《周易参同契通真义》

The Meaning of the Zhouyi Cantong Qi Explained Through the True Way consists of three volumes and is a commentary written by Peng Xiao of Later Shu. Peng Xiao’s courtesy name was Xiuchuan. He was from Yongkang and styled himself Zhenyizi. During Meng Chang’s reign, he served at court as a Chaosan Lang and Acting Assistant Director of the Bureau of Ancestral Rites in the Ministry of Rites, and was granted a purple-gold fish-shaped tally pouch. Little else is known of his life. In the preface to The Ancient Text of the Cantong Qi, Yang Shen called Peng Xiao a Daoist. Du Guangting was also appointed to office as a Daoist during Wang Jian’s reign, so it is possible that Peng Xiao was a Daoist too; it is simply unclear which source Yang Shen relied on.

Ge Hong’s Biographies of Immortals says that Wei Boyang composed the three-volume Cantong Qi, drawing analogies from the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). On the surface, the book uses the Zhouyi to develop its arguments; in reality, it draws on the images and numerical patterns of hexagrams and lines to explain the principles of alchemy. Confucian scholars unfamiliar with alchemy often interpret it as a text on Yin-Yang, and so readily stray from its original meaning. The book frequently uses the Najia method—a technique for assigning the heavenly stems and earthly branches to hexagrams and their lines—to discuss key alchemical principles such as Kan and Li, water and fire, the dragon and tiger, and lead and mercury. It also uses the changing patterns of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases, along with the cycles of day and night and the divisions of time, to explain when to advance or withdraw in the alchemical process. Later practitioners of furnace alchemy largely took this book as their source.

The Treatise on Literature in the Book of Sui does not list this work. It appears only in the Treatise on Literature in the Old Book of Tang, which records a two-volume Zhouyi Cantong Qi and a one-volume Zhouyi Wuxiang Lei, placing them under the category of the Five Phases. This classification does not accord with the work’s original purpose. In his preface, Peng Xiao says that Wei Boyang first passed the book to Xu Congshi of Qingzhou, who concealed his name and wrote a commentary. During the reign of Emperor Huan, Xu then passed it to Chunyu Shutong, a fellow native of the same commandery, and the work circulated from there. Few people, however, truly passed on its essential instructions. This account may well be true.

Zheng Qiao’s Comprehensive Treatise: Bibliographical Outline later established a separate category for the Cantong Qi, listing nineteen annotated editions in thirty-one volumes. Most have since been lost; only Peng Xiao’s edition survives. The work is divided into ninety chapters, corresponding to the number “Yang Nine.” A piece titled Song on the Cauldron and Vessels is appended separately at the end because its fragmented wording does not lend itself to division into chapters; it corresponds to the number “Water One.” The end of the third volume also includes Peng Xiao’s Instructions for the Diagram of the Bright Mirror. In the two prefaces at the beginning and end of the work, Peng Xiao explains its meaning in considerable detail.

Of the various commentaries on the Cantong Qi, Peng Xiao’s is considered the oldest. During the Jiajing era of the Ming dynasty, Yang Shen claimed that people in the south had found an ancient text of the Cantong Qi in a stone chest underground, and that this was Wei Boyang’s true original. He instead regarded Peng Xiao’s edition as a confused and corrupt mixture. Those drawn to unusual claims often believe this account. Yet when Zhu Xi wrote his Textual Differences in the Cantong Qi, he followed the chapter order of Peng Xiao’s edition. The Cantong Qi included in the Yongle Encyclopedia also follows Peng Xiao’s edition in full, attaching the commentaries of Yu Yan and others beneath the relevant passages. This shows that Peng Xiao’s edition has an early and reliable transmission history. Yang Shen’s alleged ancient text was likely as fanciful as Feng Fang’s forged Ancient Great Learning and is not credible. For this reason, the compilers continued to give Peng Xiao’s edition precedence when including commentaries on the Cantong Qi.

Respectfully collated and submitted in the ninth month of the forty-sixth year of the Qianlong reign. The chief compilers were Ji Yun, Lu Xixiong, and Sun Shiyi; the chief proofreader was Lu Feichi.

The Zhouyi Cantong Qi records that the Perfected One Wei Boyang was from Shangyu in Kuaiji. He came from a distinguished family but had no wish to serve as an official. Devoted to cultivation and quietly nurturing his nature, he valued clarity and emptiness. His learning and literary skill were broad, and he was also versed in apocryphal texts, calendrical works, and the art of reading omens. Content to keep to himself, he followed only the guidance of the Dao and regarded fame and wealth as no better than chaff. No one knew which master had taught him. After obtaining an ancient copy of the Jing of the Dragon and Tiger, he grasped its subtle meaning and drew on the images of the Zhouyi to compose the three parts of the Cantong Qi. Later, feeling that he had not fully explained its subtleties, he wrote a supplement to fill the gaps and expound the hidden meaning of the alchemical classics.

The book often uses fables and metaphors to express its meaning indirectly, and employs different turns of phrase to hint at the truth. Xu Congshi, from Qingzhou, concealed his name and wrote a commentary on it. During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han, Wei Boyang passed the book on to Chunyu Shutong, a fellow native of Kuaiji. Only then did it begin to circulate.

Wei Boyang wrote the Cantong Qi because he believed that alchemical cultivation and the transformations of Heaven and Earth follow the same path. He therefore used the hexagrams of the Zhouyi to explain the practice. The book often compares the inner and outer relations to ruler and minister. It uses the Kan and Li hexagrams to indicate lead and mercury, and Qian and Kun to describe the vessel’s dimensions and position. It calls Qian and Kun father and mother to explain the beginning and end of the alchemical method, and uses the union of husband and wife, man and woman, as a metaphor for Yin-Yang interaction and generation. It also uses the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, the moon’s phases, the rising and falling of Qi, changes in hexagrams and their lines, the movement of the Dipper’s handle, the circuits of the stars, the alternation of day and night, and the marking of time by the clepsydra to explain the operation of the alchemical firing process.

Thus Qian and Kun are the vessel; Yin and Yang are its banks; Water and Fire are the forces of transformation; the Five Phases provide assistance; true lead is the root of the medicine; and mysterious essence is the basis for forming the Elixir. Kan and Li are husband and wife; Heaven and Earth are father and mother. The cultivator arranges Yin and Yang according to the Eight Trigrams, coordinates them with the cycles of the four seasons, and calculates the firing process through the 384 lines. The five planets and twenty-eight lunar lodges are also placed within the vessel as analogies for its operations. In the end, the “Water Tiger” lies hidden within Geng and Xin and turns with the western position of You, while the “Fire Dragon” is concealed within Jia and Yi and moves eastward. These are all ways of using the images of the Yi to express the transformations of the alchemical method.

The Zhouyi says that sages observe the profound and elusive things in the world, portray their forms, and use images to explain what is fitting in each case. Wei Boyang used this very method. Who but someone of the highest insight could do so? He went on to point out the numinous root of Heaven and Earth, making it the root of the medicine, and to distinguish the paired, motherlike origins of Yin and Yang, making them the basis of the alchemical method. In this way, he revealed the foundation of the transformations of the One Qi and explained the source from which Heaven and Earth bring forth the myriad things. Who but someone of the highest insight could do so?

The cultivator must also divide the clepsydra’s measures and the hours, regulate Yin and Yang so that Shen and Qi circulate, and follow the seasonal markers to grasp the correct Qi. The changes of Yin and Yang in the sixty-four hexagrams are used to arrange the firing process. The sayings “the Heavenly Gate is in the hand” and “the Earth’s axis turns by the heart” mean that the cultivator directs changes in the flow of Qi according to the method. Heaven and Earth cannot conceal the workings of transformation, nor can Yin and Yang hide the root by which they nourish and bring forth the myriad things. This leads to transformations without limit and to the generation of refined essence. Who but someone of the greatest clarity could do so?

The Cantong Qi also says: “In the golden cauldron of undifferentiated chaos, black and white correspond. The Dragon and Horse descend with essence; the female and male take in Qi. Like the teeth of a frost-white horse, like jade; the dog’s teeth, mercury, and the Maiden live together; cinnabar mercury joins with the Infant to form one body.” These images describe the qualities of the alchemical substances and the process by which Yin and Yang unite. The nature of the substances is thereby made clear, and the form of the Elixir gradually appears. The inner efficacy of changes already underway is fully revealed, while signs that have yet to emerge are disclosed in advance. Who but someone of the utmost sincerity could do so?

The book uses hexagrams and things as metaphors to avoid revealing Heaven’s secrets directly. Yet the author could not bear to conceal these mysterious principles entirely, so he explains them at length and from several angles. He intended to stop writing, but continued to elaborate until he had completed the chapters, hoping to point out the essential path of cultivation and guide later students. He lamented that living beings, though born with bodies, may ultimately become ghosts of pure Yin. Who but someone of the greatest compassion would do this?

There are also cultivators who understand the Three Lights—the sun, moon, and stars—and let their awareness roam in the eight directions. They take in gold sand to transform their bodies and fire mercury to refine their vital spirits. In this way, they can transform the body into pure Yang and bring Shen to life in its true abode. They cast off the Three Corpses, the spirits said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and hinder cultivation, transcend the Three Realms, pay their respects in Shangqing, the Daoist celestial realm, and become high immortals. Who but someone of the utmost refinement could attain this?

Peng Xiao explains that he divided the Zhenqi into chapters and commented on them because the book relies chiefly on metaphor. Its sections have no fixed boundaries from beginning to end; its wording may seem wide-ranging, yet its principles are sound. It states matters clearly, but its language is veiled. Later commentators each followed their own understanding: some explained it word by word, while others commented on whole phrases. Their interpretations consequently diverged, differing in merit, and beginners could not readily grasp the text. Since commentators disagreed over the order of its chapters and sections, with no settled consensus about what to retain or omit, Peng Xiao reorganized the chapters and set the sentences in order. This made the reasoning continuous and the meaning clearer, while making it easier to compare passages related to alchemical practice.

The work is divided into four parts and two volumes, comprising ninety chapters. Their order follows the numbers of Yin and Yang, and the work is titled A Clear and Direct Meaning in Divided Chapters. The main text is printed in vermilion, with annotations in black, for ease of reading. The upper volume has forty chapters, the middle volume thirty-eight, and the lower volume twelve. The piece titled “Song of the Vessel” has connected meanings and fragmented sentences that do not lend themselves to division into chapters, so it is kept on its own. It corresponds to the number “Water One” and explains the numerical principles of Yin and Yang in the alchemical Way. In addition, Peng Xiao wrote a piece titled Diagrams and Instructions of the Bright Mirror based on the Zhenqi. He appended it to the end of the lower volume to further open a path to understanding the Zhenqi.

Peng Xiao says that he studied under his master for many years and kept his attention on this Way. He dared not keep the mysterious scripture hidden and untransmitted, so he compiled this True Meaning, hoping it might offer some benefit and be passed down to later generations. It is signed: “Zhenyizi Peng Xiao of Flying Crane Mountain, Changli Monastery.”

Heaven and Earth are the gateway of the Classic of Changes and the parents of all the hexagrams. The Kan and Li hexagrams form an outer frame, with the pivot of their operation at the center.

Before the Great Change, the Great Void, and the Great Beginning, there was a supremely wondrous substance of emptiness and nonbeing, yet no sign of anything could be seen. By the time of the Great Origin, the Great Simplicity, and the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), all things took shape from an undivided whole. This is chaos. Within chaos is the “essence of the True One”—the original vital energy before Heaven and Earth were divided. It is the beginning of Heaven and Earth and the source of all things. Once the One Qi had formed, the two kinds of Qi, Yin and Yang, differentiated. Then came Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and humanity), the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water), and the many names for the myriad things. Thus, Heaven and Earth are the guiding framework of the cosmos’s operation, while Yin and Yang are the pivot through which creation brings forth all things.

Once Heaven and Earth were established, Yin and Yang began to move within them. Wei Boyang held that refining the liquid Golden Elixir—the pure elixir sought in Daoist internal alchemy—follows the same principles as the transformations of Heaven and Earth. He therefore used the hexagrams of the Classic of Changes to explain cultivation. Cultivation must take as its foundation the True One Qi within the chaos of Heaven and Earth, and follow the course by which the essence of Heaven and Earth lies concealed and moves. It arranges advance and withdrawal according to the patterns embodied in hexagrams such as Kan, Li, Pi, and Tai, and takes its timing from the changes of Yin and Yang, forming a cycle like the alternation of winter and summer.

Yin Qi begins to grow after midday, while Yang Qi first stirs at the beginning of the Zi hour. Movement begins with the number nine of Yang; stillness follows the number six of Yin. This is a key principle of elixir cultivation. Accordingly, Heaven and Earth serve as the cauldron and vessel—the fundamental conditions for refining the elixir—while Kan and Li form the outer frame. Water and Fire are paired as husband and wife; Yin and Yang are likened to dragons and tigers. The Five Phases serve as the crosswise threads to nourish the True Essence, while the Three Powers form the lengthwise threads to gather pure Qi. Cold and heat alternate through the 384 lines of the hexagrams. The moon rises and the sun sets; their rising and descending correspond to 384 days. All these changes begin with the forms of the two hexagrams Qian and Kun. Hence it is said that Heaven and Earth are the gateway of the Classic of Changes and the parents of all the hexagrams.

Chapter Two: The Four Male and Female Hexagrams

The four trigrams—Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li—are like the bellows used in ancient times to fan a fire. They contain and regulate the changes of Yin and Yang. In mastering the firing process, the practitioner must be as precise as a craftsperson using a square, a straightedge, and an ink line, and as adept as a driver holding the reins and controlling the horses. The process must follow its established course, keeping to the central and upright position while directing outward changes.

In cultivating the Golden Liquid Elixir (a term from Daoist Neidan and alchemical practice), the cauldron contains the Golden Mother and the Flowery Pool; it is also called the spirit chamber of the Golden Embryo. The four trigrams Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li serve as images for the cauldron and the ingredients, while the bellows represent the pivot that regulates their movement. “Covering and enveloping” means wrapping around and governing the whole process. The arrangements of the Yin cauldron and Yang furnace, the firm fire and gentle talismanic measures, cycle according to the sequence of the sixty hexagrams, while the sixty-four hexagrams govern all their transformations.

The practitioner must also arrange spring, summer, autumn, and winter within this process, assigning the twenty-four solar terms and seventy-two pentads. The seasonal markers of a year are compressed into a month, and those of a month are then fitted into the twelve double-hours of a day and night. The practitioner must also determine the timings marked by the clepsydra, divide the phases of the lunar cycle, distinguish the Zi hour from the Wu hour, and connect the dark and new moons in accordance with the movement of Yin and Yang, bringing the Dragon and Tiger together. All these arrangements take their model from the great cycles of Heaven and Earth and accord with the pivot of Yin-Yang transformation. If the process is guided precisely and carried out at the proper times, its outward signs will accord with the correspondences of Yin and Yang, while inwardly the Dragon and Tiger will come together.

“The skilled craftsperson follows the square, straightedge, and ink line without error; the capable driver holds the bit and reins without letting the horses stray.” This means that the alchemist must apply the firing process steadily and precisely, as a craftsperson works according to measuring tools and a driver keeps the horses on course with the reins. “There are five or six divisions of the month” refers to a month of about thirty days: one hexagram corresponds to the day and another to the night, making sixty hexagrams in all. Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li are the parents of the ingredients; they also represent the pivot that regulates the process and the cauldron itself. When the scripture speaks of the process as a whole, it uses the sixty-four hexagrams to govern all transformations.

“Warp and weft serve the sun” means that the hexagram lines provide the guiding order for daily practice, while the calendrical numbers act like the weft, coordinating with the sun, moon, and seasons. “Firmness and yielding have their outer and inner aspects” means that Yang firmness and Yin yielding, along with water, fire, metal, and wood, correspond to one another inwardly and outwardly and serve as each other’s interior and exterior.

Chapter Three: At Dawn on the New Moon, the Tun Hexagram Takes Its Turn

Beginning at dawn on the new moon, the Tun hexagram takes its turn; at dusk, the Meng hexagram follows. One hexagram is used for the day and one for the night, rotating in sequence. In this process, the hexagram lines must accord with the guiding order of daily practice, while the calendrical numbers must correspond to them. Yang firmness and Yin yielding, along with water, fire, metal, and wood, work together across the inner and outer realms.

On the first day of the month, one hexagram governs the daytime and another the night, taking turns in sequence. In practice, the movements of day and night, the rising and falling of Yin and Yang, and the measures of the firing process are all arranged according to the hexagram lines. One hexagram is used for the day and another for the night, beginning with Zhun and Meng: Zhun is used in the morning, Meng at night, and the sequence proceeds from there.

From Jiji and Weiji to Darkness and Dawn (Chapter Four)

Jiji, symbolizing that matters have been completed, and Weiji, symbolizing that they remain incomplete, extend through the alternation of darkness and dawn, completing a cycle and then beginning again. The dates and hours provide the measure for calculation, while the movement of Yin and Yang has phases of activity and stillness, morning and evening. “Darkness and dawn” here refers to the alternation of dark and light—that is, the back-and-forth movement of Yin and Yang at the end and beginning of the month. Yang belongs to activity, Yin to stillness. Across the twelve double-hours, the rising and falling of Yin and Yang and the measures of the firing process are distinguished by morning and evening, cycling and alternating in use.

Spring and Summer Follow the Inner Form (Chapter Five)

The course of spring and summer follows the inner form, proceeding from the hour of Zi through Chen and Si. Autumn and winter follow the outer function, extending from the hour of Wu through Xu and Hai. Yang Fire begins its ascent at Zi and reaches the time of pure Yang in command at Si; at this point, inner Yin seeks outer Yang. The Yin Talisman begins its descent at Wu and reaches the time of pure Yin in command at Hai; at this point, outer Yang attaches to inner Yin. Changes in the inner and outer forms reflect the pattern of waxing and waning: beginning with the Fu hexagram and ending with Kun, they are explained through changes in the hexagram lines.

Rewards and Punishments Correspond to Spring and Autumn (Chapter Six)

Rewards and punishments correspond to the changes of spring and autumn, while darkness and brightness accord with the alternation of cold and heat. The benevolence and righteousness described in the hexagram statements and line texts likewise appear in accordance with the seasons. Changes in joy and anger follow the same principle, responding to the four seasons. Each of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) operates according to its corresponding pattern.

The qi that brings forth growth in spring is called “reward,” while the qi of autumn, which brings decline and death, is called “punishment.” The Zi, Chou, and Yin periods correspond to spring; Mao, Chen, and Si correspond to summer. This is the sequence in which Yang Fire circulates. The Wu, Wei, and Shen periods correspond to autumn; You, Xu, and Hai correspond to winter. This is the sequence in which the Yin Tally operates. Practitioners must apply the firing process throughout the twelve double-hours in accordance with the natural patterns of the four seasons, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the light and darkness of day and night, changes in heat and cold, and such qualities as benevolence, righteousness, joy, and anger. The images and numbers of the hexagram lines must be without the slightest error; this is called “not losing the measure.” When the four seasons proceed without deviation within the cauldron, and the changes of heat and cold in the hexagram images are in harmony, the elixir can be refined.

An ancient song says: “The sage comprehends the secrets of creation and places the sun and moon within the furnace. The furnace fire rises and falls gently; the vital essences of Heaven and Earth gather, Yin and Yang unite, and even spirits and ghosts move in accord. The sun’s hun-soul and the moon’s po-soul—how many can recognize them? Whoever can recognize them is a true immortal. Once refined, ingest it; after a thousand days, the body will be free of Yin. How, then, could it die?” Thus, in cultivating the Golden Elixir of liquid gold, one must take the transformations of Heaven and Earth as one’s model. There is no other path.

Chapter Seven: Heaven and Earth Take Their Places

“Heaven and Earth take their places, and the Changes operate within them.” Heaven and Earth symbolize Qian and Kun. “Take their places” means that Yin and Yang each occupy their proper position and work together. “The Changes” refers to Kan and Li, symbols of water and fire. Kan and Li are the two ways in which Qian and Kun function. They have no fixed positions among the hexagram lines; they move back and forth through the Six Empties—the space represented by the hexagram images—without fixed locations or regularity in their movement above and below. At times they lie hidden and concealed; at times they appear and transform. They contain all things within them and are the guiding principles of the Dao’s operation.

“Heaven and Earth take their places” means that Qian and Kun symbolize the cauldron and vessel used in alchemical refinement. “The Changes operate within them” means that the firing process of Yin and Yang, Kan and Li, circulates inside the vessel. The vessel takes Heaven and Earth as its model, and the Golden Mother—an alchemical term for an important ingredient or source in the alchemical method—is placed within it, so that it embodies the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. Kan and Li have no fixed positions among the lines because water and fire operate externally, with movement and stillness changing unpredictably. Thus they circulate through the Six Empties and move up and down without fixed positions. Sometimes hidden, sometimes manifest; sometimes active, sometimes latent, they are the source of transformation and the root from which all things arise. Hence they are called the guiding principles of the Dao.

Chapter Eight: Governing the Substantial by Means of the Insignificant

“Governing the substantial by means of the insignificant”: A vessel can function precisely because its interior is empty. From this, one may infer the waxing and waning transformations of Yin and Yang, while Kan and Li remain hidden from view.

“Nonbeing” is the dragon, and “being” is the tiger. “Nonbeing” refers to the Yang Qi of mercury, while “being” refers to the Yin substance of lead. Placed in an empty vessel, lead and mercury cannot transform on their own. Only with the rising and descending movement of Kan and Li, which symbolize water and fire, Yin and Yang, and in accord with the passage of the four seasons, do generation and transformation become manifest. This is like using an empty vessel, with “nonbeing” regulating “being.” The Ancient Scripture of the Dragon and Tiger says: “Being and nonbeing regulate one another; the Vermilion Bird, symbol of the divine bird of fire, burns in the sky.” When Yin Qi forms, Yang Qi recedes; when Yang Qi rises, Yin Qi lies hidden. As Yin and Yang wane and wax, Kan and Li likewise appear and disappear, changing with the seasons.

Chapter Nine: Words Are Not Carelessly Invented

When sages speak, they do not make things up at will, and their arguments do not arise from nowhere. They cite examples, test their results, and follow subtle patterns to infer the corresponding principles and words. In the Kan trigram, Wu symbolizes the essence of the moon; in the Li trigram, Ji symbolizes the radiance of the sun. Together, the sun and moon form the character “Yi.” Firmness and yieldingness are paired, and the Qi of Earth flourishes in each of the four seasons, running through beginning and end. Blue-green, red, white, and black each occupy a direction, yet all receive the influence of Wu and Ji at the central palace.

Sages do not invent empty words to mislead later generations. They therefore take the sun and moon as examples, test the transformations of the divine, and distinguish firmness from yieldingness. They use Metal and Water to represent the dragon and tiger, and draw on these images to explain Yin-Yang transformation and the gathering and refining of essence. Finally, Earth among the Five Phases completes the work of alchemy, bringing the changes of the four seasons to fruition. Blue-green, red, white, and black thus circulate in turn, all governed by Wu and Ji.

“Wu, the moon’s essence in Kan” means that the moon belongs to Yin and Wu to Yang, symbolizing Yang contained within Yin, like Metal arising in Water; this is called the tiger. “Ji, the sun’s radiance in Li” means that the sun belongs to Yang and Ji to Yin, symbolizing Yin contained within Yang, like mercury arising in fire; this is called the dragon. Thus, cultivating the elixir requires gathering and refining the essence of the sun and moon, bringing Yin and Yang together, and harmonizing them with Wu and Ji. Once the movement of Yin and Yang is complete, its effects ultimately depend on a person’s innate qualities and De, bringing fullness to the spirit. “Inferring categories to form a character” means deriving the meaning of a character from the categories of things. The image of the character “Yi” is made up of the sun and moon.

Chapter Ten: Yi Means Image

The Changes (Yi) uses hexagram images to express principles. Nothing reveals transformation more clearly than the sun and moon. By observing subtle changes, people come to understand how things transform: Yang Qi recedes and Yin Qi arrives, like spokes gathering around a hub as a wheel turns without end. Yin and Yang alternate in cycles of opening, closing, and unfolding.

The Changes has three hundred and eighty-four lines. Practitioners use the images of the lines to select the corresponding signs for timing their work. Here, “signs” refers to the seasonal indications represented by the sixty-four hexagrams. Each month, from the last day of the lunar month to the first, the seasonal image of the Zhen hexagram arrives, and practitioners begin acting in accordance with its signs. At this time, the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth unite, and the Qi of the sun and moon meet and respond to one another: Yang Qi spreads the dark, mysterious Qi, while Yin Qi transforms and nurtures the yellow Qi. Yin and Yang mingle and join, thereby establishing the foundation and nurturing the body, until Shen gathers and forms a body. The generation of all living things, and even the activity of tiny insects, likewise depends on this process of transformation through Yin and Yang.

This passage says that the images of the Changes take the union of the sun and moon as their foundation. The return of the Golden Elixir through the refinement of liquid gold—a Neidan teaching about refining and gathering vital energies to form the Elixir—also requires the union of the Yin-Yang essences symbolized by the sun and moon. These essences enter and leave, open and close, and unfold through day and night in an unceasing cycle. Practitioners use the sixty-four hexagrams and three hundred and eighty-four lines as their guide, following the line images to grasp the signs for timing their work, so that the stages of the fire process advance or retreat with the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang. Their union resembles the meeting of energies from east and west, and also the joining of husband and wife.

In this process, the seasonal image of the Zhen hexagram arrives: the essences of Heaven and Earth unite, and the souls of the sun and moon respond to one another. “Chaos” refers to the cauldron chamber—the place of cultivation in Neidan—which is undivided like an egg. Its two arcs join, and Yin and Yang have not yet become distinct. The Yang Dragon and Yin Tiger are terms symbolizing Yin and Yang Qi. Within chaos, they respond to and support one another, establishing the foundation and gradually nourishing the body, until Shen and Qi gather into form and ultimately become something subtle and refined. Thus the cauldron chamber itself contains a Heaven and Earth. All living things arise through this kind of transformation by Yin and Yang.

Yang belongs to Heaven and is called Dark; Yin belongs to Earth and is called Yellow. Qian and Kun thus symbolize father and mother, while the progress of the fire process illustrates the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang. From this we can understand that the transformations within the cauldron resemble the workings of Heaven and Earth and can symbolize the emergence of the myriad things. If the fire process is misjudged—if too much or too little is drawn off or added, if the rhythms of cold and heat are out of step, or if the timing of advance and retreat is confused—then by what seasonal order could Heaven and Earth bring forth the myriad things? And by what means could Yin and Yang transform into Dragon and Tiger?

Thus, Chapter Eleven on Zhongni

Zhongni (Confucius) praised the vastness of primordial chaos and the profound, empty clarity of the virtue of Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang). He examined ancient traditions and traced them back to the era of the Primordial Sovereign, a legendary age of the earliest rulers. He began with the union of husband and wife symbolized by “Guan Ju”: the Qi of man and woman joined, and with the first year, growth began to sprout.

Confucius praised and expounded the principles of the Changes, establishing Qian and Kun as the root of the myriad things. He also used the two hexagrams Xian and Heng to explain the foundations of the relationship between husband and wife. The primordial vastness was opened and chaos cleft apart, revealing the forms of wondrous transformation and thereby joining the patterns of Heaven and Earth. The five human relationships—ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, and man and woman—were established, and within them lay the whole pattern by which Yin and Yang engender the myriad things.

Qian and Kun became manifest, while the emptiness between them remained deep and far-reaching. Taking the principles of the Changes as his analogy, Wei Boyang fashioned a vessel and set the workings of Heaven in motion, bringing the forms of the Dragon and Tiger together to symbolize the union of husband and wife. At first, nothing had form or substance, as in the primordial chaos. After the fire was kindled and the tally marks set in motion, the vital essences of male and female intertwined. Thus, the mutual attraction and courtship of man and woman described in “Guanju” began with the initial kindling of the fire. By the “first year,” the myriad things were flourishing, the sun and moon were moving in their courses, and the bodies of the Dragon and Tiger had taken shape.

Chapter Twelve: Sages Do Not Arise from Nothing

Sages do not appear from nowhere. They observe the earth and make clear the signs of the Dao of Heaven. Heaven’s correspondences advance and recede, bend and extend, changing with the seasons; therefore, the Changes can encompass the mind of Heaven.

Fuxi looked up to observe the celestial patterns and down to examine the features of the earth. From these observations he established the numerical principles underlying the images of the Changes, understood the conditions of the myriad things, and passed these principles on to later generations. In this way, even those who had not yet understood could recognize the mysteries of Heaven and Earth, grasp the vital essence of Yin and Yang, understand the roots of creation and transformation, and distinguish signs from their responses. The ways in which the myriad things generate and overcome one another, along with their changes of advance and retreat, bending and extension, could all be understood through this. Hence it is said that the Changes encompass the mind of Heaven.

Thus, practitioners establish ritual forms that symbolize Heaven and Earth, gather subtle Qi, set up the cauldron and furnace, and set the tally fire in motion. They keep time by the clepsydra, arrange the hours according to the hexagram lines, and distinguish the solar terms and seasons, thereby exhausting the great calculations governing the movements of Heaven and Earth.

Chapter Thirteen: The Fu Hexagram Begins to Sprout

The Cantong qi explains the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, and the advance and retreat of the firing process in alchemy, through the moon’s phases and the hexagrams of the Zhouyi.

The “Returning” hexagram has five Yin lines above and a single Yang line beginning to emerge at the bottom. It symbolizes the first sprouting of Yang energy, hence the phrase “the beginning takes root and sprouts.” It is based on the Kun hexagram: a Yang line arises beneath Kun to form the Zhen hexagram. Kun is likened to Zhen’s mother, which is why the text says, “from the mother, the first signs take their foundation.” Zhen is in turn likened to Qian’s eldest son. As Yang energy gradually grows, the hexagram becomes pure Yang Qian on the fifteenth day, as though the eldest son were inheriting his father’s body.

The moon first appears on the third day, takes on the shape of a bowstring at its first quarter on the eighth, and shines full on the fifteenth. The scripture uses “toad” and “rabbit’s soul” to refer to the Yin and Yang energies within the moon. The moon’s gradual fullness serves as a metaphor for the growing sufficiency of ingredients such as metal and water in the cauldron, and for the firing process reaching its corresponding stages. Here, the “cauldron” is a vessel used as a metaphor for the alchemical process; “firing process” refers to managing the advance and retreat of Yin and Yang, and the timing of the work.

“By seven and eight, the Way is complete” refers to the fifteenth day, when the pure Yang body of Qian has formed. “Bending and descending” refers to the period after the sixteenth day, when Yang energy begins to recede and the practice shifts from advancing the Yang fire to using the Yin tally. The commentary explains that the ancients condensed the changes of half a month into the six double-hours of half a day to illustrate how the firing process is regulated within the cauldron.

“On the sixteenth, the cycle turns” is the title of Chapter Fourteen. It means that from the sixteenth day onward, the moon enters a phase in which Yin energy gradually increases. The following passage describes the moon progressively waning after the sixteenth day until it loses its light on the thirtieth. When one phase ends, Yin and Yang energies alternate, and the cycle begins again.

The “Sixteen Cycles of Receiving and Unifying” says: After the sixteenth day, the Yang fire begins to recede and the Yin tally begins to grow. The moon appears at dawn, as it does when the Yang fire first begins to rise, corresponding to the third day of the month. By the twenty-third day, when the moon is in its last quarter, the situation again resembles the first quarter: Metal and Water each occupy half. On the thirtieth day, when the moon sets in the northeast, its light vanishes. This symbolizes the Yin tally reaching its end, and the Yang fire coming to a close as well.

Within a month, Yin and Yang each occupy half the cycle, taking turns in their course, while Water and Fire depend on one another. When the month ends, the cycle begins anew, so the hexagram Fu, “Return,” is used to begin again. Hence the saying, “The body of Fu returns, and the dragon is reborn.” Here, the changing phases of the moon serve as a metaphor for the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, and the cyclical regulation of the fire process in Neidan cultivation.

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, and nine and six correspond to one another; together, the four total thirty. When Yang Qi is spent, it returns to storage. The Eight Trigrams are arranged in sequence, and the movements and changes of the sun, moon, and stars do not depart from the central course.

Ren and Gui belong to Yin, while Jia and Yi belong to Yang. Their pairing means that the mother of the Elixir, within the Qian-Kun crucible, receives the Qi produced by the union of the Yang dragon and Yin tiger. This is why it is said that Qian and Kun encompass beginning and end. The numbers seven, eight, nine, and six sum to thirty, symbolizing the thirty days of a month. Seven and nine correspond to Yang numbers, while six and eight correspond to Yin numbers; Qian and Kun each occupy half. By the thirtieth day, the Yin tally and Yang fire have both completed their course.

The fire process used within a month should follow the Eight Trigrams and the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, rising and descending, drawing out and adding in at the proper times, so that Yin and Yang can expand and contract and Metal and Water can be harmonized. If the fire is applied at the wrong time, it is like drought or flood beyond measure: it damages the principle of generation and makes it difficult to sustain the union of dragon and tiger. Those who cultivate by regulating the fire should carefully investigate its proper measure.

Chapter Sixteen: The Subtle Essence Is Difficult to See

The original essence—the subtle foundation discussed in refinement and cultivation—is hidden and difficult to perceive. One should investigate and verify the signs of its movement. In quiet daily practice, observe the traces by which it manifests and establish standards in accordance with its form. Use divination to discern good and ill fortune, and let every command and action accord with the season, without missing the moment when the hexagram lines begin to move.

Look upward to observe the patterns of the Yellow River Chart, downward to examine the terrain, and inward to discern the human heart; in this way, consider together the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. In action, follow the rhythm of the hexagram images; in stillness, rely on the principles conveyed by the hexagram statements. The workings of Qian and Kun run through Heaven and Earth, and only then can the Way of governance be put into effect. How could one fail to exercise caution?

Original essence is the numinous and real Jing and Qi within the cauldron, and also the primal Qi of Heaven and Earth. It cannot be grasped by hand or seen with the eye, yet in secret it follows the transformations of creation and brings forth the myriad things. Profound and subtle, it is difficult to perceive. We must therefore investigate and verify the patterns of its operation, establish standards as models, and issue commands in accordance with them, so that they accord with the workings of the Dao of Heaven. How could such an important matter be approached without care?

One must look up to observe the celestial patterns and look down to examine the geography, then harmonize the Yin-Yang Qi of Heaven and Earth and master the patterns by which Yin and Yang wane, wax, and unfold. Establish the order of the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—and discern the rise and decline of things. Following the images of the hexagrams and their line statements, arrange the sequence of day and night, ascent and descent. In this way, Qian and Kun unite in harmony, and husband and wife can join in accord; the Dragon and Tiger interact, and the order of Heaven and Earth is harmonized. The foregoing concerns keeping time by the clepsydra and circulating the talismanic fire, discerning when to draw out or add, advance or retreat, so that each step stays aligned with the movements of the sun, moon, and stars. Then, within the cauldron, the four seasons can transform and bring forth the myriad things and numinous Jing. How could anyone practicing fire-phase cultivation fail to be careful?

The First Chapter on Governing the Process, Chapter Seventeen

The foremost principle of governing the process is to gather and preserve the hidden, subtle essentials, and to grasp the key rules for opening and closing and for distributing the treasures. This is the pivot and master of the Dao, and the guiding principle and hinge that governs transformation. Within, the hexagram lines stir up fortune and misfortune; without, these are expressed through the interweaving motions of the Five Planets, their movements differing as they proceed in accord or in opposition, and responding to the seasons. When the Four Sevens become irregular and deviate from their courses, the order of looking upward and downward is thrown into disarray.

Mastery of the initial stages of the firing process means that the practitioner who uses the talismanic fire—the alchemical firing process carried out according to a specific sequence of timings—sets each step in motion in turn. After casting the Golden Cauldron as the vessel, seal it tightly with a tube, lid, and other fittings to prevent leakage. Opening and spreading out the precious medicines means allowing the inner metal in the cauldron to unfold, so that the bodily fluids moisten and circulate, and Metal and Water depend on one another. Then follow the direction of the Big Dipper’s handle, pass through the twelve double-hours corresponding to the Twelve Earthly Branches, and accord with the movement of the Five Planets through the “four and seven”—the twenty-eight lunar lodges.

If celestial signs and seasonal periods fall out of alignment, and the moments indicated by the talismans do not correspond, good and ill fortune will appear in the hexagram lines. If the firing process misses the morning or evening hours, the outward movement of the Five Planets will become disordered and the inner Five Qi will fall out of balance. Once the order of the twenty-eight lunar lodges is disrupted, the stars throughout the heavens will stray from their courses, and the medicines in the cauldron will fail to ripen. Though the external fire continues to operate, the inner talismanic timing will remain stalled and unresponsive, so the souls of Heaven and Earth cannot unite. Thus the disorder of the stars, the deviation of the sun and moon from their proper courses, and the imbalance of the seasons—all of which prevent living things from growing—arise when the seasonal timing of summer and autumn is mishandled in tending the fire, leaving conditions inside the cauldron—cloudy or clear, dry or wet—unsettled.

Chapter Eighteen: Wenchang’s Register of Oversight

Wenchang’s Register of Oversight is responsible for censuring the senior ministers, officials, and administrators at every level, each of whom oversees the duties assigned to them.

“Wenchang’s Register of Oversight” refers to the six stars arranged like a basket above the bowl of the Big Dipper. They are called Wenchang.

Note: The original repeats part of the preceding passage at the end. The translation above follows the surviving text as it reads continuously.

Chapter 19: The Sun and Moon Unite the Essences of the Five Phases

The sun gathers the essences of the Five Phases, and the moon moves according to the seasonal order of the Six Pitch-Pipes (liulü). Five multiplied by six gives thirty, and when the sun and moon complete one degree of motion, the cycle begins anew. Tracing the beginning and examining the end, the threads of survival and decline become visible: at times the ruler grows proud and turns from the Way, and at times ministers become treacherous and flattering, acting outside the law. The waxing and waning of the moon from its quarter phase to the full moon also goes astray, and calamity then arrives. Those who enforce the law then censure the faults, and the ruler is made to bear the responsibility.

"The sun gathers the essences of the Five Phases" means that each month the sun and moon meet once. "The moon moves according to the Six Pitch-Pipes" means that the metal and water qi within the cauldron receive the rhythms of yin and yang month by month, with each half-month corresponding to a particular pitch-qi. There are six lü and six lü (Lü) pitches, and these are distributed jointly by the sun and moon. The motions of the sun and moon interlace with those of the five planets, together generating the myriad things. Here this serves as a metaphor for the cauldron receiving external yin and yang qi and regulating the fire timing according to the hours such as zi and wu, while mobilizing the essences of the five planets so that the refined essences of the sun and moon unite. The waxing and waning of yin and yang alternate, survival and decline follow one another without cease, and the cycle returns and ends in the image of Kun.

Within this metaphor, the yin essence dwelling at the center of the shenshi (the spirit chamber, the alchemical term for the place within the cauldron where the medicinals are set and the essential qi is received) belongs to the virtue of Earth and symbolizes the ruler. If the operations within the cauldron fail to correspond with the outside, it is like a ruler who grows proud and self-satisfied, so that tribute from the four quarters no longer arrives. If ministers are treacherous and flattering, the timing and measures will go wrong. The waxing and waning of the moon and the irregularity of the new and full moon are all attributed to the ruler. In the alchemical metaphor, the ruler is the metal essence, the Earth virtue, and the spirit chamber, while the ministers are the qi of the Five Phases and the Six Pitch-Pipes. Gain and loss, however, depend on the practitioner who applies the talismans and the fire timing. If through such error the chanü (the Maiden, a term in alchemy for a specific medicinal or yin essence) escapes, and the Red Dragon (a term symbolizing yang essence) bolts away, and the essential qi has already scattered, then how could one still obtain the Golden Liquor?

The shentai (spirit embryo, the true spirit formed within the body through inner alchemy practice) dwells in the Central Palace (zhonggong), like a ruler seated in the Hall of Light (mingtang), just as the Northern Dipper (beichen) sits at the center of the heavens. The yin-yang and five-phase qi act as ministers. When ruler and ministers each keep their proper place, the yin-yang and five-phase qi harmonize and flow smoothly, and the metal-water fluid (jinshui zhi ye) in the cauldron grows accordingly. The practitioner can then rest quietly, nourish the body, and let the processes of transformation unfold naturally.

The phrase "originally hidden and bright, inwardly illuminating the form" (yuanben yinming, neizhao xingqu) means that metal can both conceal its light and reflect upon itself, and that its light grows brighter with the aid of fire. "Blocking its opening" (bisai qi dui) refers to the dui, the mouth of the cauldron. Once the golden tiger (jin hu, an inner alchemical term for the metallic medicinal substance) is placed in the Central Palace, the cauldron's mouth must be sealed, and the true essences of the three lights (sanguang) must be directed into it to nourish the zi pearl (zizhu) and the spirit mercury (linggong, an inner alchemical term for the refined essence of cultivation). The phrase "the three lights sink into the land" (sanguang lu chen) means that the essences of the three lights sink into the cauldron. The three lights are yang fire, the yin talisman (yinfu), and the golden embryo (jintai), which take their images from the sun, moon, and stars. In external practice there are also three lights, distributed among the alternation of motion and stillness, the constant moment-by-moment changes, and the yin-yang talisman-fire, through which transformation takes form.

Inner and outer practice each have their own principles of yin-yang transformation, and their subtleties cannot all be described here; most must be transmitted through oral formulas (koujue). The gold and mercury change within the cauldron in ways that are hard to predict and cannot be observed directly. If one grasps the heavenly secret and governs their circulation by method, the gold and mercury will not escape, and dragon and tiger can unite. This is why the text says the work is "near and easy to seek." The Scripture of the Hidden Accord (Yinfu Jing) says, "The universe lies in the hand; the myriad transformations arise in the body" (Yuzhou zai hu shou, wanhua sheng hu shen), and this expresses exactly this principle.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Highest De Is Non-Action

In internal alchemy (Neidan), or in the gold sand and true mercury within the alchemical furnace, the materials first receive the external yin-yang essence-qi and are gradually nourished, much as grass and trees put forth tender shoots whose stems and branches slowly straighten until they bear fruit. The phrase "the yellow center penetrates the principle" borrows from the Yijing: "The superior person is yellow at the center and penetrates the principle; he occupies the correct position and dwells in his body." Here it describes how the Golden Tiger, nourished within the cauldron, has its essence-qi flowing freely, so that its inner virtue manifests in the limbs and in one's undertakings. The "One" refers to water. Water is the root of the true gold, and the gold is stored within the vessel and tightly sealed, so ordinary people cannot perceive it.

"The highest De acts through non-action and does not seek by observation; the lower De acts deliberately, and its function never ceases. When the upper is closed, it is called 'having'; when the lower is closed, it is called 'nothing.' The 'nothing' serves the upper, where the spirit De dwells. In the method of the two apertures, gold-qi also depends on one another."

The "highest De" refers to water in the upper position. Water occupies the yin place, remains constantly still, acts through non-action, and does not seek by deliberate observation. The "lower De" refers to fire below. Fire circulates unceasingly, and across the twelve double-hours its activity never rests. When the upper is sealed, it is called "having," referring to the water stored within; when the lower is sealed, it is called "nothing," referring to the fire that circulates outward. The fire moves through the qi of the four seasons and the Five Phases to nourish the spirit embryo (the inner essence spoken of in alchemical practice), which is why the text says "the nothing serves the upper." The "spirit De dwelling above" refers to this spirit embryo, which in alchemical language is the gold and mercury. "In the method of the two apertures, gold-qi also depends on one another" means that the breaths of water and fire, and of yin and yang, must work together before the spirit elixir can be refined, and there is no other way to do it. In this chapter, Wei Boyang sets out the essentials of the alchemical images and the crucial points of the spirit elixir.

Grasping the "white" and guarding the "black," the marvelous jing (essence) and qi (vital energy) arise of their own accord. "White" refers to golden essence, and "black" to the root of water. Water is the pivot of the Dao (the Way); its number is one, the beginning from which Yin-Yang and all things arise. Within the profound mystery lies the yellow sprout (huangya), and gold and water are the lords of the Five Metals. The "river chariot" (heche) of the north refers to the two breaths of water and fire, which circulate and generate the Five Phases. Thus lead appears black on the outside, yet golden flowering lies concealed within, like a person who wears coarse cloth yet carries jade in their bosom, seeming ordinary and even like a wild fellow.

Here, alchemical terminology is used to explain the relationship between gold and water. Golden essence is born from water, and the flow of water-qi continues without interruption, so the union of gold and water becomes the key to alchemical practice. In the numerical sequence of the Five Phases, water is one, occupying the origin of the generation of all things. The "yellow sprout" refers to the subtle substance produced by the joining of gold and water. Before ore is refined into white gold, its exterior is murky black while its interior holds golden radiance, just as a person who appears plain outwardly may hide treasure within.

“Metal is the mother of Water, and Water is the fetus of Metal. Water is born from Metal, and Metal in turn conceals its substance within Water. The saying that 'Water is Metal, and Metal is hidden in the mother's womb' means that Black Lead transforms its substance and takes up residence in the western position of the White Tiger (Baihu), which is Metal. Within Metal lies Water, and Water contains Metal, until at last the substance returns and is hidden within Metal's womb. This is true quicksilver.

“The marvel of the Perfected (zhenren) is that it seems to exist and yet seems not to, like things in a deep abyss, sinking at times and floating up at others, withdrawing and scattering, each keeping to its own boundary. This speaks of true mercury being pressed by external fire talismans (fuhuo), driven back into the mother's womb, drifting between sinking and floating, hidden and revealed. Advancing and retreating in response to these signs, it finally keeps to its own domain and dares not cross its bounds. This chapter explains in depth the inner transformation: that subtle, hidden state of emerging and vanishing, which the eyes and ears cannot detect, is truly mysterious and wondrous.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Things of the Same Kind as White (Cai Zhi Lei Bai)

The materials gathered are close to white in color, yet once refined they become red. The outer layer is refined into a protective guard, while the inner core retains its true whiteness. They are placed within a space of one square inch, mixing with one another and mutually constraining. They were born before Heaven and Earth, and their station stands lofty and exalted.”

Taking the material during refining, when it appears white, is called "initial operation" (chūyùn). At the start of the process, white gold (báijīn, a white metallic material used in alchemy) serves as the main ingredient. Once the work is complete, the elixir turns vermilion red, a stage called "making" (zào). This means that after tempering, a vigorous fire is applied to turn it red. The finished elixir has a protective outer layer, while its interior is genuine and pure. This reflects the shaping of white gold into the "spirit chamber" (shénshì), the vessel that holds the medicinal substances.

The vessel's round and square parts fit together, about one inch in diameter, and join tightly. This symbolizes the golden embryo (jīntāi, the body of the alchemical vessel) as undifferentiated chaos. The vessel is divided into an upper and a lower half, with an empty space in the middle, also about one inch across, to hold the true mercury (zhēn gǒng, a medicinal substance paired with lead in alchemy). Once the two halves are closed, they must be sealed tightly with materials so that yin and yang unite without any leakage. In this way, the dragon and tiger (lóng hǔ, a term often used for the interaction of lead and mercury in alchemy) are nourished. The old verse "Securing the navel and embryo so nothing leaks; transformation happens in an instant" describes exactly this: once the vessel is sealed and the medicine cannot escape, change occurs swiftly.

The phrase "Born before heaven and earth, lofty and exalted" means that true lead (zhēn qiān) existed before heaven and earth took form, while chaos was still undivided. Lead first came into being from the One, and only afterward did heaven, earth, yin and yang, the Five Phases, and the myriad things gradually arise. For this reason, lead is called the parent of heaven and earth and the source of yin and yang. The sage takes the root of the parents of heaven and earth as the foundation of the great medicine, and gathers the purest essence of yin and yang as the material of the returning elixir (huándān). This is therefore not something that ordinary materials can produce.

At the beginning of cultivating the Golden Elixir (jīndān), one must take the "root of heaven and earth" as the medicinal root and the "mother of yin and yang" as the elixir's mother. If one cannot generate heaven, earth, and yin and yang within the process, then it does not belong to the Way of the Golden Liquor and Returning Elixir (jīnyè huándān). If one refines the elixir with miscellaneous substances that came into being only after heaven, earth, and yin and yang were formed, such as the five metals and eight minerals, plant ash lye, morning frost and night dew, snow water and ice water, or green salt and white brine, success will likely be difficult. Fellow practitioners of the Way should contemplate this for a long time, and understanding will come on its own. Therefore, the later chapter says: "After ten thousand repetitions, it may be seen; the spirit-illumined may tell it to others."

Chapter Twenty-Six: Beside the Walls and Gates

On the "Lizang Method" (Lizang Fa), Chapter Twenty-Seven

Walls and gates are built all around, shaped like Penglai (the legendary mountain island of the immortals in the eastern sea). The enclosure is sealed on every side, leaving only passages in the four directions, winding and connected, so that the whole is guarded with care. Such a tight enclosure blocks off malignant influences and guards against accidents. The mind need no longer scheme, nor need one be troubled or wearied by anxiety. When shen (spirit) and qi fill the chamber, they will not easily scatter. Hold fast to them and one thrives; lose them and one decays. Whether in motion or at rest, true qi always stays with the person.

Whenever one cultivates the Returning Elixir (huandan), the process of condensing and transforming jing (essence) and qi into the Neidan (internal alchemy), one must set up an altar, furnace, cauldron, and stove, connected from top to bottom, shaped like Penglai and open on all four sides. Within the cauldron are a spirit chamber and a golden embryo (the inner elixir gestating in the cauldron), linked by winding passages. Inside the cauldron there are also pivots and barriers, all firmly sealed to keep out evil qi and prevent the true qi from escaping. Only then need one generate no further anxious thoughts or be worn down by worry. Even with such strict protection, and with true qi filling the chamber, one must still regulate the movement of Yin-Yang and apply effort in alternation so that the true essence (zhenjing) is retained and transformed. If the fire timing (huohou), the regulation of the process and its measure, is mishandled, then even though the true essence remains in the body, it will scatter and fail to stay. The key lies in harmonizing water and fire, holding on to the true qi so that it does not dissipate, and only then does one thrive. Thus the movement, stillness, and rest of the true qi accompany a person at every moment.

Chapter Twenty-Seven is an analysis of the Lizang Fa. The so-called Lizang method refers to visualizing within the body while the mind dwells on its images, walking along set steps and treading the Gang and Dou (stepping patterns that mimic the positions of the stars), in coordination with the Six Jia (the sexagenary spirit-names of Daoist numerology) and the days' stems and branches. It also practices yanshen (suppressive sorcery) in the yin methods (here meaning the feminine methods of practice), disturbing the yuan cells. By ingesting qi, it makes the intestines rumble, expelling proper qi and drawing in external evil. Day and night alternate, waking and sleeping without rest, and even the last and first days of the lunar month bring no pause. As a result, the body grows increasingly weary and the spirit becomes dazed, as if bewitched, while the breath in the hundred vessels surges and churns, unable to settle and clarify. Some people pile up earth to build altars, offering worship morning and evening and praying for spirits and ghosts to appear. When they see responses in dreams, they rejoice, believing they will surely prolong their lives, only to die suddenly before their time. After death the body rots and the bones lie exposed. Their conduct often contradicts reason and disrupts the essential rules. Such methods are many in kind, numbering in the thousands and tens of thousands, and in every advance and retreat they violate the Way of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi (the Daoist tradition represented by Huangdi and Laozi), twisting away from and straying from the Nine Capitals (the abodes or ideal realms of immortals in Daoist cosmology).

The so-called crooked paths refer to people who, without understanding the root of the Great Dao (dadao), turn instead to minor sidelines and peripheral techniques. Some practice inner observation (neiguan), treading the Kuigang steps, or selecting auspicious days by the Liujia (sexagenary) cycle. These are only entry-level steps for beginners. Others practice visualizing scenes to receive qi, the bedchamber arts (fangzhong shu), and methods such as bending and stretching the limbs, holding the fists (woguo), suspending the breath, and swallowing saliva. The scripture holds that these practices disorder the breath, exhaust the spirit, and injure the hun and po souls. They can even cause the yang spirit (yangshen) to leave the body, while yin evils invade the viscera. When internal and external qi press against each other, the seven po souls wander, the three corpses (sanshi) stir up trouble, the hundred vessels become agitated, and the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (dantian) fall out of balance. Those who wish to prolong life end up harming their lives. How, then, could they reach a state of stillness and clarity?

Others set up altars to sacrifice to spirits and ghosts, hoping through this to seek the Dao and extend their years. The scripture says that such acts summon ghostly qi, disturb the essential spirit (jingpo), and let evil qi enter the heart-mind. Sometimes practitioners see strange visions in their dreams, and sometimes they seem to see or hear things. They believe that longevity is within reach, yet they do not understand the principle of the Dao expressed in the saying "my life is in my own hands." Instead, they hasten the depletion of their lifespan and needlessly damage their bodies.

These practices are many and varied, and the scripture classifies all of them as heterodox sidepaths. They stall when one tries to advance, and they slow one down when one seeks quick results. They run counter to the Dao and to the principles of nature. The scripture criticizes those who call themselves accomplished cultivators, claiming that they contravene the classics transmitted by the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), obscure the true methods of cultivation, and have also lost the aims of Lord Lao (Laojun). For this reason, Wei Boyang did not wish people to be absorbed in sidepaths. He wanted to guide them directly onto the proper Way.

The scripture further states that even if the various methods preserved in the archives produce some modest results, they still inevitably end in aging and death. Only by taking the Golden Liquor Returning Elixir (jinye huandan), the Daoist method of refining elixirs into medicine, can one return to youth, attain the rank of Perfected (zhenren), and endure as long as heaven and earth. The following passage describes how golden sand enters the five viscera and disperses like mist and rain. Medicinal vapors steam through and reach the limbs, making the complexion glossy. White hair turns black, lost teeth grow back, and the old regain their vigor. Aged women regain their youth, and their appearance transforms so that they are spared the calamities of the world. This is called becoming a Perfected.

The Yellow Court Scripture (Huangting Jing) also says that a person of one hundred and twenty years may still be able to restore youth, but cultivating the Dao beyond that age becomes very difficult. Even with the Nine-Turn Eight-Jade Elixir (jiuzhuan bāqiong dan), made from the essences of sun and moon, one can save the aged and frail from decline. On this basis, the scripture holds that the method of the Golden Liquor Returning Elixir is the supreme cultivation practice, one by which a person may ascend in broad daylight and become immortal.

The discerning person examines the way of guarding against harm with care, and thereby comes to a sudden clarity about the root of cultivation. Once this clarity is attained, one must diligently practice, morning and evening without pause, and never grow slack. After taking the elixir for three years, one is able to travel lightly and far, to pass through fire without being burned and to enter water without being wetted; one can appear or disappear at will, and enjoy lasting happiness without sorrow. When cultivation is complete and virtue (De) is perfected, one withdraws into concealment to await the proper moment. When Taiyi (the spirit official who presides over alchemical practice and cultivation) summons one, one relocates to the Central Province (Zhongzhou, the divine land where the immortals dwell); when merit is fully accomplished, one ascends to heaven and receives the immortal registers and celestial scriptures.

Wei Boyang uses this to admonish those who delight in Daoist arts: one must investigate the essentials of cultivation with care, and once truly understood, should practice diligently from dawn to dusk, never slackening. When the elixir is completed and taken for three years, one can travel lightly, unhindered by water or fire, and can appear or vanish at will, quietly accumulating hidden merit while lying in wait for the right moment. When Taiyi summons, one moves to the Central Province; at the appointed time, one ascends to heaven and receives the immortal registers and celestial scriptures. When a practitioner first attains the Dao, the name is inscribed on the golden tablets of the Central Province and the diagrams and registers are received, and only after this may one ascend to heaven.

The Fire Record must not be fabricated out of falsehood.

The "fire timing" (huohou) is not arbitrary. It is explained through the rhythms of the movement of the sun and moon. The cauldron furnace (dinglu) is shaped like a reclining crescent (yanyue), and the White Tiger (Baihu) inside it, a metallic or lead-based medicinal substance, is the key to the process. Mercury moves like a flowing pearl. The Azure Dragon (Qinglong), representing wood-qi or lead-based medicine, circulates with it, joining East and West. This is the union of Yin and Yang qi, with the hun and po souls each joining their counterpart.

At the first quarter moon, the phase corresponds to the Dui trigram, with the number eight. At the last quarter, it corresponds to the Gen trigram, which also carries the number eight. Combining the upper and lower quarters, the total of the essential qi comes to one jin, symbolizing the formation of the bodies of Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth), with Yin and Yang joined without imbalance. One jin is divided into 384 zhu, which exactly matches the number of hexagrams and lines in the Yijing (Book of Changes). Although the fire timing has been recorded, it must still be applied in accordance with the patterns of the Yi, following the changes of the hexagram lines and grasping the moments of Yin-Yang waxing and waning, such as Pi (stagnation) and Tai (flourishing). Within the reclining-crescent cauldron, the Golden Tiger (jin hu), the metallic White Tiger that symbolizes metal medicine, serves as the pivot of the medicine's movement. The vermilion substances (cinnabar and quicksilver-type medicines) and the Azure Dragon are driven by the fire-qi of the bing and ding stems, while the Vermilion Bird (Zhuque), the divine bird symbolizing fire, pursues them at every turn. Together they enter the golden embryo (jintai), the embryo in which the golden elixir is formed, which is why the text calls it "the union of East and West." The hun and po refer respectively to the soul of the Azure Dragon in the East and the po of the White Tiger in the West. When the upper and lower quarters join into one jin of 384 zhu, this corresponds to the number of days in a month. Yin and Yang each pass through eight stages, and the bodies of Qian and Kun are thereby completed, which also accords with the number of the cosmic cycle (zhoutian).

Chapter Thirty: "Gold Enters the Fierce Fire"

When gold is placed into a fierce fire, its color does not change, and its essential luster still shines forth naturally. Since the separation of Heaven and Earth, the brilliance of the sun and moon has never diminished, and gold does not lose its weight, while the forms of the sun and moon remain as they always were. Gold originally arises from within the moon and receives the sun's light on the first day of the lunar month (the new moon). By the end of the month, it returns to its source, unites with the sunlight, and hides within the outline of the moon, lying concealed in a still and profound stillness. Gold restores its original nature, its majestic radiance appears, and the furnace therefore shows the auspicious sign of peace.

The Five Phases (wuxing) are such that Fire can overcome Metal, yet Metal, once refined by fire, can be shaped into vessels. When Fire and Metal act upon each other, neither is harmed. For this reason Metal is nurtured within the cauldron without dissipating, and its luster only grows brighter. Since the vessel of Qiankun (the heaven and earth of refinement and nourishment, symbolized by the cauldron-furnace) was established, the essences of the sun and moon have entered it. Each benefits the other, and both become pure and bright. The substance of Metal remains as dense as it was at the beginning, while the sun and moon continually revolve around it and shine upon it.

Metal originally arises from the Moon. As the yin essence of metal, it is situated in the west, which is why it is said that "Metal is born from the Moon." From the first day of the lunar month, the Moon receives the auspicious correspondences of the sun's hours and thereby generates Metal. To say that Metal returns to its mother means that when the Moon reaches the conjunction between the waning and the new phase, Metal returns to Water. At the end of the month, yang qi is exhausted, and the natures of Metal and Water wrap around one another and lie hidden in the vast void. The end of the month symbolizes the close of a year, and the beginning of the month symbolizes its start. Once Metal and Water have taken form, the cauldron chamber holds harmonious qi for a long time, and its efficacy becomes manifest. Thus it is said that when the breath within the cauldron flows smoothly, Metal and Water also condense. When harmonious qi is abundant and Metal and Water have condensed, the way of refinement is naturally complete.

Zi and Wu together make three, and Wu and Ji are called five. Zi belongs to Water and has the number one. Wu belongs to Fire and has the number two. Combined, they make three. Wu and Ji belong to Earth, and their number is five. When three and five unite they make eight, which is the meaning of "the harmony of three and five sets the eight stones in proper order." Between breaths they nourish one another, and by quieting the mind and waiting, they join like husband and wife.

Yellow Earth is the father of Metal, and the Flowing Pearl (liuzhu, mercury) is the son of Water. Water is restrained by Earth as by a spirit-like force, which holds it down so that it cannot surge. The Vermilion Bird (a divine bird symbolizing Fire) is the essence of Fire and is responsible for balancing and harmonizing victory and defeat. When Water overcomes Fire, Fire is dispersed. Both ultimately return to the thick Earth. Once the three natures have united, they return to their original nature and together come back to their source.

Zi belongs to Water and has the number one. Wu belongs to Fire and has the number two. Together they make three. Wu and Ji belong to Earth, which has the number five. When three and five join, they make eight. This is the meaning of "the harmony of three and five sets the eight stones in proper order." Therefore the Azure Dragon exhales and the White Tiger inhales, the White Tiger taking in the qi of the Azure Dragon. As breath moves in and out, they finally return together to their source.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Ju Sheng Can Prolong Life

Zi belongs to Water and its number is one. Wu belongs to Fire and its number is two. When the two unite, they form three. Wu and Ji belong to Earth and their number is five. When three and five join, they form eight. This is what is meant by "When Three and Five are in harmony, the Eight Minerals set the proper order." Thus the Azure Dragon, which symbolizes Wood and the qi of the East, calls to the White Tiger, which symbolizes Metal and the qi of the West. The White Tiger takes in the Azure Dragon, and their breaths interpenetrate and nourish one another. When spirit is concentrated and the mind is still, they are like a husband and wife joined in harmony.

"Yellow Earth is the father of Metal, and Flowing Pearl is the son of Water." Earth restrains quicksilver so that it no longer scatters. This refers to the season at the end of each of the four seasons, when Fire governs Earth. Once the nature of Metal is complete, the spirit of the Vermilion Bird, which symbolizes Fire, regulates the relative strengths of Fire and Metal. When Water overcomes Fire, the Fire is extinguished. The cycle of the last and first days of the lunar month comes to an end, and the result is ultimately credited to the virtue of Earth.

When the three natures of Metal, Fire, and Water are combined, they can unite their original natures and return to their common ancestral source. To say that Metal and Fire arise from "the One" means that they are born from Water-qi. This Water-qi is the primordial qi that existed before Heaven and Earth separated. It can generate the Five Phases and is not limited to the two substances of Metal and Water.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Ju Sheng Can Prolong Life

Ju Sheng (hu ma, or black sesame) can prolong a person's life. How much more, then, can the Golden Elixir, the Jinye Huandan (the "Returning Elixir of Golden Fluid," compounded from gold and taken as medicine), extend life and lead to immortality? Gold does not decay or rot, so it is regarded as the treasure of all things. When a Daoist practitioner takes it, his lifespan is lengthened.

The qi of Earth moves through the four seasons, maintaining the boundaries of the four directions and establishing their standards. When gold powder enters the Five Viscera, it is like mist dispersing and wind and rain rising. The potency of the medicine reaches the four limbs and brightens the complexion. White hair turns black, and fallen teeth grow back. An old man regains the vigor of his prime, and an old woman becomes young again. The form of aging is transformed, and worldly calamities are avoided. Such a person is called a Perfected (zhenren).

The "Ju Sheng" mentioned here is hu ma, or sesame. If eating sesame can prolong life, how much more can taking the Golden Elixir? The Returning Elixir originates from true gold, and true gold itself does not decay. True gold is in turn regarded as the root of the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth and the mother of all things. The Daodejing says: "Nameless, it is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; named, it is the mother of the ten thousand things." Before Heaven and Earth took shape, there was only a single qi, which then transformed into the myriad phenomena. Gold is the root of Water, so alchemy takes gold as the foundation of its medicinal substances. The mother of true gold can produce gold powder, which is then refined into the Returning Elixir.

The qi of Earth moving through the four seasons symbolizes the entire process of Daoist alchemy, from its beginning to its completion. Wei Boyang used this to explain that when later practitioners cultivate and take this elixir, its effects are wondrous and unlike those of ordinary medicines. The scripture describes the potency of the medicine as clouds, mist, wind, and rain, which quickly enter the Five Viscera and the four limbs. It causes a person to return to youth, white hair to turn black, and teeth to regrow, thereby reaching the state of long life and enduring vision (changsheng jiushi).

Chapter Thirty-Four: Casting White Lead into the Fire

Chapter Thirty-Three: Casting Hu Powder into the Fire

Lead powder cast into fire loses its original color and ultimately reverts to lead. Ice and snow meeting warm water likewise melt into water. Gold, cinnabar, and mercury are fundamentally of one interconnected kind. Since cinnabar is chiefly mercury, the key to their transformation lies in their inner true nature (zhenxing). Things from beginning to end succeed one another and depend on one another.

Those who wish to refine the immortal elixirs they ingest should take things of the same kind as their foundation. To plant grain, one uses millet as seed; to hatch chickens, one uses eggs. When like assists natural transformation, things readily take form. In shaping and forging creations, fish eyes cannot be taken for pearls, and artemisia cannot grow into catalpa. Only what is of the same kind can respond to and accomplish things together, and using the wrong category means no treasure can be made. Therefore swallows and sparrows do not give birth to phoenixes, and foxes and rabbits do not nurse horses. Water flows downward and does not burn upward; fire rises and does not moisten what lies below.

Hu powder (lead powder) is made from black lead, and when placed in fire it eventually returns to the form of lead. Ice and snow are formed from condensed water vapor, and when poured over with hot water they again become water. Gold, cinnabar, and mercury are interconnected: gold serves as the mother, and from it cinnabar and mercury can be generated. Hence the saying, "plant grain with millet, hatch chickens with eggs." When the qi received is sufficient, the millet becomes grain and the egg hatches into a chicken. This shows that generation of like from like, with beginning and end linked in succession, is the natural order.

If one mistakenly uses materials of different categories, such as metals and stones, plants and herbs, frost and dew, ice and snow, or brine and salts, to refine medicine, one has chosen the wrong materials. The commentary above has already explained that in refining the elixir one should take the root of Heaven and Earth as the medicinal root and the true gold mother as the medicinal mother, so that they generate the essences of yin and yang, and then refine these into gold sand and numinous mercury as the medicine of longevity. The nature of fire is to rise, so it cannot be made to moisten downward; the nature of water is to descend, so it cannot be made to burn upward. By reasoning from the principle that each of the myriad things has its own natural nature and generates like from like, one may infer that the gold mother can generate gold sand.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Among the Many Scholars

Many people in the world are learned and gifted, and their hearts are set on the Dao (the Way) and its methods. They wish to refine elixirs and seek the mysterious, yet they have no opportunity to meet an enlightened master. They act only on scriptures and oral formulas, guessing at their meaning as they please. Unable to find the correct path, they handle the materials improperly and waste their wealth. They pound and prepare Qiang stone, chalcanthite, mica, alum, lodestone, sulfur, Yuzhang clay, and quicksilver, firing and stirring them again and again, and then add copper from the five stones as auxiliary medicines. But these substances differ in nature, so how could they fuse into one? Doing this a thousand or ten thousand times, they are bound to fail again and again, and hoping to succeed by luck only becomes a deluded fantasy. Even after cultivating from youth until their hair is white, they still have not met an enlightened master. Along the way doubts arise, they turn from the proper path, persist in their delusion, and enter a crooked road. Their understanding is like looking through a tube: their view is narrow, and so they cannot infer the principles of what lies ahead.

Wei Boyang said: Many learned Confucian scholars attend to the arts of the Dao and delight in refining elixirs and seeking the mysterious, yet they have no opportunity to meet an enlightened master. They rely only on scriptures and oral formulas and act on their own ideas. They waste their wealth, pound together various medicines, and hope through them to attain long life and transcend the world.

Wei Boyang further said: These learned scholars, lacking an enlightened master, judge only by written words and oral formulas. Year after year they refine their preparations, and even when their hair turns white they persist in their delusion without turning back. Holding to their narrow understanding, they enter a crooked road by themselves. A thousand or ten thousand attempts are bound to fail, and they cannot foresee the outcome. Because the various medicines differ in nature, they cannot be forced together. This point has already been explained above.

Chapter Thirty-Five: On the Utmost Sages

The Dao of the utmost sages began when Fuxi first drew the Eight Trigrams (Bagua), modeling them on Heaven and Earth. King Wen of Zhou clarified the images of the trigrams and developed the statements of their lines. Confucius, as the most outstanding of the sages and worthies, composed the Ten Wings (Shiyi) to assist in their explanation. All three sage rulers were born of Heaven, and they arose in succession in different ages to govern the world. Their times came in sequence and their governance differed, yet their merit and virtue were not ranked above or below one another. What they created had its own foundations, and their deductions and judgments were careful and thorough. Visible things are easy to measure, but principles without form or sign are difficult to fathom.

What is before our eyes as an example can establish norms for the world. The Odes, the Documents, and other classics had no prior knowledge on which to rest, and people came to understand them through the enlightenment of transmitted teaching. Once the principle is grasped, it is like drawing back a curtain to see the scene before one, or like closing one's eyes and ascending a high terrace to gain a more distant view.

Wei Boyang (Wei Boyang) praised the three sages, Fuxi, King Wen of Zhou, and Confucius, for their outstanding natural gifts and keen wisdom. Each manifested De (Virtue), clarified the principles of the Yi (Book of Changes), and enabled people to understand the conditions of Heaven, Earth, and all things. They edited the Odes and the Documents, organized the admonitions exchanged between ruler and minister, determined the forms of the hexagram lines and distinguished their subtle changes, and investigated the Dao by calculating the numbers of the stars' movements around the heavens.

Though Heaven and Earth are vast, they cannot conceal the signs of the transformations of pi (stagnation) and tai (flourishing). Though Yin-Yang is subtle and formless, it contains the regularities of movement and stillness. Therefore the sages, relying on these principles, sought the Dao. They took Qian and Kun as the cauldron and furnace of alchemy, so that the mind and spirit were concentrated and could govern the myriad spirits. They also linked Yin-Yang with the sundial and the seasons, so that the forces passed through the Six Voids (the spatial positions through which the operations of Yin-Yang transform), thereby giving birth to the myriad kinds of beings.

What is visible and easy to infer is Heaven and Earth; what has no sign and is hard to foresee is Yin-Yang. Without the three sages elucidating the principles of the Yi, how could Water and Fire be employed? Without the writings left by the sages of successive generations, by what method could the Dragon and Tiger (alchemical terms for paired opposing agents, such as lead and mercury, or Yin and Yang) be restrained? Thus it is said that one who originally lacked foreknowledge may reflect on the Dao through these teachings. It is like lifting a curtain: one sees what lies before one, yet on ascending a high terrace, one still cannot see where it ends. This is a metaphor for how the Dao of the sages grows loftier the more one looks up to it, and deeper the more one studies it. Having further clarified these principles through the Yi, what follows briefly explains the contents of the Huoji (Records of Fire).

Chapter Thirty-Six: "The Six Hundred Pieces of the Records of Fire"

The six hundred sections of the Records of Fire do not differ in their content, yet their wording is repeated with great earnestness. If people do not reflect carefully and trace their origins, it will be difficult to grasp the principle by which the hidden and the manifest interpenetrate. The hidden and the manifest have always coexisted, and the more one seeks to probe them, the more profound they appear.

I have privately explained these matters to worthy persons, so how could I presume to commit them to writing lightly? Yet if I remained silent altogether, I would fear that I obstructed the Dao and incurred guilt. To set down what is in my mind upon bamboo and silk risks divulging heavenly mysteries. I hesitated again and again, sighing repeatedly, and could only ponder and weigh my words. The Way of refining and nourishing has its own standards and cannot be laid out in full, so here I only briefly outline its essential principles and key points.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Gold as the Embankment

Gold serves as an embankment, and when water enters it, the two can circulate in stability. The count for gold is fifteen, and the count for water is the same. When the weights are settled at the furnace, five parts of water remain in excess. Once gold and water are properly balanced, they form true gold of the same weight as at the start. Three parts are not placed into the fire, and two parts enter the furnace together with the gold and water. The three materials fuse with one another, and their transformations are wondrous. The fire beneath the furnace drives the Yang qi upward, and in a brief interval the materials first melt into liquid and then congeal. This is called the Huangyu (Yellow Carriage). After a period of time, the circulation of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases is complete, and the contents of the furnace lose their original natures and return to the Virtue (De) of Earth. Their form resembles ash and dust, like specks floating before a bright window.

Commentary: The Gold Mother (jinmu) dwells in the central palace, serving as the embankment for mercury so that gold and water can unite in stability. Gold and water each absorb qi according to the appropriate hour, each taking half, for a combined total of one catty. After the gold sand is refined, the Gold Mother, which is the root, suffers no loss, and so the text says its weight is the same as before. The "three parts not placed into the fire" refer to True Earth. Gold, fire, and wood are these three materials, and when they enter the furnace together with gold and water at the proper times, their natures can fuse. The Gold Mother first receives the refining of the sun's essential qi, moistens into liquid, and then congeals, which is why it is called the Yellow Carriage. When the efficacy of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases has run its full course, things shed their former forms and return to the central palace, that is, they return to the Earth Virtue of the Yellow Emperor, which belongs to the central element of Earth. For this reason the text says that they finally turn into earth, with a spirit-form like dust in a bright window.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: On Pounding, Refining, and Combining

Dao Lineage Chapter 39: Deducing the Numbers of the Five Phases

The first paragraph describes the cauldron itself. The medicinal substances are pounded, refined, and blended, then placed in a cauldron called the "Red Gate" (chishi men). Its mouth is sealed tightly and securely. A fire is lit beneath it and kept burning day and night. At first the fire should be gentle, wenhuo (literally "civil fire"), and it must be watched closely. Later it is raised to wuhuo ("martial fire"). Throughout, the fire must be observed with care and attention, its heat adjusted at every moment, and the cycle must turn through the twelve jie (junctures) in order. Once the twelve junctures are complete, the fire must still be watched. When the vital breath (qi) is nearly exhausted, as if life itself were ending, the substances in the furnace will change their form, turning purple and shining brilliantly, and will finally be refined into the Returning Elixir (huandan). A single pill, about the size of a daogui (an ancient unit of measure for a very small dose), is taken, and it produces marvelous effects.

Once the substances are pounded and refined, their foundation is secure and their sealing is complete. When they are placed inside the cauldron, the vessel is called the "Red Gate." Water above flows downward, and fire below rises upward. From the new moon (shuo, the first day of the lunar month) to the last day of the month (hui), the fire advances and recedes, and its rising and falling change from day to night. The gentle fire begins at the hour of zi (around midnight), is changed to martial fire after the hour of si (around 9 to 11 a.m.), and stops at noon. It then continues from the yinfu phase, the "Yin Talisman" stage of the cycle, through to the hour of hai (around 9 to 11 p.m.). The heat is adjusted to follow the changing seasons and cycles through the twelve junctures, and when it ends, it begins again. When one full cycle of fire is complete, the substances change form, turning purple-gold and shining brightly, and are refined into an elixir. A single pill, the size of a daogui, is taken, and it brings wondrous effects that cannot be fully described.

The fire is adjusted according to heat and cold, and when the twelve junctures are complete, the process starts again. When one full cycle of fire is finished, the substances change form, turning purple-gold and shining brightly, and are refined into an elixir. A single pill, the size of a daogui, is taken, and it brings marvelous effects whose workings cannot be fully described.

Chapter Forty: Names That Fix the True Condition

The second section, which opens the next chapter, concerns the Five Phases. In deducing the numbers of the Five Phases, one values simplicity and does not need complexity. If water is brought in to strike the fire, the flame will suddenly go out. When the sun and moon eclipse one another, the eclipse usually occurs between the last day and the new moon. When the water force is strong, Kan water (the trigram representing water) presses upon the yang fire. When the Li fire (the trigram representing fire) weakens, even the daylight grows dim. Yin and yang interact and act upon one another; this is the natural Dao.

The transformations of the Five Phases arise from emptiness and are profound and difficult to grasp. But if one reasons from the overall numerical order of Heaven and Earth, their movements cannot be hidden. Within the cauldron the Five Phases are bound together, yin and yang unite, the fire rises, and the water recedes. When water surges and fire weakens, the sun-soul (riHun, the essence of the sun representing yang qi) begins at the new moon, and the moon-soul (yuepo, the essence of the moon representing yin qi) ends at the last day of the month. Yin and yang, female and male, alternate in turn, and cinnabar and mercury transform into one another accordingly. The principles by which Heaven and Earth move naturally become clear through this, and the way of alchemy is thereby made plain.

Chapter Forty: Names as the Means of Fixing the True Nature

Names are used to define the condition of things, and words are used to explain their nature. Only when Metal returns to its original nature can the Returning Elixir be accomplished. I do not dare to speak rashly; I simply set forth the principles according to nature. In this way the Dao of alchemy is revealed.

The image of Qian (Qian) is vigorous and strong, while the image of Kun (Kun) is yielding and compliant. When firmness and yielding join and each embraces the other, Yang receives from within Yin what it needs, and male and female depend on one another. Only then can the Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) generated by Heaven and Earth unfold and circulate.

The hexagrams Kan (Kan) and Li (Li) stand at the head of the sequence, and their work of illumination is thereby made manifest. Yet the profound and subtle principles within them are difficult to fathom and cannot be fully depicted by diagrams. The sage examined and reasoned, arranged the order, and established the root of the generation of the myriad things. When the Four Images (Sixiang) blend and return to unity, one enters the realm of emptiness.

The sixty hexagrams, arranged in sequence, form the carriage of movement and change, and dragon-horses (longma) draw it, while the enlightened ruler grasps the right moment. If the times are in harmony, the carriage can proceed smoothly along its road. If it takes a crooked path, the way becomes perilous and may even overturn the state.

Here, through the hexagrams Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li of the Book of Changes (Yi), the text explains the conjunction of Yin-Yang and its processes of change. It uses the image of the carriage to stress following the right moment and proceeding along the correct Way (Dao).

Qian is firm and vigorous, and Kun is yielding and compliant; the two correspond and unite. In cultivating the Golden Liquor Returning Elixir (jinye huandan), refined internally from lead, mercury, and other materials, one must first establish the cauldron vessel (dingqi) in which Qian and Kun reach completed harmony (qian kun jiji), and then cause yin and yang, essence and qi, to join within it. Next, the water and fire of Kan and Li are set in circulation, so that sun and moon, dragon and tiger, are brought together. Only then does the cauldron begin to show its radiance, profound and unfathomable.

This is because one follows the standards left by the sages, investigates the root of the medicinal substances, and causes Qian with Kun and Li with Kan to mix and correspond, moving upward and downward through the six voids (liuxu). The five qi unfold and are arranged according to the sequence of the sixty hexagrams and the twelve double-hours, like a carriage in motion, to welcome the dragon horse. Within the cauldron, the Golden Mother of the Central Palace (zhonggong jinmu), a term in inner alchemy for the metal-natured spirit that dwells in the central palace and presides over the refining process, acts like a ruler who governs the state and regulates the seasons, so that the harmonious qi flows along its natural course. If one simply lets things be and accords with the Great Dao, the path remains smooth and free of danger, and progress proceeds in orderly cycles of return.

If the timing of the fire is improper and there are no fixed principles for gathering the right moment, the path of cultivation will meet obstacles, like a state that falls into ruin. The Golden Consort (jin fei), a term in inner alchemy for the metal-natured spirit in the spirit chamber (shenshi) that corresponds to the Golden Mother, will then lose its support and be unable to nourish and bring forth. Therefore, the key to golden elixir cultivation lies entirely in "governing the state and regulating the seasons": harmonizing the movement of qi so that it flows in its natural course, and letting it be spontaneous. Lead fire is the root of the refining, namely water and fire, and is the ancestor of the returning elixir; the remaining five phases and climatic conditions are only auxiliary. The Golden Consort is the Golden Mother.

Chapter Forty-Two: The Gentleman Dwells in His Chamber

When the gentleman speaks good words within his home, people a thousand miles away respond. This sentence is a metaphor for the Golden Old Man (jin weng), a term in inner alchemy for the metal-natured spirit that resides in the spirit chamber during the refining process, just as a ruler dwells in the deep palace. Each day the water and fire are circulated, like a ruler issuing commands, so that each kind of qi finds its proper place.

During cultivation, one must also remain still and non-acting (wuwei), store and nourish the inner qi, and wait for the appropriate moment. One must both accord with the standards shown by the trigram lines and act with caution according to the hours. The hexagrams Tun and Meng correspond to the day-and-night sequence within a single month: the sixty hexagrams are apportioned to the climate of a month, each day and night has its own hexagram, and the cycle repeats. The earthly branches yin and shen mark the positions where the movement of yin and yang begins and ends.

Chapter Forty-Three: Briefly Presenting the Two Images

On the Two Images Briefly Stated (Liaochen Liangxiang)

Here the rules of the two transformations, water and fire, are briefly described, but their principles cannot yet be fully exhausted. Establishing standards and carrying out rewards and punishments must accord with the proper timing: when benevolence should be applied, apply benevolence; when standards should be set, set standards. Going against the regularities brings danger, while following them brings good fortune. One should rely on the calendar and the seasonal divisions, be wholly attentive and cautious, and keep close watch. Operations should follow the corresponding hexagram images and cycle back and forth. The earthly branches yin and shen mark the places where the movement of Yin-Yang begins and ends.

On the Two Images (Liang Xiang)

The two images mentioned here refer to water and fire, that is, Yin-Yang. From the zi hour (zi shi) to the si hour (si shi), corresponding to spring and summer, is the period when fire qi grows and emerges. Placing the medicinals in the dingqi (cauldron vessel) and warming them nourishes them so that jing (essence) qi gathers; this symbolizes carrying out benevolence. From the wu hour (wu shi) to the hai hour (hai shi), corresponding to autumn and winter, is the period when the fuhou (phase signs) turn toward severity. The medicinals gradually condense in the cauldron, bringing the linggong (spirit mercury) together, and this symbolizes establishing standards.

Wei Boyang, author of the Cantong qi (Kinship of the Three), used this teaching to help later readers understand that one should grasp the degrees of the sun and moon's movements, distinguish the waxing and waning of Yin-Yang, and follow the changes of cold and heat in accordance with the lines of the hexagrams. He thereby admonishes practitioners to be wholly attentive and careful, observing the waxing, waning, coming, and going of Yin-Yang so that no regret or error arises in the cauldron, and no "thief" appears to waste the medicinals. In this way, the chijing (red essence) qi descends, the baigong (white mercury) condenses into form, and the Golden Liquor Returning Elixir (jinye huandan) can be completed swiftly.

On the Two Solstices Changing Their Measures (Erzhi Gaidu)

In the season of the winter solstice it is instead scorching hot, while at the summer solstice frost and snow fall. The timing of the spring and autumn equinoxes is disordered and no longer corresponds to the hours shown by the clepsydra (keilou). Wind and rain go awry, floods and droughts alternate, and swarms of locusts gather. One anomaly follows another, the heavens display strange signs, and mountains collapse and the earth splits.

A filial son who sincerely exhausts his devotion can move heaven and earth and affect the court. Matters that are near arise from one's own words and deeds, while those that are distant spread to other lands. Human actions sometimes bring calamity and sometimes bring blessing, sometimes foster great peace and sometimes provoke war. All of these results arise from the human heart and from what people do.

Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, and Autumn Equinox, the four solar terms, correspond to the Earthly Branches zi, wu, mao, and you, and in the sequence of the Twelve Chen they mark the boundaries of the four seasons. Earth Virtue (tude, the Earth Phase of the Five Phases) then runs at the end of each season, bringing forth the Dragon and Tiger (images of Metal and Wood). These arrangements do not rest on the seasons alone; within the Twelve Chen they are further subdivided into the Twenty-Four Solar Terms and the Seventy-Two Pentads (hou), symbolizing the changing breath of the year.

If the timing is slightly off, the sun and moon fall out of their proper courses: the calculations of the new moon and the end of the month deviate, and the lengths of day and night no longer follow their regular measure. Or if the fire of the Yang fire (yanghuo) is overheated in its firing degrees (huohou), flood and drought fall out of balance. In this way, the deep winter may turn into blazing heat; if the Yin talismans (yinfu, the signs that correspond to the movement of Yin Qi) lose their proper timing, cold and warmth invade one another, and even at midsummer heavy frost may fall. Within the Golden Palace, cinnabar and mercury cannot sprout, and within a single cauldron, insects and worms instead multiply. In severe cases mountains collapse and the earth splits, and the Golden Tiger and Wooden Dragon churn in turmoil; in milder cases torrential rain and violent wind arise, and the Kan Man and Li Woman (who symbolize water, fire, and their corresponding Yin-Yang forces) scatter in flight.

The Golden Tiger and Wooden Dragon are the souls (hun and po) of the East and West; the Kan Man and Li Woman are the husband and wife paired with the South and North. The so-called "filial son scattering" describes how the true mercury (zhenhong) within the embryo, which is the true essence (jing) spoken of in alchemical practice, keeps flying apart because the firing degrees have been mishandled; it may even burst out through the mouth of the Huangji Cauldron (the cauldron used in the process) and be lost elsewhere. These auspicious and inauspicious outcomes, these rises and declines, all depend on the inner judgment of the person who governs the firing degrees.

If one can follow the regularities of Heaven's timing, measure the courses of sun and moon, carefully harmonize their changes, and apply the firing degrees with utmost sincerity, so that the harmonious breath gathers within the cauldron and congeals into dry essence, and so that the True Ruler (zhenzai, the true qi that governs transformation) generates the pure Kun within the embryo, what is refined is called true quicksilver (zhenshuiyin).

Chapter Forty-Five: "Constancy of Movement and Stillness"

Movement and stillness each have their constant measure, and one should follow their rules and standards. When the four seasons run in their proper order, one can respond in accord with the qi; the boundary between hard and soft is thereby made clear, and they do not mix with one another. The Five Phases each keep their own positions and are not arbitrarily increased or diminished. The Way of the Changes (yidao, the Way of transformation described in the Zhouyi) circulates without end, folding and hiding within the embryo...

The myriad things, in motion and at rest, all follow fixed regularities, and one must abide by their measures (fadu). The four seasons move in accordance with their proper sequence and correspond to the qi of Heaven and Earth. Hardness and softness each have their own boundaries and do not mix. The Five Phases (wuxing) each keep their own positions and are not arbitrarily increased or diminished. The transformations of Yin-Yang (yinyang) circulate, returning and reversing, extending and contracting in cycles, each proceeding in its own time. When one uses the qi of water and fire, one must also accord with the right moment, so that the Dragon and Tiger qi (here referring to the Yin and Yang qi) coordinate with each other, like a mother and child who depend upon one another. When the Five Phases keep their positions, the four seasons turn, and fullness and waning change without losing their measure, cultivation will gradually bear visible results.

Between the Last and First Days of the Month (Huishuo, Chapter 46)

At the turning point between the end of the month and its beginning, Yin and Yang qi join and move in proper harmony, like the chaos before Heaven and Earth first opened. Yin and Yang follow one another and nourish and moisten each other, so that their transformations give rise to life without end. The subtle workings of Heaven and Earth cannot be fathomed, yet they enable a person to find peace in their body. When the form is gathered in and hidden, the root of life also lies concealed and does not show. The transformations of Yin and Yang begin where the Ji and Dou lunar mansions lie in the northeast. From there they turn to the right, and the qi moves like a round wheel, breathing in and out and stirring to life, sprouting new growth. Latent appearances begin to emerge, and the refined essence (jing) gradually radiates light.

At the moment of Huishuo, metal and water join, roughly after dusk and before the Yin hour (yin shi, around 3 to 5 a.m.). The signs of the Yang phase (fuhou, the timing signs of the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang) have already withdrawn, and the metal and water qi return to a single source. Therefore Yin and Yang mix and respond to each other, and the metal qi flows while the water moistens, as though a womb were nurturing new life. This subtle transformation cannot be measured, yet it enables a person to find peace. The form gathers and hides, while the essential light gradually appears within concealment.

The qi begins to turn to the right from the northeast, just as the moon revives at the start of the month, circling from the region of the Ji and Dou mansions. At this time the qi stirs and new sprouts gradually arise, and the light slowly becomes visible. Yet it is still the time when Yin qi lies hidden, and the old full form is about to be restored. The Gen position in the northeast (one of the positions of the Bagua, or Eight Trigrams) is the starting point from which qi arises and cycles without end, and the Hidden Dragon also stirs anew from here. In the language of alchemy, this is the operation of the fire timing (huohou) between the Dog and Pig hours, when the metal and water in the cauldron pass through the change of the month and, as the Zi hour approaches and the first Yang begins to rise, they start to move.

The Gen position is not far from the Yin hour, so the text says the qi breathes like a round wheel and sends forth sprouts. Metal Mother (Jin Mu, the symbol of metal qi) and the metal and water are nourished and flow freely between the end and beginning of the month. When the new month arrives and meets the fire timing of the Zi hour, when the first Yang is born, the metal qi gradually brightens again. It turns to the left once more, sending out new sprouts, and the body of the Dragon gradually takes shape. Therefore the passage that follows says that flourishing and decline will gradually change and in the end return to their original state.

Above the Mao and Bi Lunar Mansions (Chapter 47)

The moon's passage above the Pleiades and Net stars brings forth the Zhen hexagram, signifying that yang qi begins to stir. The first line, Nine at the Beginning, is like a dragon hidden in the depths: yang qi takes three as its foothold, while yin qi connects through eight. On the third day the Zhen hexagram appears; on the eighth day the Dui hexagram moves into operation.

Nine in the Second Place is like a dragon made manifest: yin and yang are in harmony, and brightness gradually grows. Passing through the numbers three and five, the Virtue (De) of the Five Phases (Wuxing) gradually comes to be fully present, and from this the form of the Qian hexagram takes shape.

Nine in the Third Place is like a dragon alert in the night: yang qi begins to wane, and the wondrous tallies (fu) shift along with its waxing and waning. Once the changes deepen, they eventually return to their starting point. The Xun hexagram continues the thread of this change, holding fast to it and steadying it.

Nine in the Fourth Place stands between leaping and retreating. Advance and withdrawal both call for caution, and its position is not secure. The Gen hexagram governs the cessation of advance and retreat, keeping change from overstepping its season. On the twenty-third day, one should await the moment when the moon reaches its quarter phase. "Quarter" (xian) refers to the time when the moon appears half-round, like the string of a bow.

Nine in the Fifth Place is like a dragon soaring, dwelling in the celestial position, with yang qi vigorous and auspicious. Six in the Fifth Place is taken up by the Kun hexagram, which gathers and binds together beginning and end, containing and nourishing many descendants, becoming for generation after generation the mother of all things.

Top Nine is like a dragon that has risen too high, doing battle in the wilds with the Virtues of yin and yang. The Nine of the Use (yong jiu) prizes flowing with transformation as the principle by which things operate. Yet once the number of yang has reached its limit, it rises again after reaching its end; by investigating the conditions of things and uniting the natures of yin and yang, they circulate, transform, and correspond to one another.

The moon first appears above the stars Mao and Bi in the west, a sign that yang fire begins to circulate. Counting from the hours of Zi and Chou, after five days a single surge of qi unfolds. Then another yang line is born, forming the trigram Zhen (Arousing), which symbolizes the breath within the cauldron (ding) first stirring and yang qi beginning to sprout. As yang grows, by the third five-day period, fifteen days in all, all three lines have become yang, forming the pure yang trigram Qian (Creative), which symbolizes that the completed body of cultivation has become whole.

"Yang is established by three" means that after three days of yang fire's circulation, the yang qi within the cauldron first spreads out, hence "on the third day, Zhen stirs." "Yin is penetrated by eight" means that after passing through two stages, on the eighth day a second yang line is born, forming the trigram Dui (Joyous). Dui belongs to metal, and metal joining with water qi signifies that yin and yang qi communicate at the first quarter moon, hence "on the eighth day, Dui moves." "Nine in the second place: the dragon appears in the field; peace and brightness" describes the moon at the first quarter, its form visible and its light growing. This is a metaphor for the metal and water qi within the cauldron taking up the seasonal phases of Yin and Mao, with yin and yang each occupying half.

"Three-five virtue accomplished" means that the yang qi of Qian, circulating through the hours of Chen and Si, has passed through three stages, fifteen days in total, so that all three lines become yang and the body of Qian is completed. From then on yin and yang begin to separate, decline and growth shift gradually, and at last they return to the starting point and cycle without end.

Then Xun (Gentle) carries on the circulation of yin qi. "Nine in the fourth place: leaping or stopping, advancing or retreating, the Way is perilous" describes a yang line changing into yin, forming Xun. Xun receives the yin tally and circulates for five days through the hours of Wu and Wei. The weak yin lines gradually grow, yin qi arises accordingly and enfolds the yang essence (jing). After four stages are complete, a second yin line is born, forming Gen (Keeping Still). After five stages, in the hours of Shen and You, the moon reaches its last quarter, and yin and yang qi once more come into balance.

"Nine in the fifth place: the flying dragon, heavenly position, adds joy" describes how, after six stages and thirty days, Kun (Receptive) circulates the yin tally to the hours of Xu and Hai. The qi of Qian and Kun is now full, and the cycles of dragon and tiger, of yin and yang, and of all things have each completed one round, hence "adds joy."

"Six in the fifth place: Kun receives and binds beginning and end, nurtures the many sons, and is forever the mother of their kind" means that Kun receives and gathers the beginning and end of yin-yang transformation, nourishing the many hexagrams as a mother raises her children. Kun first produces one yang line to become Zhen, the eldest son of the Qian house. Changing line by line, it then becomes the pure yang Qian. When yang qi reaches its peak, yin qi arises again, and Qian in turn produces yin lines one by one, first becoming Xun, the eldest daughter of the Kun house, and finally the pure yin Kun. All the transformations of yin and yang and the growth of all things are accomplished through Kun's nurturing. "The many sons" refers to the many hexagrams. Kun receives the process of the returning elixir (huandan) from its beginning to its completion, and it is the standard by which cultivation and its transformations are governed.

"Nine used, all flying lightly" describes how, once yang qi reaches its peak, it withdraws from its position in due time. When the yang count is complete, it turns to meet and join with yin qi.

The Dao (the Way)'s rules are the Qian and Kun hexagrams. To accord with the transformations of Yin-Yang, one must follow the regular movement of the Northern Dipper. Because these transformations circulate through the six lines of the hexagram, they have no fixed place, and this is the foundation of the Yi (Book of Changes). The text here also uses this image for the Kan and Li (water and fire) qi turning within the cauldron (ding). It circulates through the six voids (the six positions that the lines of a hexagram occupy), so outsiders cannot perceive it. The mysterious qi arises in subtlety, and this is the root from which the medicinal substances are formed.

The new moon (the first day of each month) corresponds to the Fu hexagram (Return), in which a single yang line is born beneath five yin lines. This shows that once yin qi has reached its extreme, yang qi begins to revive. Yang qi starts to circulate, moving in and out without obstruction. A gnomon is set upright to observe the shadow of the sun and to discern the vigorous changes of yang qi. Huangzhong (the first of the ancient twelve pitch-pipes) corresponds to the Zi month (the eleventh lunar month), and its early signs gradually become visible. Yang qi spreads and acts, warmth slowly arises, and the myriad things each keep their proper order.

"At the new moon, Return" means that with five yin lines and one yang line, yin qi has reached its peak and yang qi begins to regenerate. Among the six yielding lines, the lower trigram first transforms into a single firm line, symbolizing the first birth of yang. Therefore the yang fire is advanced beginning at the Rat hour (zi). Yang qi begins to circulate, corresponding to the Huangzhong pitch. The cauldron receives the faint yang qi and begins to lay the foundation of Shagong (sand and mercury, symbolic substances used in alchemy). With five yin and one yang, yang qi is dominant, so the breath spreads and flows everywhere. This is what is meant by "moving in and out without haste." The Yi says, "Return and repeat its course; in seven days it comes back," and it also says that the Fu hexagram reveals the "heart of Heaven and Earth." Here the Fu hexagram illustrates that the myriad things are generated within the cauldron and that everything begins from this point. It corresponds to the fire-timing of advancing the yang fire at the Rat hour of the eleventh month.

The Lin hexagram (Approach) corresponds to the Ox hour (chou). Shoots sprout in the furnace, the proper path opens, and the light gradually appears. As the radiance advances, it grows each day. Dalü (another of the twelve pitch-pipes) corresponds to the Ox month, and through it the rising and falling of yin and yang are brought into harmony.

The Lin hexagram has four yin lines and two yang lines, and it is used to describe the conduct of fire at the Ox hour. The virtue of yang gradually increases, and the light within the cauldron grows brighter. After the winter solstice the days lengthen daily, yang qi slowly spreads, and Shen, Qi, and Jing are generated. The phrase "Dalü establishes the proper high and low" means that metal and water respond to yang qi, and the liuzhu (flowing pearl, an alchemical term for the substance being refined) gradually condenses above. This corresponds to the fire-timing of advancing the yang fire at the Ox hour of the eleventh month.

Looking up at the Tai hexagram (Peace): hard and soft lines flourish together, yin and yang meet, the small recedes and the great arrives, and the myriad qi gather at the Tiger hour (yin), moving in accord with the seasons.

The Tai hexagram has three yin lines and three yang lines. It symbolizes the balance of yin and yang qi and their mutual interaction, like the union of husband and wife. The essences of the Dragon and Tiger (alchemical names for yang and yin qi) gradually emerge and unfold. This is how the fire-timing is progressively carried out.

Looking up at the heavens, one can see the hexagram Tai (Peace), which symbolizes the union of Heaven and Earth and the free flow of yin and yang. Firm and yielding forces flourish together, yin and yang interact, yin gradually recedes while yang gradually advances, and all things gather at the yin hour (yinshi). Their movement accords with the proper sequence of the seasons.

Tai is composed of three yin lines and three yang lines, symbolizing the balance of yin and yang qi. The scripture uses the union of husband and wife as a metaphor for the interaction of yin and yang. As this interaction gradually becomes visible, the dragon-tiger essence and qi (longhu jingqi, a Daoist alchemical term for the essence and qi of yin and yang) appear, allowing gold and mercury to be generated and to flourish. For this reason it says "the small goes out, the great comes in." The Classic of Changes states: "There is no level ground that does not slope, no departure that does not return." This describes the principle by which yin and yang alternate in their movements. Here it corresponds to the fire timing (huohou, the stages of applying fire at the proper times in alchemical practice) of advancing the yang fire during the yin hour of the first lunar month.

Next comes the hexagram Dazhuang (The Great Invigorating): it lies between the Mao gate (maomen), where the elm pods fall and return to their roots. Punishment and virtue alternate, and day and night begin to divide equally.

Dazhuang is composed of two yin lines and four yang lines. This refers to the middle of winter, when yang qi is growing but still contains yin, and the yin is about to withdraw. Therefore the elm pods fall as yang changes. The phrase "punishment and virtue turn against each other" refers to the second and eighth lunar months, when yin and yang alternate and divide equally. Yang is virtue, which makes things grow, and yin is punishment, which makes things wither. In the second month, yang still contains yin, and the yin stirs the myriad things, so the elm pods fall in mid-spring. This symbolizes gold sand falling into the furnace along with the movements of residual yin, which is why it says "returning to the root." In the eighth month, yin gradually contains yang, yang arises, and in mid-autumn the shepherd's purse and wheat grow again. This symbolizes gold and water moistening and filling the alchemical chamber with residual yang, which is why it says "renewed flourishing." The statement in the Guan hexagram that "punishment and virtue turn against each other" also refers to the moment when yin and yang are in balance, corresponding to the breath-and-talisman fire timing (xifu huohou, the stage of regulating the breath and responding to the talisman in alchemy) during the mao hour of the second month.

The hexagram Guai symbolizes the withdrawal of yin: yang rises forward, washes its feathers clean, and shakes off the dust that has long accumulated.

Guai is composed of one yin line and five yang lines. It symbolizes the rise and renewed flourishing of yang. This corresponds to the moment of balance between yin and yang mentioned in the Guan hexagram, the breath-and-talisman fire timing of the mao hour in the second month.

The hexagram Guai symbolizes the withdrawal of yin: yang rises forward, washes its feathers clean, and shakes off the dust that has long accumulated.

Guai is composed of one yin line and five yang lines, symbolizing the ascent of yang and the descent of yin. Yang has already become strong, but a little yin remains in the furnace. The fire of the chen hour (chenshi) sweeps it away, so that the golden sand is like feathers washed clean and old dust shaken off. This corresponds to advancing the yang fire during the chen hour of the third lunar month.

The Qian hexagram is vigorous and bright, shining widely over the four quarters. Yang reaches its culmination at the si hour (sishi) and joins with...

Chapter 55: Narrating the Beginning of Coupling (Gou Shi Ji Xu)

The Book of Changes says: "The primal qi of Qian (Qian Yuan, the root force by which all things come into being) is vast and great. It is vigorous and strong, correct and centered, pure and subtle. All things begin to grow by relying on Qian Yuan." From the winter solstice, when the first yang is born, until yang qi is full and every yin line has changed into the pure yang hexagram, the myriad things are nourished and grow into form.

This passage serves as a metaphor for the refining and nurturing process within the cauldron. Beginning in the eleventh month with "receiving the talisman," the six lines gradually transform until, in the fourth month, all of them have become pure Qian, showing that the yang fire has progressively reached its completion. The golden embryo (jin tai) meets the true yang fire and can be refined into a vessel. It grows ever more luminous, its radiance spreads to the four directions, and it fills the cauldron chamber. This corresponds to the fire timing of introducing yang fire at the hour of si (9 to 11 a.m.) in the fourth month. Once yang qi reaches its peak, yin qi begins to sprout. This is what the following passage describes as "the yin drying up and yang's virtue."

Gou (the hexagram of the single yin, symbolizing the first emergence of yin) begins by describing how yin qi arises. Frost starts as a slight chill, and the cold spring at the bottom of the well grows cold as well. "At noon, the guest lies hidden beneath yin, and yin becomes the host" means that yang qi, represented by noon, retreats to a secondary position while yin qi begins to occupy the primary one.

The Book of Changes says: "Gou means encounter." When a single yin line appears beneath five yang lines, yin qi sprouts and yang qi withdraws. Yin and yang meet at their boundary, and the dragon and tiger (symbols of yin and yang qi) couple, which is why it is called an encounter. The text further says: "Bind it to the metal stopper; perseverance brings good fortune." This means restraining the newly emerging yin qi so that it does not stir recklessly, for only then is there auspiciousness. The yin line begins to change from noon onward and develops gradually until yin qi reaches its height.

"Treading on frost first" means that when yin qi has just emerged, there is only a light frost, but if it continues to develop, it will harden into ice. "The cold spring at the bottom of the well" means that beneath the five yang lines there is already one yin line. Although the yin has not fully unfolded, it has begun to take charge. In a hexagram with five yin lines and one yang, yang is the dominant force; in one with five yang lines and one yin, yin is dominant. Because the minority side holds the leading position, it is said that "yin becomes the host."

Here the text takes the Golden Mother (jin mu), which in refinement symbolizes the root of true essence (jing), as an example. The Golden Mother is originally the water essence of the sun. When it first encounters faint yin qi, the yin has not yet unfolded. Yet from this small change one can foresee that yin will eventually develop to its peak, like hard ice. This corresponds to the fire timing of withdrawing the yin talisman at noon in the fifth month.

Chapter 56: Withdrawing from the World and Leaving Office (Dun Shi Qu Wei Zhang)

The Dun hexagram symbolizes retreating into seclusion and leaving one's post. At this time, one should gather one's true essence, embrace virtue, wait for a suitable moment, and live quietly in seclusion without displaying one's sharpness.

Chapter 57: Obstruction and Stagnation

When yang is entirely exhausted, yin gradually gains the upper hand. This is called "yang withdrawing from its position." At this point one should gather the true essence (zhen jing) and wait for the proper moment. The remaining yang lies within yin and is gradually obstructed, as though it had stopped in a dark place. The Book of Changes (Yijing) says, "Things cannot remain in retreat forever." Therefore one must wait for the right time.

This passage uses the essence of the Red Dragon in the cauldron (an alchemical term for yang medicinal substances or vital essence) to describe how it is gradually governed by yin. Gold and water slowly join together, and the Maiden (chanü, an alchemical term usually denoting mercury) is about to emerge. For this reason one gathers the true essence and lets yin and yang transform on their own. This corresponds to the sign of yin's retreat in the sixth month, the Wei month, as reckoned by the monthly ordinances that trace the waxing and waning of yin and yang.

Chapter 58: Observing and Weighing

Observe the balance of yin and yang's waxing and waning, and attend to the climate of mid-autumn. When small sprouts accumulate, withered things flourish again; shepherd's-purse and wheat sprout anew because they are covered and protected.

The Guan hexagram (Contemplation) consists of two yang lines and four yin lines, symbolizing that yin has grown strong, as in the conditions of mid-autumn. The gold in the cauldron receives yin, unites with water in its transformations, and gives birth to the Maiden, that is, mercury. Although yin has the upper hand, the cauldron still retains a residual harmony of yang, so in mid-autumn the shepherd's-purse and wheat grow again, which is why the text says "the withered returns to flourish." Mao sheng ("sprouting everywhere") refers to growth spreading across the ground. Here it serves as a metaphor for gold and water receiving the yin signs and, in mid-autumn, nurturing numinous mercury so that the medicine fills the cauldron. This corresponds to the sign of yin's cessation in the eighth month, the You month.

Chapter 59: Stripping of the Limbs

The limbs decay and the body perishes. When the generative vital energy is exhausted, everything ultimately returns to the Kun hexagram (Receptivity).

The Book of Changes (Yijing) says: "The hexagram Bo signifies stripping away." At this point there is one yang line and five yin lines. Yin qi is flourishing while yang qi wanes, and the yielding yin lines gradually erode the firm yang line until yang qi is exhausted. The qi of Metal and Water also cease, the physical form dissipates accordingly, and it returns to the De (Virtue/Power) of Earth. This corresponds to the seasonal change of the ninth month, during the Xu hour, when yin qi gradually recedes and yang qi is about to sprout. "Losing and reaching Kun" refers to the Kun hexagram described below, in which all six lines are yin.

Chapter 60: When the Dao Reaches Its Limit, It Reverts

When the course of Yin-Yang reaches its end, it turns back and returns to the Kun hexagram. The Kun Yuan (the fundamental source of generation and transformation represented by the Kun hexagram) constantly follows the pattern of the earth, receives the Dao of Heaven, and disseminates it throughout the world.

The Qian hexagram arises from Kun. All six lines of Kun are yin, and from the bottom one yang line first transforms into being. This is called "one yang is born," and yang qi begins here. After six transformations all six lines become yang, the Qian hexagram is formed, and yang qi reaches its fullness. When yang reaches its extreme, yin qi begins to sprout, so Qian transforms its lines from bottom to top into yin. After six more transformations it becomes the purely yin Kun hexagram. Therefore it is said that when the course reaches its end, it reverts and returns to the Kun Yuan. Kun is the Earth Mother and belongs to yin; Qian is the Heaven Father and belongs to yang. Yin is born through yang, and yang is completed through yin, and the alternation of yin and yang is the Dao. As yin and yang turn and transform, all things are brought to completion without omission. For this reason it is said that Kun constantly follows the pattern of the earth, receives the Dao of Heaven, and causes it to flow.

This also serves as an analogy for the waxing and waning of yin and yang across the twelve months of the year and the twelve double-hours of the day, as well as the advancing and retreating of the fire-timing (huohou) in cultivation. The practitioner causes the essence-qi represented by Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li to circulate in ceaseless return, transforming without end. The "Holy Woman" and "Spirit Man" are used to symbolize yin and yang, and they are made to unite in the Shenshi (the inner chamber in practice that symbolizes the place where yin and yang meet). As with the Flying Dragon and the Crouching Tiger, and as with the joining of the hun and po souls in the Gou hexagram within the maternal womb, a wondrous transformation then occurs, generating pure qi.

Chapter 61: Profound, Dark, Remote, and Obscure

Profound and far-reaching principles may seem separate, yet they are in fact interconnected; following fixed regularities, they give rise to the root of Yin and Yang. Heaven and earth are vast and remote, and their transformations are elusive and hard to fathom, so people cannot know their initial beginning. If one loses the track of their operation at the start, then later Yin and Yang will come to govern them.

Nothing in the world remains forever level without tilting; this is the natural regularity of the Dao. The myriad things flourish and decline in transformation, and their waxing and waning answer one another. Their movement runs from beginning back to end, like the cyclical return of the Kun hexagram, unceasing like linked rings. If a ruler can conform to and steer by this regularity, he can keep the state stable for a long time.

Though heaven and earth are profound and remote, the qi of sun and moon interact and come and go according to the measured degrees of their motion, so they remain connected to the myriad things, nurture them, and are the source of Yin and Yang. The qi of Yin and Yang join in the broad and subtle realm of heaven and earth, and the comings and goings of their transformations cannot be clearly seen.

This may also be illustrated by the cauldron used in alchemy. The cauldron takes its pattern from Qian and Kun, symbolizing father and mother; the Kan and Li hexagrams symbolize male and female, turning within the cauldron. The transformations inside the cauldron are subtle and hard to see, and their process and traces cannot be clearly discerned. Gold is the root of the elixir. When it is refined in the cauldron, Yin and Yang are at first undifferentiated, and their course is also hard to distinguish; afterward Yin and Yang separate, and finally the Five Phases interact and are put to use. Things move in cycles and do not go away without returning; Pi and Tai harmonize with each other, and Yin and Yang depend on one another, the movement beginning with the Fu hexagram and ending with the Kun hexagram.

From the beginning of the month to its end, the fire-timing (huohou) advances and recedes accordingly; the increase and decrease of the fire-timing, the placement of the water and fluids, and the movements of metal-fire and water-fire should all follow regularity, like the succession of the four seasons. The mutual nourishment of metal and water within is likewise like a ruler acting in accord with the rhythm of the four seasons. The increase and decrease of the fire-timing must not miss its proper season. Through such continual cyclical application, the Dragon and Tiger can endure.

Chapter 62: "If One Wishes to Nourish Nature"

If one wishes to nourish one's nature and prolong one's life, one should carefully weigh the order of things: first consider the root, and then consider the branches. The body that a person receives is originally unified in primal qi; the essence and qi spread out like clouds, and by relying on qi the beginning of life is formed.

Duke Wei says that anyone who wishes to extend life and delay death must first understand where the human body comes from and how it changes. Both its beginning and its end depend on original Qi (yuanqi). Take the cultivation of the returning elixir (huandan), the goal of Neidan (internal alchemy): it can be accomplished only through original Qi. This is the use of boundless Qi to sustain a finite form.

The boundless Qi is the true Jing (essence) that never ceases to live within the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth, namely the Qi of the "Holy Father and Numinous Mother" (Shengfu Lingmu). The finite form, by contrast, is composed of the brief and mixed Yin and Yang Qi of ordinary mortal parents. The scripture holds that if one uses the Qi of the true parents to transform the mortal body into a form of pure Yang true Jing, one can share the lifespan of Heaven and Earth. Perfected Master Tao (Tao Zhenren) said, "Original Qi is the root of a person." An old song likewise says, "Refine it, nourish it, and take it as food; after a thousand days, if the body has no Yin left, how could it die?" Therefore, pure Yang Jing and Qi do not die or decay.

Yin and Yang are the measure, and hun and po are where they dwell. The Yang Shen (spirit) is called the Sun Soul (ri hun), and the Yin Shen is called the Moon Soul (yue po). Hun and po each serve as the other's dwelling. Xing (nature, a person's innate disposition) governs the interior and sets its boundaries within, while qing (feeling, emotion, and desire) governs the exterior and raises its walls without. The Jing and Qi held within this citadel-like body do not die or decay.

Yin-Yang (yin yang) is the measure to follow in refining the elixir, and the ethereal soul (hun) and corporeal soul (po) each have a place to dwell. The yang spirit (yang shen) is called the "Sun Soul" (ri hun), and the yin spirit (yin shen) is called the "Moon Spirit" (yue po). Hun and Po depend on each other and serve as each other's dwelling. Human nature (xing) dwells within and sets up a barrier inside, while emotion (qing) governs outward activity and builds walls without. When the inner and outer barriers are complete, the "human material" (ren wu) of the elixir can be settled.

At this stage, emotion joins with Qian and Kun, the Heaven and Earth trigrams. Qian is active and expansive, so breath circulates and essence flows. Kun is still and gathering, and it becomes the dwelling place of the Dao. Once the firm principle has acted, it withdraws and recedes, and the yielding principle follows to nourish the myriad things. The saying "nine returns and seven revertings, eight returns and six abidings" (jiu huan qi fan, ba gui liu ju) uses the generating and completed numbers of the Five Phases to explain change. Metal has generating number four and completed number nine. Fire has generating number two and completed number seven. Wood has generating number three and completed number eight. Water has generating number one and completed number six. Earth has generating number five and completed number ten.

"Male white, female red" (nan bai nü chi) uses the Five Phases and the Bagua to compare the Yin-Yang relationship in refining the elixir. Metal is yin because it generates water, and it corresponds to the northern Kan trigram, so it is called "Kan Male" (kan nan) and takes white as its image. Fire is yang and corresponds to the southern Li trigram, so it is called "Li Female" (li nü) and takes red as its image. When metal and fire join, this is "gold and fire mutually bind" (jin huo xiang ju), which steadies the true water and keeps it from scattering. Here "water" and "fire" are alchemical terms for the yin and yang qi that interact during cultivation. They do not refer to ordinary water and fire.

Among the Five Phases, water has generating number one. The saying "the highest good is like water" (shang shan ruo shui) means that water is like the mother of all things, clear and flawless. Water also symbolizes the form of the Dao. The Dao moves latently within the cauldron-furnace (ding lu) and keeps changing, so it cannot be captured in a picture. After the changes are distributed, the Five Phases each keep their place, and the firing timing (huo hou) corresponds to the four seasons without error.

The commentary further explains that cultivating the Golden Liquor Divine Elixir (jin ye shen dan) requires first fixing the order in which Yin-Yang operates, and only then establishing the cauldron-furnace of Qian and Kun. The Sun Soul and Moon Spirit join in the "Golden Chamber" (jin shi), the inner space of the refining process, and this forms the foundation of the elixir. "Yin'e" (yin'e) refers to a barrier or boundary. "Nature dwells within" means that nature resides inside, with metal governing the interior, receiving the outer correspondences, and nourishing the "numinous mercury" (ling gong), the subtle substance formed during cultivation. Emotion works outside like the firing timing. "City walls" (cheng guo) and "human material" respectively compare the boundary of the elixir and the cinnabar and mercury (sha gong). When Qian and Kun move and rest, breath circulates and essence flows, and earth sits at the center as the dwelling place of the Dao. The advance and retreat of Yin and Yang is the fundamental way the medicinal substances come into being.

"Qiezi" in the classical text is an expression for the alchemical furnace's divine chamber (shenshi, the vessel where the medicinals are set during refining) and the metal-water materials (jinshui, such as gold and mercury used in the process). Their shape resembles a hen's egg, with layers enfolding one another. Within the eggshell, black and white join together, just as the alchemical ingredients embrace and contain one another. The phrase "one inch in length and breadth" indicates the position where the spirit mercury (lingyhong) is placed.

The scripture draws on the image of an egg nurturing life: after ten months, the embryo is fully formed and emerges from its membrane to be born. The refining of the Golden Fluid Returning Elixir (jinye huandan) likewise requires that the medicinals pass through a period of transformation within the divine chamber, gradually taking shape. The terms "Qian and Kun" and "Kan and Li" invoked here use the relationships of heaven and earth, Yin and Yang, and water and fire to explain the correspondences between internal and external alchemy.

The Song of the Divine Chamber of Lord Yin (Yin Zhenjun Shenshi Ge) likewise describes the divine chamber as egg-shaped, and depicts the medicinals within as alternating yellow and white, evenly distributed inside and out. "Six-and-one sealing" (liuyi gujì) refers to sealing the furnace cauldron with the appropriate medicinals and methods. The scripture also states that "earth mother" is to be levigated with water, using this as a means of refining the materials. "Smooth as lead" describes cinnabar as fine-textured like lead, also hinting at the relationship between cinnabar and lead. In the song of Master Cao, cinnabar is said to arise from this process and to resemble a pearl, indicating a smooth, rounded appearance and a slippery texture.

The chapter on obtaining fire from the yangsui (a device for gathering sunlight to kindle fire in antiquity) states that the yangsui can only produce fire with the aid of the sun; likewise, the fangzhu (a device for drawing water from the moon in antiquity) cannot condense water without the light of the stars and moon. Though sun and moon, water and fire, are separated by great distance, they still respond to and communicate with one another. How much more so should the Yin and Yang qi within the human body be nurtured within the body and harmonized through the mind. The scripture uses sun and moon, water and fire as analogies to show that the correspondence and mutual responsiveness of Yin and Yang is precisely the principle that cultivation is meant to embody.

Chapter 66: The Three Treasures of Ears, Eyes, and Mouth

The ears, eyes, and mouth are the three treasures that should be gathered in and guarded closed, not released carelessly outward. The zhenren (perfected person, one who has attained the Dao) keeps the mind-spirit deeply submerged, as if sunk into an abyss, yet moves freely while carefully guarding the interior. Seeing and hearing are used in a subtle, restrained way, so that the opening and closing of the senses accord with the inner pivot, and the mastery of body and mind remains in one's own hands.

The movement and stillness of body and mind follow one another without end. Li fire qi nourishes inward, and Kan water qi is not spent outward. The three treasures of ears, eyes, and mouth gather together, so the eyes and ears are not allowed to chase external things, and the mouth is not allowed to speak excessively. One speaks little and follows the natural state of undifferentiated wholeness. Since these three treasures are the key to body and mind, one should relax the form, hold to a place of emptiness and stillness, return the will to vacuity, and keep no stray thoughts in ordinary times.

The results of cultivation cannot be forced by outside effort; the key lies in a unified mind-spirit that does not indulge in scattered distraction. During sleep, spirit and body embrace one another, and on waking one should still attend to the continuing transformations of the qi in body and mind. The face gradually grows lustrous, and the joints day by day grow firmer. Once the various yin pernicious qi are expelled, the pure yang qi can be established.

When cultivation is uninterrupted, the breath flows like clouds and rain, continuous and unbroken, like spring rain moistening all things or ice and snow melting away. Qi and fluids flow from the head down to the feet, and having reached the bottom they rise again, circulating back and forth without cease; they fill the body, and this is the evidence of the Dao in motion. Softness is the root of De (Virtue). When accumulated turbidity and fine obstructions are cleared, the qi can become harmonious and unimpeded. Turbid qi is the path by which one turns toward clarity, and though long darkness may linger, brightness will gradually appear.

The Yijing (Book of Changes) says that Kan corresponds to the ears and Li corresponds to the eyes. Qi and fluids moisten like spring rain and melt like ice and snow, flowing from the head to the feet and rising again from below, circulating back and forth without rest and filling the body. This is the evidence of the Dao; softness is the root of De. Clearing accumulated turbidity and fine obstructions allows the qi to flow freely. Turbid qi can be transformed into clear qi, and what has long dwelt in darkness will gradually grow bright.

The Zhouyi (Book of Changes) holds that Kan (water) symbolizes the ears, Li (fire) symbolizes the eyes, and Dui (lake, associated with metal) symbolizes the mouth, and that Kan, Li, and Dui correspond to water, fire, and metal. Using qianjian (sealing and locking) to enclose water and fire and to nourish the Jin Mu (Golden Mother), an alchemical term for the metallic nature that forms the root of the elixir, one lets the infant and the chanü (the internal alchemy term for the yin and yang breaths) drift in the womb like a zhenren (perfected person). The mother's body is kept gentle and settled, and in a state of emptiness and freedom from thought, without disordered movement, one verifies the principle that yin and yang unite naturally and nourish growth.

After the yin and yang rise, fall, and harmonize within the ding (cauldron), the longhu (dragon and tiger, symbolizing the two breaths) in the womb rise, fall, and embrace one another, guarding the zhen jing (true essence). The complexion becomes lustrous and the bones firm. Sustained practice brings results over time: one expels yin huo (yin fire), that is, drives out yin evils, and supplements with yangfu (yang tokens) so that yang qi revives and circulates. The shenshi (chamber of spirit, the site in internal alchemy where essence and qi are stored) becomes stable and harmonious, and yin and yang interact like clouds gathering and rain falling. Gong (mercury) flows and jinye (golden liquor, an alchemical image of qi moving and condensing within the body) becomes clear as ice. It rises from the feet to the head, pervades the body of the zhenren, and moves back and forth through the body of the Golden Mother.

Fire qi accumulates within the cauldron, while the jing (essence) holds to its weakness within the gui (regulator). When darkness reaches its extreme it turns to light, which is the moment when yin is at its peak and yang is born. When clarity reveals turbidity, fire is retreating and water is returning. The four seasons revolve and the Five Phases interact; this cycle of reversal and transformation is itself the proof that cultivation is effective. As Kan departs and Li arrives, holding to softness and yielding is the very foundation for cultivating de (virtue).

"Kan ears not hearing" means harmonizing the yin po (corporeal soul) with true water so that the true water does not scatter. "Li eyes not seeing" means letting the yang hun (ethereal soul) nourish true mercury so that it does not escape. "Dui mouth not speaking" means sealing the golden embryo so that the chilong jing (red dragon essence, an important essence in internal alchemy) does not leak out. Wei Boyang's Cantong Qi (Token of the Unity of Three), in its four sections, sets out its teaching through analogies drawn from the material world. It takes images from distant things to illuminate the cultivation of the near body. Its surface speaks plainly while its deeper meaning remains partly veiled, for it neither wishes to disclose heavenly secrets fully nor to conceal the great Dao completely. For this reason, the present discussion elaborates on the principle that inner cultivation and outer application are connected.

Chapter 67: On People Who Love Minor Techniques

People are fond of minor techniques, yet they do not understand that the great Dao has shallow and deep levels. They abandon the proper path and take crooked shortcuts in search of quick results, and as a result they are blocked and cannot get through. This is like a blind person who cannot find the way with a staff, or a deaf person who tries to hear the notes shang and gong. It is like diving into water to catch pheasants and hares, or climbing a mountain to look for fish and dragons. It is like planting wheat and expecting to harvest millet, or using a compass to seek a square. Even if they exhaust their strength and spirit, they see no result after a whole year. If one wishes to know the method of fushi (ingesting elixirs), the method is in fact concise and uncomplicated.

Lord Wei said: People in the world are fond of studying minor arts, seeking shortcuts and eager for quick results, yet they do not realize that these minor arts often have a beginning but no end. They invest great effort, yet very few truly achieve accomplishment. This is like the blind and the deaf forcing themselves to see and to hear, or like hunters and fishermen who wander into the perilous mountains and rivers. Once one's choices have already gone astray, how can one tell what is right from what is wrong?

One should diligently pursue the Great Dao (Dao). The Dao is simple and not complicated. Moreover, the Golden Liquor Returning Elixir (Jinye Huandan), a Daoist term of Neidan (internal alchemy) referring to the method of refining and nourishing jing and qi in order to form the elixir, is a supreme Way by which one can ascend to immortality in broad daylight. If one can encounter an enlightened master, or receive transmission from the gods, and cultivate according to its subtle secrets, one will be able to grasp the simple principle of the Great Dao.

Chapter 68: The Sun Flowing Pearl (Taiyang Liuzhu)

"Taiyang Liuzhu" is a term of Daoist cultivation. The Sun Flowing Pearl is always trying to leave the person... [The wording of this scriptural passage repeats material from the preceding text, and the sense of the sentence is incomplete in the existing text.]

The "Sun-Flowing Pearl" (taiyang liuzhu) constantly longs to depart, until it suddenly obtains the Golden Flower (jinhua). The two unite and transform into a white liquid, which hardens once it condenses. The Golden Flower acts first, and within a moment the substance melts back into water or takes the form of horse teeth or lang gan (fine jade). Yang Qi then comes forward to join it, and the natures of yin and yang naturally correspond. When yin Qi circulates, it gathers and seals the pearl within the inner palace.

The compassionate mother nurtures her children, and the filial son repays her kindness. The stern father issues commands and instructs his descendants. The Five Phases (Wu Xing) interweave in their circulation, mutually generating and checking one another. Fire can melt Metal, and Metal in turn checks Wood and restrains its growth. The conjunction of Fire, Metal, and Wood is the most subtle essence between Heaven and Earth. These matters may be transmitted orally as secret keys, but they are difficult to set down in writing for others.

"Sun-Flowing Pearl" refers to the pearl-like dew formed when earth Qi and heaven Qi unite. It is pure yang jing essence, capable of giving rise to all things. It possesses Qi but no physical form, and so it is called the "Red Dragon" (chilong). Yang fire transforms Qi into cinnabar, Fire generates Earth, and Earth generates Metal. Metal is yin in nature yet mysterious, able to nourish all things. It possesses both Qi and substance, and so it is called the "Golden Flower."

The Red Dragon originates in the Jia and Yi (Wood) stems and is also called the Azure Dragon (qinglong). It is yang and symbolizes father, husband, and fire. The Golden Flower is lodged in the Geng and Xin (Metal) stems and is also called the White Tiger (baihu). It is yin and symbolizes mother, wife, and water. These images draw on the symbolic meanings of the Azure Dragon and White Tiger. Others explain that a yin thing possessing both Qi and form is therefore called the Golden Flower. Viewed from the perspective of yin and yang transforming into one another and the Five Phases being applied in interlocking fashion, yin and yang may be reversed, and male and female may exchange positions, taking turns as husband and wife.

The verse of the Perfected Taibai states: "The art of inverting the Five Phases: the Dragon is born from Fire. Reverse the Five Phases: the Tiger is born in Water." This is the foundation of returning elixir (huandan, a cultivation method for refining the inner or golden elixir) and the essential principle of the transformation of Dragon and Tiger: the Dragon arises from Fire, and the Tiger is produced from Water. The meaning of this line must not be lightly altered.

The Metal Wife first sets the mechanism in motion, and the Wood Husband follows and acts upon it. The Spirit Mother conceives and gives birth to the Maiden (chanü), an inner-alchemy term for the numinous substance formed during refinement. The Maiden gradually matures and undergoes manifold transformations, at times becoming water and at other times taking the form of horse teeth or lang gan. The Metal Mother was originally born from water, so even through all its changes, it never departs from the nature of water.

"When yang comes forward to harmonize, natures naturally unite" refers to Metal and Mercury mutually generating and transforming one another. "When yin Qi circulates, it gathers and seals the pearl within the inner palace" refers to yin Qi circulating to protect and sustain the inner palace. "The compassionate mother nurtures the filial son, and the filial son repays her kindness" refers to the compassionate mother as the inner embryo and to the filial son as true mercury. The Song of the True Lord of Yin states: "Yang is true cinnabar; yin is true mercury." Mercury is born from the Metal Mother, and so it is said to repay her kindness. When Metal and Mercury mutually swallow, contain, and interact, this is the mingling of the Qi of Dragon and Tiger.

"The stern father issues commands and instructs his descendants" refers to the Qian hexagram as the symbol of the father. It commands the other hexagrams to take turns assisting the Li daughter and the Kan son, and it causes the Five Phases together to produce descendants such as cinnabar and mercury. Returning elixir takes "lead" and "fire" as the fundamental basis used from beginning to end. Other phases of climate, measure, and signs serve to help them jointly establish the elixir foundation. Beyond this, the practice does not belong to the Way of the Golden Fluid Returning Elixir.

Fire can melt Metal, and Fire is in turn born from Wood. Metal also checks Wood, so Metal and Wood restrain each other and yet thereby bring about generation and transformation. An ancient song says: "Cinnabar is the essence of Wood; it unites only when it meets Metal." It further says: "When the three natures have already united, the three flavors naturally bind one another. Seal the embryo of the elixir so it does not leak, and transformation occurs in the span of a moment." Here the "three natures" refer to Fire, Metal, and Wood, and the "three flavors" refer to lead, mercury, and Dragon and Tiger. Therefore it is said, "the two fives and the one," which together constitute the most subtle essence between Heaven and Earth. Such secrets may be transmitted orally, but they are difficult to write down for transmission to those unsuited to receive them.

The so-called exchange of male and female positions means that Divine Water (shenshui) first overcomes Fire. Once within the divine chamber (shenshi), Fire in turn overcomes Metal. Mercury becomes the water within Metal, and Metal becomes the cinnabar within Water. Cinnabar can generate mercury, and Metal can generate water.

When yang qi turns to the right, yin qi moves eastward: yang qi reaches the position of You (the Rooster, west), and yin qi reaches the position of Mao (the Hare, east). Mao and You are the boundary points where the two qi meet and pause, and they also stand for the two sides of host and guest, namely Metal and Wood. The Azure Dragon (Qinglong, symbolizing Wood) exhales its breath, while the White Tiger (Baihu, symbolizing Metal) draws in its essential qi, so the two intermingle and nourish each other.

Yinghuo (Mars, symbolizing Fire) holds its position in the West, while Taibai (Venus, symbolizing Metal) moves across the heavens. Fire pressing close to Metal means that the Metal qi is refined by the Fire, and brilliant light fills the vessel. The phrase "sha qi suo lin, he you bu qing" ("where the killing qi arrives, what could not topple") describes how strongly Fire restrains Metal, so that the zhenqian (true lead, a key substance in alchemical practice that refers to an essential component of the Golden Elixir) inside the Metal cannot escape, just as a cat guards a mouse or small birds fear a hawk. When Metal, Fire, and Wood restrain one another without harm, each completes its function and the circulation runs smoothly.

Those who practice the Jinye Huandan (Returning Elixir of the Golden Liquor, a Daoist internal or alchemical method) should not act rashly without grasping its principles, for otherwise they may squander their household wealth in vain and leave their wives and children in poverty. Since antiquity, many have loved to cultivate the Dao, yet few have met with the true oral transmissions and achieved their goal in the end. If one receives instruction and glimpses the underlying threads, one should reason from closely related principles to understand the pattern of change from beginning to end.

This section is titled "Chapter Seventy-One: The Mutual Overcoming of the Five Phases" (Wuxing Xiangke Zhang).

Mutual generation and overcoming among the Five Phases (wuxing) transform one another in turn, and they also nourish each other like parents. The mother nurtures and contains the fluids (jinye), and the father bestows the endowed breath and condenses the essence (jing), so that the body is able to take form. Metals and stones can endure without decay because one concentrates on guarding them and does not let their essence and qi (jingqi) dissipate. If one can do this, one may hope to accomplish the Dao (dao). The efficacy of the Dao is like the shadow that appears when a bamboo pole is raised, or the echo that answers a shout in an empty valley. Is it not efficacious?

The movements of Heaven and Earth have their own patterns. Suppose a single inch of wild aconite and an ounce of croton are placed in the mouth. A person will then lie stiff and unable to bend or rise. At such a point, even if King Wen of Zhou divined with milfoil stalks, Confucius worked out the trigrams, Bian Que applied acupuncture, and Wu Xian beat the drum, none of them could restore the person to consciousness so that they could run about again.

The Five Phases generate and overcome one another, and they are like parents to each other, cooperating as husband and wife do. Parents endow one another, and through this life is formed. Yin and Yang depend on each other in order to be established, and together they refine the immortal elixir (dan). If a person obtains this elixir method, they should guard its secrets carefully, so that they may accomplish its Way. The shadow that appears when a bamboo pole is raised and the echo that answers a shout in an empty valley show that wild aconite takes effect immediately when taken into the mouth. How much more so, then, the Golden Liquid Returning Elixir (Jinye Huandan, a term in Daoist alchemy referring to a medicine produced through refining processes)?

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Maiden by the River

The Maiden by the River (alchemical term, referring to true mercury) is numinous, subtle, and extraordinary. When she meets fire, she rises and flies away, not even leaving a trace of dust. She vanishes like a ghost or spirit, or like a dragon hiding in the depths, and no one knows where she has gone. If one wishes to restrain her, one must take the Yellow Sprout (huangya, alchemical term, referring to true lead) as the root.

The Maiden by the River refers to true mercury. True mercury rises and flies at the touch of fire, as if a ghost or spirit had hidden itself or a dragon had sunk into the abyss, and no one knows where it goes. To control it, one must use the Yellow Sprout as the mother, to nourish and preserve it. The Yellow Sprout is true lead.

Chapter Seventy-Three: When Things Lack Yin and Yang

If things lacked Yin and Yang, they would go against the Heavenly Way (tiandao) and depart from their origin. A hen that broods its eggs alone will not see its chicks grow to completion. Why is this? Because Yin and Yang have not yet joined, the numbers three and five (alchemical term, referring to the related numerical relationships) have not united, and when the firm and the yielding are separated, transformation and nurturing cannot take effect.

The natural changes between Heaven and Earth are like this too. When fire is kindled, it burns upward, and when water flows, it moistens all things. They do not do so because anyone taught them to. Things take form through their initial qi, and the laws of their movement cannot be altered.

When one observes the union of male and female, firm and yielding join and cling tightly, so that they are hard to separate. So long as they accord with the proper measure and rules, no craftsman needs to manipulate them deliberately. A boy is born lying face down, and a girl is born lying face up. This state is formed when one receives the primordial qi (yuanchu zhi qi) from the womb. It is not only true at birth; after death, the corresponding conditions also appear. This is not something taught by parents. Rather, the original form is fixed at the moment of union.

The Classic of Changes says, “The alternating transformations of Yin and Yang are the Dao (the Way).” If Yin and Yang were absent from the space between Heaven and Earth, the myriad things would not exist. Yin alone or Yang alone cannot generate anything by itself. So when refining the divine medicine, if Yin and Yang have not yet joined, or Metal and Wood have not worked together, how could an elixir be formed?

Fire naturally rises, and water naturally flows downward. When they are brought together in cultivation, Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit) arise naturally. Each of the myriad things receives primordial Qi—the source Qi of Heaven and Earth at their beginning—and so develops its own disposition and nature. For example, a man is born with his body face down and dies in the same position; a woman is born face up and dies in the same position. These sayings illustrate that only through the union of male and female can true Jing and Qi be brought forth.

Chapter 74: The Kan Man Is the Moon

The Kan Man, who symbolizes water and the moon, is the moon; the Li Woman, who symbolizes fire and the sun, is the sun. The sun bestows its Virtue and grace, while the moon spreads its radiance. The moon receives the sun’s transformations without thereby diminishing. When Yang Qi loses strength, Yin Qi encroaches upon its light. The dark moon, the new moon, and the mutual covering and eclipses of the sun and moon all show Yin and Yang alternating and waxing and waning in relation to each other. As Yang Qi’s form declines, Yin’s advance brings transformation. Male and female depend on one another; Yin and Yang contain, release, and join with each other. Female and male intermingle and combine, each seeking what belongs to its kind.

The moon’s Po soul, symbolizing its Yin aspect, is cinnabar sand; the sun’s Hun soul, symbolizing its Yang aspect, is fire mercury. When the sun wanes, the moon takes its place. Metal and fire take turns in their functions, restraining and harmonizing one another without either being harmed. The interval between the dark moon and the new moon is when Yin and Yang alternate, and when the sun and moon wax and wane. Their mutual covering and eclipses, their waxing and waning, are like the Yin Talisman and Yang Fire in the cauldron acting upon one another in turn as the hours pass: night gives way to day, and each takes its turn at its appointed time. Because they cover one another, transformation is said to arise.

This also contains the meaning of the Kan Man and Li Woman, and of the male and female forces depending on one another, containing and releasing, and joining together. They gather according to their kind, bring forth transformation, and condense into true Jing, which serves as the divine medicine.

Chapter 75: Metal Transforms into Water

Metal can transform into water, revealing the nature of water; fire can transform into earth, and water then cannot flow. Thus the Yang aspect acts outwardly and gives, while the Yin aspect remains still within and stores. If water overflows and exceeds due measure, it is restrained by the Yin aspect. The Po soul, the Yin aspect, restrains the Hun soul, the Yang aspect, and prevents it from running unchecked. By harmonizing cold and heat so that advance and retreat accord with the proper time, both sides attain harmony and can each produce the signs appropriate to them.

By the sixteenth day, the fire phase reaches a point at which Metal and Water unfold and harmonize. Sometimes fluid is generated from Metal; sometimes Metal-sand transforms into Water. Thus Fire, Metal, and Water blend and join, each governed by its proper measure. The Yin soul is restrained, and the Yang soul cannot run wild. The fire phase is neither too cold nor too hot; advance and withdrawal both accord with the proper time. Each force finds its proper place, and together they bring forth their effects.

The phrase “when the fire reaches the second and eighth months” refers to the stage when the fire phase has run its course to the sixteenth day. When the number of Fire reaches its limit, its function is returned to Earth. Earth governs the four seasons, so Water cannot scatter and fly away. Yang Qi moves and acts outwardly, so Fire operates on the outside; Yin Qi rests and stays concealed within, so Metal remains in the central palace. Though Fire Qi encounters Metal, it can restrain the Yin soul and bring the Yang soul to rest as well. When cold and warmth are brought into balance, each finding its proper measure, their effects emerge together, nourishing and generating “numinous mercury” (the spiritual mercury mentioned in the scripture).

Cinnabar and the Essence of Wood

When cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) and the essence of Wood obtain Metal, they can join together. Metal and Water unite, while Wood and Fire accompany one another. The four blend into one, taking the form of the Dragon and Tiger: the Dragon belongs to Yang and has an odd number; the Tiger belongs to Yin and has an even number. The Liver belongs to the color green and is the father; the Lungs belong to white and are the mother; the Kidneys belong to black and are the son; the Heart belongs to red and is the daughter; and the Spleen belongs to yellow and is the ancestor. The Water of the child is the beginning of the Five Phases; Metal, Fire, and Wood work together, and in the end all return to Wu and Ji (Earth).

The phrase “cinnabar and the essence of Wood obtain Metal and then unite” means that cinnabar originally belongs to the womb of Metal, where it condenses and takes form. Metal is also like a mother; Kidney Water belongs to black and is like a son; Heart Fire belongs to red and is like a daughter; and Spleen Earth belongs to yellow and is the ancestor of the medicine. Water of the child is the beginning of the Five Phases. Metal, Fire, and Wood work in coordination, and the beginning and end of transformation both return to Wu and Ji (Earth).

Cinnabar originally condenses in the womb of Metal, while Metal can also produce cinnabar through the action of Fire. Thus cinnabar can unite with Metal. Metal and Wood transform one another, Water and Fire operate in relation to one another, and all four blend in one place. The Dragon and Tiger symbolize the movement of Yin and Yang, embodying the changes of odd and even, and of day and night, ascent and descent.

The Liver belongs to green and represents the father: Jia and Yi belong to Wood, the root of generation and growth. They unite with the Metal mother, and so are called the “father.” The Lungs belong to white and represent the mother: the Metal mother stays within the inner womb and often takes Fire as her sign, so she is called the “mother.” The Kidneys belong to black and represent the son: the Metal mother originally arises from Water and is refined and nourished in the crucible. Water in turn generates Metal, so Water is called the child of Metal. The Water of the child has the number one and is the beginning of the Five Phases. Metal, Fire, and Wood together accomplish transformation, and all ultimately return to Wu and Ji; therefore, Spleen Earth belongs to yellow and is called the ancestor of the medicine.

Hard and soft alternate in their operation, proceeding through each stage in turn. Water returns and gives rise to Metal, so this is called “Water as the child” (water is the mother of Metal). The child corresponds to the number one of Water, the beginning of generation in the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Metal, Fire, and Wood work together, while both the beginning and end of creation and transformation return to Wu and Ji (Earth). Thus the yellow Qi associated with the spleen is regarded as the root from which the elixir is generated.

Chapter 77: Hard and Soft Rise in Alternation

The Qi of hard and soft alternates in its operation and is distributed in sequence. The Dragon is in the west and the Tiger in the east, corresponding respectively to the Mao and You positions. Punishment and Virtue operate together, meeting and harmonizing with each other. Punishment governs concealment and the killing force that brings things to rest; Virtue governs birth and flourishing.

In the second month, elm samaras fall as the Dipper’s ladle points to Mao; in the eighth month, wheat grows as the Celestial Handle star occupies You. Zi is in the south and Wu in the north, together forming the guiding order. The numerical cycle of one and nine turns back upon itself, beginning again after each circuit. Original Qi is stored within the Xu and Wei lunar lodges, and at the Zi position it spreads forth its Jing.

Water and Fire alternate in their operation, passing through the directions represented by the twelve Earthly Branches. The Dragon and Tiger are bounded by Mao and You; Yin Qi corresponds to Punishment and concealed, killing force, while Yang Qi corresponds to Virtue and birth. Punishment and Virtue meet, restraining and harmonizing one another; hence they are said to “rejoice” in each other.

The phrase “elm samaras fall in the second month” refers to the advance of Fire beginning at the Zi position. When it reaches Mao, Yang Qi is already at work but has not yet become pure Yang; Yin Qi remains within it, so Yin is still present in Yang. Taking advantage of Yang Qi’s movement, Yin causes the elm samaras to fall during mid-spring, when they should ordinarily be growing. The corresponding situation in the eighth month is called “rejoicing.”