《龙虎手鉴图》

The Cantong Qi unites the hexagram images of the Yijing with the arts of cultivating the Great Dao (the Way). The Yijing employs the images of heaven, earth, and the myriad things to illustrate the crucial points of change. Observing the origins from which all things take form, one sees that they arise through the mutual stimulation of yin and yang. The sun is the father of the myriad things, the moon their mother. Refining the Reverted Elixir (huandan, the reverted elixir in Daoist Neidan internal alchemy or elixir cultivation) cannot succeed unless it follows the Dao of Heaven.

Fire belongs to lesser yang; yang is the son generated by the great yin, and the son proceeds in accordance with the father. The numinous vessel lies concealed within the medicinal substances, hence it is said to be “in front.” The schools of Xu and Wei explain the fire phases (the arrangement of timing and process in cultivation) according to the sequential order of the Yijing hexagrams; related material appears in the “Gold Interprets the Dao” chapter of the Cantong Qi, with the Taiyi Jade Instructions appended.

The Jade Instructions state: “One stone”: cinnabar, mercury, and lead are combined into a medicinal liquid, thereby forming the method of refining the Reverted Elixir.

Qian and Kun are the gateway of the Yijing and the parents of all the hexagrams. Qian represents Heaven and the father, Kun represents Earth and the mother; the myriad things are generated from Qian and Kun, so they are called the gateway. The yin and yang lines (the symbols representing yin and yang within the hexagrams) continually change, producing the various hexagrams, and therefore Qian and Kun are also known as the parents of the hexagrams.

Kan and Li resemble the enclosing framework surrounding Heaven and Earth: Kan occupies the north, Li the south. Yang is born from Kan, yin from Li, and thus they are termed the “enclosing walls.”

“Turning the hub and righting the axle” refers to setting the two hexagrams Kan and Li in motion. The center of Li is empty, its emptiness like the hub of a cart; the center of Kan is solid, its solidity like the axle. The movements of Heaven and Earth revolve as if within an empty hub, the celestial bodies circulating without cease. Yin arises when yang qi (vital energy) reaches its peak in the fifth month, yang arises when yin qi reaches its peak in the eleventh month; this cycle repeats, like a hub turning upon its axle.

The four hexagrams constitute the pivotal mechanism of cultivation, governing the Dao of yin and yang. These four hexagrams are Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li. As noted earlier of Kan and Li, the solid portions of the hexagrams belong to yang and the empty portions to yin; yang qi activates and generates, while yin qi remains still and conserves, conforming to the seasons so that yang qi may transform and unfold. “Covering and overlaying” means they encompass everything between Heaven and Earth.

“Reining the dragon along the ruts” means to follow the movement of the Great Dao, just as one holds the reins while driving a horse and advances along the wheel tracks without deviation. The calendar’s arrangement of months and solar terms proceeds according to cycles of six days and the like. The Kan hexagram, yin without and yang within, symbolizes a single yang arising amid the fullness of yin; yang qi gradually increases as yin qi gradually decreases, yang being generated internally while yin recedes externally. The practitioner sequences the fire phases so that the process has both a beginning and an end.

Dragon and Tiger (using dragon and tiger as metaphors for the Yin-Yang Qi (vital energy) within the body): When golden Jing (essence) circulates within the body, nourishing the various Shen (spirits), it naturally enables the body to live long without dying. Do not imitate worldly people who greedily cling to the pleasures of desire, toiling and rushing about all day, only to end up as nothing more than a heap of dust.

Numinous Medicine (referring to the medicinal substance spoken of in Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation): It is nameless and formless, and can only provisionally be called “numinous medicine.” Within the whole body, Jing-Shen and Qi are the most numinous and marvelous. The numinous medicine does not come from any other thing outside; when Yin-Yang Qi mutually return and combine, modulating each other, cultivation succeeds.

Returned Elixir (making the elixir return to completion and roundness, also referring to Neidan cultivation): Taking heaven and earth as the furnace and cauldron, the medicine is within one’s own person. The transformations of Yin-Yang are hard to fathom and are called divine and wondrous. Primordial Qi circulates, condensing like flying frost through nine revolutions; the returned elixir is originally the fluid transformed from the Qi of Great Harmony.

Civil and Martial (referring to the different ways of applying Yin-Yang fire in Neidan cultivation): Spring, summer, autumn, and winter cycle in turn; dragon and tiger intermingle, circulating Kan and Li (symbolizing water-fire and Yin-Yang). Qian and Kun (sun, moon, heaven, and earth) alternate through day and night, enacting their harmonious intercourse. The zi hour and wu hour stand at the two poles; a full day and night is divided into twelve double-hours.

Divine Circulation (referring to operating the fire phases with inner Shen-intention): Refining the elixir requires knowing how to circulate fire by means of Shen-intention; do not take worldly firewood and charcoal as the fire of elixir-making. The fierce flames transformed from the Three Flowers (a Neidan term for Jing, Qi, and Shen) are within oneself. If one merely drives body and mind in vain, one simply wastes the years.

Yellow Sprout (a Neidan term symbolizing newly generated true Qi or elixir): The yellow sprout corresponds to the musical pitches; heaven and earth conceal it, calling it the “True One” (the pure, original source Qi). One need only nurture spring vitality in the Flower Pool (a Neidan term for the gathering place of bodily fluids), and the myriad things can be fully conceived, beginning to blossom and circulate.

Divine Circulation: Refining the elixir requires knowing how to circulate fire by means of Shen-intention; do not take worldly firewood and charcoal as the fire of elixir-making. The fierce flames transformed from the Three Flowers are within oneself. If one merely drives body and mind in vain, one simply wastes the years.

Yellow Sprout: The yellow sprout corresponds to the musical pitches; heaven and earth conceal it, calling it the “True One.” One need only nurture spring vitality in the Flower Pool, and the myriad things can be fully conceived, beginning to blossom and bear fruit.

White Mercury (a Neidan term borrowing metal names as metaphors for substances or transformations in elixir methods): On the third day the Qi of geng-metal arises and the gate of the Dui position opens; black metal decays and transforms, revealing the embryo of white silver. Nine, six, spring, and summer operate mutually with three and five; seven, eight, autumn, and winter cycle back and forth.

Golden Tiger (using a Neidan term to symbolize Yin-Yang Qi): Fire is stored within wood, called the jia Green Dragon; metal is stored at the bottom of water, called the geng White Tiger. The creative transformations of heaven and earth are manifested in these two forces; only by discerning the changes of Yin-Yang can one perceive the principle therein.

Mysterious Radiance (a Daoist Neidan term whose specific meaning depends on context): It presents a three-legged circular form, divided into the size of one cun; Yin-Yang emerge through transformation, symbolizing Qian and Kun. The cauldron need not be cast from gold or silver; the transformation of the hidden dragon of the first nine (a hexagram-line image from the Book of Changes) becomes the gate.

True Purport: Daoist scriptures say that things with form can bring convenience; they also say that only the formless has actual efficacy. The form of the formless exists within the one Qi; as long as one returns to the original source, one returns to the root to which one originally belongs.

Flowing Pearl (a Neidan term referring to the circulating primordial Yang Qi within the body): The Qi of Great Harmony circulates throughout the body, called “flowing”; the primordial Yang Qi appears in the image of a black round pearl. The upper, middle, and lower three Dantian (energy centers) correspond to the positions of Qian and Kun. Chongyao (this term appears thus in the original; its meaning is unclear) raises the wind-Qi, turning the gates and the pivot.

Abiding in the World: The original text contains only the chapter title with no attached verse, so it cannot be interpreted on this basis.

If you wish for longevity, you must take Qi (vital energy)—the primordial life energy of which Daoism speaks—as the foundation. Allow the primordial Qi to circulate within the body, ultimately returning to the original source and reverting to one’s own inherent root.

Flowing Pearl

When the primordial Qi is harmonized and circulates throughout the entire body, this is called “flowing”; the primordial Yang Qi condenses into a round form, like a pearl. The upper, middle, and lower three Dantian (energy centers)—the three sites within the body for refining and nurturing primordial Qi—each occupy their proper positions, just as Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun. Circulating the Qi mechanism is like working a bellows or turning a door pivot, allowing the breath to flow freely through the whole body.

Remaining in the World

If you wish for longevity, you must take Qi as the foundation, causing the primordial Qi to circulate through the three Dantian, cleansing and nourishing the viscera. All metals and stones of the world belong to Yin substance; the decaying physical form requires the refinement and cultivation of the Yang elixir for replenishment.

Becoming True

The primordial Qi soars upward, transforming and generating all manner of wonders and mysteries; you originally possess it within yourself and need not seek it outwardly. Allow the breath to pass through the Huachi (the term in Daoist internal cultivation for the saliva in the mouth or related sites), stirring the phenomena of the upper region. When the heavenly Dao is thereby connected through, one can achieve an immortal body.

Leaving the World

Using the precious elixir after nine turnings (the process of repeated refinement and cultivation) to refine and transform Jing (essence) and Qi, causing it to rise and encircle the Niwan (the internal cultivation site in the head), thus completing the mission. Immortals are clear, still, empty, and silent, transcending the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm); they shed the physical form, like a snake sloughing its skin or a cicada leaving its shell, attaining liberation and transformation.

River Chariot

The chariot of the Kun image resides in the north; Kan water belongs to the river, its position in the homeland of Xuanwu (the emblem of the north). The principle of the movement of Heaven and Earth must be investigated through the circulation of the Zhoutian; the flying and hiding transformations of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) drive the operation of Yin-Yang.

The dragon and tiger meet in the mother’s womb; the two Qi harmonize and unite, blooming like milk flowers. Concentrate single-mindedly on circulating along the newly arisen Yang Qi; only after prolonged cultivation will one understand the principle within, like plum blossoms opening from their buds.

The spirit water has from ancient times regarded mercury as its spirit. The east belongs to Wood; the De (Virtue/Power) of Wood is set in motion, and Yang spring generates and arises; when the Qi mechanism arrives in the south, it is the ruling position of Fire. Only when the cultivator discovers the pattern within can they accord with the authentic Dao.

The dragon and tiger meet in the mother’s womb; the two Qi harmonize and unite, blooming like milk flowers. Concentrate single-mindedly on circulating along the newly arisen Yang Qi; only after prolonged cultivation will one understand the principle within, like plum blossoms opening from their buds.

The spirit water has from ancient times regarded mercury as its spirit. The east belongs to Wood; the De (Virtue/Power) of Wood is set in motion, and Yang springIf you wish for longevity, you must take Qi (vital energy)—the primordial life-breath of which Daoism speaks—as your foundation. Let this original Qi circulate within the body, and at last return it to its source, to the original root that is already your own.

The Flowing Pearl

When the original Qi is harmonized and circulates throughout the entire body, this is called “flowing”; when the Qi of original Yang condenses into a round form, it is like a pearl. The upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers)—the three sites within the body where original Qi is refined and nourished—each occupy their proper place, just as Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun, occupy theirs. To turn the mechanism of Qi is like working a bellows or pushing a door-pivot, so that the breath of the whole body flows freely.

Remaining in the World

If you wish for longevity, you must take Qi as your foundation, cause the original Qi to move through the three Dantian, and thereby cleanse and nourish the viscera. The metals and stones of the mundane world all belong to Yin substance; a decaying form needs the refining and nourishing of the Yang elixir in order to be replenished.

Becoming True

The original Qi soars upward and gives birth to ten thousand wondrous transformations; you already possess it within yourself and need not seek it outside. Let the breath pass through the Flower Pool (Huachi)—the name given in Daoist inner cultivation to the saliva of the mouth or a related region—and thereby stir the images of the upper region. When the Dao (the Way) of Heaven is thus opened through, an immortal body can be accomplished.

Leaving the World

By means of the precious elixir that has undergone nine revolutions (the process of repeated refining and nourishing), one transmutes Jing (essence) and Qi, causing them to rise and coil around the Mud Pill (Niwan), the inner-cultivation site in the head, and thereby complete their mission. The immortal spirits are clear, still, empty, and silent, transcending the Three Realms (the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm). They shed the physical form as a snake sheds its skin or a cicada its husk, attaining liberation and transformation.

The River Cart

The cart of the Kun image is lodged in the north; Kan water belongs to the river, and its position lies in the homeland of the Dark Warrior (Xuanwu), the emblem of the north. The principle by which Heaven and Earth operate must be sought in the circulation of the Celestial Circuit; the flying and hiding transformations of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) drive the movement of Yin-Yang.

Dragon and tiger meet within the mother’s womb; the two Qi join and blend, like milk-flowers bursting open. Concentrate and follow the newly born Yang Qi as it moves; only after long cultivation will one understand the principle within, as the plum blossom opens from the bud.

The Divine Water has from ancient times taken mercury as its spirit. The east belongs to Wood; when the De (Virtue/Power) of Wood is set in motion, Yang spring arises and grows. When the mechanism of Qi arrives in the south, that is the ruling seat of Fire. Only when the practitioner discovers the pattern within can they accord with the true Dao.

Dragon and tiger meet within the mother’s womb; the two Qi join and blend, like milk-flowers bursting open. Concentrate and follow the newly born Yang Qi as it moves; only after long cultivation will one understand the principle within, as the plum blossom opens from the bud.

The Divine Water has from ancient times taken mercury as its spirit. The east belongs to Wood; when the De of Wood is set in motion, Yang spring arises and grows. When the mechanism of Qi arrives in the south, that is the ruling seat of Fire. Only when the practitioner discovers the pattern within can they accord with the true Dao.

Cinnabar is produced from Metal; mercury is lead. The immortal spirits do not allow ordinary people to transmit this content at will; it is not that they refuse to speak of the method of refining the Returned Elixir, but only that they fear the tally-decree of Heaven’s Dao will pursue the faults of former days.