《女子丹经汇编》Vol. 5

This classic continues with the Ten Rules for Female Daoists, intended to guide women who have karmic affinity with the Dao.

Why is female internal alchemy (nüdan) said to be “supremely simple, not complicated”? Because women’s minds are relatively more single-minded, and their bodies tend to be more settled and harmonious; with modest effort they often attain thorough realization, unlike men, who have more restless thoughts and fixed biases and follow different paths in body and mind. In female practice, from “nurturing the true” (yang zhen) through “embryonic breathing” (taixi), the work is roughly two-thirds complete; men require many more steps before they can enter the stage of “regulating spirit” (tiao shen). Therefore in nüdan texts, once the account runs from nurturing the embryo through taixi, it turns to waihang—conduct and merit in the world—and only when there is surplus capacity in worldly practice does one again refine the “regulating spirit” phase.

After female practitioners (nüzhen) achieve realization, why do they often still need to dai du—await transcendence (reception from the upper realm and formal decree), rather than ascending alone like some male cultivators? Because they begin from a constitution relatively weak in blood and yin; they must rely on internal refinement to transform into a yang body. Though the body becomes yang-leaning, the yin-soft, stagnant nature may not be fully refined; female methods usually employ less of the “returning to emptiness” (huan xu) phase and cannot fully exhaust the wonder of heaven-and-earth’s nurturing transformation, so they cannot leap beyond the world. Mostly it is because the dharma-body is not yet firm enough. Men differ: when the body is refined to diamond indestructibility and huan xu is complete, divine light fills heaven and earth; they often need not await transcendence to finish the Way, become true immortals, attend upon the Jade Emperor, and feast in Penglai. If a woman completes cultivation, she must still broadly accumulate merit; when merit is full, the highest sages take pity, petition the Jade Emperor, and only when decrees descend and golden writs of selection are issued can she certify the supreme fruit of human and heaven; otherwise she is mostly only a sanxian—an immortal without formal enfeoffment and lower in rank.

Lü Zu said: In women’s cultivation, the stage of “refining the form” (lianxing) is broadly the same as in men’s practice, with closely matching details. The entry method is called slaying the Red Dragon (zhan chilong)—stopping the menstrual flow and transforming blood into qi, the first gate of female elixir. After about ten months of steady work, the Yang Spirit (yangshen) appears; one then shatters the void (fensui xukong)—breaking fixation on body-mind and on “self,” merging with emptiness—and from there onward, true cultivation proceeds no differently from that of men.

The Suishan Daoist said: Once the Red Dragon is slain, the nipples also retract inward, and bodily responses come close to those of men; true Yin qi transforms into true Yang, after which effort follows the male path. Yet women belong to a quiescent constitution (jingti)—rooted in stillness and softness—so although the four later layers use the same applications as male elixir, attainment is often swifter.

Lü Zu also said: Men in practice must subdue the White Tiger (jiang baihu)—restraining the outward leakage of primordial essence; women in practice must slay the Red Dragon.

The Sanming Pian (Treatise on the Three Fates) states: A man’s root of life lies in the Dantian (energy center)—about three cun below the navel, regarded in Daoism as the “true earth” where the elixir is generated. A woman’s root of life lies in the breasts, seen as where maternal qi and the essence of Wood gather. It also says: In women, blood serves as kidney—originally a single “empty aperture.” After forty-nine years, the waist dries and blood withers, as if life were gone. With long-term nurturing, blood essence can be regenerated, as before loss of virginity—this is the subtle art of “creating from nothing.” When one sees menses (or blood essence) return and, with one slaying, it transforms, the hinge of life is established. At that point, nature-and-life practice (xing is spirit-mind, ming is essence-qi; both cultivated together) matches that of men.

Lazy Daoist said: Why is female elixir practice divided into “three”? It refers to three loci: upper, middle, and lower. The upper is the Yang acupoint (the crown or brow region, belonging to the upper burner); the middle is the Yellow Chamber (the central palace, chest center, and related points, belonging to the middle burner); the lower is the Dantian (the lower burner and sea of Qi). In youth one usually begins from the upper; when middle age wanes, from the middle; when the form is already set (body and Qi fixed, near menopause), from the lower. In women, inner Yang and outer Yin (inwardly more Yang, outwardly more Yin)—one must first slay the Red Dragon (stop menstruation and refine the monthly flow) to preserve the middle and lower; the upper method follows the same principle. After slaying the Red Dragon, Kan within the body transforms into Qian (yin substance turns toward a pure Yang body); then one cultivates by the same methods as men, and within one year achievement is possible, because the Golden Elixir was always within the person.

In Discriminating Difficulties in Cultivating Truth, someone asked: How do men and women differ in their initial approach (the first move at entry)? Answer: For men, the initial approach emphasizes refining Qi; for women, it emphasizes refining form.

Refining Qi: subdue true Qi and ensure Qi returns (Qi settles at the root); when Qi returns, one reaches extreme emptiness and deep stillness and returning to the root and recovering life (from the Daodejing, meaning spirit and breath return to the root)—then the White Tiger descends (for men: essence is not recklessly lost, the sign of returning to childhood).

Refining form: conceal and refine bodily substance until form dissolves (the body of the four false aggregates gradually empties); when form dissolves, the four great enter emptiness, the limbs peel away and decay (the image of the old body sloughing off), and the red channel is severed (menstrual flow stops, the Red Dragon is cut).

When a man’s White Tiger descends, he again resembles a child’s body; postnatal essence no longer leaks, and he can form the elixir and extend life. When a woman’s Red Dragon is slain, she too returns to a child’s body; yin-turbid blood no longer flows downward, and she can pass through death and enter life (transcend birth and death). Thus men’s practice is called Solar refining of Qi; women’s is called Lunar refining of form.

They asked again: In women’s refining of form, is there no need to conceal breath? Answer: Women’s nature leans Yin; their Qi is easy to conceal, but menstrual water rises easily (“red” refers to the Red Dragon and monthly flow). Hence men stress Solar refining of Qi, and women stress Lunar refining of form.

Someone asked again: “In female refinement of form (nüzi lianxing), is there no need to subdue the qi?”

The reply: “Women belong to yin; their qi is relatively easier to subdue. But the Red Channel (chi mai—the physiological cycle tied to menstruation, which inner alchemy regards as the greatest obstacle to practice) does the most harm to cultivation, and the crux lies precisely here. When you begin, you must apply force at the critical point; once the Red Channel is severed, the qi naturally becomes tame and compliant. This is unlike men, who belong to yang and whose qi is hard to subdue—men often need three years to subdue qi, whereas women can do so in about a year. If a woman is a ‘heroic woman’ (nüzhong zhangfu) who receives the master’s oral instructions and practices the Taiyin Refinement of Form Method (taiyin lianxing fa—a refinement of form protocol designed specifically for women), she can attain the Dao in three to five years, with less effort than a man. But such heroic women are hardest to meet. For those who are hard to meet, one must have a fierceness and resolve exceeding men’s by a hundredfold before success is possible. If she has only the same strength of will as a man, she absolutely cannot succeed.”

Someone asked again: “The Great Dao makes no distinction between men and women—so why is it also said that heroic women are rarest of all, that they must be fiercer than men by a hundredfold, and that with the same strength of will as a man a woman absolutely cannot succeed?”

The reply: “In Dao (the fundamental principle) they are the same; in application (concrete practice) they differ. Because innate disposition differs and bodily form is not the same, the same path of cultivating nature and life (xingming) is carried out in greatly different ways.”

Xuantian Shangdi said: … (If the text continues after this heading, the Q&A above stands on its own: it stresses that female refinement of form focuses on severing the Red Channel, that yin nature makes qi easier to subdue, and that heroic women need extreme fierceness of spirit to attain the Dao quickly through Taiyin refinement of form.)

The Book of Changes says that “Qian is the father and Kun is the mother,” so the logic of Yin and Yang is plain enough. Only with Heaven and Earth do male and female appear; the way of Yin and Yang needs little elaboration, which shows that between Heaven and Earth there cannot be male without female. Men take their form from the transformations of Qian and Kun; women likewise receive their bodies from the intercourse of Qian and Kun. Whoever has such a body shares in the qi of Qian and Kun and dwells together in the cosmos. Now is the time to extend the ferry of compassion widely and to uphold the precious raft together. Since methods for men’s cultivation are many, how can one neglect the Kun dimension—women? Works explaining men’s profound subtleties fill storehouses, yet exemplary methods for delivering women are pitifully few. For this reason I made a compassionate vow to treat the subject on its own.

In a man’s body, qi from within essence (Jing) passes through the xiezi—the finest point of the pass; in a woman’s body, qi from within the blood suffuses that same xiezi. When the xiezi is full, the lotus orifices are full; when the lotus orifices are full, withdrawal and addition (the rise and fall of the fire phases) can truly turn; when withdrawal and addition turn, sweet dew can descend. In men, essence carries the fuller breath; in women, blood carries the slighter breath—hence they are called male Yang and female Yin. For cultivators, to root out the seven emotions and first sever the six desires is fundamental; then a woman’s faint qi may at times exceed a man’s. Why? A man’s heart stirs easily, a woman’s thoughts are somewhat still; stirring makes qi leak easily, stillness lets qi grow easily. In men the seven lotuses are easy to gather in and hard to release; in women they are easy to release and hard to gather in. If the mind is sincere and effort never slackens, within three or five years sweet dew will often descend and the seven lotuses will often open. Opening may be easy—but that does not mean gathering and refining is easy. The difference between male and female is clear at this point.

If in practice one constantly speaks of emptiness, void, mystery, subtlety, spirit, and transformation, yet the mind grows slack, often within three to five years sweet dew (the clear, moist Qi sensed in the mouth or body during cultivation) will descend frequently, and the seven lotuses (lotus imagery in inner vision standing for the meridian gates or seven levels of attainment) will open often. Opening the lotus is easy—so is gathering and refining (collecting essence-Qi and reining in spirit-intent) really harder? The difference between men’s and women’s practice shows clearly here.

When the focus is on emptiness, void, mystery, subtlety, spirit, and transformation, that is where men and women share the same ground—the principle is one, only the concrete paths differ. Men speak of the embryo (inner spiritual embryo) to describe stages; women do not use “embryo” but speak only of breath (respiration, fetal breath, the stillness of fixed attention), lest later readers take “embryo” as pregnancy or a physical fetus and invite misunderstanding and slander. Moreover, when a man’s spirit emerges (yang spirit leaves the bodily shell), he must reach utmost purity and full yang (essence, Qi, and spirit extremely refined, pure yang fully filled) before there is a chance to shed the shell (leave the ordinary body and let consciousness move freely), because within yang there is always a trace of yin. A woman’s spirit emerging differs: when she reaches the three yangs (the three-yang firing, the stage when yang Qi grows strong), spirit-intent can already detach and transform, even sensing events a hundred li away; when she reaches pure maturity and the meeting of the two yangs (pure yang fully ripened, yin and yang joining properly), then one emergence is eternal emergence (a genuine exit once and for all, with no falling back)—she need not fear dying halfway. In sum: in men yang holds yin within; in women yin holds yang within. In men yin is inside, yang outside; in women yin is outside, yang inside. Where yang prevails, all yin tends to retreat—that is the logic that separates men and women yet still connects them.

The Sovereign of the Golden Portal said:

In the large view, the hundred meridians (the body’s channels of Qi) all take form from Wuji (the source before division, without image); in the finest view, they belong to the formless and imageless, yet from the start they embrace all transformation. Men and women alike possess this supreme treasure (the root of inner alchemy); they only divide into two paths of blood and essence: men reverse essence (essence-Qi rises to the upper Dantian, the river chariot runs backward) to become immortals; women let blood rise straight to the heart aperture (blood and yin essence ascending to the spirit’s gate in the heart). Hence each has its own method and its own inner illumination (inward looking, turning the light back, the order of effort).

Male cultivation: Jing (essence) transforms into Qi (vital energy), Qi into Shen (spirit), Shen into emptiness (xu); when emptiness reaches its limit and stillness is solid, the Golden Elixir forms naturally.

Female cultivation: Blood transforms into Qi, Qi into Shen, Shen into emptiness; within that emptiness things operate on their own, and the Golden Elixir can likewise form by itself.

Some say that unless a woman “slays the red dragon” (stops menstruation and seals leakage), the elixir cannot coalesce and the Dao cannot be attained. In fact, if blood were truly exhausted, Qi would be exhausted too—just as when a man’s Jing is depleted, the elixir is likewise hard to form; the principle is the same. Male Jing and female blood cannot usually be brutally “cut off” in practice: if Qi leaves blood behind, Qi has nowhere to arise; blood must transform into Qi before Jing and Qi can circulate. If one insists “wait until blood is gone before talking about refining the elixir,” why do some young people whose blood is dried up become even more ill? This shows that women’s practice ultimately cannot leave out the link of “blood”; it cannot be reduced to simply “slaying the red dragon” once and for all.

The Queen Mother of the West (Yaochi Wangmu) said: Women’s practice and men’s are two sides of one body; only the order and stages differ—not some separate, esoteric secret. Every subtle transformation is not essentially different from men’s. You must carefully grasp the full meaning of the book, without the slightest error, and each cultivate in secret on your own.

Yuanming Daomu made it clear:

Male and female paths of Yin and Yang must be distinguished, yet the principle connects. In men, primordial Qi (zuqi) is mostly paired with Jing and blood; in women, primordial Qi joins with Yin and is often spoken of from the Sea of Blood (commonly the womb and the system of menstrual blood). Men have the Yang Pass (a gate and the path of rising Yang); whether flow is forward or reversed, do not be confused. Women have the North Sea (Beihai) (the lower burner, the Yin sea)—often like waves that sway and leakage that is hard to hold.

White Lotus Real Person (Bailian Zhenren) said:

Men and women start the Golden Elixir at different points, yet Yin and Yang are one principle and can be joined in understanding. Purifying the heart and reducing desires (qingxin guayu) is the root. In the foundation-building stage, women still must emphasize slaying the red dragon (controlling menstrual leakage and gathering Yin essence), corresponding to men’s refining Jing into Qi.

Wuxinzi (only the name appears in the text; there is no separate teaching here—it serves as a closing marker for this line of female elixir discourse).

In men, essence (jing) belongs to “Yin within Yang”; in women, essence belongs to “Yang within Yin.” One should early on find a clear master to point out the barrier-passing stages; the opportunity for fannao huantong (restoring youth and returning to the original state) lies in the “homeland” within oneself—the root source, the fundamental place.

If within seven days one can again nourish Tianxin (that point of clarity in the heart-mind that accords with the Dao), this is a crucial step within the highest grade of practice. Many subsequent stages resemble men’s cultivation, yet every line of koujue (oral formulas) still requires the master’s face-to-face transmission; one must not act on one’s own judgment.

Patriarch Lu said:

For women’s practice, the general outline is the same as for men; what is hardest is keeping body and mind jiaojie (pure and unstained, holding the precepts with single-minded devotion). Know that women’s desire often runs stronger than men’s. Sometimes, after jingshui (menstrual flow) is clean, the mind is like a lotus just opening, awaiting the tian’s yulu (natural qi, the harmonizing of yin and yang) to set fruit; if a woman long lacks a man’s pairing, she becomes guyin (solitary Yin alone—only yin without yang to balance it, which in elixir methods hinders forming the pill).

Zhenyi zi said:

The Great Dao does not distinguish male and female; both can attain realization. A man who completes the work is called a Zhenren (realized person); a woman who completes it is called a Yuanjun (female immortal lord). Through the ages, danjing (alchemical scriptures) have explained men’s labor in great detail, while the woman’s path has few dedicated treatises. When it is mentioned at all, only one corner is shown—not from slighting women’s practice. The intent was that since it is the same xingming (nature and life, the root of body and mind), the effort is the same; explaining only men’s practice was taken to mean women’s could be inferred by analogy—yet that is not so. Men are yang outside and yin within; women are yin outside and yang within. Endowed nature differs and bodily form is not the same; though they share this xingming, how they proceed differs greatly. Xiuzhen Biannan (Cultivating Truth: Resolving Difficulties) says: “Men begin by taking lianqi (refining qi) as essential; women begin by taking lianxing (refining form) as essential.” Patriarch Xu (Xu Xun) said: “Men complete the work without leaking jing; women complete it without leaking jing (menstrual essence).” The first barriers differ. When one reaches lianji (refining the self), obtaining the medicine, huandan (returning the elixir), warming and nurturing, jietai (forming the spirit embryo), and issuing the spirit, much aligns with men’s path—yet fine gradations in sequence still differ slightly and cannot be treated as one uniform rule.

In the spring of the Renchen year, a female Daoist came to ask about the path of cultivation. Because I had read widely in the old books, I used them to check what she had been taught. The alchemical scriptures often say that records of female practice are few, so it is hard to compare and verify what agrees and what differs. Setting aside the fault of revealing heaven’s secrets, I wrote out, section by section, what is the same and different between women’s and men’s cultivation, as a route map for those who seek the Way, so that readers can follow the words to the meaning and not take fish eyes for pearls. If one truly knows this deeply and practices it, one may perhaps attain the supreme Dao; when the Jade Pool assembly is held in the future, it need not be hard to join the male immortals in paying respects to Mugong (the honorific for the chief of male immortals) and in bowing to Jinmu (the honorific for the chief of female immortals, often linked to the Queen Mother of the West).

Heaven is yang and earth is yin; Qian (yang, firm) and Kun (yin, yielding) each follow their nature: without yang, yin cannot flourish; without yin, yang cannot fully take form. Firm and yielding seek the middle harmony; only then can fire and water be brought to completion (the image of yin–yang harmony and successful elixir work). Yin and yang must pair, and from that humans are conceived and born. Both heaven and earth share in true primordial Qi; men and women alike originally have the root of a body that can be cultivated to immortality. Qian presides over “great generation,” so men may cultivate the Dao and attain true awakening; Kun presides over “broad generation,” so women too can bear the fruit and become Yuanjun (the fruit rank of a female immortal). If one claims that Kun yin cannot enter the immortal path, why did the Queen Mother (Xiwangmu) long dwell at Kunlun? Chang’e stole the elixir from the beams (the moon’s spirit medicine) and forever became ruler of the lunar palace; Xiaoyao (a female immortal) read the books of Qi Garden (Zhuangzi) and called herself an immortal banished from the Jade Pool. Luoshen and the shaman maiden have been renowned since antiquity; Zigu and Xiangfei are still remembered today—all attested in the records. Bearing Kun virtue, how could women alone be unable to become immortals?

Women by nature differ from men in the “threefold fate” (the three-part arrangement of cultivating life and nature in age and in the passes): the light of purple, white, and yellow is not the same as in men. In youth the work is above, in decline in the middle, and fulfillment below (the order of passes and fire phases is the reverse of men’s); at the passes (the critical passes and turning points in fire phases), a single misstep demands deep understanding and must not be treated lightly.

Plain-Language Explanation

Qi Acupoints and Differences Between Women and Men

The qi acupoint is where the blood essence resides. In women it corresponds to the breast region—on the midline, about one cun and three fen from the relevant area; not at the nipples on either side. In men the dantian serves as the qi acupoint, so male practice emphasizes the lower field; in women the breast region is the qi acupoint, so female practice takes this area as the pivot. When yin reaches its peak it turns toward yang; from the qi acupoint yin blood forms and flows outward, which is why “slaying the Red Dragon” (stopping and refining menstruation) must begin where yin arises. Persist over time and the outward signs will gradually subside. If one applies the male “qi acupoint” one cun and three fen below the navel to a woman’s body, that is a mistake.

Teachings of Patriarch Xu (Xu Xun Zhenjun)

For men, cultivation means not leaking essence; for women, not leaking menstruation. A woman’s menstrual blood is the root of generating life; when menstrual blood returns and transforms into qi, the breasts shrink like a man’s and menstruation no longer leaks. For men, refining essence into qi; the yin root shrinks like a child’s and essence no longer leaks. Only after there is no leakage can life be extended.

He also said: When a woman has cultivated to the point that menstruation does not leak, the later work on nature and life is largely the same as for men—the difficulty is that few people use oral formulas to reveal the inner subtleties.

The Soft Person and the Firm Person

The way of the soft person (woman) differs from that of the firm person (man), yet success often comes more easily for the soft person. The firm person may need three years to subdue qi; the soft person may hope for one year, because the elixir is within the body (for women the elixir is in the blood, in the breasts, in the ren and du channels, and so on).

Sun Buer Yuanjun

Men and women share one qi; only purity and turbidity, stillness and movement differ. If a woman wishes to cultivate truth, the first step is to gather true yuan. Within yin there is inherent yuan yang; one should preserve its clarity and not discard it rashly. Understand the true nature of sexual desire—it need not bind you. Put aside greed, anger, and delusion; cut off worry and excessive thought; remove turbidity and refine clear nature, and do not fall into evil paths. In silence guard wuwei (non-action)—I already possess the foundation that men cultivate (meaning inner refinement where yin and yang harmonize and spirit and qi follow the same path as in male practice). Without form, without shape; yet with presence, with intent: inwardly regard color and sound as empty, without the slightest clinging. Take earth as the kun foundation (spleen earth and intent earth as the root of practice)… (what follows continues the same sequence of “remove turbidity and refine clear nature,” etc.)

Supplementary Notes (for easier reading)

• Slaying the Red Dragon: A term in female alchemy, meaning through practice to stop menstruation without leakage, paired with male alchemy’s “refining essence into qi.”
• Subduing qi: Making true qi settle and not scatter outward—a basic step in inner refinement.
• Sun Buer: A major figure in female alchemy of the Jin–Yuan period, fellow disciple of Ma Yu (Master of the Danyang), associated with lineages such as the Sun Buer Yuanjun Fahyuan school.

Plain-Language Meaning of the Scripture

One must guard stillness and dwell in Wuwei (non-action). In the inner landscape, take “self” as the yang that is already present—the “male” is not a male body in outward form, but the single yang that rises from within Kun (the earth/receptive). Outwardly there is “no form without form”; inwardly there is “intention with intention”: in inner contemplation, color and sound are seen as empty, and the mind does not cling. Earth is the foundation of the Kun body; the one yang has always come from the earth (Kun). The names lead and mercury differ from male-alchemy discourse, yet Qi and Shen (spirit) are still one matter in principle. The heart must be vast and empty so that spirit can govern desire and master the form. When one Qi returns to spring harmony, spirit-intention flies beyond the clouds; roaming with Great Clarity—this is the realm spoken of in the True Suchness verse.

Qian (Heaven) is active; Kun (Earth) is still. To cultivate nature and life, one must begin from stillness. Though you are by nature a still body, you still must cultivate because the Kun body tends toward turbidity and the Qian body toward clarity—nature-and-life work is done by “using the turbid to refine the clear”: within the female body and female constitution, one must refine clear yang before one can enter the Dao and verify the fruit.

The Scripture on the Function of the Fetal Spirit of Long Life says: After achievement, in men Qi gathers at the pass and becomes essence; in women the fetal moisture does not form an infant. Even if desire occasionally stirs, it cannot contend with Shen. This is after the inner fetus is complete (Neidan achievement), when true essence again returns to Shen—the path of Upper Clarity.

The Ten Precepts on Female Alchemy and the Series

The Ten Precepts on Female Alchemy was composed by the Ancient Buddha Qinglie of Huazang Mountain and edited by Chen Yingning of the Wanjiang region; it is a short work in the genre of female Dan scriptures.

The editorial aim of the Little Library of Female Dao Learning has two points: first, from the psychological side, to select fine deeds, words, and short pieces by women through the ages, to foster a higher character and sounder intelligence among women; second, from the physiological side, to select methods of female cultivation and related scriptures and poetry through history, to nurture exceptional talent among women and strengthen the health of women in general.

Three

Daoist learning is the refined core of the Chinese nation’s intellectual heritage—something no other country possesses; it is unique to China. In the past, because education for women had not yet spread widely, women had little opportunity to pursue this profound discipline. Today, following the principle of equality between men and women, such learning is being opened up step by step.

Four

Writings from antiquity vary in depth: some are extremely abstruse and hard to read; others are overly plain and lack proper dignity. To make them easier to spread, obscure passages are always supplied with notes so readers can grasp the meaning; passages that are too colloquial are lightly revised so they are not dismissed as lacking refinement.

Five

The editorial aim of this book is to promote China’s native Daoist learning and to thoroughly dispel superstition. Any text that even slightly smacks of superstition is excluded.

Notice to Readers

One

This book carries no author’s name; the old title page attributed it to “the Ancient Mother Xiangyi of Mount Jinhua.” That style of address seems shallow. Although the author did not wish to use a real name, there was no need to invent a sacred title, so that attribution has been omitted.

Two

Although the book is titled “Ten Discourses,” the fifth and sixth are largely the same in content, and the tenth is too general to stand alone as a separate item. Those three have therefore been heavily abridged so readers do not grow weary. The remaining discourses also contain cuts and rewrites. Scholars who compare the original with this edition will see that the changes were not made without reason.

Three

Besides the main text, each discourse has also been shortened or rewritten in places. Comparing the original with this edition shows that there were reasons that made such editing necessary; it was not done out of idle meddling.

III. Apart from the main text, any editorial notes I have added separately deserve the reader’s careful attention. Those comments rest on decades of experience; they are not the kind of offhand remarks others make in essays, with no basis in practice.

IV. The appendix contains a piece called Kun Jue (Kun Formula). I cannot claim with certainty that Sun Buer herself wrote it, but the wording is admirably concise. Fu Jinquan’s commentary, unfortunately, is thick with allegory, so students may find it hard to grasp. As for where the four characters “Huangya” (Yellow Sprout) and “Baixue” (White Snow) come from, I explain that at length in the text; readers should study that closely.

V. Scriptures on female internal alchemy that preserve authentic formulas are scarce: from antiquity to the present, the whole country has probably produced no more than twenty-odd titles, and they are not easy to collect complete. Students must read widely before they can enter the path; only then, by seeking teachers and friends and practicing in earnest, can they hope for success. Do not stop at a half-understood smattering and grow complacent.

End of the substitute preface: July, the twenty-fourth year of the Republic of China (1935), the 4,632nd year of the Yellow Emperor’s era—written as substitute preface by Chen Yingning of Wanjiang (Anhui).

First Section: Nurturing the True and Transforming Qi

(Yingning’s note: In Daoist practice, oral formulas matter most; whether a text reads well is secondary. Hence works often appear logically loose, awkward in phrasing, shallow in insight, or mixed with superstition—readers dismiss them, and genuine formulas inside are lost to sight, which is a great pity. This book is compiled to guide women of more than average talent who have education. To print the originals entire would invite ridicule, so I have extracted the essence and cut the flaws. It is not perfectly pure, but it is more presentable than the sources.)

Female cultivation differs from male cultivation. In men, yang often leaks outward from below (as in seminal emission); in women, yang rises from below and turns inward. The male body tends toward rigidity; the female body toward softness. In male practice, the emphasis is usually on guarding the yang essence in the Dantian (the locus of mind-intent below the navel) so it does not leak outward. Over time, one applies the true fire (the warming, refining inner fire of neidan) within the body to refine essence into qi, qi into spirit, and spirit into emptiness, thereby attaining the Way.

Women belong to a yin constitution. In practice they must rely on the “spirit fat” in the breast region (in yin refinement, regarded as transformable yin essence and the source of qi-blood), refining it over a long period until the quality of qi-blood changes. In time one may see the transformations described as “red turning white” and “blood becoming qi.” Once blood has become qi, one still must advance and retreat according to the fire talisman (fire phases—the timing, and the formulas and intent for ascent, descent, advance, and retreat); then one can also return from qi to pure yang and complete the Way and return to the true (realize the original nature).

Therefore when women begin, they usually refine form and substance first, then refine the primordial origin; men often refine the primordial origin first, then refine form and substance—the order is reversed.

What is “nourishing the true”? The human mind is most prone to racing outward and wavering. If one only forces the mind to stay inward, boredom easily arises and one cannot sit still. Hence at the outset one is first taught methods of nourishing the true, so the mind can settle somewhat, boredom eases, and the four limbs are calm and harmonious; only then can one seek further progress.

In daily seated refinement, one must set the qi in motion from the Dantian and the Sea of Blood (in female elixir methods, often the lower burner and uterine region) and direct awareness toward the spirit chamber within the heart (where the original spirit resides); one senses a thread of clear qi emerging from the Sea of Blood. After sustained stillness, that qi will inevitably stir; one follows this qi as it moves—only then can one seek further advance.

During ordinary seated practice, you begin by activating qi from the Dantian (the energy center in the lower abdomen) and xuehai (the lower burner region associated with menstruation and blood qi), and direct your awareness into the shenshi (the heart’s inner place of spirit concentration). You may feel a thread of clear qi rise from xuehai; if you hold the state long enough, that qi will inevitably stir. Follow its pulse as it surges upward until it reaches Niwan (the inner pass at the crown), then turns and descends.

At that point you may gently guide it with intention, letting the qi follow the momentum from Niwan down through Chonglou (the throat and chest region); but once past that stage you must not force intention, for fear of harming form and qi—you can only let the qi naturally drop from Chonglou into the kongxue (the “empty acuity”) between the two breasts, where it gathers and rests. If, after resting long enough, another pivot of activation occurs, you still practice as before.

In roughly forty or fifty days the qi can run through the circuit, blood can transform into qi, and the red can turn white again—then Danyuan (the root of the inner elixir) appears and the heart’s turn toward the Way is sincere. If you can hold to quiet guarding, morning and evening without slackening, and apply yourself at every moment, why fear that the great elixir will not form or that a female immortal will not be achieved?

This is the first step of practice for women. Those who truly reach the most subtle and marvelous level will advance through all later steps from here. Students should encourage themselves.

Yin Ning’s note: When qi descends from Niwan, the text both says “gently guide with intention” and “do not use intention”—so should one use intention or not? In fact one stays between intentional and non-intentional: you must follow nature, hence you must not strain or force intention; yet you cannot be wholly indifferent, hence it says “guide with intention.”

Refining the Form means reshaping the “form” of body and mind through regulation and discipline.

In female internal alchemy, blood belongs to Yin and stands opposite Qi (Yang). It gathers in the lower burner and is stored in the Sea of Blood (Xuehai—the region around the lower dantian where blood is stored and circulated, corresponding to the uterus) and in the womb chamber (the uterus and palace of the embryo). It also connects upward with the Five Aggregates Peak (a metaphor for the “upper realm” centered on head and throat, through which refined essence and blood rise as Qi). Blood moves through the whole body, nourishing the vessels in an unceasing cycle; what can no longer be used and must be eliminated becomes dregs and is expelled. When, by the fire phases, one has completed the cycle counted as roughly two hundred forty ke (in the day-and-night system of one hundred ke) and thirty double-hours, the refined essence (Ronghua—the essence restored after cultivation) reappears, and only then can prenatal Qi (Xiantian—the inborn vital breath) give rise to a “form” that supports long life. Qi divides into clear and turbid: clear Qi rises and gathers at the two breasts; turbid Qi sinks and becomes stagnation. Whether one can bear life or cultivate immortality hinges on telling this pair apart. Therefore in women’s practice one must first recognize clear and turbid before one can refine the true form.

How is the form refined? In seated meditation, use spirit mechanism (Shenji—the stirring of intent and inner Qi) to set the work in motion. When saliva fills the mouth, rinse it gently a few times until it is clear, then inhale clear Qi through the nose and swallow it together with jade fluid (Yuye—saliva from the mouth). It passes the Multistoried Pavilion (Chonglou—the throat), enters the Crimson Palace (Jianggong—below the heart, in the middle burner), then descends to the Yellow Chamber (Huangfang—the region corresponding to the womb and Huangting), and stops at Guanyuan and the Sea of Blood. Pause and hold briefly, then carry it again from the Sea of Blood to Weilu, ascend Jiaji, pierce the Crown Gate and enter Mud Pill Palace (Niwan—within the crown), then descend again from Mud Pill to between the two breasts and stop. Rest and gather there for a good while until the fluid turns into Qi; that counts as one turn. Doing this fully three turns makes one round (the “three-three” pattern). Next, with both hands, rotate over the two breasts thirty-six times in the prescribed direction; when that is done, cup the Qi-intent from both breasts to the center with both hands, then gently guide it to the Sea of Blood and stop, and cultivate again as before. Each round of three turns; three such rounds make nine turns. If a woman’s temperament is steady and her foundation deep, often within one hundred days the form can be refined and the path of long life secured; beyond that, Great Elixir (Dadan—achievement of the golden elixir) may also be within reach.

Section Three: Applying the Practice and Turning the Wheel

This section explains how to put the work into actual use and keep it turning. One round is turned three times; three rounds together make the “nine turnings.” If a woman on the Dao path is deep and steady in temperament, dignified and grounded, with a solid foundation and strong endowment, practicing by this method often within less than a hundred days can refine the bodily form to a considerable degree, and the path toward longevity gains a firm footing; with further diligence, the greater elixir (the higher stage of Neidan achievement) may also be within reach.

Section Three: Applying Fire and Fu

In men’s elixir work, one generally refines the “medicine” first and the form afterward; in women it is the opposite—form first, then medicine. Because male and female bodily Qi differ, the order cannot be copied blindly. When a female practitioner follows the earlier oral instructions with full attention, once the work reaches the Dantian and xuehai (in women’s practice, often the lower abdomen and the region tied to menstrual blood and fetal breath), a warm sensation arises; naturally a thread of clear Qi rises to the heart region and reaches both breasts. At this moment stray thoughts must be avoided; still following the original method, the Qi descends again and returns to the xuehai. Then the Qi has been stirred and true Qi has been generated: what was originally yin in nature—the quality of red blood—can transform into yang in nature as white Qi. Without coordinating “fire” with “fu” (fire means intent, nurturing warmth, and the right timing of practice; fu means the stage-appropriate method, oral formula, or symbolic fu rite), the Qi will revert to red blood; white turns red again and earlier effort is lost.

At this stage one must refine with true fire and respond with true fu: only when fu is in place and fire is sufficient will the Qi condense and hold. At the moment of condensation, unusual signs appear in the inner landscape; if this is not explained beforehand, the slightest error in using fire or fu can harm the danyuan (the root of the inner elixir). Practitioners must fix this in mind and not be careless. If this pass is mistaken, not only is prior work wasted and what follows hard to continue—there is also risk of harming the body, even the danger of severe uterine bleeding.

Students of the Way must keep this firmly in mind: when Qi returns to the “Sea of Blood” (Xuehai—the womb center in women, the dantian tied to menstruation), that Qi is drawn from blood but is not blood itself. It is like someone who goes out, changes appearance completely, and comes home—wife and children no longer recognize him; how could things feel as natural and easy as before? So when Qi descends, in the Sea of Blood it inevitably acts like a fish drawing in water; at that moment the limbs feel as if drunk, and joy is like the union of husband and wife—so intense it is hard to stay in control.

(Yingning notes: Some say the inner joy at this stage far surpasses ordinary sexual pleasure many times over. Some women are cold by nature, and if the man is weak, there is often little pleasure for her; a woman who cultivates gongfu is different. Though alone, clear in desire, sitting in a quiet room—if she can harmonize inner Yin and Yang by the method, and enter the most subtle state, a special vision appears, and the joy cannot be put into words. Men who practice quiet refinement sometimes also see joyful visions within, but compared with women they reach only about two or three tenths of that. This follows from differences between male and female physiology; it cannot be forced by will.)

At this stage you must hold a firm master-mind and must not indulge. With one thought, gather and guard the “Central Palace” (Zhonggong—the region below the heart and at the chest center), and rest there a long while; Qi will naturally surge upward through the passes, rise to the “Mud Pill Palace” (Niwan, near Baihui at the crown), and turn into jade fluid; then lead it down with intent, pass the “Multi-storied Tower” (Chonglou—the throat), and stop between the two breasts. Use the method of condensing Qi to blend with it so it gathers and does not scatter; practiced over time, you can return to the root and restore the original, and open “Fetal Breathing” (Taixi—the fine, even breath like a fetus in the womb, regarded in Daoism as a crucial sign of attainment). Once fetal breathing is open, the immortal Way can be counted in days. Female adepts should encourage one another in this.

Fourth Section: Silently Cultivating Embryonic Breathing

If a woman cultivator can earnestly follow the formulas given above, genuine Qi will gradually arise day by day. Blood will transform into fluid that passes through the hundred vessels from between the two breasts, moistening the whole body. This fluid is produced from blood; it must be warmed and nourished with the “internally circulating primordial harmonizing Qi” so that the central field (the region of the Dantian) can be settled and used as the root of transcendence.

What is internally circulating primordial harmonizing Qi? Breathing arises from the central hub and also comes to rest there. After a female adept obtains jade liquid, she must use this Qi to condense it so the fluid does not leak away, and on that basis one may form the returning elixir. During internal circulation, intention is not placed on the mouth and nose, yet it does not leave the mouth and nose. Although it is called breathing, there is no visible form of one inhalation and one exhalation through mouth and nose. Why is this so? The name of breathing is borrowed to carry out the reality of internal circulation. Breathing through mouth and nose is postnatal breathing; internal breathing is prenatal breathing. At this stage one values the prenatal and does not emphasize the postnatal. Prenatal breathing has a name but no image, yet it naturally rises and falls along with the entry and exit of postnatal breath through mouth and nose. Practiced for a long time, each breath returns to the root; the breath no longer goes through mouth and nose, embryonic breathing (taixi) is established, and the immortal path is not far.

(Chen Yingning’s note: The original text did not explain this stage of practice clearly enough; fearing later students would not understand, more than half was revised for plainness. Fine points must be transmitted mouth to ear and face to face by the teacher; the student verifies it in body and mind. When gong is deep, success comes as a matter of course. Once understanding opens suddenly, one naturally accords with the subtlety of the Dao; there is no need to cling to the letter of the text.)

Fifth (continued): Heart Understands, Spirit Comprehends

The fifth section says that the heart can grasp meaning and the spirit can see through to the truth, verified in one’s own body and life. When practice deepens and time accumulates, success comes as naturally as water finding its channel. If there truly comes a day of sudden, thorough awakening, one will quietly align with the subtlety of the Dao—without clinging to the letter of the text.

Fifth: Extensively Establish Meritorious Conduct

If a woman can truly cultivate the Way in seclusion, has refined yuye huandan (the clear, moist vital essence produced in inner practice, like the image of the elixir returning), knows the face of xiantian (one’s original true nature before it is stained by the post-heaven), and can sustain the skill of taixi (breathing as fine, even, and gentle as a fetus in the womb), at this stage she must use waixing (outward conduct and how she meets the world) to nurture the root of the Dao. Only when nothing is lacking on the outside can the inside truly be supported.

Therefore: serve parents-in-law with full filial piety; in dealing with others, keep faithfulness and kindness; pity orphans and widows, relieve suffering and aid the poor; respect teachers and elders, live in harmony with neighbors. Let no act be frivolous, no word arrogant; keep all conduct within reason and ritual law, and one’s bearing will naturally become balanced and gentle—without chasing merit, merit establishes itself.

(Yingning’s note: Most of the original text for this section was cut; what is kept above is enough.)

Sixth: Firm Aspiration and Steady Practice

If a female adept gains a clear master, knows the oral formulas, and steadies character and conduct, resolves to practice diligently and never slackens, immortality can be achieved in short order. But women’s temperament tends to shift easily; when things go against their wishes, it is hard to guarantee they will not change their first resolve—or be led onto a wrong path, harbor skewed views in vain, lose all prior effort, and sink into the sea of karmic entanglements, with regret coming too late.

Although many people in the world transmit Daoist methods, very few truly receive the authentic transmission—and they often mislead both themselves and others. Here the oral formulas of nüdan (female internal alchemy) are set forth plainly, to deliver those who have karmic affinity. The hope is that they may leap out of the maze of delusion and reach the other shore, so that in the Yellow Springs there are no “shattered jade” souls who lost their spirits through faulty practice, and women in the inner chambers may also learn arts of preserving youthful appearance and guarding the body, holding fast for long without dissipation, enjoying inexhaustible bliss—is that not joy?

The precepts are listed below:

First precept: Filially support parents-in-law. Second precept: Upright and proper conduct. Third precept: Careful speech. Fourth precept: Cautious practice. Fifth precept: Honor the teacher and revere the Dao. Sixth precept: Resolve the mind and do not waver.

(Note by Yingning: The original text omits roughly four-fifths, as unrelated to the main theme. Though each of the six precepts originally had commentary, it is not reproduced here, as the general meaning is clear enough.)

Seventh Section: Nurturing the Yuanshen (Original Spirit)

Yuanshen, in the internal alchemy classics, usually denotes that innate clarity and spirit in a person that does not dissipate with desire—it is the “root” that practice must protect and raise again. This section explains that on the path of nüdan, one must first nurture and stabilize this yuanshen; only then can one speak of further firing phases and oral formulas. The specific methods still depend on transmission from a master and the full sequence of the classic; details are omitted here.

In female cultivation, results often come faster than for men. In nüdan (female elixir practice), from “nurturing the true” (yang zhen) through embryonic breathing (taixi), most of the early work is already done; men must pass through many more stages before they reach “nurturing spirit” (tiao shen). Therefore, after female practitioners finish nurturing the true and embryonic breathing, the text next records the method of “external practice” (wai xing); when there is surplus strength in that external work, they then refine “nurturing spirit.”

Because in the earlier circulation and refinement, blood has already been transformed into Qi (vital energy), that Qi can in turn be transformed into Shen (spirit). At this point, if one does not continue to temper character and disposition, and does not use external practice to support the work, there is fear that what has been gathered will not hold and earlier effort will be lost. One must follow the precepts and observe the rules strictly, polishing the heart-mind until it is like a block of crystal: refined again and again, polished again and again, until inside and outside are pure, inner and outer are transparent, body and form are empty, and not a speck of dust clings. When practice reaches here, a clear, numinous, life-giving vitality will naturally shine within the cavity; in deep absorption one neither eats nor feels hunger, neither moves nor speaks. At this time someone must stand guard so that one is not startled, lest Shen be injured or one fall into demonic states—a harm not small.

When a female practitioner reaches this stage, she must be especially careful and allow no slip; day and night she needs someone on watch. If breath seems entirely absent and the complexion unchanged, whether for one or two days, or five or seven, or more than ten, no one must disturb her. Only when the breath at the nostrils is faint and the light of spirit half shows may one call softly. After emerging from absorption, food, drink, and clothing should suit her condition; companions must constantly guard and protect her until after “spirit emergence” (chu shen), so that danger can be avoided.

(This section is titled “Moving the Spirit and Leaving the Shell” (yi shen chu ke), explaining precautions for the work of spirit emergence and leaving the shell.)

Section 9: Awaiting Guidance and Ascension

The path of cultivation for women is to turn the yin constitution back into pure yang. Only when yang qi has been nourished to its fullness does the Yuanshen (original spirit) become complete. One must refine until the body is as clear as an ice jar and the heart-mind as limpid as autumn water. Even so, pure yang qi should not stay inside the body indefinitely. When the melon is ripe, the stem falls: once the spirit is complete, one must “migrate”—shift to another mode of being. At that point one applies the method of chushen (spirit leaving the body), moving awareness out of the flesh. One must not leave too abruptly; at first one should not remain outside too long, lest the spirit wander and lose the way home. The spirit that has gone out should be drawn back into the body—out and in, from near to far—and one must not indulge or let go of restraint. Only when harmonizing and nourishing the spirit are truly mature may one come and go at will; once fully adept, fear and hesitation naturally fall away.

The work of chushen deserves a closer account. Before the yang spirit emerges, the heart-nature stays utterly still, and practice still follows the rules of yangzhen (n nourishing the true) until the spirit is complete. After the yang spirit has emerged, its quality leans toward movement, and cultivation is no longer like the earlier phase. One then uses yishen (letting the spirit roam freely)—making the spirit open, lively, and unobstructed: perhaps wandering mountains and waters, or appearing according to circumstances; when the moment is right, one establishes merit and practical virtue. If merit is fulfilled and the work is round, the day of ascension will come of itself.

When female elixir practice is finished and a pure yang body is formed, one is no longer tied to the flesh and may enter and leave at ease. Even then one must still perform wide merit and plant deep roots of goodness. One must not treat spirit-travel as mere freedom and abandon the fruit of the Way, nor prattle and expose the wonders of creation, nor stray into heterodoxy and lose the rightness of heavenly principle—such reckless acts invite censure and punishment. One should only work in secret with dharma power, guarding the realm and aiding the people. When merit and conduct are complete, supreme sages and perfected ones of high rank will come to guide one to liberation and ascension: one ascends to audience at the Jinque (Golden Portal, the celestial palace), receives imperial appointment and seal, and dwells forever in the heavenly palace in boundless joy.

Section 10 · Achieving the Dao and Becoming True

Why must female adepts still await “deliverance”?

Because their innate constitution tends toward yin-softness: even after internal cultivation has shaped a “yang body,” the yin-congealed substance is not yet fully dissolved, and they still lack the work of returning to emptiness (huanxu)—so they cannot fully use heaven and earth’s transforming power and often cannot leap beyond the world on their own, mostly because the bodily foundation is not yet solid. When men complete the vajra indestructible body, finish huanxu, and their divine light fills heaven and earth, they often need no external “deliverance” to accomplish the Dao, become true, ascend to the Jade Emperor, and roam Penglai.

Yingning’s note: I cannot agree with this; I record it here as a dissent. A woman who has great wisdom, great strength, and great liberation—going one step further from the top of the hundred-foot pole—sees form and emptiness as not two, self and other both forgotten, and original nature’s light directly transcends the beginningless. Then she knows that dusty worlds and heavenly palaces, suffering and joy, are equal; male and female, yin and yang, are different names from the same source. The ten directions and three realms never leave the Mystic Female Gate (xuanpin zhi men); immortals, buddhas, and all beings seek nourishment from the Mother—at that point, what need is there to talk of ascension? (“Different names, same source,” “Mystic Female Gate,” and “seek nourishment from the Mother” come from the Daodejing; the meaning runs deep.)

What is most valuable in cultivation is to transform the ordinary mortal body into a sage body; otherwise one is like a frog at the bottom of a well, ultimately a thing within the sea of karmic affliction (the sea of afflictions and karmic forces)—how could one escape samsara and transcend kalpa destinies? If women in the world can truly hold a mind unstained by a single speck of dust and a spirit unyielding through a hundred setbacks, and cultivate in seclusion day and night according to the master’s oral instructions, then in no more than three to five years’ effort they can attain the supreme fruition; why should people fear it and not undertake it? (The original note says this entry has often been deleted or revised, because much of it consists of vague, general remarks.)

Appendix: “Kun Jue,” composed by Qingjing Yuanjun Sun Bu’er (an important ancestral teacher of Daoist women’s Neidan (internal alchemy)) and revised and collated by Jiyizi Fu Jinquan (a Qing dynasty Neidan master). The true transmission indeed has oral instructions; the true transmission indeed has oral instructions.

Women receive the De (Virtue/Power) of Kun’s yielding softness, and within true Yin there is originally true Yang; therefore cultivation is comparatively easy. The oral instructions all require effort within “being”: “being” is the beginning of “non-being,” and going from being to non-being is the place of true Yang. Although these two lines lean toward life-cultivation work (cultivating Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and other processes of life), they are spoken in terms of uniting nature and life (Xing and Ming), and are the first great key of women’s Neidan (Kun Dao): the former line requires returning to “non-being” within “being”; the latter line requires giving rise to “being” within “non-being.”

“One must know Geng and Jia; Confucian learning explains it in detail”: this means that the principle of Geng and Jia (in alchemical Daoism, a proxy for Yin-Yang, fire times, and other timings) must be understood; Confucian scholars have a separate detailed explanation.

Geng and Jia (common stem symbols in Daoist neidan: geng belongs to metal and stands for the “tiger”; jia belongs to wood and stands for the “dragon”)—this passage explains where ming gong (practice grounded in essence and qi) should begin.

Geng stands for metal and the tiger; jia for wood and the dragon. Practice takes “geng metal” as its root. Wood naturally fears metal’s overcoming, yet alchemists hold that “within restraint lies generation”—in constraint and stillness, life stirs. Hence the stress on “seeking life amid death”: when the geng tiger descends, the jia dragon rises; each descent and ascent hides the pivot of generation and slaughter, of inversion, and makes the cycling of yin and yang more concrete.

To grasp this turning point of “inverted generation and slaughter,” apply methods such as “beheading the dragon’s head and leading the tiger’s tail,” so the dragon does not raise clouds nor the tiger summon wind. When wind and cloud cease, heaven clears and the moon shines; once dragon and tiger have descended and natures harmonize, return to the furnace (gather essence and qi back to the dantian and related centers) and refine—then the Inner Elixir “pearl” (the image of a point of true essence, the root of ming) can form quickly. For preserving ming, no method surpasses this. The word “know” implies steady guarding and constant vigilance: when wind is about to rise, control the tiger first; when rain is about to fall, only then behead the dragon—neither too early nor too late; acting at the right moment, refinement proceeds correctly.

Without clarity here, one can hardly truly study the Way. It is best to investigate through the classics so practice does not miss the mark; to grasp one “turning phrase” in the Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean) is to have glimpsed the Dao. Principle must be pondered, the nature school penetrated; only with dual cultivation of nature and life (heart-mind work and essence-qi work together) can yin and yang meet.

Neidan is ultimately gathered in the Yijing. The Tuan commentary says: “Supreme is the Kun yuan; the myriad things receive life from it.” Kun is old yin; when yin reaches its limit, yang is born. Following heaven’s flow begets people and things; following it in oneself accomplishes the Dao and true personhood. Examine closely where true yang within Kun first arises, and you know where your own primordial unity (a point of pre-heaven true qi) is born. Obtaining this one and stabilizing it, the essence treasure (the root of jing-qi) is complete. Nature work is the beginning and end of entering the Way: if nature is not clear, this treasure cannot abide. The heart must be like the autumn moon—limpid, without a speck of dust. When the beginning before beginnings is understood, “non-empty emptiness” returns to ease; then dual cultivation of nature and life and the joining of yin and yang can be spoken of as complete.

The teaching is to learn to distinguish “being” (you) from “non-being” (wu), so that you do not waste your heart’s blood in vain. Yin-Yang is precisely this pair of being and non-being: you must apply effort and attention at the place of “stored scripture” (cang jing)—the inner meaning of the classics as held within the heart-mind. In about three days, true Yang gradually arrives, body and mind settle into ease, and that is the moment when dual cultivation of nature and life (xingming shuangxiu) meets and Yin and Yang intersect.

On being/non-being and Yin-Yang again: examine closely at the place of stored scripture—true Yang coming, true Yin going, each in clear order; the head of the “ascending dragon” (lai long, the rise of Yang) may be cut off, the tail of the “descending tiger” (qu hu, the fall of Yin) may be retained, the two breaths meet and blend in hazy fusion (yinyun), and only then do you form the “Dharma body” (fati)—the body-mind vehicle wrought by practice. Otherwise you only empty your heart’s blood and cannot speak of genuine cultivation.

The pivot is before your eyes; Qi is drawn and led from this very place. Above is the Heavenly Valley (tiangu)—the crown and the upper Dantian (energy center) region; below are the Spring acu-points (quan xue), often the Yongquan (“Gushing Spring”) and related points on the soles. Fix your recognition on these two places; do not favor one and slight the other as if they were two unrelated matters.

The key at the critical moment: use the eyes to lead intention, intention to lead Qi (vital energy), Qi to gather spirit (Shen), and spirit to refine the true—then you connect heaven and penetrate earth, and nothing you approach fails to respond. If the Heavenly Valley is not warm, Qi does not ascend; if the Spring points are not warm, Qi does not descend. You must fix intention and gaze, pulling forcefully above and below, and mark the two points so that not a hair’s breadth goes wrong. Practice at the fixed hours of Zi and Wu (midnight and noon, and the like); when this is pure and skilled over time, you proceed to “firing and refining” (penglian)—tempering by the internal fire.

When you awaken in season and keep at the practice without stopping, yellow sprout and white snow will come of themselves. “Yellow Sprout” and “White Snow” were originally terms of external alchemy (waidan); here they serve as metaphors in internal alchemy (neidan) for subtle signs in the inner landscape of practice—such as the first stirring of essence (Jing) and Qi, or clarity of spirit and intent—not for physical substances in a furnace.

Commentary by Yingning: Yellow Sprout and White Snow were originally terms reserved for external alchemy (waidan). Today they have been borrowed to describe internal alchemy (neidan), and on that point I cannot resist saying a few extra words. The seventh chapter of Patriarch Fu Li’s Secret of Golden Medicine states: “Purple powder like frost, Yellow Sprout filling the chamber.” Perfected Xu’s “Treatise on the Purple Mother” in the Record of the Stone Casket says: “One cauldron of cinnabar may be ingested; long use restores yang and can replace the bones; restoring yang and replacing the bones makes one a transcendent—one must have the divine talisman together with White Snow. Great indeed is the divine talisman, true White Snow; returning the soul and reviving life gave life to Xu Jia.” Again, the “Treatise on the Round Brightness of the Spirit Chamber” in the same work says: “Grain by grain, true pearls red; red bloom and purple channels give birth to the Metal Lord; Metal Lord, water and earth combine and merge, refining until Yellow Sprout becomes White Snow; purple sand and red powder drift in disorder—drifting in disorder, ah, azure dragon paste; when red powder is scarce, the White Tiger ages; refine azure dragon paste together with tiger brain; on the hall of long life, the wish-fulfilling treasure. What is turning ten thousand taels of gold to compare with it—it can touch a declining old man so he never ages.” Read the above: names such as red bloom, purple channels, Yellow Sprout, White Snow, red powder, and purple sand are all real substances refined on the external alchemy furnace fire; they truly had these forms—visible, graspable, swallowable into the belly—hence they were called the golden elixir (jindan).

Later generations of cultivators could not obtain this concrete method; some who did receive true transmission kept it secret and did not proclaim it—so there was a first shift: refining essence, qi, and spirit within the human body until they condensed and did not disperse, and calling that golden elixir too—this already departed from ancient transcendent standards, but still left traces one could follow. Later still came a second shift: Buddhist terms such as suchness (zhenru), perfect enlightenment (yuanjue), and the wondrous mind of nirvana, and Confucian terms such as the limitless (wuji), the supreme ultimate (taiji), heavenly principle (tianli), and innate knowing (liangzhi), were all attached and called golden elixir. Thus later students of immortality fell into a fog for miles, growing more confused the more they tried—one generation worse than the last. The art of turning mercury into gold, Chinese would not disclose openly, so it was lost—yet foreigners invented it; Chinese themselves dare not acknowledge a medicine for long life—perhaps foreigners will get there first again. That a civilization-state open to learning for five thousand years, a cultured race of four hundred million, should forget its own classics and seek the Way in foreign lands—truly lamentable!

Appendix: Questions and Answers

Ms. Lü Bicheng asked; Mr. Chen Yingning answered.

Question: The Ten Precepts for Female Alchemy says: “In women, yang rises from below.” What does “a woman’s yang” refer to, and how does it “rise”?

Answer: “A woman’s yang” means a kind of Qi within the female body that can generate and drive change. “Rising” means this Qi moves upward and reaches the area of the two breasts. In young girls the breasts are not yet prominent because this yang Qi is still gathered inward and does not show outward. After about ten years of age the breasts gradually develop; that outward change is precisely the effect of inner yang Qi.

Question: How should the two characters “fire talisman” (huofu) be understood, and how are they applied in cultivation?

Answer: In the Daoist tradition there are the phrases “advancing yang fire” and “withdrawing yin talisman”; “fire talisman” is a shorthand for both. It is like a blacksmith forging iron: first fierce fire heats the iron red inside and out—that is “yang fire”; then the red-hot iron is plunged into cold water so it cools and hardens—that is “yin talisman.” Cultivation of the human body follows a similar logic. As for exactly how to advance fire and withdraw the talisman, that cannot be explained in a few words.

Question: What is “form and substance” (xingzhi)? What is “original root” (benyuan)? What is “before and after” (xianhou)?

(The original text poses these questions only; Mr. Chen Yingning’s reply is not given.)

Question: What do “form” (xing), “substance” (zhi), and “original root” (benyuan) refer to? Why is the order of cultivation different for men and women?

Answer: Here, “form” (xing) means a woman’s two breasts; “substance” (zhi) means menstrual blood; “original root” (benyuan) means “pre-heaven Qi” (xiantian qi)—the primordial vital energy one is born with. For men, cultivation begins by gathering and refining pre-heaven Qi, then closing the aperture of essence so that it is never lost outward—this is “first refine the original root, then refine form and substance.” For women it is the reverse: one must first “slay the Red Dragon” (zhan chilong)—through practice, cause menstruation to cease completely—until menstrual flow no longer comes and the two breasts draw tight as in a maiden’s body; only then does one gather pre-heaven Qi to form the inner elixir (neidan). This is “first refine form and substance, then refine the original root.”

Question: How is the “work of nurturing the true” (yang zhen zhi gongfu) done?

Answer: The method of nurturing the true has already been explained earlier in the book: it is what the following passage describes—the whole sequence of “moving the qi mechanism” (yundong qi ji) from the Dantian (energy center) and the Sea of Blood (xue hai) during daily seated practice.

Question: Where in the body are the Dantian and the Sea of Blood?

Answer: The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic) says: the brain is the Sea of Marrow; the uterus (bao) is the Sea of Blood; the chest center (shanzhong) is the Sea of Qi. To know which part the Sea of Blood belongs to, one must first understand what “bao” (uterus) is. The bao lies in front of the rectum and behind the bladder; in women it is called the womb (zigong)—the place where conception and gestation occur.

Question: What is meant by “moving the qi mechanism”? Is it like doing limbering exercises?

Answer: Qi mechanism (qi ji) does not mean muscular strength; it is the pivot by which the body’s generating Qi (sheng qi) is aroused. The word “movement” (yundong) here is directed by true intent (zhenyi) and the original spirit (yuanshen)—it is not a matter of moving hands and feet; at this time one sits still without moving.

Question: What is the “spirit chamber within the heart” (xin nei shen shi)?

(Answer to this question is not given in the source text; the question alone is preserved.) “Spirit chamber within the heart” usually means the place in the heart where the spirit is stored and where the original spirit (yuanshen) dwells—the locus of mental fixation and the union of spirit and Qi during inner refinement; the full explanation must be read in the answer chapters that follow in this book.

Question: What location is being discussed here?

Answer: This refers to danzhong (the chest center), the area around the chest and diaphragm, where the pericardium network is located.

Question: What does “ding jiu” (sustained stillness) mean?

Answer: When the mind is quiet, the breath even, and spirit and qi are united, that is the basis of entering stillness (ru ding). Keep practicing in this way and extend the duration as much as you can: neither scattering the spirit nor sinking into dullness—that is “ding jiu,” holding the still state for a long time.

Question: What are “niwan” and “chonglou”?

Answer: “Niwan” (Mud-Pill Palace) is at the crown of the head—the seat of the brain and marrow. “Chonglou” (Multi-storied Pavilion) is the straight vertical passage down the center of the chest, roughly corresponding to what physicians describe as the chong and ren meridian regions.

Question: Where is the hollow between the two breasts, and what is it called?

Answer: The hollow between the breasts is commonly called danzhong in medical texts. The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic) says that danzhong is the “sea of qi”; that “danzhong is the official who serves the heart, and joy issues from it”; and that “danzhong is the walled city where the heart holds sway.” Here lies the transverse diaphragm: in front it connects with jiuwei (the base of the sternum), behind with the spine, and on both sides with the ribs. Above the diaphragm are the heart and lungs—the heart stores shen (spirit), the lungs store qi; if the heart stops, the person dies at once; if lung breathing ceases, death is likewise immediate. Thus danzhong is among the most vital places in the human body.

Question: What is meant by “wuyun shantou” (Five-Phases mountain peak)?

Answer: “Wuyun” (Five Aggregates) comes from Buddhist scripture and is not originally Daoist vocabulary; the five aggregates are also called the five yin, namely form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Here “yun” is better read as “harmony”—the blending of the qi of the Five Phases (wuxing). “Shantou” (mountain peak) points to the danzhong region: it sits higher than the “Sea of Blood” (xuehai) area, hence the image of a peak.

Question: The scripture says, “Blood turns into dregs and sediment, which are discarded and not used.” How can they be discarded and not used?

Answer: “Discarded and not used” refers to monthly menstruation. That is something the body undergoes naturally; it is not something a person deliberately arranges.

Question: Two hundred forty clepsydra marks (ke) and thirty shichen—altogether, how many hours (or clock-hours) is that?

Answer: Two hundred forty ke equal thirty shichen. One shichen is eight ke; thirty shichen are sixty clock-hours (in the book’s reckoning here: thirty shichen stated as sixty “zhongdian,” i.e., sixty hour-units on the clock).

Question: The scripture speaks of “rong hua fu lu” (melting/refining the flower and the dew returning). What does “rong hua” mean?

Answer: The two words “rong hua” often do not appear as a fixed technical term in very old Daoist books. The meaning intended is this: after monthly menstruation ends, and after another thirty shichen have passed, generative qi (sheng qi) in the uterus is full. If one follows the human path (ordinary marriage and childbearing), one can conceive and bear a child; if one follows the immortal path (Neidan internal alchemy cultivation), one can forge the elixir foundation (dan ji). “Rong” is to melt and dissolve; “hua” is essence or flower (the refined bloom).

Question: How should the two words “xiantian” (Before Heaven) be explained?

Answer: The meaning of “xiantian” must be studied together with the hexagram arrangements in the Yijing (such as the Fuxi Before Heaven eight-trigram order) before it can be stated clearly. (In the fragment given, the answer to this question is not fully written out; what is there stresses that one must enter through the Yi diagrams and images to understand “xiantian.”)

Question: What is “xiantian” (Pre-Heaven), and how should we understand it?

Answer: The principle of xiantian must be studied together with the hexagrams of the Yijing (Book of Changes) before one can arrive at a correct explanation. Confucius said: “Acting in accord with what is prior to Heaven, Heaven itself does not go against it” (xian tian er tian fu wei). Laozi said: “There was something undifferentiated and complete, born before Heaven and Earth”; and again: “Dim, it seems almost not to be there; yet within it there is an image. Elusive, it seems not to be there; yet within it there is a thing. Deep and dark, within it there is essence; that essence is very real—within it there is trust.” These lines already paint the realm of xiantian in vivid terms. True Person Zhang Ziyang wrote in the Wuzhen Pian (Understanding Reality): “In trance and blur, seek the image; in hidden silence, seek the true essence; being and non-being enter each other from here—if you have never seen it, how can thinking alone make it real?” This poem means that the xiantian scene must be verified and felt through one’s own sustained practice before one can truly understand; if one has never experienced it in person, relying on empty speculation will leave one confused to the end.

Question: What is “clear” and what is “turbid”? How do we tell them apart?

Answer: Qi belongs to the clear; blood belongs to the turbid. The clear rises; the turbid sinks; the clear can be used; the turbid seems useless at first glance. But students must not take “the turbid is useless” to mean they may let it drain away, refuse to retain or cherish it, or obsess over cutting it off entirely. Know that turbid blood also comes from the transformation of clear qi; if too much turbid blood is discharged each month, clear qi will also be insufficient. In superior practice, clear qi is no longer transformed into turbid blood, and menstruation ceases naturally. In middling practice, clear qi is refined again from within turbid blood, so menstruation gradually lessens until it stops altogether. Only when not only the red (menstrual fluid) is completely clean but also the white (leukorrhea) is entirely gone is there real hope of success; otherwise one can only look to a future life—in this life one should not indulge in vain hopes.

Ask: The text says one should use “spirit mechanism movement” (shenji yundong) so that the mouth fills with fluid. But whenever I simply curl my tongue upward, my mouth stays completely dry—not a drop. Can I still hope to succeed? Otherwise must I wait for a next life and give up on this one?

Ask: The text says, “When the spirit mechanism moves, the mouth fills with fluid.” When I curl my tongue and saliva fills my mouth—is that what “spirit mechanism movement” means? It also says “use the nose to draw in clear qi (qingqi).” Is clear qi the air outside the body?

Answer: In internal alchemy (neidan), practitioners speak of golden fluid (jinye) and jade fluid (yuye). This stage of practice is broadly what the ancients called the “jade fluid river chariot” (yuye heche). First sit with proper posture; then settle the mind and calm the breath; then regulate breathing and concentrate the spirit (tiaoxi ningshen). At that point the eyes watch the tip of the nose, the ears attend to the breath, and the tongue presses against the upper palate (in technical language, “building the celestial bridge,” da tianqiao). When saliva arises in the mouth and is slightly full, swallow it. Then practice the river chariot (heche) circulation method given in the book; if it goes smoothly, that is best. If you hit difficulties or cannot continue as the book describes, you must reflect on it with careful attention.

Ask: Where on the body are the “heart dwelling” (xinshe), “yellow chamber” (huangfang), and “pass of origin” (guanyuan)? What does “jade fluid” mean?

Answer: “Heart dwelling” means the region where the heart resides. “Yellow chamber” lies below the heart and above the navel, between the two. “Pass of origin” is a little more than two cun below the navel. “Jade fluid” is the sweet, cool, light saliva in the mouth.

Ask: Where are “weilü,” “jiaji,” and “dingmen” respectively?

Answer: “Weilü” (tail gate) is the short final segment of the spine, four vertebrae fused into one block, situated just above the anus. “Jiaji” (spine clamp) lies below the eleventh thoracic vertebra; in acupuncture it is the Jizhong (Central Spine) point. “Dingmen” (crown gate) is at the center of the crown; in acupuncture it is the Baihui (Hundred Meetings) point.

Question: How does qi rise and fall? Should one let it happen on its own, or force it along?

Answer: The jade fluid and river chariot correspond to what the ancients called daoyin (guiding and pulling). You cannot rely entirely on spontaneity, nor on crude force. It is enough to guide with intention and to move it by mind-intent (shenyi). Mind-intent reaches everywhere, so the circulation can proceed in this indirect, winding way.

Question: How do bodily fluids turn into qi? And how do you know they have already turned into qi?

Answer: While you are practicing, if you feel the whole body open and unblocked, the head and face clear and fresh, warm qi in the belly surging upward like fire, and saliva in the mouth as clear as water constantly welling up, those are signs that fluids are turning into qi. At first many cannot reach this yet; there is no need to rush—such effects will come gradually.

By “cupping to the center” is meant using both hands to cup the two breasts so that they tighten like balls and do not droop like bags; cup the right breast so that it turns to the left and the left breast so that it turns to the right, so that the breasts do not splay outward to either side. At this time one’s Shen and intention should silently abide at the place between the two breasts called “Shanzhong” (the area in the chest between the breasts). “Rotating thirty-six times” means gently twisting and kneading the two nipples and breast sacs with the hands thirty-six times; it does not mean shifting the position of the base of the breasts, for the base is fixed and its position cannot be changed. Virgins (those who have not lost their virginity) do not use this method.

Question: What is meant by refining the medicine, refining the form, true fire, and true tally?

Answer: Refining the form first and the medicine afterward means, as was said above, first cultivating the physical form and then cultivating the original source. “True fire” and “true tally” are the wondrous function of advancing Yang fire and withdrawing Yin tally. However, the principle and operation of Yin-Yang circulation are extremely profound and their changes manifold; not only are they difficult to describe with pen and ink, even face-to-face oral discussion does not easily make them fully clear. One must read many Daoist books, diligently perform the practice, train hands-on, and constantly contemplate and realize them, and only then can one have correct knowledge and view. Once one suddenly penetrates them thoroughly, even then it can only be a matter of consoling oneself and cannot be told to others; for the principle of Yin-Yang is inherently mysterious and hard to speak of.

Question: What is meant by “having a damaged elixir source” (the root of Neidan)? What is meant by the Central Palace (in Neidan, often referring to core sites such as Huangting [Yellow Court] or the middle Dantian)?

Question: What is Dan Yuan? Where is the middle palace (zhonggong)?

Answer: Dan Yuan is the foundation of Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. What is meant by “damaged Dan Yuan” is that qi disperses and blood is in disorder, so the root of the inner elixir is unstable. The middle palace lies in the region below the pit of the chest and above the navel; here “palace” refers to a cultivation locus in practice, not an acupuncture point—you need not pin it to one exact spot on the body.

Question: What is meant by “chong guan” (surmounting the passes)?

Answer: “Surmounting the passes” means that when one’s genuine qi is full, it may suddenly surge into motion. Because the lower aperture is tightly closed and qi cannot leak outward, it first rushes into the Weilu (tailgate) pass, then pierces the Jiaji pass, and continues up to the Yuzhen (jade pillow) pass. This is qi, when abundant, surging upward on its own—the body truly feels a strong heat and considerable force; it is not empty visualization or moving an imaginary qi pathway in the mind. An old poem says: “The river chariot at Jiaji pierces the crown gate; among shortcuts to cultivating immortality this is foremost; frequently swallow the jade fluid of the Flower Pool, the sovereign of the Purple Court rushes straight upward. Constantly let qi rush to the joints, and essence naturally fills while the valley spirit is preserved; once you recognize the road of long life, you must be grateful to the teacher who first pointed the way.” This process is the same in ancient and modern times and for men and women alike; it is the fixed path of attaining immortality and the Way, returning to the root and restoring the source—there is no other road besides this.

Question: What is meant by “ning qi hun he” (condensing qi and blending)?

Answer: It is the meaning of “concentrating the spirit and entering the qi cavity”—mind and breath mutually relying on each other.

Question: What is “fetal breathing” (taixi)? What is the “middle field” (zhongtian)?

Answer: “Fetal breathing” is when barely any breath comes from the nose, like an infant still in the womb—ordinary breathing is not felt in the nose. The “middle field” is the middle Dantian (energy center), also called the Crimson Palace (jianggong), at Shanzhong (between the breasts, on the midline of the chest and abdomen).

Question: What is “jade fluid returning to the root” (yuye gui gen)? Why must one use qi to condense it so it does not slip away?

Answer: “Jade fluid returning to the root” means qi transformed from the “sea of blood” (the lower Dantian region) returns to the center of the breasts. One must use qi to condense and hold it, so the qi is less likely to disperse and be lost.

Q: What is “jade liquid returning to the root,” and why must one “use qi to consolidate it” to keep it from being lost?

A: “Jade liquid returning to the root” refers to the work of gathering the qi transformed from the sea of blood (where Daoists hold that a woman’s essence-blood collects) back into the breast region. “Using qi to consolidate it” is what was meant earlier by consolidating and blending qi; in essence it is mutual reliance of mind and breath—mind and breathing coordinated so that qi does not scatter.

Q: What is “returning the elixir” (huandan)?

A: “Return” means restoring the original state: replenishing a depleted body and gathering back dispersed primordial qi.

Q: What is “post-heaven” (houtian)?

A: Anything with form and substance is called “post-heaven”—what exists only after heaven and earth have already come into being. That is the broad sense. In elixir scriptures, “pre-heaven” and “post-heaven” are usually narrow: while still in the womb is pre-heaven; after birth is post-heaven.

Q: What is the breathing of inner circulation in the “middle palace” (zhonggong)?

A: Immortal Cao Wenyi’s Song of the Great Dao of the Spiritual Source says: “When yuan and he circulate inward, truth is at once realized; seeking breath outside to the end is never finished.” Zhuangzi says: “Ordinary people breathe through the throat; the true person breathes through the heels.” The principle runs very deep. Until practice reaches this level, explanation alone cannot yield real understanding; one must verify it through actual cultivation.

Q: What is “each breath returning to the root”? Where is the “root”?

A: (The original text here repeats the same poem as in the previous question on “inner circulation breathing in the middle palace” and does not separately answer where the root lies; usually “each breath returning to the root” means every breath returns to the dantian, the mysterious pass (xuan guan), or another fundamental locus, in the same line as “mutual reliance of mind and breath.”)

On “One Breath” and Returning to the Root

Answer: One exhalation and one inhalation together are called “one breath” (yixi). The root of breathing (the qi root) lies inside the navel. While an infant is still in the womb, the mouth and nose cannot breathe; it relies entirely on the umbilical cord connected to the fetal membrane, which attaches to the mother’s womb so that blood and qi circulate with the mother’s body—that is how the child grows in the womb. If you wish now to return to the root and restore the original state, you must find the old path you came by and revert to a state of primordial chaos; only then can you confidently say, “My fate is in my own hands, not heaven’s.”

Question: Does “cutting the red dragon” (zhan chi long) mean simply stopping menstruation?

Answer: It means stopping menstruation through cultivation, not merely making the period cease. Ordinary women sometimes do not menstruate—that is illness. If menstruation is cut off through dedicated practice, that is gongfu (skill/cultivation attainment), which is utterly different from stopping because of sickness. Young girls who have not yet begun menstruating need not undertake this stage of “cutting the red dragon.” As for elderly women whose menses have already dried up, they must first nourish the body while also practicing, until menstruation returns—and then refine until it is gone again; that takes considerably more effort.

Question: What is “inner breathing” (nei huxi) like?

Question: What is the role of inner breathing? There is a distinction between pre-heaven qi (xiantian qi) and post-heaven qi (houtian qi). When post-heaven qi descends, pre-heaven qi rises at the same time; when post-heaven qi rises, pre-heaven qi descends at the same time. The Book of Changes says: “Closing the door is called Kun; opening the door is called Qian.” One close and one open is called change; going and coming without exhaustion is called penetration. This bears closely on the measure of inner breathing. But those whose practice has not reached that level will not grasp it no matter how much is said. Beginners have not yet stabilized their initial work; inner breathing is even further out of reach. If one who transmits the Way has shallow attainment and speaks of what inner breathing is like, it is like scratching an itch through a boot—it only leaves the student with nowhere to start.

Question: When entering absorption, one does not speak or move and is like a dead person. How should one proceed?

Answer: This is a state that appears naturally; it is not something forced or acted out. As for posture, one may sit cross-legged, sit upright with legs hanging down, or recline the upper body against something high; lying flat is generally less suitable. Those refining the yang spirit (yang shen) keep the eyes half open; those refining the yin spirit (yin shen) close the eyes completely.

Question: After leaving absorption, may one eat and dress as one pleases? Does that mean one may take whatever food and clothing one likes? It is also said, “At every step guard against danger”—does that mean guarding against sudden disturbance?

Answer: “As one pleases” means one may dress and eat as usual; it does not mean “delighting in” or being attached to things. Once there is delight and attachment, one cannot enter absorption again. Guarding against danger is not limited to one kind; being startled is one of them and must also be guarded against. At this stage someone must watch over the practitioner day and night in shifts, which is why those on the path of cultivation always seek companions.

Anthology of Female Elixir Poetry

Jiyi was also among those who practiced female internal alchemy (nüdan); they too had to guard themselves carefully. At the critical juncture, someone had to watch over them day and night in shifts, so cultivators usually took a partner—either a fellow practitioner or someone to protect and support them.

Anthology of Female Elixir Poetry

Compiled by Fujin Quan of Jinyi (Jiyi)

Revised by Chen Yingning of Wanjiang

Editorial Aims of A Small Library of Women’s Daoist Learning

1. Choose fine writings and short works by women, ancient and modern, on conduct and speech, to nurture character and sharpen mind—emphasis on psychology and self-cultivation.

2. Choose methods of female practice and related scriptures, treatises, and poetry from successive ages, to foster outstanding talent and strengthen the body—emphasis on physiology and practice.

3. Daoist learning is a discipline peculiar to the Chinese nation and has no counterpart abroad. In the past, women’s education was not widespread, so deep study was hard; now, in the spirit of equality between men and women, it is gradually being opened to women.

4. Older works vary in depth: some are very abstruse, some too colloquial to be dignified. For easier popular use, obscure passages are annotated for understanding; vulgar passages are lightly polished so they do not invite ridicule.

5. The aim of this series is to promote China’s native Daoist learning.

Notice to Readers

1. The circulating woodblock editions of Anthology of Female Elixir Poetry fall into three types: a standalone volume; one appended to Yiguan Zhenji Yijian Lu; and one collected in Nüdan Hebian. The three differ in fullness and in the order of pieces.

On Sun Buer’s poetry: Only the Yijian Lu edition includes it; other versions do not. There is also the Xichi Ji (Western Pool Collection), with one postface that appears only in the combined edition and has not been seen in other versions. In standalone editions, the Xichi Ji comes at the end; in the combined edition, the Jishantang Shi (Poetry from Jishan Hall) is placed last, while the Xichi Ji forms its own section at the front. The Yijian Lu edition has no Jishantang Shi; the title is given as Nü Jindan (Female Golden Elixir), not Nüdan Shiji (Female Elixir Poetry Collection). The present text selects the best readings from the various editions and corrects more than 180 characters.

Second, whether a given poem was truly written by a particular author is hard to settle. When ancients compiled Daoist books, they often used borrowed or false attributions, and the original circumstances are difficult to trace. Moreover, such textual investigation is not strictly necessary for actual cultivation practice.

Third, although these works from various authors are called poetry, their purpose was never literary composition in the ordinary sense. One must not judge them as high or low through a literary critic’s lens. Where the original wording is awkward or obscure, it has been revised many times in collation; yet where a change would be impossible or would distort the meaning, the original has been kept. Moreover, among women in China, those who read and wrote were few, and those skilled in poetry and prose fewer still. What we may find plain or shallow, they may have feared as too lofty or abstruse. Leaving the world to hear the teaching emphasizes broad salvation (pu du); one cannot cater only to a few literary specialists and leave most people outside the reach of instruction. The reader is asked to understand the compiler’s difficulty in this regard.

IV. Jishantang Poems

These poems were originally written by people who were transmitting the teaching at the time, yet they insist on attributing them to this or that immortal, perfected one, or ancient mother, and the like. The original book bore as many as sixteen such borrowed names; those have now been removed. A four-character title has also been added before each poem for the reader’s convenience. The small-character annotations in the original are retained here.

V. Huichunzi’s Commentary in the Xichi Collection

Most of it is empty talk about arcane principle and meditative insight, with hardly any connection to minggong (cultivation work focused on the body and essential qi); even if one treats it as xinggong (cultivation focused on mind-nature and spirit-intent), there is no need for such wordiness. Nothing in the Complete Works of Patriarch Lü ever sounds like this—it truly wrongs Patriarch Lü. Because one or two lines still hit the mark, the passage was not cut entirely; readers should read with discernment.

VI. Jishantang Poems

Titles such as the method of observing incense, the method of reciting the Celestial Worthy, and the six-character scripture method are all names standing in for xianxue (the study of cultivation aimed at longevity and transcendence), hinting at relatively accessible introductory practice. They do not mean that Daoist practice consists only of these, still less that there is no further path beyond them; readers should not dismiss them as ordinary. Women in general had limited learning; if the teaching were too deep, they might not grasp it, so familiar things were used to lead them in. Cultivated readers naturally need not rely on such an approach.

VII. Twenty-Four Supplementary Poems: “Zhēnyī Women’s Neidan Verse in Rhyme”

These were not in the original collection; they were chosen from other Daoist books for this anthology, with one hundred and ten characters corrected. They are well worth study—please do not skip them.

About This Book and the Preface

This work was printed in the twelfth month of the twenty-fourth year of the Republic (1935), which corresponds to the 4,632nd year of the Yellow Emperor’s calendar. The compiler selected passages related to female alchemy (nüdan) from among 10,100 works in the Daoist Canon (Daozang) and assembled them into this collection, with about 110 characters of textual emendation. It is a useful reference for studying nüdan practice; readers should take it seriously and not dismiss it because of the title “Scriptures on Female Alchemy.”

In the twelfth month of the twenty-fourth year of the Republic, in the 4,632nd year of the Yellow Emperor’s calendar, Chen Yingning of Anhui wrote this preface in lieu of the original author.

Prefatory Notes on the Front and Rear Volumes of the Female Alchemy Poetry Collection and on the Emendations

The front and rear volumes are described here only as a structural note; that description is omitted in this translation.

“Narrated by the Jishan Hall of Accumulated Goodness in Qian” is the original narrator’s signature; Chen Yingning of Anhui performed the emendations.

First: Purifying the Heart and Restraining Desire

The “passes and openings” guarded in male and female Golden Elixir (jindan) cultivation and the places where practice begins are not the same, yet the principle that yin and yang mutually root each other and that one refines to pure yang is shared.

The root lies in purifying the heart and restraining desire; in the foundation-building stage a woman must first “cut the red dragon”—through practice causing monthly flow (yuexin, menstruation) to cease. This is the essential secret of nüdan foundation work.

The places men observe and guard differ from those for women, and entry-level methods naturally diverge; yet for both, the aim is to refine pure yang, and the principle is one. Take purifying the heart and restraining desire as the root; in building the foundation, first cut the red dragon. The red dragon means monthly flow. With repeated practice, menstruation no longer comes; the two breasts gradually shrink inward, much as when a man practices “turtle breath” and the glans retracts—only then is the elixir foundation initially established.

Second: Transforming Blood into Qi

Women are by nature more inclined toward stillness; they should refine the elixir in stillness, and often achieve results more readily than men.

Through intent-guarding and warm nurturing (the text’s “single-minded steaming and warming”), continually replenish this human body, likened to a “broken boat” (a leaky, damaged vessel); refine blood into qi, and monthly flow can end; once innate nature is restored, one may ascend to Yingzhou (a metaphor for the immortal realm, the domain of the Dao).

Born still by nature, seek the elixir within stillness; ceaselessly steam and warm with intent, mending the body like a broken boat. When blood is fully transformed into qi, the tide of menstruation stops; restore innate nature, and one may ascend to Yingzhou—attaining immortality and the Way.

Third: Cultivating Yellow Sprout

When desire first awakens, it is like a melon first splitting; one must rely on earth virtue (tu de—the spleen earth, the central palace) to nurture the yellow sprout (huangya—the first sprouting of elixir qi).

Morning and evening, diligently cultivate it, and one will obtain the flower of long life without aging (a metaphor for the fruit of the Way, the achievement of the Golden Elixir).

When the heart of desire opens, it is like a melon newly broken; entirely depend on earth virtue to raise the yellow sprout; day and night, constantly nurture it, and one can realize the path of long life without aging.

Opening of the Heart, Tian Gui, and the Yellow Sprout

When the heart’s “door of feeling” first opens and Tian Gui (Heaven’s Decree) arrives like a turning tide, it is like a melon ripening until the stem naturally falls. In cultivation one must rely on “earth De (Virtue/Power)” to nourish the “yellow sprout”—the yellow sprout grows in earth, hence the name. Tend it diligently morning and evening without letting it be harmed or wasted, and gradually it can “blossom,” forming the root of transcending calamity and attaining long life.

The Method of Contemplating Wondrous Incense (Fourth)

The “White Crane Contemplation” within the body stands for the breasts: as they shift from red toward white, they are likened to the white crane contemplation. One should learn the wondrous method of “contemplating incense”: in antiquity the Immortal Lady of Incense Contemplation cultivated within the White Crane Contemplation and in the end verified the Great Dao. When merit was full she ascended once to the jade pool, joining the assembly at the peach banquet—an image of the wish that all may board the same shore and that universal salvation may flow from a compassionate heart.

The Celestial Venerated One’s Hidden Intent (Fifth)

Women do well to lighten worldly affairs and keep the Salvation from Suffering Celestial Venerated One (Jiuku Tianzun) ever in mind—or hold a four-character scripture as a method to tether the heart. Day and night, in sitting, lying, walking, or standing, stay companion to the “Yellow Matron” (true intent); from time to time guard that true intent, and merit can be quickly completed. The ordinary fetus may drop away of itself and the immortal frame can be exchanged—therefore diligent study is fitting.

Profound Awakening on Life and Death (Sixth)

Before dying, first learn “dying,” and in the end one will not die; when life comes, one can “slay life,” and one will never again fall into endless rebirth. Entering the subtlety of neither death nor birth, with one verification of profound awakening (xuanjue), the Great Dao can be accomplished.

Neither Death Nor Birth (Opening)

“To learn ‘death’ before dying is to enter the subtle; one verification of profound awakening completes the great work.”

Learn “death” before you die—not by actually throwing away your life, but by withdrawing the mind from deluded attachment to birth and death, like “alive yet as if dead,” not turning with circumstances; then you can verify “non-death.” When deluded feelings arise, cut them off with wisdom—this is “meeting life, slaying life”—so new entanglements do not arise. Do not cling to the body; let the mind not follow birth-and-death delusion—that is “neither death nor birth,” entry into the subtle; one verification of profound awakening, and the great work is complete.

Returning Light and Reflecting Inward, Section Seven

“Return the light and reflect inward between the two breasts; fix mind and spirit before the Golden Lock.”

Gather awareness inward (returning light and reflecting inward); hold attention in the area between the two breasts, while mind and spirit descend and fix before the “Golden Lock” (usually the lower Dantian and Qihai region, related to the kidneys and the Ren meridian).

“After two and a half days yellow turns white; move the cauldron and change the furnace to refine immortality.”

After menstruation, in about two and a half days, the body shifts from “red” to “yellow” (a metaphor for changes in essence, blood, and menstrual fluid in the process of refining the form). At this time work with a pure mind; before long yellow turns white, then the red channel ceases, and the bodily state is like a maiden’s again. Then the position and method of the “cauldron and furnace” in practice must shift (move the cauldron, change the furnace); follow the oral formulas to practice, and only then is there a foundation for attaining immortality.

(Note: “Golden Lock,” “River Cart,” “middle field,” etc. are Neidan terms: River Cart often means Qi circulating along the Du or Ren-Du channels; middle field means the middle Dantian.)

Compassion as Foundation, Section Eight

“Take compassion as root; let nature be harmonious; endure humiliation, bitter hardship, and wear.”

Take compassion as the root; keep a gentle disposition; bear insult, endure bitterness, and stand up to refinement. Laywomen and ordained Daoist nuns—whoever enters the mysterious stream may cultivate; always take compassion as foundation.

“Every person has a Qianlin tree; long sitting in Qianlin ascends to Daluo.”

Every person has a “Qianlin tree” (metaphor for the inner root that can be cultivated, or the location of the mystery pass); long practice in Qianlin (this realm), and in time one can verify the celestial treasure and ascend to Daluo (a heaven name, metaphor for the highest attainment).

Note: The opening couplet in some versions reads “Compassion as root, the mind is the old woman; at home or renounced, nurture great harmony”—this version uses “Compassion as root, nature harmonious; endure humiliation, bitter hardship, and wear.”

Dual Use of Medicine and Fire, Section Nine

The medicine is refined in the fire; the fire shows itself within the medicine. Here “medicine” means Qi (vital energy)—the refined essence of inner practice—so that Shen (spirit) has Qi as its vehicle and steers Qi as it moves; “fire” means inner fire, spirit-fire, which grows sharper because of Qi and appears within Qi.

Fire without medicine is only an empty cauldron burning dry—one must not fixate on fire alone; medicine without fire will in time be lost—one cannot do without fire. Medicine and fire must match each other properly before the Golden Elixir can form and enter the Inner Garden (in Daoist language, the blissful realm of the inner landscape).

Spirit and Qi rely on each other—how could success fail to follow?

Tai Yin Gathering Form, Section Ten

Seclusion, purity, and stillness to nourish one’s nature and temperament; the woman’s way fully perfected—her De (virtue/power) must not be slighted. The first line stresses nurturing nature; the second cultivating De—together they are the work of cultivating inside and out at once.

The breasts and the Sea of Blood (two key loci in female alchemy) must always be kept in mind; in the first steps, the body must be gathered inward and aligned with Tai Yin (the feminine, yin pole of the work).

The Tai Yin body-refining method: practiced to depth, the breasts contract until they resemble a man’s (a sign of inner gathering in practice—not a vulgar literal claim).

The Six-Character Sutra Method, Section Eleven

Nothing surpasses the six-character sutra: turn from front to back and hold at the heart (fix attention in the heart).

Within it secretly matches the He Che method (the route and timing of inner Qi circulation, like a cart wheel turning), so that without one noticing, the true elixir is refined.

Reciting the Six-Character Scripture

The scripture best suited to sustained recitation is the six-character formula—namely, “Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun” (Taiyi, Heavenly Venerable Who Saves from Suffering). The method is to recite from front to back, and in the end fix the mind on the character zun (Venerable). Specifically: at the area before the navel, recite tai; at Yangguan, yi; at the yin-kidney region, jiu; at Niwan (the mud-pill palace), ku; at the throat, tian; and finally let zun dwell in the heart. This both gathers the mind and settles the Qi. Within it is an implicit alignment with the River Chariot (He Che) method: recite in this way at all times, and send acquired yang Qi like a chariot into the middle field (zhongtian); in this way innate endowment is naturally replenished. Without your noticing, you refine the true realm. The method is simple—women may recite it, and men may recite it; what matters is long, steady practice, for the effect grows ever greater.

Section Twelve: Everyone Possesses Ruyi

From birth everyone carries two ruyi (literally “as you wish”—also the auspicious scepter)—this image both protects the heart and opens the heart. All people have it from the start, without distinction of male or female. One may ask: can a person truly ruyi—truly have things as they wish? Within genuine ruyi there is inherently the “True One” (Zhenyi); when one is truly ruyi, the chest naturally reveals boundless fine vistas. When one is truly ruyi, Heaven also affirms it—living up to the name of the ruyi image, one obtains the reality of the ruyi image, and ascension is within reach.

Section Thirteen: Do Not Leave It in Movement or Stillness

In both movement and stillness you must not leave this (the ruyi / True One); if you leave it, the path goes wrong. Let Kun’s yin transform into Qian’s yang body—standing between Heaven and Earth; do not be soft or weak.

Movement, Stillness, and True Intention

In practice, neither movement nor stillness can be separated from “true intention” (zhenyi). Without it, the path goes wrong. Here, “true intention” means the steady, undistracted mind in cultivation that ties one to the pre-heaven (xiantian) realm. Hold this sincerity at all times, and pre-heaven qi will naturally return. The moment intention slips even slightly, one is off the true path. Women belong by nature to the Kun yin body; they must refine until that Kun yin turns into a Qian yang body before they can attain the Dao. Yin nature tends toward softness and yielding, yet one must not be timid—there must be the resolve to stand firm between heaven and earth, or there is little hope on the Way.

Leaving Home for Cultivation (14)

Once one has entered the mysterious gate, one ought to find true freedom—so why do worldly ties still weigh on the heart? The pattern handed down by the Queen Mother of the Jade Pool (Yaochi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West) still stands; one should quietly guard the inner light and let every thought rest.

Cultivation for Chaste Widows (15)

Among the most pitiable in the world are “those not yet gone”—widows whose husbands have died but who have not yet followed them. To keep chastity like frost and ice is bitter hardship. People of fierce integrity are often thought to be immortal sages banished to the human realm; they should cultivate urgently and leave the dust of the world soon. Immortal maidens and primordial lords (yuanjun) alike take steadfast purity as their root. A chaste widow already bears the seed of immortal nature—what good is there in lingering in the red dust? Hence it is said that chaste widows above all should hurry to cultivate.

Before the Altar of the Queen Mother, the Most Honored Female Immortals… Accomplishment in an Instant

Before the altar of the Queen Mother of the West, the female immortals held in highest regard are female adepts who have fully grasped that form is emptiness and emptiness is form. They are one with the primordial Qi of the undifferentiated chaos at the world's beginning, without leakage or loss, and unlike men they need not undertake special practices to “patch leaks.” Once they receive transmission of the pre-heaven method, they can attain accomplishment in an instant. That the pre-heaven method completes as soon as it is refined may sound easy—this means girls should begin cultivation early.

Chapter Seventeen: Cultivation While Living at Home

Do not think that heavy household duties leave no room for practice. Within a woman's body there is Kunwei upright Qi (the fundamental vitality that corresponds to earth, yin, and the feminine), and she should cultivate it without delay. “From non-being to being” means refining the spirit embryo: a fetus formed in the lower field (the lower abdomen region) is an ordinary human embryo; only one formed in the middle field (the heart aperture and chest center) is a spirit embryo. The spirit embryo coalesces from one's own Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy)—nothing is added from outside—hence “from non-being to being.” This teaches that women at home must especially hurry in cultivation and must not let household affairs waste a lifetime.

Chapter Eighteen: Mind-Nature as the Root

The many female immortals on the four famous mountains (such as Emei, Qingcheng, and other centers for female practice)—some attained the Way through filial piety, some through chastity, some through canxuan (contemplating the mystery)—follow different paths to the same goal. In the end all must take mind-nature (xinxing) as the root; only when virtue is complete and practice is complete can one ascend to the heavens. The two words “mind-nature” are the root of elixir cultivation; neither men nor women can do without them. This piece is the summation of the entire Nüdan Jing (Female Elixir Scripture).

Supplement to the Nüdan Poetry Collection

Note

The title indicates that verses and prose were compiled as a supplement beyond the original Nüdan poetry collection. If the main text is not attached after this segment, the entry is only a title, with no further scripture to translate here.

Plain Language Interpretation of Zhenyi Nüzi Dan Koujue (Revised by Chen Yingning)

Gathering the Heart (First)

The principles and methods of the Golden Elixir are the most profound; at each stage you must attend with heart and truly grasp the meaning. If you are just entering the path, the first step is to sweep away stray thoughts and gather the mind back within.

Nourishing Nature (Second)

Human beings are originally like a clear crystal, but unfortunately dust and grime hide their luster. If you can sit quietly and turn the light of spirit inward, it is like clouds dispersing at night and the moon appearing—the original mind is bright and clear as the sky.

Nourishing Qi (Third)

Being able to hold the thought and penetrate the subtle also requires tuning the breath to harmony and balance, so that it accords with nature. There is no other secret to nourishing Qi: it corresponds to “walking together, sitting together, sleeping together”—meaning body, mind, and breath never part but depend on one another as one whole (female alchemy often stresses that breath and mind move as companions).

Concentrating Spirit (Fourth)

Spirit is like the husband, breath like the wife; do not let the two go separate ways as if divided by cloud and mud. When spirit and breath match and return to the “root aperture” (a general name for the Dantian or lower Dantian and the like), that is the image of the elixir formed and the immortal crane arriving.

Three Destinies (Fifth)

(In internal landscape or firing times) one often distinguishes three grades of light—yellow, white, and purple. Women’s endowment differs from men’s: in youth the emphasis is above, in decline in the middle, and accomplishment below—along this path the passes and apertures must be truly understood.

Qi Aperture (Sixth)

In female alchemy “Qi aperture” usually means the breast region (unlike male alchemy, which stresses below the navel); do not mistakenly place it below the navel. If you refine the elixir without knowing where “Yin arises,” talk of subduing the tiger and descending the dragon lacks a foundation.

Knowing the Time (Seventh)

Whenever the season of “flowers blooming facing the moon” comes (a metaphor for the monthly tide, fullness of Yin, or the moment fit for practice), “the ram butting the fence” (a metaphor for rising desire, hard to restrain) is about to appear. I urge you: when faith is firm, act at once and do not delay; do not wait until “the dragon form emerges at the water’s edge” (a metaphor for the menses about to flow and the moment lost).

Slaying the Dragon (Eighth)

When Yang qi is about to arise and Yin essence is about to leave the “Jade channel” (the menstrual passage), once the “fire wheel” stirs do not linger. Use “Xun wind” (intention or breath) to blow upward to the “Crimson Origin Palace” (the upper Dantian or its corresponding inner scene), then “reverse the River Chariot” (draw Qi upward, returning against the flow), and follow the formula as given.

Form Hidden (Ninth)

Ordinary people follow emotion and the monthly flow comes on schedule; at the age of seven times seven old age shows. When you refine until “the form of Great Yin is hidden” (the image of menstruation ceasing or the body’s form transforming—the realm after “slaying the Red Dragon” in female alchemy), from then on you are spoken of as an immortal body, and the path of long life is worth celebrating.

Seeking the Elixir (Tenth)

(The original book marks only the title “Seeking the Elixir” for this section; the verse text for this section is not included in this excerpt.)

Opening Four Lines

To solidify the bodily form and refine Qi into a purer state is the work of foundation-building (zhuji). The path toward the highest grade of celestial immortality differs from ordinary cultivation methods. If you ask where the Golden Elixir (Jindan) ultimately rests, picture the sun and moon facing each other, shining into the primordial undivided chaos—that single breath before distinction.

Refining the Self (11)

“Dragon arising, tiger leaping” describes how Jing and Qi surge within the body, as if battling in the “lotus chamber” (the Dantian or the image of union). What one fears most is the “heart-monkey and will-horse”—a scattered mind and runaway desire. Until refining the self (lianji) is mature enough to master the heart, how can one pass the perilous “Chencang pass” (a metaphor for a dangerous gate) with steadiness?

Direct and Reverse (12)

Going with the flow is the path of ordinary birth; going against it is the secret of immortality. “Qian and Kun in mutual peace” (Qian-Kun jiaotai) means Yin and Yang unite and Qi flows freely—that is the true meaning. Do not blame the elixir for being hard to form when you tend the furnace (linlu, the critical moment of practice); when the “goat-cart” is drawn back (a metaphor for guiding Qi and inner fire), you will see “Heaven” (the pre-heaven realm).

Birth of the Elixir (13)

Dim and elusive, hard to fathom, the spirit seeming dull or foolish—this is exactly when the “medicine” (the Jing-Qi stirring in inner practice) is about to arise. Signs already appear in the Dantian; when the moment comes, prepare the work of gathering and refining, as if going to pick “jade fungus” (a figure for precious medicine).

Gathering the Medicine (14)

Suddenly one glimpses that pre-heaven grain of “elixir,” blazing like a golden pill. If “Xun wind” (breath and inner wind as metaphor) is not stirred again and again, how can the great medicine break through the “pass” (the barrier or gate)?

Ascending the Original (15)

The sun rises at Fusang, east on the great sea (describing Yang rising); the “fire wheel” turns and the work must not stop. With the “deer-cart” (an inner-alchemy image) carry Jing-Qi to the “Kunlun peak” (the crown or upper Dantian), and “wood-mercury” (lead-mercury, the paired inner “drugs”) will naturally enter the “spirit chamber” (the middle Dantian or where the conscious spirit dwells).

Uniting the Elixir (16)

The “Gen youth” (one Yang) first returns to the “chaos nest” (chaotic state of the Dantian); husband and wife then tie the “silk thread” (Yin-Yang union). The six gates stay tightly closed; add fire steadily. Within the tent, spring light must reach “great harmony” (Taihe)—Yin-Yang in balance—not lopsided excess.

Fire Timing (17)

Fire-timing formulas may fill six hundred scrolls or more, yet they may not spell out the true signs; nothing is clearer than teachings like those in the Chongxu jing (Classic of Empty Infusion)—only when breathing is distinct can one speak of the path to immortality.

Nurturing Warmth (18)

One has already seen “white snow sown on green sand” (an alchemical image: Jing-Qi condensing); cold and heat must be adjusted without the slightest error. When the thirty-six palaces are full of spring, a path naturally opens to ride the “immortal raft” (crossing to a higher realm).

Embryonic Breathing (19)

The work must be fine, not coarse; spirit and breath blend continuously with the great void. What is nurturing the embryo like? Like the state before your parents bore you—without thought, without discrimination.

Embryonic Breathing (19, continued)

The work must be fine, not coarse; spirit and breath blend continuously with the great void. What is nurturing the embryo like? Like the state before your parents bore you—without thought, without discrimination.

Degrees and Stages (20)

Gathering medicine and firing the elixir follow a fixed order; among Kan, Li, Gen, and Xun (four trigrams—water, fire, and directions, standing for Qi patterns) one must invert and exchange back and forth, like poling a raft upstream—no step out of sequence.

(Continuing from above) Practice must be meticulous, not coarse or slack; spirit and breath should flow on in one unbroken thread, united with the Great Void. If you ask what “nourishing the embryo” is like—it is like the undivided chaos before you have yet been conceived by your parents.

Section 20 · Degrees of Practice

Gathering the medicine and firing the elixir follow a fixed order; Kan, Li, Gen, and Sun (the four trigrams standing for water and fire and for positions of body and mind in the work) must be used in inverted fashion in the firing process—you cannot apply them in the usual straight way. When the work completes the full count of eighty-one revolutions (nine times nine), only then may one be called an “immortal beyond the things of the world.”

Section 21 · Emerging from the Shell

When the ten-month “embryo” is full and the revolutions of the cycle are complete, the yang spirit suddenly moves to the fontanel at the crown; with a clap of thunder it bursts upward, and white qi may be seen floating above the head—images of the spirit leaving its shell and showing itself.

Section 22 · Nursing

The newly “born” infant (the yang spirit just achieved) is not yet pure in qi; one must still “swallow” the medicine figured as wood-mercury in the oral instructions and return again to true unity; after about three years of “nursing,” it can transform at will and reach unfathomable subtlety.

Section 23 · Facing the Wall

Though the elixir method here reaches a pause, there is still work: sit in silent meditation in the realm of the “grotto heaven,” forget the body and enter deep absorption, without counting months or years, until you “break through the void”—only then does the sage achievement appear.

Section 24 · Ascent

When refinement reaches “true void,” the Dao grows ever more subtle; it is as if the elixir scriptures issue a summons and one steps up into the clouds; from then on one dwells forever in the Jasper Pool paradise—or goes early to court with the immortal consort (in female-path language, the companion figure of the immortal realm). The closing line repeats: forget the form, enter absorption without reckoning years, break through the void and see the sage achievement. (The source repeats this line in this section; the sense is the same: only when the void is taken as ultimate does accomplishment fully show.)

Note by Yingning

The twenty-four rhymed formulas of the female path total six hundred seventy-two characters; one hundred ten characters have now been carefully corrected with special care, improving on the old text, and the work is sent to press.

Recorded in the mid-winter of the yihai year.

Appendix: “Song of the Subtle Source of the Dao: Cultivation for Female Adepts” (for the text’s provenance, see the volume of Daowai Cangshu).

For women who cultivate Neidan (internal alchemy), the first step is to clear illness and bring menstruation into a regular, punctual cycle. Only after that may one begin “refining the self” (lian yi) and “slaying the Red Dragon” (zhan chi long)—that is, stopping menstruation. This follows the same principle as men “subduing the White Tiger” (fu bai hu), controlling seminal emission.

Men correspond to Great Yang (tai yang): a purely yang constitution. Yang essence can be replenished day by day and can also be released. Through this work of “growing yet releasing,” the body can be nourished until it approaches the firm, vigorous quality symbolized by the Qian hexagram. Subduing the White Tiger, however, calls for a strong, resolute man. Women correspond to Great Yin (tai yin): a purely yin constitution. Gui water (menstrual blood) comes once a month, so at the outset their practice differs from men’s. After the Red Dragon has been slain, they train in the same way as men—from the Small Circulation (xiaozhoutian) through spirit exit and return to emptiness—with the same sequence of stages.

Menstruation is often irregular because stagnant, overflowing “bad blood” blocks or leaks through the Ren and Dai meridians. Visible disorders must be treated first with herbs. Take one dose of the Tongqiao Huoxue Tang (Decoction to Open the Orifices and Invigorate Blood): genuine musk five li (dissolved in the dose), Carthamus three qian, peach-kernel paste three qian, red peony leaf one qian, Chuanxiong two qian, plus ginger three qian, three stalks of scallion, and seven red dates. Chop the ginger, scallion, and dates; decoct with half a jin of yellow wine until the liquid is reduced to about half a small cup. Strain, add the musk, bring to three more boils, and take it so that every blood orifice in the body opens without obstruction; it may also help consumptive strain. Then use a modified Sishen Tang (Four Substances Decoction) to harmonize qi and blood so they are neither deficient nor excessive, until the period is on time and the flow is bright red—only then may refining the self begin. If the cycle is still irregular, one must not attempt to slay the Red Dragon; that is precisely why.

The formula for Siwu Tang (Four Substances Decoction) is: three qian of processed danggui root, two qian each of white peony root, chuanxiong, and raw rehmannia, two qian each of ginseng, white atractylodes, bupleurum, and pinellia, three qian of white poria and cyperus rhizome, and one qian and five fen of prepared licorice, with three slices of fresh ginger added; if qi is deficient, five qian of astragalus may be added. After two or three doses, when qi is full and blood abundant, one may begin cutting off the Red Dragon—that is, in female elixir practice, stopping the menstrual flow and transforming yin essence. One must also promptly seek instruction from a qualified master to refine the self and cultivate the true, so that the Kun body may return to the robust state of Qian.

Women belong to Taiyin (Greater Yin); in cultivation, menstrual blood (jingshui) is fundamental. Blood moves through the channels of Shaoyin (Lesser Yin), circulating together with the Belt Vessel (Daimai) and Conception Vessel (Renmai); it is also the sea where Heavenly Gui (Tian Gui) tides gather, and the pathway along which the first monthly cycle turns and flows without ceasing. Each month a woman receives roughly one sheng and three ge of xinshui (cyclical fluid); when the menses flow, the meridians move with them. Before puberty there is no menstruation; from about age fourteen onward, once one understands the meaning of union between yin and yang, a stirring of desire heats the whole body, opens the qi vessels, and the Heavenly Gui surges forth. To seek the path of long life, one must dwell in a quiet room, cut off all contact between men and women, and stay far from worldly licentious company; do not speak of right and wrong, do not let the eyes wander over outer beauty, do not let the ears take in distracting sounds. Refine spirit between the two breasts, silently forgetting emotion and cutting off thought, keeping the heart from racing outward. Whenever desire is about to stir, counter it with upright mindfulness; when the root of lust stirs, promptly apply the method of “playing the zither to summon the phoenix” (gu qin zhao feng), using vigorous fire (wuhuo) to warm and nourish the “Northern Sea,” raising Xun wind to stir within, so that wisdom light (huiguang) reflects back upon the “Dragon Palace,” and spirit is preserved between the two breasts. Without resolute will, if nature shifts and feeling flows outward, the Red Dragon cannot be cut off.

If menstruation previously began on the first day of the month and only cleared by the third, then choose the third day for practice. In the first month one performs “cutting the tail”; in the second month shift practice to the second day and perform “cutting the waist”; in the third month practice on the first day and perform “cutting the head.” When this stage is reached, the “Red Dragon” (menstrual blood and the woman’s red channel) is considered fully severed.

If one has already passed the “seven sevens” (generally around forty-nine years of age) and “Gui Water” (again, menstruation) has ceased, one must meet an enlightened master who transmits the method of “Striking the Qin to Summon the Phoenix”: first bring the Red Dragon forth again, then sever it according to the formula—only this counts as authentic transmission.

If one is a virgin girl, there is originally no need for the work of “severing the red channel”—before menstrual blood arrives, one may directly approach the realm of perfect primordial chaos (hundun, the pre-heaven single breath); this is called virgin cultivation and is broadly similar to the man’s work of “gathering the milky essence.”

The first essential is to refine the self (lianji) until it is pure and mature; only then do the subtle applications arise. Not a hair’s breadth may err, and above all one must not miss the hour when the “milky essence is produced.” This is the method of Greater Yin Refining the Form: when emotional intent stirs once, true Qi arrives at once; immediately at the place “before one’s parents were born,” the so-called “furnace of milky essence production,” use intent to lift once and gather and absorb the true Qi, sending it to the right breast thirty-six times; then with the right hand rub and massage the left breast thirty-six times. The number of times one gathers and lifts the true Qi must be sufficient—do this six full rounds, two hundred sixteen times in all. Then sit silently with breath held, both hands embracing and holding the two breasts in still sitting; after a moment when the breath settles, if true Qi comes again, still from between “before one’s parents were born” and the “furnace of milky essence production” apply force with intent to lift once… (the following continues the same method of silent sitting and gathering in that passage.)