《金丹四百字》

One

True “Earth” is used to gather in true “lead,” and true lead is then used to subdue true mercury. Once lead and mercury have returned to true Earth, body and mind grow still and settled, and no longer stir in vain.

Two

When mind and Shen (spirit) are empty and rest in Wuwei (non-action), white snow seems to descend; when stillness deepens into concentration, yellow sprouts seem to emerge. The fire timing in the jade furnace is gentle, and purple clouds rise above the cauldron. Here “furnace,” “cauldron,” and “fire timing” are metaphors of Neidan (internal alchemy). They refer to the process of cultivation within body and mind, not to actual vessels for smelting.

Three

In the Flower Pool (a metaphor for the fluids within the body, or for an inner scene of cultivation) the lotus opens, and the spirit-water (the subtle fluid of Golden Elixir cultivation) lies calm like golden ripples of light. Deep in the night the moon is fully bright, as if Heaven and Earth had joined to form a single clear mirror.

Four

Yang Qi (vital energy) is refined with cinnabar, and metal Jing (essence) is cooked with mercury. Metal Jing and Yang Qi stand to one another just as cinnabar stands to mercury: these material images are borrowed to figure the subtle forces that cooperate in Neidan cultivation.

Five

The sun’s hun (a metaphor for Yang Jing and Qi) and the moon’s po (a metaphor for Yin Jing and Qi) are gathered into the cauldron; once fused, they transform into a pool of clear water.

Six

The “medicines” (a Neidan term for the inner factors used in cultivation, such as Jing and Qi) arise from the mysterious aperture, while the fire timing is set in motion in the Yang furnace. When dragon and tiger meet, a mysterious pearl (a symbol of the Golden Elixir) forms in the precious cauldron.

Seven

This aperture is no ordinary thing. It is the place jointly formed by the Yin-Yang of Heaven and Earth, called the “cavity of Shen and Qi,” and within it is contained the Jing of Kan and Li (Kan and Li symbolize water and fire, and also stand for the two powers of Yin and Yang).

Eight

Wood-mercury appears as a single point of red, while metal-lead amounts to three jin of black. Lead and mercury congeal into cinnabar and at last show the color of purple-gold. “Wood-mercury” and “metal-lead” are both Neidan terms, using images of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and of metals to explain the transformations of Yin and Yang Jing and Qi.

Nine

The scene within one’s own body and mind is fair, just at the springtime when wind and rain moisten and the myriad things grow. Tilling allows no saving of effort; through sustained cultivation, the earth seems everywhere to turn to gold.

Ten

True lead is born in Kan (a symbol of water and of Yin), yet its work lies in Li (a symbol of fire and of Yang). It turns from black to red, and clouds of Qi gather thickly in the cauldron.

Eleven

True mercury is born in Li, yet its work lies in Kan. The Lovely Maiden (in the art of Neidan, a metaphor for true mercury or for Yin power) passes through the southern garden with a jade olive in her hand. The verse uses a figure and an object to depict the movement of inner Jing and Qi.

Twelve

Zhen and Dui are not the east and west of the ordinary world, nor are Kan and Li the south and north of the ordinary world. The handle of the Dipper turns and circles the heavens; the cultivator must grasp how the various Qi of Yin and Yang gather and come into harmony.

Thirteen

Fire timing does not follow the ordinary schedule of the hours, and the so-called “winter solstice” is not necessarily truly at the hour of zi. As for the bathing method (a Neidan term for the phase of regulating the breath, nurturing, and keeping the fire gentle), the so-called hours of mao and you are only metaphors and need not be bound to the clock.

Fourteen

The crow’s liver and the rabbit’s marrow (metaphors for the Qi of sun and moon, Yin and Yang) are gathered into one place, congealing grain by grain and developing gradually from the subtle to the manifest.

Fifteen

Primal chaos contains the void, and the void in turn embraces the Three Realms (the whole constituted by Heaven, Earth, and humanity). Trace it back to its source, and in the end it is as small as a grain of millet.

Sixteen

Heaven and Earth join and give birth to the true fluid; sun and moon harbor the true Jing. Grasp the root of the union of Kan and Li, and the Three Realms return to a single body.

Seventeen

The dragon comes from the eastern sea, and the tiger rises from the western mountains. The two beasts fight one battle and in the end transform into a scene of Heaven and Earth accompanying one another. “Dragon and tiger” are symbols in Neidan for the powers of Yin and Yang, depicting the process of their union and transformation.

Eighteen

Golden flowers open upon leaves of mercury, and branches of lead grow from a jade calyx. The circulation of Kan and Li has never ceased, and the transformations of Heaven and Earth have ever been the same.

Nineteen

In bathing, one must guard against deviation and danger; “extracting and adding” (regulating fire timing together with Jing and Qi) must be carefully maintained. Although the course of cultivation adds up to a long span of days, the slightest error may still have its effect.

Twenty

Yin and Yang meet like husband and wife, and in the bridal chamber clouds and rain mingle. After a year a child is born, and each such child can ride a crane and become an immortal. Here “husband and wife” and “bearing a child” are metaphors, in Neidan cultivation, for the union of Yin and Yang and the forming of the Golden Elixir.