《黄帝九鼎神丹经诀》Vol. 3

Thus, this is how the process takes shape.

The Nine Transformations of the Elixir of the Perfected One of Taiji

First Transformation:

Take five hundred jin of white lead (a lead-containing powder commonly used in ancient alchemy) and twenty jin of rock salt. Place them in one shi of water, then add one shi of cow-dung juice. Mix well, roll the mixture into egg-sized pellets, and leave them to dry in the shade. Then place them in a furnace and fan the flames briefly; lead will separate out. This is called “powder lead” and is known as the “essence of Earth.”

Next, take five jin of yellow lead (a lead-containing alchemical material), mix it with cow-dung juice, and roll it into egg-sized pellets. Dry them in the shade, place them in a furnace pot, and fan the flames briefly; lead will separate out. This is called “cinnabar lead” and is known as the “essence of Heaven.”

Second Transformation:

Take the “essences of Heaven and Earth” produced in the previous steps and roast them together until they turn the color of green sand. Then take thirty jin of clean rock salt and mix it with eight dou of water to make brine. Grind the material in the brine until it becomes ochre-yellow and sandlike, then cast it into powder. Place it in a pot and fire it for three days and three nights, until it becomes a fiery red, sandlike substance the color of fine cinnabar. Then stop firing.

Third Transformation:

Take the elixir material produced in the previous step and add one dou of milk from a firstborn son. If this is difficult to obtain, yellow cow’s milk may be used instead. Then take one shi of cow-dung juice and thirty jin of clean rock salt, and mix the salt with eight dou of water to make brine. Immerse the material in it, roll it into egg-sized pellets, and dry them in the shade. Fan the flames and fire them as before, following the same procedure for the remaining steps.

Fourth Transformation:

Take the “essences of Heaven and Earth” produced in the first three transformations and add twenty jin of bright, translucent cinnabar. Boil the mixture in wine for twenty-one days, then pound it in a mortar and mix it thoroughly. Next, mix it with “Earth-Strength juice” (that is, cow-dung juice), roll it into egg-sized pellets, and dry them in the shade. Place them in a furnace and fan the flames according to the prescribed method. The firing procedure is the same as in the Nine Transformations method; only the ingredients differ.

The Fifth Turn: Take five jin of orpiment the color of a rooster’s comb and boil it for seven days in genuine cow ghee (refined milk fat). Then dry it in the sun and mix it with the elixir. Next, combine it with one shi of wine and one shi of cow-dung juice, and roll it into pellets the size of chicken eggs. Leave them to dry in a cool place. Then perform the “drumming” as described earlier, and follow the preceding method for the remaining steps.

The Sixth Turn: Take twenty jin of realgar and five jin of Wuhuang alum stone. Boil them for three days and three nights with cow’s milk and hemp-seed juice, then leave them to dry in a cool place. Pound them, sift them finely, and mix them into the elixir. Use cow-dung juice to form the powder into pellets the size of chicken eggs. Dry them in the shade, then perform the “drumming” as described earlier.

The Seventh Turn: Take five jin of malachite, along with one hundred pieces each of xiangfu and baifu; fresh ones are preferred. Follow the preceding steps for everything else.

The Eighth Turn: Take three jin each of Rong salt, mirabilite, and Glauber’s salt. Pound and sift them finely, then mix them with the medicine. Use cow-dung juice to combine them with one hundred pieces each of xiangfu and baifu; fresh ones are preferred. Follow the preceding steps for everything else.

The Eighth Turn: Take three jin each of Rong salt, mirabilite, and Glauber’s salt. Pound and sift them finely, then mix them with the medicine. Use cow-dung juice to combine them, and roll the mixture into pellets the size of chicken eggs. Dry them in the shade, then perform the “drumming” as described earlier.

The Ninth Turn.

Take the elixir from the previous eight transformations and, according to the prescriptions of the alchemical classic, place it at the medicine-taker’s natal position and the Wangxiang position, determined by the person’s destiny and the seasonal forces. Set up the ritual altar and perform the offering ceremony as prescribed in the classic; purify body and mind, and observe a quiet fast. Place the five Lingbao talismans, used in the Lingbao tradition, in the five directions; place the twelve spirit seals and talismans at the Chen position, and the eight numinous talismans in the eight directions. Then screen off the Gate of Heaven and close the Earthly Gate, passing through the Huagai and entering the Yin position, or the corresponding ritual space.

Grind five jin of white jade into powder and one jin of gold into filings. Take one heart and one liver from a blue ram, mix them with the medicines into a paste, and use it to seal the elixir furnace. Knead cow dung into lumps the size of eggs, place them at the natal position, and let them dry in the shade. On a day and at a time of the Heavenly Heart, as designated by the alchemical classic, have the person in charge of compounding the medicines enter the center of the Nine Palaces and guard the furnace. First recite the inquiry: “The wondrous thing is to seek out the palace from which the extraordinary compound emerges.” After three days and three nights, the elixir will be complete. Make it into pills with white honey, and take two each day, each the size of a millet grain; then one may become a Perfected One, a person who has attained the Dao and become immortal. This method should be kept secret and not passed on.

I, your servant, have examined the ingredients used in this prescription. Although it speaks of nine transformations, it still conceals the crucial details. After lead undergoes nine transformations, it becomes a divine medicine. The text then calls for five jin of white jade ground to powder and one jin of gold reduced to filings, using these two precious materials to seal the furnace, as well as the heart and liver of a blue ram, which are extremely difficult to obtain. It also mentions the milk of a firstborn son, requiring as much as ten sheng at a time. These quantities are plainly extravagant and difficult to obtain. One should therefore substitute ingredients that are available, while achieving the effects of the nine transformations. Using this lead elixir to serve the purpose of the Nine Cauldrons makes the method even more subtle and powerful. The text has already explained its specific effects, so there is no need to record them again at length.

End of volume twelve of the Secret Instructions on the Divine Elixir of the Nine Cauldrons of the Yellow Emperor.

Volume thirteen of the Secret Instructions on the Divine Elixir of the Nine Cauldrons of the Yellow Emperor: An account of the effects of cinnabar and the practice of the Way to long life.

I believe that medicines made from plants can treat illness, but cannot make people live forever. Medicines made from minerals and metals, however, can certainly prolong life and also drive away various kinds of malign influence. Plant medicines are light and fragile in substance, so they are difficult to preserve for long: when boiled, they fall apart; when buried, they decay; when burned, they turn to ash; and if left for a long time, they rot.

If people cannot first make themselves stable, how can they make others stable? If they cannot keep themselves alive, how can they help others live long?

Cinnabar is a remarkable mineral and a superior medicine. Its texture is fine, its color a rich red, and its substance firm and dense. The longer it is refined, the more subtle its transformations become. It can be refined into powder or a pure white substance, transformed into true mercury, or made into the Reverted Elixir. It withstands fire and dissolves in water; grinding it does not diminish it, and burying it does not cause it to decay. Its numinous, mysterious qualities are too many to describe. Refined according to the proper method, it can preserve life; if the method is lost, it can damage one’s lifespan.

Some people read in the Bencao that cinnabar is nontoxic and conclude that it cannot harm anyone. They do not realize that mercury is extracted from cinnabar, and that mercury is highly poisonous. The Bencao says that mercury is the vital essence of cinnabar and is produced by refining it. If the refined substance is poisonous, could the original cinnabar really be entirely free of poison? Those with shallow knowledge and short sight fail to consider the long term. Once something goes wrong in cultivating nature and life, it cannot be undone. For this reason, the ancients were deeply cautious: they maintained that the poison must first be removed at its source. Cinnabar must be boiled and refined before it is used to prepare the Great Elixir. The methods of refinement may differ, but in the end they must all make the medicine “submit to fire”—that is, refine it until its medicinal properties are stable. Refinement need not follow a fixed number of days, nor can human effort simply rush it to completion. The key is to nurture and refine it properly, without undue haste.

Some people see that cinnabar is a stone and argue that stones all turn to ash when burned, so cinnabar cannot be an exception. Yet cinnabar is red and can be refined into white mercury; this transformation alone makes the principle clear. Earth becomes mud when mixed with water. It is said that where gold lies beneath a mountain, cinnabar is often found above it. Cinnabar undergoes continual transformations and can ultimately return to gold, regaining its original substance. There is nothing strange about this.

Long ago, in the Han dynasty, a man named Li Shaojun was said to have lived for several hundred years. No one has reported that he possessed any other special ability. He knew only how to combine cinnabar with other elixirs and refine them into gold, then make vessels from that gold and use them to hold food that would nourish the body. In this way, the medicine gradually infused the intestines and stomach and harmonized the nutritive and defensive Qi—that is, the Qi and blood circulating within and around the body. He entrusted his hope for longevity to gold’s enduring nature and truthfully told Emperor Wu of Han about these practices. But when submitting his memorial, he spoke only of sacrifices and methods of the arts; he did not explain the proper method for refining elixir gold. He later died, and Emperor Wu remained troubled by the matter.

From this, the author concludes that only the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Tripods method and the wondrous technique of Taiyi elixir gold can enable people to escape aging and death; these are the best methods. But if the poison has not been completely removed, the refined gold will still contain poison, and even successfully making it will be of no use. It is like eating poisoned jerky when hungry or drinking poisoned wine when thirsty: the result must be grave harm. One who seeks benefit will instead suffer injury. The following section will further set out methods for regulating and refining the medicines’ properties and flavors.

Cinnabar (vermilion) tastes sweet and is slightly cold in nature; it is non-toxic. It is chiefly used to treat various ailments of the body and the five viscera. It is also said to nourish the spirit, calm the hun and po souls, replenish primordial Qi, improve eyesight, open the blood vessels, ease vexation and thirst, replenish Jing and Qi, and give the complexion a healthy glow. It can also dispel malign influences and evil spirits, and treat sudden affliction by malign Qi, intestinal pain, toxic Qi, scabies, and various sores. According to traditional claims, taking it over a long period can bring one into communion with the spirits, prevent aging, make the body light, and eventually lead to becoming an immortal.

Cinnabar can be refined into mercury or ground into powder. When powdered, it is called “true pearl.” The better quality is bright in color like mica and separates into flakes. Cinnabar is found in the valleys of Mount Fuling and is gathered in autumn. It is incompatible with magnetite and is vulnerable to salt water. The mercury made from cinnabar and the powdered cinnabar called “true pearl” are what is known as golden sand.

Fuling is present-day Fuling, in the area adjoining the southern part of Ba Commandery. It is still gathered in autumn today. The places where cinnabar is found are described above.

According to the commentator, the cinnabar recorded in the Bencao is the Ba cinnabar known in the southern part of Ba Commandery, where it is still mined today. Cinnabar is also found in the minority regions around Wuling and western Sichuan. In the past, those areas had open routes and regular dealings with Ba, so it came to be called Ba cinnabar. The Immortals’ scriptures also mention Yue cinnabar, produced in Lindeng, Guangzhou. The cinnabar from both places is excellent; when selecting it, choose pieces that are clear and translucent.

Cinnabar flakes resembling mica are called mica cinnabar. Pieces shaped like purple stone and relatively large are called horse-tooth cinnabar. These kinds may be used as medicine, but they are not premium materials for elixir-making. Pieces shaped like soybeans or large, smooth lumps are called bean cinnabar; the finely crumbled powder is called powdered cinnabar. These two inferior kinds are not used as medicine, but can be ground into vermilion pigment.

To mine cinnabar, one must dig pits several zhang deep. Even within the same commandery or county, its quality varies. The methods for selecting and taking cinnabar are described in detail elsewhere. Cinnabar as a treasure of longevity cannot be fully examined in the Bencao.

Although cinnabar is produced in Ba and Chu, the cinnabar now found elsewhere is inferior to that of Mayang County in Chenzhou. When struck open, superior cinnabar has a bright color like flame, with a glimmer within it like sparks. Held toward the sun, its points of light seem to flicker. When dense cinnabar is struck open repeatedly, a bright white light appears. If the pieces are relatively large flakes shaped like horse teeth or small curls, with a sparkling, translucent sheen and a firm, dense texture, and if their white light is dazzling, they are called cinnabar. Bright red is best, purple is next, and muddy red is worst.

Naturally occurring cinnabar that has already been “fire-subdued”—refined and made stable—is something people say exists, but I have never seen it. Even if one were to obtain some, it would still need to be boiled and refined to subdue its fire. Xingzhou produces a mineral that is dense, hard, heavy, and reddish in color. It resembles cinnabar; when struck open, it looks like iron. It remains red after being heated, turns black when left standing, and produces no smoke when heated again. This, it is said, is the true substance of cinnabar.

Method for refining cinnabar

Take top-grade cinnabar and grind it into a fine powder. Put it in an iron vessel and simmer it over a low flame with fine vinegar. When the vinegar is nearly dry, add more; do not let it boil away completely. Simmer it this way for at least thirty-six days, then heat it to test it. If the cinnabar gives off no smoke, the refining is complete. If it still cannot withstand heating, its original substance has not yet been transformed.

Method for Mixing and Refining Cinnabar

Take top-grade cinnabar, grind it into a fine powder, and put it in an iron vessel. Simmer it over a low flame with fine vinegar, adding more vinegar several times as it cooks. Do not let the vinegar boil away completely. After simmering it for at least thirty-six days, heat it to test it. If it gives off no smoke, the refining is complete. If it still cannot withstand heating, continue simmering it for up to one hundred days.

Take one dou (an ancient unit of capacity) of fine spring wine and pour it into a porcelain jar. Put ten liang of cinnabar in a silk bag and place the bag in the wine, making sure it does not sink to the bottom of the jar. Replace the wine every ten days. After one hundred days, remove the cinnabar and dry it in the sun. It is then ready for use in preparing elixirs of longevity.

Another method: Take bright-colored, translucent cinnabar and simmer it in wine for at least three sets of seven days—that is, twenty-one days. Then test it by heating it, and continue until it can withstand the heat.

Another method: Break the cinnabar into pieces about the size of soybeans, mix them with wine, and put them in a bamboo tube. Place the tube in a pot of boiling water and simmer it. Test it by heating. If it can withstand the heat, stop simmering for half a day, then add water and continue.

Another method: Put top-grade cinnabar in an iron vessel and simmer the powdered cinnabar over a low flame. Gradually add vinegar and keep stirring so the cinnabar does not stick to the bottom of the vessel. Use one dou of vinegar for every jin of cinnabar. Once the vinegar has boiled away, remove the cinnabar and dry it in the sun. Put it in a gan crucible, used for refining elixirs, and heat it in a furnace. If the cinnabar does not scatter, the refining is complete. If it still scatters, simmer it for another three days, then heat it again. Continue until it is refined and no longer scatters. The original text is repetitive and broken at this point; the summary above follows the meaning of the extant wording.

Another method: Take top-grade cinnabar, break it into pieces the size of beans, and put it in a copper vessel. Add fine, concentrated vinegar and simmer over a low flame. Gradually add more vinegar and keep stirring so the cinnabar does not stick to the bottom. Once the vinegar has boiled away, dry the cinnabar in the sun and heat it. If it does not scatter, the refining is complete.

Another method: Take bright-colored, translucent cinnabar, grind it into a fine powder, put it in a new earthenware bottle, and seal the mouth of the bottle. Then place it in a pot of boiling water and simmer it for one hundred…

Cinnabar that has been exposed to the sun is not poisonous. Refined by this method, it can be used to prepare an elixir of longevity. Cinnabar may also be placed in a bottle, moistened with wine, and packed into a bottle cauldron; the wine used here must not be diluted with water.

There is another method: take the finest, clearest cinnabar and grind it into a fine powder. Boil it in good vinegar for one hundred days, then fire-refine it. If it gives off no smoke when heated, it is called “fire-subdued” (boiling and refining have stabilized the cinnabar’s medicinal properties and made it suitable for further processing). This cinnabar is used in arts of transformation; it is not said to be for making an elixir of longevity.

A minister’s commentary says: Although there are many methods for refining cinnabar, the key in every case is to bring it to the stage of “fire-subdued.” The ancients worried that the heat might be too gentle or too fierce, so they boiled it using indirect heating in a water bath. They also worried that people might become impatient, and therefore stipulated that it be boiled for a full one hundred days. To prepare an elixir of longevity, it must be boiled in good wine; for arts of transformation, it must be boiled in strong vinegar. When boiling wine in an iron vessel, stir it repeatedly; when boiling it in a bottle, seal the mouth tightly. After the vinegar has boiled away, take out the cinnabar, dry it in the sun, and let it solidify into a lump. Before it reaches the fire-subdued stage, it must first be tested. Use a new bottle to prepare an elixir of longevity; for arts of transformation, use a copper or iron vessel. Follow these methods and there will be no mistakes.

Another method for taking cinnabar: Take two jin of cinnabar, pound it into a fine powder, and sift it through thick silk. Put it in a copper basin, then pour in pure bitter wine and mix it into a paste. Leave it to dry in a high, dry place, then pour bitter wine over it again as described above. One jin of cinnabar requires three dou of bitter wine.

Take two jin of cinnabar, pound it into a fine powder, and sift it through thick silk. Put it in a copper basin, then pour over it rich, sour wine—a kind of vinegar drink in ancient times—and mix it into a paste. Leave it to dry in a high, dry place, then pour over it again as before. For each jin of cinnabar, use three dou of sour wine. Repeat the pouring and drying for thirty days. The cinnabar will then turn purple, and the medicine will be ready. The finished medicine should not soil your hand when held; when stretched, it should be sticky like malt syrup. That is the sign that it is properly prepared.

Shape the medicine into pills the size of hemp seeds. Each morning, swallow three pills with well water drawn at dawn. It is said that after one day of taking them, the “three worms”—the bodily parasites described in traditional medicine—will be expelled; after six days, every illness in the body will be cured; and after sixty days, there will be a response, white hair will turn black, and lost teeth will grow back. Before taking this medicine, observe a thirty-day purification fast, then bathe in scented water made by boiling five kinds of incense. Only then should you take it.

Method for Taking Cinnabar

Take one jin of cinnabar, pound it into a fine powder, and sift it. Add two sheng of rich lacquer and three sheng of fine sour wine, then mix thoroughly. Simmer over a low flame until the mixture can be rolled into pills. Make each pill the size of a hemp seed and take them three times a day. The scripture says that after ten days, every illness will be cured and the “Three Corpses”—spirits believed in Daoism to dwell within the body and hinder cultivation—will be expelled. It also says that after one hundred days the skin will grow strong, and that after three years one can prolong life.

A minister’s commentary states that taking cinnabar alone over a long period is enough to obtain the benefits described above. If it is instead “detoxified by firing in a clay vessel” and then used to prepare the Great Elixir, it can further strengthen the skin; taking it for three years can prolong life.

I hold that cinnabar (dansha, also known as zhusha) remains beneficial even when taken alone over the long term, conferring the benefits described above. If it is first detoxified in an earthenware vessel and then refined by fire and compounded into a great elixir (dadan, a high-grade pill of Daoist alchemy), the blessings it yields will be greater.

Now consider the two methods mentioned earlier. One uses cinnabar alone, and the other mixes cinnabar with lacquer. Both are combined with pure vinegar, but neither calls for wine, so one might suspect that these methods dispense with wine. A further method filters and refines the cinnabar in an earthenware jar without any prior soaking in vinegar. According to another method for making lacquer elixirs, one takes one jin of genuine cinnabar, one sheng of clear wine, one jin of white honey, and one sheng of pure lacquer, then repeatedly soaks and sun-dries the wine and honey with the cinnabar until the mixture can be formed into pills. Yet another method mixes cinnabar with clear wine, places it in bamboo tubes, and steams it for several days. Its procedure resembles sun-soaking the cinnabar, and it is finally shaped into pills with white honey. A third method mixes cinnabar with mulberry root juice, places it in a jar, and boils it in water in a cauldron for two days and two nights. It is then blended with pure wine, white honey is added, and the mixture is formed into pills.

All of these blending methods first mix the cinnabar thoroughly with wine, then add lacquer, and refine the mixture over a very gentle fire for two days and two nights. Next, pure wine is stirred in, and finally white honey is added, until the substance is suitable for shaping into pills. When taken, the pills are made about the size of hemp seeds. At first, two pills are taken each time, twice a day. The scripture claims that after forty days of this regimen, the Three Corpses (sanshi, spirits believed to dwell within the body and obstruct cultivation) will depart. Long-term use is said to prolong life and lead to immortality, to the point where one casts no shadow at noon.

From this we can see that among the various methods for refining cinnabar and removing its toxicity, none surpasses the use of fine wine. Cinnabar may be placed in a new earthenware jar or a bamboo tube, but in either case it should first be blended with clear wine. Steaming and sun-drying are both acceptable. However, steaming requires continuous heating for one hundred days, and the bamboo tube may rot. Sun-drying for one hundred days makes it difficult to judge the dryness of the substance. By comparison, a new earthenware jar is more suitable. The wine vapor permeates the walls of the jar and keeps its interior moist for a long time, so the mouth never needs to be opened, and a single cooking process is enough to complete the preparation.

Of all the mineral medicines, I hold that only cinnabar (dānshā) and realgar (xiónghuáng) are truly important. Their preparation is not difficult, so they should be prepared together first, to nourish the body and sustain life. This is also an essential foundation for refining the elixirs of longevity. Although they fall short of the Great Elixir (dàdān), they surpass all other medicines taken for ingestion.

Furthermore, the essence-spirit of cinnabar is called mercury (shuǐyín). Mix mercury and saltpeter (xiāoshí) in equal amounts, pound them together, place them in a copper vessel, and steam them. After one full day and night, remove the mixture and set it over charcoal fire until it becomes liquid. The resulting medicine should have a purplish-red color. Form it into honey pills about the size of beans. It is said that after taking them for one hundred days, the effects are similar to those of cinnabar itself.

Method for Refining Realgar (describing how to refine realgar):

It is said that the efficacy of realgar can bring about longevity.

I hold that realgar and orpiment (cíhuáng) come from the same mountain, and that realgar is transformed from orpiment.

The text is a Daoist materia medica entry, and I have translated it below. Its terms follow the glossary where applicable.

Xionghuang (realgar) and cihuang (orpiment), I have verified, are produced in the same mountain, and legend holds that xionghuang is transformed from cihuang. Cihuang is called the great medicine between heaven and earth: after eight thousand years it turns into xionghuang, which is also named "Emperor's Male Essence" (Di Nan Jing). After another thousand years it becomes gold, which is also called "Perfected's Meal" (Zhenren fan). This is an extraordinarily marvelous mineral.

Legend says that for keeping the teeth from falling out, preventing the hair from turning white, reconnecting tendons and vessels, strengthening the bones, lightening the body, and sharpening eyesight, no medicine surpasses xionghuang. It is also said to drive away tigers, wolves, and all manner of poisonous creatures, keeping them from approaching. When one enters water, one need not fear jiao dragons, and it guards against venomous insects and demonic spirits. It is further credited with the power to avert weapons, and its potency is great. It is said to make the ears keen and the eyes bright, to command the myriad spirits, and it is considered a unique method among transformative arts, a superior medicine for longevity, and an important ingredient for treating illness, with its efficacy said to reach everywhere.

For this reason, legend says the Round Mound (Yuanqiu) abounds with great serpents and also produces precious medicinal substances. When the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) was about to ascend the Round Mound, Guangcheng Zi taught him to wear xionghuang, and the swarm of serpents withdrew. This demonstrates the great power of xionghuang. The great elixirs described in the immortal scriptures also list xionghuang as one of their ingredients.

Principal Therapeutic Uses of Xionghuang

I have verified that the Materia Medica (Bencao) describes xionghuang as bitter with a faint sweetness, neutral in nature but leaning cold, and toxic. It treats cold and heat patterns; scrofula (shu lou, a condition resembling the suppuration of swollen lymph nodes in the neck); festering sores; hemorrhoids; necrotic flesh; scabies and ringworm; and stubborn, hidden sores that resist healing. It is also used for eye pain and nasal polyps, as well as for severed tendons and vessels, damaged bones, wind-evil lodged in the joints, and accumulations. The source text further lists abdominal pain, sudden attack by "evil wind" (zhong e), "ghostly infusion" (gui zhu, an illness believed to be caused by ghostly intrusion), disturbances from spirits and demons, pathogenic qi, the venom of the hundred insects, and the poison of snakes. It is also said to make the complexion glow, to avert weapons, and to drive away ghosts and spirits, prolong life, and banish hunger. When refined and taken orally, it is said to lighten the body and lead toward immortality. Some accounts also claim it enters the brain. Xionghuang is also known as "yellow-eating stone" (huang shi shi).

Origins of Xionghuang

Methods for Tempering Realgar and Removing Its Toxicity

Your minister has examined this matter. Realgar is produced in the valleys of Wudu and in the region south of Mount Dunhuang, and there is no fixed season for gathering it. Good realgar is the red of a rooster's comb, has no unpleasant odor, and is solid in texture. Specimens that are dark in color or loose and crumbly are inferior. Dunhuang lies several thousand li west of Dongzhou, and in ancient times it was regarded as the most important source of realgar. Its medicinal material was extremely rare, and at one time it was said to be worth the same as gold.

Now that the court has unified the realm and the four quarters are at peace, the treasures of every region no longer lie hidden, and the precious things within the mountains are no longer hard to find. In the towering peaks of Wudu, a mountainside once collapsed, exposing dazzling realgar. When it was transported to the capital, no porters' fees had to be paid, and the realgar became as cheap as tiles and stones. This is because the present ruler is wise and accords with the Great Dao, so the medicines of auspicious portent come forth without being sought. Realgar that is cloudy and reddish in color is not good; only that which is transparent and purely red is of the highest grade.

Methods for Refining Realgar and Removing Its Toxicity

Your minister has examined this matter. Although realgar is an important ingredient in refining elixirs of longevity, it is highly poisonous, and if its toxicity is not fully removed, it cannot be used to refine the Great Elixir. The toxicity of mineral medicines grows stronger when exposed to fire. Even after repeated firing to produce what is called fuhuo (subduing by fire), the toxicity is not eliminated. Some people, having not investigated the principle carefully, assume that once realgar has undergone subduing by fire it is no longer poisonous. This is a grave error. Realgar must therefore first be boiled and refined, and only then subjected to subduing by fire. This procedure is similar to the method used to tame mercury. The methods for subduing realgar include boiling it in vinegar and boiling it in oil. The specific procedure varies with its intended use, as set out below.

Method of Steeping Realgar in Wine and Steaming It over Boiling Water

Select ten jin of superior orpiment. Remove the stony veins within it, then pound it into granules the size of small beans; it may also be ground to a fine, sandlike texture or into powder. If boiling it in oil, make the orpiment into small granules. If boiling it in wine, first pound it into pieces, then mix and soak it in fine wine in a copper vessel. Add more wine as it is absorbed, until two shi of wine have been used. Next boil it in oil. After filtering off the oil, pound the orpiment and add great elixir (a medicine used in alchemical preparation), then boil it in bitter wine (vinegar).

If you intend to take it by itself, grind the orpiment into powder and put it in a bamboo tube. Add one jin of shi guan (a material used in alchemical preparation), cover the tube and seal its opening tightly, then steam it in sand for seven days and seven nights. When you take it out, water will have seeped out. Pour off the water and keep it separately. Place the portion that has not dissolved into water in a silk bag, put the bag in a jar of honey, seal it airtight, and bury it beneath horse manure for seven days. Once the medicine has been refined, it is called “Purple Palace Flying Elixir.” Form it into small, bean-sized pills with white honey and take them over a long period; it is said to prolong life.

The Vinegar-Refining Method for Orpiment

Take one jin of superior orpiment and pound it into powder. Mix it with fine bitter wine (vinegar) in a copper vessel, stirring it evenly, then refine it over a low flame; do not use a fierce fire. When the one shi of vinegar used has boiled away and the medicine has solidified into a gel, the refining is complete.

The instructional text says that the “bitter wine” mentioned here is not vinegar. Once cooked, pound it into a powder, place it in a bamboo tube, and steam it for a full day and night. As steaming nears completion, the vapor should be blue-red. Take it out and put it in water. When pulled, it should be soft like cotton; then roll it into pills the size of parasol-tree seeds. Take one pill before meals, three times a day, and you will become an immortal.

To prepare realgar mixed with lacquer for ingestion, use fine clear wine and simmer it over a low flame until the liquid thickens like glue. Use one jin of realgar and two jin of lacquer; the lacquer must be green. After boiling, strain out the dregs, then put the mixture in a copper vessel and stir it evenly. The medicine is then ready. Make pills the size of millet grains and take them three times a day; if made the size of small beans, take one a day. In either case, take them before meals and swallow the medicinal liquid as well. After fourteen days, all manner of illnesses will be cured. After twenty days, the body will feel lighter and dead flesh will slough off; this shows that the medicine is taking effect. At night you will see as if it were day, and move with the speed of a flying dragon. In cold weather your body will grow warm; in hot weather it will grow cool. After one hundred days, the intestines will become firm, the skin and blood vessels strong, and the joints, ears, and eyes more keen and clear. After three hundred days, you may gradually increase the dose, swallowing three pills at a time, each the size of a millet or foxtail millet grain.

This formula is extremely secret and must not be passed on or disclosed casually. Although it is called the “Lesser Elixir,” its effects far surpass those of other mineral medicines and the finest herbal medicines. Before the “Greater Elixir” is complete, this medicine must first be taken to nourish the marrow and give the body support. If this medicine is to be added to the Greater Elixir during its preparation, it should be boiled for a full one hundred days; reaching a glue-like thickness is not the standard for judging it complete.

Method for Refining Realgar into a Medicine of Long Life

Any medicinal material removed after soaking must be dried in the sun, then finely ground for use. Select the portions that are red and lustrously translucent.

Take out the medicines that have already been soaked, dry them completely in the sun, then grind and sift them. Keep only the bright red, translucent portions, and grind these into a fine powder. Put the powder in a new earthenware jar, soak it in wine, seal the jar tightly, and then heat it in a water bath for one hundred days. Add wine to the pot as well; heating the jar with wine is considered best. This method is used to refine elixirs of longevity.

Alternatively, take one sheng of fine spring wine and pour it into a porcelain jar. Put ten liang of realgar (an arsenic sulfide mineral) in a white cloth bag and immerse it in the wine. Replace the wine every ten days, and stop after one hundred days of soaking.

Refining Realgar for Transforming Copper and Iron

Take fine, cockscomb-red realgar and place it in a copper vessel. Boil it in pure vinegar for one hundred days. Test a small amount by refining it over a fire: if it gives off no smoke, it is considered refined. This state is called “subdued from fire” (a treated, more stable state). The scripture says that once refined, it can be used to transform copper and iron.

Re-Refining Realgar by Boiling It in Oil

Take fine cockscomb-red realgar, carefully remove any impurities with stone-like veins, and break it into small pieces. First refine it in wine for the prescribed number of days, then boil it in a pot of oil. Boil it continuously for nine full days and nights without interruption, carefully watching it and controlling the heat. If the fire is too strong or too weak, the oil may catch fire; the scripture says that if the heat is too low, the toxic vapors will not dissipate. Cover the oil pot with an earthenware vessel, and judge the heat by whether the hot liquid is warm enough to scald the hand.

After boiling it for the prescribed time, carefully pour off the oil while it is extremely hot and let it drain completely. Once cool, the oil will solidify and be difficult to pour, so this must be done while it is hot. Then divide the material evenly among five silk bags, each holding two jin and measuring nine cun long. Make an earthen furnace about one chi high and eight cun wide at the mouth. The mouth should face upward, with a hollow in each of the four sides, shaped like an earthen bowl. Line the hollows with sand, then place the bags on the sand, one cun apart. Pack sand around them, leaving one cun above and below as well. Burn wood underneath, using no more than seven bundles. When oil appears on the bags, the sand will gradually absorb it.

Method for Transferring and Subduing Realgar

Take superior-grade cinnabar. After steaming and refining it, place the realgar in a new earthenware vessel. Coat the vessel with fine clay, making the layer half an inch thick, then heat it until dry. Cover the mouth temporarily with an object and set it aside.

Method for refining realgar

After steaming and refining superior-grade cinnabar, place the realgar in a new earthenware vessel. Coat the vessel with fine clay to a thickness of half an inch, then heat it until dry. Set it aside for now. Next, shape yellow clay into a mold resembling a bottle or jar. Make the mouth about as thick as the side of a palm and the body about as tall as a clenched fist. Fill it with white sand, pack the sand down firmly, and place the mold in a furnace to dry.

Then turn the earthenware vessel upside down over the clay mold and plug its mouth with tangled hair. Lay a sheet of paper over the sand, and place a small iron nail across the vessel’s mouth to hold the hair in place. This allows oily vapors to drip downward while preventing the medicine from falling out. Once the vessel is in position, let it dry completely. Pack horse manure firmly around it, then set it alight from above so that the heat travels downward. The oily vapors inside the vessel drip onto the sand and gradually burn away. After a full day and night, let everything cool, then remove it.

While it is hot, use tongs to turn the vessel upright. Remove its mouth and pierce a small hole in it. Pack horse manure firmly around it again and set it alight from above, so that the heat travels downward. The oily vapors inside the vessel drip onto the sand and gradually burn away. After a full day and night, let everything cool, then remove it. While it is hot, use tongs to turn the vessel upright, remove its mouth, and pierce a small hole. The medicine inside looks like cloudy water. Pour it into a mold and cast it into an object, which may be square or round. This is called “wuyin” and is used to ward off evil.

If the liquid medicine does not pour out completely, break the vessel and collect the medicine. Once the oily portion is removed, the medicine remains and its toxic vapors disappear. To take it, grind the medicine and sift it finely, then refine it by sublimation three times, collecting the part that is as white as snow. Steam it for three days, then mix it with white honey and make pills the size of marbles. Take them three times a day, gradually reducing the amount. It is said that this removes the Three Worms and prolongs life. The medicine may also be mixed with refined pine resin. Larger quantities of this medicine may be prepared for use.

Method for refining pine resin

Boil pine resin repeatedly in mulberry wood ash or limewater, then boil it in clean water until all its bitterness has disappeared.

Method for refining orpiment

In my view, the method for refining orpiment is no different from that for realgar. However, according to what is recorded in the … …

Method for Refining Pine Resin

Boil pine resin several times in water mixed with mulberry wood ash or lime. Then boil it in clean water until all the bitterness has left the resin.

Method for Refining Orpiment

In my examination of methods for refining orpiment, I found no difference between them and the methods for refining realgar. However, the Bencao records differences in the conditions treated by orpiment and realgar. Orpiment is especially needed when refining the Great Elixir, so I include it here.

Orpiment tastes sweet and pungent, has a neutral nature, and is toxic. It can be used to treat malignant sores, baldness, ringworm, and scabies; to kill poisonous insects and lice; and to relieve itching. It is also used against malign influences and various poisons. The text further records that it can treat nasal polyps, sores in the lower body, white patches on the body and face, and areas of skin necrosis. It can also dispel disorientation and malign influences, and counteract bee and snake venom. When refined and taken, it is said to make the body light and healthy, prolong life, prevent aging, and nourish the brain.

Origins of Orpiment

Orpiment and realgar come from the same mountain. Both grow on the northern slopes of the valleys of Mount Wudu. Gold is found in the mountain, and its essence rises as vapor to form orpiment. There is no fixed season for collecting it.

Orpiment from Chouchi in Wudu is yellow, with a slight reddish tinge. Material from Funan and Linyi is called “true Kunlun yellow.” It, too, comes from northern mountain slopes, where gold is found and its essence rises as vapor to form orpiment; there is likewise no fixed season for collecting it. True Kunlun yellow is the color of gold, with interlacing patterns and a mica-like appearance. Painters prize it highly.

When alchemists compound elixirs, they often refine orpiment and realgar together by sublimation. The names “female” and “male” also correspond to the principles of Yin and Yang. Since both are used in refining, Wudu is considered the finest place of origin. When orpiment is broken open, the best kind has hard white veins inside.

End of Volume Fourteen of the Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue

Volume Fifteen of the Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue

Distinguishing the Subtle Properties and Effects of Various Mineral Medicines

Distinguishing the Effects of Stone Sulfur

After examining the matter, I conclude that stone sulfur—that is, sulfur—can transform objects made of gold, silver, copper, iron, and other metals. The immortal scriptures often use it. When heated in refining, it gives off purple smoke. The ancients regarded it as an important ingredient in the arts for producing yellow and white substances, so it is frequently used in alchemical methods. Once processed, sulfur can subdue mercury; for this reason, this medicine is also called “yellow thick sand.” When sulfur meets saltpeter, it liquefies. This method appears in the Classic of the Thirty-Six Aqueous Methods.

Another method is to pound sulfur into a fine powder, pack it into a bamboo tube, shave the tube’s outer wall thin, and bury it in horse manure. After twenty days, the sulfur will have liquefied. Soaking elixirs in this liquid is called “flowing sulfur liquid.”

For refining, take high-grade cinnabar (red cinnabar), clear and bright, soak and process it in wine, then grind it into powder. Place it in a copper vessel and soak it in flowing sulfur liquid. First heat it gently over a low flame, then warm it in a water bath; this gives the best results. After seven or eight days, the elixir changes color; after ten days, it becomes mudlike. Roll it into pills the size of parasol tree seeds. Take three pills each day, gradually increasing to forty. With prolonged use, the body will become light and rise aloft, and one may also become an immortal. Such are the effects of sulfur.

Uses of Stone Sulfur

After examining the matter, I conclude that stone sulfur tastes sour, is warm in nature, and is toxic. It is used chiefly to treat parasites in women’s genitals, carbuncles, hemorrhoids, and foul blood. It is also used to strengthen the sinews, treat baldness, accumulations in the chest and abdomen, pathogenic influences, cold-related abdominal masses, food rising back up, upward surging of the breath, cold and weakness in the legs, nosebleeds, malignant sores, and sores in the lower body. It can also treat sores, stop bleeding, and kill itch mites. Folk prescriptions often use it, especially for weak legs and cold ailments, with very good results.

After further examination, I find that Stone-Flowing Cinnabar is the red essence within stone. It seems to belong to the same category as Stone-Flowing Sulfur, though it is not Stone-Flowing Sulfur itself. It seeps and flows out from mountain cliffs. When moist, it can be made into pills and taken; when hardened, it can be ground into powder and taken. This red stone is among the 120 kinds of Stone Mushrooms—precious medicines formed naturally. Although the old books record its name, they provide no specific illustrations. It is also a superior immortal medicine. Such stones are found in all Five Sacred Mountains, and are especially abundant on Mount Ji. Local legend says that Xu You took it and attained long life; as a result, he no longer cared for wealth or status and refused Emperor Yao’s offer to give up the throne to him.

Where Stone-Flowing Sulfur Is Found

After examination, I find that Stone-Flowing Sulfur is found in the valleys of Mount Muyang in the Eastern Sea region, on Mount Tai, and in the mountains west of the Yellow River. It is the liquid essence of alum stone. The Eastern Sea region belongs to Xu Province, and Stone-Flowing Sulfur is also found on Mount Ji. Today, the finest kind comes from Funan and Linyi. Shaped like a newly hatched parrot, it is called “Kunlun Yellow”; its color is deep, and its quality is good. Folk prescriptions often use this Stone-Flowing Sulfur to treat weak feet, hernia, and ailments caused by cold.

When it is refined into the Great Elixir, the kind from Linyi is inferior to that from Xu Province and Mount Ji. Besides, there is no alum stone in the south, so it is unclear why the Stone-Flowing Sulfur found there is called the liquid essence of alum stone.

Methods for Refining Stone-Flowing Sulfur for Use in Medicines of Immortality

The subject’s research shows that when the Lord of the Nine Heavens prepared the Nine-Turn Lead Elixir, he used a method of refining flow sulfur into an elixir of longevity. Each of the four principal ingredients was refined separately, but all were simmered in wine using a water bath. Cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, and flow sulfur were each ground into powder and placed in separate copper vessels. The powders were moistened with fine wine and then simmered over hot water. For every five liang of powder, five sheng of wine were used. During simmering, the powder had to remain moist, so the wine was added gradually rather than all at once. The resulting medicine was used to attain longevity. In another method, the ingredients were crushed to the size of soybeans, placed in a bamboo tube with vinegar, and boiled for three days and three nights. If boiling was to be paused for half a day, a little water was added. This method was used for transformative arts and was inferior to boiling in wine.

The role of adding Zengqing to an elixir of longevity

The subject’s research shows that Zengqing, a mineral used in Daoist alchemy, is also regarded as a superior ingredient in prescriptions for immortality. It is said that taking it over a long period can make the body light and agile and prevent aging. It can also transform copper, iron, and lead into gold.

Uses of Zengqing

The subject’s research shows that Zengqing tastes sour, is slightly cold in nature, and is non-toxic. It is used to treat eye pain, tearing, and wind impediment—a numbness or pain in the limbs caused by wind malignancy. It can free the joints and the Nine Orifices, meaning the openings of the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and so on. It disperses hard masses in the abdomen, nourishes the liver and gallbladder, relieves alternating chills and fever, kills white intestinal worms, treats wind disorders of the head and coldness in the brain, eases vexation and distention, and replenishes deficient Yin Qi.

Another source records “Zengsuan” as sour, slightly cold in nature, and non-toxic. Its listed uses are the same as those of Zengqing: eye pain and tearing, wind impediment, obstruction of the joints and Nine Orifices, hard accumulations and masses, chills and fever, white worms, wind disorders of the head and coldness in the brain, vexation and fullness, and deficient Yin Qi.

Where Zengqing is found and how it is judged

The subject’s research shows that Zengqing is found in the mountain valleys of Shu and in Yuexuan, and can be gathered throughout the year. It is harmed by insect silk, and its uses are similar to those of Kongqing, another mineral medicine. Zengqing is no longer produced in the Tongguan area; it is now found only in Shixing. It is also found in Weizhou and Ezhou. The Zengqing from Weizhou is better than that from Ezhou, while material from other prefectures is of poorer quality. The best resembles earthworm castings or coptis root; smooth-textured specimens are also good. Its color and markings are slightly superior to those of Kongqing. Zengqing is scarce and expensive, and is an important material required for alchemical medicines described in the immortals’ scriptures. Tao Hongjing, however, says that it is produced in very small quantities. The method for refining gold with Zengqing is the same as the method used with Kongqing.

The method for refining Zengqing

I have found that when cengqing (a mineral such as azurite) is soaked in good-quality wine, it should be placed in a copper vessel, covered with paper and sealed tightly, then left in the sun. In summer, seven days will suffice; the longer it is exposed, the stronger its medicinal power. When there is no sun, it may be gently heated over a fire and allowed to dry slowly. Then put the cengqing in a copper vessel again, seal it tightly with paper, and leave it in the sun. Seven days in summer will suffice, though longer is better. When there is no sun, gently heat it over a fire until dry.

Grind it to a very fine powder using a porcelain mortar and a jade pestle, then mix it evenly with strong vinegar until the consistency is neither too wet nor too dry; it is then ready for use. Next, make a bag from thick, tightly woven silk, fill it with cengqing, and suspend it in vinegar in a porcelain jar. Replace the vinegar every ten days, and add fresh vinegar when the supply runs out. Use one dou of vinegar in all, and stop after one hundred days. When suspending the silk bag, do not let it sink to the bottom of the jar.

There is another method: soak cengqing and jinjing (a mineral material used in alchemy) separately in porcelain vessels, pound the substances into powder, and steep them for two hundred days in san zhuan zuowei (a specially processed vinegar-like liquid). Take them out, dry them in the sun, then grind them very finely in a porcelain basin with a jade pestle.

Another method uses the same preparation as shiliuhuang (sulfur): break the cengqing into pieces about the size of soybeans, put them in a bamboo tube with vinegar, and boil them in water for three days and three nights. If the heat must be stopped midway, let it rest for half a day, then add fuel and continue boiling. The author says this method is not unfamiliar to him; he uses it only as a convenient shortcut when pressed for time, and it should not be treated as a reliable basis.

There is yet another method: grind the cengqing into powder and boil it in san zhuan zuowei. For each jin of cengqing, use five dou of vinegar, and simmer over a low fire until the vinegar is gone. Dry it in the sun and grind it finely; it is then ready to be used as medicine.

Preparing Magnetite

Magnetite is prepared in the same way as cengqing. This is a quick method for urgent use, transmitted by Jiuxiao, and should not be treated as a reliable basis.

Another account says to grind the magnetite into powder and boil it in san zhuan zuowei. For each jin of cengqing, simmer over a low fire until five dou of vinegar have evaporated. Dry it in the sun and grind it finely; it is then ready to be used as medicine.

Preparing Magnetite

This is also the Nine-Turn Lead Elixir method transmitted by Lord Jiuxiao. Although it has some supporting authority, it is still inferior to the method for preparing jinjing and cengqing described earlier by Huzi.

According to my examination, long-term consumption of Kongqing (blue-green mineral), often used in ancient times in alchemy and medicine, can make the body light and vigorous, prolong life, preserve memory into old age, and raise a person’s aspirations to the realm of the immortals. When Kongqing is used in compounding and refining elixirs, the finished elixir is said to be able to transform lead into gold. Shennong says it can transform copper, iron, and lead into gold. Kongqing’s main effects are similar to those of Zengqing, another blue-green mineral: they are largely the same, with slight differences, as listed below.

What Kongqing Treats

According to my examination, Kongqing tastes sweet and sour, is extremely cold in nature, and is non-toxic. It treats blindness in which the eyes cannot see and deafness; brightens the eyes; opens and frees the nine orifices, including the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth; promotes the free flow of the blood vessels; calms and nourishes the spirit; and replenishes Liver Qi. It also treats red, swollen, painful eyes and skin diseases, stops tearing, promotes urination and the flow of breast milk, frees the joints, and disperses hard accumulations.

Where Kongqing Is Found

According to my examination, Kongqing is found in the mountain valleys of Yizhou and Yuejun. Today, the Kongqing from Tongguan is the brightest and deepest in color; the material from Shixing is inferior to that from Yizhou. There is also a Kongqing mountain at Xiping in Dongzhou, where the yield is abundant. The mineral there, however, occurs only in solid, rounded pieces like iron pellets, with no hollow centers. It is extracted by digging into earth and stone, and can be collected throughout the year.

Now, the sage ruler’s virtue resonates with Heaven, so that nothing in the world fails to appear. Kongqing is therefore also found in Weizhou, Jianzhou, Xuanzhou, and Zizhou, with the finest coming from Xuanzhou. The Kongqing from Weizhou has no cavities; its pieces are large and deeply colored.

A Method for Refining Kongqing as a Life-Prolonging Medicine

According to my examination, pound Kongqing into powder and soak it in wine for one hundred days, following the method for refining Zengqing. Remove it and dry it in the sun, then pound it again, mix it with vinegar, and dry it in the sun ten times. In general, the proportions and method of refining are the same as for Zengqing. To refine Jiangfan, a red alum mineral, simply process it once by the method used for Kongqing, then dry it in the sun as required; it does not need to be soaked in wine.

In my view, there is no need to use this substance when refining the Great Elixir today. The Taiji Divine Essence Minor Elixir Formula says: “If you do not have Zengqing, you may use Kunlun malachite instead. Grind it, then sift out the fine powder for use.” The Bencao also says: “Malachite grows within Kongqing.” In elixir-making methods it is called “lüqing.” It tastes sour, is cold in nature, and is non-toxic. It is chiefly used to replenish primordial Qi, treat liver and nasal disorders, and stop diarrhea and dysentery. It grows in hollows on the shaded side of mountains and is blue-white in color. It is the pigment painters use to make green, which they call “biqing”; they call Kongqing “lüqing.”

If you wish to use it in place of Zengqing in an elixir formula, it should be purified by levigation with water. From ten liang of raw ore, about three liang of refined material can be obtained. Once purified, it is used in the same way as Kongqing. This substitute is suitable only for a Minor Elixir. In a Great Elixir, nothing else may be used in its place.

End of volume fifteen of the Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue.

Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue, volume sixteen

On the origins of various minerals used in refining and their uses in seeking longevity

On the effects of magnetite

In my view, magnetite is one of the Five Minerals and the essence of Great Yin. It tastes pungent and salty, is cold in nature, and is non-toxic. It can counteract the harmful effects of iron; cinnabar and mercury are averse to it. Magnetite is commonly used in formulas for refining elixirs of immortality and for transforming gold and silver.

The therapeutic uses of magnetite

In my view, magnetite can be used to treat wind impediment and wind-dampness, as well as joint pain, difficulty gripping objects, and soreness after bathing. It can also dispel high fever and oppression in the chest and abdomen, treat deafness, nourish the kidneys, strengthen stomach Qi, replenish essence, ease oppression, and open the joints. It may also be used to disperse sores and swellings, fistulas, and glandular swellings, and to treat stiffness of the neck, sore throat, and convulsions in children. It is said that boiling and refining magnetite, then drinking the resulting liquid, can enable a person to have children.

Magnetite is also known as xuanshi and chushi. Bupleurum may be used with it; it is incompatible with moutan and langcao, and it is counteracted by huangshizhi.

I, your servant, observe that lodestone grows in the valleys around Mount Tai. Where there are iron deposits on the north-facing slopes of Magnet Mountain, lodestone is found on its south-facing slopes. It can be mined at any time of year. Good-quality lodestone can hold a needle suspended in the air; the best kind can pick up three or four needles in succession. Today, the finest lodestone comes from Xiangzhou.

Method for refining lodestone into a longevity elixir

I, your servant, observe that lodestone grows in the valleys around Mount Tai. Where there are iron deposits on the north-facing slopes of Magnet Mountain, lodestone is found on its south-facing slopes. It can be mined at any time of year. Good-quality lodestone can hold a needle suspended in the air; the best kind can pick up three or four needles in succession. Today, the finest lodestone comes from Xiangzhou.

Method for refining lodestone into a longevity elixir

Take one jin of lodestone as the ingredient for refining a longevity elixir. Pound it into powder and boil it in vinegar over a low flame until five sheng of the vinegar have evaporated. Then remove it and dry it in the sun. The remaining material cannot be used.

Method of preparation

If it is to be combined with zengqing, a mineral ingredient used in Daoist alchemy, boil away all five sheng of vinegar; merely soaking the lodestone is not enough. Another method says to coarsely crush the lodestone and boil it in sour wine, meaning vinegar, for three days and nights. It can then be used.

Explanation of the effects of yushi

I, your servant, observe that yushi, a toxic mineral used in ancient alchemy and medicine, is the essence of Lesser Yin and one of the Five Stones. It is said that, after being refined and taken, it can make a person ageless and immortal. Alchemical scriptures and methods for refining gold and silver often use it, regarding it as highly effective. If metal and yushi are placed together in water, the water will not freeze.

Yushi is also known by names including qingjieshi, lizhi shi, guyang shi, bai yushi, taibai shi, zeyu, and yan.

Indications for yushi

I, your servant, observe that yushi tastes acrid and sweet, is intensely hot in nature, and is poisonous. Ancient books say it can treat alternating chills and fever; ulcerated sores such as scrofula; dead flesh; impediments caused by pathogenic wind; hard masses in the abdomen; and pathogenic influences. They also say it reduces fever, clears the eyes, lowers Qi, dispels heat between the chest and diaphragm, relieves excessive thirst, strengthens Liver Qi, disperses accumulations, treats disorders caused by prolonged drinking, eases cold abdominal pain, and removes nasal polyps. The texts further claim that prolonged use causes the sinews and vessels to…; it works well when exposed to fire, fears water, and should not be used with dugong, xixin, or huzhang. The original phrase “jin P” appears to contain a character-form error, so its meaning cannot be determined.

Place of origin of fanshi

On examination, I find that arsenolite is found in the valleys of the Hanzhong mountains and around Mount Shaoshi, where it can be mined in every season. It is also found in Shu and Hanzhong. The best quality comes from the area around Nanye and Pengcheng, as well as near the southern wall of Luoyang. Arsenolite from Mount Shaoshi contains alunite that is extremely hot in nature. If this arsenolite is to be used, select pieces that are the color of yellow clay and about half an inch thick. Roast them over charcoal for a full day and night. Once they have broken apart, they can be used to treat ailments caused by cold and stagnation. They are not suitable, however, for refining the Great Elixir. The arsenolite used by alchemists refers to this white arsenolite, not ordinary raw arsenolite.

Method for Refining Arsenolite into a Longevity Elixir

On examination, I find that arsenolite is toxic and extremely hot in nature; it is suitable for use only after being refined by fire. Thus the Bencao says it must be refined over fire for a hundred days. If an unrefined dose the size of a knife-tip measure is taken, it will poison and kill people and wild animals alike. When arsenolite is liquefied, it is especially effective in alchemy for subduing mercury.

To refine it, select good-quality arsenolite and grind it to a fine powder. Wrap it in paper to form a pellet, then coat it in yellow clay of the kind used for making roof tiles, building up a layer about half an inch thick. Shape it into a cylindrical furnace. Surround it with charcoal and heat it for fourteen days, then remove it for use in compounding medicines. If it is refined together with the medicines for a full hundred days, the effect is better, and it can be used in the arts of transforming yellow and white—that is, techniques aimed at making gold and silver.

There is another method: boil the arsenolite in tallow for seven days and nights, then remove it and dry it in the sun. Pound it into a fine powder and mix it with bitter wine (vinegar) to form a ball. Heat it over a fierce fire with bellows, and copper can be obtained. Then pound it again into a fine powder, mix it with powdered, congealed mercury, and use it according to the alchemical recipe.

The Ninefold Refining of Lead and Cinnabar by the Lord of the Nine Heavens: Method for Refining Arsenolite

Pound the medicinal ingredients into powder, mix them with cow-dung juice to form a ball, and place it in the furnace fire to refine for a full day and night. Remove it, then pound and grind it in a mortar; it can now be used in place of the original material. Add two dou of water and boil until five sheng remain. Remove it, let it cool overnight, and take it out once it has begun to set slightly. Refine it in a fire that has been kept burning for three years for a full day and night. Remove it, then pound and grind it in a mortar; it can now be used in place of the original material. Add two dou of water and boil until five sheng remain. Let it cool overnight, and take it out once it has begun to set slightly.

Next, boil one dou of vinegar aged for three years three times. Pour it into a sealed vessel, close its mouth tightly, and leave it for fourteen days. When you open it, check whether a ridged layer about two fen thick has formed on the surface. Cover the Taiyi Soul-Summoning Elixir (name of an elixir) and the congealed mercury with this essence refined from poxiao (a naturally occurring nitrate mineral). Use it to refine the essence and make an elixir of immortality. It is said that the results of this method are certain to surpass those achieved without it.

The Efficacy of Ming Mangxiao: An explanation of the effects of mangxiao.

The mirabilite discussed here is made by refining crude natron. The Shennong Bencao Jing therefore does not record mirabilite separately, but lists saltpeter and medicines of the mirabilite type. Mirabilite, however, has the power to transform substances.

Master Peng said, “Saltpeter, Rong salt, stone gall, and mirabilite, when pure in quality, possess wondrous transformative powers even though they are simply natural products born of Yin and Yang. Those who seek immortality but do not understand this method will waste tens of thousands in gold and ultimately gain little.” This shows that these substances are important materials used by immortals in preparing elixirs. Mirabilite has the same principal medicinal effects as saltpeter, so some believe that it is saltpeter transformed. This also explains why the Shennong Bencao does not list mirabilite separately.

In the past, natural mirabilite came from Ningzhou. It was white, with large crystals and an intensely bitter taste. The mirabilite that physicians produce by boiling and refining is exceptionally white, has finer crystals, and tastes less strongly. Mirabilite refined from crude natron by this method is also excellent.

The Chunxiao Huachi Method also records the following: take Chunxiao that has undergone seven rounds of refinement, along with three kinds of stone that are pure black. Among the ingredients, use three dou of Wushan fat. The commentary explains that “five-colored mountain fat” means yellow alum, not five separate substances. Use five jin each of mirabilite and crude natron. Since the two kinds of natron are each specified as five jin, while Wushan fat is listed as three dou, it is clear that Wushan fat is a single ingredient. The Huachi formula says to pound each substance separately, place them in the Chunxiao, and seal the mixture for twenty-one days.

All methods for refining yellow and white substances and transforming the properties of the five metals use this Huachi method. It is extremely secret and is said to be worth tens of thousands in gold; it is not readily passed on. Mirabilite is itself refined from crude natron. This formula uses mirabilite and crude natron together to bring out the Huachi method’s wondrous power of transformation. This shows that mirabilite plays a major role in alchemical methods for transforming the five metals and other substances.

The principal medicinal effects of mirabilite

I have examined it: mirabilite tastes pungent and bitter and is extremely cold in nature. It is used mainly to treat accumulations in the five viscera, internal heat, obstruction in the stomach, stagnant Qi in the back, lingering blood stasis, and congested phlegm-fluid in the abdomen. It can also open the channels, promote urination and bowel movements, treat irregular menstruation and the five urinary strangury disorders—conditions involving dribbling, difficult, and painful urination—and dispel accumulations while promoting metabolism. Stonecrop fern can be used alongside it. Mirabilite is incompatible with barley and ginger. When mirabilite is boiled and refined into nitre, it can treat heat and fullness in the abdomen, regulate stomach Qi, aid digestion, and dispel pathogenic influences. It also dissolves in water, and its indications are the same as those of true nitre. The refining method is given under “The Nitre Method.”

Origins and identification of mirabilite

I have examined it: mirabilite is produced by transforming crude saltpeter and grows in the mountain valleys of Yizhou. Some accounts also say that nitre and crude saltpeter come from the same mountain region, suggesting that these three substances have broadly similar effects and origins. Crude saltpeter is the raw material for nitre. Although they are not the same substance, they differ little.

Nitre looks like salt snow held in the hand: it is neither hard nor icy. When burned, it gives off violet-blue smoke and flames and eventually turns to ash; it does not boil or release liquid. Crude saltpeter, by contrast, boils and releases liquid. Color and texture alone make the two difficult to distinguish at a glance. Where salty, bitter water is found on the shaded side of a mountain, crude saltpeter grows on the sunny side. The product from Ningzhou is considered genuine.

Method for refining mirabilite

I believe that Glauber’s salt has two natural qualities, Yin and Yang, and that its power to transform is called wondrous by those who make it. Once crude mirabilite has been processed into Glauber’s salt, it has already undergone refinement and should not be refined again.

Here is the method for refining Glauber’s salt from crude mirabilite. Use any amount of crude mirabilite. Pound it, sift it, and grind it finely, then pour warm water over it to draw off the liquid. When the liquid has cleared, heat it and boil it down until about half remains. Pour it into a clean wooden basin, immerse the basin in cold water, and leave it overnight. Crystals resembling white quartz will form, varying in size and each with eight ridges. Keep the work clean, and especially do not let others watch. According to the original text, this would damage the medicine’s Jing (essence) and prevent the transformation from being completed. Replace the cold water continually during the process and keep the basin cool; the crystals will then form quickly. Do not let the basin become warm. This method of immersing the basin in cold water is said to work for transformations involving all kinds of liquids.

I believe this is the method required to prepare the eight kinds of nitre. Among them are stone spleen and nitre. To transform these into thirty-six kinds of liquid, stone spleen, though also artificially made, cannot bring about the transformation on its own. It must be aided by Glauber’s salt obtained by refining crude mirabilite; only then can it transform various liquids.

Some people today see a formula for Glauber’s salt saying that it “can bring the transformation of all kinds of liquid to completion” and mistakenly assume that Glauber’s salt itself can turn into water. This is a serious misunderstanding. Few people know about stone spleen, but without it, nitre water cannot be made. Once stone spleen can be prepared, its effects are wondrous. Thus, the relevant formulas use it to make nitre, and are said to work without fail; the art of refining is then complete. The formula for Glauber’s salt also says that it can bring the transformation of all kinds of external water to completion.

Method for Making Stone Spleen Nitre

When making stone spleen and digesting minerals, Rong salt is also needed. Once Rong salt has been refined according to the recipe, the resulting substance is indistinguishable from natural Rong salt. It can be made into nitre for processing various minerals. Although this material has already been mentioned in the method for making nitre, it is supplemented here in connection with mirabilite.

Method for Making Stone Spleen

Take one jin of genuine alum stone and one jin of Rong salt, and grind them separately into powder. Pour two sheng of bitter water into a pot and bring it to a boil four or five times. Add the two powders and continue boiling until half the water remains. Strain out the residue, then boil the filtered liquid until it has completely evaporated. The liquid will bubble in the pot and form stone spleen, white as snow. It never fails when used to make nitre; its efficacy may be said to have reached its utmost.

Method for Making Rong Salt

Take any amount of clean, bright rock salt and melt it in an iron vessel. Once it boils, add powdered alum stone. Then melt it into brine, and, after it has melted again, add dried Ling powder and cover the vessel. Refine it in this way three times to make Rong salt. The refined Rong salt is indistinguishable from natural Rong salt.

Five-Colored Spirit Salt

Peng Jun says: This is an important ingredient among medicinal substances. To make Five-Colored Spirit Salt, refine it using the essences of the Five Emperors, and Five-Colored Spirit Salt will be obtained.

Dongye Method for Making Mirabilite

Take any amount of salty essence and place it in bitter water in an earthen crucible. Boil it about ten times, then pour it out and leave it to settle and clear. Pour the clear liquid into the salty juice of Ruogu grass and soak it for two days. Then take the Ruogu grass juice and boil it in a copper vessel until all the water has evaporated; it will congeal into white mirabilite.

If you want the mirabilite to form into angular crystals, do not boil the juice dry. Pour it into a porcelain vessel and leave it in a cool place for three days. It will crystallize into angles, forming large, block-like masses of mirabilite. The book says this mirabilite is indistinguishable from the natural kind and can also make people feel cool and clear the passages.

The text says that “bitter-bone herb” refers to ku shen (Sophora root). Because its bitterness seems to penetrate to the bone, it acquired this name. Ku shen is dense in texture and extremely bitter. Mirabilite tastes both pungent and bitter, which is why it is called “cheng.” It can also make medicinal substances dense and sharp. Mirabilite, however, can be used in ordinary prescriptions for treating specific conditions, but it cannot bring about the transformation of alchemical substances.

Some suspect that the “bitter water” mentioned here is vinegar, and conclude that vinegar must be used. But to transform medicinal substances, one cannot use material obtained by refining crude saltpeter. It can be used only after it has been refined into “original, pure substance.” Genuine materials produce better results.

The “bitter water” mentioned in the method for making stone-spleen saltpeter is also unsuitable for use in this way. Cold water is more appropriate when preparing the ingredients; vinegar is extremely hot in nature and does not suit these materials.

Method for Stone-Spleen Saltpeter

One jin of stone spleen, one jin of mirabilite, and one jin of crude saltpeter.

The author says that he has already described this method in detail in the Instructions on Saltpeter. The “bitter water” mentioned here is also unsuitable for use according to that method. Cold water is preferable when preparing the ingredients; vinegar is extremely hot in nature and is unsuitable for mixing with these materials.

Method for Stone-Spleen Saltpeter

Pound and grind one jin each of shibi, mangxiao, and poxiao into separate powders. The author says that although this procedure is described in detail in The Method of Nitre, that text also discusses how to distinguish genuine from counterfeit substances and gives several methods of preparation. Readers following one of those methods might miss important points, so the procedure is restated here. Mangxiao, rongyan (also called “rongguan,” a kind of mineral salt), and shibi can all be used to make nitre. Peng Jun also says that the transformations and effects of the prepared substance are no less than those of the genuine natural product. Those seeking immortality should therefore make it according to this method.

Take three dou of bitter water and boil it ten times in a copper pot. Add the three powders and simmer until the volume of water is reduced by half. Strain out the residue, let the liquid settle until clear, then continue boiling until fine, closely spaced round bubbles appear on the surface. Pour it into a porcelain vessel. Immerse the vessel in cold water for a day, and nitre will form, resembling frost, snow, or icicles. When water is added, it will immediately dissolve. Boil it over a fire again until fine round bubbles appear, then pour it into a porcelain vessel and cool it by immersion; nitre will form once more. Repeat this process three times, and the refining is complete. During preparation, avoid unclean places, and do not expose the substances directly to wind or sunlight.

Shibi is said to form when the Qi of Yin and Yang congeals. It is one of the essences of the Five Salts and grows attached to alum stone; it is commonly found on Mount Eju. Few people outside the community know what it is or make use of it; it is needed only by those who seek the Dao and practice cultivation. In the past, because travel between regions was difficult, shibi was hard to obtain. The ancients therefore made a substitute, which they believed to be more effective than natural shibi.

The scripture further explains that shibi is formed by the congealing of Yin-Yang Qi: bitter water is extremely cold, and alum is also cold in nature; when the two are boiled together, the action of fire causes them to congeal. “The essence of the Five Salts” means that rongyan can be used to make salts of five colors. Shibi grows from alum and takes shape by attaching itself to stone; the substance meant here is a kind of white alum stone.

The Jue on the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor, scroll sixteen, concludes here.

A note suggests that a heading may be missing here: “On the Method for Dissolving the Potency of Stone Spleen.”

Scroll Seventeen: Preparing Ingredients in Advance and Making Yellow Elixir

I have heard that in refining the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods, every elixir requires Dark Yellow and an earthen vessel beforehand. To make the first elixir, called “Elixir Flower,” one must first prepare well-aged, repeatedly fermented vinegar and Flower Pond. Next, prepare orpiment water and cinnabar water. Then prepare the seven ingredients used in blending, casting, firing, and sieving: alum stone, yushi stone, Rong salt, brine salt, oyster shell, red stone fat, and talc, along with lead white and other materials. Prepare thirty to fifty jin of each ingredient in advance, for making “Six-in-One Mud,” the clay used to seal the vessels during alchemical firing. A red earthen vessel should also be made beforehand. Its method is given in the previous scroll; the methods for Dark Yellow and the other preparations are explained below.

Method for Making Dark Yellow

Dark Yellow is made by adding tin to mercury. The tin is obtained from Yellow Elixir. If one does not know the quality of the tin, or if it is not pure enough, it cannot be used to refine elixirs of long life.

Method for Making Yellow Elixir

It is best to make Yellow Elixir oneself. If it is bought at market, one may worry that it has been adulterated with yellow earth. When genuine Yellow Elixir is made personally by a master, there is generally no need to make it oneself. Homemade Yellow Elixir is a vivid red, with a bright sheen and pleasing color. If it does not look this way, it is not genuine Yellow Elixir.

Method

Take two jin of lead; the amount may be increased or decreased as needed. Wash it clean, place it in an iron cup, and roast it until it becomes granular, then rinse it with clean water. Rinse and sort it repeatedly in an iron pot until it is thoroughly clean. Pour off the water, keep the sediment, and dry it in the sun for ten days. Then pound it into powder and sift it through silk. Put it in an iron cup and roast it for two nights and three days, until it turns red. This produces the finest Yellow Elixir.

Method for Extracting Lead

Hu Gangzi says: To prepare elixirs, lead must serve as the foundation. If the lead is impure, the elixir cannot be made. To obtain lead, add a small amount of “metal thief” (a material named in the original) to a liquid essence called dan xuan jing (a liquid essence used in elixir making), and knead the mixture into lumps about the size of a small bird’s egg. Dry them in a shaded place for seven or eight days, then put them in an iron pot and heat them while blowing air into the fire. This lead is called “elixir lead” and can be used to make Xuanhuang.

The lead used to refine mercury is prepared by a different method. The number of refining cycles required is given in “The Method for Subduing Mercury with Water.”

How to Make Xuanhuang

Take one jin of mercury and boil and refine it for thirty-six days. Another account says that if the mercury coagulates, use twenty jin of lead. Refine the lead five times to purify it. Put the lead and mercury together in an iron vessel and heat them over a strong fire. The lead and mercury will release an essence of a purplish yellow color; collect it with an iron spoon. This essence is called “yellow sprout,” and is also called “the dragon’s light flying essence.”

The oral formula says: Put tin in an iron vessel and heat it over charcoal until it boils. Then gradually lower the heat and add the mercury. Heat it using fresh, damp willow wood until it releases a purplish yellow essence, then collect it with an iron spoon. This essence is also called “yellow sprout” or “the dragon’s light flying essence.”

The instructions say: Put tin into an iron vessel and heat it over charcoal. Once it boils, gradually reduce the heat. Add mercury and stir it with fresh, moist willow wood; five colors will appear. Use an iron spoon to draw the material gathered at one side closer, then collect it. Pause to let it flow out, then continue collecting. Once it has all been gathered, observe the heat: when the fire is hot, the colors turn yellow; when it is cool, they turn blue-green and purple, with a luminous sheen. At a moderate heat, the colors are reddish purple, yet still resemble gold. While being refined, the material matches the color of the flames and looks much like gold; once removed from the fire, it returns to its original appearance.

To make a cinnabar cauldron, used for refining elixirs, first prepare “mysterious yellow.” The supporting materials laid in the bottom of the cauldron for the Nine Cauldrons elixirs must also be made from it. If you do not prepare plenty in advance, you will run short when it is needed. So boil and refine mercury and obtain lead ahead of time. According to the supporting-material method in the Great Clarity, “mysterious white” is sometimes also needed to support the elixir. Its preparation is described below.

Method for Mysterious White

The instructions for the Eighth Elixir in the Nine Cauldrons say: “Spread one jin of mysterious yellow or mysterious white across the bottom of the cauldron, then place mercury on top.” These materials therefore need to be prepared in advance. Melt lead and form it into a plate. Take one jin of mercury, three jin of lead, and six liang of genuine gold. Melt the lead and gold together, then add the mercury and refine the mixture with bellows until it forms a silver plate. Suspend the plate in the “Flowery Pool,” the vessel used for this process, and open it once every seven days. Until it is time to open it, keep the Flowery Pool’s porcelain mouth tightly covered. When you open it, remove the flowing white substance inside and put it into a green bamboo tube. Seal the mouth of the tube tightly with lacquer, then place it in the Flowery Pool. After thirty days, it will turn into water.

Another method is to take one jin of lead and one jin of gold, refine them with bellows into a plate, then hammer it until it is as thin as fine silk. Place the plate in a wooden tray lined at the bottom with cloth, then put it into “left flavor,” a liquid named in the original text. After thirty days, the plate will turn into mysterious white and remain in the tray, ready for use. Mysterious white must contain gold to be usable; without gold, it cannot be used. The elixir method of the Great Clarity uses mysterious white to support the elixir, while the Nine Cauldrons method uses only mysterious yellow.

On examination, I find that after making the “Spirit-Joining” substance, it should be soaked in Left Flavor—the vinegar solution used in alchemical preparation. After thirty days, if the dish has turned dark white, it is ready for use. If the dark white contains gold, it may be used; if it contains no gold, it must not be used. The Great Clarity Elixir uses dark white as its gold activator, a gold-like substance used to initiate or assist alchemical refinement, whereas the Nine Tripods method uses only dark yellow.

On examination, I find that to refine the divine elixir, one must first prepare the various liquids and remove the toxicity of the different minerals. The materials must also be immersed in Six-in-One Mud, the clay used to seal alchemical vessels, and processed quicksilver—the mercury prepared for alchemical use—must be boiled. Any vinegar used in the preparation must first be aged for one hundred days; this is called “Mellow Brew.” If it is aged for more than three years, it is called “Bitter Wine.” Add the substances to it, and the Elixir Pool, the liquid used in alchemy, can be prepared in a single day. The ancients kept this secret, calling it “Left Flavor.” Those who seek the Great Dao and long for immortality must prepare everything according to these steps. Without careful planning and preparation, the work will be difficult to complete. The method is as follows.

Method for Making Vinegar

Take one shi of red broomcorn millet, an ancient unit of volume. Winnow and wash it, then put it into a pottery vessel with the ingredients measured for three shi. Steam it until cooked and make it into rice. Prepare the required ingredients in the quantities specified above for three shi, put them all into a porcelain vessel, sift them, then add the millet rice and mix thoroughly. Seal the mouth of the porcelain vessel with seven layers of paper, removing one layer every seven days. After forty-nine days, all the layers will have been removed. When first sealing the vessel, tie each layer tightly in place. After these seven periods of seven days, the vinegar will have fermented. Cover the mouth of the vessel with fine silk, and add the medicinal substances only once the vinegar has aged for the required length of time.

When drawing off the vinegar, first pour out the clear liquid. If the vinegar dregs are not needed right away, seal them for storage and do not open them. May rainwater is best for making the vinegar. To prepare a quantity measured in hundreds or thousands of shi, increase the ingredients in the same proportion. The porcelain vessel holding the vinegar must have a thick base beneath it and should not be moved often, lest it break. After use, clean the utensils promptly and use a dry thorn branch to brush away hair and other debris.

Method for Making the Elixir Pool, from the Upper Chapter of the Great Clarity Central Scripture

The “Flower Pond” is also called “Water of the North,” “Mother of the Four Seas,” or the “Mysterious Pond.” It is said to exist naturally in the northern pole of heaven. To make it in the human world, take the five minerals and use one portion from a batch of three portions of ingredients. Add one jin of honey and five dou of grain, then soak the mixture in water until the grain sprouts. Dry it in the sun, pound it, sift it, and place it in the Flower Pond, pounding and mixing it repeatedly ten thousand times. Next, wrap thirty jin of alum in a rice-fiber net, immerse it in the mixture, and seal it for three days. Once prepared, it tastes bitter, sweet, and sour. Then soak fifteen dou of saltpeter in water until it sprouts; dry it in the sun, pound it, sift it, and place it in the Flower Pond, again pounding and mixing it ten thousand times. Wrap another thirty jin of alum in a rice-fiber net, immerse it in the mixture, and seal it for three days. This preparation, too, tastes bitter, sweet, and sour. Finally, add ten jin of saltpeter and blend everything together. Gold, jade, and the five minerals soaked and refined in this Flower Pond water are said to turn to liquid after twenty to one hundred days. Rainwater collected as it falls from the sky produces better results. Use ancient-style weights for measuring.

The Celestial Master’s Instructions for the Great Clarity Flower Pond says that the Flower Pond should be made according to the method in this scripture: use only five dou of grain, soak it in water until it sprouts, then dry it in the sun, pound it, sift it, and put it in the Flower Pond to mix with the other ingredients. Only then can the preparation be completed. If the grain does not sprout, the Flower Pond cannot be made. This is an essential key to cultivating the Great Dao. Gold, jade, the five minerals, lead, and other materials all turn to liquid when soaked and refined in Flower Pond water. The various methods for preparing refining waters described in the Scripture of the Thirty-Six Waters also all require the Flower Pond.

Making Left Sour for the “Threefold Transformation of Yellow and White”

Take six shi of bitter wine that has aged for three years and been brewed repeatedly, and select the clear portion. Add six shi of the lees from spring wine and stir thoroughly. Separately, take one shi of premium glutinous millet and soak it in water until very soft. Put it into the mixture and wait for the millet to dissolve and turn to liquid.

Take six shi of bitter wine that has been repeatedly brewed over three years. Add the lees from spring wine, mix thoroughly, and pour the mixture into the wine. Separately, take one shi of fine millet and soak it in water until thoroughly softened. Put it into the wine; once it has completely dissolved, press out the clear liquid. Next, add eight dou of yellow malt (made by steaming whole, uncrushed grains of wheat), along with three dou each of the sprouts of five kinds of grain. After twenty-one days, press out the liquid and store it in a large porcelain vessel. Then add one jin each of gold and silver filings, two jin of green alum, ten jin of yellow alum, and three jin of lead-white filings that have been refined fifty times. Wrap the lead filings in cloth and suspend them in the medicinal liquid. After seventy days, the essence of the lead will have dissolved into the medicine.

The resulting medicinal liquid is called “Yellow and White Left-Taste,” also known as “Flower Pond.” The scripture says that it has existed in Heaven since the beginning. “Five sprouts” refers to soaking grains such as millet, beans, broomcorn millet, wheat, and rice in water until they sprout. After seven or eight days, when the sprouts have grown into a dense mass, they are called “five sprouts.” To prepare medicines such as stored Elixir or Golden Liquid for refining stored water, and to process the “Eight Minerals” and the various formulas of Heaven and Earth, one must prepare ten or twenty jars in advance. The jars must be made of porcelain; they cannot be made at the last minute. Otherwise, the medicine will lack potency, and the refining process will not succeed.

The instructions say: Green alum is the blue-green variety of alum selected from white alum; the Bencao calls it “parrot-dropping alum.” Yellow malt is made by steaming whole, unbroken grains of wheat.

According to the Huzu Xuanzhu Jing, the medicinal liquid called “Male Yellow Left-Taste” in the section on “Subduing the Mysterious Pearl” is the “Flower Pond” described here. The various other methods likewise use yellow malt made from unbroken grains of wheat.

To prepare the Golden Flower Pool used in alchemy—a vessel or medicinal pool for testing the essences of the Five Minerals—and keep the essences of the five ores from dispersing, proceed as follows. Take five dou of wheat, soak it, pick it clean, and steam it. Take five dou of blue-white pebbles about the size of chestnuts. Melt seven jin of lead and make it into flakes. Grind five jin of cinnabar into a fine powder. Separately, steam and cook red millet into rice.

Place the pebbles at the bottom of a porcelain vessel, then layer the cinnabar, gou, wheat, and red millet rice in that order. Finally, pour over one shi and five dou of water, and seal the vessel tightly. Leave it for seventy days in summer or one hundred and forty days in winter; then it is considered prepared. The process should be carried out in a spacious room at a suitable auspicious site. Do not let parrots, dogs, women, or domestic animals see it. The scripture says that if they do, its wondrous efficacy cannot be achieved.

“The Pool Formula for Subduing Mercury,” from the Jade Candle’s Ten Thousand Gold Secrets

Take three shi of “yellow-white left flavor,” one jin of haoqing alum, and one jin each of “five zai.” Process the “left flavor” three times, then pound it finely. Add qingshan fat, leave it for seven days, and then open the seal. Add the five zai and seal it tightly again so that no vapor can escape. After twenty-one days, it will be ready.

The scripture goes on to explain that, according to the method called “single-flower-pool powder,” fixing mercury requires the formula for the five-zai flower pool. Other formulas cannot fix mercury. Most people do not understand this: they boil it with vinegar or keep refining it by other methods for several nights, or even ten days and nights. Though they spend much effort, they still cannot fix the mercury. Even after a thousand days, without the five-zai flower pool, they will ultimately fail. Several medicinal names and individual phrases in the original are difficult to decipher; the translation above follows the surviving text as closely as possible.

This passage describes the method for preparing “Five-Plant Flower Pool.” Here, the “Five-Plant Flower Pool” is a medicinal liquid used in alchemy. “Yellow-and-White Vinegar” refers to the vinegar used to prepare elixirs involving yellow and white metals. The scripture specifically clarifies that it is not ordinary vinegar that has undergone three successive refinements.

According to the Xuanzhu, whenever the text says “zha” (the original uses this character), it refers to Yellow-and-White Vinegar. Now, if one also puts the gold filings, silver filings, lead white, and other substances mentioned in the Xuanzhu into the green or yellow “Great Flower Pool,” chooses a geng, xin, or mao day, adds Five Plants, green vitriol, and other ingredients, and leaves the mixture for twenty-eight days to subdue mercury, the method is said to work. The various alchemical methods sometimes differ from one another and can be hard to distinguish at first glance; following these directions seems to prevent mistakes. The method called “Formula for the Jade Candle’s Five-Plant Flower Pool” is made by refining Yellow-and-White Vinegar through three successive transformations.

The method for Yellow-and-White Vinegar described in the first three transformations begins with six dan of vinegar aged for three years; this is called the “first transformation.” “Double-fermented brew” is another name for rich, full-bodied wine vinegar, so called because of its strong flavor. It is not the kind of vinegar used by ordinary people to make a profit.

The text also says: Take the clear supernatant from six dan of double-fermented vinegar and add one dan of spring wine lees, stirring thoroughly. Separately, take one dan of fine millet and steam it until very soft, then add it and wait until it has completely dissolved. This is called the “second transformation.”

It also says: Take the liquid medicine produced in this second round of refining and press it to filter out the clear liquid. Add eight dou of yellow-clad material and three dou each of the five zai ingredients. Leave it in a vessel for twenty-one days, then press and filter it again and transfer it to a large porcelain vessel. Add one jin each of gold filings and silver filings, then two jin of green alum stone, ten jin of yellow alum stone, and three jin of lead-white filings that have been forged fifty times. Wrap them in cloth and suspend them in the liquid medicine for seventy days. Once the essence of the lead has dissolved into the medicine, press and filter it again and transfer it to a large porcelain vessel. Add gold filings, silver filings, green alum stone, yellow alum stone, and lead-white filings as before, then suspend them in the liquid for another seventy days. When the essence of the lead has fully dissolved into the medicine, the “yellow-and-white left-flavor” is complete—the liquid medicine used in the art of refining yellow and white substances. This is what is meant by the “three turns.”

Now take the yellow-and-white left-flavor produced by the three turns. Once the lead essence has completely melted—this medicine must be refined for seventy days—take one shi of Supreme Clarity and add one jin of finely pounded green alum. Seal it and leave it for seven days before opening. Then add one jin of each of the five zai ingredients and seal it tightly so that none of the medicine’s vapor can escape. Leave it for twenty-one days, and it will be ready. This is what is meant by adding green alum once more and putting in the five zai ingredients again: the aim is to bring the medicine’s efficacy to its fullest. As for using ingredients such as hua-tuo powder on their own, they cannot be successfully refined, no matter how long they are left. That is the point being made here. The formula for the Jade Candle’s five zai ingredients is also called the “Mysterious Pearl of the Flower Pool.” The mercury-fixing formula is called only “left-flavor,” indicating that only after the five zai ingredients and four turns have been completed is the true method achieved.

The Commentary on the Taiyi Golden Liquid Restored Elixir also says: Whenever refining fails, the cause is either that the saltpeter is impure or that the “Flower Pool”—the system of liquid and vessel used for refining the medicine—has not been made according to the method. Likewise, if the Flower Pool in the “Five-Turn Frost Powder Method” is not made to the proper specifications, then even after leaving it for ten or twenty days, it will not set into a cake, even with gouliu added. When mixing the clay with bitter wine (vinegar), one may also follow the method for the “Golden Liquid Left-Flavor.” Whenever bitter wine is specified, longer storage is always acceptable. When the text says “one hundred days,” it does not mean that storage for only one hundred days is enough; otherwise, the mixture still will not set into a cake. Three years of storage is even better.

Method for making the Flower Pool of the Taiyi Golden Liquid Restored Elixir.

In the fifth month, collect three stones and six pecks of rainwater and ferment it into bitter wine. Add rice malt and seal it as usual. After twenty-one days, add one peck and eight pints of powdered barley malt. Leave it for another seven days, or for a full twenty-one days. Once the liquid has cleared, strain it and transfer it to a separate large porcelain vessel. This liquid is called “Left Flavor.”

Take three pecks of glutinous rice malt. First pound the alum stone into pieces the size of grains of rice or beans, then wrap it in the malt to make about thirty cakes. Soak these in the Left Flavor for one hundred days. The finished preparation is called the “Pool of Blossoms of the Great One.” Once the Pool of Blossoms is ready, it can be used to soak liquid gold and to take the Eight Minerals.

Method for the Pool of Blossoms of the Eight Minerals

Take two stones and one peck of Left Flavor that has been processed three times. Add one pound of amethyst, one pound of genuine stalactite, one pound of exceptional shengyushi stone, one pound of magnetite, five pounds of Qingyang stone, one pound and four ounces of gypsum, eight ounces of shitingzhi, and three pecks of wuzai. These are nine ingredients in all; pound and sift each one separately. On a Yin day, put them in a porcelain vessel and mix them together. Seal the vessel tightly so that no vapor escapes. The preparation will be ready after seven days.

Put gold filings, silver filings, and yellow coating into this Pool of Blossoms of the Eight Minerals, and process them on the dates specified in the recipe. This produces Yellow-and-White Left Flavor, which is the Yellow-and-White Pool of Blossoms of the Eight Minerals. Boil mercury in this Left Flavor, blend it with elixirs, then put it into a furnace and refine it into an elixir. In this way, one can attain long life.

Method for the Pool of Blossoms of Qing Mountain Grease

Take two stones and one peck of Left Flavor, processed three times and the color of amber. Add fifty pounds of Haocingshan grease; another account gives thirty pounds. Pound and sift the Qing Mountain grease, put it into the Left Flavor, and seal the vessel so that no vapor escapes. After forty-nine days, it becomes the “Water of the Eight Minerals and Seven Treasures.” Add five pecks of qibaozai, then seal it again for twenty-one days. After this, medicines can be added, and they will not dissolve into water. This method should be kept secret and not passed on. It is said that adding powdered tujian, Yellow-and-White substances, and the like can make them dissolve into water and become liquid, with observable results.

Spring Xiaohua Pool

The original text next gives the name “Spring Xiaohua Pool” and repeats the following: after medicines are added, they will not dissolve into water; this method should be kept secret and not passed on. It is said that adding powdered tujian, Yellow-and-White substances, and the like can make them dissolve into water and become liquid.

Take spring-brewed Three Stones refined seven times, selecting those of a pure black color. Take three dou of Five Mountains Fat, then five jin each of mirabilite and crude mirabilite. Pound them separately, place them in the spring brew, and seal it away for twenty-one days; then it is ready. Any preparation used to refine yellow and white substances or alter the properties of the Five Metals must use this Flower Pool, the liquid or reagent used in preparing elixirs. This is an extremely secret method, worth ten thousand gold pieces, yet never to be passed on. There is one superior Flower Pool used to make the Hundred-and-Seven Waters, and it is needed in every stage of the process. Whenever mercury is refined, use Yellow-and-White Left Flavor, a reagent for refining metals. In particular, put gold and silver filings and the like into the Flower Pool of spring brew, to refine a mercury of lead and mercury that can ascend and transform.

To make the Thirty-Six Waters, or to refine and transform substances with various kinds of saltpeter, use the Flower Pool of the Golden Liquid of Taiyi, the Flower Pool of the Immortal Elixir Dissolved in Water from the Central Scripture of the Great Clarity, and others of this kind. To boil and refine longevity mercury, use the Flower Pool of the Left Flavor of Yellow and White, Eight Stones and Five Planted Ingredients, refined three times. To prepare the mud that makes gold sink, use bitter wine aged for three years or one hundred days. The Golden Flower Pool used in compounding elixirs is said to serve in preparing and applying the Divine Elixir of the Nine Tripods, and may also be used for other purposes. Other Flower Pool recipes unrelated to this method are not listed here.

End of juan seventeen of the Instructions on the Scripture of the Divine Elixir of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor.

Instructions on the Scripture of the Divine Elixir of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor, juan eighteen

This section explains the origins of minerals such as stalactite, as well as various kinds of copper and iron, and holds that all can be used in the arts of longevity.

It explains the effects of refining stalactite.

A minister’s commentary: Although stalactite is not among the highest-grade medicines, it is an essential ingredient in the Flower Pool of the Eight Stones. Thus Tao Hongjing took it and was able to prolong his life, keep his complexion radiant, and avoid growing old.

The conditions treated by stalactite.

I, your servant, have examined the matter: stalactite (the medicinal substance) tastes sweet, is warm in nature, and is non-toxic. It treats food and drink rising in the stomach, as well as panting and Qi surging upward. It can brighten the eyes, replenish Jing and Qi, harmonize the Five Organs, free the joints and open the nine orifices. It also promotes the flow of breast milk, replenishes original Qi, treats depletion and weakness, and relieves pain and weakness in the feet. It is also said to strengthen Yang Qi and aid fertility. However, taking stalactite before it has been refined can make urination difficult and painful. Snakebed seed can be combined with it. It is incompatible with peony, black stone, and Du Rong, and is counteracted by purple stone and suocao grass.

Where Stalactite Is Found

I, your servant, have examined the matter: stalactite grows in the valleys of Mount Shaoshi and around Mount Tai, and there is no fixed season for gathering it. It is also called Kongru, Lushi, and Xiashi. Mount Shaoshi is connected to Mount Songgao. It is also found in the famous mountains of Shixing, Jiangling, and the eastern regions, in caves containing stone.

The finest stalactite grows through the cave, is light and thin, and resembles a goose quill. When broken, it looks like fingernail clippings; its interior has no goose-tooth-like markings, and it is clear and bright. Such pieces are also considered top grade. Long pieces can reach one or two chi. Yellowish pieces turn white when washed with vinegar. The scriptures of the immortals make little use of stalactite, but popular prescriptions prize it highly, so it is also very expensive.

Method for Refining Stalactite into the Elixir Pool of Long Life

Select stalactite without regard to its quantity or thickness. As long as it is washed with water until white and bright, it can be used for processing; yellow or red stalactite must not be used. Place the stalactite in a gold or silver vessel. If these are unavailable, it may also be boiled in a large pot. Keep the heat steady so that the water forms bubbles about the size of fish eyes, and add more water as it evaporates. Thin stalactite should be boiled for three days and three nights; stalactite as thick as a crow’s wing, or thick tubular pieces, should be boiled for seven days and seven nights. When it turns yellow, it is considered fully processed. If there is doubt that it is ready, boil it for another ten days and ten nights. The water used to boil the stalactite will turn yellow throughout the pot; all of this yellow water must be poured away. The scripture says that drinking it by mistake will harm the throat and cause headaches; drinking a large amount will also cause diarrhea. It records that eating pork can stop this.

After pouring away the yellow water, do not put the stalactite away at once. Replace the water with fresh water, return it to the pot, and boil it for about half a day. If the water remains clear and its color does not change, the process can stop. The scripture says that taking stalactite that has not been carefully processed will cause sores on the back, so it must be processed with great care.

To grind it after processing, place the stalactite in a porcelain mortar and break it up with a jade pestle, then add a little water and grind. As the water is nearly ground away, keep adding more, maintaining moisture throughout.

Place stalactite in a porcelain bowl, pound it into pieces with a jade mallet, then add a little water and grind it. When the water is nearly used up, keep adding more so that the slurry remains as thin as porridge. The finer particles will float to the top, while the coarse, heavier particles will settle below. Grind repeatedly around the stone mallet. Though the material is easy to crush, it must still be ground without pause, day and night, for five or six days. Continue grinding until it is as smooth and fine as human breast milk. After about ten days, the stalactite will take on a white sheen and appear very pale. Smear a little on the arm: if it is as fine as white fish fat spread on paper and gives off a white luster that cannot be washed away with water, it meets the required standard. Only when it has reached this state may it be taken. Let it settle thoroughly, then remove it. It is better to dry it in the sun and grind it carefully once more; only then can it be made into pills or powder for different uses.

Another method is to select high-quality stalactite, first sift it through a silk sieve, then soak it in clear wine for one day and one night. Remove the material floating on the surface and keep only what has settled. Dry it in the sun, then grind and refine it as described above. Once the stalactite has been refined, grind it into a fine powder and steam it beneath three shi of rice, which gives a good result. “Beneath three shi of rice” means placing the medicinal substance among the rice and steaming it in the heat rising from the steaming rice.

There is another method: after grinding and refining the stalactite, place it in a gold or silver basin. Remove the material that floats to the top and keep only what has settled; dry it in the sun, then grind and refine it again. Next, grind the refined stalactite into powder and steam it beneath three shi of rice.

Yet another method is to place the stalactite in a gold or silver basin after grinding and refining it. For every jin of stalactite, add two liang of saltpeter. Mix them together and cover the basin tightly so that no vapors escape, then steam it.

Purple Fluorite.

I believe amethyst is the finest of the mineral stones. Taking it can prolong life, and keeping it in the mouth can help one endure hunger and thirst. It is an important ingredient in the “Method of the Eight Mineral Blossoms,” an alchemical method that uses various minerals as its materials. Amethyst tastes sweet and pungent, is warm in nature, and is non-toxic. It grows in the valleys of Mount Tai and may be gathered at any time. The stones produced on Mount Tai are black, crystalline, and translucent, with roots beneath them; for this reason, they are considered the finest quality.

There is also mian stone, which is likewise black but not translucent; Caoyi stone, which encloses something shaped like an eye; Haoxing stone, which is purple around the edges but lacks luster; and Kuaiji stone, shaped and colored like a pomegranate seed. Physicians in the past used these stones interchangeably. On close inspection, none compares with the rooted amethyst from Mount Tai. The latter is the finest grade and can be used in the “Flower Pool,” a vessel or container used in alchemy.

Hematite

I believe hematite is an important ingredient in alchemical formulas. Like rongguan and lujian, it is an essential ingredient for alchemical work and is also required in the elixir formulas of the Yellow Emperor. Good-quality hematite is red and as brightly colored as a cockscomb, with a lustrous surface; when rubbed onto a fingernail, its color does not fade easily. The hematite used among the people comes from the valleys of the state of Qi and may be gathered at any time. It has different names: that produced at Gumu is called “Xuwan,” while that from Dai Commandery is called “Dai Zhe.” These are the common names, and refer to a relatively coarse mineral. It tastes bitter and sweet, is cold in nature, and is non-toxic.

Lujian

I believe lujian and rongguan are both among the materials used by alchemists.

I find that halite and Rong salt are both commonly used materials in alchemy and are important ingredients in the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Cauldrons Elixir. Halite tastes bitter and salty, is cold in nature, and is nontoxic; it comes from the salt lake in Hedong. Some say it is the residue that hardens at the bottom of the pot used to boil salt. Others say it is Hedong’s coarse salt, shaped like frozen ice, round and hard. The black salt may be halite, while the soft salt may be Rong salt. There are also red salt, mottled foul-smelling salt, and horse-tooth salt; none of these can be eaten. Horse-tooth salt is coarse salt.

Rong Salt

I find that Rong salt is abundant in the northwestern regions inhabited by non-Han peoples, and some comes from Dongzhou. Envoys from Henan and foreign merchants from Dunhuang have also brought this salt. It comes in lumps or flakes. Some pieces resemble chicken or duck eggs; others look like thin sheets of ice. Its color is purplish white, and its salty taste is unpleasant. After tasting it, one finds that it smells like a boiled egg; this is said to be genuine Rong salt. Salt also forms in the mud at Lingchi in Henan, where it resembles stone flakes. When broken open, it is square and green, and can be used to treat sores on a horse’s back. Some suspect this, too, is Rong salt. In general, since it is called “Rong salt,” the kind brought by foreign peoples is considered the finest.

Purple stone, ochre, halite, and Rong salt are all nontoxic and can be used in alchemy. The method of heating halite is described in the section on the clay method; the other substances can be used without processing, with no ill effects.

Lead Cinnabar

I find that lead cinnabar is made from lead: when lead is melted and refined, the resulting yellow lead is lead cinnabar. Ordinary people rarely use it; only the elixir furnaces described in the scriptures of the immortals require it. When prepared, it can be refined into what is called the “Nine Lights,” hence the name Nine Lights Elixir. An elixir furnace made with lead cinnabar needs no further processing. Lead cinnabar is also called lead white. It tastes pungent and is slightly cold in nature. Taken over a long period, it can open communication with the spirits.

Lead White

I have examined the matter and conclude that hu fen (an ancient lead-based powder) was the first material used by perfected beings to refine the Nine-Cycle Lead Elixir. The method for preparing the furnace of the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Cauldrons Divine Elixir also begins with this material, mixing it with the Mysterious Yellow Flower to form a paste. It is indeed crucial.

Hu Fen

I have examined the matter and conclude that hu fen was the first material used to refine the Nine-Cycle Lead Elixir. The method for preparing the furnace of the Yellow Emperor’s Nine Cauldrons Divine Elixir also begins with this material, mixing it with the Mysterious Yellow Flower to form a paste. This is very important.

However, the Bencao says that powdered tin is also called “jie fen,” and explains that it is hu fen made by transforming lead with gold. It tastes acrid, is cold in nature, and is non-toxic; the kind with a golden hue is best.

Method for Removing Lead’s Toxicity

The method is the same from the first cycle through the ninth. Take one dou of superior Chunhua Pool liquid, one liang of red salt, and one liang of cinnabar; mix them evenly and let them settle into the liquid. Heat and roast the lead essence thoroughly until it glows red, then pour it into the Chunhua Pool medicinal liquid. Repeat this process nine times, and the toxicity in the lead will be completely removed. The text also says that one dou of Chunhua Pool liquid with two liang of red salt is not enough to remove all the toxicity from one jin of lead essence.

Method for Removing Impurities from Copper

First hammer the copper into thin sheets. Heat the glue solution until it becomes thin, and heat the copper in a Yue furnace until it glows red. Then wrap it in sealing clay three fen thick, return it to the Yue furnace, and heat it until red again. Remove it, hammer it, wash it, and put it back in. Repeat this process twenty times. If it is repeated more than a hundred times, all the impurities in the copper can be removed, and the copper will gradually become soft and pure.

Method for Removing Impurities from Tin Ore and Iron

The method for removing impurities from tin and iron is similar to the method for treating copper. Tin and copper should be hammered into thin sheets, after first being refined three times on a small scale to make them purer. The water used must be clean and kept warm. Do not immerse the metal completely in the water, or it may be lost. The metal sheets should be one cun wide, six or seven cun long, and about two fen thick. After heating and cooling them, treat them by wrapping them in glue solution, until all impurities are removed. If the metal is hammered while still hot, it will break easily, wasting the work already done. From ten liang of copper with many impurities, less than five liang of pure copper can be obtained after heating. Tin is treated by the same method.

Refining Rock Salt

Wash ten jin of stone guan clean. The term may refer to a mineral or a type of salt. Boil it in water until it dissolves and the impurities rise to the surface. Leave it overnight. Once it has settled, take the clear liquid from the top and boil it down. When it is nearly dry, sprinkle on water, then pour it into a wooden vessel. Drain off the water and dry it in the sun, taking care to keep dust away.

For the preparation, choose the finest stone guan and pound it into three dou of fine powder. Winnow and wash it with cold water, then quickly strain it out; if you wash it too slowly, the substance will dissolve and be lost. Next, add just enough water to cover it. Once it has all dissolved and risen to the surface, leave it overnight. When it has settled, take the clear liquid and boil it down. When it is nearly dry, sprinkle on water, remove the salt crystals, and place them in a wooden vessel. Tilt the vessel to drain off the water. Then, following the same procedure, add enough water to cover the substance, dissolve it, leave it to settle, take the clear liquid, and boil it down. Finally, remove the salt crystals, drain them, and dry them in the sun.

Method for Refining White Wax

Take the finest Kunlun white wax, a white mineral or medicinal substance used in Daoist refining, and melt it in a pot made of gan clay. Then cast it into vinegar. Repeat this three hundred times, and the refining is complete. It may be boiled and taken with other medicines. It is said to eliminate the need for grain, and it can also be used to refine and nourish the body or to refine copper.

Method for Taking White Wax

Take three jin of xiadou, two sheng of sesame, two liang of ginseng, and three liang of sulfur. Pound these four ingredients and form them into pills with cold honey. After a meal, first hold and chew a piece of white wax about the size of a jujube. Then add the medicine and chew it until it is about the size of a millet grain. After a short while, when the medicine has dissolved into liquid, swallow it. Take it three times a day. The scripture says that after thirty days, the body will be balanced inside and out and the complexion lustrous; after a hundred days, strange transformations will appear; and after a full year, the lurking corpse—an illness-causing malign force said in Daoism to lie hidden in the body—will depart of its own accord, all illnesses will be cured, and one will return to the state of youth.

Method for Refining Tin

The method of refining tin is the same as the method for refining white wax above, and its effects are roughly similar. Each time it is melted, add a handful of salt powder and stir with a wet willow branch until the smoke has dispersed. Then pour it into a vessel. Repeat the process as described earlier. The scripture says that refining and taking it in this way can cure illnesses and restore the youthful state.

Method for Refining Tin

The method for refining white wax is the same as described above, and the tools and procedures used are largely similar.

When refining tin, add a handful of salt powder each time it melts. Stir with a wet willow branch until the smoke has dispersed, then pour the tin into a mold. Repeat the refining process the same number of times as before. To obtain purer tin directly, pour it onto damp ground. After ten rounds, the tin will be purer, though it must still be refined with salt.

Method for Refining Xi Bian

Select the finest Xi Bian, which should be pure white in color and fine in texture. Boil it in mulberry-ash liquor, then place it in water. Use it once it has set and become hard.

Method for Refining Tu Fu

Select high-quality yellow earth, fine in texture like grease or wax. Dry it in the sun, pound it into pieces, and sift it. Wash it with water until it becomes as thin as a drink, stirring it several hundred times. Let it stand overnight. Pour off the clear water on top, take out the fine clay, and dry it in the sun. Pound and wash the coarse earth that has settled below, following the same method.

Roll the fine clay into pieces the size of plums or apricots. Fire them over a fierce flame for one or two days, until they are red throughout, like cinnabar. After firing, let them cool, then pound them and sift them through silk. Take three jin of this clay and add one jin of yellow lead (a lead-bearing mineral commonly used in alchemical preparation). Mix them together.

Another method is to take one jin of firm yellow earth with a fine grain, sift it through silk, and boil it in water for three days. This clay is said to be used in one of the elixirs among the Nine Cauldron Elixirs of the Yellow Emperor, called the Flowing Pearl Elixir.

Method for Preventing Spirit Insects

Collect rainwater in the fifth month and store it in a ceramic vessel. After the water has been kept for some time, heating it for use may cause insects to appear and give off a foul smell. To prevent this in advance, put two or three dou of clean, dry yellow soft earth into the vessel; this is said to prevent insects from forming. Then cover the vessel securely so that dust and debris cannot fall inside.

Method for Extracting Scallion Juice

Pound scallions, wrap them in hemp cloth, and squeeze out the juice. This juice is called “scallion tears.”

Method for Preparing Jujube Paste

Take one dou of large dried jujubes and add six dou of water. Boil until the jujubes are thoroughly softened. Add another three dou of water and continue boiling. In total, collect nine dou of jujube water, filter out the solids, and let the liquid settle clear. Take three dou of the clear liquid, then add qing.

Take one dou of large, dry dates and add six dou of water. Boil until the dates are soft, then add three dou of water and bring it to a boil. Combine the date broth, strain out the solids, let it settle, and take three dou of the liquid. Add six sheng of fat from a Qing ram (an uncastrated male sheep), and simmer it slowly in the liquid until it thickens to the consistency of malt syrup. If Qing ram fat is unavailable, fat from a wether (a castrated male sheep) may also be used. Date paste prepared this way can be taken over a long period. The scripture says it makes the body robust and the complexion healthy. This is the method for blending elixirs with Golden-Liquid Date Paste.

End of Volume Eighteen of the Instructions on the Scripture of the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor

Volume Nineteen of the Instructions on the Scripture of the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods of the Yellow Emperor

Methods for refining and neutralizing the toxic substances in copper, iron, stone minerals, and other materials, so they may be taken safely

I, your servant, understand that copper, iron, and yushi stone are all highly toxic. If their toxicity has not been completely removed, then even if an elixir has undergone transformation in its preparation, it must not be taken. The methods by which the sages of antiquity removed the toxins from elixirs are set out below.

Method for Removing the Toxicity of Danyang Copper

Following the method in the previous volume, treat the copper repeatedly with salt and glue, one hundred times, heating and processing it until it is clean. Then grind the copper finely into powder. First, boil it in one dou of saltpeter water until the liquid has evaporated. Next, boil it in one dou of blue vitriol water until that has evaporated. Then boil it in one dou of Rong salt water until that too has evaporated. Afterward, add one dou of butter and ground pepper, and continue boiling until the liquid has evaporated. Then take one shi of red millet, wrap the copper powder in cloth, mix it with the ground pepper, and add sugarcane juice. Steam it for three days and three nights, then remove it. The scripture says this completely removes the copper’s toxicity. This method treats ten jin of Danyang copper; afterward, the copper may be added to a powder or used in the refinement and transformation of elixirs.

Take genuine Persian shushi stone of the finest quality, with a color like a horse’s tongue. Prepare it by the method described in the previous volume, mixing it with salt and sugarcane juice. After steaming it for three days and three nights, remove it; this will eliminate all its toxicity. Treated with this medicine, ten jin of Danyang copper can be detoxified. The copper can then be added to the medicinal powder for refining and transformation.

Method for Removing the Toxicity of Shushi Stone

Take genuine Persian shushi stone of the finest quality, with a color like a horse’s tongue. Following the method described in the previous volume, treat a hundred-refined stone with salt and glue until it is clean. Then place it in a furnace and fire it until it crumbles. The method of boiling and steaming is the same as that for removing the toxicity of Danyang copper.

Method for Removing the Toxicity of Iron Essence

Again, follow the method in the previous volume: clean it with salt and glue, then treat it a further hundred times, until its noxious Qi has disappeared. Fire all ten jin of iron essence until it crumbles, then boil it in “left-flavor” for three days and three nights. Next, boil it in three dou of orpiment water until all the liquid has boiled away. Then boil it in Rong salt water for one day and one night.

Next, boil it in lodestone water. Put one jin of iron bells in a clean pot and spread them evenly. Add powdered salt on top, press it down firmly, and heat the pot over a strong fire until the salt has burned away. Then boil it in Rong salt water for one day and one night, followed by lodestone water for one day and one night. This will eliminate all its toxicity. Only after treatment, when the iron essence is no longer toxic, may it be added to the medicinal powder for refining and transformation. The Thirty-Six Waters Classic records methods using salt water and Rong salt water. This is why it says iron should be treated with salt water and copper with Rong salt water.

Method for Preparing Niter Water

Crush and sift niter, moisten it with salt water, place it in a bamboo tube, and seal the opening tightly. Bury it in the earth. The text says to bury it four cun deep; after five days, the water will be ready. It may instead have been intended to say four chi and four cun deep. In practice, both depths should be tested.

Method for Preparing Green Vitriol Water

Select the green pieces from Wu alum and take one jin. First mix them with pure wine until moist, then pack them in place. Add two liang of niter, seal them securely with lacquer, and bury them three chi underground. After fifteen days, the water will be ready.

Method for Preparing Stone Sulfur Water

Take one jin of sulfur, one sheng of dew gathered from mulberry trees in the eighth month, and two liang of saltpeter. Put them together in a tube and seal its mouth tightly with lacquer. Then place it in the “Flowery Pool” (Huachi, an ancient alchemical term for a vessel or liquid used to soak and process substances). After thirty days, the contents will have turned into water. To collect the dew, have a child with a focused and careful mind wash their hands at dawn, then gently dab the dew from the mulberry leaves with clean, fine cotton cloth.

Method for Making Pure Brine

“Pure brine” here means salt water. Prepare the salt properly and sift it. Add water and knead it until it remains moist. Shave the surface of a bamboo tube until it is thin and fine like silk gauze, then seal the tube’s mouth tightly. Bury it four chi and four cun underground and leave it for four days; water will then be produced.

These four kinds of water are used to refine Danyang copper and “yu.”

Method for Making Orpiment Water

Take one jin of orpiment and put it in a bamboo tube with four liang of saltpeter. Seal the tube’s mouth tightly with lacquer and place it in the Flowery Pool. After thirty days, orpiment water will be ready. Another method uses one jin of orpiment with two liang each of alum stone and saltpeter. Put them in an earthenware jar and bury it underground. After twenty days, water will be produced. The orpiment water is sweet in taste and yellow in color. Salt water is the same as the pure brine described above; the name differs, but the method is the same.

Method for Making Magnetite Water

Take one jin of magnetite, one liang of realgar, and one liang of stone gall. Mix and crush them, put them in a bamboo tube, and seal its mouth tightly with lacquer. Place it in the Flowery Pool. After thirty days, remove it and use the magnetite water. Whenever the text says “secure with lacquer,” it means to seal the opening with lacquer, then apply ash and cloth and leave it to dry in the shade.

These three kinds of water are used to refine “iron-flower essence” and remove its toxicity.

Whenever a divine elixir is used to transform materials, as in attempts to make “yellow and white” metals—turning copper, lead, and the like into gold or silver—all the ingredients must first be refined. This is especially true of metals such as copper and iron. The scriptures say that refining gold and silver requires red copper and white copper. The copper mentioned here is always smelted; it does not occur naturally in the mountains.

To use a divine elixir to turn copper or tuoshi, an alloy similar to brass, into yellow or white metal, first remove its toxicity with “subdued-fire” medicines—substances that have undergone a subdued-fire treatment. Then use realgar to change the copper’s color before testing the elixir. To turn copper or tuoshi white with a divine elixir, first use the nontoxic white wax described in the previous scroll to “feed” the copper, treating it so that it turns white, and then test the elixir. If the process succeeds without any other hindrance, this shows that the medicine is divine.

Method for Combining and Protecting Against Misfortune

Before combining and refining elixirs, first establish a suitable place in the mountains. Then summon the mountain deity and ask whether the work may proceed. Only after permission is granted should the work be carried out safely; it is said that this ensures nothing can go wrong. The method is as follows:

Observe ritual fasting for ten days, then write the talismanic text on a piece of yellow silk one chi long. In the wilderness, facing a rock, report to the deity of the mountain: those preparing to refine a divine elixir must first summon the spirits and ask about the proper procedures, using talismanic writing.

On the day Laozi combines and refines a divine elixir, write the talismanic text in cinnabar on a piece of white silk eight cun long. Place it in a dark-red pouch and wear it on the chest. Anyone wishing to take the elixir should wear this talisman for seven days beforehand; in this way, they can reach the spirits and command ghosts and spirits. This talisman is called the “Eight-Cun Plain Silk Talisman of Taiyi.”

Those who combine and refine elixirs should wear this talisman to bring clarity to the mind and spirit. Do not profane it.

The incantation in the Precious Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Great Clarity says:

“Condense and refine the Eight Stones, gathering the radiance of the Five Luminaries and Seven Lights—the celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars. Let the precious guardian of the Mysterious Palace protect and uphold them, restraining and commanding the spirits of fire. Through nine revolutions, refine them into essence, and ascend forever to Great Clarity, the Daoist heaven.”

After completing the prayer, place the talisman in a blue-green brocade pouch and strike its head. This talisman is used to restrain the stone essence and keep it from escaping. It causes smoke and frost to fill the space, while wondrous radiance gathers and takes shape.

The “Talisman for Repelling Harm” should be written in cinnabar on white paper measuring three inches wide and four inches long, then cast into the stove. This will make the spirits submit. Keep in mind the divine light shining upon the cinnabar essence, and the gods will come; immortals and jade maidens will also appear. Once the divine elixir is complete, no ghosts or malign spirits between Heaven and Earth can harm you.

The method says: Whenever refining a divine elixir that can transform the Five Minerals and produce the Five Metals, one should pay homage to the Celestial Lord of the Imperial Way and receive the Five Spirit Talismans. Then the Five Minerals and Five Metals can be transformed at will, each revealing its essence.

The Azure Emperor’s talisman method: On a Jia or Yi day, spread white thatch three feet long as an altar mat, then lay over it a length of azure silk measuring twelve feet. Offer two cups of wine and two pieces of dried meat. Use azure silk as the backing for writing the talisman. Write it in ink, two inches wide and seven inches long, and place it on the altar mat. Pray:

“On this auspicious day and at this favorable hour, I, the minor adept [name], bow once more and respectfully receive the Azure Emperor’s divine talisman bestowed by the August Emperor of the Way.” Then bow once more, burn the talisman, and swallow it. An illustration of the talisman accompanies this passage, but the copies and revisions of the drawing differ, so it must be examined carefully.

The Scarlet Emperor’s talisman method: On a Bing or Ding day, spread white thatch three feet long as an altar mat, then lay over it a length of deep-red silk measuring thirteen feet. Offer two cups of wine and two pieces of meat. Write the talisman in cinnabar, two inches wide and seven inches long, and place it on the altar mat. Pray:

“On this auspicious day and at this favorable hour, I, the minor adept [name], bow once more and receive the White Emperor’s divine talisman bestowed by the August Emperor of the Way.” Then bow once more, burn the talisman, and swallow it.

The Yellow Emperor’s talisman method: Place the talisman on the altar mat and pray:

“On this auspicious day and at this favorable hour, I, the minor adept [name], bow once more and receive the White Emperor’s divine talisman bestowed by the August Emperor of the Way.” Then bow once more, burn the talisman, and swallow it.

Talisman Method of the Yellow Emperor: Choose a wu day or a ji day. Spread a mat of white thatch grass three feet long, then lay over it a yellow silk cloth one zhang and two chi long. Place two cups of wine and two pieces of dried meat on the cloth. Coat the talisman paper with vermilion, then write the talisman in purple ink. The talisman should be three cun wide and seven cun long. Once it is written, place it on the mat and recite:

“On this auspicious day and at this fortunate hour, your lesser servant so-and-so (a low-ranking officiant who refers to himself by name) bows twice and respectfully receives the divine talisman of the Supreme Lord and Dao Sovereign, the Yellow Emperor.”

Then bow twice more, burn the talisman, and swallow the ashes.

Talisman Method of the White Emperor: Choose a geng day or a xin day. Spread a mat of white thatch grass three feet long, then lay over it a plain white silk cloth one zhang and three chi long. Place two cups of wine and two pieces of dried meat on the cloth. Coat the talisman paper with green, then write the talisman in vermilion. The talisman should be two cun wide and seven cun long. Once it is written, place it on the mat and recite:

“On this auspicious day and at this fortunate hour, your lesser servant so-and-so bows twice and respectfully receives the divine talisman of the Supreme Lord and Dao Sovereign, the White Emperor.”

Then bow twice more, burn the talisman, and swallow the ashes.

Talisman Method of the Black Emperor: Choose a ren day or a gui day. Spread a mat of white thatch grass three feet long, then lay over it a black silk cloth one zhang and two chi long. Place two cups of wine and two pieces of dried meat on the cloth. Coat the talisman paper with black, then write the talisman in vermilion. The talisman should be two cun wide and seven cun long. Once it is written, place it on the mat and recite:

“On this auspicious day and at this fortunate hour, your lesser servant so-and-so bows twice and respectfully receives the divine talisman of the Supreme Lord and Dao Sovereign, the Black Emperor.”

Then bow twice more, burn the talisman, and swallow the ashes.

As stated above, the divine talismans of the Five Emperors comprise four talismans, transmitted by the Immortal Lord Ge Xuan. Each talisman is to be written in two copies: one is burned and swallowed, and the other is worn on the head. These talismans are chiefly used for the arts of seeking transformation, and they are prepared ten days before the elixir is refined.

Volume Nineteen of the Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue is complete.

Volume Twenty of the Huangdi Jiuding Shendan Jingjue, titled “On the Taboos and Prohibitions to Be Observed When Combining the Elixir.”

This passage sets out the taboos to avoid when refining elixirs and the circumstances that cause failure, the complete essentials of the Nine Cauldrons and Nine Elixirs (jiu ding jiu dan), the methods for opening the furnace to test the elixirs, and the essentials for preserving oneself when taking them.

Your minister respectfully examines: the Great Elixir (dadan) is a medicine condensed from the essences of metals and minerals, a treasure that the Perfected hold in high regard. Those who take it may become immortals, transform their bodies, attain long life and enduring vision, command the myriad spirits, and ascend to Taiqing (Tai Qing), the clear and empty realm of the immortals in Daoist belief.

Ordinary people know only the chapter titles of the elixir scriptures, but they do not understand the taboos of refining elixirs, and so even when they obtain a formula, they often fail to complete it. In refining the divine elixir there are five prohibitions (wu ji), three avoidances (san hui), four failures (si bai), and six fears (liu wei). If these taboos are violated, the essence of the elixir will scatter, its subtle refinement will be lost, its divine radiance will sink and dissipate, and its frost and vapor will be depleted. Taking such an elixir then yields no benefit, so one must not be careless about them.

Thereupon the Perfected asked about the specific contents of these taboos. The Xuan Master replied: "The first of the five prohibitions: when compounding the materials and kindling the fire, one must not choose the Five Stones' Death Days, a day deemed unsuitable for refining according to alchemical lore. These are the Ren-Chen day of spring, the Gui-Wei day of summer, the Bing-Xu day of autumn, and the Ding-Chou day of winter. To refine the divine..."