in wine takes one even further from the correct method. All this concerns the principle of Yin-Yang restraining one another.

Prohibitions in Elixir-Making

The classics say that when refining any medicinal minerals, one must fast and avoid women, domestic animals, people in mourning, and women who have recently given birth or are nursing.

The commentary says that, when refining the “True Person’s Flying Elixir” (a legendary elixir said to help a person ascend to immortality), one should avoid the ignorant, those who scorn the Dao, and those who love idle talk. Women and children should also be kept away. If people who do not believe in the Dao see or learn of the alchemical work, the elixir cannot be successfully refined. During the process, women, friends, and guests should not pass near the furnace. One must also guard against disturbances from domestic animals, funerals, mourners, and women who have recently given birth.

The place for refining the elixir should be quiet, secluded, and remote, far from the sound of people; ideally, it should be set up in a stone chamber deep in the mountains. Once the elixir has been refined, the whole family can become immortal.

The commentary also says that the Yellow Emperor was accompanied by twelve hundred women. Before he ascended to immortality, he refined nine elixirs beneath Mount Jing and above Ding Lake, then rode a dragon up to heaven. Refining elixirs required people to guard the furnace and attend to other tasks. So who, then, were those serving at his side if not women and trusted attendants?

According to another account, there was once a Han dynasty palace attendant named Cheng Wei who was fond of alchemical techniques for refining gold and silver. His wife understood their secrets. While Cheng Wei fanned the fire and burned charcoal, mercury was also in the furnace. He followed the methods in the Hongbao to refine gold, but failed. His wife said, “I would like to try making one liang.” She took out some medicine she carried with her and added a small amount to the furnace. After a while, she removed it, and it had indeed been refined into silver. Cheng Wei was astonished. “So the Daoist art is with you after all. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” His wife replied, “This art must be transmitted to someone who is fated and destined to receive it.” Cheng Wei tried every means to force her to reveal the method. His wife said, “I’ll tell you: whether to transmit the Dao depends on whether someone is suitable. Even if you meet a suitable person on the road, you may teach them. But if someone is unsuitable, even if they agree outwardly while disbelieving inwardly, they would not reveal the art even under torture.”

Cheng Wei continued to threaten her, so his wife ran about as if mad, naked and smearing mud over her body. In the end, she died and vanished. This story shows that men who cultivate the Dao and attain immortality do not necessarily do so before women. Thus the Dark Maiden, the Plain Maiden, the Azure-Waisted Maiden, and the Queen Mother of the West were all female immortals.

Heavenly Perfected Ones—those who have attained the Dao and become immortal—use Jade Maidens, female immortals who attend them, as ceremonial attendants and messengers. The term “Jade Maiden” also refers to mortal women who take medicine and thereby become immortal. Accordingly, the Perfected Person’s Instructions on the Nine Cauldrons and Divine Elixir of the Yellow Emperor says: “When refining the divine elixir, if you wish to obtain its true transmission, choose someone of upright character, pleasing appearance, even-colored hair, and a heart devoted to the Dao. Join with her and your master to transmit the teaching and perform the rites for refining the elixir; she is called the ‘Dark Maiden.’ If you seek long life and immortality, you must be of one mind with your master; if you seek to transcend the world, your intentions must accord with your master’s; if you seek to ascend to Heaven, you must study the Golden Scripture together with twenty-four worthy people. Otherwise, you cannot attain the Dao of immortality.”

The scripture also says that no more than three people should undertake elixir refinement. At present, the necessary stages of the process have not yet entered the divine cauldron—the furnace used to refine the divine elixir—so there is no need for strict restrictions for the time being. The firing times must be regulated and the refining process arranged with exact precision. If someone is not honest of heart and single-minded in nature, careful and cautious in their work, and guarded in speech, …

Some say that no more than three people should be present when refining elixirs and compounding medicines. The boiling and refining practices carried out today do not yet use the spirit cauldron, so there is no need to impose that strict prohibition at once. The fire’s intensity must be regulated, and the timing of its operation mastered, with exact precision. Anyone whose heart is not upright and disposition not single-minded, who is not meticulous and cautious in their work, or who speaks and acts carelessly, impatiently, boastfully, or along a deviant path, should not take part. Those who have been punished by law, or whose Six Roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) are impaired—who are deaf or blind, or injured or disabled—even if they are virtuous, are not suited to participate.

How to Purchase the Ingredients

Choose a place blessed with good fortune and virtue for the work. Do not compete with others over status or rank, and do not buy goods from anyone wearing mourning clothes. Make purchases on a “day of receipt and handling” (a day deemed suitable for receiving goods and conducting business in traditional date selection), and bathe on a Zi or Chou day. First observe a seven-day purification fast, then select a date according to the method of Heavenly Virtue: in the first month, begin with the Wei day; in the second month, begin with the Shen day; continue forward in the order of the twelve Earthly Branches. To select a “day of good fortune and virtue,” take Shen as the Virtue day for a Jia day, and Geng for a Yi day; proceed in the same way for the remaining days. Then purchase the ingredients.

The Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue, Scroll Ten, ends here.

Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue, Scroll Eleven

This scroll explains the longevity of mercury and how to purchase other medicines according to the previous method.

I, your servant, have examined the accounts of old: when Ge Hong became a disciple of Zheng Jun in his later years, the other disciples performed manual labor themselves. Ge Hong was frail and could not endure hard work, so he was unable to take on other duties. He therefore often swept away dust and dirt, tended the lamps, or copied old books. Zheng Jun said to Ge Hong: “When reading, you will find something useful in every volume. You need only check its essential points, select what is appropriate, and put it into practice. There is no need to memorize everything, lest you waste time and weary your mind. If you can refine the Golden Elixir, you will no longer need to do any of these things. The crucial ingredient in refining the elixir, however, is mercury.”

On examining the matter, I judge that the finest mercury is that which comes from Fuling (an ancient place name, also written “Fuling”), is found in quicksand water, and has a bluish-white color. It looks like tin and is very soft; when heated and vaporized, it also disperses readily. This kind of mercury is difficult to obtain. For refining soft gold and silver, it is the best. Mercury made by refining cinnabar is also quite good, however. This naturally occurring mercury is now extinct.

I further judge that one should take equal amounts of cinnabar and mercury—the quantity is up to the user—and place them in an iron vessel or a heat-resistant crucible, then heat them over charcoal. Once the heat has reached the proper level, the mercury will separate out. Transfer it to a basin of cold water, then collect it with paper.

I further judge that one can make mercury by putting cinnabar in an unseasoned bamboo tube, or by burying cinnabar in the ground, covering the tube’s mouth with mica, and setting it level with the ground. Cover the tube with only three or four inches of soil, then fire it with rice-husk ash for three days and two nights. If the mercury has not yet formed, continue firing it for another three days and two nights each time until it has. By this method, one pound of cinnabar can yield one pound of mercury. Mercury sold in the marketplace is sometimes adulterated with other substances. If it is to be used for alchemical refining or similar purposes, it must be treated again with medicinal substances, so it is best to refine it oneself.

I consulted and recorded what the Bencao says: Mercury tastes pungent, is cold in nature, and is toxic. It is chiefly used to treat sores, scabies, and illnesses such as leprosy. It can also induce miscarriage and drive away lice. Mercury corrodes gold, silver, copper, and tin, causing these metals to melt, while the mercury itself can condense again into sand. The text also says that taking it over a long period can make one an immortal and grant eternal life. Mercury is also called “quicksilver.” It comes from the flatlands of Fuling, is formed from cinnabar, and is repelled by lodestone.

Today, mercury is divided into raw and processed forms. Raw mercury said to come from the flatlands of Fuling is extracted from within cinnabar; some is also collected from other sandy regions. Both kinds are bluish white and of the highest quality. Mercury made from cinnabar is the product obtained today by roasting and grinding cinnabar. It is white and cloudy, and inferior to raw mercury. It can dissolve gold and silver into a muddy substance; this is the property people mean when they say it is used to test objects.

The method of refining mercury into the Reverted Elixir appears in the immortals’ scriptures. Mix mercury with wine, leave it in the sun to dry, and then take it to attain long life. When mercury is heated in refining, it rises and clings to the cooking pot, forming an ash like substance called “cinnabar powder,” commonly known as “mercury ash.” This is especially effective at driving away lice.

According to what Hu Gangzi said, mercury has three methods of preparation, called male mercury, female mercury, and spirit-flight mercury. Each has its own use and is prepared differently. Spirit-flight mercury is comparatively easy to refine until it is no longer affected by fire, while male and female mercury are harder to refine. To ascend into the heavens, soar through the air, and live long, one should use male mercury. To make liquid medicines and summon ghosts and spirits, one should use female mercury. To make copper and iron change and transform various metals, one should use spirit-flight mercury. Each has its own use, and they must not be mixed. People in the world do not understand these distinctions and use them incorrectly, so their work fails. This goes against the sages’ alchemical prescriptions and produces no effect. Only after carefully distinguishing them should one use them; then the work will not go awry.

This medicine is fundamental to safeguarding the Daoist arts and must not be taught lightly. Even if someone offers ten thousand pieces of gold for it, one should keep the method secret. Few people in the world understand it, and even among those who have seen the diagrams and charts, few grasp their meaning. Therefore, the perfected person—the one who has attained the Dao—keeps it treasured and transmits it in secret. Even a hundred shi of gold and ten thousand baskets of luminous pearls would not persuade them to teach this method. If one can obtain it, one regards treasures as no more than mud; why then covet gold and pearls? Only those who truly prize the way of long life and admire the cultivation of the immortals may receive a brief transmission, after pledging themselves to one another in a blood covenant and taking an oath.

The Method of Longevity with Male Mercury

Take ten jin of cinnabar and one he (a small measure) of butter, and place them in an iron cauldron. The cauldron should be one chi in diameter and one cun and a half deep. Its bottom must be level, with no uneven spots; smooth the rim as well. Take four green-glazed tiles sized to fit the mouth of the cauldron. After coating the cauldron with butter, put in the cinnabar. Pound it and sift it finely, then spread it in a thin layer inside the cauldron so the aroma of the butter can escape.

Next, cover it with a porcelain vessel and seal the joint with wool and clay so no vapors can leak out. First burn rotten grass for about the time it takes to eat a meal. Then continue heating it with soft firewood. “Soft wood” here means logs or poplar or willow wood that are neither worm-eaten nor rotten. Repeatedly soak the firewood in water to keep it from burning too dry and cracking, and to make it less likely to dry out completely. The seal must still be tightly closed with wool and clay.

After lighting the fire, do not pound the ground nearby or stamp about with heavy steps, or the mercury may fall into the fire. From the hour of Chen until the hour of Wu, remove the apparatus and let it cool; you may also leave it overnight before removing it. Take the contents out with a worn-out woolen sack and put them into a new basin. Take about three or four liang of soft reed skin, wrap it around new cotton, and bind it tightly into a shape like a rice-pounding pestle. Pound it in the vessel until it is crushed, then carefully pour out all the contents. Wrap the resulting powder separately and store it for making “Six-One Mud,” a material used in preparing elixirs. This is a secret method.

Those who refine mercury should eat plenty of pork and drink wine. Otherwise, if mercury vapors enter the abdomen, they may obstruct the five viscera and make eating impossible. Over time, this can harm the body, so take great care. One jin of top-grade cinnabar yields twelve liang of mercury; medium-grade cinnabar yields ten liang, and low-grade cinnabar yields eight. This method is precious and must not be disclosed. At the outset, about ten bundles of rotten grass are needed.

Method for Refining Female Mercury

Your servant believes that to refine this mercury, one may mix one sheng of pork fat with ten jin of cinnabar to form a paste, then coat the cauldron with it. This method is precious and must not be disclosed. At the outset, about ten bundles of rotten grass are needed.

In my humble examination, to prepare this kind of mercury, take one sheng of suspected fat, mix it with ten jin of cinnabar into a paste, and coat the inside of a cauldron with it.

To prepare “Spirit-Flying Mercury,” take ten jin of powdered cinnabar, one jin of yellow alum, forty gardenia fruits, one jin of rock salt, one jin of turmeric root, and one jin of hutonglü. Pound and sift each ingredient separately, then mix them into a paste with cow-dung juice. Coat the inside of the cauldron to a thickness of one cun, seal the joint, and fire it with brushwood and straw. When the firing is complete, collect the material and rub it clean using the method described earlier. It is best to collect and store the cow-dung juice in advance, in the twelfth month. When using it, soak it in warm water, stir, and strain off the juice. If the cow dung is not collected until spring, the plants and trees will already be green, and its medicinal potency will be weaker.

The “mysterious essence juice of the Yin beast” mentioned in formula books means cow-dung juice; “Sage Ignorance” refers to red stone alum; “Qu Yuan Su” refers to hutonglü; and “Black Paste, Grandson Fat” refers to suspected fat. I have now compiled this according to the method used for offerings, so I have not copied the old edition verbatim; the same applies to the other material.

Formula for Purifying Mercury

Take one jin of mercury, wrap it in two layers of silk, and squeeze it to remove impurities. Add three sheng of white salt and stir gently while pounding, so that the mercury is clean. I have now compiled this according to the method used for offerings, so I have not copied the old edition verbatim; the same applies to the other material.

Formula for Purifying Mercury

Take one jin of mercury, wrap it in two layers of silk, and squeeze it to remove impurities. Add three sheng of white salt and stir gently while pounding until the mercury turns white and can coalesce. Put it in an iron vessel and heat it; stop when smoke begins to rise. Then place it in a boiling vessel and observe how the smoke changes. Next, boil it with three sheng of vinegar aged for three years, using a low flame, and continue until one shi of vinegar has been used. After seven full days, examine the result. If medicines are to be added for refining the Great Elixir, this same purification method is used. There is also a specific rationale for treating mercury with vinegar and salt; the book’s instruction to mix it with oil, honey, and vinegar likewise has its basis.

Method for Preparing Mercury with Medicines at the Appropriate Time

I believe that mercury is toxic, while lead belongs to Great Yin, a category of Yin. Neither can be used on its own; they must be paired. Unless they are subdued, the toxicity of both is difficult to eliminate. Therefore, lead and mercury must be refined at a time of “Three Yang,” using medicines of “Three Yang,” so that their toxicity can be thoroughly removed. Ordinary people do not understand this. They mix the substances as they please, on a whim, and taking the result can be fatal. Boiling them with vinegar alone takes the practice even farther from the proper way of alchemy.

The “time of Three Yang” refers to days and hours with odd numbers. For this reason, alchemists especially value the fifth day of the fifth month and the seventh day of the seventh month. “Medicines of Three Yang” refers to the vital essence of the sun—that is, the yellow and white substances. The dew of the morning sun is called “left flavor”; the sinew and marrow of the evening sun are called “metal thief.” If the medicines are mismatched or the proper season is missed, then no matter how many methods of refinement are used, the toxicity cannot be fully removed. Thus the Formula for Subduing Fire in Mercury says: “Add thick sand powder to vinegar aged for three years, and boil for one hundred days.”

Another formula says: “Take equal amounts of yellow thick sand—that is, sulfur—and white thick sand. Put them in vinegar and boil the mercury in it. After twenty-one days, examine the result and continue the treatment according to the strength of the medicine.”

Yet another formula says: “Mix oil, honey, vinegar, and salt, add a little saltpeter, and boil the mercury. Then add a small amount of lead white. The mercury will become as white as snow and can be cast into cakes. If it is to be added to various Great Elixirs, grind it into powder and use it only after further refining by sublimation.”

Another formula says: “Put the mercury in an iron vessel, add vinegar, and boil over low heat. As the vinegar nears dryness, keep adding more; do not let it burn dry. If the mercury has not solidified after thirty-six days, continue boiling until one hundred days have passed. Once it has solidified, remove it.”

Another formula says: “Take superior mercury and place it in an iron vessel. Pour in pure bitter wine until the liquid covers the mercury, then boil over low heat. As the bitter wine evaporates, keep adding more, never letting it burn dry. After about three days, when the mercury has solidified, remove it.”

Another recipe says: Take superior mercury, place it in an iron vessel, and pour rich, strong vinegar over it. Boil it over a low flame. When the vinegar has boiled away, add more, never allowing it to run out. Boil it this way for thirty-six days. Once the mercury has coagulated and dried, it can be used; otherwise, all the effort will have been wasted.

Another recipe says: Throughout the mixing and refining, keep the medicine warm, but not so hot that it burns your hand. In this state, the medicine will become as white as snow. The methods presented here all touch, in some measure, on the secrets of refining the arts of yellow and white. The instructions on care and control of the firing also offer useful points of reference, so they have been retained here. What follows are the formal instructions.

Hu Gangzi’s Method for Subduing Mercury

Take two jin of mercury, also known as “Mysterious Pearl Mercury.” Add gold filings, silver filings, and medicinal vinegar, and use them to boil and refine it. This is the “left-flavor” method in the arts of yellow and white. Boil and refine it continuously for thirty days and nights, watching it carefully and not allowing the liquid to boil dry, until the mercury coagulates and becomes white as snow.

If it is to be used for elixir refining, continue boiling and refining it according to the method of “boiling in water with thirty-six stones,” to remove the medicine’s toxicity. Then place it in a cauldron to refine it into an elixir. If it has not yet coagulated, continue boiling until it has set and turned snow-white. The specific procedures for refining the divine elixir should follow the methods in the Seventy-Two Elixir Instructions.

Method for the Golden Mysterious Pearl

Take one jin of Mysterious Pearl, two and a half liang of gold, and five and a half liang of lead essence. Put the gold filings in the pot as well, and boil and refine everything for fifteen days and nights using the “left-flavor” method described in the arts of yellow and white. Watch it carefully and do not let the liquid boil dry, until it coagulates and turns silver-white.

If the medicine’s toxicity has not yet been removed and it is intended for use in other elixir methods, continue boiling and refining it according to the method of “boiling in water with thirty-six stones” to remove the toxicity, then put it through the flying-refinement process. If it is suitable for gold powder, it can be made into a powder, pill, or paste, and stabilized using the yellow-drying method.

Method for the Silver Mysterious Pearl

Place one jin of Dark Pearl, one and a half liang of silver, and six and a half liang of lead essence refined fifty times together in a pot. Then cook them in “Yellow and White Left Flavor” for nine days and nine nights. While they cook, watch over them carefully in the manner described earlier, keeping the materials clean inside and out. In the end, they should congeal into a pure white, lustrous state.

To make the substance white, cook it in alum-stone water for about half a day, then in white alum-stone water for about half a day. Afterward, let it dry and subject it to hidden refining—a process that treats an elixir with specific materials and methods to stabilize it or remove its toxicity—and it will become white. If you want to add various powders, you must first remove their toxicity. Alternatively, you can use the flying-refining method, which refines substances through heating, vaporization, and similar processes.

Method of the Nine Elixirs, Lead Essence, and Dark Pearl

Place two jin of Dark Pearl and twelve liang of Nine Elixirs lead essence in “Yellow and White Left Flavor.” Cook for seven days and seven nights, until the mixture congeals white and is clear inside and out. Then let it dry and use hidden refining to remove its toxicity. Combined with other medicines, it becomes “River Chariot,” a substance or product used in alchemy.

Method of the Nine Elixirs, Lead Essence, and Dark Pearl

Place two jin of Dark Pearl and twelve liang of Nine Elixirs lead essence in “Yellow and White Left Flavor.” Cook for seven days and seven nights, until the mixture congeals white and is clear inside and out. Then let it dry and use hidden refining to remove its toxicity. Combined with various medicines, it can be made into “River Chariot.” Among the eight methods, lead cinnabar may be chosen freely in any amount from one to nine. Used to cover and combine with various elixirs, it can refine them all. Copper and iron may be added as needed, and they too can be transformed. All seventy-two kinds of elixirs and ritual implements are made from this material; other materials are combined and transformed according to their properties, while proportions and firing times may be adjusted as appropriate.

Instructions for Boiling and Subduing Mercury

Take four liang of mercury and one liang of silver, and make them into a silver-mercury paste cake. Place it in an iron container. The mulberry ash must be sifted very finely and kept pure white…

I examined the methods listed above; none takes long. People usually follow the recipe, and if an inspection shows that it has not worked, they stop. Sometimes too much vinegar is added, or the heat is too strong; sometimes the medicinal liquid is used up and the mercury dries out. The ingredients may also be incorrectly mixed, or the prescribed method for the “Flower Pond” (Huachi) may not have been followed.

For the preparation, use a pot with walls five fen thick and a very smooth interior. First spread mulberry ash in the pot to a depth of about seven fen and moisten it with vinegar, keeping it slightly damp. The surface of the ash should be level, with no raised or sunken spots, and it should not be packed too tightly, lest it crack. This is done so that the heat is even and the mercury stays moist.

Make a wooden support and use silk as its base. Spread mercury and the medicinal ingredients evenly over the silk. The six ingredients are stone sulfur, white alum, nitre, rock salt, magnetite, brine salt, and lead white, one liang of each. Add six liang of mulberry ash. Pound and sift the mixture, blend it well, and spread it over the mercury to a depth of about two fen. Moisten and cover everything, keeping it consistently as damp as porridge: do not let it dry out, but do not make it too wet either. The medicinal vapors should remain steady; if they become turbulent, the heat is too strong. Replace the mulberry ash and medicinal ingredients once a day. Cover the pot with a layer of paper, taking particular care to keep out dust and filth. Any additional medicinal ingredients must be handled in the same way; do not add them arbitrarily.

Continue as described above until one hundred days have passed, when the mercury will have congealed into a medicinal substance. Once the cooking is complete, grind it into powder; it can be taken dry.

Method for Taking the Dark Pearl Dry

Use a wrought iron pot weighing eight jin. Make the pot in two halves, each weighing four jin, with a central cavity about the size of an egg. Weld the halves together around the edge in three passes, making the whole pot half a cun thick. Then use a lathe to cut a groove and drill holes in it; the holes should be …

Refine it in an eight-jin iron pot made of wrought iron. The pot is formed from two iron plates, each weighing four jin. The space at its center should be about the size of an egg. Weld around the edges three times, making the pot walls half a cun thick in all. Then hammer the surface flat, polish it, and drill a hole as thick as an arrow shaft. Make the area around the hole thicker, and be sure to drive the nail in firmly.

After putting in the mercury, weld the hole shut with the nail and inspect the edges carefully to ensure they are sealed tight. Pound the ingredients into a fine powder and apply them gradually in four layers of gan ni (sealing clay), making the coating about half a cun thick. Leave it for five or six days until completely dry. Then place it in a charcoal fire and gradually work the bellows until the pot glows red. Keep it burning for about one shichen, then remove the bellows and let the fire die out on its own. After a night, when the pot has cooled, take it out. From the hour of Chen to the hour of Si (about seven to eleven in the morning), observe how the ingredients in the pot have changed. Remove the outer clay and shake the iron pot. If you hear a sound like pieces of rubble clattering together, weigh the pot again; if its weight is still the same as before, this shows that there has been no loss. If you hear no such sound, the iron pot has lost some of its weight. If the quantity of ingredients is confirmed to be sufficient, break open the pot and remove them. Once the ingredients are dry and settled, the refining is complete. Their toxicity must also be removed according to the prescribed method.

The method for removing the toxicity of the Mysterious Pearl.

First prepare one dou of yellow alum water and pour it into a copper pot. Use it to boil “fire-subdued Dark Pearls” (processed mercury), using no more than five jin and no less than two jin. Continue boiling until all the yellow alum water has evaporated. Separately, burn cow dung to ash, then burn a kind of wood that does not turn to ash when burned. Break lodestone into pieces the size of small beans and boil them in a soup until it comes to a boil. Pour this soup over the two kinds of ash, then pour the strained liquid into the pot and boil the Dark Pearls for one day and one night.

Next, boil them for another day and night in “three-times-turned left-flavor” (a medicinal liquid processed three times and used in alchemy). Then mix “three-times-turned fine wine” with honey and soak-boil them for a day and a night. Take refined butter (a purified milk fat) and continue boiling for three nights. Remove the Dark Pearls, boil them for a day and a night in three-times-turned left-flavor, then soak-boil them for a day and a night in three-times-turned fine wine and honey. Finally, boil them in refined butter for three nights.

Take out the Dark Pearls and place them in a copper vessel. Cover it with a copper lid and bury it in millet to steam for three days and three nights. The text says this will remove all their poison, allowing them to be added to various medicines, taken for cultivation, and used in the arts of transmuting lead and mercury into gold and silver, as well as in methods of refining by fire and sublimation. At this point, the method is complete.

The “three-times-turned fine wine” mentioned here is peppervine wine; “three-times-turned left-flavor” is the left-flavor used to transmute lead and mercury into gold and silver. When mercury is boiled in yellow alum water, the vessel and the mercury may melt. If the mercury does not melt, it can be shaped into a cake for processing. If it cannot be broken up, it may instead be pounded and then boiled; the same procedure applies when steaming it. A pot with a capacity of five jin can hold two dou. All methods for removing poison from dense, fine Dark Pearls follow this one; there are no other variations.

Only the Instructions of the Great Dark Lord gives a different account: “Dark Pearls may be taken whether dry or wet.” To remove their poison, simply add one liang of sweet yellow to every jin of Dark Pearls; this keeps their vital essence from dispersing. Sweet yellow is also called Dark Yellow Earth and comes from the western Hu kingdom. Lodestone is also said to restrain it, while litharge is considered its assistant.

Using red lead or lead white to hold in the vital essence of the Dark Pearls is merely a mixed folk practice, not an orthodox formula. Using materials such as yellow arsenic sand or rock salt is likewise not an orthodox formula.

Another method: refining fire-subdued mercury.

Take one jin of mercury and two liang of lodestone. Grind them into a fine powder, add the juice of ququ beast—that is, horse urine—and cook over a low flame. Cook for no more than seven days, observing whether the substances coagulate. This passage explains why cinnabar is averse to lodestone and fears briny salt water. Since mercury is refined from cinnabar, it naturally shares the same aversions; thus the Mysterious Pearl, a substance used in alchemy here, also fears lodestone. Yellow substances such as alum were likewise said to be feared by mercury. Since substances of the same kind each have things that counteract them, why assume that foreign things must necessarily surpass Chinese ones? The author suggests that people may not understand that lodestone can indeed be used in refining, and so he uses an unusual explanation to prompt those who are sincere to reflect and grasp its meaning.

Mithraic lead, an oxide of lead used in ancient alchemy and medicine, comes from gold-rivet medicine. Some also combine it with mercury and other substances, using it to serve a purpose like that of lodestone. The author suggests that lodestone may not be necessary. The methods of cooking and refining, and of making substances lie dormant, should not be abandoned.

The Method for Wetly Making the Mysterious Pearl Lie Dormant, with Hooked Lead as an Aid

First take an iron pan of fine, dense material, with a capacity of about two or three sheng. Seal it with clay as one would a vessel for smelting, leaving a long opening. First carry out the dormant refining on a stove; afterward, use the pan to combine the ingredients and make the “River Cart,” an alchemical term for a refined substance or intermediate product. Shape the Mysterious Pearl into a cake and place it in the pan, with silver powder beneath and over it. The method for preparing silver powder is described in the ninth chapter. If silver powder is unavailable, powdered cinnabar lead—that is, powdered lead—may be used instead.

Next add five sheng of fat and one sheng of honey. Mix and stir, then cook the Mysterious Pearl cake. One account says to cook it for thirty days and nights; another says three days and nights. This refining process can transform copper and iron. The detoxifying cooking method described earlier takes only one day and night. Here, the wet method uses fat instead, showing that although the refining of longevity medicines and the methods for transforming copper and iron are similar, they differ in subtle ways. For example, when refining longevity mercury, one should coat the inside of the cauldron with one he of butter, then treat the mercury with a liquid. This is related to the method of using sealing fat and cinnabar to make a clay mixture. The earlier detoxifying method uses wine and honey, while this wet method uses fat and honey.

This is what is called the method of “moist suppression.” It can immediately transform copper and iron. Mix mercury treated by moist suppression with other medicines that have been subdued by fire, and refine them into an elixir. Only an elixir made this way can transform metals. If medicines are stirred together to prepare the “Mysterious Pearl,” they too can immediately transform copper and iron. This is the method of the “River Chariot,” but it is not the true “Mysterious Pearl.”

A note by a court official: To make “Mysterious Yellow” from mercury and use it to refine the Great Elixir—the advanced elixir of Daoist teaching—the materials must first be boiled and tested through trial refining. Without this preliminary trial, one might use the Lead Essence of the Nine Elixirs. But to make the materials solidly congeal and endure, one must also use Lead Essence refined fifty times, along with gold and silver.

This concludes scroll eleven of the Elixir Instructions of the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Tripod Cauldrons.

Scroll twelve of the Elixir Instructions of the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Tripod Cauldrons: Methods for using lead when co-refining the Nine Elixirs, and the efficacy and functions of lead.

In my examination of Hu Gangzi’s teachings, I find that refining elixirs must take lead as their foundation. If the lead is not pure, the medicine cannot be made. Lead, then, is the sinew, bone, and vital essence of Yin-Yang energy, and an important medium in the refinement of the Seven Treasures. Once its role is understood, many things can be accomplished; if it is misunderstood, every method is obstructed.

Thus it is said: “When the lead is broken, the River Chariot stands empty, and all one’s efforts are fruitless. When its efficacy is interrupted, the River Chariot loses its function, and no amount of planning can help.” It is also said: “Do not damage my carriage, or I will be unable to return home; do not harm my lead, and my life will be preserved.” Here, “carriage” refers to the River Chariot. None of the eight methods for making River Chariots can succeed without lead. The substances used to cover and support the elixir are also what is meant by the River Chariot. Thus, without the eight River Chariots, the elixir would have nothing to rest upon.

It is also said that the Great Yin refers to lead, and the Great Yang to the elixir. When the two are joined and refined into medicine, taking it can make one immortal. The essences of the elixir and lead can produce “Flowing Pearls and White Snow,” substances named in alchemical practice. Add two kinds of water, then steam and refine the mixture repeatedly. Divide one pound into nine portions and transform it continuously, and it will become a divine elixir. Its efficacy is profound and its power great. Through nine ascents and nine descents, the medicine covers and supports mercury, transforming it into an elixir. Repeating this process three times completes the nine turns. The sages therefore kept the method secret, beyond the knowledge of ordinary Daoist practitioners.

Lead essence has many other names: lead, Great Yin, Metal Lord, River Chariot, Old Woman of the Riverbank, and Stone of Established Control. Those with shallow understanding make medicine using the “Stone of Established Control” found in the mountains. Realized adepts, however, transform it into the “Flower of the Dark and Yellow.” Gall (here referring to a mineral or medicinal substance used in alchemy) originally comes from lead, but those with shallow understanding use Qiangli stone gall when preparing medicine. This is incorrect. The secret names for the elixir and lead number thirty-six in all, and they will be listed one by one below.

An alchemical manual says: “Mercury and lead never move separately; whenever they move, they must accompany one another. Only when these two substances work together can this wondrous medicine be refined.”

“Thirty-Six Secret Names of Cinnabar and Lead” lists thirty-six alternative names for a substance or ingredient used in alchemy, including “Mysterious Yellow Flower,” “Yellow Light,” “Dragon Scales,” “Hidden Cinnabar,” “River Cart,” “Cinnabar Elixir,” “Yellow Sprout,” and “Stone Gall.” The scripture gives the list twice, with the second version completing all thirty-six names. Some individual characters and phrases may be corrupt; the text is interpreted here according to the wording that has been handed down.

The commentator holds that the wondrous elixir referred to by these thirty-six names is refined from the essence of lead. The first method of refinement in the Nine Tripod Divine Elixirs of the Yellow Emperor is called “Cinnabar Flower,” also known as “Nine Turns of the Flowing Pearl.” It is made by refining lead and mercury together. Ordinary people do not understand the difference and mistake tin sold in the marketplace for lead. The commentator describes this as “traveling far at dusk, then turning back to seek progress”: the direction and method are wrong, making the desired goal difficult to attain. This elixir must be prepared with focused care and precision, and can be used only after being refined through nine turns.

Next comes the “Method for the Nine-Turn Lead Elixir,” written by Huzigang.

Melt ten jin of lead in an iron cup and refine it into a blue, sandlike substance. Place it in an iron basin and grind it repeatedly with an iron hammer. Extract the yellow liquid and dry it on a new roof tile in the sun. Mix the resulting yellow powder with Xuanjing juice, form it into lumps the size of eggs, and leave them to dry in the shade. Then put them in a furnace and smelt them to extract lead essence. Place this in an iron cup and melt it again over a fierce fire. After one full fu (the period required for a single round of refinement), you will obtain lead cinnabar. Repeat this refining process nine times; this is called “Ninefold Refined Lead.” The ingredients and order of steps for each round are given in The Regulations for the Nine Flying Elixirs of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi.

Method of the Ninefold Refined Lead and Mysterious Pearl Elixir

Take three jin of Mysterious Pearls and twelve liang of ninefold refined lead essence. Boil them in Yellow-White Left-Taste for seven days and seven nights, until they congeal into a pure white, translucent substance. Dry it, then process it through the fu procedure to remove its toxicity. Combine it with other ingredients to make the “River Chariot” (a substance or material used in elixir refining). The so-called “Chariot of the Eight Rivers” may use cinnabar lead refined from one to nine times, as needed.

Take three jin of Mysterious Pearls and twelve liang of ninefold refined lead essence. Boil and refine them as described above, allow them to congeal, then dry and process them through the fu procedure. When combined with various elixirs, the result is called the “River Chariot.” It is said that when this is used to cover and blend with other elixirs, none will fail to form; copper and iron, too, can be made to transform as desired. The seventy-two methods for elixirs and alchemical implements all use this as their material. For each one, the degree of refining is adjusted according to how the ingredients have been transformed.

Although this method is already recorded in The Scroll of the Mysterious Pearl, it is explained here again to clarify the use of lead: the lead used for the River Chariot must first be boiled and refined in Yellow-White Left-Taste, allowed to congeal, dried, and processed through the fu procedure. It can be used only after undergoing all these steps.

It is also said that cinnabar lead—the lead refined through repeated processes—may be selected as needed at any stage from the first turn to the ninth. People do not understand this and read ren with a falling tone. It should instead be read with a level tone, meaning “to be able to” or “to be fit for the task.” Lead that has not been refined through nine turns cannot be used. Thus, cinnabar lead may be selected as needed from the first turn through the ninth.

Nine-turn cinnabar lead can be used to make a river chariot, the vessel that holds and moves the ingredients during alchemical refinement, or to cover and line various elixirs; it works in every case. The so-called “seventy-two alchemical implements” are all made from it. In other words, yellow lead crystals are mixed with lead white into a paste, which is then applied over “Six-One mud.” Without nine-turn cinnabar lead, one cannot make the “mysterious yellow”—the materials or implements used in alchemical refinement.

It is also said that if one wishes to make an elixir enter copper or iron, transform it, and put it to practical use—that is, to test medicines and transmute gold and silver—one likewise cannot use materials that have not been refined through the nine turns of cinnabar lead. Such materials are unfit for use.

Method for Producing Longevity Lead

I respectfully submit that although methods for refining cinnabar lead all emphasize nine turns, they fall into three types according to their purpose. To seek long life without aging and ascend to the heavens by feathered flight, one should refine the medicine of male lead. As for methods used to test medicines and transmute gold and silver, these too cannot use materials that have not been refined through the nine turns of cinnabar lead.

I believe that although the arts of cinnabar and lead all speak of nine transmutations, they fall into three distinct kinds according to their purpose. To seek long life and ascend to Heaven by feathered flight, one should refine male lead. To command ghosts and spirits or turn liquid into water, one should use female lead. To transform material substances and transmute metals into gold, one should use Spirit-Flying Lead.

Ordinary people think there is only one kind of lead and use it indiscriminately. When their refining fails, they blame the sages’ elixir recipes for being ineffective. If they could distinguish the kinds by their uses and apply them correctly, they would not go wrong. Few people in the world understand this method. Only those who have seen the Diagram of the Five Powders can grasp, in outline, the essentials of preparing them. For this reason, perfected adepts regard it as a treasure and do not pass it on lightly. This medicine is the foundation of Daoist arts and must be guarded with care; it must not be disclosed casually. Even if someone offered a hundred shi of gold and thousands upon thousands of baskets of pearls in exchange, the method would not be taught. Once one has obtained it, the Seven Treasures all seem like earth—why care about gold and pearls? Only those who cherish long life, yearn for the Way of the immortals, and make solemn vows through rites such as drawing blood or dividing a ring may be taught a little of it. All these teachings are recorded in the recipes for mercury.

The three kinds of lead and the three kinds of mercury ultimately follow the same principle. Thus the elixir recipes say that their functions differ, yet they resemble mercury. Mercury and lead cannot be used alone; in a recipe they must always be paired. If their kinds are distinguished and they are used correctly, there will be no mistakes. Ordinary people often mistake tin for lead, putting themselves far from the Way of elixir-making.

It is also said that male lead, female lead, and Spirit-Flying Lead must each undergo three successive transmutations, and that they work only when used together. The method of transmutation is the same as described earlier. Once lead has undergone nine transmutations, it becomes a divine medicine; when added to other medicines, it never fails to work. Hence the saying that only those who have seen the Diagram of the Five Powders can glimpse its deeper meaning. The other immortals and sages keep this recipe secret. For this reason, nowadays elixir-making often fails and succeeds only rarely.

Methods for Refining Male Lead and Female Lead

Take one hundred jin of genuine cinnabar, along with ten jin of blue-white yangqi stone. Separately, pound the yangqi stone and sift it finely. Mix it with dark essence juice (here, cow-dung juice) until it forms a mass, then dry it in the sun. Place it in an iron pot and heat it over a furnace fire. When the material melts, pour it into warm ashes. Once it has cooled, break it up and sort it, setting it aside as “elixir covering.” This method is best. “Elixir covering” refers to the medicinal material added to the divine elixir’s dark and yellow ingredients.

Method for preparing female lead

Take one hundred jin of genuine cinnabar, fifteen jin of genuine powder, one jin of Haohuang alum, and one jin of lime. Pound each separately, and sift the alum finely. Mix the four ingredients, add dark essence juice to form pills or lumps, and leave them to dry in the shade. Then take them out and follow the same method as before.

Take fifteen jin of genuine powder, one jin of Haohuang alum, and one jin of lime. Pound each separately, and sift the alum finely. Combine these ingredients with the genuine cinnabar mentioned above, add dark essence juice to form pills or lumps, and dry them in the shade. Then take them out and follow the same method as before.

Method for preparing divine flying lead

Take one hundred jin of genuine cinnabar, five jin of Haohuang alum, one jin of red rock salt, two jin of turmeric root, and five liang of yellow-pao sand. Pound and sift each of the five ingredients separately, then use wine to mix the genuine cinnabar. Do not let the medicinal ingredients stick together as you mix them. Dry them in the sun, then pound and sift them again. Next, immerse the ingredients in dark essence juice and form them into a mass. Leave it to dry in the shade; carry out the remaining steps as described above.

In the recipe, “sagely ignorance” refers to red rock salt; “dark essence juice” refers to cow-dung juice; “yellow mountain fat” refers to Haohuang alum; and “gold thief” refers to sulfur. When mixing the medicinal ingredients with the cinnabar, add them in this order: first yellow alum, then red ling, turmeric root, and sulfur, and finally yellow cinnabar. Once mixed, moisten the ingredients with good wine, taking care that they do not stick together. For every fifty jin of yellow cinnabar, use five large sheng of clear wine. Spread the ingredients on reed mats set on a raised rack. Lay down thick paper first, then arrange the materials in two overlapping layers, like fish scales, and dry them in the sun for about a day. Next, immerse the ingredients in cow-dung juice and form them into a mass. Return it to the reed mats on the rack and dry it in the shade for ten days.

Another method is to lay thick paper on reed mats set on a raised rack, arrange the ingredients in two overlapping layers like fish scales, and dry them in the sun for about a day. Then immerse them in cow-dung juice and form them into a mass. Place it back on the reed mats on the rack and dry it in the shade for ten days.

Another method is to weigh the base material and record its weight, then weigh each medicinal ingredient separately and record its weight. Mix them according to the proportions by weight of the base material and the medicines, and pass them through a fine sieve. Spread out a layer of base material, then a layer of medicine, alternating layers until everything has been used. Then mix with wine.

Method for Expelling Lead by Drumming, First Turning

Pound each of the medicines separately and sift them finely. Following the method above, mix them with wine until they are thoroughly soaked, but do not let them stick together. Spread them out to dry, then pound and sift them finely again. Mix them with cow-dung juice and knead into balls. The cow dung should be collected and stored in the twelfth lunar month; soak it in warm water and extract the juice. Knead the mixture into balls about the size of an egg yolk; larger balls will be difficult to dry. Leave them in the shade for fourteen days to dry.

Next, place the balls in an iron pot. The pot should have a base six and a half fen thick, a lower body five fen thick and an upper body four fen thick; it should be seven cun long and three and a half cun wide. Build up the fire beneath it and watch the medicines in the pot. When they have all melted into liquid, pour the liquid into warm ash. Sift the ash finely to obtain the white portion, and spread it three or four fen thick on a clean, level surface. Bank dry mud around it to keep the molten lead from running out. Feel the lead with your hand; once it has cooled, break it open and take it out.

The proportion of wine is as follows: for every hundred jin of base material, use one dou of wine. If using Xuánjīng juice, use two dou to mix with one hundred jin of base material.

Method for Expelling Lead by Drumming, Second Turning

Place the lead prepared earlier in an iron cup and roast it. The bottom of the cup should be three chi long, one cun thick, and one chi deep, with both ends slightly wider. The vessel should measure three chi and five cun across the top and one chi and two cun wide, shaped like a trough. Grind the inside smooth and clean, leaving no rough patches or unevenly bright areas. Stir and roast continuously with a long-handled iron rake shaped like a blunt sword, until all the lead has turned into grains of sand. Roast it from morning until noon. When the grains have become fine powder, scoop them out gradually and place them in a cooling vessel such as a thick iron basin.

Add clean water to the vessel and stir with a long iron rake. Two or three people may take turns, but keep stirring without stopping until the powder turns liquid. You may also change workers while roasting the lead, but the process must not be interrupted. If you stop midway, the grains will melt again. Heat the iron cup with firewood underneath, keeping the heat moderate: if it is too low, the grains will be difficult to form; if it is too high, the material will keep melting. Watch the heat throughout, and do not let it become too slow or too intense.

Next, remove the yellow liquid from the crucible and put it in a porcelain vessel. Drill a hole in the bottom of the vessel and add water. Once the sediment has settled and the water is clear, drain off the upper water through the hole. Then use a smooth iron rake to scrape the sediment out evenly and place it on a new roof tile. First lay two sheets of paper on the tile. Set it flat in the blazing sun for a day, until the elixir (the material obtained through refining) hardens, cracks, and dries completely. Then collect it, crush it, and sift it. Return it to the iron cup and continue roasting it with the iron rake until it turns scarlet. Usually this takes three days and nights. Do not use fierce heat; once the elixir has turned scarlet, the refining is complete, and there is no need to adhere to a fixed number of days.

In the third turning, the method of “drumming out lead”: Whenever wine is used to blend the ingredients, or Xuánjīng juice—a liquid used in alchemical refining—to mix the elixir, the work must be done in a copper basin with a straight rim, deep sides, and a smooth, clean interior. Do not use earthenware or a vessel whose rim flares outward. This prevents the ingredients from scattering and the wine from being lost, which could affect the quantities and the timing of the firing. The other procedures are the same as before. Adjust the amount of each ingredient in proportion to any increase or decrease in the elixir.

When squeezing out ox-dung juice, make sure it is as thick as porridge. The method commonly known as “refining lead until it turns white” uses a suitable amount of good wine. Put processed white mineral sand into the wine and heat it slowly until the sand melts. Use this wine mixture to blend the ox-dung juice to a porridge-like consistency, then filter it through thick cloth and wring out the juice. Mix this juice with the elixir until the ingredients are moist and hold together, then shape them into lumps about the size of an egg; they may also be left unshaped. Dry them in the sun, then put them in a pot to smelt. In a short while, the lead will separate out; pour it into an ox gallbladder. Repeat this refining five times, and the lead will turn white.

Alternatively, soak and mix the elixir with white honey until it is like stiff clay, then dry it in the sun as described earlier. This can produce the same result. If the elixir sets too hard for the lead to separate, remove the processed mineral sand. Although the lead refined this way turns white, this is not the orthodox method.

The lead essence in the Nine-Turn Elixir does not catch the eye. It is blue-black in color and soft in texture; the power of its wondrous transformations is beyond measure.