《周易参同契分章通真义(彭晓)》

The Meaning of the Zhouyi Cantong Qi Explained Chapter by Chapter (Peng Xiao)

This book is titled The Meaning of the Zhouyi Cantong Qi Explained Chapter by Chapter. Its original attribution reads “Annotated by Peng Xiao of Shu,” and it is also known as The True Meaning of the Zhouyi Cantong Qi, attributed to “Written by Peng Xiao of Shu.” The book consists of three volumes. The base text is from the Tai Xuan section of the Zhengtong Daoist Canon, and the comparison text is the Daoist work in the Masters section of the Wenyuan Pavilion edition of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries.

The contents are as follows:

Preface

Volume One

Chapter One: Heaven and Earth Are the Gateways of the Yi

Chapter Two: The Four Male and Female Hexagrams

Chapter Three: The Tun Hexagram Governs the First Day of the Lunar Month

Chapter Four: From the Ji Ji and Wei Ji Hexagrams to the Dark and Light of the Moon

Chapter Five: Spring and Summer Follow the Inner Structure of the Hexagrams

Chapter Six: Rewards and Punishments Correspond to Spring and Autumn

Chapter Seven: Heaven and Earth Each Rest in Their Proper Place

Chapter Eight: Primordial Qi Encompasses the Myriad Things

Chapter Nine: Words Must Not Be Made Up at Will

Chapter Ten: The Yi Means Taking Images

Chapter Eleven: Thus Came Zhongni

Chapter Twelve: Sages Do Not Appear Without Cause

Chapter Thirteen: The Fu Hexagram Is the Beginning of the Sprouting of the Myriad Things

Chapter Fourteen: Inheriting the Lineage Through Sixteen Transformations

Chapter Fifteen: Ren and Gui Are Matched with Jia and Yi

Chapter Sixteen: Primordial Essence Is Subtle and Difficult to See

Chapter Seventeen: The First Priority in Governance

Chapter Eighteen: Wenchang Oversees the Records

Chapter Nineteen: The Sun Joins with the Essences of the Five Phases

Chapter Twenty: The Celestial Pole Receives Upright Qi

Chapter Twenty-One: The Yellow Center Gradually Comes to Understand Principle

Chapter Twenty-Two: High Virtue Takes Primordial Qi as Its Root

Chapter Twenty-Three: Know the White and Keep to the Black

Chapter Twenty-Four: Metal Is the Mother of Water

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Substance Gathered and Refined Appears White

Chapter Twenty-Six: Beside It Stand Ramparts and Gate Towers

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Distinguishing Right from Wrong and the Method of Concealing the Calendar

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Enlightened Examine the Essential Meaning Within

Volume Two

“Fire Records Are No Fabrication,” Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Gold Entering Fierce Fire,” Chapter Thirty

“The Numbers of Zi and Wu Unite,” Chapter Thirty-One

“Giant Sesame Seeds Still Prolong Life,” Chapter Thirty-Two

“Lead White Cast into Fire,” Chapter Thirty-Three

“Many Scholars in the World,” Chapter Thirty-Four

“As for the Perfect Sage,” Chapter Thirty-Five

“The Six Hundred Chapters of the Fire Records,” Chapter Thirty-Six

“Using Gold as a Barrier,” Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Combining the Prepared Materials,” Chapter Thirty-Eight

“Deriving the Numbers of the Five Phases,” Chapter Thirty-Nine

“Names Establish the Meaning,” Chapter Forty

“Qian and Kun: Firmness and Softness,” Chapter Forty-One

“The Noble Person Dwells in a Room,” Chapter Forty-Two

“Briefly Presenting the Two Images,” Chapter Forty-Three

“The Two Solstices Change the Measure,” Chapter Forty-Four

“On Combining,” Chapter Thirty-Eight

“On Deriving the Numbers of the Five Phases,” Chapter Thirty-Nine

“On Names Establishing the Meaning,” Chapter Forty

“On Qian and Kun, Firmness and Softness,” Chapter Forty-One

“On the Noble Person Dwelling in a Room,” Chapter Forty-Two

“On Briefly Presenting the Two Images,” Chapter Forty-Three

“On the Two Solstices Changing the Measure,” Chapter Forty-Four

“Movement and Stillness Follow Their Regular Courses,” Chapter Forty-Five

“Between the Dark Moon and the New Moon,” Chapter Forty-Six

“Encouragement at the Summit,” Chapter Forty-Seven

“Following the Pivot of the Jade Mechanism,” Chapter Forty-Eight

“On the First Day of the Month, One Becomes Fu,” Chapter Forty-Nine

“Applying the Method at the Furnace,” Chapter Fifty

“Looking Upward to Complete Tai,” Chapter Fifty-One

“Gradually Passing Through Da Zhuang,” Chapter Fifty-Two

“Yin Recedes at Guai,” Chapter Fifty-Three

“Qian’s Strength Flourishes in Brightness,” Chapter Fifty-Four

“The Beginning of Conception and Its Sequence,” Chapter Fifty-Five

“Leaving One’s Position to Follow the World,” Chapter Fifty-Six

“Blocked and Unable to Pass Through,” Chapter Fifty-Seven

“Observing Its Weights and Measures,” Chapter Fifty-Eight

“Peeling Away and Corrupting the Body,” Chapter Fifty-Nine

“When the Dao Reaches Its Limit, It Turns Back,” Chapter Sixty

“Dark, Hidden, Distant, and Vast,” Chapter Sixty-One

“On Seeking to Nourish One’s Nature,” Chapter Sixty-Two

“Yin and Yang as the Measure,” Chapter Sixty-Three

“Like the Egg of a Chicken,” Chapter Sixty-Four

“Using a Yang-Sui Mirror to Obtain Fire,” Chapter Sixty-Five

“The Three Treasures of Ears, Eyes, and Mouth,” Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Three: Yin-Yang changes are used to define and measure all things.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Things are compared to an egg to explain how Yin and Yang contain and give rise to one another.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Fire is kindled with a yangsui, an ancient bronze mirror used to focus sunlight. This illustrates the activation of Yang Qi in kindling fire and refining the elixir.

Chapter Sixty-Six: The ears, eyes, and mouth are three of the body’s important organs. In cultivation, one should use the senses and speech with care, so that the mind and spirit are not disturbed by external things.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: People in the world enjoy pursuing minor, superficial techniques but do not understand the fundamental principles of cultivation.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: “The sun’s flowing pearl” refers to a flowing essence formed from concentrated Yang Qi. It is a term from alchemy.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: “You should turn to the right” refers to an operation in the elixir-refining process, carried out in a prescribed direction.

Chapter Seventy: Without understanding the principles involved, one cannot cultivate correctly or successfully refine the elixir.

Chapter Seventy-One: The Five Phases—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—overcome one another, illustrating the relations of constraint and change among them.

Chapter Seventy-Two: “The old woman of the Yellow River” is an alchemical term for a particular Yin substance or function.

Chapter Seventy-Three: All things inherently contain both Yin and Yang. Only when Yin and Yang unite can generation and transformation occur.

Part Two

Chapter Seventy-Four: “The man of Kan is the moon.” Kan symbolizes Water and Yang within Yin; “man” refers to the Yang nature. This chapter uses the moon to illustrate the union and transformation of Yin and Yang.

Chapter Seventy-Five: Metal transforms into Water. This describes transformation among the Five Phases and also serves as a metaphor for material changes in alchemy.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Cinnabar is the essence of Wood. The Five Phases and the properties of things are used here to explain the relationships among alchemical materials.

Chapter Seventy-Seven: The firm and the yielding rise in turn, illustrating how the two forces of Yin and Yang alternate and interact.

Chapter Seventy-Eight: “Guan-guan cry the ospreys” comes from the Book of Songs. Here, the ospreys calling to one another illustrate the union of Yin and Yang.

Chapter Seventy-Nine: “The sages of old” refers to ancient sages who understood the Great Dao.

Chapter Eighty: Following the laws of Heaven and Earth means that cultivation should accord with the patterns governing their movement.

Chapter Eighty-One: A fire is kindled on Mount Fan to heat and refine; this describes the heating operation in the refining process.

Chapter Eighty-Two: Only when Yin and Yang are properly coordinated can things come into being and the elixir be successfully refined.

Chapter Eighty-Three: First it appears white, then turns yellow. This describes the changes in color during the refining process.

Chapter Eighty-Four: “Making up what is lacking” means correcting what is incomplete in the refining process so that the process and its result are whole.

Chapter Eighty-Five: The “feelings and nature” discussed in the Great Changes refer to the conditions and inherent nature of things as expressed in the Book of Changes.

Chapter Eighty-Six: Branches, stems, flowers, and leaves use the different parts of a plant to illustrate the development and transformation of things.

Chapter Eighty-Seven: “As at midwinter” uses the changes in Yin and Yang around the winter solstice to explain the seasons and timing involved in cultivation.

Chapter Eighty-Eight: A countryman from Kuaiji.

Chapter Eighty-Nine: The key is to accord with the patterns of things.

Chapter Ninety: By applying methods with care, one can bring things to completion.

Preface to Dividing the Chapters of the Zhouyi Cantong Qi and Expounding Its True Meaning

The preface says that, according to the Biographies of the Immortals…

Chapter Eighty-Seven: Symbolizes the changes of midwinter.

Chapter Eighty-Eight: A countryman from Kuaiji.

Chapter Eighty-Nine: The key is to accord with the patterns of things.

Chapter Ninety: By applying methods with care, one can bring things to completion.

The preface says that, according to the Traditions of Divine Transcendents (Shenxian Zhuan), the perfected person Wei Boyang was from Shangyu in Kuaiji. His family had served as officials for generations, but Wei Boyang did not wish to hold office. He devoted himself to cultivating the Dao, remaining quiet and unconcerned with fame, and nurturing his mind through clarity, emptiness, and Wuwei (non-action). He was learned and gifted, versed in apocryphal texts, astronomy, and calendrical methods. Unattached to worldly things and holding fast to simplicity, he followed only the Great Dao. To him, official robes and carriages were no more worthy of regard than chaff.

No one knows whom he studied under. He obtained the Ancient Text of the Dragon and Tiger (Guwen Longhu Jing) and grasped its mysteries, then consulted the Zhouyi to write the three sections of the Cantong qi. Believing that certain subtle points had not yet been fully explained, he also wrote a section called “Supplementing What Was Missing,” further illuminating the mysteries of the alchemical classics. His discussions rely heavily on parables and allusions, and his language is sometimes explicit, sometimes obscure. He secretly entrusted the book to Xu Congshi of Qingzhou, who concealed his name when writing a commentary on it. During the reigns of Emperor Xiao and Emperor Huan of the Later Han, Wei Boyang passed the book to Chunyu Shutong, a fellow native of Kuaiji. From then on, the Cantong qi circulated among the world.

Wei Boyang wrote the Cantong qi because he believed that the methods of alchemical cultivation and the transformations of Heaven and Earth follow the same principles. He therefore used the trigrams of the Zhouyi to explain them. The book uses the relationship between ruler and minister to describe the inner and outer aspects; Kan and Li to refer to mercury and lead; Qian and Kun to explain the arrangement of the crucible; and father and mother to represent the beginning and end of things. It compares husband and wife to the union of Yin and Yang and the mutual generation of male and female. It also uses Yin and Yang, the dark and bright moons—the changing phases of the moon at the end and beginning of each month—and cycles of ascent and descent to explain transformation, aligning the hexagrams and line statements with the alchemical process.

Accordingly, the book treats Qian and Kun as the crucible, Yin and Yang as the principles of protection and regulation, water and fire as the forces of transformation, and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) as supporting agents. True lead is the root of the ingredients, while Mysterious Essence is the foundation of the elixir. Kan and Li are compared to husband and wife, and Heaven and Earth to father and mother. The Eight Trigrams are matched with the four seasons, and the firing times are arranged according to the 384 lines of the hexagrams. The movements of the five planets and twenty-eight lunar lodges are also correlated with what happens inside the crucible. In this way, the water tiger conceals its tracks and moves westward through the Qi of Geng and Xin, while the fire dragon hides its form and turns eastward with the Qi of Jia and Yi.

The Zhouyi says that sages observe the signs of things in the world and take images from them by modeling their shapes and qualities. This is how Wei Boyang chose his images. Who but someone versed in the Great Dao could do so? He discerned the root contained in the original chaos at the beginning of Heaven and Earth, identified the numinous root of Heaven and Earth as the source of the ingredients, and explained the manifested forms of Yin and Yang as the foundation of alchemical methods. He revealed the source of Qi’s transformations and the origin from which Heaven and Earth generate the myriad things. Who but someone of supreme insight could do so?

As for arranging the water clock, dividing the hours, harmonizing Yin and Yang, and employing the powers of spirits and ghosts; gathering the proper Qi of 3,600 days; turning the pivotal points of the seventy-two pentads; and setting the Yin Talisman of the sixty-four hexagrams in motion—the phrase “the Heavenly Gate lies in the palm” means that the pivot of seasonal change is held in one’s grasp. As for stirring the Yang Fire of the twenty-four solar terms, the phrase “the Earth’s axis turns through the heart” means that the key to moving the Earth’s Qi is held within the heart. The workings of creation cannot be hidden from Heaven and Earth, and Yin and Yang cannot conceal the root by which the myriad things are nurtured. In this way, wondrous transformations arise and pure substances are brought forth. Who but someone of the greatest clarity could do so?

The Cantong qi says: “In the golden cauldron of chaos, the black and white kinds are paired together; the dragon and horse descend with their essences, and the breaths of female and male unite. The horse’s teeth are white as frost, the dog’s teeth firm and lustrous as jade.” It also says that mercury dwells with the Maiden of the Elixir, and that vermilion mercury joins with the Infant. These expressions use metaphor to describe the qualities of the ingredients and the form of the elixir. They also carefully reveal changes that have already taken place in the alchemical process, as well as signs that have not yet appeared. Who but someone of the utmost subtlety could do so?

He used the images of the hexagrams to convey the contents of alchemical practice. Unwilling to divulge Heaven’s secrets, yet unable to bear keeping the mysterious principles entirely concealed, he elaborated and explained them in detail, writing and rewriting until the work was complete. He did so to point out the essential methods of the Dao and guide later students, and out of compassion for people who, after being born into the world, would ultimately die and become Yin spirits. Who but someone of the deepest benevolence would do this?

Wei Boyang also understood the principles governing the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, and his spirit traveled through the eight directions. By ingesting gold sand, he transformed his body; by ingesting fire mercury, he refined his Jing and spirit. Thus he transformed his body into pure Yang and lodged his spirit in its true abode. He shed the Three Corpses—the three spirits said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and obstruct cultivation—surpassed the Three Realms, paid audience at the Upper Clarity realm, and became a high-ranking immortal. Who but one who had truly attained the Dao could reach such a state?

Peng Xiao divided the contents of the Zhouyi cantong qi into chapters and explained the principles underlying each one. He believed that this classic relies chiefly on metaphor, which links its passages from beginning to end. Its language may seem broad and open-ended, yet the principles it conveys are sound; its subject matter is clearly stated, while its deeper meanings lie hidden between the lines.

Later scholars understood the text in different ways. Some explained it word by word, while others combined sentences in their commentaries. As a result, the annotations inevitably diverged in their schools and interpretations, making the text’s essential meaning difficult for beginners to grasp. Since the arguments vary from one passage to another, it is also hard to judge what should be accepted or rejected. Peng Xiao therefore reorganized the chapters and established the punctuation, seeking to make the principles in each passage cohere, align the commentary with the main text, and show how both could be corroborated by methods of alchemy.

He divided the work into four parts and three volumes, comprising ninety chapters, corresponding to the number “yang nine,” and titled it Fenzhang tong zhenyi (“Dividing the Chapters and Penetrating the True Meaning”). He wrote the main text in red ink and the marginal notes in black, to make the work easier to read. The first volume contains forty chapters, the second thirty-eight, and the third twelve. The section “Song of the Crucible and Vessels,” whose wording and principles are interwoven and whose phrases are also rather fragmentary, was difficult to divide into chapters, so he kept it as a separate section to correspond to the number “water one.” This numerical arrangement was intended to symbolize the completeness of the numbers of Yin and Yang in the Dao of the Elixir.

Following the Zhouyi cantong qi, Peng Xiao also composed a section called Mingjing tujue (“Instructions in Diagrams of the Bright Mirror”), which he appended to the end of the third volume, hoping to open another path toward understanding the Zhouyi cantong qi. He said that, having received the text through his teacher’s transmission, he had devoted years of attention to it. Unwilling to keep its profound principles hidden, he had compiled this explanation in the hope that it might be of some use to later generations. He signed it: “Preface by Peng Xiao, Zhenyizi of Mount Feihe in Changli.”

The Zhouyi Cantongqi: A Chapter-by-Chapter Explanation of the True Meaning, Volume One. Annotated by Peng Xiao, Gentleman for Court Audiences and Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites.

The Qian and Kun trigrams are the gateways of the Yi and the foundation of all the other trigrams, just as parents give birth to the myriad trigrams.

The Kan and Li trigrams are like the frame of a cart: they turn its wheels and align its axle. Before the Great Change, Great Vacuity, and Great Beginning, the essential substance was empty, still, and subtle, yet no signs had appeared. At the stages of the Great Origin, Great Simplicity, and Supreme Ultimate, all things came into being through undifferentiated mixture. This is chaos. Within chaos there is truth…

“One” is the subtle, undivided origin: the beginning of Heaven and Earth and the source of the myriad things. Once the One Qi took shape, the two fundamental forces of Heaven and Earth separated, giving rise to Qian and Kun, Yin-Yang, the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and humanity), the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water), and the distinct names of the myriad things. Qian and Kun establish the governing order of Heaven and Earth, while Yin-Yang drives the transformation of the myriad things. Once Qian and Kun are established, Yin-Yang moves within them.

When Wei Boyang, author of the Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three), discussed cultivating the Golden Elixir through liquid gold—a Neidan term for refining and nourishing essence and Qi to bring the Elixir to completion—he held that this practice follows the same patterns as the transformations of Heaven and Earth. He therefore used the hexagrams of the Classic of Changes to explain it. Cultivation begins by seeking the undivided, primal One Qi between Heaven and Earth and taking it as the foundation. One then takes as a model the way the refined essence of Qian and Kun circulates, and follows the changing patterns of the Kan, Li, Pi, and Tai hexagrams to arrange the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang and the sequence of time. By following their transformations, one forms a cycle like the alternation of winter and summer. Yin gradually grows after midday, while Yang first stirs at midnight. When Yang begins to move, it starts with the transformations of “nine”; when Yin rests in stillness, it follows the pattern of “six.” These are the main principles of the Elixir method.

Thus, the Elixir method takes Qian and Kun as its crucible—the framework of Heaven and Earth in which cultivation takes place—and Kan and Li as its boundaries. Water and Fire are its spouses; Yin and Yang, its Dragons and Tigers. The Five Phases form its horizontal threads and nourish true essence, while the Three Powers form its vertical threads and gather pure Qi. The alternation of cold and heat follows the three hundred and eighty-four lines of the Classic of Changes hexagrams; the rising and setting of the sun and moon correspond to the cycle of three hundred and eighty-four days in a year. All these transformations take Qian and Kun as their foundation. Qian and Kun are the gateways of the Classic of Changes and the parents of all the hexagrams.

Chapter Two: The Four Hexagrams of the Male and Female

“Male and Female Four Trigrams” refers to Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li. These four trigrams are the pivot and key to alchemical work. They encompass the principles of Yin-Yang transformation, like skilled craftspeople building according to measuring lines and ink marks, or a driver holding the reins and bridle and following established rules along the tracks. The practitioner remains at the center, directing the whole process and managing external changes. Its rhythms are arranged according to the laws, calendrical calculations, and divisions of time.

A month is divided into five six-day periods, making thirty days. The trigrams proceed with the days: one trigram is assigned to each day and night, so that sixty trigrams are used over thirty day-and-night cycles. The scripture’s phrase “combined into sixty” refers collectively to these trigrams. If Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li—the four trigrams that form the roots of the medicinal substances—are counted as well, the total is sixty-four trigrams. “The warp and weft serve the sun’s course” means that the images of the trigrams and lines are like the warp threads governing daily practice, while calendrical laws and numerical arts are like the weft; both move with the days and hours. “Firmness and yielding have outer and inner aspects” means that Yang firmness and Yin yielding, as well as Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood, work together and are mutually complementary.

In refining the Returning Elixir of Liquid Gold, a form of Neidan (internal alchemy) centered on liquid gold, the cauldron contains the “Golden Mother’s Flower Pool,” also called the “Spirit Chamber of the Golden Embryo.” Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li serve as the medicinal substances. “Pivotal key” means the central hinge and essential point; “covering and enveloping” means wrapping around and encompassing.

The Yin cauldron and Yang furnace used in alchemical work, along with firm fire and yielding tallies, proceed according to the sequence of the sixty-four trigrams, cycling through them again and again. The practitioner must also arrange spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the twenty-four solar terms, and the seventy-two pentads within this system. The seasonal changes of a year are condensed into the pattern of a month, and the changes of a month are then fitted within the twelve double-hours of a day and night. The practitioner must calibrate the times, distinguish the lunar phases, identify the Zi and Wu hours, examine Yin-Yang transformations, connect the last and first days of the lunar month, and coordinate the symbols of the Dragon and Tiger. If these are guided precisely and the process proceeds without error, the external pattern will accord with the tally of Yin-Yang transformations, while internally the Dragon and Tiger will come together.

Thus, skilled craftspeople follow measuring lines and ink marks without deviation; skilled drivers keep a firm hold on the reins and bridle, so their course does not become disorderly. These metaphors all explain that practitioners refining the Elixir must grasp the timing of the fire process. A month is divided into five six-day periods, making thirty days; assigning one trigram to each day and night gives sixty trigrams. Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li are the parents of the medicinal substances, while the cauldron and vessel are the pivot of alchemical work. In sum, the scripture combines these elements and calls them the sixty-four trigrams.

Beginning at dawn on the first day of each month, the Hexagram Zhun takes charge; at dusk, the Hexagram Meng takes over. Day and night each correspond to one hexagram, used in turn. Within day and night, firmness and yielding appear in relation to one another, each serving as the other’s outer and inner aspect: Yang firmness and Yin yielding, as well as Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood, all work together and each has an inner and outer aspect.

Chapter Three: The Hexagram Zhun Governs at Dawn on the New Moon

At dawn on the first day of each month, the Hexagram Zhun takes charge; at dusk, the Hexagram Meng takes over. One hexagram governs by day and another by night, alternating in sequence.

In the movement of Yin and Yang through day and night, and in the rising and falling of the firing process—a metaphor for advancing and withdrawing the intensity of cultivation—the hexagram lines provide the pattern: one hexagram governs each day and night. The sequence begins with Zhun and Meng: Zhun is used at dawn on the first day, Meng at dusk, and the hexagrams then continue in order.

Chapter Four: From Ji Ji and Wei Ji to Dusk and Dawn

The cycle runs from the Hexagrams Ji Ji and Wei Ji through the darkness of dusk and the brightness of dawn; when it ends, it begins again. The day and its hours set the cycle, and each transition between activity and stillness has its own time.

“Ji” and “Wei” refer to the Hexagrams Ji Ji and Wei Ji. “Dusk and dawn” means darkness and daylight, and also symbolizes the alternating changes of Yin and Yang, brightness and darkness. “The day and its hours set the cycle; activity and stillness each have their time” means that Yang belongs to activity and Yin to stillness. Across the twelve double-hours, the rising and falling of Yin and Yang each have their appointed times. The firing process runs in cycles, with Yin and Yang taking turns.

Chapter Five: Spring and Summer Follow the Inner Form

Spring and summer follow the inner form of the hexagrams, from the double-hour Zi through Chen and Si. Autumn and winter turn to their outer application, from Wu through Xu and Hai.

Yang Fire begins to advance gradually at the double-hour Zi, continuing until Si, when pure Yang takes charge. This takes inner Yin as its foundation in seeking outer Yang.

The Yin Tally, which corresponds to Yang Fire and marks the retreat of Yin qi, begins to withdraw the fire gradually at Wu and continues until Hai, when pure Yin takes charge. Here, outer Yang joins with inner Yin. This describes the principles governing inner and outer forms and their waxing and waning: the sequence begins with the Hexagram Fu and ends with the Hexagram Kun, with each stage arranged according to the symbolism of the hexagram lines.

Chapter Six: Reward and Punishment Correspond to Spring and Autumn

Reward and punishment correspond to the spring and autumn equinoxes; darkness and brightness follow the changes of cold and heat. The hexagram statements contain the principles of benevolence and righteousness, which appear as joy and anger change with the seasons. When the course of the four seasons is followed in this way, each of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) finds its proper place.

Spring’s growth and flourishing are called “reward,” while autumn’s withering and killing are called “punishment.”

The three temporal markers Zi, Chou, and Yin correspond to spring, while Mao, Chen, and Si correspond to summer. These six markers belong to Yang and correspond to the Yang Fire in the seasonal cycles of alchemical firing times. Wu, Wei, and Shen correspond to autumn, while You, Xu, and Hai correspond to winter. These six belong to Yin and correspond to the timing of the Yin Talisman. In alchemical practice, the firing times and their signs must be applied in accordance with the twelve temporal markers, so that they accord with the seasons, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the alternation of light and darkness between day and night, changes in heat and cold, and the Yin-Yang transformations of benevolence, righteousness, joy, and anger. The images and numerical patterns of the hexagram lines must also be free of the slightest error; this is called “not deviating.” The firing times within the cauldron follow the seasons and accord with the seasonal and Five Phases cycles, day and night, heat and cold, and benevolence, righteousness, joy, and anger. When the images and numerical patterns of the hexagram lines show no deviation, this is “not deviating.” The seasonal cycles within the cauldron must have no deficiency, and the symbolic changes of heat and cold must remain consistent. Only then can the elixir be formed.

The “Ancient Song” says: The sage understands and masters the mysteries of creation, placing the essences of the sun and moon within the furnace and cauldron. With subtle skill, the sage sets the vital energies of Heaven and Earth in motion and gathers Yin and Yang, causing even spirits and ghosts to move in accord. Who truly understands the sun’s hun-soul and the moon’s po-soul? Whoever understands them is a true immortal. After long cultivation and nourishment, and after taking the elixir, the body is free of Yin residue—how, then, could one die? Thus, in cultivating the Golden Liquid Elixir of Return, if one does not take Heaven and Earth’s transformations as a model and accord with the nature of things, the elixir cannot be formed.

Chapter Seven: Heaven and Earth Take Their Positions

Heaven and Earth each have their own positions, and the Changes move between them. “Heaven and Earth” symbolize Qian and Kun; “taking their positions” means that Yin and Yang each occupy their place and work together. Here, “the Changes” refers to the Kan and Li trigrams, which are two functions of Qian and Kun. Kan and Li have no fixed line positions; they circulate through the space of the six lines. Their coming and going is unfixed, and they have no permanent positions above or below. Hidden and concealed, they continually transform within this space. They encompass the myriad things and serve as the guiding principles of the Dao’s movement.

Heaven and Earth are established in separate positions because the “Already-Crossed Cauldron Vessel” takes its model from Qian and Kun. Yin-Yang, Kan and Li (Water and Fire), and the movement of the talismanic fire all operate within the cauldron vessel. Since the vessel takes its model from Qian and Kun, the Metal Mother must also be placed within it, so that it contains the Three Powers: Heaven, Earth, and humanity. When Kan and Li are put to use, they are not fixed in any particular line position. Water and Fire move externally, alternating between motion and stillness in an unceasing cycle. They extend through the six directions, moving up and down, back and forth, without any constant position. At times they are concealed; at times they appear. At times they function; at times they lie dormant. Alternating and transforming between them, they become the root of the transformation and generation of all things. For this reason, they are called the guiding principles of the Dao.

Chapter Eight: Using Emptiness to Govern Being

Emptiness can govern what is substantial, just as a vessel’s hollow center gives it the capacity to hold things and serve a purpose. Thus, when observing the waxing and waning of Yin-Yang, Kan and Li (Water and Fire) also disappear in their proper time.

“Emptiness” refers to the Dragon, and “being” refers to the Tiger; “emptiness” is Mercury’s Yang Qi, and “being” is Lead’s Yin substance. Lead and Mercury, placed within the empty vessel, cannot produce change by themselves. Only by means of Kan and Li rising and descending, driving the cycle of the four seasons, do generation and transformation become manifest. This is the use of the empty vessel to govern “being” through “emptiness.” The Ancient Classic of the Dragon and Tiger says, “Being and emptiness govern one another, and the Vermilion Bird’s fire kindles in the void.” Thus, when Yin Qi arises, Yang Qi withdraws; when Yang Qi rises, Yin Qi lies dormant. As they wane and wax in turn, Kan and Li likewise disappear in their proper time.

Chapter Nine: Ancient Simplicity Does Not Manufacture Things Recklessly

Words cannot be invented at will or arise from nothing. Their efficacy must be demonstrated through verification, while their subtle transformations are examined and traced. From things of the same kind, one then draws together forms into characters, grounding them in the fundamental principles of things. Kan corresponds to Wu and symbolizes the Moon’s vital essence; Li corresponds to Ji and symbolizes the Sun’s radiance. Together, the Sun and Moon make up the character “Yi,” symbolizing the mutual joining of firmness and yielding. Earth governs the four seasons and runs through the beginning and end of all things. Green, red, white, and black each occupy one of the four directions, yet all are governed by the Earth of the central palace. This is the role of Wu and Ji.

The sages did not invent empty words to mislead later generations. Instead, they cited the changes of the Sun and Moon as evidence, traced their subtle principles, distinguished firmness from yielding, pointed out the relationship between Metal and Water, and used the Dragon and Tiger as metaphors and symbols. They explored subtlety through Yin-Yang, completed their work through Earth among the Five Phases, and brought its transformations to a close through the four seasons. Thus green, red, white, and black move in cycles and ultimately all return to Wu and Ji. Kan-Wu, the Moon’s essence, means that the Moon belongs to Yin and Wu to Yang: Yang is contained within Yin, symbolizing the Golden Tiger emerging from Water. Li-Ji, the Sun’s radiance, means that the Sun belongs to Yang and Ji to Yin: Yin is contained within Yang, symbolizing the Mercury Dragon emerging from Fire. Therefore, cultivating the Elixir method means drawing upon the essence of the Sun and Moon so that the numinous energies of Yin and Yang unite. When the circuit of the celestial cycle reaches its full measure and the movement of Yin and Yang is complete, the efficacy returns to Earth’s De, and the essences of Shen and Qi are made whole. The phrase “drawing together forms into characters” means that the character “Yi” takes its image from the Sun and Moon.

The Yi Is a Book of Images

The Yi is about taking images. Among the visible images of Heaven and Earth, none are greater than the Sun and Moon. By investigating hidden transformations, one can understand how things change: when Yang Qi withdraws, Yin Qi arrives. They follow one another like the spokes of a wheel and turn like a wheel, cycling back and forth, advancing and withdrawing.

The Yi has three hundred and eighty-four lines. Symbols are selected from the images of these lines, and these symbols refer to the sixty-four hexagrams. Between the dark of the Moon and the new Moon, the Zhen hexagram arrives to receive the mandate. At this time, Heaven and Earth join their vital essences, and the Sun and Moon respond to one another. The masculine Yang sows the mysterious power of generation, while the feminine Yin nourishes it into a yellow embryo. Yin and Yang mingle in primordial union, and life begins to take root. Nourished and nurtured, it gradually forms boundaries and shape, gathering Shen to become a body. The many forms of life all arise this way; even creatures as tiny as mosquitoes come from this process.

The Classic of Changes depicts the forms taken by the transformations of things. The sun and moon joining symbolize Yin and Yang uniting as one. To refine the Golden Elixir from liquid gold, one must bring the essence and Qi of Yin and Yang together, as when the female Yin transforms into a yellow embryo. At the beginning of their union, before the undifferentiated chaos has divided, the foundation is established. Through further action and nurture, it gradually grows; the mind and spirit gather and form a body. All things are brought forth through this process, even tiny creatures such as mosquitoes.

Refining the Golden Elixir from liquid gold depends on the coordinated action of the sun and moon and the essence and Qi of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang Qi move in and out, contract and expand, cycling through day and night and beginning again without end. The scripture uses the sixty-four hexagrams and three hundred and eighty-four lines to represent these changes. The line images determine the signs and timings, so the firing process advances and recedes with Yin and Yang’s waxing and waning: Yin Qi arrives as Yang Qi departs; Yang Qi lies hidden as Yin Qi takes effect. The Qi of the east and west meet like husband and wife joining. At this moment, the “Zhen” hexagram receives its sign, symbolizing the union of Heaven and Earth and the joining of the sun’s and moon’s souls.

“Chaos” refers to the spirit chamber—the “chamber” that symbolizes the inner space used in alchemical work—which is like an egg, with the two cords, symbols of the two Qi dynamics of Yin and Yang, joined but not yet divided. The Yang Dragon and Yin Tiger respond to and continue one another within it, establishing the foundation and gradually nurturing the outline of a body, until spirit gathers and takes form as something subtle. Thus, within the crucible chamber, a small cosmos forms of its own accord. All manner of tiny living things, too, arise through this process of creation.

Yang belongs to Heaven and is called dark; Yin belongs to Earth and is called yellow. Here they refer to the Old Yang and Old Yin: Qian as father and Kun as mother. When the two operate together according to the measure of the firing process, the transformations of Heaven and Earth unfold within the alchemical vessel, as though Heaven and Earth were in motion and all things were growing. If the firing process is mistimed, if extraction and addition exceed their proper measure, if the cycles of cold and heat are out of accord, or if advance and retreat fall into disorder, by what seasons could Heaven and Earth bring forth the myriad things? And by what transformations of Yin and Yang could the Dragon and Tiger be formed?

Confucius praised the Yi for its vastness and profundity. He placed the Qian and Kun hexagrams at the root of all things, and used Xian and Heng to explain the origins of the relationship between husband and wife. He dispelled ignorance and untangled chaos, clarified the forms of ghosts and spirits, and traced the patterns and principles linking Heaven and Earth. The relationships between ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife, and men and women; the mutual generation and overcoming of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); and the patterns governing the transformations of all things are all contained within it. In this way, Qian and Kun reveal a principle that is profound, spacious, and still.

Wei Boyang used the principles of the Yi as a metaphor for alchemical practice: setting up the cauldron and vessel, setting the mechanisms of Heaven in motion, and bringing the Dragon and Tiger together as Yin-Yang unite. At first, the substances in the cauldron are whole in form, as though still within the primal chaos. Once the firing begins and the talismanic measures are carried out in keeping with the proper times, the refined essences of Yin and Yang intertwine. This is like the man and woman in “Guanju” being drawn to each other, and the wedding bringing husband and wife together. Alchemical practice begins with the first kindling of the fire, just as the year begins to stir into life; as the sun and moon move through their courses, the forms of the Dragon and Tiger joining gradually take shape.

Chapter Twelve: The Sage Does Not Arise Without Cause

Sages do not appear without cause. They look upward and observe the celestial signs, revealing the indications of the Dao’s movement. The signs of the Dao advance and recede, bend and extend; sages therefore respond in accord with the seasons. Thus, the Yi encompasses the mind of Heaven—the fundamental patterns of the Dao.

Fuxi, the sage traditionally credited with creating the trigrams of the Classic of Changes (Yijing), established the Changes’ trigrams and numerical principles by looking up at the celestial patterns and down at the features of the earth. He came to understand the conditions of the myriad things and passed these principles on to later generations, allowing those who had not yet understood them to glimpse the mysteries of the workings of Heaven and Earth, recognize the subtle changes of Yin and Yang, grasp the foundations of creation, and discern the forms in which things correspond to one another. The mutual generation and overcoming, advance and retreat, bending and extending of the myriad things can all be understood through this. Thus it is said that the Changes encompasses the heart of the Way of Heaven.

For this reason, the ancients established methods and systems of images and numbers, investigated subtle principles, prepared cauldrons and furnaces—the implements used in alchemical work—and applied talismanic fire to regulate the flame according to established methods. They measured time with clepsydras, devised the trigrams and their lines, determined the hours, and distinguished the seasonal divisions and the signs of nature, in order to exhaustively comprehend the great patterns governing the workings of Heaven and Earth.

Chapter Thirteen: The Fu Hexagram Establishes the Beginning of Sprouting

The Fu hexagram, which symbolizes the beginning of Yang energy’s return, establishes the beginning of sprouting. It is like an eldest son inheriting his father’s form while taking his foundation from his mother. The waxing and waning of Yin and Yang correspond to the twelve pitch pipes, an ancient system of musical tones also used to align the calendar and seasonal divisions. After three days, Yang energy first appears, bright as the emerging sun. The Zhen hexagram corresponds to the day of Geng and belongs to the west. On the eighth day, the Dui hexagram corresponds to the day of Ding, and the Moon is at its first quarter, its straight dividing line like a taut cord. On the fifteenth day, the form of the Qian hexagram is complete, the Moon is full, and the day of Jia corresponds to the east. The toad and jade hare in the Moon—ancient names for the Moon—change in accordance with the rhythm of the hexagram energies. When one cycle is complete, the Moon gradually wanes and begins to descend.

The Fu hexagram is the beginning of the sprouting of the myriad things, like a mother’s body nurturing Yang energy. On the fifteenth day, the child of the Qian hexagram is full and bright; its ascent and descent follow the pivot of the Northern Dipper. The Zhen hexagram corresponds to the day of Geng, the Dui hexagram to the day of Ding, and the Qian hexagram to the day of Jia. The toad and jade hare in the Moon change in accordance with the rhythm of the hexagram energies. When one cycle is complete, the Moon gradually wanes and descends.

The Return hexagram marks the foundation from which the moon first appears and begins to grow, as well as the starting point of its developing transformations. When Qian, the hexagram of pure Yang that symbolizes the father, reaches the fifteenth day, the moon shines full and bright. Its rising and setting follow the turning point of the Northern Dipper. The Zhen hexagram corresponds to the west. On the eighth day, the moon shows its first quarter: the Qi of the sun and moon each display half their light, and the rabbit-shaped shadow on the moon seems to breathe out radiance.

On the seventh and eighth days, the way of Yin and Yang gradually grows, and the eldest son inherits the father’s body. The moon is born through Kun, the hexagram of pure Yin that symbolizes the mother. A single Yang line first transforms at the bottom of Kun, which is why this is called “laying the first foundation of growth.” In other words, the bottom of Kun changes into a Qian line; Qian symbolizes the father. The moon begins to show its form on the third day, when Yang Qi has grown halfway. Wei Boyang uses the hexagram images to explain this process: the inner body of Kun changes into Zhen, so he says that it “establishes the foundation of the sign.” Zhen is Qian’s eldest son. As the moon gradually changes over time, it becomes a body of pure Yang on the fifteenth day, and so is said to “inherit the father’s body.”

This also resembles the moon forming its first quarter on the eighth day, symbolizing that metal and water in the cauldron each occupy half. The moon rises full in the east, while the moon’s images of the toad and Jade Rabbit symbolize metal and water reaching completion in the cauldron, with the fire phase perfectly timed. The moon’s formation is used to explain alchemical practice because a month is divided into three periods and condensed into six double-hours within half a day. The practitioner advances the Yang fire and carries out withdrawal and addition in the cauldron, allowing what is inside to follow the rhythm of the fire phase; these signs of transformation then appear.

“The way of seven and eight is complete” means that by the fifteenth day, the Qian body has formed. The phrases about bending, lowering, and descending refer to the period after the sixteenth day, described below, when the Yang fire recedes and the Yin tally is used instead.

On the sixteenth day, the moon turns to receive the governance of Yin Qi. The Xun hexagram corresponds to the Xin position and appears at dawn; the Gen hexagram occupies the Bing position in the south. On the twenty-third day, the moon shows its last quarter. On the thirtieth day, Kun corresponds to the Yi position, and the moon disappears toward the northeast, its original light having been extinguished. When one seasonal cycle ends, Yin and Yang alternate and exchange places. Taking up the form of the preceding phase, a new “dragon” is born again.

“On the sixteenth day, the cycle shifts”: this means that after the sixteenth day, the Yang Fire begins to wane, while the Yin Talisman begins to emerge. “Xun and Xin appear at dawn” is also like the beginning of the Yang Fire’s growth, as when the moon first appears on the third day of the month. “The waning moon on the twenty-third” has the same meaning as the first quarter: at this point, Metal and Water each account for half. “On the thirtieth day, Kun and Yi; the northeast loses its companion” means that by the thirtieth day, the Yin Talisman has reached its limit and the Yang Fire has been completely extinguished.

Over the course of a month, Yin and Yang each hold sway for half the time, alternating in turn, while Water and Fire depend on one another. When the month ends, the cycle returns to its beginning and starts again with the Fu hexagram, which symbolizes the renewal of Yang energy. Hence the phrase “the dragon is born again, continuing the former body”: Yang energy arises once more, carrying on from the previous cycle.

Chapter Fifteen: Ren and Gui Matched with Jia and Yi

Ren and Gui are matched with Jia and Yi; Qian and Kun encompass beginning and end. The numbers seven and eight add up to fifteen, as do nine and six when paired. Together, the four numbers total thirty, and Yang energy then wanes and is stored away. The Eight Trigrams are arranged to symbolize the changing movements of the sun, moon, and stars, revolving and shifting without straying from the center.

Ren and Gui are Yin; Jia and Yi are Yang. Yin and Yang work together. The Elixir Mother—the foundation on which the refining of the elixir depends—dwells within the Qian-Kun cauldron and receives the Qi produced by the union of the Yang Dragon and the Yin Tiger. Thus Qian and Kun encompass the whole process of elixir refinement, from beginning to end.

The four numbers seven, eight, nine, and six add up to thirty, symbolizing a month. Within the month, seven and nine correspond to Yang numbers, while six and eight correspond to Yin numbers; Qian and Kun each account for half. When the thirtieth day arrives, the moon’s cycle ends, and both the Yin Talisman and the Yang Fire are complete. In tending the fire—adjusting the stages of refinement according to time—one must follow the changes of the Eight Trigrams and the patterns of the stars. Using directions such as Zi and Wu as guides, one adjusts the drawing in and adding, the rising and descending, allowing Yin and Yang to expand and contract, and harmonizing the Qi of Metal and Water. If the fire is tended out of season, it will be like rain and drought left unchecked: the principles of generation will be disrupted, and the forms of the Dragon and Tiger will be difficult to sustain. Those who practice tending the fire should carefully observe and investigate these patterns.

Chapter Sixteen: The Subtlety of Original Jing Is Hard to See

Original Jing—the fundamental Jing that gives rise to all things—is subtle and hard to perceive. It must be investigated and inferred, then verified through corresponding signs. In quiet seclusion, observe the signs through which it appears and compare them with its forms. Establish standards as models, and use divination to determine good or ill fortune. When issuing commands and carrying out rules, follow the seasons and do not miss the moment when the hexagram lines stir into motion. Look upward to observe the patterns of the River Chart; look downward to discern the lay of the land and the flow of water. Then examine the human mind, bringing together and comparing the conditions of Heaven, Earth, and humanity, the Three Powers. In action, follow the measure of the hexagram images; in stillness, rely on the Image Commentary. Only when the Way of Qian and Kun is put into practice can the movements of Heaven and Earth be brought into stable order. How could one fail to exercise caution?

“Original Essence” is the subtle, wondrous true essence within the alchemical cauldron, the vessel used in refining and cultivation. It is also the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth. It cannot be grasped by hand or seen by the eye, yet it secretly follows the workings of transformation and gives birth to the myriad things.

This force is profound and hidden, difficult to perceive directly. One must therefore rely on signs of the seasons to establish rules and models, and issue commands so that the work of refining and cultivation accords with the times of Heaven. Thus one observes the patterns of the stars above and examines the movements of the land below, thereby bringing the souls of Heaven and Earth into union and aligning Yin-Yang’s contraction and expansion. One then establishes the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—assesses the rise and decline of Qi’s movement, and, following the images of the trigrams and the statements of the lines, arranges the hours of day and night and the ascent and descent of Qi. In this way, Qian and Kun interact, Yin and Yang harmonize, and the Dragon and Tiger unite, bringing the principles of Heaven and Earth’s movement to expression.

The foregoing describes how to use a water clock to keep time, apply the talismanic fire in the work of refinement and cultivation, understand the drawing out and adding in—that is, regulating the fire and increasing or decreasing the ingredients—and distinguish advance from retreat. At every step, one must remain aligned with the courses of the sun, moon, and stars. Then the cauldron can respond to the changes of the four seasons and generate wondrous essence and Qi, as Heaven and Earth generate the myriad things. How could anyone who applies the talismanic fire fail to exercise care?

The Primary Principles of Governing the Elixir (Chapter Seventeen)

To govern and regulate the movement of Qi, one must first grasp the subtle, exacting essentials, so that precious essence and Qi can be opened, unfolded, and dispersed. The pivot of the Way commands the guiding principles of transformation. Changes in the trigrams and lines begin within, while good fortune and misfortune become visible without. When the movements of the Five Planets are irregular or harmonious, their effects appear in due course and bring about changes. When the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions fall into disorder, the positions of the stars shift, displaying changes in their rising and setting.

The foremost concern in regulating the fire in alchemical practice is to master the timing of its cycles and begin the operations in the proper order. Once the metal has been made into a vessel, seal it tightly so that no breath can escape. “Opening, unfolding, and spreading the treasure” means allowing the liquid metal within the vessel to flow freely, nourish, and transform, so that Metal and Water depend on one another. Next, follow the direction of the Big Dipper’s handle through the twelve time positions, and bring the rhythm of its movement into correspondence with the four sevens. The “four sevens” are the twenty-eight lunar lodges.

If the movement of the stars does not accord with the seasonal divisions, the tallies fail to produce their proper signs, and good or ill fortune appears in the lines of the hexagrams; the timing of the fire also falls out of step between dawn and dusk. When the external movements of the Five Planets are in disorder, the five Qi within the vessel become disharmonious. When the twenty-eight lunar lodges lose their order and the stars across the celestial circuit stray from their paths, no Elixir can form in the vessel. Even if the external fire is already in motion, the inner signs of timing remain still and unresponsive. The Qi of the souls of Heaven and Earth then cannot unite, and the stars fall into confusion, the sun and moon stray from their proper courses, the seasons become disordered, and nothing can grow. This happens because the fire is operated at the wrong time: the seasonal signs of summer and autumn become confused, leaving the vessel’s process of formation unstable, as if it were beset by prolonged rain or drought.

Chapter Ten: The Register of All Records

Wenchang, the star deity who governs documents and records, oversees the registers and supervises the Terrace Assistants, the star officials who aid the Celestial Emperor. Each of the officials has a distinct duty and manages the affairs assigned to them.

The phrase “Wenchang oversees the registers” refers to the Dipper’s bowl, the head of the Big Dipper opposite its handle, being crowned by the Dipper’s basket. The six stars… (The wording is unclear at this point in the surviving text, which mentions “six stars” before shifting to material about “losing the proper timing.”)

Wenchang, the six stars above the Northern Dipper’s bowl, is also known as the “Wenchang Office.” In order, the six stars are called the Upper General, Second General, Noble Minister, Controller of Fate, Controller of Records, and Controller of Calamities. Below the Dipper’s bowl are another six stars, arranged in pairs facing one another and known as the Three Terraces.

The Three Terraces symbolize those who assist the Son of Heaven and govern the realm: above, they help the Son of Heaven harmonize Yin-Yang and follow the seasons; below, they enable the myriad things to fulfill their proper roles and ensure that ministers and officials each perform their duties. This is also like a cauldron receiving the Qi of heaven, earth, and all things, allowing them to arise and transform. When Yin-Yang is out of balance and the seasons fall into disorder, it is like a practitioner in charge of regulating the firing process making errors in adjustment; punishment follows.

The secret of the Golden Elixir made through liquid gold (a method of cultivation in which liquid gold is refined and formed into an elixir) lies in the two words “lead” and “fire.” To master the process from beginning to end, one must obtain true lead and grasp true fire. Neither is easy to attain; how, then, can one speak of them lightly? For this reason, Wei Boyang explained the principles at length through analogy, yet still feared that later readers would be confused and fail to understand.

Chapter Nineteen: The Sun and the Essence of the Five Phases

The sun brings together the essence of the Five Phases, while the moon moves according to the measures of the Six Pitch Pipes. Five multiplied by six gives thirty degrees; when one full cycle is complete, it begins again. By tracing the beginning and examining the end, one can discern the pattern of rise and decline, survival and extinction.

At times, a ruler becomes arrogant and complacent, reaches the height of his power, and turns against the right path. At other times, ministers are treacherous and ingratiating, acting without regard for established norms. When the moon’s phases and its waxing and waning fall out of their proper order, they bring omens of misfortune and calamity. The spirits who enforce the law inspect and censure these transgressions. If the vital energies are not properly regulated, the fault falls upon the ruler.

The sun gathers the essence of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and meets the moon once each month. The moon receives the seasonal energies of the six lü pitches: this means that, inside the cauldron, Metal and Water receive the energies of the pitch pipes in turn each month, each receiving half a month’s seasonal energy. The six lü and six lü pitches each have six modes, jointly governed by the sun and moon. The sun, moon, five planets, and the stars that trace the celestial lines together bring forth the myriad things. This is a metaphor for the cauldron receiving Yin-Yang energy from outside and rising and descending according to the sequence of the Zi and Wu hours. The essence of the five planets is arranged and set in motion, joining with the essences of the sun and moon. The Pi and Tai hexagrams alternate; preservation and loss follow one another in a cycle that begins with the Fu hexagram and ends with the Kun hexagram.

The Yin essence in the spirit chamber—the alchemical term for the central position inside the cauldron—lies at the center, in the position of Earth’s virtue, and symbolizes the ruler. If the cauldron loses its inner correspondence and the outside cannot remain focused, it is like a ruler grown arrogant and complacent, unable to receive tribute from the four quarters. If ministers become crooked and sycophantic, the seasons fall out of order: the moon’s waxing and waning become irregular, and errors occur at the dark and new moons. All these failings are laid at the ruler’s door. Here, “ruler” refers to the essence of Metal, the virtue of Earth, and the spirit chamber; “ministers” refer to the Five Phases, the six lü pitches, and the vital energies; and “gain and loss” refer to the practitioner’s command of the talismanic sequence and the timing of the fire process. Thus, when ministers are treacherous, the seasons fall out of order, the phases of the moon become irregular, and the dark and new moons go awry; in the end, the blame rests with the ruler. Then the maidservant flees and the red dragon races away. Once the spirit and essence have scattered, where can one seek the Golden Elixir?

Chapter Twenty: The Pole Star Receives the Correct Way

The Pole Star, symbolizing the central sovereign who governs all, receives the correct Way and rests with ease, allowing those below to attend to their respective duties. The Bright Hall, symbolizing the place where orders are issued, promulgates its commands, and no part of the government obstructs the Great Way. Cultivate yourself inwardly, making body and mind quiet and empty. Trace things back to their source, guard the inner light, and use inward vision to observe the body. Close the outer openings of the ears, eyes, mouth, and nose, and strengthen the numinous root within. Let the three lights of the sun, moon, and stars sink from view, and gently nourish the inner child pearl, a metaphor for the Elixir Pearl in internal alchemy. It seems invisible, yet is actually close at hand and easy to find.

“Aligning with the Pole Star, at ease in the lower realm” means that the spirit embryo rests securely in the central palace, like a ruler seated in the Hall of Light, or the Pole Star fixed at the center of the heavens. The Qi of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases is like the ministers below. When ruler and ministers each keep to their place and work in harmony, as the Pole Star sits steady in the heavens, the Qi of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases flows smoothly and coherently, and the liquids of metal and water arise within the cauldron chamber. The ruler is thereby nourished, remaining still and following its natural course until it reaches the state of the original source of emptiness, where transformation unfolds of itself.

“Concealing its source, illuminating within, it shines upon the bodily form” means that metal can gather in its radiance and also shine by itself; when joined with fire, its brightness grows stronger. Here, “metal” and “fire” are Neidan terms for the substances and the timing of the fire process involved in cultivation.

“Seal the opening” refers to the mouth. Once the Metal Tiger, a Neidan symbol for metal Qi, has been placed in the central palace, the mouth of the cauldron must be firmly sealed. The true essence of the three lights of the sun, moon, and stars is then drawn into the cauldron to nourish the spirit mercury of the child pearl, a Neidan term for the numinous mercury cultivated in the process. Hence the phrase “the three lights sink deep”: the essence of the three lights descends into the cauldron. The three lights are the Yang Fire, Yin Tally, and Metal Embryo, symbolizing the sun, moon, and stars respectively. The outer process also has three lights, distributed through the changes of the moving and still lines, the moments of the cycle, and the transformations of the Yin and Yang tallies and fire. Within and without, Yin-Yang takes many forms of change, too many to describe one by one. At this subtle stage, without oral instructions, it is difficult to convey the teaching through writing alone.

The transformations of metal and mercury within the cauldron are unfathomable and difficult to observe. If one follows the workings of Heaven’s secrets and masters their principles, metal and mercury can be kept from dissipating, allowing the Dragon and Tiger to unite—a Neidan term for the joining of Yin and Yang Qi. This is why the text says, “close at hand and easy to attain.” The Yin Tally says, “The universe lies in the hands; the myriad transformations arise from the body.”

Chapter Twenty-One: Gradually Penetrating the Principle of the Yellow Center

The Yellow Center gradually penetrates the principle, and its nourishing Qi spreads throughout the skin. Only by beginning with rectitude can one complete the cultivation; only when the Way of Qian is established can its furthest reaches be upheld. “One” can be used to conceal the mystery within, leaving the world unable to know it.

The Book of Changes says: “The noble person holds the principle of centrality and correctness in the heart, dwells upright in their proper place, and keeps virtue within. It then reaches through the limbs and appears in their work. This is virtue brought to its utmost.”

Here, the refinement and nurturing of a golden tiger in a vessel serves as a metaphor. At first, the golden tiger receives Yin-Yang essence and Qi from outside and is gradually nourished. After receiving Qi, it first sends out tender shoots, then straightens its branches, and finally bears fruit. This is a borrowed metaphor for the first sprouting of golden sand and true mercury. What is called “One” is water. Within the blue-green water, the fundamental true gold is concealed in a vessel, sealed and covered over, beyond the perception of ordinary people.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The High De Acts Without Action

Those of high De follow their nature and do not seek through observation and investigation. Those of low De act deliberately and keep their activity ceaseless. When the upper opening is closed, this is called “being”; when the lower opening is closed, this is called “origin.” “Origin” nourishes what is above, where wondrous De resides. This describes the principle of the two apertures, with the Qi of metal also needing to accord with them.

Here, “high De” refers to water above, and “low De” to fire below. The joining of water and fire, called “water and fire in harmony,” means the union of Qian and Kun. Water above is usually still and belongs to Yin; it follows its nature and does not seek through observation. Fire below is constantly moving, circulating through the twelve periods of the day, and never ceasing in its function.

“Closing above is called being” refers to inner water; “closing below is called nonbeing” refers to outer fire. “Nonbeing nourishes what is above” means that fire circulates the Qi of the Four Seasons and Five Phases to nourish the spirit embryo—the inner embryo formed through cultivation and refinement. Hence it is said that wondrous De resides above; here this refers to the spirit embryo, and to golden mercury. The principle of the two apertures and their accord with the Qi of metal means that the Yin and Yang Qi of water and fire must be closed at the same time and respond to one another for the divine medicine to be refined. The other matters follow a different method. Wei Boyang, the Eastern Han alchemist, did not understand this chapter. Peng Xiao held that it expounds in depth the general outline of the symbolic correspondences and what is meant by the divine medicine.

Understand how to preserve the relationship between white and black, and their wondrous effects will naturally appear. “White” here refers to metal essence; “black” refers to the foundation of Water. Water is the pivot of the Dao (the Way). Its number is one, and it is the beginning of Yin-Yang, the Five Phases, and all things. Water contains mysterious Qi and gives birth to the yellow sprout—the essence that forms during the alchemical process. The movement led by Metal among the Five Phases is linked to the “River Chariot” of the north, a force that drives the movement of Qi within the body. Thus lead is black on the outside, yet conceals golden radiance within. It is like someone wearing coarse cloth while hiding a piece of jade in their arms: outwardly ordinary, even foolish.

“White” is Metal, and “black” is Water. Understand the fundamental roles of Metal and Water and use them as the basis for preparing the elixir; then wondrous Qi will arise within the crucible. That is why it is said, “the spirits arrive of themselves.” White Metal is born from Water and is an important material for making ritual implements. Water’s nature is to flow without end; Metal and Water are linked, together forming the pivot of the Dao. Water’s number is one, representing the beginning of Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang, the Five Phases, and all things. The sequence of numbers for the Five Phases is: Water one, Fire two, Wood three, Metal four, Earth five. “The mysterious contains the yellow sprout” means that Metal and Water unite to produce the yellow sprout. The “River Chariot” refers to the two Qi of Water and Fire; as they move, they transform into the Five Phases. Before lead is refined into white Metal, it is mixed with ore, dark on the outside yet concealing golden radiance within—like someone clothed in coarse fabric who hides jade in their arms.

Metal Is the Mother of Water, Chapter Twenty-Four

Metal is the mother of Water, and the mother conceals the fetus. Water is the child of Metal, and the child is hidden in the mother’s womb. The principles understood by the True Person—one who has attained the Dao—are subtle beyond measure, seeming both present and absent. In the deep and vast abyss, they sink and rise; then they withdraw and spread out, each keeping to a different direction.

Water is born from Metal, and Metal is the mother of Water. That is, after Metal gives rise to Water, Water then retreats into Metal, as though a son were hidden in his mother’s womb. Water is the child of Metal, concealed within the maternal body. This refers to black lead, after its transformation, residing in the position of the West and becoming the embryo of the White Tiger, the symbol of Metal. Water contains Metal, then hides itself again in Metal’s womb: this is true mercury.

“The True Person is wondrous beyond measure; each keeps to its own corner of the realm.” This means that true mercury, pressed by the external talismanic fire—the timing and measures of fire used in alchemical refinement—remains within the maternal body. It sinks and rises by turns, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, seeming at once present and absent. It advances and withdraws in response to changes in the talismanic signs, each keeping within its own bounds and thus daring neither to cross them nor to move recklessly. In this chapter, Wei Boyang profoundly reveals an inner landscape: the state in which true Jing, the subtle substance cultivated and refined, appears and disappears cannot be directly detected by sight or hearing; it is obscure and difficult to fathom. Truly mysterious and sacred.

Chapter Twenty-Five: “Gathering It, It Is Like White”

The substance gathered is white; after refinement, it becomes red. During the refining, it is protected by an outer layer, allowing the white inner substance to rest securely within. It is about one inch across, round and square, mingled and congealed, with its parts held in check by one another. It came into being before Heaven and Earth and is exalted and precious.

To examine the form of lead: it is white, meaning that at the very beginning of the refining process, white metal—the white metal used in alchemical work—is taken as the primary substance. After it has been fired and worked, the finished product is vermilion red, meaning that it is then refined with intense heat until it turns red. During the process, the white material forms an outer protective layer, allowing the pure substance within to rest securely. This refers to using white metal as the spirit chamber, the vessel that contains and protects the elixir.

The spirit chamber is both square and round in shape, about one inch in diameter, with its interior blended together and its parts fitting closely. Here, the metal embryo—the embryo formed through alchemical work—symbolizes primordial chaos, and is made in two halves, one above the other. The space between them, about one inch across and both square and round, is where true mercury, an alchemical substance that works in conjunction with true lead, is placed. Once the two halves are joined, they must be sealed tightly with clay and other materials, so that the Yin-Yang energies unite and not even the smallest amount escapes. In this way, the Dragon and Tiger—the mutually cooperating substances, including lead and mercury—are nurtured by warmth. The “Ancient Song” says, “Seal the embryo fast, let nothing escape; transformation comes in an instant.” It means that once the elixir embryo is sealed so it cannot leak, transformation can occur swiftly.

True lead came into being before Heaven and Earth and holds a lofty, honored place. In other words, before Heaven and Earth took shape, when all things remained in primordial chaos, lead had already received the One and appeared. Only afterward did Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and all things gradually come into being. Lead is therefore regarded as the parents of Heaven and Earth and the root of Yin-Yang. The sages seek the source from which Heaven and Earth arose and make it the foundation of the Great Medicine. They gather the pure essence of Yin-Yang as the material for the Reverted Elixir. This creative transformation, then, cannot be compared with ordinary things.

At the outset of refining the elixir, one must take the root of Heaven and Earth as the root of the medicine, and the mother of Yin-Yang as the mother of the elixir. If Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang cannot arise from these, this is not the Way of the Golden Liquid Reverted Elixir. If one instead uses things that came into being only after Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang had formed—such as the five metals and eight minerals, plant juices and ashes, morning frost and evening dew, snowmelt and ice water, green salt and white brine, or other miscellaneous substances—it will likely be difficult to succeed. Those who share this aspiration and Way should reflect carefully; with time, they will naturally come to understand. Thus, a later section says: “Study it again and again, and in time it will be firmly remembered; perhaps the spirits will bring this person to fruition.” Related discussion appears in Chapter Eighty-Three of the next volume.

Beside it are walls and gate towers shaped like Penghu, the legendary mountain of immortals. They enclose the space on all sides, with winding passages joined together. The defenses are secure, keeping out harmful influences; winding covered walkways connect with one another to guard against mishap. In this way, the mind and spirit can remain calm, free from worry and strain. When spirit and Qi fill the chamber, they will not dissipate. Guard them and one will flourish; lose them and one will decline. Whether moving or still, resting or active, they remain with a person at all times.

In every practice of refining the Returning Elixir—the elixir spoken of in Daoist Neidan or Waidan—there are an altar, a furnace, and a crucible, joined one above the other and shaped like Penghu, open around all four sides. Inside the crucible are a spirit chamber and a Golden Embryo, symbolic inner spaces and an elixir embryo used in alchemical practice, linked by winding passages. Outside the crucible, pivot fittings and luting seal and protect it, keeping out harmful influences and preventing the loss of true Qi. This prevents the rise of distracting thoughts and guards against excessive strain.

Even with these protections in place and spirit and Qi filling the chamber, Yin-Yang must still be set in motion so that they interact. Only then can true Jing be retained and transformation brought about. If the firing times—the adjustment of heat and timing in alchemical practice—are mishandled, true Jing will continue to dissipate even if it has been retained within. The key is to harmonize Water and Fire, guarding them so they do not disperse. By doing so, one will flourish. True Qi remains with a person at all times, whether moving, still, or at rest.

None of these are proper methods of cultivation. Some turn their attention inward, yet their minds are crowded with distracting thoughts. Others step in imitation of the stars’ movements, mixing the Six Jia (the stem-and-branch spirits of the Daoist calendar) indiscriminately with the days and dates. Still others practice sexual techniques, placing their faith in notions such as “nine-one” and disturbing their original Qi and reproductive energy. They strain their stomachs and intestines by swallowing breaths, claiming to exhale vital energy and inhale malign influences. They stay awake day and night, taking no rest even at the beginnings or ends of the month.

Such practices only leave the body increasingly exhausted and the mind so clouded it seems deranged. Qi and blood surge restlessly through the hundred channels, making it impossible to regain stillness. These practitioners pile up earth to build altars and offer sacrifices morning and evening. When they see the forms of spirits and gods, or receive some sign in a dream, they rejoice and assume they are sure to prolong their lives. Yet they die suddenly, their corpses left to decay in the open.

Their various practices often violate what is right and go against the essential principles of cultivation. There are many teachings and techniques of this kind, in the thousands and tens of thousands. They depart from the Daoist teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi and deviate from the Nine Capitals, the Daoist realm of the immortals.

All these methods of cultivation depart from the true path. Wei Boyang held that people did not understand the foundations of the Great Dao, so they turned instead to minor, unorthodox practices. Some visualize subtle images in the mind, perform ritual steps, or carry out rites according to the days and hours of the Six Jia cycle. At most, these are introductory steps for beginners.

Others draw in and receive Qi from external sources, practice sexual techniques, or bend and stretch the body, clench the fingers, hold their breath, and swallow saliva. Such practices throw the breath into disorder and exhaust the spirit. They harm the hun and po souls, so that the Yang spirit flees the body and Yin malign energies assail the lungs and liver. This happens because the inner and outer realms harm one another, and Yin and Yang energies press against each other: the Seven Po souls wander within a body near death; the Three Corpses (spirits said in Daoism to lie dormant within the body, damage a person’s Jing and Qi, and urge them to do evil) disturb the eyes; the Qi within surges chaotically; and the Three Dantians (upper, middle, and lower energy centers) fall into disorder. People hope to live long, yet instead damage their lives. How could they attain stillness and clarity?

Some set up an altar and sacrifice to malign ghosts, hoping thereby to seek the Dao and prolong life. But this only lets ghostly energy invade their Jing and Hun, while malign influences disturb their minds. At times they have intercourse with ghosts in dreams; at others, they see ghostly shapes or hear ghostly voices. They think immortality is within reach, yet fail to understand that one’s nature and life must be cultivated through one’s own practice. Instead, they shorten their lives and ultimately abandon their decaying bodies. Such practices are many, and all belong to the left-hand path.

The harder people in these practices try to achieve quick results, the longer it takes. They violate the most true Great Dao and the principles of Heaven, falsely claiming to be profound arts of the Dao. In reality, they go against the writings of the Yellow Emperor, obscure the true principles of Daoist cultivation, and entirely abandon the teachings of the Lord Lao. For this reason, Wei Boyang did not want people to practice unorthodox methods. He wanted them to enter the true path directly and study widely the various classics. Even if such methods bring some success, in the end death and bodily decay cannot be avoided. Only by taking the Golden Elixir of Liquid Gold (the Golden Elixir symbolizing successful refinement in Daoist internal alchemy) can one return from old age to youth and attain the status of a perfected person, enduring as long as Heaven.

Thus the scripture says: “When cinnabar enters the five organs, it is as though mist disperses and wind and rain descend. When the medicine’s Qi steams through the limbs, the complexion becomes rosy and bright. White hair turns black, and tender new teeth grow. An old man regains the prime of life; an old woman becomes young again. The body is transformed and worldly calamities cast off: such a person is called a perfected person.” This is the teaching of the thirty-second chapter of this volume. The Scripture of the Yellow Court also says: “Even at the age of one hundred and twenty, it may still be possible to regain youth. Beyond that age, cultivating the Dao is truly difficult. One must await the Elixir of Nine Cycles and Eight Gems, which uses the essences of the sun and moon to rescue the aged and infirm.” From this, we can see that the Golden Elixir method described in the scriptures was regarded as the highest art of the Dao, capable of enabling one to ascend in broad daylight and live forever.

Those who understand the Dao grasp its essential meaning and suddenly see the path of cultivation. From then on, they should practice diligently, day and night without rest. After taking the elixir they have refined for three years, they will become light enough to ascend and travel far and wide. Passing through fire will not burn them, and entering water will not wet them. They can appear or vanish at will, and so enjoy lasting ease without sorrow. Once their Dao practice is complete and their De fulfilled, they should withdraw from the world and wait for the right moment. When the Great One (Taiyi), the spirit who oversees success in refining the elixir, summons them, they move to the Central Continent (Zhongzhou), the celestial realm where, according to legend, those who attain the Dao are registered. When their merit and virtue are complete, they ascend to Heaven and receive their name in the register of immortals, along with a talismanic seal.

Wei Boyang uses this passage to counsel those devoted to cultivating the Dao: they should carefully grasp its essential meaning, then practice diligently day and night without ever stopping. Once the elixir has been refined, they should take it for three years. They will then become light enough to travel far, and pass through water and fire without hindrance; they will also be able to appear or vanish at will. Cultivators should also quietly do good and accumulate merit, withdrawing from the world to await the right moment. After the Great One (Taiyi), the presiding spirit of elixir cultivation, summons them, they move to the Central Continent. When the appointed day arrives, they can ascend to Heaven and receive their name in the register of immortals, along with a talismanic seal. According to the account here, when ordinary people first attain the Dao, their names are engraved on golden tablets in the Central Continent. They then receive the register of immortals and its talismanic records, gaining the right to ascend to Heaven.

The account in the “Fire Record” chapter is no fiction: it uses the images and numbers of the Book of Changes (Yijing) to explain the principles of elixir refinement. The crescent moon shape is used as a metaphor for the cauldron and furnace; the White Tiger is the key to the refining process; Mercury (the Sun) becomes the flowing “liquid pearl,” accompanied by the Azure Dragon. When the Yin-Yang Qi of the east and west are brought together, the hun and po souls condense with one another. The waxing crescent corresponds to the number eight of the Dui trigram, while the waning crescent corresponds to the number eight of the Gen trigram. When the vital essences of the two crescents unite, they form the shapes of Qian and Kun. The two eights together correspond to one jin, reflecting the pattern of the Book of Changes; their movement is properly aligned and does not stray. Each zhu is divided into three hundred and eighty-four parts, which also corresponds to the number of the hexagram lines.

Although the use of fire in alchemy has been recorded, it must be carried out according to the principles of the Yi Jing, following the changes in the hexagram lines and setting the hexagrams “Pi” and “Tai” in motion. The “crescent moon” inside the vessel is a moon shape turned upward. The Metal Tiger resides within it and is key to the circulation of the alchemical substances. Cinnabar Mercury and the Azure Dragon, driven by the fires of Bing and Ding—symbols of the fire energy of the south—and by the Vermilion Bird, the divine creature that symbolizes fire, follow the proper timing and enter together into the embryonic body of the Golden Elixir. This is called “raising the east to join with the west”: the Yin-Yang energies of east and west are brought together. The souls refer to the Azure Dragon of the east, while the animal souls refer to the White Tiger of the west. The upper and lower arcs together weigh forty-five liang, or 384 zhu, corresponding to the phases of Yin-Yang waxing and waning over the course of a month. In this way, the forms of Qian and Kun are fully formed, and their number also accords with one complete circuit of the heavens.

Chapter Thirty: Metal Enters the Fierce Fire

When metal enters a fierce fire, it does not lose its essence or luster. Since the opening of Heaven and Earth, the light of the sun and moon has not diminished, nor has the weight of metal changed; the forms of the sun and moon remain as before. Metal originally comes from within the moon. At dawn on the first day of the month, it receives the sun’s response. Metal returns to its mother, and at the end of the month, the sun and moon embrace one another. It hides its outward form and sinks into profound stillness and emptiness. When metal recovers its original nature, its majestic radiance appears once more within the vessel.

Within the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), Fire overcomes Metal. Yet when Metal is refined by Fire, it can be made into implements, and neither Metal nor Fire is harmed. Thus Metal, when nurtured in the crucible, is not dissipated; its luster instead grows brighter. Since the establishment of the Qian-Kun crucible—the vessel for refining and nourishing formed by the pairing of the sun and moon, Heaven and Earth—the sun and moon have circulated, sending Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) into the crucible. They benefit one another and thereby become purer and brighter. The substance of Metal retains its original weight, while the sun and moon continually circle around it and shine upon it.

Metal originally arises from within the moon. Since Metal is the Yin essence of minerals and occupies the West, it is said that “Metal is born from the moon.” From the first day of the lunar month, the moon receives the sun’s regulation, and Metal is thereby generated. When Metal returns to its mother, this means that the moon turns to receive governance, and Metal returns to Water. At the end of the month, Yang energy is exhausted; these two things, Metal and Water, then envelop one another and withdraw within the boundary, sinking into a void and hidden depth. The end of the month symbolizes the close of the year, while the beginning of the month symbolizes the start of the new year.

Once Metal and Water have taken shape, the crucible chamber must contain their harmonizing Qi for a long time before its efficacy appears. Hence the saying, “The crucible rejoices.” “Rejoicing” means being harmonious and serene. When harmony and serenity prevail, Metal and Water congeal, and the natural way followed in refining and nourishing is complete.

When the Zi and Wu Numbers Unite, They Make Three, Chapter 31

Zi and Wu unite to make three; Wu and Ji together are called five. Once three and five are harmonized, the eight minerals and substances used in alchemical refining are properly governed and ordered. The Qi of the breath draws them together; quiet the mind and gather the spirit, imagining them joined as husband and wife. Yellow Earth is the father of Metal, and the Flowing Pearl (mercury) is the mother of Water. Water is restrained by Earth, which overcomes it; once Earth takes its place, Water cannot move recklessly. The Vermilion Bird, the spirit-bird that symbolizes Fire, balances and harmonizes their opposing forces. If Water’s force becomes too strong, Fire is extinguished; when both are exhausted, they ultimately return to thick Earth. When these three qualities come together, they unite with their shared source and ancestral substance.

The number of Zi Water is “one,” and the number of Wu Fire is “two”; when the two combine, they make “three.” The number of Wu-Ji Earth is “five”; when three and five combine, they make eight. Thus Water, Fire, and Earth are brought into harmony, and the eight substances each follow their proper order. The Azure Dragon (symbolizing Wood or Yang energy) calls to the White Tiger (symbolizing Metal or Yin energy), and the White Tiger draws in the Azure Dragon’s vital essence. They move back and forth like breath, nourishing one another; when they focus their spirits and become still, they join like husband and wife.

Yellow Earth is the father of Metal, and the Flowing Pearl (mercury) is the mother of Water. Earth can restrain mercury and keep it from scattering. This corresponds to the turning point at the end of each season, when Fire energy gives rise to Earth. Metal is refined by the spirit of the Vermilion Bird (symbolizing Fire). The relative strength of Fire and Metal must be brought into balance: when Water grows strong, Fire is extinguished. The moon passes from darkness to the new moon; when one cycle ends, another begins. In the end, this is due to Earth’s De. Once these three qualities have come together, their natures share a single source. This means that Metal and Fire arise from the Qi of Water, originating in the primordial Nine Qi that existed before Heaven, and that they can generate and transform the Five Phases. The passage refers to more than just the two substances Metal and Fire.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Giant Sesame Brings Long Life

Giant sesame, a term for a substance used in alchemy, can help people live longer; the Reverted Elixir, produced through refinement, can be ingested. Metal does not readily decay or rot, so it is a treasure among things. When an adept takes it, life is prolonged. Earth moves through the four seasons, maintaining boundaries and setting measures. Golden sand enters the five zang organs like mist spreading and rain falling. Its medicinal Qi steams through the body and reaches the limbs, giving the face a lustrous, gemlike glow. When an adept takes it, life is prolonged.

Earth moves through the four seasons, maintaining boundaries and setting measures. Golden sand enters the five zang organs like mist spreading and rain falling. Its medicinal Qi steams through the body and reaches the limbs, giving the face a healthy glow. White hair turns black again, and lost teeth grow back. An old man regains the strength of his prime, and an old woman becomes a young woman. Their appearance is transformed and they escape the calamities of the world; for this reason, giant sesame is called “the perfected person.”

Even if hemp seed—that is, sesame—when eaten can help people live longer, how much more so when the Golden Elixir is taken by mouth! The elixir begins with metallic substances as its ingredients. True gold is the mother of all things and the foundation of elixir-making. It can nourish the internal organs and limbs, enabling a person to live for a long time. Gold is firm in substance and does not decay or crumble, so it is regarded as the source of the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth. The Daode Jing says, “The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of the myriad things.” This is the principle it describes. Before Heaven and Earth took shape, there was first a single Qi, from which the myriad forms arose. Gold is the root of water, so the mother of true gold can produce the cinnabar Golden Elixir. Earth moves through the four seasons; Wei Boyang used this to instruct later generations in refining and taking elixirs. This cinnabar taken by mouth is the key to the Way of the Elixir from beginning to end. The elixir’s wondrous transformations are hard to fathom, like clouds and mist, wind and rain. It can restore youth and delay aging, as though all things sprout and grow, ultimately attaining long life.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Lead Powder Cast into Fire

Lead powder, an ancient pigment made from lead, changes color when cast into fire, then becomes lead again. When ice and snow meet warm water, they melt and return to their mysterious source. Gold takes sand as its principal ingredient and is tempered by the blending of mercury. Transformation depends on the true nature of the ingredients; beginning and end give rise to one another. To refine an elixir for consumption and the quest for immortality, one must choose materials of the same nature.

Millet is sown from millet seed, and chicks are hatched from eggs. When things of the same kind assist one another and follow their natural course, success comes easily. A fish’s eye cannot serve as a pearl, and mugwort cannot be made into a wooden box. Only things of the same kind can accord with one another; if their natures conflict, no treasure can be refined. Thus sparrows do not produce phoenixes, and foxes and rabbits do not raise horses. Water flows downward; it does not burn as it rises. Fire rises upward; it does not moisten what lies below.

White powder made from lead is produced from black lead and, when placed in a fire, returns to lead. Ice and snow form when water vapor condenses; pour hot water over them and they melt back into water. Gold sand and mercury belong to the same category: with true gold as their mother substance, they can give rise again to gold sand and mercury. Thus the scripture says, “To sow grain, use its seed; to keep a hen’s egg warm, use her egg.” Once they receive Qi and mature, grain grows from the seed and a chick hatches from the egg. This is the natural law by which like gives rise to like, each generation following the one before it.

Refining with materials such as metals and stones, plants and trees, frost and dew, ice and snow, or salt brine is using the wrong ingredients. The earlier commentary has explained in detail that one should take the “Root of Heaven and Earth”—the source from which all things in Heaven and Earth come into being—as the root of the medicine, and “the mother of true gold”—the fundamental substance capable of generating gold sand and mercury—as its mother. Yin and Yang then unite to produce the essence, forming gold sand and numinous mercury, which are regarded as medicines for longevity. Is this not precisely the right understanding? Hence it is said that sparrows cannot produce phoenixes, and foxes and rabbits do not raise horses. Fire is hot by nature and rises; it cannot be made moist and flow downward. Water is moist by nature and flows downward; it cannot be made hot and rise. Reasoning from the original nature of things and the law that like gives rise to like, it is clear that the mother of gold can produce gold sand.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Many Scholars in the World (Chapter Thirty-Four, beginning with “Many scholars in the world”)

Many people in the world are widely learned and exceptionally talented. They devote themselves to pursuing the subtle and profound Dao, yet have no opportunity to meet an enlightened master. They rely only on books and oral instructions, making reckless attempts based on their own ideas. They waste their money preparing substances such as stone bile, mica, lodestone, and sulfur, hoping in this way to attain long life and transcend the world. Since these substances each have different properties, how could they be refined into one? Repeating such attempts is bound to lead to repeated failure. Even with the hope of a lucky outcome, success is ultimately unlikely. Only the sages understand the principle at work.

Some people practice from youth until their hair turns white, yet still begin to doubt when they are halfway along. They turn away from the right path, remain trapped in confusion, and take a crooked road. It is like looking at things through a tube: one’s view is narrow, and it is difficult to foresee what lies ahead.

Wei Gong said: Many learned Confucians in the world take an interest in Daoist arts, refining elixirs and seeking the mysterious, but they have not met an enlightened master. They follow only the words in books and oral instructions, then make their own conjectures, wasting their money in vain. They prepare all kinds of substances in the hope of attaining long life and transcending the world. Year after year, until their hair turns white, they remain stubbornly unchanged, confined by narrow understanding and led onto a deviant path. After a thousand attempts and ten thousand failures, the outcome is hard to predict. The different properties of the various substances have already been explained in the earlier commentary.

As for the true sages, foremost among them is Fuxi, who is said to have created the Eight Trigrams (Bagua): he first drew them, taking Heaven and Earth as his model. King Wen of Zhou, progenitor of the imperial line, established the forms of the hexagrams and developed the explanations of their changing lines. Confucius, outstanding among the sages, composed the Ten Wings, ten commentaries that elucidate the Zhouyi, to supplement it. These three rulers were exceptional figures born of Heaven. They arose in succession, each responding to the needs of his time and governing the world.

Great sages such as Fuxi were the first to draw the Eight Trigrams (Bagua), using them to model themselves on Heaven and Earth. King Wen of Zhou inherited and developed the principles of the Yi, writing the explanations for the hexagrams and their lines. Confucius compiled the Ten Wings, elaborating on and supporting those principles. All three sages were exceptional figures born of Heaven. They arose in succession, governing the world in response to the times. Each had particular strengths, and their achievements came in a particular order, yet their merit and virtue were equal. Their writings carried on what came before and examined things in fine detail, attending even to differences as minute as fractions of a zhu. Visible things are easy to measure, but changes whose signs have yet to appear are hard to predict. The sages established standards for others to follow and left the world such texts as the Book of Songs and the Book of Documents. Cultivators draw on the understanding handed down by the ancient sages and, through transmission from their teachers, each comes to grasp its principles. The Way of the sages is like a curtain that veils it, seeming almost clear to view; yet when one strains one’s eyes from a high terrace to look afar, it seems lofty and boundless.

Wei Boyang praises the three sages Fuxi, King Wen, and Confucius, describing them as exceptionally gifted and each possessing clear virtue. They developed the principles of the Yi, bringing the patterns of Heaven, Earth, and all things into accord. They arranged the Book of Songs and the Book of Documents, leaving distinctions of duty and instructions for rulers, ministers, and common people. They also established the images and numbers of the hexagrams and lines, calculating in detail until they had exhausted the number of the Great Expansion—the number used in the Yi’s divinatory calculations. Though Heaven and Earth are vast, the patterns of obstruction and prosperity, of blockage and free passage, are difficult to grasp completely. Though Yin and Yang are subtle and formless, they contain the patterns of movement and stillness, of change. Thus the sages relied on these principles to seek the Great Way: they took Qian and Kun to symbolize the cauldron and furnace, made the One Qi their foundation and the principle that governs the myriad things, and used Yin and Yang to connect the sun’s shadow with the seasons, enabling the myriad things to arise and transform as they pass through the Six Emptinesses—the six positions through which Yin and Yang move in their transformations.

What is visible and easy to measure is Heaven and Earth; what lacks evident signs and is hard to predict is Yin and Yang. If the three sages had not developed the Yi, how could the water and fire used in elixir-making have been arranged? If the sages of past generations had not left their texts, what method or basis would cultivators have had for directing the Dragon and Tiger—alchemical terms for forces such as Yin and Yang, which are opposed yet act upon one another? Thus cultivators gain understanding through the insights left by the ancient sages. The Way of the sages seems clear to view, like a curtain, but when one truly looks up and probes into it, it is lofty and without limit. This illustrates how the Way of the sages appears higher the more one looks up to it, and deeper the more one studies it. By relying on the principles of the Yi, one can further explain the Fire Record, which the following section will briefly discuss.

The Fire Record in Six Hundred Chapters, chapter thirty-six.

The Huojì contains six hundred sections, yet the principles it presents are essentially the same throughout. Its words explain these principles repeatedly and earnestly, but people in the world are unfamiliar with them and unwilling to reflect on them carefully. Tracing their origins and development, I find that darkness and brightness have always depended on one another. I have privately explained these words to people of De. How could I dare set them down in a book lightly? Yet if I keep silent and thereby cut off the transmission of the Great Dao, I fear I would incur blame. To commit my thoughts to bamboo and silk risks revealing the secrets of Heaven. So I hesitated and sighed, weighing the matter again and again, before finally recording these teachings with reluctance. The alchemical process has its own rules, and I cannot bear to disclose them all. I will outline only the essentials, so that its key points may become clear.

The six hundred sections of the Huojì were likely arranged according to the courses of the stars through the celestial circuit and the patterns of change in the firing process. Each morning and evening corresponds to a hexagram suited to the activity of that time. The work has six hundred sections because their sequence corresponds throughout: the year corresponds to the months, the months to the days, and the days to the hours. Wei Boyang, author of the Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three), wished neither to remain silent and conceal the Great Dao nor to write its contents plainly on bamboo and silk, for fear of revealing the secrets of Heaven. He sighed repeatedly, concerned that later generations would fail to understand. So he outlined only the essentials and disclosed a few key points, leaving the finer details to oral transmission.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Using Gold as a Dike

Use gold as a dike, and water can enter and flow safely. The numerical value of gold is fifteen, and that of water is the same. When working at the furnace, determine the weights of the materials precisely: the water should be a little more than five parts. Gold and water are the two crucial substances, and the weight of the gold must remain at its original amount. Do not add a third material; instead, let the fire combine with them according to the number two. When these three factors come together, transformation takes place in ways that are subtle and beyond prediction.

Beneath the furnace is the Qi of the sun, whose heat lies hidden and steams upward for a short time. The substances being refined first turn to liquid, then congeal. This is called the “Yellow Carriage,” the yellow substance formed during the alchemical process. As the years pass, when the process nears completion, the medicine may deteriorate and even damage a person’s lifespan. The refined substance takes the form of ashes, like fine dust beside a bright window.

The Golden Mother, one of the principal substances used in alchemical practice, sits at the center of the furnace and cauldron. It acts as a barrier for mercury, allowing gold and mercury to unite calmly, their natures drawn to one another. Gold and mercury receive Qi in due season, each obtaining half; together, they make exactly one jin. Once the Golden Sand has been refined, the Golden Mother itself has not been diminished, so its weight remains as it was before.

The third ingredient, which does not enter the furnace, refers to true earth. Gold, fire, and wood, together with water and fire, enter the vessel in due season. Their three natures then come together, while the two medicinal substances restrain one another, bringing about wondrous transformations. The Golden Mother first receives the Sun’s vital essence. Through steaming and refining, it gives rise to liquid, which then congeals into form; this is called the “Yellow Carriage.” As the cyclical course of the heavens proceeds and the workings of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases are completed, each substance withdraws from its visible form, and their effects finally return to the center of the furnace and cauldron. The Yellow Emperor embodies the Virtue of Earth; hence it is said that harming one’s nature shortens one’s life. When it returns to the Virtue of Earth and transforms into earth, the forms of spirit and essence resemble dust before a bright window.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Pounding, Preparing, and Combining

Pound and refine the ingredients, blend them, then place them inside the red furnace door. Seal the joints tightly and make sure the closure is firm and intact. Light a strong fire beneath the furnace and tend it diligently, day and night without pause. At first, use a gentle fire to nurture the ingredients; at the end, apply a fierce fire. Be especially careful in observing the firing stages, inspecting and adjusting the heat and coolness with care. Proceed through twelve stages in turn, personally inspecting the work at the end of each one. When the medicinal Qi is spent and the ingredients seem close to losing their vitality, watch for their transformation. When their color turns purple, they become clearly the Reverted Elixir. Grind it into powder and take a pill-sized dose; even the tiniest measure, called a “knife-point,” has wondrous effects.

To prepare the foundation of the elixir, first pound and refine the ingredients until they become firm, then seal them securely and place them inside the cauldron. This is called the “Red Node.” Carefully inspect the work at the end of each stage. When the medicinal Qi is spent and the ingredients seem close to losing their vitality, watch for their transformation.

First prepare the base of the alchemical furnace, repairing it until it is sturdy and tightly sealed. Then place the ingredients inside the cauldron. This step is called the “Red Gate.” Water above flows downward, while fire below rises upward. Arrange advance and retreat according to the moon’s waxing and waning, its darkness and fullness; regulate ascent and descent through the day and night. Gentle fire begins at the Zi hour (midnight), and fierce fire stops at the Si hour (nine to eleven in the morning). At the Wu hour (noon), begin applying the “Yin Talisman,” continuing until the Hai hour (nine to eleven at night). Set the firing times in motion according to the changing hexagrams Pi and Tai, and regulate them with cold and heat. When the twelve periods have ended, begin again from the start. Once a full cycle of firing is complete, the hun and po souls change form. The elixir turns purple-gold and shines brilliantly: the alchemical work is accomplished. Take a single pill, and its effects are as wondrous as those of a tiny spoonful of medicine. Its miraculous and subtle efficacy is difficult to describe in full.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Inferring the Numbers of the Five Phases

The numbers of the Five Phases should be inferred concisely, without needless complexity. If water alone is used to attack fire, the flame will suddenly go out. The waxing and waning of the sun and moon as they alternate is often seen between the dark moon and the new moon. When water is strong, Kan water can damage the Yang of Li fire; when fire is weak, Li fire grows dim even in daylight. Yin and Yang join and nourish one another—this is the natural order.

The Five Phases are Qi arising from the void: they are hard to observe and hard to name. To measure them only by the fixed numbers of Heaven and Earth is to overlook their workings as they move and change. The Five Phases respond within the cauldron, each taking its proper place. Yin and Yang join; fire rises and water recedes. When water strikes fire, the fire weakens. The sun’s hun rises at dawn on the new moon, while the moon’s po disappears at dusk on the dark moon. Male and female alternate, and cinnabar and mercury generate one another. These are the natural transformations of Heaven and Earth, through which the principles of conjunction in the Way of the Elixir become clear.

Chapter Forty: Names Establish the Nature of Things

A “name” establishes the condition of a thing; a “designation” expresses its nature. Only when the Qi of Metal returns to its original nature can it be called the “Returning Elixir.” I dare not make claims out of thin air; I am simply explaining the matter by following the words of the sages. Ancient texts used the names “Dragon and Tiger” and praised the “Golden Flower.” The Prince of Huainan refined “Autumn Stone,” while Wang Yang added “Yellow Sprout.” The wise can preserve and practice these methods; the unwise need not follow them.

The principles handed down from ancient times to the present have remained consistent. When discussing them with others, one should also speak of what one seeks and intends. Those who study must redouble their efforts and reflect again and again. The most important principles have already been explained plainly and clearly; there is no deception in them.

“Gold” is a metaphor for emotion, while “water” is a metaphor for one’s original nature. Gold can produce mercury, symbolizing emotion’s return to original nature. Gold is born from water, so water is the mother of gold; water, in turn, is born from gold, so gold also becomes the mother of water. This is therefore called “Returning Elixir” (a method of alchemical cultivation in which Yin and Yang alternate and return to their source). The earlier statement that “the mother is hidden within the child’s womb, and the child within the mother’s belly” means the same thing.

Chapter Twenty-Four of this volume also says that Wei Boyang’s intent is easily misunderstood, and even fancifully interpreted by followers of Yuanxu. Some therefore use the hexagram images of the Book of Changes and the Ancient Classic of the Dragon and Tiger to explain it. They also praise the Yellow Emperor, King of Huainan, Wang Yang, and the perfected beings and sages of antiquity, all of whom were able to cultivate this method. It is a path of cultivation shared by ancient and present times, beyond the reach of people of ordinary ability. The author therefore urges later students to reflect carefully: the book’s essential teachings have been made perfectly clear, and its readers have not been deceived.

The upper volume of the Zhouyi Cantongqi, Chapter-by-Chapter Explanation of Its True Meaning is complete. What follows is a collation note describing textual differences between the original and the Siku edition.

Some characters and words have been added, corrected, or deleted on the basis of the Siku edition. In other cases, that edition uses a different form—for example, “kuang guo” is written as “kuang kuo”; “tai xu” is supplied from the edition; “bo” is written as “pi”; and “xie” as “cun.” Repeated corrections later in the text are generally not listed again individually.

The notes also identify several suspected errors or differences among editions. For example, “ya” in “nai ya zi” is changed to “ya” meaning sprout; “hun guan” is written as “guan hun”; “tu zhe” as “tu po”; “cao zhi mu hui” as “cao mu hui zhi”; and “zuo cun” as “zuo zai.” Some entries contain repeated or missing text, but the material listed still records variant readings among different editions.

Qian stands for firmness and strength; Kun stands for yielding and receptivity. The two work together and contain one another. Yang Qi is received from within Yin, and the male and female depend on each other. Only when Yin and Yang unite can the generative process of Heaven and Earth be set in motion and the vital energies unfold. Kan and Li—Water and Fire—take the leading positions, and from them brightness appears. Their depths are mysterious and hard to fathom, and no image can fully express them. The sages observed the workings of Heaven and Earth and arranged the sequence by reference to the classics, yet these transformations have no fixed form. When the four images of Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li blend and unite, they enter the realm of emptiness.

The sixty hexagrams move in sequence, unfolding like a carriage. A dragon-horse is harnessed to the carriage, and a wise ruler follows the seasons as he guides it. When Yin and Yang are in harmony, all things move with them and the road is level and straight. If one takes a crooked path, the way becomes dangerous and obstructed, and may even bring the state to ruin.

In refining the Golden Elixir by the method of the Golden Liquid Returning Elixir, one first establishes the vessel of Qian, Kun, and Already Fulfilled, a site for cultivation that symbolizes and contains the union of Yin and Yang. The essence and Qi of Yin and Yang are then brought together within it. Next, the Water and Fire of Kan and Li are set in motion, and the symbols of the Sun and Moon, the Dragon and Tiger, and others are further brought into balance. Brightness then appears within the vessel, while its mysterious transformations remain beyond scrutiny. This comes from consulting the sages’ classics and investigating the medicine-mother, the root substance or energy of alchemical practice, so that Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li blend and unite. The Qi dynamic of Yin and Yang rises and descends through the Six Emptinesses, the spaces through which Yin-Yang transformations move; it unfolds the Five Qi of the Five Phases, proceeds through the sixty hexagrams and the twelve double-hours, and lays out a pattern of movement like a carriage, ready to receive the dragon-horse.

Within the vessel is also the Golden Mother of the Central Palace, symbolizing the root that governs from the center and nurtures the Elixir. She is like a ruler governing a state, following the seasons as she guides all things. When the Qi dynamic is balanced and flows freely, the Way of Wuwei and naturalness keeps the road level and free from deviation, turning in an unbroken cycle. If the firing process is misjudged or mistimed, the path of movement becomes treacherous, the foundations of cultivation are damaged, and the Golden Consort of the Spirit Chamber—the place where the Elixir is nurtured and its maternal root—is left without support and unable to nourish its generative work.

The key to the Golden Elixir lies entirely in the two words “lead” and “fire.” Lead and fire are also Water and Fire, the foundations of returning and refining the Elixir. The Qi and seasonal influences of the other Five Phases serve as conditions that support the success of cultivation. The Golden Consort is the mother.

When a noble person lives in an unsuitable place, the Golden Consort within the spirit chamber loses her support and cannot nurture what is to be born. Yet the essentials of refining the Golden Elixir lie entirely in “lead” and “fire.” Lead and fire are also water and fire: they are the foundation of refining and returning. The other Five Phases and the seasonal influences of climate merely assist in bringing the work to completion. The Golden Consort symbolizes the mother.

Chapter Forty-Two: The Noble Person Dwells in His Chamber

When a noble person dwells in his chamber and speaks good words, people a thousand li away respond. This refers to a ruler dwelling deep within his palace, issuing commands and carrying out governance in accordance with the rhythms of Yin and Yang. He prepares the implements he needs and waits for the right moment, without violating the trigrams or the order of the months. The Tun hexagram corresponds to Zi and Shen; the Meng hexagram corresponds to Yin and Xu. Each of the other sixty hexagrams also corresponds to particular dates.

The Book of Changes says, “When a noble person dwells in his chamber and speaks good words, people a thousand li away respond.” This is an analogy for the Golden Elder, who represents the agent of transformation in alchemical practice, dwelling within the spirit chamber just as a ruler lives deep within his palace. He must time the movement of water and fire between day and night, as though issuing commands so that every current of Qi takes its proper place. At the same time, he must remain still and practice Wuwei, prepare the implements, and await the right moment, observing and discerning each stage according to the hexagram and line statements and the times marked by the water clock.

The Tun and Meng hexagrams correspond to the transition between day and night. The sixty hexagrams correspond to the seasonal divisions of a month, with one hexagram assigned to day and another to night, cycling without end. Yin and Shen mark the exchange of Yin and Yang, the point where an ending turns into a beginning.

Chapter Forty-Three: Briefly Presenting Two Images

Here I will briefly present two symbolic images, though their underlying principles cannot yet be fully explained. Establishing principles and setting down rules must be accompanied by the practice of benevolence. Violating these patterns brings danger; following them brings good fortune. To act in accordance with the calendar and the seasons requires wholehearted sincerity, reverence, care, and discretion. Observe the dates closely and examine the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang. Even the slightest departure from the proper way may bring regret and misfortune.

Here the text briefly describes the changes associated with Water and Fire, Yin and Yang. From the hour of Zi to the hour of Si, the season corresponds to spring and summer: Fire Qi is in motion, and all things sprout and grow. In the alchemical furnace, this corresponds to nurturing Shen and Jing with warmth, symbolizing the practice of benevolence. From the hour of Wu to the hour of Hai, the season corresponds to autumn and winter: the Qi of the climate is in motion, and all things wither and decline. In the embryo, this corresponds to congealing spiritual Mercury, a symbolic substance used in alchemy, and symbolizes establishing laws and standards of punishment.

Wei Boyang uses this to help later generations understand that the Sun and Moon move according to their own measures, and Yin and Yang wax and wane in turn. In cultivation, one must follow the hexagram lines—the signs and their changes in the Book of Changes—adapt to the shifts of cold and heat, and carefully heed the cautions, so that Yin and Yang wax and wane and come and go in proper order. Then no regret or error will arise in the alchemical vessel, nor will symbolic thieves appear. Red essence will descend, white Mercury will condense into form, and the Golden Liquid Return Elixir—the elixir produced through alchemy—will soon be complete.

Chapter Forty-Four: The Disordered Measures of the Solstices

When the seasonal order of the winter and summer solstices is disrupted, the climate turns abnormal: the depths of winter bring scorching heat, while frost and snow fall in midsummer. When the timing of the spring and autumn equinoxes is thrown into disorder, the lengths of day and night no longer match the markings of the water clock. Winds and rains arrive out of season; floods and droughts alternate; locusts swarm, and all kinds of strange signs follow one after another. Heaven displays ominous portents, and mountains collapse and the earth splits.

When filial children act with sincere devotion, they can move the Supreme Order, a symbol of the Way of Heaven and its highest order. The effects may be near, beginning with those around them; they may also reach far, spreading to foreign lands. Human conduct may bring disaster or blessing; it may bring peace or give rise to war. These four outcomes are all determined by people’s hearts and intentions.

The four solar terms of the Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, and Autumn Equinox correspond to Zi, Wu, Mao, and You among the twelve Earthly Branches, marking the boundaries between the four seasons. The power of Earth within the Five Phases also operates at the end of each season. From this arise symbols such as the Dragon and Tiger and Metal and Wood. The year is further divided into twenty-four solar terms and seventy-two pentads to express the changing flow of Qi through the year.

If timekeeping is even slightly off, the measured courses of the Sun and Moon will be inaccurate. If the firing process is not properly regulated, the rhythms of day and night will also go awry. Excessive Yang Fire can throw Water and Fire out of balance, as if the depths of winter had turned to midsummer heat. If the Yin Talisman—the Yin aspect of the firing process paired with Yang Fire—is mistimed, cold and warmth become confused, as if heavy frost had fallen in high summer. When cinnabar and mercury in the alchemical furnace fail to transform properly, disorder like an infestation of worms arises within it. In a severe upheaval, it is as if mountains collapse and the earth splits, with the Metal Tiger and Wood Dragon surging wildly. A lesser disturbance may still resemble a violent storm, as the Kan youth and Li maiden scatter. The Metal Tiger and Wood Dragon symbolize the Yin and Yang Qi of the West and East, respectively; the Kan youth and Li maiden symbolize the paired Yin and Yang of the North and South.

“Filial sons scattering in flight” refers to the true mercury within the embryo dispersing because the firing process is excessive or mismanaged, and ultimately escaping through the mouth of the crucible. The many changes in alchemy—good and ill fortune, flourishing and decline—depend on the judgment of the person directing the firing process. If one follows the timing of Heaven, measures the courses of the Sun and Moon, carefully adjusts the firing process, and carries it out with focused attention, then harmonious Qi gathers within the crucible and generates Qian essence, the Yang essence. The true sovereign Qi dwells within the embryo and generates Kun purity, the Yin essence. This is called “true mercury.”

Movement and stillness each follow fixed patterns and should be kept in accordance with their guiding principles. The four seasons unfold in their proper order, in harmony with the Qi of Yin and Yang. Hardness and softness each have their proper bounds and must not intermingle or encroach upon one another. The Five Phases each keep to their own limits and should not be increased or diminished arbitrarily. The transformations of the Changes cycle back and forth, now contracting, now extending, in repeated motion.

Whenever water and fire are put to use, their movement and stillness must be adjusted in keeping with the seasons, so that the two kinds of Qi, the dragon and the tiger, work together. The Qi of mother and child are like overlapping wombs, attached to one another. Each of the Five Phases keeps its place; the Qi of the four seasons circulates, increasing and decreasing in due measure without loss. Their movement back and forth proceeds without error, and in this way their effects gradually become apparent.

Chapter Forty-Six: Between the Dark and New Moon

At the transition between the dark moon and the new moon—the dark moon being the end of the lunar month, and the new moon its beginning—one must move through the interval according to the principles of the tally. The Qi is dim and unformed, while Yin and Yang follow one another like female and male. Fluids nourish and moisten, allowing transformation to flow freely. The wondrous workings of Heaven and Earth cannot be measured. By cultivating in accordance with this pattern, one can settle oneself and put subtle arts into practice. Cultivation begins in the northeast, where the lunar lodges Ji and Dou are located; then it turns to the right, like the moon shedding its first light. When the Qi lies hidden, the scene gradually comes into view; once it stirs and unfolds, its radiance also becomes visible.

At the meeting of darkness and new moon—that is, the stage when Metal and Water unite—lies after the Gen position and before the Yin position. The signs that mark the movement of Yang Qi have already receded. Metal and Water share the same source, so they merge completely and Yin and Yang are matched. The flowing Qi gradually moistens the womb of the liquid mother, bringing the numinous spirit into life. Its transformations cannot be measured.

It can also settle itself and carry out its function, concealing its substance and hiding its traces as it lies dormant in the depths. Once its essential radiance begins to appear, it turns from the northeast. This is like the moon waxing anew at the new moon: beginning with the lunar mansions Ji and Dou, it turns toward the west and releases the first light of the waxing moon. Its brightness gradually emerges and flickers. At this point it still lies hidden within Yin, gathering strength to recover its original, full form. Thus, in the northeast, at the Gen position, it follows the directions of beginning and ending and stirs the hidden dragon once more.

This is a metaphor for the continuous cycle of signs reaching the interval between Xu and Hai, when the Metal and Water in the cauldron seem to pass through darkness and new moon, approaching the sign of Yang Qi first arising at the hour of Zi. The Gen position is not far from the Yin position, which is why the text says, “the moon’s disk emerges, and light begins to sprout.” At the meeting of darkness and new moon, the Metal Mother is thoroughly moistened by Metal and Water. At the beginning of the lunar month, it encounters the first Yang fire arising at the hour of Zi. Metal meets fire and shines brightly once more; it turns to the left and releases its radiance, gradually forming the dragon body. Hence the following passage says that waxing and waning gradually change and eventually return to their beginning.

Chapter Forty-Seven: Above the Zhang of Ang and Bi.

After the moon gradually becomes full, Yang energy begins to appear with the Zhen trigram, which symbolizes thunder and the first stirrings of Yang. As Yang energy has only just begun to emerge, it is like “the first nine: the hidden dragon”—the dragon lies beneath the water, symbolizing Yang energy that has not yet become manifest.

The number three establishes Yang, while the number eight governs Yin. Thus, signs of movement appear on the third day, and on the eighth day the pattern shifts to the Dui trigram, which symbolizes a marsh and the gradual growth of Yin energy. At “the second nine: the dragon appears,” Yang energy begins to show itself in a state of calm brightness. After the sequence of “three and five,” the virtue of Yang energy gradually takes shape, and the Qian trigram, symbolizing pure Yang, is formed.

At “the third nine,” Yang energy is strong, yet one must remain vigilant day and night, like a dragon. At this point, subtle signs of correspondence begin to wane. Strength and decline gradually alternate, until things return at last to their original state. The Xun trigram, symbolizing wind and the receptive continuation of Yin energy, then follows in this cycle of change. Practitioners should maintain a firm grounding and bring things into harmony.

At “the fourth nine,” Yang energy seems poised to leap, yet not quite to leap. If one fails to judge the moment well while advancing or retreating, one may fall into danger. The Gen trigram, symbolizing a mountain and stillness, governs when to stop and when to advance; one must not act before the time is right. On the twenty-third day, one should carefully observe the hinge period, when the moon shifts between waxing and waning.

At “the fifth nine,” Yang energy rises like a flying dragon, occupying the heavenly position and bringing an auspicious sign. Next, the sixth five of the Kun trigram, symbolizing the earth and pure Yin, receives it, bringing the process to completion while linking its beginning and end. It nurtures many offspring, serving generation after generation as the mother of its kind. At “the topmost nine,” Yang energy is excessive, like an overreaching dragon battling in the wilds. When applying the energy of the nine Yangs, one should let it move flexibly and follow the laws of change.

The number of Yang energy reaches its limit, and beyond that limit it is born anew. By investigating the condition of things and bringing them into accord with their nature, one can set them in motion through transformation so that they respond to one another.

The moon first appears in the west above the lunar mansions Mao and Bi, symbolizing the beginning of Yang Qi’s movement. At the Zi and Chou hours, the Qi mechanism, which completes one cycle every five days, begins here. Another Yang line forms within the cauldron, and the Qi of the Zhen trigram begins to stir. This is the starting point of Yang Qi’s gradual growth. After three five-day stages—fifteen days in all—Yang Qi fills the cauldron, taking the form of pure Qian, and the dragon’s body is complete.

“Yang is established through three” means that after the Fire has circulated for three days, Yang Qi in the cauldron begins to spread; hence the phrase “on the third day, Zhen stirs.” “Yin connects through eight” means that by the second stage, two Yang lines have formed. On the eighth day, the Qi of the Dui trigram takes effect, while the Qi of Metal and Water gathers and comes to rest. This is the first quarter moon, when Metal and Water connect; hence the phrase “on the eighth day, Dui moves.”

“The second nine reveals the dragon; at first, the level is bright” refers to the moon at the first quarter, when its shape has just passed the halfway point. This serves as a metaphor for the Qi of Metal and Water in the cauldron following the rhythm of the Yin and Mao hours, with Yin and Yang each occupying half. “The Virtue of three and five is complete” means that Yang Qi moves through Chen and Si, passing through three stages over fifteen days. All three Yang lines have then become pure Yang, and the Qian form takes shape.

Thereafter, Yin and Yang begin to divide. Their waxing and waning gradually alternate, and eventually return to the beginning, repeating in an endless cycle.

Xun (☴), the hexagram that symbolizes wind in the Yijing, takes up the command of Yin Qi. The line text for the ninth in the fourth place says, “Perhaps leaping in the abyss,” indicating that both advancing and retreating bring one to a critical and perilous point. When a yang line withdraws and becomes a yin line, the Xun hexagram takes shape, receiving and governing the Yin Talisman—the rhythm by which Yin Qi moves. It operates for five days, occupying the positions of Wu and Wei. As the yielding line gradually advances, Yin Qi arises with it, enveloping and protecting Yang essence so that it does not dare to move recklessly or leak outward. When the four periods of movement are complete, two yin lines have formed.

Gen (☶), the hexagram that symbolizes a mountain in the Yijing, moves through five periods. The Yin Talisman reaches Shen and You, corresponding to the twenty-third day, when the moon is at its last quarter. At this time, Metal and Water return to balance. The ninth line in the fifth place, “The flying dragon is in the sky,” occupies the heavenly position and brings added joy. This refers to the completion of six periods, or thirty days of movement: the Kun hexagram carries out the Yin Talisman through Xu and Hai, and the Qi of both Qian and Kun is full. The cyclical order of the dragons and tigers, Yin and Yang, and the myriad things is complete; hence the saying, “the ninth in the fifth place adds joy.”

“The sixth in the fifth place, Kun receives” means that Kun receives change, bringing the process to a close while connecting its beginning and end. Kun Qi nourishes the many hexagrams, allowing them to continue through generations and remain of one kind. At first, one line in the Kun hexagram changes to yang, forming Zhen, the eldest son of the Qian family. The transformation continues until all three lines have become yang, forming the pure-yang Qian hexagram. When Yang Qi reaches its height, Yin Qi begins to arise. One line in Qian then changes to yin, forming Xun, the eldest daughter of the Kun family. The transformation continues until all three lines have become yin, forming the pure-yin Kun hexagram. From beginning to end, and from concealment to manifestation, all things are generated and nourished by the body of Kun. For this reason, Kun is called the mother of the many hexagrams. “The many sons” refers to the individual hexagrams. “The sixth in the fifth place, Kun receives” sums up the process of returning the Elixir (a term in alchemy for completing the Elixir) from beginning to end and serves as a precept for cultivating the Dao.

“Using the nine, it flutters” describes Yang Qi reaching its height and then receiving the command to yield its place. When the cycle of yang numbers is complete, it turns to join with Yin Qi.

Following the Pivot of the Jade Dipper, Chapter Forty-Eight

Following the movement of the Jade Dipper (a reference to the pivot of the celestial movements, and by extension to the pattern governing movement), the Qi of Yin and Yang rises and falls.

Following the Pivot of the Jade Dipper, Chapter Forty-Eight

Following the pattern of the Jade Dipper, movement rises and falls, circulating throughout the six lines. Its course is difficult to observe directly. It therefore has no fixed position and is the root and source of the Yijing.

The preceding passage says that Qian and Kun are like the rules and measures of the Dao (the Way). To follow the laws governing Yin-Yang, one must work out their patterns in accordance with the movements of the Big Dipper. Change is fully expressed in the six lines; it cycles endlessly without a fixed position, and thus becomes the foundation of the Way of the Yi Jing (Classic of Changes). This is a metaphor for the movement of the two Qi, Kan and Li, within the crucible, like Yin-Yang Qi flowing through the six empty spaces represented by the hexagram’s six positions, hidden from outside observers. Subtle transformations take place unseen: this is the foundation of the alchemical work.

Chapter Forty-Nine: The New Moon at Dawn Corresponds to the Fu Hexagram

At dawn on the first day of the lunar month, the moment corresponds to the Fu hexagram. Yang Qi begins to flow freely, moving in and out without obstruction, and the faint first signs of Yang become visible. The Yellow Bell pitch standard corresponds to the Zi month, and this sign appears at that time. Gentle Yang Qi spreads throughout, allowing the people to live in peace and all things to resume their normal growth.

The Fu hexagram has five Yin lines above and one Yang line below. After Yin Qi reaches its extreme, Yang Qi begins to emerge again: of the six Yin lines below, the first changes into a Yang line, symbolizing the beginning of Yang’s arising. Thus, from the Zi hour onward, one advances the Yang fire—a term in alchemy for cultivating and moving Yang Qi forward according to the proper timing. As Yang Qi first begins to flow, it corresponds to the Yellow Bell pitch standard. The crucible receives this faint, newly born Yang Qi, and the foundations are laid for the alchemical materials, such as cinnabar and mercury. When there are five Yin lines and one Yang, Yang Qi takes the lead. Its breath spreads and flows everywhere, so it is said to move in and out without obstruction. The Yi Jing says, “Fu: the Way turns and returns; after seven days it comes again.” The Fu hexagram embodies Heaven and Earth’s impulse to bring forth life. This is a metaphor for the coming birth of the myriad things within the crucible. The process begins here, corresponding to the Zi month, the eleventh month, when the Yang fire is advanced.

Chapter Fifty: At the Furnace, the Lin Hexagram Sets Life in Motion

The Lin hexagram corresponds to the furnace fire beginning to bring forth life and opening a path of clarity and brightness. Its radiance gradually grows stronger, increasing day by day. In the Chou month, the Great Pitch standard corresponds to this stage, and the measures for the ascent and descent of Yin and Yang are set.

The Lin hexagram consists of four yin lines and two yang lines. It is used to symbolize the stage of advancing the yang fire at the Chou hour, the second of the twelve double-hours. Yang energy gradually increases, its light illuminating the cauldron. After the winter solstice, the days grow longer, and yang energy gradually spreads, giving rise to Shen (spirit), Qi (vital energy), and Jing (essence). This stage corresponds to Dalü among the twelve pitch standards. Metal and Water respond to one another, while the flowing pearl—a subtle substance formed in the process of cultivation and refinement—gradually condenses above and below. This accords with the Chou hour of the twelfth month and signifies the gradual advance of the yang fire, through which Shen, Qi, and Jing are generated.

Following from the preceding discussion: the Tai hexagram, chapter fifty-one

Following from the preceding discussion, we come to the Tai hexagram. Hardness and softness flourish together, Yin and Yang join with one another, the small withdraws, and the great arrives. Yin-Yang energy gathers at the Yin hour, the third of the twelve double-hours, and turns in accordance with the seasons.

The Tai hexagram consists of three yin lines and three yang lines. It symbolizes the balance of Yin-Yang energy, like the union of husband and wife. The essences of the Dragon and Tiger—the two kinds of Yin-Yang energy cultivated in practice—gradually emerge, and the Gold and Mercury, common symbols in alchemy, likewise unfold and grow. Hence it is said, “The small withdraws, and the great arrives.” The Book of Changes says, “Nothing remains level without eventually becoming sloped; nothing departs without returning.” This describes the pattern by which Yin and Yang succeed one another. It corresponds to the Yin hour of the first month, a stage in which the yang fire gradually advances.

Gradually passing through: the Dazhuang hexagram, chapter fifty-two

Gradually passing through the Dazhuang hexagram, one proceeds in order to the Gate of Mao. The elm’s winged seeds fall, then return to their roots. Punishment and virtue turn away from each other, and day and night begin to grow distinct.

“Great Strength” (Dazhuang, the name of a hexagram in the Classic of Changes, with Qian below and Zhen above) has two Yin lines and four Yang lines. It symbolizes how, in mid-spring, Yang Qi is vigorous but still contains Yin Qi, whose influence is about to recede. Thus the pods of the jianjia plant still wither in response to the lingering Yin Qi.

“Punishment and Virtue oppose one another” refers to the times in the second and eighth months when Yin and Yang are equally balanced. Yang is called “Virtue” because it makes all things grow; Yin is called “Punishment” because it causes all things to decline and die. In the second month, Yin Qi is still present within Yang Qi and affects the plants, so the pods of the jianjia plant fall in mid-spring. This symbolizes gold-sand moving and coming to rest with the lingering Yin Qi, then settling into the womb; hence it is said to “return to the root.” In the eighth month, Yang Qi remains within Yin Qi and begins to sprout, so shepherd’s purse and grains grow again in mid-autumn. This symbolizes Golden Water moving with the lingering Yang Qi, its moistening force filling the chamber; hence it is said to “bloom again.” The following hexagram, “Viewing” (Guan), also says that when Punishment and Virtue stand opposed, Yin and Yang are in balance. This corresponds to the mao hour in the second month and is the “timing of the Breath Tally,” the moment in cultivation when the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang correspond.

Chapter Fifty-Three: Yin Retreats from Guai

The Guai hexagram symbolizes Yin Qi retreating as Yang Qi rises and advances. Wash and groom the feathers and wings.