《玉溪子丹经指要》

My family lives east of the city of Yichun Commandery. My distant ancestor, Wang Chaoyi, resigned from office to cultivate the Dao and called himself “Old Man of Wang Creek.” This was a name used by recluses who cultivated the Dao; nowadays, prominent families often no longer use the name of their ancestral commandery, but call themselves “Yuhuo.” He twice encountered the Perfected Pure Yang, but failed to recognize him on both occasions: once beneath a pine tree on Mount Yue, and once on a moonlit night at Yueyang Tower, when he heard a flute.

Later, he traveled to South Peak again, intending to visit Lan Yangsu. On the way, he met a man carrying tools such as nails and hinges over his shoulder. The man asked him, “Might you be someone surnamed Li, on your way to Mount Yue to see Yangsu?” Wang Creek replied, “Yes.” The man said, “Please do me the favor of giving Master Lan a message: the reclusive adept Liu asks him, ‘After ten months of gestation, how does one emerge from the womb?’” Then he bowed and left.

Wang Creek walked several miles, feeling deeply unsettled. He thought: This man knew his name and the thoughts in his heart, and spoke in a way no ordinary person would. He searched everywhere, but could not find him again. When he met Lan Yangsu, he told him about the encounter and repeated the man’s words. Lan asked, “Did he have a white mole between his eyebrows?” Wang Creek replied, “Yes.” Lan said, “That was Liu Haichan, an immortal of the Daoist tradition. I have already nurtured the Sacred Embryo—the immortal embryo formed within the body through Neidan cultivation—but without this person’s confirmation, I cannot attain the fruit of immortality. Please repeat his words.”

Wang Creek repeated, “The reclusive adept Liu asks you: ‘After ten months of gestation, how does one emerge from the womb?’” Lan Yangsu clapped his hands and laughed aloud. A rumble of thunder sounded faintly overhead. Then they saw a figure shining like moonlight on snow, with a face resembling Lan Yangsu’s, soar straight into the clouds. Lan Yangsu, too, had departed this life. Wang Creek burned incense, sighed, and left.

Lan Yangsu is the man now known on Mount Yue as “Master of the Long Laugh.” This account appears in our family’s Record of Strange Encounters and the Gazetteer of Yichun. After Wang Creek returned home, he brought out biographies of immortals, Daoist books, and the writings of the various masters. He shut his doors to visitors and studied by day. Before long, he died without illness. His Collected Works on Manifesting the Observed has been handed down to the present.

I am his descendant. As a child, I studied Confucian learning. Though I did not fulfill my ambitions, I studied the scriptures of Daoism and Buddhism, as well as astrology and destiny, medicine, divination, and the art of prognostication.

He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the art of the Golden Elixir—the practice of internal alchemy—seeking instruction far and wide as he traveled among rivers and mountains. Even when he met a beggar, he would bow and ask for guidance. Because his early aspiration never wavered, Heaven led him to meet an accomplished master: first at the Prince’s Temple in Guixian Ward, and later again in Jiangling Prefecture. With just one sentence of guidance from the master, he suddenly grasped the essential meaning of “seven returns and nine restorations,” a term in internal alchemy for the restoration of the ingredients and the changes in the firing process.

He stayed at various times on Mount Wudang and in the Xianghan and Jianghuai regions. Wherever he went, he rarely met anyone truly discerning enough to understand the subtle transformations, so he never spoke lightly of the “Mysterious.” In the guihai year of the Jingding era (1263), he traveled from Jingxiang toward Xing Sha and Langguan; his journey was nearly over. There he met someone from his native place. As they spoke, he asked after the recent fortunes of family and friends and learned that the young had grown old and the old had passed away. He could not help shedding tears.

He then recalled that the Perfected One Ziyang had said, “One may gain something by making plans for oneself; but to withhold the Way of Heaven and not transmit it is the greatest offense.” He therefore prayed sincerely to Heaven, asking it to unlock the Golden Gate and Jade Key—the keys to understanding the secret methods of cultivation. He compiled what he had learned into the Essential Guidance to the Wuzhen pian and the Book of Long Life and Lasting Vision. He also wrote the Treatise on Distinguishing Confusions and teachings in response to questions. Concerned that his account of the forms and images used in cultivation was still incomplete, he further explained the role of the August Sovereign, Fuxi, to illuminate the advance and retreat of the tally and fire—the use and modulation of the firing process in internal alchemy. One may say that he has revealed the secrets of Heaven.

Those who aspire to the Dao should cherish what they have received. Everyone can cultivate, and everyone can attain perfection; when their merit is complete, they may together realize the fruit of immortality. If these teachings are treated lightly, calamity may soon follow. The wording in this book is plain, but it concerns the practical work of cultivation in the inner chamber. Those who love the Dao should reflect on it carefully. If they gain insight, that is a gift from Heaven, not a personal achievement of oral transmission by me, Li Jianyi.

On the full moon day of the fourth month, jiazi year, fifth year of the Jingding era (1264), written as a preface by Yuxizi Li Jianyi of Yichun.

Essential Guidance to the Elixir Scripture of Master Yuxi, Volume One, compiled by Master Yuxi, Li Jianyi.

In the jiazi year, the fifth year of the Jingding era, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month (1264), Li Jianyi, known as Yuxizi, of Yichun wrote this preface.

The upper volume of Yuxizi’s Essential Guide to the Scripture of the Elixir was compiled by Li Jianyi, known as Yuxizi.

Essential Guide to the Awakening to Reality

Diagram of Conjunction

Following the Kun position, which symbolizes Yin and Earth, the body takes shape; the seed is placed in the palace of union in the Qian domain, which symbolizes Yang and Heaven.

When one man and one woman unite, they form Heaven and Earth; three men and three women together bring the process to completion from beginning to end.

The medicine has its source in the southwest. The moon’s radiance shines over the western river all day long.

[Diagram omitted.]

Diagram of the Union of Three, Five, and One

From ancient times to the present, few have truly understood the words “the union of three, five, and one.”

Three in the east and two in the south make five; one in the north and four in the west also make five.

Wu and Ji occupy the center, forming the generating number five in their own right. The three families unite and form the infant.

The infant is a crystallization containing true Qi. After ten months, when the embryo is complete, it enters the foundation of sainthood.

The mind-horse, a metaphor for wandering and unsettled thoughts, returns to the chamber of Shen, the inner place where spirit is preserved and Qi refined; the three natures then suddenly gather and coalesce.

The mind-monkey, a metaphor for thoughts that are difficult to restrain, guards the hidden chamber where the Golden Elixir is cultivated; spirit and vital essence then converge in the Five Phases.

Here, spirit, hun, po, and intention correspond respectively to the Four Images, the four transformations of Yin and Yang.

This is also called Purple-Gold Frost, a symbol of the condensation of the internal elixir. When brought together, it forms the embryo.

[Diagram omitted.]

Nine Returns and Seven Reversals

“Return and reversal” means transformation through inversion. It refers to the numerical principles governing the interactions of Metal and Fire. Ziyang said: “The cinnabar of the seven reversals returns to its source; the Golden Liquid of the nine returns to its original truth. Do not calculate merely by following the sequence of the Earthly Branches Yin, Zi, Kun, and Shen. Simply observe whether the Five Phases have formed their proper order.” The meaning is:

[Diagram omitted.]

Nine Returns and Seven Reversals

“Return and reversal” refers to transformation through inversion, the principles by which Metal and Fire are brought together and used. Zhang Ziyang says, “At the seventh return, cinnabar returns to its source; at the ninth restoration, the Golden Liquid returns to its true nature. Do not calculate solely by the hours and directions of Yin, Zi, Kun, and Shen. Simply observe whether the Five Phases are coordinated according to the proper rules.” Metal has the number four; add the number of Earth, five, and the result is nine, hence “ninth restoration.” Fire has the number two; add Earth’s five and the result is seven, hence “seventh return.”

In the Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three), the phrase “the secret lies in Lead and Fire” refers to the Golden Elixir, also called “Divine Water” and the “Flowery Pool.” The Ancient Scripture of the Dragon and Tiger Above says that nothing is more essential to the Elixir method than Metal and Fire. It also says that in the spirit chamber, Jing and Qi are refined and nurtured as Fire and Metal revolve together; the masculine Yang belongs to Emerald Mysterious Water, while the feminine Yin belongs to Ochre Gold. The Cantong qi says, “After pounding, refining, and blending them, send them through the red gate.” This contains the secret of the Elixir method. Zhang Ziyang also says, “The White Tiger’s first menstruum is the supreme treasure; the Divine Water of the Flowery Pool is true gold.” The meaning is pointed out directly here, so that people may understand it.

The “Metal” spoken of here refers to true Lead; “Fire” refers to spirit Mercury. True Lead is prenatal Qi, arising from the kidneys. Spirit Mercury is the true intent within one’s original nature, issuing from the heart. The Qi of the kidneys conceals true Water, while one’s original nature holds true Fire. Master Shi says, “Obtain the medicine from prenatal Qi, and seek the Fire in the essence of the sun. Understand how to obtain the medicine and use the Fire, and the Elixir will form securely.” Yet without “true Earth” to harmonize and unite them, Metal and Fire cannot come together.

Thus the return and reversal of Metal and Fire is essential to Neidan cultivation and must be sought within oneself. Apart from this, it is not the Dao of the Elixir described here.

—The Crucible and Vessel

“Crucibles” refers to the furnace and cauldron used in alchemy, and also symbolizes the place where spirit and Qi are gathered and nurtured in cultivation. These have many names, such as “Yang Furnace and Yin Cauldron,” “Jade Furnace and Golden Cauldron,” “Spirit Chamber,” “Upper and Lower Pots,” “Yellow Chamber,” “Half-Moon Furnace,” “Enclosure of Kan and Li,” and “One Aperture of the Mysterious Pass.” Though the names are many, they all point to the crucial place in Golden Elixir cultivation where spirit and Qi return to be stored.

There are two kinds of cauldrons and furnaces: the “inner cauldron and spirit furnace” within the body, and the “outer cauldron modeled on cosmic images,” which takes Heaven, Earth, Yin, and Yang as its model. The inner cauldron lies at the body’s central axis, between top and bottom: in front it corresponds to the navel, and behind to the kidneys. When “Lead” and “Mercury” come together, a point settles there. “Lead” and “Mercury” are Neidan terms that refer metaphorically to the Jing, Qi, and other elements brought into coordination through cultivation.

Zhang Ziyang said, “To keep the Valley Spirit—the inner, luminous awareness—alive and undying, one must lay a foundation in the Mysterious Female, the primal gateway that gives birth to vitality. When true Jing returns to the Golden Chamber, it is like a bright pearl that never moves.” This describes laying a firm foundation for cultivation and nurturing it for one hundred days.

The “outer cauldron modeled on cosmic images” arranges cultivation according to the changes of Yin and Yang. Water is above and fire below; the process follows the moon’s waxing crescent, full moon, waning moon, and new moon—in other words, the phases of the moon. It follows the Bagua and the sequence of the four seasons, harmonizes the Five Phases and the Four Images, refines the Dragon and Tiger, and regulates the hun and po souls. Cultivation also calls for inner and outer correspondence and for ascent, descent, and reversal. Heaven and Earth are treated as father and mother, Kan and Li as husband and wife, and the firing process is worked out through the 384 lines of the Book of Changes. The Five Planets and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions are also arranged within the cauldron. The process must be carefully guarded and its timing observed with caution; it must not be rushed.

Zhang Ziyang said, “First take Qian and Kun as the crucible; then take the medicines of the Crow and Hare and refine them. When these two elements enter the Yellow Way, how could the Golden Elixir fail to form?” The Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three) also says, “Tend and nourish the root; gather spirit and essence until they take shape.” It further says, “The True Person lies hidden in the depths, floating and abiding within the compass.” Here, the “True Person” is the inner true nature formed through cultivation, while the “compass” refers to the One Aperture of the Mysterious Pass.

The models for the inner and outer cauldrons and furnaces have now been explained clearly. If one continues to seek outside, turning the mind toward desire and delusion, or merely working with tangible objects, one will be far removed from genuine cultivation.

One explanation of True Lead

True Lead refers to the male, the infant, the moon’s Po, the Yin Tiger, and the Metal Duke within the Kan trigram. It also refers to the silver contained in lead, the white that appears in darkness, and the Yang contained within Yin. It has many different names; when it is called “True Lead,” it is, in essence, an innate current of primordial Qi, to be gathered from before the Great Beginning. The Perfected Ziyang said, “Only by using the Earthly Po to capture Vermilion Mercury.” This means that when True Lead meets True Mercury, they can form the Elixir, after which True Earth is needed to harmonize and regulate them.

One explanation of True Mercury

True Mercury refers to the female within the Li trigram and the sun’s Hun. It has many different names; when it is called “True Mercury,” it is, in essence, an innate current of primordial Qi, to be gathered from before the Great Beginning. The Perfected Ziyang said, “Only by using the Earthly Po to capture Vermilion Mercury.” This means that when True Mercury meets True Lead, they can form the Elixir, after which True Earth is needed to harmonize and regulate them.

One explanation of True Mercury

True Mercury refers to the female within the Li trigram, the sun’s Hun, the Enchanting Maiden, and the Yang Dragon. It also refers to mercury in cinnabar, the female contained within the male, and Yin contained within Yang. It has many different names; when it is called “True Mercury,” it is, in essence, the liquid of Wood. The Perfected Ziyang said, “The Heavenly Hun naturally restrains Water Metal.” This means that when True Mercury meets True Lead, they can form the Elixir, after which True Earth is needed to harmonize and regulate them.

One explanation of True Earth

True Earth refers to the Earth of Wu and Ji and the central palace—that is, the Kun palace. It does not refer here to the spleen in the human body. When Lead is cast into Mercury, the two cannot fuse and coalesce without True Earth. True Earth can pacify the four directions, as though putting away weapons and guarding all four quarters. The Ancient Scripture of the Dragon and Tiger says, “The four seas converge, and all under Heaven attains peace; this is all due to the Earthly virtue of the central palace and the Yellow Emperor.” The Cantong qi says, “The three substances unite as one family; all return to Wu and Ji.” This is also what the Perfected Ziyang means by “send it back to the earthen crucible and seal it fast.” True Earth is the pivot of Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire; with it, the workings of the Five Phases are complete.

One explanation of the Knife and Round Measure

Immortal Ziyang said: If the Li trigram and the Kan trigram are not harmonized by Wu Earth and Ji Earth, then, although they contain the Four Images, they cannot form the Golden Elixir. It is precisely because each contains the true Earth within that the Golden Elixir can return to its root and restore its origin.

Immortal Yu said: Refining the Great Medicine cannot be done without true Wu Earth and Ji Earth, so the immortals call them “one daogui.” “Dao” borrows the image of metal, while “gui” borrows the image of the two Earths joining together. To “ingest the daogui” means to let Wu Earth flow and return to Ji Earth. Immortal Shi said: Understand how Lead and Mercury unite, and you can ingest the daogui. The Scripture on Returning to Destiny says: “When Dragon and Tiger join, they cling to one another; as soon as Kan and Li meet, an embryo of the Elixir forms.” That thing, harmonized and congealed like a handful of Heaven and Earth’s essence, must be sought and gathered through focused intent. This is what ingesting the daogui at that time means.

One says: Matchmaker

“Matchmaker” means bringing things together and arranging their union. To unite Lead and Mercury, there must be a mediator. This mediator is called the “Yellow Matron,” but does not refer to the spleen. Immortal Ziyang said: To keep true Lead within true Mercury, their close union must not be without this “household minister.” Wood and Metal cannot unite when separated, so they must be drawn together with the help of a matchmaker. This, too, means that Wu Earth flows and returns to Ji Earth.

One says: Gathering

“Gathering” means gathering without deliberately seeking; “taking” means taking without insisting on obtaining. This cannot be accomplished through deliberate pursuit, nor by being so heedless that the opportunity passes by. Shao Yong said, “At midnight on the winter solstice, the Heavenly Heart has never changed; where the first Yang begins to stir, the myriad things have yet to sprout.” These words all point to the critical moment when the process begins. The Book of Changes says, “The Way of Qian brings forth the male; the Way of Kun brings forth the female.” Thus, when a man reaches sixteen, his true Jing is full, corresponding to Qian; when a woman reaches fourteen, the Heavenly Gui (a physiological phenomenon associated with reproductive development) arrives, corresponding to Kun. The Qian hexagram receives Jia and Ren, while the Kun hexagram receives Yi and Gui: the transformation of Yin and Yang has its own origins.

Zhang Ziyang said, “When lead meets Gui, it must be gathered at once.” This refers to the moment when Kun is ending and the Return hexagram (in which Yang energy begins to revive) is just emerging: that is, the moment when the Great Beginning (the state before Heaven and Earth have separated, when Qi has yet to appear) has not yet revealed Qi, and one waits for the first Yang to stir. “When gold meets the full moon, it is not fit to be tasted” means one should not let the tender red flower wither away heedlessly.

Chan Master Fuming said, “When gathering, be sure to keep it secret; with sincerity, discern what is good and bad. The traces of the process are hard to find, yet the cold spring is easily lost.” Zhang Ziyang also said, “Strike bamboo to summon the tortoise to swallow the jade fungus; play the zither to call the phoenix to drink from the knife measure.” This describes the essential method of gathering lead into the cauldron—that is, bringing into the furnace the process of cultivation symbolized by terms such as lead. It is not the “Golden Flower and Imperial Maiden” technique of sexual cultivation.

One: Fusion and Concretion

An old song says, “The sun belongs to Li, the moon to Kan; the essences of sun and moon mingle with one another.” Zhang Ziyang said, “Both things are born from the mother through the child; the Five Phases must be complete and return to the central palace.” This refers to the scene in which the five planets align and the sun and moon unite. In modern times, Ma Danyang said, “Fire arising in water is the scene in which thoughts cease; flowers blooming in snow mark the season when intention dissolves.” This describes the scene of fusion and concretion. Those who study the Dao should reflect on it carefully.

One: Cooking and Refining

The Cantong qi says: “Below is a breath like the sun’s, lying hidden and steaming for a while.” It also says: “As if cooking on a mountain of rice, with a blazing fire built beneath it.” It says: “A sorrowful cry rings out, like an infant longing for its mother.” It also says: “Mars lingers in the west, while Venus stretches across the sky.” Where the killing force reaches, how can anything avoid being overturned? The fox guards the mouse, while the sparrow fears the crane.

It also says: “Once you have returned to your original destiny, seize the essence and marrow of the Raven and Hare”—the Yin-Yang vital energies symbolized by the sun and moon—and swiftly gather them into the cauldron for refinement. An old song says: “The spirit fire cooks through the night, until the lead breath is spent; the old tortoise swallows all the essence and spirit of Zhurong, the Fire God.” These passages all describe the method of refinement that occurs naturally. Those who do not understand the transformations of creation should not speak about them rashly.

1. The Union of Metal and Wood

Metal refers to the disposition of lead, while Wood refers to the nature of mercury. Their workings are obscure and elusive, beyond the reach of words. Within the body, Metal manifests as firm strength, purity, and a force that extends through the limbs. This is Metal in its original state, not worldly desire. Wood dwells within and manifests as gentleness and compassion. For example, one may sweat upon hearing frogs croak: this is the nature of Wood, the first stirrings of a benevolent heart.

The disposition of Metal arises through lead, while the nature of Wood takes form through mercury. When lead and mercury join, they gather and engender one another; disposition and nature then naturally draw close. What Zhenyizi calls “the male disposition and female nature” refers to Yin and Yang, which depend on and interpenetrate one another. They gather, generate, and transform into True Essence, becoming the divine medicine. Ziyang says: “Wood’s nature delights in Metal and follows righteousness; Metal’s disposition cherishes Wood and holds compassion. They swallow one another and draw close to one another—only then does one realize that something is being conceived within a man.” The Cantong qi says: “Only when Metal returns to the place where its original nature began can it be called the Returning Elixir.” It also says: “Metal can overcome Wood, and Wood can then flourish.” Without a mediating agent to harmonize them and bring them together, the two remain separated and unable to communicate.

1. The Clarity and Turbidity of the Water Source

“Water’s source” is a metaphor for the mind’s origin and the original nature of one’s inborn nature. If you can settle body and mind like a coiled dragon and a guarding tiger, allowing clouds and mist to clear, then the sea of desire can be said to grow calm and the river of passion to fall still. When the mind is quiet, heaven and earth seem vast; in stillness, the sun and moon seem to linger. When the turbid dust turns clear, you will naturally come to understand this through experience.

First: Warming and Nurturing

Warming and nurturing means steadily cultivating and sustaining body and mind during practice. Let go of emotional agitation and desire, gather in your gaze and quiet your hearing, so that the body seems free of constraint. Do not rely on cleverness or ingenuity; remain in a simple, undifferentiated state throughout the day, without interruption even for a moment. It is like a dragon tending its precious pearl: it cannot stop midway. It is also like a hen incubating an egg: the warmth must never fail.

Laozi said, “Concentrate your Qi and bring it to a state of softness. Can you be like a newborn child?” He also said, “Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish.” A practice formula says, “Forget the body to nurture Qi; forget Qi to nurture Shen; forget Shen to nurture emptiness and stillness.” The Realized One maintains the centered and upright place, and the movement of Qi flows like spring among flowers and trees. When the cycle of practice has run its course, one can be reborn and undergo spiritual transformation.

First: The Timing of the Firing Process

“Fire” refers to the fire of Shen: the use of spiritual awareness in cultivation. “Timing” refers to the signs and intervals that govern when Qi advances or withdraws, and the measure by which it does so. Take heaven and earth as the crucible, Yang as charcoal and Yin as water, and follow the movements of the sun and moon and the alternation of cold and heat. The inner governing Shen gives the commands. The practitioner must carefully regulate the process, so that the formless elixir moves with the workings of creation and undergoes rising, descending, and transformation.

The Realized One Cao said, “Among the hundred quarters of the day, when the Qi of Li reaches its proper place, cinnabar is produced.” Cultivation has distinct measures for drawing out and adding, advancing and withdrawing, and bathing. Even the slightest error can bring harm. The Realized One Ziyang said, “Even if you recognize cinnabar and black lead, without understanding the timing of the firing process, your knowledge is useless. Refining the elixir depends entirely on maintaining the process correctly; the slightest error means the elixir cannot be made.”

The matter of the firing process belongs to the secrets of Heaven and must not be discussed carelessly. Its general meaning is already embodied in the workings revealed by the Sovereign of Huaxi, Fuxi. Those of clear understanding should reflect on it repeatedly each day and will come to grasp it. It has been handed down from ancient times that the Most High Lord Lao composed twelve lines of “The Secret Formula for the Golden Elixir’s Firing Process.” They are respectfully recorded below.

The sun and moon are the essence of Qian and Kun—the two hexagrams in the Changes that represent Heaven and Earth. The hexagrams turn in a clear, regular cycle. The flow of hexagram energy ends with Kun and begins again with Fu, revolving like a linked chain. “Three and five, before and after” refers to the waxing and waning half-moons. “Five times six makes thirty” refers to the cycle of solar terms in a month, which begins anew once complete. The changes of arising and passing away move through twelve: this refers to the twelve months of a year, which are further divided into twenty-four solar terms. These terms succeed one another in an endless cycle, encompassing the subtle patterns of change in all things.

Mercury divides into two states, Yin and Yang, and through transformation forms Ji Ji and Wei Ji—two hexagrams in the Changes that symbolize Yin and Yang joined and not yet joined. Ji Ji and Wei Ji then unite as husband and wife, revealing that Heaven and Earth are within the vessel. Here, the hexagrams and the transformations of mercury illustrate how Yin and Yang unite and change cyclically in the alchemical method.

This verse is said to have been spoken personally by the Most High. It reveals in detail the subtle essentials of the medicinal substances and the firing process. It warns later students of the Dao to treat it with reverence: to slight it is to invite calamity at once, for divine spirits keep watch everywhere. In his postscript, Perfected Pure Yang says: “How magnificent! These twelve lines accord with the five thousand words of the Dao De Jing.”

One says: bathing

The Cantong qi says: “In the second month, elm trees shed their leaves; in the eighth month, wheat sprouts. Punishment and virtue arrive at the gate; take care to guard against danger.” Perfected Ziyang says: “When the Mao and You months arrive, punishment and virtue meet, marking the time for transformation. The golden sand should then be bathed. If the fire continues to be applied, there is danger of overturning.” Therefore, in the Mao and You periods, one should bathe and balance the process, without advancing the firing further. “Bathing” is an alchemical term for pausing the application of fire at a particular stage so that its intensity can settle.

One says: shedding the embryo

As it gradually grows, one should take increasing care to guard against danger. Perfected Ziyang says: “When the Mao and You months arrive, punishment and virtue meet, marking the time for transformation. The golden sand should then be bathed. If the fire continues to be applied, there is danger of overturning.” Therefore, in the Mao and You periods, one should bathe and balance the process, without advancing the firing further.

One says: shedding the embryo

Gradually one grows, gradually gains spiritual awareness, and gradually completes cultivation. Perfected Ziyang said, “Fruit grows on a branch and, in time, ripens. A seed within the fruit—how could it be any different?” Perfected Yunfang said, “A child is young and has not yet grown to adulthood, so must depend on its parents for care. After nine years and three years have passed, all the affairs of the world will have been experienced. From then on, one may roam freely between Heaven and Earth, no longer constrained by one’s parents.” Looking back at the original physical body, it is no more than a heap of dung and earth. Once merit is complete and cultivation has borne fruit, one goes to court before the Primordial Lord, a revered Daoist deity. This may be called the wondrous state in which body and spirit are both perfected and united with the Great Dao.

The Song of Taiyi Perfected, Breaking Through Delusion says:

On the roadside you meet a fish, still able to flick its red tail. If you wish to save it, quickly return it to the water.

On the road you meet a person whose life is about to be lost. If you wish to save them, quickly explain the principles of the Dao to them.

Minor methods from heterodox paths branch into a thousand tangled strands. The true methods of the Dao are not complicated; in the end, they lie within oneself. To help those lost in confusion understand, let us take one or two examples.

Guiding Qi through the breath is not the Dao; disordered breathing can disturb the nutritive and defensive Qi that circulates through the body. Swallowing saliva is not the Dao; saliva is not the so-called divine water.

Visualization is not the Dao; how could a painted cake serve as food? Gathering Yin by taking the vital essence of a partner is not the Dao; when Jing and Qi are depleted, nature and life decline with them.

Abstaining from salt is not the Dao; it robs food of its flavor. Fasting from grains is not the Dao; hunger damages the stomach and intestines. Leaving one’s wife is not the Dao; it disrupts the proper union of Yin and Yang.

Then what is the Dao? Taiyi, the Supreme Unity, holds true Qi within. Qi joins with Qi without attachment to union, and its movement of ascent and descent follows the model of Heaven and Earth. The two things work together, originating in the Primordial Beginning. The Kan Maiden and the Li Infant, terms in Neidan that symbolize Yin and Yang Qi, unite to form “Already Fulfilled,” the state in which Yin and Yang are harmonized and mutually sustaining. This is, at its root, the principle by which Yin and Yang each rest in their proper place and join in mutual correspondence.

This passage means that true Yin and true Yang join together, like husband and wife. They have the same meaning, so there is no need to separate them. How could Yang Qi on its own accomplish anything?

On the surface, these words speak of immortals. But how could the Golden Elixir, the attainment sought through Neidan practice, be so easy to refine? Those who aspire to cultivate the Dao do not lightly reveal the true formulas, whose profound meaning is concealed in secret teachings such as the Great Cavern Scripture of Truth.

The Five Phases—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—do not follow their usual sequence: the tiger is born in water, and the dragon emerges from fire. This method of reversing the operation of the Five Phases is indeed subtle. It is the power of the Great One (Taiyi), the Daoist term for the primordial Dao and the supreme deity.

Zhang Ziyang, a Daoist and Neidan practitioner of the Northern Song, said, “To dismiss one’s wife only separates Yin and Yang; to abstain from grain only leaves the stomach and intestines empty.” These words are quoted from The Song of the Great One True Person on Breaking Delusion. Abstaining from the grains is not the highest path of Dao cultivation. As for the saying about “dismissing one’s wife,” the principle behind it is profound. Today, some people who do not understand the true teaching see Ziyang’s words and distort them into bedroom arts such as The Golden Flower’s Three Peaks Method of Gathering and Battling. They add reckless interpretations, misleading later students and leading scholar-officials astray. They do not realize that what the Great One True Person and Ziyang True Person are discussing is the joining of true Yin and true Yang within the practitioner.

Thus, The Seal of the Unity of the Three says, “The male does not dwell alone; the female does not live in isolation.” It also says, “If things had no Yin and Yang, they would go against the Way of Heaven and depart from their origin. A rooster sitting alone on eggs will not hatch a fully formed chick.” Yunfang, the Daoist figure Zhongli Quan, said, “Do not think that every part of the body is the Dao. To cultivate only one thing in isolation is to cultivate solitary Yin.” Bai Yuchan, a Daoist and Neidan practitioner of the Southern Song, said, “Within one’s own body there are already husband and wife. If I said this aloud, others might laugh and call it incomplete.” All these sayings express the principle of Yin and Yang joining within the body.

Ziyang also said, “If you can seek in reverse through ordinary life, even the dust of the earth can be turned into treasure.” He further said, “If you can transform the pivotal forces of life and death, calamity and good fortune can change in the time it takes to turn your hand.” He also cautioned, “When facing the enemy, do not take them lightly, or you may lose your own priceless treasure.” And he said, “If you understand how the forces of life and death transform and return, you will see that blessings can emerge even from harm.”

Later, he gave a solemn warning: “Before the Reverted Elixir is refined, hurry to cultivate it; once it is refined, you must know when to be content and stop. If greed never ceases and you insist on seeking completion, sooner or later you will suffer danger and disgrace.” These words remind Dao cultivators to guard against danger and handle the turning points of transformation with care. If lust remains and desire burns fiercely, the foundation of cultivation—the precious treasure—will be lost, and the root of life shaken. By then, regret will come too late.

I have explained these principles repeatedly to awaken those in the world who study the Dao. May everyone follow the proper path, cultivate and realize the immortal Dao together, and guide later students, instead of continuing to lead one another astray like blind people guiding the blind.

“The Song of the Flowing Pearl by Ge Xianxi” says:

Flowing Pearl, Flowing Pearl, come quickly to my humble side. I once traveled far and wide, reading many books and scriptures.

My heart was bewildered and impatient; I could not spare time for sleep or food. I visited many close friends and used up the cinnabar needed to refine mercury.

For thirty years, I sighed day after day. Now I am sixty, and fear that I will fall into the Three Paths—the Buddhist realms of suffering: hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. Flowing Pearl, Flowing Pearl, come quickly to my humble side. I once traveled far and wide, reading many books and scriptures.

My heart was bewildered and impatient; I could not spare time for sleep or food. I visited many close friends and used up the cinnabar needed to refine mercury.

For thirty years, I sighed day after day. Now I am sixty, and fear that I will fall into the Three Paths.

Fortunately, I received my master’s instruction and understood that primordial Qi, the fundamental energy from which all things arise, has its origin in emptiness.

First stabilize the golden cauldron, then stabilize the jade furnace. Use the Li fire, the trigram symbolizing fire, to kindle it, and the Kan water, the trigram symbolizing water, to regulate its measure.

Irrigate with jade fluid, the saliva that forms during cultivation, so that the inner chamber, the body’s inner palace in internal cultivation, yields a rich, creamy liquid. A perfected person guides me; this calls for the resolve of a great man.

Keep this matter in mind at all times, entrust it to your heart, and never forget it.

From this we can see that those who truly studied the Dao in former times all practiced diligently and received guidance from accomplished masters. In Neidan (internal alchemy, a method of cultivating the body and mind to refine and nurture one’s inner Jing, Qi, and Shen), the medicines used are none other than the two symbolic substances known as lead and mercury. Before beginning cultivation, one should first establish the way of being a good person: take loyalty and filial devotion as one’s foundation, and helping others as one’s priority.

Cherish yourself: cultivate inner practice while also putting outward virtue into action. Let go of attachments and desires so that the mind and spirit become settled and the breath calm. Eat in moderation and sleep less. The most precious medicines within the human body are Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit). When Jing is not carelessly expended, primordial Qi can harmonize. When primordial Qi harmonizes, the primordial spirit can settle. Only after Jing, Qi, and Shen are all secure do the “cauldron and vessel”—a metaphor for the basic conditions needed to cultivate body and mind—gradually take shape. Once the cauldron and vessel are complete, one can speak of genuine cultivation.

Someone asked, “What does it mean to follow the ordinary course and thereby produce a human being, but to reverse that course and make it the foundation of the Elixir?” The reply was: “Following the course means the natural unfolding of human relationships and ordinary principles. Jing and Qi divide and transform into a human being; Jing and Qi congeal into bodily form, and the wandering soul undergoes change. Having a body brings affliction, and from this arise troubles and distress. Reversing the course means turning back the movement of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), harmonizing and uniting the Four Images, gathering and refining the undivided, primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth, and taking the essence of the union of the Dragon and Tiger at the first mingling of Yin and Yang. Bring them into the Yellow Chamber, a symbolic place within the body in Neidan practice, and refine them into a supreme treasure. This may be called giving birth to form within the formless, and forming another ‘body’ beyond one’s own. When one’s merit and virtue are complete, one can attain the rank of a High Immortal.”

Yuxizi, Essentials of the Elixir Classic, volume two

Song by Zhang Ziyang, presented to Daoist Liu of White Dragon Cave

The Hare races and the Crow flies; the two wheels of the sun and moon turn swiftly. One has only just heard that the flowers have bloomed, and in the blink of an eye autumn frost is here again. Even if one boasts of a lifespan of more than a thousand years, it is still like a flash of lightning among the clouds, gone in an instant. How brief as lightning, how pressing the matter! A hundred years amount to no more than thirty-six thousand days. Through them, cold and heat alternate in ceaseless hardship, and before one knows it, one’s face has grown old.

The sun and moon—the “rabbit” refers to the moon, and the “crow” to the sun—race swiftly across the sky. In the blink of an eye, we have only just heard that spring flowers are blooming when autumn frost has already fallen. Even a boast of living for more than a thousand years amounts to no more than a flash of lightning among the clouds, gone in an instant.

How brief human life is! A hundred years are only thirty-six thousand days. Through them, people endure the alternation of cold and heat, and before they know it, the bloom of youth has quietly faded. Even when one is surrounded by children and grandchildren, the affection of family can turn into worry and entanglement. Once one’s Jing and Qi are depleted and the body has grown frail, who can teach a person to hold on to life for a while and extend its span?

One may wish to hold on to life for a while, but without a way to do so, one is ultimately swept away with life’s passing, like flowing water. Look at the sages of the past and present: how many have truly been able to preserve their physical bodies and remain in the world?

There is a way to preserve the physical body, but people of that time misunderstood its measure. They searched in the mountains for herbs and medicinal plants, refined lead and made mercury, and transformed substances into elixirs. The true work of alchemy is quite different: one must seek “red blood” in the Kan Palace, which symbolizes water and the position where Yang is contained within Yin, then bring it back to the Li position, which symbolizes fire and the position where Yin is contained within Yang, and use it to prepare the Yin essence within.

One must also harmonize the process in accordance with the seasons. When the time is right, a “matchmaker” serves as the guide, bringing the Metal Duke—a term in alchemy that often refers to lead—and the Maiden into marriage; the Maiden is an alchemical term that often refers to mercury. The Metal Duke likes to ride the White Tiger, which symbolizes Metal and lead, while the Maiden often rides the Red Dragon, which symbolizes fire and mercury. When the Tiger arrives, sit quietly, take its “autumn blood,” and bring it back to the Li position to prepare the Yin essence.

The harmonizing of Yin-Yang and the combining of the ingredients must both follow the proper timing. When the moment arrives, one must use a “matchmaker”—the intermediary force that brings Yin and Yang together—to unite the Golden Lord and the Crimson Maiden as husband and wife. The Golden Lord often rides a White Tiger, while the Crimson Maiden drives a Red Dragon. The White Tiger sits still among the autumn mountains; the Red Dragon rises fiercely from the depths of a pool. When the two meet, they clash, and the waters surge as if boiling inside a cauldron. The Yellow Matron and Elder Ding, auxiliary forces in the scripture, also come to their aid. Their tumult shakes Heaven and Earth and startles spirits and gods.

Before long, the clash ends and the clouds and rain disperse. The Mysterious Pearl—the core elixir formed in the process of alchemical refinement—is planted deep in the mud. Its roots and shoots gradually grow, and must be watered in due season so that the true Jing may be nurtured and protected. After ten months, the elixir embryo matures and is swallowed; thus, even an ordinary mortal body gains spiritual potency.

This method of cultivation is rarely found in the world, and ordinary people cannot know it. Without a foundation for cultivating immortality in a former life, how could one encounter it so easily? Since you have been fortunate enough to find it, you should cultivate it in good time, for time flies like an arrow. To catch fish, you must first prepare your net; do not merely stand by the river, longing in vain.

I hear that for many years you have known the essentials of the ingredients. Why, then, do you still not gather and quiet your mind to refine and nourish Mercury and Lead—the complementary Yin-Yang elements in alchemy? Do not let the wind blow out the candle. As for the cycle of the Six Realms, do not blame Heaven or complain of your lot.

Of late, many people in the world have been deceitful and false, putting on plain clothes and calling themselves cultivators of the Dao. Ask them what Metal and Wood are—the complementary elements in alchemical practice—and they fall silent like the mute. Instead, they claim to practice breath retention and abstention from food, and to follow another long path of cultivation. Have you never seen what the Song for Dispelling Delusion says: that the method of Taiyi embracing the Real is the most subtle? Do not fault me if my words seem bold and blunt; people today can scarcely distinguish truth from falsehood. Only because your heart and mine are in accord do I dare confide these words to you.

Kan, Kun, Li, and Qian refer to the directions and trigrams in alchemical theory. Qian joins with Kun through Yang Qi to form Kan; this is called “flowing Wu.” Kun joins with Qian through Yin Qi to produce Li; this is called “joining Ji.” All things are conceived at the hour of Zi. The Ren and Gui Qi represented by Qian and Kun converge in the north, which is therefore called the “Palace of Kan.” The Palace of Kan is also the Palace of Kun. The southwest mentioned here is where life’s source resides; it does not refer to the direction associated with the earthly branches Wei and Shen.

Original Qi is born from this. “Red blood” refers to a trace of Yang Jing in the human body, also called “Yang lead”; in essence, it is the one Qi of the precelestial realm. The scripture praises it: “How sublime, true lead! It existed before Heaven and Earth.” This is true lead. The position of Li is the Palace of Qian. By recognizing the proper moment and gathering Yang lead, one can use it to restrain the Yin Jing of Li. Yin Jing is also called “Yin mercury” or “wood liquid.” When these two inner essences unite and congeal, they form Neidan (internal alchemy). This is not ordinary cinnabar, mercury, the five metals and eight minerals, or tangible plants and trees.

The two ingredients must be blended at the proper time.

Their properties are balanced and gentle, with metal and water in equal measure. “Yellow Woman” (a symbol of the medium that harmonizes Yin and Yang) brings them together so they correspond, as in marriage or the rite of capping. The key lies in knowing the right moment.

When the moment is right, the medium must be used.

The Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three) says: “When the dark moon gives way to the dawn of the first day, the Zhen trigram receives the mandate.” This is the moment when Yang Qi first begins to stir. At this time, the female dragon (Yin energy) calls out, and the male tiger (Yang energy) roars. Once they have a matchmaker, they naturally unite. The “matchmaker” here is the Yellow Woman, the intermediary who harmonizes Yin and Yang.

An old verse says: “Three and four dwell together in one room; one and two become husband and wife. They need a good matchmaker to bring them together, and then they mingle, their affection growing deep.” The Perfected Master Ziyang says: “Originally, Wu and Ji (Earth) serve as matchmakers, so husband and wife may rejoice together for a long time.” He also says: “A matchmaker must guide them.” The Perfected Master Shi likewise says: “Who understands how this works? The essential point lies in the Yellow Woman.”

From this we can see that the Yellow Woman is true Earth, and true Earth is the Yellow Woman. When Yin and Yang energies meet, firm and yielding join and cannot be separated; this depends on the Yellow Woman. As true Earth, the Yellow Woman is the crucial pivot of returning the Elixir, and the dike that contains the union of Metal and Water. The phrase “Yellow at the center, it penetrates the principles; rightly placed, it occupies its position; beauty lies within” means that yellow Earth occupies the center, comprehends the principles, and remains in its proper place, with goodness and beauty inherent within. The general meaning of the Yellow Woman as true Earth should now be clear.

The Golden Lord and the Maiden Join in Marriage

The Golden Lord and the Maiden forming a marriage bond is another symbolic expression in Neidan practice: “casting lead to unite with mercury,” or bringing lead and mercury together.

The Golden Lord Favors Riding the White Tiger

The Golden Lord refers to lead. Lead has the substance of “Heaven One”: it originally arises from the moon and then returns to the western position of Geng and Xin Metal. Since it emerges from the Kan position of Water, the saying goes, “The tiger is born in water.” This refers to silver within lead, white within black, and Metal within Water. The Cantong qi says: “Metal is the mother of Water; the mother is hidden in the child’s womb. Water is the child of Metal; the child is concealed within the mother’s womb.” It also says: “Rough clothing covers the outside, while jade is hidden in the breast; outwardly, one seems a wild and unrestrained person.” All of these refer to true lead. In fact, true lead is the primordial Qi of the pre-Heaven state.

The Maiden Often Rides the Red Dragon

The Maiden refers to mercury. At this point, the original text again quotes the Cantong qi passage about Metal and Water as mother and child, and reiterates that true lead is the primordial Qi of the pre-Heaven state. The line “The Maiden often rides the Red Dragon” is repeated in the supplied text, with no further explanation.

“Maiden” refers to mercury. It carries pure Yang Qi, originally arising from the sun. It dwells within the Jia-Yi Wood of the east and appears in the Li Palace, the direction and trigram associated with Fire. Hence the saying, “The dragon emerges from the midst of fire.” It is the mercury in cinnabar, also called the “sun’s flowing pearl,” in which Yin is contained within Yang. The Cantong qi says, “Mercury is called the flowing pearl; the Azure Dragon accompanies it.” Another scripture says, “Red marrow flows and transforms into mercury; the young maiden plays with bright things.” This refers to true mercury, that is, the liquid of Wood.

The tiger comes to sit quietly in the autumn river, while the dragon strains upward toward the green pool.

The autumn river is the Western River, and the green pool is the Eastern Sea; they symbolize the true tiger and the true dragon respectively. As soon as the true tiger appears, the dragon rises and falls along with it. They join and mingle, as if feeding one another and drawing each other close.

The two beasts meet and fight; waves surge and roil, as if a cauldron were boiling.

An old song says, “The Azure Dragon pursues the White Tiger; the White Tiger seeks the Azure Dragon. The red birds meet and cry out in harmonious calls.” The struggle between dragon and tiger is a metaphor for Water and Fire stirring against each other and Yin and Yang joining. The Qi churns like water boiling in a cauldron, each force alternately overcoming and restraining the other. At times, a “baby’s cry” may also occur: a distinctive sound heard during cultivation.

The Yellow Dame and Elder Ding lend support from the sidelines, adding to their might.

Master Shi says, “The Yellow Dame has lovely breasts; Elder Ding is full of kindness. While the dragon and tiger battle, the Lord of the East remains unaware.” The explanation of the Yellow Dame was given earlier. Here, Elder Ding refers to the gentle, gradual Fire phase. The Yin Perfected says, “I have expounded the Dao endlessly for people, yet they do not understand: all that is needed is to subdue the mind of the baby.” These words reveal a key to cultivation.

They shake Heaven and Earth, setting the spirits and ghosts in motion.

An old song says, “The sage grasps the mysteries of creation, takes the sun and moon in hand, and sets them in the furnace. The vital energies of Heaven and Earth turn subtly, gathering Yin and Yang and setting spirits and ghosts in motion.” Here, “spirits and ghosts” refers to the heavenly hun and earthly po, and also signifies the hidden workings of creation.

They shake Heaven and Earth, setting the spirits and ghosts in motion.

An old song says, “The sage grasps the mysteries of creation, takes the sun and moon in hand, and sets them in the furnace. The vital energies of Heaven and Earth turn subtly, gathering Yin and Yang and setting spirits and ghosts in motion.” Here, “spirits and ghosts” refers to the heavenly hun and earthly po.

Before long, the battle ends and the clouds disperse.

The clouds part and the rain ceases; all sounds return to stillness, as though change and blessings were held within the palm of one’s hand.

Deep within the Yellow Court, where the inner Golden Elixir is cultivated, plant a dark pearl that symbolizes the inner elixir.

The “Treatise on Returning to the Mandate” says: “At night, a thing is gathered from chaos and falls to the ground. Though the myriad forms abound, none knows itself.” This means that a spark of spiritual awareness falls into the Yellow Court. The Yellow Court is the central palace, the Yellow Chamber, also called the Mysterious Pass; it is like the depths of the earth. Ziyang says, “Within a single double-hour, one governs the elixir’s formation,” meaning that the work of a day can bring results. Add a little each day, as small as a grain of millet, until it gradually condenses into a dark pearl. The Yellow Emperor searched for the dark pearl in the Red River; without Wangxiang, he could not have found it. This is the pearl meant here. Wangxiang refers to a state free of thought and worry.

From this point, the root and shoots gradually grow. Water them constantly and guard the True Essence.

Sanguzi says: “Establish a firm foundation for one hundred days, then warm and nourish it according to the number of the celestial circuit.” At this stage, preserve the Essence and Qi, settle the spirit, and let water moisten it naturally and fire warm it naturally, while waiting for the Qi mechanism to become full.

After ten months, the inner elixir is born from its womb and gathered into the abdomen. Suddenly, one feels that even the mortal body has acquired spiritual awareness.

The True Person of Ziyang also said, “Swallow one numinous Elixir, and it enters the belly.” This is also called “casting off the womb” and “communing with the sacred spirit.” The Cantong qi says, “Golden sand enters the five viscera, spreading like mist, then arriving like wind and rain.” Since this concerns the internal Elixir, why does it also speak of entering the mouth, the belly, and the five viscera? Later readers doubted this and concluded that it referred to the external Elixir. In truth, they did not understand that “returning Elixir” means the formless giving rise to the formed.

Zhenyizi says that first one must gather the true Qi of primordial unity, when Heaven and Earth were still undivided, and take it as the foundation. Next, one takes the essences of Qian and Kun and sets them in motion within, using them as the method and its symbols. Then one arranges the stages of the firing process according to the patterns of Kan, Li, Pi, and Tai, grasping the timing of Yin-Yang transformations so that cultivation follows the alternation of winter and summer. Yin Qi gradually arises after midday, while Yang Qi first stirs at midnight. Thus Qian and Kun serve as the cauldron and vessel, Kan and Li as the ingredients, and the remaining sixty hexagrams as the schedule for the firing process. Through refining and gentle nurturing, one secretly appropriates the creative work of Heaven and Earth.

This is like a seed developing on a branch or a fetus growing in its mother’s womb. Once the firing process has run its full course for ten months, it suddenly casts off its shell, and Shen enters the true womb, uniting with Heaven. This is why the numinous Elixir is said to enter the mouth, the belly, and the five viscera.

The Cantong qi says, “Its shape is like an egg, black and white joined together, about an inch in length and breadth, forming the original foundation. The limbs, five viscera, sinews, and bones gradually take shape as well; after ten months, it leaves the fetal sac.” This may be called the formless giving rise to the formed: in other words, another body exists beyond the physical one. If one clings to the old body, one remains trapped in darkness and delusion. But if one emerges through the Niwan Palace, the upper Dantian in the head, one can travel freely between Heaven and Earth, be entered in the registers of the immortals, and receive the title of True Person. This is the moment when a great man completes his work and achieves distinction.

Few people in the world know of this matter; it is beyond the understanding of ordinary people. If you had not possessed the roots for cultivating immortality in a previous life, how could you have encountered it so readily in this life? Now that you have encountered it, you should hasten to cultivate, for time flies like an arrow and passes in an instant. To catch fish, you must first lay a sound foundation. Do not wait until you are beside the water, then merely envy its many fish and come away empty-handed.

I have heard that you have understood the principles of cultivating the elixir for many years. Why, then, have you not gathered your mind and spirit and cultivated Mercury and Lead—symbolic terms in Neidan for such essentials as Yin-Yang essence and Qi? Do not let the wind blow out the candle flame; otherwise, if you fall into the six realms of rebirth—the six destinations of life and death in Buddhist teaching—you will have little cause to blame Heaven’s decree.

These words were addressed to the immortal Liu, urging him to gather his mind and cultivate Mercury and Lead. They show that Neidan must be cultivated within oneself; it does not depend on external medicines.

In recent times, most people in the world have become deceitful. They compete to dress in plain cloth and call themselves practitioners of the Dao. Ask them what “Metal and Wood”—terms in Neidan that symbolize the relationship between Yin-Yang and the Five Phases—really mean, and they fall silent, as if mute.

On the subject of “Metal and Wood,” the Essentials contains a chapter titled “An Explanation of the Joining of Metal and Wood,” which says: “If one does not understand this while cultivating the Elixir Way, one is not worth discussing the restoration of the Elixir with.”

Some people claim that breath cultivation and fasting have their own profound methods. Have you not read the Song on Breaking Delusion? It says: “The method of the Great One containing the True is supreme.”

The many minor methods of heterodox paths may be countless, but they have nothing to do with the Neidan Way of the returning Golden Liquor. What, then, is the so-called “Dao”? It is “the Great One containing the True Qi, the Five Stars linked like pearls, and the Sun and Moon joined as one.” From this the Neidan congeals and the Dharma Body—the body said to emerge from cultivation’s accomplishments—manifests. There is no other path.

Do not blame me for speaking bluntly. It is only because people lack the discernment to distinguish truth from falsehood. Only because your heart and mine are in accord do I dare tell you all this.

Diagram of the Center

Preface to the Twelve-Character Formula of the Diagram of the Center

There are 3,600 methods of health cultivation and practice, and dozens of different schools of thought. Most, however, are merely side paths and crooked ways. Such methods include taking in Qi, puffing out the abdomen, using the elbow-behind method to circulate liquid gold, inhaling, pounding and circulating the breath through the River Chariot, holding the breath to control the firing times, inhaling pure Qi and exhaling turbid Qi, drawing in and guiding the flow of Qi, circulating the breath like a tortoise, contemplating the body in pursuit of transcendence, and focusing the mind on the crown of the head or the space between the eyebrows. All these practices force action where none is needed. They only add unnecessary tasks, disrupt the natural order, and go against the most authentic Dao. The result is agitation in the hundred channels and disharmony among the three fields—the upper, middle, and lower Dantian. One seeks longevity but instead harms life. This happens because such practices run counter to the harmony of Heaven and Earth and do not accord with the Dao of nature.

For this reason, after thirty years of studying the Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three), I gained a good grasp of its deeper meaning. I incorporated what I had learned into the alchemical classics, selected their essential points, and wrote the Twelve-Character Formula of the Diagram of the Central Pivot to pass on to those who study the Dao. Practice takes right-mindedness and sincerity as its foundation and center: remain settled in the center to govern what is outside. Eight further characters serve as aids, harmonizing the four seasons so that responses to external changes accord with what is within. Above, one aligns with the heart of Heaven; in the middle, one takes human affairs as one’s guide. In silence, one accords with the workings of creation and follows the patterns of Yin-Yang. Externally, one models oneself on the Five Phases; internally, one nourishes the five organs. In this way, cultivation becomes part of daily life and continues in an unbroken cycle.

Practice requires neither deliberate exertion nor rigid visualization. One need only remain calm and still, gathering the Qi that is the foundation of body and mind. This means cutting off excessive desires, settling the mind and Qi, reducing thoughts, moderating food and drink, regulating the breath through the nose, staying alert to drowsiness and torpor, being careful with sight and hearing, and nurturing one’s innate harmony. In the four everyday postures—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—one should accord with nature. No complicated methods are needed.

Those who have already established the “yin’e”—a term for the foundation of alchemical practice or an initial achievement in Neidan—can use this method to regulate the firing times and nurture the sacred embryo. Those who have not yet established the yin’e can use it to strengthen their original Qi and nourish their spirit, laying the groundwork for its establishment. Those already depleted and weakened, or suffering from chronic illness, can also use this method to dispel illness, secure their original vitality, and seek renewed strength and longevity. This may be called a simple way to nurture life.

“Abiding at the Center” means being like the center of a circle drawn with a compass, though it is not a fixed geometric point or somewhere located inside or outside. One must not cling to images or concrete things. It refers to the center within body and mind: the intention is upright and sincere, like a pillar raised at the center. When all stray thoughts have settled, the True Person—the genuine nature spoken of in cultivation—will appear.

This is like a fish living in deep water, swimming freely without leaving the space of a square inch (a reference to the mind). The True Person, too, should remain hidden in the depths and swim freely at the Center. Before joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure arise, it is especially fitting to rest at the Center. In this state, the inner movement of Qi can follow the changes of the four seasons and harmonize with the transformations of nature. In the everyday postures of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one should keep to the proper measure. When external things arrive, respond to them; when they have passed, return to the settled center within. Above all, do not disturb this “pillar at the center.” Keep the mind empty and still, allowing no stray thought to enter. With long practice, neither indulging nor becoming rigid, one will naturally experience its subtle wonder.

The key to this cultivation can be explained through the hexagrams of the Book of Changes: when the six Yin lines return to the Kun hexagram, all things return to their source. The Fu hexagram, which symbolizes the return of Yang, begins to stir; the eldest son inherits the father’s body, symbolizing a single Yang moving within concealment. Before anything has yet come into being, the source of change begins here. This is also the moment when cultivation takes effect.

At this time, sit upright with legs crossed, gather the spirit and turn inward in contemplation, breathe softly, slowly, and continuously, and silently keep watch over the mind. In this way, the One Qi—the Daoist term for the fundamental original energy—arises from emptiness, deep and subtle, without color or form, first showing signs within profound stillness. It begins in the place of Kun and Gui (an inner-cultivation location associated with the Kun hexagram and Gui Water) and forms in the kidneys. It nourishes original Jing and replenishes original Qi, keeping them abundant and preventing their depletion, so that they gradually grow stronger. In the early stages, cultivation can dispel illness; later, it restores body and mind to a state like that of an infant. As it accumulates, it becomes the foundation of Neidan (internal alchemy).

Master Zhantan said, “When original Qi replenishes original Qi, this is not ordinary cinnabar.” This is a superior method for nourishing body and mind.

“Morning Accumulation” is the stage when accumulation and sprouting begin at dawn. It symbolizes the start of a noble person’s work of ordering and governance, and the time when all things begin to germinate. It embodies the arising of “benevolence.” At the hour of the Rat, around midnight, the Qi first comes to life in the kidneys. It arises naturally, without being summoned, and should therefore be cherished and nurtured. When regulating the breath, do not let its sound be heard by the ears. Simply feel it flowing gently and continuously, in accord with nature, so that it responds to the pivot of Heaven and Earth’s movement. With sustained practice, Kidney Qi joins with Heart Qi. The two Qi interact, bringing down “sweet dew” (a symbol of fluids in internal cultivation), which then condenses into the “Mysterious Pearl” (a symbol of gathered essence and Qi in Neidan cultivation).

“Evening Nurturing of the Unformed” means nurturing the mind’s original, undifferentiated state so that one’s nature returns to what is right. This is the work of a sage’s cultivation: never losing the pure heart of an infant. At the hour of the Horse, the Qi first comes to life in the heart. At this time, be free of thought and worry, quiet and still; gather the spirit inward and turn awareness within, allowing Heart Qi to join with it. Sit quietly and collect the spirit. With sustained practice, Heart Qi will naturally join with Kidney Qi, achieving the work of “Already Fulfilled” (the harmonizing and union of Yin and Yang Qi).

Human beings are one of the “Three Powers”—Heaven, Earth, and humanity. The human body corresponds to Heaven and Earth, and can therefore respond to their Qi and unite with the “essence of the True One” (the original, pure, undivided essence and Qi). A person’s Original Qi (the fundamental, precelestial Qi) extends for eight hundred and ten zhang and moves like a bellows: its greater cycle follows Heaven, while its lesser cycle follows the Sun. People suffer depletion and decline, and their spirit becomes confused, only because they fail to follow the patterns of Heaven and Earth’s movement, setting themselves against nature. Can it be that Heaven and Earth are the ones acting against humanity? If one can follow these principles and grasp the proper times for movement, one can cultivate the alchemical method in accord with nature’s transformation and practice the way of internal cultivation for longevity and enduring vision.

All things other than human beings receive mixed Qi and exist within Original Qi. They are things brought forth by Original Qi, so how could they command it? The Cantong qi says: “In spring and summer, the inner governs, from the hour of the Rat through the hours of the Dragon and Snake; in autumn and winter, the outer is put to use, from the hour of the Horse through the hours of the Dog and Pig.”

Rewards and punishments should accord with the seasons of spring and autumn; darkness and light should follow the changes of cold and heat. The statements attached to the hexagrams and lines contain benevolence and righteousness, and express joy and anger in response to the seasons. By following the four seasons in this way, each of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) finds its proper place.

Thus, the Earthly Branches Zi, Chou, and Yin correspond to spring; Mao, Chen, and Si to summer; Wu, Wei, and Shen to autumn; and You, Xu, and Hai to winter. Zi, Chou, and Yin belong to spring, when the Qi of Wood governs. Wood is associated with benevolence, and spring is the season when all things grow. Therefore, the two words “warmth” and “harmony” are used to nurture them, allowing all things to grow in ease and accord, as though stretching out in delight atop a high terrace in spring. “Harmony” means excellence: the heart dwells centered and open, rests upright in its proper place, and the breath flows freely through the limbs and appears in one’s actions. This is excellence at its fullest. A baby, for example, does not yet know how to smile, but when crying its voice is not hoarse: this is harmony at its fullest. The baby does not yet know sexual union between male and female, yet its genitals are erect: this is Jing at its fullest.

Mao, Chen, and Si belong to summer, when the Qi of Fire governs. Fire is associated with ritual propriety, and summer is the season when all things flourish and reach maturity. Therefore, the two words “centered harmony” are used to nurture them. When something is harmonious, with neither excess nor deficiency, it is called “centered.” In this way, one’s nature can remain settled and at ease, without becoming unrestrained or unsettled.

Wu, Wei, and Shen belong to autumn, when the Qi of Metal governs. Metal is associated with righteousness; plants turn yellow and wither, and all things are harvested. Therefore, the two words “gathering and stillness” are used to sustain them, so that all things may each follow their own nature. You, Xu, and Hai belong to winter, when the Qi of Water governs. Water is associated with wisdom; all things return to their roots, and primordial Qi begins to draw inward and grow still. Therefore, the two words “gathering and solemn stillness” are used to store them away, in accordance with the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The Cantong qi (Seal of the Unity of the Three), a Daoist Neidan classic, says: “The True Person dwells hidden in the deep, drifting and keeping to the center of the compass.” Here, the “True Person” refers to that single point of innate true oneness within oneself: when concentrated, it becomes Shen; when functioning, it becomes the heart; when still, it becomes one’s nature. It belongs neither exclusively to movement nor to stillness. Empty yet responsive, it is also called the “true heart,” moving and resting within the “center of the compass.” In Neidan practice, “the center of the compass” refers to the central place that body and mind keep to.

The Realized One is the innate, true Oneness of my own nature. When gathered, it is called spirit; when put to use, it is called mind; when at rest, it is called nature. It belongs to neither movement nor stillness. Empty yet able to communicate with the numinous, it is also called the true mind. It moves within the compass’s center—a symbol of the central workings of Heaven and Earth’s creation and transformation—and lies between the square and the circle. It governs creation, turning and changing without losing its constancy, and corresponds to the four seasons. Through sincerity and trustworthiness, it nurtures and transforms the myriad things; for this reason, it is called true Earth.

The Realized One issues commands and nurtures Original Qi (the vital energy at the root of life), refining Original Jing (the subtle essence at life’s root), so that the myriad things may come into being and move toward purity. It governs the Five Phases without forcing them into submission, thereby bringing Heaven and Earth into harmony. Only by setting the heart aright and making one’s thoughts sincere can a person become selfless. Then Qian and Kun—the Creative and the Receptive—join in harmony, Kan and Li unite, and Yin-Yang is balanced. The myriad things can live in peace, and the sun, moon, and stars follow their proper courses; thus the world is at peace. In turn, the state grows prosperous, the people live in security, and the human body and mind are brought into balance.

An Explanation of Immortal Chunyang’s “Qinyuanchun,” with Preface

“Qinyuanchun,” by the Realized One of Chunyang’s Wondrous Dao—Lü Dongbin—sets forth in full the essentials and principles of returning the Elixir, the central achievement of Neidan cultivation, and has circulated throughout the world. Though it has received many commentaries, they are liable to become convoluted and remote. Who would have thought that the methods of the immortals are not to be found among the three thousand six hundred methods? The key lies in using the heart to understand the heart, and the intent to understand the intent. Only when one truly grasps its meaning does one trust that it arises naturally. The essentials of the Great Dao are not complicated, and the work of cultivation is easy to master. Leave behind all manner of doubt, and one may enter the gate of the myriad wonders.

I therefore composed sixteen poems in all: seven-character quatrains, combined with a poem by Immortal Ning. Following the measure of “twenty catties,” I annotated each line to reveal its hidden meaning. Readers should ponder them carefully. If you can draw inferences from one point, you will find that everything connects. In the year Bingyin of the Xianchun era, a junior, Yuxizi, wrote this preface while gathering for the Spring Purification in Yichun.

“Qinyuanchun”

Grasp this point, and you have the key to the Dao-heart. Ah!

On a clear, fine night, at the very season of pure clarity; like an infant child in the time before the world was divided.

From this, understand the joy of the stringless lute—the inner wonder that depends on no outward sound; the mysteries of the musical notes Gong and Shang are not for outsiders to know.

The Sevenfold Return and Elixir Restoration, the repeated refining and return to one’s original nature in Neidan cultivation, brings Metal back to the beginning of its nature; this is called the “Sevenfold Return.” When Earth is attained and the work is complete, this is called the “Ninefold Restoration.”

When desire returns to its original nature, it is like water and fire joining. The furnace fire refines a golden radiance; this is called “returning” (gathering Jing, Qi, and Shen that have scattered outward back into the body). Blending and nurturing these three depends entirely on the “true earth” (a Neidan term for the power that harmonizes and governs Yin-Yang). Refine them into a subtle inner quality, and you can transcend the world of dust.

For human beings, the Great Dao lies within themselves; refining Neidan requires repeated tempering.

The Great One divides into three, yet a person need only obtain one of them. The great medicine can be sought only within one’s own body. How lamentable that so many people take these precious things and squander them in pursuit of pleasure.

First, refine the self and wait for the right moment. Refining the self means first subduing scattered thoughts and mental activity. Gathering the medicine, in turn, requires waiting for the proper time and seeking it within oneself.

Turn the inner pivot, and body and mind become different from the worldly. Let the mind be calm and detached, as simple and unspoiled as an infant. Look closely at the arising and changing of all things: none has any fixed, unchanging substance. When spring comes to Jiangnan, the flowers bloom of their own accord.

Just as the Qi of “One Yang” begins to stir, the Kun hexagram transforms into the Fu hexagram. Does the Fu hexagram not reveal the original mind of Heaven and Earth, in which life renews itself without end?

Sit on the meditation cushion and cast aside distracting thoughts. Shen and Qi move in and out within the body, gradually becoming calm and gentle. When a warm, moist breath circulates in the “Heavenly Valley” (a site of cultivation inside the head), you know the moment of “One Yang Returns” (when Yang Qi is first born and the cycle begins anew) has arrived.

Deep in the night, the night watch seems especially long. The “middle of the night” here means midnight; the dripping of water from the clepsydra makes the night seem longer still.

The breath rises slowly, and all around is utterly still. The winter solstice within the body arrives precisely at the third watch. Who can grasp such a state? Only the sound of water dripping in the copper clepsydra can be heard.

Nurture the lead cauldron gently and steadily. The cauldron here is not a real golden vessel, and the furnace is not a moon-shaped brazier. The fire of the Li trigram rises from the water of the Kan trigram, while the Dui trigram dwells within the cauldron.

The Jade Rabbit (the moon, often also a symbol of Yin essence) is simmered like soup, and its moistening energy surges forth. In the golden furnace, the fire blazes fiercely and its light gradually brightens. In the depths of the obscure and indistinct, who can see that the formless contains what is real? The Golden Radiance stored within is the foundation for attaining the sacred Dao.

Light passes through the curtains; the Yang Qi of the original Shen begins to sprout, and spiritual light flickers. Gather the mind and turn inward in contemplation, until all returns at last to emptiness and Wuwei (non-action).

A single Qi of Beginning Blue (the primordial original Qi described in Daoism as the color of Beginning Blue, yet belonging to no concrete form or appearance) rises from the Dragon Tower and enters the Phoenix Gate. Beneath curtains like glass, two beams of light shine across one another. At the riverbank of Fuliang, the rain has just stopped.

Heaven-and-Earth Yin-Yang transformations happen swiftly, like a husband and wife returning to their chamber to unite. When the moon travels to the “Yang Palace,” the direction where Yang Qi resides, Dragon and Tiger meet, surging together like waves among peach blossoms.

When the two substances, red and black, unite, their mystery is beyond the world’s ability to fathom. Everything depends on Wu and Ji—the names for Earth in the Five Phases, which in alchemy serve to harmonize Yin and Yang—as matchmakers. Gather the essence of Heaven and Earth into a single mass; seek it with full attention, then obtain and consume it.

The work of advancing the fire to refine the Elixir remains perilous. It is like making fire arise in water or flowers bloom amid thunder: one must guard it with undivided attention and handle the timing with care.

In the primordial chaos, before Heaven and Earth opened and the original Qi had divided, the breath is thick and diffuse, like red apricot blossoms in full bloom on a spring day in the second lunar month. Keep the Golden Gate—the aperture for gathering and containing Jing and Qi—firmly closed, and the key to transformation lies within you.

As you gaze at the clear moonlight above the River Bend, you will see a crow in flight. Though the tale of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl speaks of the love between man and woman, the fundamental principle here is the union of Tortoise and Snake, whose Yin-Yang natures are suited to one another. The Yang Crow, symbol of Yang Qi, meets the new moon and unites with the fair moon, symbol of Yin. The two Qi aid and circulate through one another. This describes the union of Lead and Mercury, symbols in alchemy for the two essences of Yin and Yang; do not mistake it for the nine bends of the small intestine inside the body.

The poem by the Perfected One Xiao says, “Above the River Bend, a magpie bridge spans the waters.” The poem uses the love of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl as a metaphor, but in fact it speaks of Yin and Yang joining. From this, the great medicine, the Golden Elixir, is refined. If you do not believe it, simply open the Jia-Yi Gate—the inner gate of bodily cultivation, also called the Wu-Ji Gate—and the two youths will naturally guide you in your practice. The principle is exceedingly profound and difficult to put fully into words, yet it always concerns what happens within a person.

Alas! If you wish to know the road below the mountain, ask someone who has traveled it.

At the time, I personally took a dose of the elixir, known as a “knife-tip measure.” The “two Earths” refer to Wu and Ji; the “metal knife” refers to Lead and Mercury.

The Dragon coils and the Tiger crouches, guarding the center. Li and Kan, the trigrams that symbolize Fire and Water, join, and the Sun and Moon shine bright. After taking the Elixir, I awoke and offered my thanks. Returning to the grotto, I found the Flower Pond, a term for the cultivated fluids of the mouth, rich and fragrant with lotus blossoms.

Who would believe that an infant could be nurtured from nothingness? The human body contains Yin and Yang; within the vessel, Sun and Moon are present. All the immortals and sages were originally no different from us. If someone has not practiced personally, how could I explain it to them?

Nurture the spiritual root with care, and use Qi to nourish Shen. In this way, Lead and Mercury transform and give birth to the true body. Suddenly, the true body emerges through the Mud Ball, the cultivation aperture above the head. Only then will you believe that the talk of immortals is no deception.

To distinguish the clear from the turbid in the liquid of the medicine, and to understand how the Wood and Metal medicines are kept apart, one can hardly grasp it without a master’s guidance. Lead sinks below, while silver floats above; the clear rises, and the turbid settles. The clear Qi is called “Golden Flower,” and the turbid substance is called “lead matter.” Combining the Golden Flower with the Wood liquid is the key formula for using lead. When the two medicines meet, emotion and nature merge into one. Once the millet-sized “Millet Pearl” has congealed, Metal and Wood separate again. These principles are difficult to know without a master’s transmission.

The clear and the turbid, the sinking and the floating, all come from the same source. To take the clear and remove the turbid from within it is subtle and profound.

Both their fusion and their separation must be understood. A true master’s single word is needed to reveal the secret.

The essence of the Dao is hidden and subtle, and Heaven’s secrets lie far beyond. To begin cultivation now is still to fear that the time is late.

Only when you learn enough to feel ashamed do you realize that your practice is not yet refined. Master Baiyun said that those who disparage it are like people trying to sweep Mount Kunlun with an enormous broom; those who savor it are like swans drinking the sea dry. How could people with such narrow views as frogs at the bottom of a well or birds by a fence understand the vastness of the sea and sky? If you study diligently, even if you do not meet a true master for a time, eventually you will. To meet one and still fail to practice is all the more foolish. Treasure every moment; do not let it pass in vain. You must awaken at once and hasten to cultivate. When will the precious pearl truly be attained and made manifest? And if the hermitage where you practice is destroyed, how will you rebuild it?

Within the Neidan, small as a pearl of millet, lies a boundless world, into which the immortals and realized beings enter in great numbers. Many people never encounter the right opportunity to cultivate the Dao. They can only gaze from afar and sigh in vain that Heaven is too high to reach.

The Perfected Changchun—Qiu Chuji, a patriarch of the Quanzhen school of Daoism—wrote in a poem: “The sun and moon hurry across the sky; time passes in the blink of an eye. Looking back, one finds oneself growing old. To begin cultivation only now is already too late.”

During the Shaoxing era, a certain Wei, an imperial pacification commissioner, lived south of Yichun. Strange and mysterious events often took place in his household. One day, an unusual visitor walked straight into his study and asked to speak with him. Wei was taking an afternoon nap, and those around him did not dare to wake him. The visitor wrote a lyric on the wall, titled “Su Mu Zhe,” and then departed. When Wei awoke and saw it, he deeply regretted what had happened. He sent people out to search everywhere, but they never found the visitor.

The lyric says: “Metal Qi from the waters rises toward the Ox and Dipper constellations. The jade lock and golden gate, guardians of the vital apertures, remain shut, while spirit children stand on watch. Within the Red River’s Elixir Terrace, the Dragon and Tiger—the Yin and Yang Qi—move; the myriad forms gather in profusion and enter the Neidan, small as a pearl of millet. Drink from the numinous source and master the firing times, the measure and timing of the alchemical process. The Great One’s furnace opens; the elixir ripens, and divine light shines through. Empty fame and profit cannot last. Begin cultivation at once, probing the nothingness to attain true being.

“On the road to Penglai, once three thousand deeds of merit are complete, you may return alone, riding the clouds.”

The Xuhuang Jing says: “Anyone who wishes to cultivate the Dao must first establish merit and virtue. Thus the Lords of the Heavens, the exalted Celestial Emperors, the perfected beings of the heavens, and the immortals and spirits of the heavens all rose beyond this world to the ranks of the sages and perfected through diligent cultivation of merit and virtue. The heavens keep a record of merit. If those in the world who cultivate perfection hold firm to their purpose, bring their merit to completion, and fulfill their virtue, they can first shed their mortal bodies and become immortals. Immortals then transform into perfected beings, who meet no obstruction and accord with the Dao of nature.

A perfected being can gather inward and become Qi, or unfold and appear as a person. Their spiritual powers are free and unrestrained, and they transform without form. They can fly through the Three Realms—the worlds of heaven and earth as described in Daoism—and enter and leave the underworld. At the outset, practitioners should cherish their Jing and Qi, gather their minds, and concentrate their Shen. They must first lay the foundation for cultivation, then gradually nurture it. Afterward, they should cultivate in a quiet chamber for three thousand days, allowing no deficiency in their internal practice. Only when practices such as embryonic breathing have become fully developed can they transcend the world, pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, and, at the same time, accumulate outward acts of goodness in accordance with the Dao of Heaven.

Merit is never too great, and good deeds are never too many. Thus, when merit reaches three thousand, one can become a Great Luo Immortal; when good deeds reach three thousand, one can become an immortal guest in the realm of the Great Luo Immortals. Patriarch Zhongli said: ‘Merit without good deeds is like having a body but no feet; good deeds without merit are like having feet but being unable to move forward. With both merit and good deeds, the feet are complete. Who can say that such a person has no chance of becoming an immortal?’

After cultivating perfection and attaining the Dao, one first resides among the immortal mountains of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, becoming a wandering immortal. Later, the Primordial Lord Taiyi summons them and bestows an immortal register, entering their name in the registers of immortals. They then rise through the ranks of immortality, ascend to the position of a sage, pay court to the Jade Emperor, and become a perfected being. They must also continue to guide those who come after them and spread the teaching widely. Only when they cling neither to cultivation nor to realization are they called ‘natural.’

A poem by a High Perfected Being—a perfected being who has attained the Dao—says: ‘After ten months, the embryo separates, and the firing process may cease; the time devoted to internal practice has reached three thousand days. One must also rely on outward good deeds to accord with the Dao of Heaven. Only then can one transcend the world, pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, and attain the rank of a High Immortal.’

On the day he attained the Dao, Zhang, a Perfected Being of the Quanzhen tradition, composed the Lyric of the Unfastened Pendant: ‘Those who cultivate must work diligently. They must understand the forward and reverse courses of the Five Phases, whose principles are endlessly profound. In the Jade Furnace, the dragon coils and the tiger crouches; in the Golden Cauldron, the supreme treasure is refined. Once the Yang Spirit leaves the body, it enters the deep and distant realm and, in an instant, travels throughout the Three Isles. When entering and leaving has become fully practiced, and gathering and releasing are effortless, one must continue to seek the mystery, until at last one accords with the true emptiness and merges into the Great Void.’

My abilities are dull, and the habits accumulated over many lifetimes have long entangled me. From the time I was old enough to understand things, I overestimated myself and wanted to try everything. Yet I never explored the Way of the immortals and Buddhas. The elder Lord Yue Suchan came from an official family in Changsha, and our interests were much alike, so we became friends despite our difference in age. I had long known that he and Peng Chongyang and Hu Guchan were Daoist companions who had together received the Golden Elixir instructions from Master Yuxi.

One day, as we spoke of this Daoist method, I was moved to say that in my usual visits to friends and searches for teachers, I had never spared my life. Later, when I met Master Yuxi, he said to Lord Yue and me, “In the past, you merely took a casual interest in miscellaneous studies. Learning the Dao has its own time and conditions. Now that you have come this far, the time has arrived! Wait a few days, and I will choose an auspicious day to pass on the teachings.”

Then, on a Jiazi day, during the Chen hour—a traditional two-hour period in the sexagenary cycle—he secretly gave us a few words of instruction and told us to try practicing them. In less than a month, the Dao of the Elixir, the path of Neidan cultivation, had shown its effects. It was said that golden light shone throughout the body, and visions appeared vividly: jade towers and crimson palaces in the immortal realms, dragons and tigers, the infant and the maiden—symbolic images in Neidan cultivation—and all manner of scenes glimpsed in fleeting, dreamlike moments.

When Lord Yue heard this, he touched his tears and sighed, “Ever since I first heard of the Daoist method, illness has kept me from completing the necessary preparation, so I have not yet begun the work of advancing the fire—the stage of regulating the firing process in Neidan cultivation. You were born with the bones of an immortal; this is no ordinary matter. I dare not be your teacher.” Pointing to someone nearby whose appearance closely resembled Master Yuxi, he said, “Just dress him in proper robes and headwear, and serve him as though he were a small portrait of Master Yuxi.” Afterward, he solemnly entrusted me with the master’s handwritten writings and the ten books that had survived.

Later, I also heard from Chief Steward Bo Shishu that Master Yuxi had once served in my household. When my father’s term as an official responsible for pacification ended and he was returning to Huai, he traveled by boat with the master. The master stayed in the galley boat, which was fastened behind the main vessel with iron chains. As the boats neared Zhenzhou, a sudden storm arose. The chains broke, and the boats and their belongings sank beneath the raging waters. Two days later, the master arrived at Yangzi Bridge carrying a small bundle of clothes. He met my father at the mooring where the weaving boats were docked, bade him farewell, and departed. Only then did we learn that the master possessed a Daoist method that let him enter the water without drowning. My family was astonished.

Fifty-five years have passed since I received the teachings. Now, nearing ninety, I have done my best to depict the immortal’s image at the end of the preface to each of the ten books, and to have the books carved and printed, in the hope that the Daoist method will spread widely. On an unspecified day in an unspecified month of the fourteenth year of the Zhizheng era, Wang Gui, styled Junzhang, of Zhongyang, reverently wrote this after burning incense.

End of the Lower Volume of Yuxizi’s Essential Guide to the Scripture of the Elixir.