《修真十書雜著指玄篇》

From The Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection: Collected Writings on the Great Completion of the Golden Elixir, volume 1, “Zhen Seven,” as set forth by Zixu Liaozhenzi Xiao Tingzhi (courtesy name Yuanrui). Explanation of the Diagram of Wuji (the Ultimateless): the circle represents Dao (the Way); that which is above form is called Dao; this is the substance of Dao. Wuji gives rise to Taiji (Supreme Ultimate); the three are gathered into one, and within it are fully present the fifty-five numbers; the circle at the center is its substance. Once Taiji divides, the two modes (Yin-Yang) come into being; its movement is rooted in Yin, its stillness is rooted in Yang; this is Yang transforming and Yin joining to generate Water, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Wood. Water’s generative number is one and its completion number is six; Fire’s generative number is two and its completion number is seven; Wood’s generative number is three and its completion number is eight; Metal’s generative number is four and its completion number is nine; Earth’s generative number is five and its completion number is ten; these are the generative and completion numbers of the Five Phases. Heaven one, Earth two, Heaven three, Earth four, Heaven five, Earth six, Heaven seven, Earth eight, Heaven nine, Earth ten; the numbers of Heaven and Earth total fifty-five; these are the numbers of Yang odd and Yin even. One Yin and one Yang are called Dao; ceaseless generation is called Yi (Change); one is an odd number; two is an even number; Yang is odd and Yin is even, so from two, three is generated. Pure Qian is nature; two Qian forming Kun is life; it is like Jing and Qi. Qian’s second seeking of Kun forms Kan; the Yang within Kan is original Qi; this is what is meant by “the Qian Dao completes the male.” Kun’s second seeking of Qian forms Li; the Yin within Li is true Jing; this is what is meant by “the Kun Dao completes the female.” The heart has nine apertures and is called the Golden Cauldron; the golden form is like a pellet; the elixir color is like a vermilion orange; two diagrams accompany it; this is what is meant by the Yellow Emperor casting the nine cauldrons. The two are exactly the same, with no difference. The Shen-infant (Shen and infant, a metaphor for the elixir embryo). The “chamber” of the Shen-infant must be free from all kinds of partial views; within the gourd there is naturally heaven and earth; the “child” is accompanied by one diagram inscribed “the mystery of mysteries, entering the gate of all wonders,” and by another diagram; only then does one know that when the work is complete one rises above the dust. Knife and mystery; gui; female and the Mysterious Female; the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown (Jing, Qi, and Shen gathering at the crown) is the gate of the Mysterious Female; one who drinks the knife-gui (daogui) savors the richness of its flavor; the Five Qi Returning to the Origin (the Qi of the five viscera returning to the source) is called the root of heaven and earth; two diagrams accompany it. Gathering and the Crescent Moon: the three dots of the clustered moon have the configuration of the character huang; the horizontal hook of the five furnaces resembles a slanting moon; one Moving Furnace diagram. One diagram of Harmonizing the Four Images (the images of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and the like). The elixir method in the Cantong (Zhouyi Cantong qi) has thirty sets of paired correspondences.

All things in heaven and earth exist in relationships of opposition and unity: clarity and turbidity, fullness and depletion, decline and prosperity, being and non-being, substance and emptiness, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness. These paired concepts mutually depend upon and transform into one another, forming the fundamental principles of spiritual cultivation.

During practice, adepts must master these key dynamic states: repentance and attachment, growth and restraint, punishment and grace, movement and stillness, advancement and retreat, diminishment and increase. These relationships balance each other like guest and host, sinking and floating, ascending and descending, maturity and youth, civil governance and martial prowess, strength and flexibility.

The concrete manifestations of cultivation include: separation and union, gathering and dispersing, coming and going, rising and falling, the pairing of feminine and masculine, the mutual generation of black and white. Practitioners must grasp the measures in the transformations of yin and yang - guarding and attacking, stripping away and returning, depth and shallowness, extraction and addition, cold and heat.

Seven core concepts of Neidan (internal alchemy) practice:

• Hua Chi (the "Blossoming Pool" representing the source of the heart-mind, like a pond nurturing immortal medicine)
• Shen Shui (the flowing, unfixed divine water of innate nature with miraculous efficacy)
• Huang Ya (the sprouting vitality in the heart-field, like tender new shoots)
• Bai Xue (the luminous clarity born from empty stillness, pure as white snow)
• He Che (the ceaseless circulation mechanism of genuine Qi within the body)
• Xun Feng (the gentle, harmonious guidance of intention)
• Golden Elixir (the ultimate perfected fruit of the Dao)

Nineteen crucial stages of Neidan practice:

First, gather body and mind, collect primordial Qi (caizhong - gathering the medicine); then concentrate breath and stabilize consciousness (jiedan - forming the elixir); next refine and purify through spiritual discipline (penglian - smelting); reaching the state where self and objects are both forgotten (guji - consolidation). Alternate between intense focus to eliminate distractions (wuhuo - martial fire) and gentle sustained awareness (wenhuo - civil fire), periodically cleansing impurities (muyu - bathing) to fuse substantial and insubstantial (dansha - cinnabar purification).

When breaking through critical phases (guoguan - passing the barriers), it resembles fruit ripening naturally; entering new realms (fentai - embryo separation) is like a hen incubating eggs requiring sustained focus. During the nurturing stage (wenyang), maintain luminous clarity (zhibai shouhei - knowing whiteness yet guarding blackness), remaining vigilant against disruptive thoughts (fangwei - guarding against danger). Through daily persistent practice (gongfu - skillful effort), achieve continuous intention (jiaogou - harmonious interaction), ultimately reaching the state of unity between self and world (dahuan - great return), finally cultivating transcendent life forms (shengtai - sacred embryo).

Seventeen, Nine Cycles: When cultivation reaches the nine cycles (the stage of repeated refining and nurturing in Neidan, internal alchemy) and the fire times (huohou) are sufficient, the infant—a Neidan metaphor for the Golden Elixir (jindan) or primordial Shen (spirit)—naturally appears. Eighteen, Changing the Cauldron: After replacing the furnace and cauldron (a shift in the cultivation stage), it is like a child begetting a grandchild, able to transform into hundreds, thousands, and billions. Nineteen, Taiji (Supreme Ultimate): Reaching Taiji (the final realm of the Great Dao, the Way), form and Shen are both wondrous, and one unites with the Dao in truth.

The Diagram Pointing to the Mysterious—A Shortcut to the Golden Elixir: This is a diagram indicating the shortcut and mysterious essential points of Golden Elixir cultivation.

Diagram of the Three Passes: It discusses forgetting form, forgetting Qi (vital energy), and forgetting Shen, and also discusses nurturing Qi, nurturing Shen, and nurturing emptiness.

Diagram of Nature: Shen is nature, and it belongs to the Li trigram (one of the Bagua, Eight Trigrams, outer yang and inner yin, the central yin of Kun). Diagram of Life: Qi is life, and it belongs to the Kan trigram (one of the Bagua, outer yin and inner yang, the central yang of Qian).

Diagram of the River Source Where the Medicine Is Produced: The medicine is in the southwest; the southwest (the Kun direction) is its native place; the toad light (moon radiance) shines all day on the Western River.

Medicine and Substance: The “thing” is fire; fire belongs to the heart, and the heart is called mercury (in Neidan, a metaphor for Shen); fire is medicine; medicine belongs to the body, and the body is called lead (in Neidan, a metaphor for Qi).

Diagram of True Fire Times: The Yellow Chamber and Yellow Mother are Wu and Ji Earth (central Earth); the Yellow Court and the earthen cauldron are also central Earth.

Diagram of the Four Symbols: The dragon’s body is the tiger; it must receive Qi (commentary: the sword body and the Eastern Po fill the tiger’s hunger; the tiger comes to eat and thereby produces marrow and fat). The Tiger Diagram says the heart is the dragon; it must refine Shen (commentary: settle the heart and stop thoughts, allowing the dragon to coil and lie hidden; when the dragon coils in the pool, the pearl’s radiance is cold).

Golden Liquid Returning Elixir (jinye huandan): This is the work of returning the golden liquid to become the elixir.

The Shortcut to the Golden Elixir, by Ye Heshu: This is the shortcut to the Golden Elixir as described by Ye Heshu.

The Golden Elixir is refined using inner lead and outer mercury (Neidan terminology: lead and mercury symbolize Jing, essence, Qi, and Shen within the body, not metals and minerals), not metals, minerals, herbs, or wood. Through seven returns and nine reversions (the repeated process of returning to the prenatal through refining and nurturing), it becomes a medicine capable of transformation and ascent. Seeing yellow within red, knowing white while guarding black—these are the lead and mercury of the Golden Elixir. The wind on the summit of Huayue (Mount Hua, the Western Marchmount) and the waves beneath Fusang (the divine tree of the East)—these are the dragon and tiger of the Golden Elixir. The phoenixes of the Spirit Chamber (the place within the body where Shen is stored) and the cloud and rain of the Elixir Chamber (the chamber for refining the Dantian, the energy center)—these are the husband and wife of the Golden Elixir. The sun’s soul leaks the marrow of Heaven; the moon’s Po moves the fat of Earth—these are the crow and hare (sun and moon) of the Golden Elixir. The two Qi (Yin-Yang) circulate; the one primal (prenatal one Qi) revolves—these are the tortoise and snake (metaphors for water and fire, Yin-Yang) of the Golden Elixir. Gentle fire (soft fire times) warms and nurtures; martial fire (fierce fire times) calcines and refines—these are the fire times of the Golden Elixir. As for the bathing in the Dao of the Elixir, it is Kun Water and Kan Water; the blowing and breathing of the Dao of the Elixir is Xun Wind and Li Wind (the images of wind and fire among the Bagua). Alas, the wondrous purport of the Golden Elixir is not readily transmitted. Extracting and adding (increasing or decreasing the fire times) must follow the waxing and waning of the sun and moon; one takes as image the punishment and virtue of Heaven and Earth (the life and killing of Yin-Yang), emulates the meeting of Mao and You, and combines Metal and Wood. As for actual application, it too must accord with these cosmological images.

The cultivation of the Golden Elixir (Jindan, the core concept of Daoist internal alchemy) hinges upon mastering several crucial phases: the purity of the water source (symbolizing primordial Qi), the rhythm of fire regulation (referring to the intensity of practice), the maturity of medicinal ingredients (representing the refinement of Jing, Qi, and Shen), the initiation and completion of Yin-Yang union (the circulation of vital energy within the body), and the transformational patterns of the embryonic immortal (the energy body formed at advanced stages). Understanding these principles before studying the scriptures of various immortals brings sudden enlightenment—like catching the fragrance of orchids in spring, hearing autumn rain on wutong leaves, contemplating snow in pine forests, or admiring twilight in bamboo groves—revealing the true essence of the Golden Elixir.

The supreme state of the Golden Elixir manifests four characteristics: the detached white clouds of a spring sky, the crystalline clarity of autumn moonlight on a pond, the natural simplicity of an infant before speech, and the return to primordial purity akin to an elder nearing transcendence. This represents the ultimate achievement of the Golden Elixir path—achieved through precise timing in gathering medicinal ingredients, mastery over water and fire dynamics, and the laws of Yin-Yang interaction. These essential techniques are synthesized in The Pearl-Jade of Immortals, a compendium of ancient and modern wisdom. Hu Taixian, a recluse who abandoned Confucianism for Daoist cultivation, though his immortal status remains uncertain, profoundly grasped these ancient truths.

The Treatise on the Golden Elixir begins with cosmogony: before the division of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), the universe existed as formless chaos, resembling an egg. Upon differentiation, the clear and light Qi ascended to form heaven, the turbid and heavy Qi descended to create earth, while the harmonized Qi condensed into humanity—thus establishing the triad of heaven, earth, and man. The ancient sage Fuxi, observing celestial patterns, terrestrial configurations, and human relationships, created the Eight Trigrams (Bagua) to reveal cosmic principles: Qian and Kun symbolizing heaven's dynamism and earth's receptivity, Kan and Li corresponding to the moon and sun, with the five viscera (liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen) aligning with the Five Phases (Wood, Metal, Fire, Water, Earth) and five directions.

Specific correspondences are: the liver houses the ethereal soul (Hun) as the Azure Dragon of the East; the lungs contain the corporeal soul (Po) as the White Tiger of the West; the heart harbors the spirit (Shen) as the Vermilion Bird of the South; the kidneys store essence (Jing) as the Black Tortoise of the North; and the spleen anchors intention at the central Earth virtue. In Five Phase interactions: Water-Earth union conceals forms, Fire-Earth pairing internalizes radiance, Metal-Earth meeting enhances luster, while Wood-Earth blending fosters lush vitality. These generative and restrictive cycles form the foundational principles for the dragon-tiger (Yin-Yang Qi) intercourse within the body.

Yin-Yang conjoins in the Jade Furnace, and water and fire mutually assist each other in the Golden Cauldron (the Jade Furnace and Golden Cauldron are metaphors for the alchemical furnace and cauldron); true Jing (essence) ascends behind the elbows (a Neidan [internal alchemy] term for the microcosmic orbit). The River Chariot turns at the Jade Capital (the River Chariot is a metaphor for the circular movement of Jing and Qi through the orbit; the Jade Capital is a metaphor for the crown of the head); the Mysterious Pearl descends into the Flower Pool (a metaphor for the fluids in the mouth), and the Yellow Sprout grows in the Spirit Valley (a metaphor for the vitality of the Dantian [energy center]). The Three Corpses (the three corpse spirits within the body) flee, and the Six Thieves (the desires of the six senses) escape. The Yang Shen (the spirit of pure Yang) coalesces and becomes immortal; gold and mercury (metaphors for the Jing-Qi medicine) congeal and become a treasure. Only thus can one transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood, and share the lifespan of Heaven. I have seen that Mr. Bai compiled and collected alchemical books, using internal images (the scenes of inner cultivation in the human body) to correlate with natural transformation and thereby distinguish the Five Phases, deduce and arrange the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), point out the elixir stove (the furnace for alchemical practice), and clarify the fire timing (the timing of firepower). Yin-Yang ascends and descends, Dragon and Tiger (metaphors for Yin-Yang, water and fire) race together; each image and phenomenon is laid out one by one and drawn into diagrams, to be shown to those who delight in Daoist arts, hoping that at first sight they will be clear and evident without doubt, and that one may enter by a broad and level road. If one cultivates according to the diagrams, what confusion could remain?

The Treatise on Cultivating Perfection says: It was once said that the Great Dao is deep and vast, and people do not easily know it; therefore the sages stored profound meanings in the scriptures and concealed them in the myriad things, using parables to establish images—nothing more than wishing to deliver deluded people. Formerly Baopuzi (Ge Hong) said: Water has a source, and its flow must be far; a tree has roots, and its leaves must be luxuriant; a house has a foundation, and its pillars must be upright; a person has Jing, and his life must be long. The Jiuzi Danjing (Nine Masters Elixir Scripture) says: What a person can preserve is life, what can be cherished is the body, what can be stored and nourished is Qi, and what can be valued is Jing. The Taishang Xuanjing (Supreme Mystery Mirror) says: What ascends as pure Yang is called Qi; what descends as pure Yin is called fluid; when Qi and fluid intersect within the marrow and bones, it is called marrow; when Qi and marrow intersect outside the bladder, it is called Jing. When heart Qi is in the liver, if liver Jing is not firm, then vision blurs and loses luster; when heart Qi is in the lungs, if lung Jing is not solid, then the muscles become thin and weak; when heart Qi is in the kidneys, if kidney Jing is not firm, then Shen and Qi diminish; when heart Qi is in the spleen, if spleen Jing is not firm, then the teeth and hair loosen and fall out. Among the five viscera (the jade viscera), the kidneys are the pivot of Jing, and the heart is the lodging of Qi. When true Jing is in the kidneys, the remaining Jing naturally returns to the lower field (the lower Dantian); when true Qi is in the heart, the remaining Qi naturally returns to the Origin Mansion (the mansion of primordial Qi). Therefore a person’s Qi measures eight hundred and ten zhang, matching the pure Yang number of nine times nine, eighty-one; after exceeding this number, Jing is lost, primordial Qi is dissipated, illness follows and arises, and death follows and arrives. Guangchengzi (the ancient immortal) transmitted the Dao to the Yellow Emperor and pointed out the art of long life, saying: Going out and coming in never departs from the Mysterious Female (a metaphor for the gate of generation and nourishment); coming and going is only in the Valley Spirit (a metaphor for the empty and wondrous place).

This passage elucidates the core principles and precautions of Daoist cultivation. It reveals that within the seemingly void and chaotic state (yaoyao mingming) lies the essence of life (Jing); in the indistinct realm between existence and non-existence, there exists the true substance of the Dao. Understanding this truth and maintaining inner purity ("knowing the white yet keeping the black") leads to longevity.

Master Xujing (a Daoist adept) taught: The Great Dao is actually very close to us, residing within our own bodies. External phenomena are illusory, yet our intrinsic nature (xing) remains truly substantial. As long as this nature isn't lost, the primordial Qi (harmonious Qi) can return to the Dantian (the ocean of origin), granting limitless lifespan. To prevent the dispersal of our spiritual essence (Shen), the crucial point is to keep the mind (the spiritual platform, lingtai) pure and undisturbed by external matters. A cluttered mind obscures the spiritual essence, leading to dissipation of Jing and Qi, ultimately damaging the body's sinews and bones.

The author reflects: While the principles of Dao cultivation may sound simple, encountering a true master is exceedingly rare; even when finding one, attaining the Great Dao remains profoundly difficult. He recounts his own journey seeking masters and companions, inquiring about methods for refining the Golden Elixir (referring to Neidan practice) and mastering "fire times" (the regulation of mental focus during cultivation). Yet most only discussed theories without revealing practical entry methods.

Later, upon seeing Master Bai Hainan's Illustrated Guide to Cultivating Truth and Nourishing Life, which used diagrams to illuminate the Dao's mysteries, he recognized their great value for practitioners. Following these illustrated methods provides a direct path. Liao Zheng respectfully recorded these insights during the summer of 1244 (the Chunyou reign of Southern Song).

(Note: Here "Golden Elixir" refers to Neidan practice—cultivating Jing, Qi, and Shen through breath and mental regulation. "Fire times" metaphorically describes the intensity control of mental focus during practice. "Ocean of origin" denotes the lower Dantian, considered in Daoism as the crucial reservoir of primordial Qi.)

Volume Two of the Xiuzhen Shishu Zazhu Zhixuan Pian, with the inscription “Zhen Er.” The preface to the Huanyuan Pian (Returning to the Source) was written by Xinglin Zhenren, the Perfected One of the Apricot Grove, Shi Tai, courtesy name Dezhi. Shi Tai had long admired the True Teaching, traveled throughout famous sacred places, studied and transmitted the orthodox Dharma, and wished to take saving the world as his heart. He devoted himself single-mindedly to cun san—visualization practices such as guarding the Three and One—and especially valued nourishing life. He held that learning to become an immortal is originally very easy; it is people themselves who make it difficult. Transcending the dusty world is not hard; it is people themselves who find it hard to do—truly lamentable. The ancients said: clouds of delusion obscure the moon of wisdom, and the wind of karma stirs the sea of the mind of original concentration. In former years, at a post station, he met his late master, Master Zhang Ziyang. What the master transmitted—the simple essential words—was no more than half a sentence, yet its verifying effect came in but a moment. From this he knew that the immortal Dao (the Way) can be learned, and he rejoiced privately. When the Golden Liquid had conjoined and the Sacred Embryo was perfectly accomplished, Shi Tai therefore composed the Huanyuan Pian in eighty-one chapters, each with four five-character lines, to transmit to later students so that they might quickly awaken to the essentials of cultivating perfection. They should not wait until old age, when lead is empty and mercury scant—a metaphor for the depletion of Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy)—but should urgently awaken, seek a teacher and inquire into the Dao, cultivate the Golden Elixir (Jindan), and together accomplish the immortal fruit and transform in ascent. This was precisely his wish. The Huanyuan Pian has eighty-one chapters in total, arranged according to the number of pure Yang—nine times nine, eighty-one.

The first chapter states that lead and mercury—metaphors for Jing, Qi, and Yin-Yang (Yinyang)—condense into the true body; Yin and Yang coalesce into the original source and the Great Origin. One need only know how to circulate the two-eight—the numbers of Yin-Yang pairing—and then one can cultivate the Golden Elixir.

The second chapter states that mercury is the marrow of the Azure Dragon; lead is the fat of the White Tiger. Take them and return them into the cauldron; in gathering the medicinal substance, one must understand the timing.

The third chapter states that Channü, the maiden—a metaphor for Yin-mercury—rides the lead tiger; the Golden Lord—a metaphor for Yang-lead—straddles the mercury dragon. Jia and Geng—Wood and Metal, Yin and Yang—clarify the proper command, and one refines a furnace of red elixir.

The fourth chapter states that the snake’s po-soul captures the dragon’s marrow; the turtle’s hun-soul controls the tiger’s essence. Within the divine water of the Flowery Pond—alchemists’ metaphor for fluids or the elixir pond—a single jade mushroom is born.

The fifth chapter states that white snow flies in the jade park; yellow sprouts emerge in the jade garden. If only one knows the wonder of the crescent moon—an image of the firing times in alchemy—where can one not refine red lead, the medicinal substance refined by alchemists?

The sixth chapter states that the medicinal ingredients open chaos; the firing process forges the primordial Hongmeng. After ten months the embryo immortal transforms; only then does one know the merit of the nine revolutions.

The seventh chapter states: just where the dragon hides the pearl, just when the hen broods the egg—who would know that when lead and mercury unite, it is exactly the moment to drink the daogui, a small quantity of elixir?

The eighth chapter states that bathing relies on Kun water; blowing and breathing depend on the Xun wind. The infant has not a single affair; it dwells alone in the Taiwei Palace—the spirit chamber, the upper Dantian (energy center).

The ninth chapter states: in the Purple Mansion seek the Li maiden; at the Vermilion Mound pair with the Kan youth. Where the Yellow Dame—the medium that harmonizes Yin and Yang—acts as matchmaker, the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) naturally contains three.

The tenth poem takes “ten” as its heading, marking this chapter as the tenth in sequence.

The Qian horse (in Neidan, or internal alchemy, Qian is yang; the horse figures the heart or yang Qi) gallops at the golden door; the Kun ox (Kun is yin; the ox figures the kidneys or yin Jing) enters the wood palace (an orifice position of the Five Phases and viscera); who is it that marries the Channü (the maiden, figuring the yin and soft medicine) to the Jinweng (the Golden Old Man, figuring the yang and hard medicine)?

The Channü is just at two-eight (sixteen, figuring the yin medicine at its height), and the Jinweng is just at nine-three (figuring yang Qi in proper measure); in the bridal chamber (the place where Shen and Qi meet) auspicious Qi arises, and after their joyful union the first boy is born (figuring the first formation of the yang elixir).

Last night on the bank of the Western River, the toad light (moonlight, figuring true yin) shone on the jade-green waves; gathered back into the jade chamber (figuring the pure Dantian), it is naturally simmered in the cauldron (figuring the firing process, Huohou, of refining).

Li and Kan (fire and water, yin and yang) are not the postnatal union of man and woman; Qian and Kun (heaven and earth, yin and yang) naturally transform and generate. If a person can understand this principle, a single point of elixir source falls into the Huangting (Yellow Court, the central palace).

In the elixir valley (the place where the medicine is generated) divine water (true water, saliva and fluids) is produced; the Huangting is like a great granary. Then there are no more thoughts of hunger or thirst, and one enters directly into the immortal realm.

The intention-horse returns to the spirit chamber (where the heart-Shen is guarded within), and the heart-monkey keeps watch in the bridal chamber (the Dantian); Jing, Shen, hun (ethereal soul), po (corporeal soul), and intention (the five Qi and five spirits) transform into purple-gold frost (figuring the condensation of elixir splendor).

The single opening is the Xuanguan cavity (the key cavity in cultivation), and the three passes (the critical passes in Neidan practice) are the main gate of the essential path; when it suddenly stirs gently, divine water flows out naturally.

Subduing the po is not a matter of intentionally subduing it, and binding the hun is hardly a matter of using intention to bind it; simply leave Shen and Qi, and in a moment they form the mysterious pearl (figuring the Neidan).

The oral instructions are not many; cultivating the elixir lies in a moment. Gently apply the Huohou (using intention to regulate the breath and refine the medicine), and in ten months give birth to the infant (figuring the completion of the elixir as the sacred fetus).

When husband and wife first join in joy, as the years pass their feeling grows deeper; in the place of their union in the bridal chamber, not a day is without spring breeze (figuring the daily harmony of the two Qi of yin and yang).

A paper butterfly in a sudden rainstorm, a jade peony in a great furnace, a red sun blazing at midnight, white frost cold in the sixth month—these anomalous images figure the extraordinary states of water-fire and yin-yang transformation in elixir practice.

From the seabed (the lower Dantian, the kidneys) golden fire flies up; on the mountain peak (the upper Dantian, the heart) earth-spring moves; in a moment the union is complete, and from the jade cauldron (the Dantian furnace-cauldron) blue smoke rises.

Chisel open the Xuanyuan cavity (the innate mysterious cavity), burst open the Hundun pass (the pass of life’s primal chaos); one need only know how to cook and refine water and fire, and then let the tiger and dragon (figuring original Jing and original Shen, the yin-yang medicine) coil and knot.

In the waters of Suojie (Sāgara, figuring water and the sea) there is fire; on Mount Kunlun (figuring the mountain and the crown of the head) there are waves. Whoever can understand their use—the great key lies with the Yellow Dame (central true intention, which acts as matchmaker).

The medicine takes prenatal Qi; the fire seeks the Jing of Taiyi (the undifferentiated Jing of the Great Change, figuring prenatal Huohou). If one understands the taking and using of medicine and fire, then in the state of stillness one sees the elixir completed.

How is original Qi to be ingested? True Jing need not be moved about; true Jing and original Qi—these are the foundation of the great elixir.

Confucians understand the principle of illusory transformation, and Buddhists break through obstinate emptiness; but they do not know the art of immortals, and the Golden Elixir shows its effect in but a moment.

The mercury in the crescent-moon furnace (a half-moon-shaped elixir furnace, figuring the Dantian furnace-cauldron), the lead in the cinnabar cauldron (mercury and lead figure water and fire, yin and yang); turtle and snake (figuring water and fire, yin and yang) both return to the Qi of true unity—this is precisely the root of what is produced.

In the prenatal: the discussion is established from the prenatal original truth.

28. New moon, full moon, quarter moon, and dark moon are phases of the moon; withdrawing and adding (the advance and retreat of the fire phase) takes its image from the moon’s waning and waxing; not knowing true creation and transformation; what thing is true lead (the prenatal true medicine).

29. Qi (vital energy) is the life within the physical form; the mind is Shen (spirit) within original nature; to know the aperture where Shen and Qi unite; such a person is one who attains immortality.

30. Use wood marrow to cook and refine in the golden cauldron; a spring stream pours into the jade furnace; who is willing to spend three hundred days; patiently applying effort.

31. Jade liquid nourishes the spirit chamber; the golden embryo congeals at the Qi pivot; only seek the medicine within the body; no need to ponder alchemical texts.

32. The jade cauldron cooks and refines lead liquid; the golden furnace warms and nourishes mercury essence; the nine returns are the nine revolutions (repeatedly returning and refining); warm-nourishing takes its image from the stars of the celestial circuit.

33. Fire dates originally have no pits; how could crossing pears have residue; all day guard the original fire phase; divine water irrigates the golden flower.

34. If you wish to refine prenatal Qi; first refine the living quicksilver (a metaphor for the medicine that is easily stirred); if you see the signs of the sacred embryo forming; the crown of the head opens and you hear thunder.

35. Refining Qi is wasted effort; preserving Shen is wasted effort; how can one know the wonder of the elixir formula; all day delighting in true emptiness (the realm of empty clarity).

36. The generation of Qi is not a matter of the kidneys; the dwelling of Shen is not in the heart; Qi and Shen are difficult to fathom; they transform into a mass of gold.

37. One aperture is named Xuanpin (the Mysterious Female, the wondrous place of generation); within it are hidden Qi and Shen; who can recognize this aperture; moreover, do not seek the true outside.

38. The spleen and stomach are not the spirit chamber; the bladder is the surplus organ of the kidney; I advise you not to cling stubbornly; this is not the pivot of elixir refining.

39. A thousand poems on inner scenery (the scenes of inner observation); a goblet of Central Yellow wine (the central palace in Neidan, internal alchemy); carefree and unentangled by things; beyond the body there is another heaven and earth.

40. Sun and moon (the crow and hare) cook each other; turtle and snake (water and fire, Yin-Yang) naturally entwine; they transform into a single elixir pellet; warm-nourish it into an embryo immortal (becoming immortal within the embryo).

41. All things have birth and death; the primordial Shen (prenatal Shen) dies and is reborn; let Shen return into Qi; the Dao (the Way) of elixir is naturally accomplished.

42. The place where Shen and Qi return to the root; the time when body and mind return to their mandate (return to the root of life); such a true aperture; I imagine few people know it.

43. Within the body there is Xuanpin; within the heart there is no dust or defilement; I do not know who can understand and recognize it; within one aperture is contained the true.

44. Li and Kan (the trigrams of fire and water) are the true dragon and tiger; Qian and Kun (the trigrams of heaven and earth) are precisely horse and ox (Qian is horse, Kun is ox); everyone possesses them in full; why do they not know to cultivate?

The hun and po souls govern the heart-mind (Shen), while essence and spirit rely on intentionality for regulation. When practicing the fire times (the methods of Jing-Qi circulation in Neidan/internal alchemy), one should maintain a natural state, silently operating the initial transformations of Yin-Yang (the first stirrings of primal forces).

Below the heart cavity and above the kidneys, to the west of the liver and left of the lungs—neither intestine nor stomach—there flows a current of Qi circulating naturally. True mystery operates beyond deliberate intention; genuine opportunity arises beyond contrived timing. Who can comprehend this essential key? And yet, one must not cling to forced Wuwei (non-action).

In cultivation, there exists both physical substance and transcendence of form; the state of Wuwei actually encompasses purposeful practice. The authority of creation lies within the practitioner's grasp, much as the essences of sun (crow) and moon (hare) condense into the Golden Elixir. The White Tiger (lung metal Qi) roars from western mountains; the Blue Dragon (liver wood Qi) chants in northern seas. When gathering medicinal ingredients, one must engage in "field combat" (the internal landscape's Yin-Yang interaction) within stillness, ultimately returning to store them in the positions of Gen (mountain) and Kun (earth)—referring to the lower Dantian (energy center).

The Fu (return) and Gou (meeting) hexagrams govern light and dark transformations, while Zhun (difficulty) and Meng (youthful folly) correspond to dawn and dusk. Within the alchemical furnace, essences condense like white snow—here the heart-mind (monkey of the mind) must not scatter. Black mercury (kidney Jing/essence) generates yellow sprouts (primordial Qi); red lead (heart fluids) blossoms into purple flowers (alchemical phenomena). Most crucially, one must regulate the fire times to crystallize cinnabar within the crucible.

The essence of wood (liver Qi) must guard against metal's (lung Qi) conquest; metal's essence must likewise avoid wood's interference. Practice requires mastery over extraction-addition (fire regulation) and bathing (gentle nurturing), optimally timed with the full moon (Yin-Yang balance). When all sounds of heaven and earth fall silent beneath a thousand mountain moons, promptly enact the orthodox method and circulate the celestial orbit.

Medicinal ingredients must distinguish maturity and tenderness; fire times require understanding increase and decrease. When a single Golden Elixir's radiance flashes, it resembles clear moonlight piercing jade curtains. Pearls once grew within clamshells; eggs in a hen's nest are easily found. Cultivation means generating marvelous being from non-being, letting Shen and Qi merge spontaneously.

Shen and Qi share no mother-child relationship; body and mind aren't husband-wife counterparts. Aligning with heaven-earth's profound mechanisms—who truly understands the elixir's coalescence? When the elixir's seed first forms and medicinal substances condense, the dragon (kidney Qi) and tiger (heart Qi) secretly battle while the master (consciousness) remains oblivious.

Those heterodox paths and petty techniques, along with idle gossip, pale before the secrets of golden-fluid reverted elixir (supreme alchemy)—there exists no second path. Regardless of noble or common status, like marital or fraternal bonds, all with immortal destiny may study the alchemical classics.

A crumbling house repairs easily; exhausted medicines revive without difficulty. Mastering the method of returning to primordial origins accumulates elixir treasures high as mountains. Refining hun and po achieves the three natures (original Jing, Qi, and Shen); harmonizing spirit gathers the Five Phases. From these emerge the four images (greater/lesser Yin and Yang), ultimately condensing into the embryo of sainthood.

Settle the mind and stabilize the will to seek lead and mercury (in Neidan [internal alchemy], a borrowed reference to the prenatal medicine), and extinguish deluded thoughts to seek earth and metal (earth symbolizes the true intention of the central palace; metal symbolizes primal Jing [essence]); only then will one know the “single true aperture” (the crucial gate in Neidan)—who can fathom its profundity?

Sixty-three. Creation seems to have no root or stem, yet Yin-Yang has its source; these truly subtle points are difficult to transmit lightly, even between father and son.

Sixty-four. Place mercury in the golden tripod (a metaphor for the alchemical furnace and tripod within the body), and send lead into the jade pool (a metaphor for the place where medicine is refined in the body); host and guest need not be divided left and right—one need only recognize the infant (a metaphor for the nurtured elixir embryo and true Shen [spirit]).

Sixty-five. The Yellow Dame (Huang Po; a metaphor for the true intention of the central palace and the power of matchmaking) has lovely breasts; Old Ding (a metaphor for gentle fire timing [huohou]) is wholly kind-hearted; for warming and nurturing there is no other method—only nurture the infant in emptiness and nonbeing.

Sixty-six. In the crimson palace (a metaphor for the heart palace and upper Dantian [energy center]), a blue phoenix (a metaphor for wood Qi [vital energy] and liver Qi) flies; in the Dantian one nurtures the jade toad (a metaphor for lunar essence and the true essence within the kidneys); within the gourd (a metaphor for the inner cosmos of the body), the sky is ever bright without night, and white snow (a metaphor for Jing-Qi and fluids) falls in fine flakes.

Sixty-seven. After the lute and zither (a metaphor for Yin-Yang) are in harmony, the ancestral craft (a metaphor for carrying on the work) is settled at that very moment; at this point one need not apply fire timing again, lest the infant be harmed.

Sixty-eight. The eldest son (the Zhen trigram, symbolizing wood and Yang) has just entered Dui (metal, Yin); the youngest daughter (the Dui trigram, symbolizing metal and Yin) then returns to Qian (metal, Yang); the Xun palace (the position of wind and wood) joins with the earth position (the central palace); with the locks secured, the Zhou Tian (celestial cycle) circulation naturally comes about.

Sixty-nine. At the place after the crescent and before the crescent (around the first and last quarter moon phases), at the time of the full moon and the waning moon; drawing out and adding (advancing and retreating in fire timing) take their image from punishment and virtue (the killing and life-giving aspects of Yin-Yang); bathing (stopping fire for warm nurturing) follows waxing and waning.

Seventy. Old mercury is three catties of white; true lead is a single speck of red; seize the essence of Heaven and Earth—it is accomplished in a moment of copulation (the union of Yin-Yang).

Seventy-one. The place where fire timing penetrates the mysterious—who past or present would transmit it lightly? If you do not yet understand gathering the medicine, do not ask about Zhou Tian.

Seventy-two. Clouds scatter, the crabapple moon appears; spring deepens, willow winds blow; who knows this layer of meaning? Lift your eyes and ask the void.

Seventy-three. In the human world there is no entanglement with external things; in heaven there are immortal ranks; once you understand riding the clouds, white cranes follow and come.

Seventy-four. When the field of the heart has no weeds or filth, and the ground of the nature cuts off flying dust; where the night is quiet and the moon bright, a spring bird gives a single cry.

Seventy-five. White metal is refined through the six trigrams; black tin passes the three gates (the three crucial passes in Neidan cultivation); at midnight, in the third watch, the golden crow (a metaphor for the Yang spirit and solar essence) enters Guanghan (a metaphor for the Yin palace and moon palace).

Seventy-six. Once the elixir is mature, one no longer discusses dragon and tiger (a metaphor for the Yin-Yang medicine); when fire timing ends, mercury and lead also cease; having shed the embryo and already undergone spiritual transformation, one further becomes a Jade Clarity immortal.

Seventy-seven. Block the road to the Yellow Springs (a metaphor for cutting off the downward path of death); burst open the gate of the Purple Palace (a metaphor for opening the immortal palace and brain palace); how was it that Hai Chanzi (Liu Haichan, a patriarch of Neidan) transformed into a crane and flew out from Niwan (the Niwan palace at the crown of the head)?

Seventy-eight. Where do rivers and seas return? To whom do the mountain crags belong? After the Golden Elixir matures, all are treasures within the house (a metaphor for the treasure formed within the body).

Seventy-nine. This number indicates the order of the verse formula.

Lü (Lü Dongbin) inherited Zhong’s (Zhongli Quan’s) oral instructions; Ge (Ge Xuan) transmitted the mind-to-mind teaching to Zheng (Zheng Yin); there is no idle talk at all—it concerns only mercury and lead (metaphors for original Shen [spirit] and original Jing [essence]). Chapter Eighty: Mercury and lead return into a single cauldron (the Dantian [energy center] furnace-cauldron); sun and moon (Yin-Yang) must share the same furnace; advancing the fire (yang-fire refining) requires guarding against prohibitions and taboos; this causes you to form jade butter (elixir liquid). Chapter Eighty-One: Gathering the medicine and conjoining it; advancing the fire and bathing (withdrawing the fire for gentle nourishment); when it comes to shedding the embryo (completion of the elixir), the nine-times-nine yang number (the course of pure-yang cultivation) is full and sufficient. From The Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection, “Miscellaneous Writings: Pointing to the Profound,” volume 2.

The Ting Jing in “Zhen San” (Precious Three) of Volume Three of the Miscellaneous Writings Pointing to the Mystery from the Ten Books on Cultivating Reality, transmitted by the Perfected Man Cuixu.

In the Crimson Palace—the heart palace and upper Dantian (energy center)—the Son of Heaven governs the vigorous, ceaseless Qi (vital energy) of Qian-yang. The Qian dragon, the yang Qi, flies upward to the Nine Splendors Heaven. Within that wondrous realm in heaven lies the Wuji (Limitless) Palace. In the palace are stored ten thousand scrolls of Pointing to the Mystery. Each scroll reveals the essential purport of the Golden Elixir. A thousand words and ten thousand phrases come down to a single phrase: it teaches people only to seek lead and mercury—the medicines of pre-heaven Jing (essence) and Qi.

Take these two substances and gather them into the cauldron to cook and refine. In the quiet of night, the fire timing (huohou) is activated from Mount Kunlun—borrowed to mean the Qi mechanism high in the head. At the mountain peak the fire is cold, and the moonlight is clear and chill. Above the winding river—borrowed to mean the water fluids and Qi channels—the Golden Crow (sun/yang Shen, spirit) flies. Chang’e (moon/yin Jing) rejoices together with the Dipper and Ox (star lodges/Qi cavities). The gathering and refining last no more than a moment. A single Qi, vast and faint, penetrates the Three Passes—Weilü, Jiaji, and Yuzhen. Through the Three Passes the Qi comes and goes without end.

A single white channel ascends toward Niwan (Mud Pill, the upper Dantian). Above Niwan is a purple-gold cauldron. In the cauldron is a lump of purple gold—the elixir embryo. It transforms into jade nectar and flows into the mouth. Sweet, fragrant, clear, and refreshing, it fills the tip of the tongue. Swallow it into the abdomen. The viscera and bowels become comfortable and smooth, and the body is healthy and at peace.

When the Red Snake (heart-fire/yang) and the Azure Turtle (kidney-water/yin) unite, the wind is calm and the waves are still; the Tiger and Dragon (nature and emotion, lead and mercury) coil and knot. The Shen water (spirit water) is clear, and the Hua Pond (mouth/saliva) is quiet. White Snow (metal Jing/lung Qi) flies in profusion all around. The seven-jeweled tower has twelve stories—the stacked towers and palace gates within the body. Before the tower, the yellow flower (golden flower/elixir scene) is very much worth beholding. This is the Jing of lead and mercury. It transforms into essence and marrow, filling the roots of the passes and apertures.

Only within the body does one seek the fire timing of the celestial cycle. It is after the first quarter and before the third quarter—the phases of the moon serving as an image of fire timing. The medicine is steady, and the signs are full. At the moment when heaven and earth, sun and moon, meet, emptiness naturally causes the hundredfold miscellany—random thoughts and dullness—to disperse. Chew through Hundun (primordial chaos), and it is soft as floss. Repeatedly cook and refine it into a single point of elixir. The whole body becomes jade-smooth and gold-hard.

Red blood is exchanged, and white blood circulates—the transformation of the fetus and changing of the bones. Golden light fills the room and is vividly visible. A pool of autumn water immerses the bright moon. A single golden flower is like a red lotus. At this time the Shen and Qi in the body are fully complete. There is no need to seek Dao methods outside and again practice Chan meditation. I know you are thus worthy and capable. I know you have the lot to become an immortal.

Clear instructions are given, with no need for many words. Silently apply drawing out and adding—the advance and retreat of fire timing. In the year, gather the moon, not counting by the year. Within the month, take the sun, following what is natural. Within the day, take the hour; as the hour shifts, the sun turns. Within the hour there are further divisions into marks, and the mystery goes deeper. Mystery upon mystery—it cannot be spoken. Originally it lies in the new moon, full moon, bright, dark, and quarter phases—the changes of the lunar phase.

The Golden Old Man (true yang) and the Beautiful Maiden (true yin) seize creation. Ghosts and spirits cry out in alarm and clamor in mutual fright. The clouds withdraw and the rain scatters; all sounds become still. A single mysterious pearl is planted in the jade field (Dantian). “Ten months” points to the ten-month process of warming and nourishing the elixir.

When the fire timing (huohou, the timing and intensity of alchemical firing) is properly regulated, the sacred embryo (shengtai), the pure-yang inner elixir of Neidan (internal alchemy), becomes complete. The work of ninefold turning and sevenfold return (jiuzhuan qifan) circulates back and forth within the body. At first, the pass at the Jiaji Gate (Jiajiguan, the crucial pass on the Governing Vessel, Du Mai) opens. Then the bladder burns like fire; within, the two kidneys are seethed as if in hot broth. At times the Qi (vital energy) mechanism is stirred and surges upward to the source of the heart. Heart-fire and kidney-water naturally resonate with each other. Among the Five Phases (wuxing), who creates the separation between lung-Metal and liver-Wood? The single Qi of the Yellow Court (Huangting, the middle Dantian [zhong Dantian, energy center]) dwells in the central palace. The heart-mind holds the reins in governing the myriad phenomena. The source of water is clear as a jade mirror. Who makes the river chariot (heche, the circulation of true Qi) move like a traveling boat?

In an instant, flames leap up and burn the sky. The crow-soul and hare-spirit (wuhun tupo, images of the sun and moon souls) are as fine as motes of dust. Thus one silently seeks the true gateway (zhenquan). A single path enters the realm of spiritual truth. Clearly it is within Jing (essence) that Qi is stored and nurtured. Gradually, as Qi accumulates, Shen (spirit) is generated. This Shen is the essence of Heaven and Earth. Pure Yang and deathlessness—this is the Zhenren (true person).

Knowing this, you should cultivate immortality. Cultivating immortality has only the one gate of the Golden Elixir (Jindan). The Golden Elixir has no second secret. The one-acre plot within the body is the homeland—the Dantian. Nasal mucus, saliva, Jing, bodily fluids, Qi, blood, and liquid are the seven Yin substances. What is there to value in these seven Yin substances? Within the Kan trigram (Kan gua) is not the physical kidney but the spiritual root (linggen). At the bottom of the pool a red sun appears; the mare (pinma, true Yang within the Kun trigram) gallops. The sevenfold return and ninefold restoration are accomplished in an instant. All the myriad things are generated from this. There is only the true functioning of Qian and Kun. There is no need to sit dull and blank, silently doing nothing. Having no heart-mind and no thoughts makes Shen grow dull. How then can one gather and congeal the embryo immortal (taixian, the immortal embryo)?

The embryo immortal is formed only by the union of Shen and Qi. Their union occurs only in an instant. Do you know the “return through the large intestine” (dachang hui, the turning back of the Qi mechanism)? It occurs just a few days before the winter solstice. It is also said that when the golden essence (jinjing, the essence of true lead) has already descended, by what is the golden essence restored? The golden essence is simply the medicine of the Kun palace (the lower Dantian). Kun governs the southwest and is the source of rivers. The toad light (changuang, moonlight, the image of true lead) shines all day over the western river. This is the root of the medicine. Replacing days with hours and hours with quarter-hours is the conversion of fire timing.

A drop of sweet dew is called the numinous spring (lingquan). Swallowed into the heart channel, it rushes past the lung Shu (Feishu, the lung transport acupoint). It falls into the bladder and congeals into the elixir. The elixir head (dantou, the root of elixir formation) does not congeal in the bladder. It originally passes through the bladder, but its reality is in the liver. The liver belongs to Wood and its liquid; it meets the golden essence. Meeting Earth, they unite and form the Great Return Elixir (Da Huan Dan). Do not say this is the work of youwei (intentional action). Yet one fears such a statement becomes talk attached to form (zhuoxiang, clinging to appearances). Beginning from clinging to form, one reaches formlessness (wuxiang). Refining Jing into Qi, Qi returns to its root.

The root of Qi congeals into Shen. Only then is it called Wuwei (non-action) that communicates with the numinous. For example, when husband and wife unite, a drop of essence and blood forms an infant. They use feeling to resonate with essence. Even so, it takes ten months to complete the infant. How much more so when the whole universe is held in the hand. The “tiger” (hu) in the body (symbolizing yuanjing, original essence, and true lead) is also central to cultivation.

The Zhixuan Pian, Miscellaneous Writings from the Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection (the miscellaneous “Zhixuan Pian” within the Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection)

Though one does not hear the dragon roaring in the sound of the dragon’s roar, the waves surge high for a thousand xun (xun, an ancient unit of length). Though the tiger’s howl cannot be seen, deep in the night the wind roars through ten thousand forests. From the moment the elixir path congeals, until the fire regimen of refining is sufficient. When the tenth-month frost flies, spirits and ghosts flee—how would they dare come to contend? In the year there are twelve months in all; at the Mao and You bathing (in Neidan (internal alchemy), the practice of stopping the fire and bathing at the Mao and You periods), who dares to carry it out? Therefore in the tenth month one enters the spirit chamber (the inner room for refining Shen (spirit) and entering samadhi); the golden tripod (in Neidan the body is the tripod; here it refers to the vessel for refining the elixir) is full, and the dragon Jing (essence) is abundant. The mechanism for binding clouds and seizing the moon—once one obtains the oral formula and cultivates it, what difficulty is there? If one can indeed bind the clouds in the mountains and also knows how to seize the moon’s soul. By checking these words, one knows why the ancients need not worry that the body cannot ascend. The body is like a fledgling’s shell (kou, a nestling), the mind like the flesh inside the shell; within the mind there is naturally a priceless treasure. It can give me life and can also kill me; it can make one hungry and can also make one full. Seeking the true and probing the path, pursuing its source, one becomes free and joyful, without hunger or cold. Such visions and signs of verification are all concentrated within a single day’s practice. When practice reaches this stage, it seems very leisurely; the medicine is not far, and gathering it is not difficult. Who would know that the flames blaze red for ten thousand zhang and kill off the Three Corpses (the three corpse-spirits in the human body in Daoism, a metaphor for the roots of yin turbidity), while the jade furnace is clear and cold. The Dantian (energy center; the vital site for refining and nurturing Jing and Qi) can also produce purple ganoderma, and the Huangting (the inner site of cultivation in the body) can also produce red Jing. Eat the red Jing once and one is never hungry again; take the purple ganoderma once and one keeps a child’s face forever. The whole body is covered with white milk-flowers; with golden sinews and jade bones, one never dies. From not dying, one then attains completion of the work; when the work is complete and conduct is full, immortal cranes arrive. With a single lift one is about to mount the clouds.

The Marrow of the Yin Fu (the essence of the Way of the Yin Fu)

The way of the immortal embracing the One (holding fast to the One) is protected by Heaven above; it cannot easily be obtained in the world. It is the original source of Taiyi’s containing and storing of true Qi (vital energy). Taiyi is the source of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) and Taiyuan (Great Abyss; a name for the origin of the cosmos); it is the way of refining Shen within emptiness. The One is Qi. If a person can mutually join Taiyi true Qi with one’s own true Qi, contain and embrace the Qi of Great Harmony, and cultivate over a long time, then it becomes the Great Elixir. The elixir is pure Yang. Yang is the Way of Heaven. Therefore when Shen joins with the Dao (the Way), gathered it forms shape, dispersed it becomes wind; thus it communicates with the Dao. What is called communication is the Dao coming to nourish Qi; what is called nourishing Qi is Shen preserving Shen—this is the Way of Heaven. Therefore it is said that when Jing and Qi mutually assist and join, and one uses fire for a long time, true Qi battles back the yin demons (the demonic obstructions of yin turbidity); this is called refining the form with pure Yang. Take the body as a state, the mind as the ruler, and Jing as the people. The bodily form is the furnace. The head is the tripod.

When Jing (essence) is full in the brain, fire is therefore used to refine it; fire belongs to Yang, while breath (xi, respiration) belongs to Wind. Using Wind to blow Fire in order to refine form and Shen (spirit), both form and spirit reach a wondrous state—this is called refining form. One who refines form must first keep the mind held within the body, causing true Qi (vital energy) to be harmonious. This Fire is the Qi of Danyang (the Qi of pure Yang elixir medicine); it is pure Jing, circulating without interruption. It rises and descends, goes back and forth, cycling without cease and encompassing all categories; therefore it is called Danyang. Heaven and Earth are the Jing of Yin-Yang. Heavenly Qi descends and then rises; earthly Qi rises and then descends. The Yang crystal of Heaven is the sun; the Yin crystal of Earth is the moon. If one obtains the mechanism of the Dipper handle (the revolution of the Big Dipper), it naturally rotates and activates. The sun and moon move without resting; this is the way of pure Yang refining Shen. Above Tianshu (the central pivot of Heaven), the single Qi of Tianyuan pours in. Below Tianshu, the single Qi of Diyuan pours in. Within Tianshu are Yin and Yang; if a person can blend them, then above and below are inexhaustible, and one shares the lifespan of Heaven. People today cannot know this principle because greedy desires cause them to forget and lose Jing, and excessive use of the mind causes them to lose Shen. Toiling the body dissipates Qi, so they die in darkness and confusion; hence it is said they are ruined by the depredations of the Five Thieves. What is called “seeing it, one prospers; not seeing it, one declines.” The Five Thieves are the upright Qi of the Five Phases. Tianzhen (Heavenly Truth) is the root source of Dao (the Way); it nurtures all things, holds the pivot of life and death, and is the root of creation. After a long time it fills the body, and Jing and Tianzhen mutually assist one another. Heavenly Qi descends to Earth, and earthly Qi receives it without separating. If one can recognize this principle, one will not die. Guangchengzi (an ancient immortal) said: “I have lived twelve thousand years, all because of the correct principle of the Five Phases.”

The Five Phases are the five zang (five viscera). Water obtains the single Qi; the human kidneys belong to water. Before a person is born, Dao is taken as the root, but the human Mingmen (Gate of Life) above corresponds to the source of Northern Taiyi (North Pole primal Qi) and is the root of creation. Next, the left kidney is generated. From within this, the sun pulse is produced. Pulse Qi surges upward toward the Origin and descends into the midst of Xun and Kun (the southeast and southwest directions), where there is the Yuanji (original foundation). It gathers the Qi of the four seasons and enters the Central Palace (the central position; in Neidan, internal alchemy, it often refers to the middle Dantian, energy center). United, it converges at the top. Therefore it is applied in Heaven. The head is round like Heaven; the feet are square like Earth. In the middle one regulates the upright Qi of the Five Phases. It gathers into the Jianggong (Heart Palace), scatters and reaches the sinews and bones, then goes up and down and again returns to Yongquan (the sole of the foot), blending the ten thousand Shen. Therefore when Qingyang (Yang Qi) reaches the head, all Yin disperses. Then one again employs the upright Qi of Heaven’s Five Phases and causes it to descend inward. The Five Phases together reside in the Ding (elixir cauldron, a metaphor for the Dantian, energy center), where they are cultivated into the elixir.

For this reason, one can attain deathlessness. Heaven takes the Northern Dipper as the pivot of its turning; humans take the heart-mind as their pivot. Heaven’s pivot operates through Yin-Yang; when the human pivot operates, it brings the Great Dao (the Way) to completion. The Great Dao is Wuwei (non-action). When Wuwei is realized, nature is not disordered. When nature is not disordered, Shen (spirit) does not shift. When Shen does not shift, Jing (essence) does not dissipate. When Jing does not dissipate, Qi (vital energy) does not wander. When Qi does not wander, Jing and fire accompany each other. When Jing and fire are not scattered, the myriad spirits gather in the realm of Shen. The myriad spirits within Kunlun hold audience at the crown of the head. Only thus does one attain the creative transformation of the One Qi.

Therefore the Dao produces One, One produces Two, Two produces Three, and Three produces the myriad things. The One is the root of heaven and earth and the source of Yin-Yang. The myriad things depend on it for generation, and the thousand numina rely on it for their unfolding and closing, flourishing and declining. As for the high heavens and thick earth, cave-dwelling immortals, celestial-image spirit palaces, and sacred images of divine perfected beings, not one thing is generated without being equally endowed with primordial Qi. Before a person is born, they first receive heavenly Qi; this becomes human nature. Only then do the two Qi of Yin-Yang combine to form the physical body. If a person can clarify and still their heart-mind so that it is unmoving like heaven, they become identical with heaven and earth. The human heart-mind is the root of the pivot. If a person can preserve their heart-mind and guard their Shen, taking the heart-mind as nature and Qi as life, then they can practice this. If they cannot practice and uphold this Dao, Qi will be cut off and life will perish; this is always because nature has been disordered and Shen scattered. The Dao of Heaven is clear Qi. Humans receive the One Qi and use the body to nurture the myriad spirits; this is the principle of pure Yang, and so it is called the Dao of Heaven. The mechanism of killing is precisely creative transformation. The dragon is Qi; the snake is fire. If one circulates Jing and Qi upward and downward, seizing the creative transformation of heaven and earth, this is what is called the mechanism. If one removes the five desires and operates through the expedient transformations of the pivot, this is like the action of heaven. The true Qingyang (Green Yang) in a person’s kidneys becomes the turtle and snake. It connects upward to the Qi of Heavenly Origin; during breathing, above and below respond, and it rises and leaves the land. Guangchengzi said: In the Qi Sea one cun and three fen below the navel there is one he of true Jing. Within it are two meridians: the left is called the Danyang Meridian, the right the Lingyang Meridian. The two meridians connect upward to the brain, where there is a palace called the Lingyang Palace. In the palace are two cavities: the left is called the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) cavity, the right the Chongxu cavity; they connect upward to heavenly Qi and downward to the Sea of Origin. Thus it is said that in breathing heavenly Qi descends and nourishes true Jing. What is above is the dragon, the root of Qingyang; what is below is the snake, the beginning of primordial Qi. When the two Qi intersect, the Great Medicine is formed; with long refining and nurturing it becomes the elixir. This is precisely where the principle lies.

One can attain deathlessness. Prolonged refining of Shen (spirit) causes Shen to tend beyond things, and so this is called “Qilu” (rising from the land); when a person activates the killing mechanism (shaji, the key that impels internal transformation), and guards the yang Shen, Yin-Yang then ascends and descends. Heaven takes the winter and summer solstices as the junctures of ascent and descent; humans take one exhalation and one inhalation as the junctures of ascent and descent. Exhalation reaches the root; inhalation reaches the stem (root and stem refer to the foundation of the Qi, vital energy, mechanism). With one inhalation, heavenly Qi descends; with one exhalation, earthly Qi rises. I use true Qi to circulate the lower origin, causing earthly Qi to ascend to heaven; this is called “Heaven and Earth Returning and Reversing” (Tiandi Fanfu). Heavenly nature must not be thrown into disorder; Shen and Qi must not be displaced. If one can bring [Shen] into intercourse with Jing (essence) and Qi, the myriad Shen are generated. Just as heaven and earth are peaceful and harmonious and grow the myriad things, the sage inwardly contains intelligence and outwardly rejects cravings and desires. Quietly abiding prior to the Great Beginning (Taishi), originally there is no distinction between cleverness and clumsiness.

The Three Essentials (Sanyao, key apertures in cultivation) are Xuanpin (the Mysterious Female), the Jade Gate (Yuhu), and the Golden Pass (Jinguan); above they connect with heaven, below with earth. Never let the eyes seeing move the mind, the ears hearing shift the Shen, or the mouth speaking scatter the Qi. Therefore, once the Three Essentials stir, Shen scatters. In the human heart there are two apertures: the left is called Xuan, the right is called Pin; below they enter Qihai (the lower Dantian, energy center), above they connect to Niwan (the upper Dantian, the brain). When this true Qi communicates, the Jade Gate and Golden Pass converge in mutual support, pass through the Three Passes (Sanguan, cultivation apertures), and proceed toward the North Pole (Beiji, the upper Dantian). Once the yang aperture (yangxue) stirs, one nurtures the true.

Guangchengzi (an ancient immortal) said: “When wood leaves fire, it cannot become ash; when a person departs from nature, he does not die. When fire goes outward, Shen scatters; when Shen scatters, Qi departs; when Qi departs, the body perishes.” A state with traitors will in time be broken; a body with evils will in time die. Remove traitors and there is peace; remove evils and there is safety. Heaven and earth steal from the Great Void (Taixu); the parasites in the human belly steal from heaven and earth. Rongding (a kind of belly worm) are worms in the human belly; they melt and consume the Hun and Po souls, cause loss of Shen and Qi, and dissipate Jing and blood. If one can return to the mechanism of Yin-Yang creation and transformation, they cannot harm the person. The sage uses the mechanism to plan and operate the method; the mechanism of creation and transformation is cultivated in this way. The heaven of the celestial realm uses the one Qi to nourish and grow the myriad things. Humans receive the one Qi and are born; when the myriad Shen scatter and consume the one Qi, they die because it has been stolen.

The ancient sages ingested heavenly Qi at regular times and regulated themselves so that the hundred vessels flowed freely. Drinking the true Qi of Great Harmony (Taihe) and focusing the mind on the body field (the Dantian within the body), they attained coolness in the five viscera, harmony and well-being in the six bowels, and stability of the joints, original Qi, and spirit. Guangchengzi said: “Although Qi is soft and weak, it can penetrate sinews and bones and calm the spirit; all of this is to make the joints flow freely—is this not the principle?” The Shen mechanism operates within, with a thousand transformations and ten thousand changes. Heaven operates the mechanism and nourishes the myriad things; humans operate the mechanism and transform without end. If a person knows that external signs contain omens of good and ill fortune, this will be connected with lifespan.

To respond to affairs without becoming deluded or attached, and to know that within one’s own body there is Shen (spirit)—this is precisely what makes immortals divine. The sun and moon are the purest manifestation of Yin-Yang. The sun and moon circulate through the eight directions to the farthest reaches; cold and heat alternate and shift, accord with the intent of Heaven and Earth’s transformative operation, and their patterns are fixed in the Dao (the Way) of the sun and moon’s circuit. Sunrise and moonset are both within “number”; number returns to its root as one, and one is Qi (vital energy). The sage obtains this “one,” understands Heaven, Earth, Yin-Yang, and terrestrial order, firmly guards Qi and nurtures Shen, does not deviate from the Dao, and from this all myriad transformations begin. The noble person can remain secure in poverty; those of inferior capacity hear this and laugh, making light of nature and life. Returning to the root and restoring the origin (the Three Returns) lies in the Three Primes: the true Qi of the Heavenly Prime comes first, the true Qi of the Numinous Prime is in the middle, and the true Qi of the Original Prime is below. Jing (essence) is like the teacher, the mind is like the king, and the body is the form. The Qi of the Three Yangs circulates within the body; over time Shen naturally returns to the primordial station, and therefore one does not die. Heaven’s Dao transforms and nurtures the lower realm; the ten thousand things receive the Dao and are born, naturally and spontaneously—this is how great grace arises. Do not indulge the mind because of sexual desire; settle the mind and preserve its Qi, and creation naturally produces grace. Cut away desires, rectify the mind, stabilize Qi, guard Shen and embrace the One (maintaining undivided focus), reach ultimate stillness and daily renewal, and one will surely penetrate the source. As for Shen, it is the root of Yin-Yang. If the eyes do not greedily look at forms, Shen will not waver; when Shen does not waver, its Qi is stored within, and one reaches the heavenly truth of supreme joy, ultimately without disturbance. Guangchengzi (an ancient immortal) said: Qin is the bird of the south. If a person can summon, absorb, subdue, and tame true Jing, and apply effort over a long time, then like a bird soaring into the Taixu (Great Void), one merely relies on Qi to become a flying immortal. Reduce the surplus and supplement the deficient: what is surplus is the mind, what is deficient is Jing. If the surplus is not reduced, the deficient cannot be supplemented; to supplement only the deficient without reducing the surplus is harmful instead. Restrain desires, conceal one’s traces, be constrained by external things and bland without flavor—within this there is still grace preserved; within harm there is also grace. This is the pattern of Heaven and Earth, the mechanism of the sage, the sprout of the ultimate Dao, the root of the ten thousand things, and the ancestor of Yin-Yang; therefore transformation is inexhaustible. The sage sees the essence of the ultimate Dao as something originally present in himself; the Dao runs vigorously, the ten thousand things each become themselves, and I merely observe with clear awareness. Yin-Yang cannot govern what I use; what can govern Yin-Yang is my Shen, my spirit—and Yin-Yang likewise returns to this principle. Heaven and Earth are formed by the condensation of the two Qi, and the ten thousand things all share these same two Qi. One in whom clear awareness and Shen-Qi are united is a sage; they differ from ordinary people, and therefore can become immortals. The three essentials of inner cultivation come from the Huangdi Yinfu Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Classic of the Hidden Talisman). The first essential is Taiyuan in the head, also called Tiangu (Heavenly Valley), which is the place where Shen resides.

Above, it corresponds to Xuandu (the celestial capital where the myriad gods assemble in Daoism), the realm where all gods gather. If a person can open this pass and cavity, the Valley Spirit (Gushen—the empty and numinous spirit) will naturally abide, the true breath (zhenxi—the innate natural breathing) will naturally settle, and hunger and thirst will naturally disappear.

The second essential is the heart, which is the Jianggong (Crimson Palace; the heart is red and belongs to Fire, hence the name). If a person can empty the heart and concentrate the Shen, causing both Shen and Qi to settle and breathing to cease coming and going, this is called Great Stability (dading). Shen is the primal source of Heaven and Earth, the root of nature and life, the ancestor of the sun and moon, the head of Dragon and Tiger (symbolizing Yin-Yang, water and fire), and the root of Yin-Yang. Each breath has four movements. Taishang (a Daoist honorific) says that twenty-four movements make one dao, and two hundred and forty movements make one gui; therefore sages call it daogui (an ancient unit for measuring medicine, borrowed in Neidan to gauge the fire times). The third essential is between the two kidneys, at the place where water and fire meet, called the Earthly Door (Dihu; the door of earth). This pass has a deity named Taokang (a deity in Neidan). It connects upward to the Nine Heavens (the highest reaches of heaven) and downward to Yongquan (the Bubbling Spring point on the sole, symbolizing the earthly spring). The gathering and dispersing of true Qi all arise from this pass. Therefore sages say the Heavenly Gate is always open and the Earthly Door is forever closed. If a person can understand and connect these Three Essentials, Shen and Qi will naturally unite and congeal. The Yinfu Jing says that the disturbances of the nine orifices lie in these Three Essentials—this is exactly the meaning.

Outer Three Essentials: the Outer Three Essentials are the gate of Xuanpin (the Mysterious Female; Xuan refers to yang Shen, Pin to yin breath). The mouth connects to the five viscera; the heavy, turbid Qi exhaled from the mouth belongs to yin. All the hundred grains and various flavors are the Jing and Qi of earth; entering through the mouth, they connect with earth and are called the Earthly Root (digen). The nose connects to the six bowels; the light, clear Qi exhaled from the nose belongs to yang and receives from heaven; this is the Heavenly Root (tian’gen). Taishang says the gate of Xuanpin is the Heavenly Root. The nose has two openings and the mouth one, three openings in all; these are the gateways through which Shen and Qi come and go. Yang Shen is called Xuan, yin breath is called Pin. Within this gate are the heavenly hun and earthly po, which blend with my Shen and Qi into one; therefore it is tentatively named the two, Xuan and Pin.

Bai Yuchan of Hainan had followed his master Chen Niwan in cultivation for nine years. One night he sat in quiet meditation beneath a pine tree on a rocky mountain. The breeze was clear, the moon bright, and the night quiet. Suddenly he reflected on the impermanence of birth and death and the brevity of human life, and he respectfully asked his master, “This disciple has not followed you for long, and I know my blessings are shallow. I do not know whether in this life I will have the chance to cultivate the immortal Dao to success.”

Chen Niwan replied, “Everyone can become an immortal—how much more so can you?”

Bai Yuchan continued, “May I venture to ask you, Master, how many paths are there for cultivating immortality? How many methods are there for alchemy? This disciple is dull, like uncarved jade, and hopes to receive your guidance.”

Chen Niwan explained in detail, “Cultivating immortality can be divided into three grades, and alchemy also has three levels of attainment. The highest is the Way of the Celestial Immortals, which can transform the physical form and ascend to the heavenly realms. Those of superior spiritual capacity can practice it: they take the body as lead (the material basis of cultivation), the mind and intent as mercury (the spiritual element of cultivation), meditative concentration as water, and wisdom as fire. In a short time they can congeal the elixir, and in ten months they can accomplish the immortal embryo. This is the highest alchemical method. It does not emphasize hexagram-and-line calculations, nor does it concern itself with quantities large or small. The method is simple, can be learned through mind-to-mind transmission, and is easy to succeed with.”

“The middling is the Way of the Water Immortals, which can conceal the body and manifest form. Those of middling capacity can practice it: they take breath as lead, the original spirit as mercury, noon as fire, and midnight as water. Within a hundred days they can blend it into the elixir, and in three years they can accomplish the immortal body. This is the middling alchemical method. Although it emphasizes times and hexagram-lines, it does not concern itself with quantities. The method is subtle, can be learned through oral transmission, and will certainly succeed.”

“The lowest is the Way of the Earth Immortals, which can preserve youthful appearance and prolong life. Ordinary people can practice it: they take Jing (essence) as lead, blood and Qi as mercury, kidney water as the root, and heart fire as the motive force. Within one year they can fuse it into the elixir, and in nine years they can attain success. This is the most basic alchemical method. It requires both hexagram-and-line calculations and precise control of quantities. The method is complex and difficult, must be transmitted through texts, and is relatively hard to succeed with.”

Chen Niwan concluded, “The superior alchemical method uses Jing, Shen, Hun, Po, and Yi as its medicinal materials, daily behavior and conduct as its fire timing (the timing of cultivation), and purity and naturalness as its application. The middling alchemical method uses the five viscera as its medicinal materials, years, months, and times as its fire timing, and focused guarding of the One as its application.”

This scripture primarily discusses the methods and verification criteria for cultivating Neidan (internal alchemy).

When practicing the lower-grade alchemical methods, one uses Jing (essence), blood, marrow, Qi (vital energy), and bodily fluids as the medicinal ingredients. Techniques such as breath retention, swallowing, and massage serve as the "fire regulation" (methods of control during cultivation), while focused visualization and the rising and descending of breath facilitate circulation. The key does not lie in rigidly following textual instructions—those who stubbornly cling to words often become arrogant and fail to achieve anything even in old age.

Bai Yuchan (one of the Five Patriarchs of the Southern Lineage of Daoism) said that for years, reading alchemical texts felt like walking through thorns. Only now has he suddenly grasped the principle that "all methods return to one." He then asked Chen Niwan (a revered Daoist master) how to begin cultivation in practice.

Chen Niwan replied: The essential secret of alchemy lies in treating the body as the furnace and cauldron, and the heart as the "divine chamber" (abode of the spirit). The specific methods are as follows:

• Sitting upright in meditation serves as gathering the medicinal ingredients.
• Maintaining awareness serves as applying the fire (cultivation energy).
• Balancing movement and stillness serves as advancing and retreating.
• Preventing interruptions serves as reinforcing the dikes.
• Regulating the breath serves as "adding and subtracting" (adjusting respiration).
• The circulation of true Qi serves as purification.
• Cessation of distracting thoughts serves as nurturing the fire.
• Subduing body and mind serves as the "battlefield."
• Concentrating spirit and gathering Qi serves as "guarding the city."
• Letting go of conceptual thinking serves as "life and death."
• The arising of thoughts serves as the "mysterious female" (the union of Yin and Yang).
• The unity of body and mind serves as "binding and knotting."
• Returning to the origin serves as the completion of the elixir.
• Shifting consciousness serves as "changing the cauldron."
• The emergence of the Yang spirit serves as "shedding the mortal shell."
• Returning to the source serves as "true emptiness."
• Transcending emptiness serves as perfect fulfillment.

Upon achieving success, one can gather and disperse freely, come and go without hindrance, and roam in natural ease.

Bai Yuchan then asked about the verification criteria for cultivation. Chen Niwan said: In the early stages, one may experience clarity of spirit, the disappearance of chronic illnesses, no need for sleep or food, and the ability to drink without intoxication. At higher levels, the blood turns white, Yin energy transforms into pure Yang, the body radiates heat, one can walk swiftly, hold dry water in the mouth, cook meat with exhaled breath, remain unmoved by external circumstances, command spirits and ghosts, summon wind and rain, possess extraordinary vision and hearing, embody pure Yang throughout the body, develop golden sinews and jade bones, and allow the Yang spirit to come and go freely. This is the true path to longevity. However, he feared that people would cling to superficial techniques like medicinal ingredients and fire regulation.

Clinging to what has form and appearance, to doing and contrivance, one cannot attain sudden enlightenment in the present moment. Who realizes that before primordial chaos had differentiated, there were fundamentally no years, months, days, or hours? Before one’s parents gave one birth, there were also no substantial forms such as Jing (essence), blood, Qi (vital energy), and fluids. The Dao (the Way) is originally without form; it only borrows “Dragon and Tiger” (longhu, a Daoist metaphor for Yin-Yang) as an analogy. The Dao is originally without name; it only borrows “lead and mercury” (alchemical terms, comparing the prenatal medicine with Yin-Yang) as a comparison. Those who study celestial immortals (tianxian, the highest rank of Daoist immortals) must make both form and Shen (spirit) wondrous and become one in truth with the Dao. How can one be bound by Yin-Yang within the Five Phases (Wuxing)? One should leap beyond heaven and earth; only then can one be called a person who has attained the Dao.

Some doubt and ask: this method is somewhat similar to the Chan (Zen) method. Yet they do not know that discussing and performing question-and-answer all day is merely “dry wisdom” (Qianhui: verbal, empty wisdom, not wisdom from actual realization). Sitting withered for years and sinking into torpor is merely “stubborn emptiness” (Wankong: dead, one-sided emptiness, not true emptiness). But the learning of celestial immortality is like a pearl in a crystal dish: it turns round and lively, vividly alive, naturally perfectly round and radiantly clear. What is called a celestial immortal is the Golden Immortal (Jinxian). This is a wonder that cannot be transmitted in words. Who can know it? Who can practice it?

If people understand the Jingang Jing (Diamond Sutra) and the Yuanjue Jing (Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment), the meaning of the Golden Elixir (Jindan) will naturally become clear. Why must one distinguish the similarities and differences between Laozi’s teaching and Shakyamuni’s teaching? There are not two Daos under heaven; the sage does not have two minds. Moreover, every person is originally complete in themselves, each originally perfect. Just as green willows everywhere can tether a horse, and every household’s threshold leads to Chang’an, one merely takes that shortcut.

Yuchan (Bai Yuchan, a Southern Song Daoist) said: Those under heaven who study immortality are numerous and multitudinous. It is only because they study the Dao but do not encounter a true master; or having encountered a true master, they do not practice; or having practiced, they cannot truly activate it and produce results. Even to old age, willingly going to death beneath the Nine Springs—is this not lamentable? Now the master’s transmitted oral formulas are carved in woodblocks and printed for circulation in the world. But leaking heaven’s secrets to such an excessive degree—will this not incur condemnation? Niwan (Niwan Zhenren) said: I wish to transform all people under heaven into immortals; if I incur guilt because of this, can heaven still be called heaven? The scripture says, “My fate lies with me, not with heaven.” What is there to condemn?

Yuchan said: The patriarch Zhang Pingshu (Zhang Boduan, courtesy name Pingshu) transmitted the Dharma three times to unsuitable people and three times met with calamity. Why? Niwan said: At that time he himself lacked discernment, and moreover his intention was not universal and broad. Alas, the master is at the edge of heaven, the disciple at the corner of the sea. Moreover, amid the toil and bustle of the dusty world, it is extremely difficult to recognize people. Now we only publish and distribute this book throughout the world, so that those who cultivate immortality can rely on the text to infer its meaning, and the wondrous principle will be clear and evident.

This was originally a bestowal from Heaven; why must it be transmitted through pen and ink or mouth and tongue? One need only become still and composed, with no-thought within thought, and refine the practice purely until it is forged into a single whole, silently all day like a hen brooding on eggs. Then Shen will return and Qi will recover, and one will naturally see the single aperture of the Mysterious Pass (xuanguan yiqiao; the crucial opening in Neidan [internal alchemy] where Shen and Qi unite). It is so great that nothing lies outside it, so small that nothing lies within it. This is the gathering of prenatal One Qi (xiantian yiqi) as the mother of the Golden Elixir. Practice it diligently, and before long you may ride abreast with Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin. These are already verified effects. Concerned that those who study immortality lack a guide, I have respectfully compiled the essential points of questions and answers and titled them “A Treatise on Resolving Doubts in Cultivating Immortality.”

On the Valley Spirit (gushen) Not Dying

“Valley” refers to the Heavenly Valley. “Spirit” refers to the Primordial Spirit (yuanshen) within the body. The valley of Heaven contains creation and embraces the void; the valley of Earth contains the myriad things and bears mountains and rivers. Humans, sharing the same endowment as Heaven and Earth, also have valleys. This valley stores the True One (zhenyi; the prenatal True One Qi) and houses the Primordial Spirit. Thus the head has nine palaces, corresponding above to the Nine Heavens. The central palace is called Niwan (the brain Dantian [energy center]); it is also called Huangting (Yellow Court), Kunlun, and the Heavenly Valley. It has many names. It is the palace where the Primordial Spirit resides. It is empty like a mountain valley, and the Spirit dwells within it; hence it is called the Valley Spirit. When the Spirit remains, a person lives; when the Spirit departs, a person dies. By day the Spirit engages with external things; by night it engages with dreams; thus the Spirit cannot dwell securely in its abode. Before the Yellow Millet Dream (Huangliang meng) is cooked and before the Nanke Dream is awakened, a lifetime’s honor and disgrace, wealth and rank, and a hundred years of sorrow, worry, joy, and delight are all fully tasted within a single dream. If the Spirit departs and does not return, wanders and does not come back, then the road of life and death is cut off and the paths of the hidden and the visible are severed. From this we see that people cannot give themselves life; it is the Spirit that makes them live. They cannot cause their own death; it is the Spirit that makes them die. If the Spirit dwells securely in the valley without dying, how can the person die? Yet the reason the Valley Spirit does not die is due to the Mysterious Female (xuanpin). Yuan is Yang and Heaven; pin is Yin and Earth. Thus the two Qi of Xuanpin each have profound significance. Without meeting a perfected person who transmits the oral formula, one cannot know this. The Lingshu Neijing (Huangdi Neijing: Lingshu) says, “When the Heavenly Valley and Primordial Spirit are guarded, they naturally become true.” This means that within the human body, above is the Heavenly Valley Niwan, the mansion that stores the Spirit. In the middle is the Yinggu (Response Valley) Jianggong (Crimson Palace; the heart palace, middle Dantian), the mansion that stores Qi. Below is the Linggu (Spirit Valley) Guanyuan (lower Dantian), the mansion that stores Jing. The Heavenly Valley is the Yuan Palace (Yuangong), the palace where the Primordial Spirit resides.

The abode of human spirituality lies at the core of one's vital consciousness (Shen). The sages emulate the patterns of heaven and earth, understanding that the origin of transformation resides in this principle: the spirit must be anchored in the lower Dantian (the Primordial Palace), while the Qi must ascend from the lower abdominal region (the Feminine Repository). When spirit and Qi intermingle harmoniously, they naturally give birth to the True Self, achieving unity with the Dao and the state of neither birth nor death. Hence the saying "the valley spirit never dies"—this is what we call the "Mysterious Feminine" (referring to the fundamental union of Yin and Yang).

Within this Mysterious Feminine, sages circulate their vital energy, creating and nurturing through a state of seeming presence and absence. When the Qi of the Mysterious Feminine reaches its root, excessive restraint will stifle its vitality, while complete neglect leads to dissipation—the key lies in maintaining an unbroken flow of Qi. The phrase "seeming to exist" refers to nourishing it through natural spontaneity; when the spirit is nurtured over time it achieves tranquility, when Qi is cultivated over time it achieves stability, ultimately entering the realm of Wuwei (non-action). This wondrous function never requires forced effort, hence "its use is inexhaustible." Thus we understand the Mysterious Feminine serves as the fundamental passage for the ascending and descending movements of Qi between the upper and lower bodily regions.

Worldly people, failing to investigate these roots, simplistically regard the nose as "Mysterious" and the mouth as "Feminine." If this were so, what then would be the "Gate of the Mysterious Feminine"? These are manifestations of failing to grasp the profound subtleties—how could those who aren't true sages possibly comprehend this principle?

Regarding the patterns of Yin-Yang ascent and descent: Heaven follows the Qian (Creative) principle of lightness and clarity above, Earth follows the Kun (Receptive) principle of heaviness and turbidity below, while primordial Qi circulates ceaselessly between them. The upper realm employs Yang's function, so after the winter solstice Yang Qi rises from Earth, reaching heaven's zenith after 180 days where Yang culminates and Yin is born; the lower realm employs Yin's function, reaching earth's depth after 180 days where Yin culminates and Yang is born. This cyclical rising and falling continues perpetually.

Humans are born receiving the harmonious Qi between heaven and earth, originally one body with the cosmos. Heaven-Earth's Qi completes its cycle in one year, while the human body's Qi completes its cycle in one day. From the Hour of Zi (11pm-1am) to Si (9-11am) marks Yang Qi's ascending phase—the Zi hour representing the winter solstice of the day, corresponding to the Fu (Return) hexagram in the Yijing; from the Hour of Wu (11am-1pm) to Hai (9-11pm) marks Yin Qi's descending phase—the Wu hour representing the summer solstice of the day, corresponding to the Gou (Encounter) hexagram. When Yin culminates Yang is born, when Yang culminates Yin is born, as day and night alternate like heaven and earth's rising and falling. If humans can emulate heaven-earth's bellows-like operation, maintaining emptiness and stillness, they may commune with the One Qi.

This passage elucidates the essential method of "guarding the center and nurturing Qi" in Daoist cultivation. The innate Qi (primordial vital energy) within the human body circulates through all meridians like the breath of heaven and earth. Exhalation resembles earthly Qi ascending, while inhalation resembles celestial Qi descending—this attunement enables one to share heaven and earth's longevity. However, becoming entangled in worldly affairs dissipates this genuine Qi.

The "center" refers to the crucial intersection point (mysterious feminine) where celestial and earthly Yin-Yang energies meet within the body. By steadfastly focusing on this center without distraction, one naturally accumulates true essence (primordial Jing), coalesces primordial Qi, manifests the valley spirit (Dantian's divine presence), and eliminates the Three Corpses (malevolent spirits believed to reside in the body) and Nine Worms (parasites). This constitutes the fundamental method for attaining immortality.

At birth, humans carry the primordial breath of Dao—in the womb, they share their mother's respiration. When the umbilical cord is severed after birth, that spark of original Yang (life's foundational energy) becomes stored in the Dantian (lower abdominal energy center). True respiration connects through the heavenly gate (Baihui point at the crown) to the cosmos: ascending to meet the original spirit in the Niwan Palace (upper Dantian), descending to connect with primordial Qi in the lower Dantian. Zhuangzi observed that ordinary people breathe through their throats, while sages breathe through their heels—this illustrates the cultivation method of "deep roots and firm foundation."

By eliminating distracting thoughts, true respiration naturally stabilizes, and the body merges with formless emptiness, uniting with Dao to achieve enduring existence. Thus we see how precious Dao manifests within the human form.

The subsequent "Alchemical Chamber Sayings" section describes the meeting between Lü Dongbin (Master Lü) and Zhongli Quan (Zhongli), revealing the mysteries of cultivating the Golden Elixir. The supreme medicine of the Golden Elixir (ultimate achievement of Neidan practice) was considered by ancients as rarely encountered even across myriad kalpas, while the profound Jade Case scriptures often remain incomprehensible to scholars. Cultivation requires mastering the patterns of sun and moon movements, the harmonious interaction of water and fire (the union of Kan and Li), and balancing the tiger in water (true Yang in the kidneys) with the dragon in fire (true Yin in the heart). At precise celestial moments (between lunar phases, during waxing and waning), one gathers the primordial breath to refine the marrow within lead (essential Jing) and the essence within mercury (original Shen). The awakened recognize the opportune moment when Gui water (kidney Qi) arises for collection, while the unenlightened can only lament their incomprehension. This practice demands perfect equilibrium between essence (half-pound) and Qi (eight ounces).

The number of half a catty always returns to the southwest position (the Kun position). Cinnabar and medicine, one liang each, actually reside in the northeast position (the Gen position). Gather the golden essence (Jing) and wood liquid and return them to the Yellow Court (Huangting, the central palace). Refine White Snow and Yellow Sprout until they congeal into Purple Powder (alchemical images of medicinal substances). This is what the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) calls the divine water of the Floriate Pool (Huachi Shenshui), an alchemical metaphor for medicinal substances and fluids; it is also what the Zhiming lun (Treatise on Knowing Destiny) calls the earthly Po and heavenly Hun (the Yin and Yang souls). Gather and refine them, and they congeal into accomplishment. It is like a husband and wife first joining at a single point and, after ten months, forming a fetus; it is also like ruler and ministers meeting, with the myriad affairs handled by the hundred officials each attending to his office. At midday and the winter solstice, one practices “field battle”—the fire phase of active gathering; at the middle of the hour and the summer solstice, one “defends the city”—the fire phase of gentle nurturing and firm guarding. The whole takes no more than a moment, yet it must be verified within a single day. Reckoned by nine-three and two-eight, it lies only with the Chanü (the Maiden, Yin water) and the Jinweng (Golden Old Man, Yang lead); investigated to the end through seven, six, and thirteen, it is no more than the Huangpo (Yellow Dame, central palace earth) and Dinglao (Old Ding, fire). There is no need to read ten thousand scrolls of alchemical Jing (scriptures); a single oral formula is enough.

Your purpose in coming is most earnest, and I know you have sought and admired this for many years. Had you not carried this half-portion of immortal bone from a former life, how could you in a single morning devote body and mind to cultivation? From gathering the medicine all the way to forming the embryo, from circulating the fire all the way to shedding the body (transcending spirit and form), it contains the wondrous function of withdrawing and adding (increasing and decreasing the fire phase) and describes the timing of bathing (halting the fire and gently nurturing). There is no distress of metal and wood being kept apart; there is the auspicious joy of water and earth belonging to the same place (coming together). One need only nurture gently; it is not arduous at all. Of the twelve double-hours, only one is used; within three hundred days, only half a day is used. There is something within the Dantian; walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one is without worry. One’s name is recorded in the Purple Palace (Zifu, the immortal abode); the cycle of birth and death cannot drag one down. How clearly blissful! From then on, one is pure and at leisure.

This work can be practiced even in a bustling marketplace; as for its mystery, it lies only in joining together in an instant. Gather it and do not let it scatter; refine it until it becomes ever more firm. Where is it hard to find the cinnabar tripod and the crescent-moon furnace? The altar of guarding the One and the central cauldron are sought only within one’s own body. One should recognize Yin-Yang; one must know Xuanpin (the Mysterious Female, the gate of Yin-Yang). When dragon essence (Jing) fills the tripod, send the Golden Boy down the twelve-storied tower (an alchemical metaphor for the passes and openings within the body); when phoenix marrow fills the vessel, command the Jade Maiden to announce it to the three thousand worlds. At this time the elixir is already mature; one must further nurture it gently, as a loving mother cares for an infant. Before long, one flies up on the clouds; only then does the Zhenren (Perfected One) pay court to Shangdi (the Heavenly Emperor). This is the title of the piece in juan four of the Zazhu Zhixuan pian in the Xiuzhen shishu (Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection).

This is the “Zhenwu” section of juan 5 (bound in the same juan as juan 6) of the Xiuzhen Shishu Zazhu Zhixuan Pian. The title is Jindan Sibaizi (with Preface), and it includes an attached preface. It was written by the Zhenren Ziyang, Zhang Boduan.

The Seven Returns and Nine Reversions (Qifan Jiuhuan), the work of Neidan (internal alchemy) return, and the Golden Liquid Great Elixir (Jinye Dadan), an upper-grade internal elixir: seven is the number of Fire, nine the number of Metal. Refining Metal with Fire and returning to the root and source is called the Golden Elixir.

Body and mind are divided according to the moon’s first and last quarters. Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) are used to distinguish the two solstices, winter and summer. Form and Shen are matched to the Kan and Li trigrams (the water and fire trigrams of the Bagua, Eight Trigrams). The hun-soul (hun) of the east is matched with Wood, the po-soul (po) of the west with Metal, the Shen of the south with Fire, the Jing (essence) of the north with Water, and the yi (intention) of the center with Earth; this is called gathering the Five Phases (Wuxing; cuan cu wuxing). Withdrawing and gathering the light of the eyes, stabilizing the ear’s resonance, harmonizing the breath through the nose, and silencing the qi of the tongue: this is called harmonizing the Four Images (Sixiang; the four images of eyes, ears, nose, and tongue).

When the eyes do not look outward, the hun-soul settles in the liver. When the ears do not listen outward, Jing settles in the kidneys. When the tongue makes no sound, Shen settles in the heart. When the nose does not chase fragrances, the po-soul settles in the lungs. When the four limbs do not move recklessly, yi settles in the spleen. This is therefore called the Five Qi Paying Homage to the Origin (Wuqi Chaoyuan; the qi of the five viscera returning to the original source). Let Jing transform into Qi; let Qi transform into Shen; let Shen transform into emptiness. This is therefore called the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown (Sanhua Juding; Jing, Qi, and Shen gathered at the upper origin). The hun-soul settles in the liver and does not leak out through the eyes; the po-soul settles in the lungs and does not leak out through the nose; Shen settles in the heart and does not leak out through the mouth; Jing settles in the kidneys and does not leak out through the ears; yi settles in the spleen and does not leak out through the limbs and apertures. This is therefore called No-Leakage (Wulou; Jing, Qi, and Shen not leaking outward). Jing, Shen, hun-soul, po-soul, and yi blend mutually and transform into one body of Qi, which cannot be seen or heard and has no name, form, or appearance; this is therefore called the empty void (Xuwu).

Refining Jing means refining Yuanjing (prenatal original Jing), not the postnatal Jing stirred by sexual desire. Refining Qi means refining Yuanqi (prenatal original Qi), not the breath of mouth and nose. Refining Shen means refining Yuanshen (prenatal original Shen), not the Shen of thoughts and deliberation. Therefore this Shen, Qi, and Jing share the same root as heaven and earth and the same body as the myriad things; obtaining them gives life, losing them gives death. Using yang fire (the yang-fire firing phase of Neidan) to refine them, they transform into yang Qi. Using the yin tally (the yin-tally firing phase of Neidan) to nurture them, they transform into golden Jing. It is therefore said that what can be seen cannot be used, and what can be used cannot be seen.

The body is the dwelling of the mind; the mind is the master of the body. If the mind is wild and reckless, it is like a dragon, hard to control; if the body is fierce and unruly, it is like a tiger, hard to subdue. Within the body there is a bit of true yang Qi; within the mind there is a bit of true yin Jing. These are therefore called the Two Things (Erwu; true yang Qi and true yin Jing). The mind belongs to the Qian trigram and the body to the Kun trigram; they are therefore called the Qian-Kun cauldron-vessel (Qiankun Dingqi; using body and mind as the alchemical cauldron-vessel). Yang Qi belongs to the Li trigram and yin Jing to the Kan trigram; they are therefore called the crow and hare medicine (Wutu Yaowu; using the crow and hare of sun and moon as metaphors for elixir medicine). Embracing the One and guarding it (baoyi shou) means holding fast to the True One, guarding it without loss, so that the unified state of Jing, Qi, and Shen can be maintained.

Refining the primal Qi (vital energy) within and nurturing plain simplicity—this is called gathering the pre-heaven primordial unified Qi. In the morning employ the Zhun hexagram, in the evening the Meng hexagram; by day take the noon hour, by night the midnight hour—this is called practicing the Huohou (fire phases: the timing of advance and retreat in cultivation) of the heavenly circuit. Wood fluid flourishes at the Mao hour, metal essence at the You hour, so one should bathe (stop the fire and warm-nourish). The Zhen male drinks the wine of the West, the Dui maiden climbs the flower of the North, the Xun wind stirs up the six yang, and Kun earth has the number of storing and accumulating, so one should draw and add (regulate advance and retreat).

At the beginning of gathering the medicine, activate the bellows of Qian and Kun (metaphor for the opening and closing of the breath) and take the daogui (knife-spatula measure) of Li and Kan (metaphor for the water-fire medicine). At first it is like clouds filling a thousand mountains; then like the moon reflected in ten thousand waters. Naturally it is like the tortoise and snake coupling, like the horse and ox pacing. Yet one may not realize that the dragon contends for the Hun-soul, the tiger for the Po-soul, the crow battles for Jing (essence), and the rabbit battles for Shen (spirit). In the indistinct haze one sees true lead; within the dark profundity there is true mercury (true lead and true mercury are metaphors for pre-heaven medicine). Take the Yellow Dame (metaphor for true intention) as matchmaker and keep guard in the central palace. Lead, seeing fire, will fly; mercury, seeing fire, will run. Therefore use the oil of Wuwei (non-action; metaphor for natural harmonization) to blend them, and then use nameless uncarved jade (metaphor for the uncarved subduing object) to stabilize them. Lead returns to the Kun palace, mercury returns to the Qian position; True Earth blends them, and light is withdrawn in silence.

When the fire count is excessive it becomes parched; when the water grains are too many it becomes flooded. Fire parching and water flooding must be evenly adjusted, and so there are the standards of jin and liang (precise measures of the fire phases). When cultivation reaches this point, wind arises at Niwan (the crown of the head), the moon is bright in Jianggong (the heart region), fire blazes in the Dantian (energy center), and the waves are clear in the Valley Sea (the Qi sea of the lower Dantian). Jiaji (the spinal pass) is like a wheel; the four limbs are like mountains and rocks; the pores are like just after rising from a bath; the bones and vessels are like deep slumber; Jing (essence) and Shen (spirit) are like husband and wife in joyful union; Hun and Po are like mother and child lingering. This is the true realm, not a metaphor. Refining according to the standards, it gathers without scattering; refining according to jin and liang, it congeals and becomes ever firmer. The Hun is stored and the Po dissolved; Jing congeals and Shen coagulates; a single intention is harmonious; skin and flesh are fresh and transparent. As days and hours pass it gradually congeals and gathers; from no substance, substance is born, forming the sacred embryo (the embryo of Neidan, internal alchemy).

A year has twelve months; a month has thirty days; a day has one hundred ke. A month totals three thousand ke; ten months total thirty thousand ke. In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one is continuous and as if present. Once the embryo Qi is congealed, the infant (metaphor for the sacred embryo newly formed) manifests its appearance, the mysterious pearl (metaphor for the Golden Elixir, Jindan) takes shape, and Taiyi (the pre-heaven true unified Qi) contains the real. Thus within thirty thousand ke one can seize the number of thirty thousand years in heaven. Why? The work of one ke inherently contains the seasonal nodes of one year; therefore thirty thousand ke can seize the number of thirty thousand years.

The twelve months of a year together total thirty-six thousand ke. Even a foolish and unenlightened petty person who puts this into practice can immediately ascend to the holy realm; yet the common people use it every day without knowing it. Original Jing is lost, original Qi is exhausted, and original Shen is thrown into disorder. Therefore, within the thirty thousand ke, every ke must be harmonized; if even one ke goes wrong and violates the pattern, the medicinal ingredients are consumed and the fire timing (huohou) becomes deficient. Thus it is said that a difference as fine as a hair prevents the elixir from forming. One should apply effort in every ke, employing it without feeling toil; true Qi congeals and original Shen becomes vast. Internally, in one year refine the elixir of thirty thousand ke; externally, within one body seize the number of thirty thousand years. In the greater operation, one day forms the embryo of thirteen thousand five hundred breaths; in the lesser, the twelve double-hours circulate Qi for eighty-four thousand li. Therefore one seizes the single point of Yang from Heaven and Earth and gathers the Qi of the two wheels of Sun and Moon; in the lead furnace circulate true water, in the mercury cauldron revolve true fire. When lead meets mercury it is called Huachi (Flower Pond); when mercury enters lead it is called Shenshui (Divine Water). One must not cling to Wuwei (non-action), must not manifest Youzuo (intentional action), must not be bound by Cunxiang (visualization), must not fixate on special guarding, must not sit withered with a mind like dead ashes, and must not practice blindly. The only fear is failing to recognize the source of the medicinal ingredients, and also failing to know the laws of fire timing. One must know that within the body there is one aperture called Xuanpin (Mysterious Female). This aperture is not the heart, not the kidneys, not the mouth or nose, not the spleen or stomach, not the rectum, not the bladder, not the Dantian (energy center), not the Niwan. If one knows this aperture, then the winter solstice is here, the medicine is here, the fire timing is here, bathing is here, forming the embryo is here, and liberation from the body is here as well. This aperture has no sides and no inner or outer; it is the root of Shen and Qi, the deep valley of emptiness. It should be sought within the body and must not be sought outside. This aperture cannot be conjectured by private intention; it must be transmitted from mind to mind and mouth to mouth. If not, all is delusive action. Now, in composing this Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir, I have encompassed the foundation of creation and threaded through the marrow of Yin-Yang, so that alchemists may follow the stream and know the source, abandon the false and follow the true Dao, and not forget the root while pursuing the branches. The Golden Elixir is the generation of being from nonbeing and the nurturing of the sacred embryo like an infant; how could it be rigidly fixated upon?

Clinging to the surface meaning of words leads one to sink into heterodox byways. Yet the Golden Elixir (Jindan) arises from nonbeing, and one must not fall into the dead silence of inert emptiness. One should always know that this emptiness is true emptiness, and that within nonbeing there is not absolute nothingness—this is true voidness. Now, borrowing Ma Ziran, a Daoist figure, to speak these lines, you should savor them carefully.

True earth (zhen tu)—the earth within the body—captures true lead (zhen qian)—the water within the body. True lead controls true mercury (zhen gong)—the fire within the body. Lead and mercury both return to true earth. Body and mind are utterly still and unmoving. What is called true earth is the earth within the body. What are called lead and mercury are the water and fire within the body. Using earth to control water, lead can be captured. Using water to control fire, mercury can be controlled. Lead, water, mercury, and fire are all captured and controlled by true earth—why is this? It is because body and mind both accord with utter stillness and unmoving. Only then can earth, water, and wood blend and merge into one. This is gathering the medicinal ingredients back into the furnace and cauldron.

From emptiness and nonbeing white snow is born; in stillness the yellow sprout emerges; the fire in the jade furnace is gently warm; above the cauldron purple mist flies up. White snow must arise from empty space, because it is something produced from nonbeing. The yellow sprout must wait for the gentle nourishment of fire before it arises, because fire can generate earth. Just as between heaven and earth, when the Zi and Chou months—the eleventh and twelfth lunar months—arrive, yang qi has not yet sprouted and the myriad things are extinguished into nothing; thus white snow descends from heaven. When the Yin and Mao months—the first and second lunar months—arrive, yang qi gradually flourishes, and within stillness there is movement; thus the yellow sprout emerges from the earth. Once white snow and yellow sprout have arisen, the fire in the jade furnace need only provide gentle nourishment. Naturally, purple mist rises into the sky above the cauldron. If the fire timing is too fierce—martial fire—it will scatter them.

In the Flower Pool (Huachi) the lotus opens; the golden waves of Spirit Water (Shenshui) are still; deep in the night the moon is perfectly bright; heaven and earth are a single round mirror. “Hua” means flower, and the flower is like fire. “Shen” means the heart; the heart belongs to fire. The key to the Golden Elixir lies in Spirit Water and the Flower Pool. This is the principle of Water and Fire Already Completed (shuihuo jiji), that is, water and fire mutually assisting. Where there are waves in the water, yet it is luminous and clean, the lotus is born within fire and naturally blooms. At midnight, the Zi hour, one yang first stirs, and the moon is just bright. Golden light penetrates the body, illuminating all between heaven and earth as if in a round bright mirror.

Cinnabar refines yang qi; mercury smelts the Golden Essence (Jinjing); Golden Essence and yang qi are cinnabar and mercury. What is called yang qi is a single point of true yang qi within the body. What is called Golden Essence refers to the Golden Essence within the heart.

This scripture elucidates the core principles and process of Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. It first mentions how the "true yin essence" (primordial Jing) transforms into cinnabar when tempered by yang fire (the fire of intention), while nourished by yin fu (natural laws) it becomes like quicksilver. Though using external substances like cinnabar and mercury as metaphors, these actually refer to internal cultivation.

The key to practice lies in harmonizing the "sun soul" (yang energy) and "moon pneuma" (yin energy), gathering them into the Dantian (cauldron) where they merge into "a pool of water" (pure energy). Here, the hun-soul belongs to Wood (which generates Fire and stores Shen-spirit), while the po-pneuma belongs to Metal (which generates Water and stores Jing-essence). Through regulated breathing, one nurtures these spiritual energies until they blend within the Dantian.

The so-called "alchemical ingredients" refer to "crow's liver and hare's marrow" (the quintessence of yin-yang) and "red mercury with black lead" (the qi of water-fire), all produced within the mysterious cavity (Dantian). When tempered by samadhi fire (pure yang fire) in the yang furnace (lower Dantian), the dragon and tiger (heart and kidney energies) unite to produce "yellow sprouts" (embryonic golden elixir) and "mysterious pearls" (perfected golden elixir).

Particular emphasis is placed on the "mysterious feminine cavity" (Dantian) as the prenatally existing key orifice, formed from parental essence-blood and containing spiritual qi quintessence. Within it, the "wooden mercury" (liver's yang qi) appears as a red dot, while the "metal lead" (lung's yin qi) weighs three pounds in black form - their union creates "cinnabar" (foundation of golden elixir), which through repeated refinement becomes purple-gold.

Finally, agricultural metaphors illustrate the practice: the body resembles a homestead, while cultivation materials mirror its landscape. At yang qi's initial emergence (the returning of first yang), it requires "wind and rain" (regulated breathing) for nourishment; when three yang energies harmonize (abundant yang qi), it's like fertile fields yielding golden "yellow sprouts" after diligent farming - the gold symbolizing both the elixir's hue and priceless value.

True lead—a Neidan (internal alchemy) term for the true Yang within the kidneys and the water essence of the north—is born in Kan (north/water, the lower Dantian (energy center)); its function is exerted in the Li palace (south/fire, the heart). As black transforms into red, within a single cauldron the cloud vapor becomes dense. True mercury—a Neidan term for the true Yin within the heart and the fire essence of the south—arises in Li but functions in Kan; the Maiden (a metaphor for true mercury) passes through the southern garden, holding a jade olive in her hand.

True lead is the Jing (essence)-water of the north, yet it rises to the Li palace. True mercury is the Shen (spirit)-fire of the south, yet it descends to the Kan gate. When lead and mercury unite as one, seen close up it has a red-black color; seen from afar it resembles a jade olive.

The Maiden passes through the southern garden and rides the dragon. The Infant (a metaphor for true lead) goes to the northern land and rides the tiger. The dragon coils around the golden cauldron; the tiger encircles the Dantian. Cloud follows the dragon, wind follows the tiger, and within that single cauldron there is a full steaming of warm cloud vapor.

Zhen and Dui are not east and west; Kan and Li are not south and north. The Dipper’s handle turns through the celestial circuit, and one must know how to gather and cluster (accumulate) the Five Phases (wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Zhen, Dui, Kan, and Li are not the ordinary world’s east, south, west, and north, but the hexagram Qi of Heaven and Earth. Just as the monthly establishment indicated by the Dipper’s handle makes one complete circuit of the celestial sphere in a day, the fire-starting tally within the body likewise circles the entire celestial circuit in an instant. If one cannot gather and cluster the Five Phases, how can one accord with the turning of the Dipper’s handle?

Fire timing (huohou) does not depend on fixed hours, and the winter solstice is not at the Zi hour; as for the method of bathing, speaking of the Mao and You hours is only a provisional analogy. Generally, fire timing is not fixed to the Zi hour or winter solstice, nor to the Wu hour or summer solstice. As for bathing, it is also not the Mao hour or spring equinox, nor the You hour or autumn equinox. Once the fire is ignited and the celestial circuit begins in the human body, there will naturally be withdrawal and addition, bathing, and one must not rigidly adhere to the four seasons.

The crow’s liver and the rabbit’s marrow are seized and brought back to one place; one grain after another, from the subtle to the manifest. The crow’s liver is the sun’s hun-soul; the rabbit’s marrow is the moon’s po-soul. Seize and control them into one place and refine them with fire. Each day a single grain is produced, the size of a millet seed. From the subtle to the manifest, through accumulated refinement and nourishment it becomes “two” (Yin-Yang paired and united).

In thirty days it weighs thirty-eight zhu and four lei (the zhu and lei are ancient units of weight); in three hundred days it weighs three hundred eighty-four zhu. It is one inch square or round and weighs one jin (in ancient times one jin was three hundred eighty-four zhu). Hundun (primordial chaos) envelops the void, and the void envelops the Three Realms; traced back to its root, it is no more than a single grain the size of a millet seed.

Hundun is the union of Yin and Yang—that is, gathering and clustering the Five Phases and harmonizing the Four Images. In this way its measure equals the void, and even the void can be contained. Shen (spirit) roams within it.

The Three Realms (Sanjie—the realms of desire, form, and formlessness as described in Daoism) can all be encompassed within it. If we trace back to its source, it arises from the gate of the mysterious female (Xuanpin zhi men; in Neidan, internal alchemy, the pass that is the root of life). Its magnitude is like a single grain of millet. Heaven and Earth unite and generate the true fluid; the Sun and Moon contain the true essence. When one understands the foundation of the union of Kan and Li (Kan-Li: Kan water and Li fire; in Neidan, kidney water and heart fire), the Three Realms gather into one body. The heart fluid descends and the kidney fluid ascends—this is the true fluid of Heaven and Earth’s union. The hun-soul is the essence of the Golden Crow (the sun); the po-soul is the marrow of the Jade Rabbit (the moon). This is the Sun and Moon containing the true essence. If a person understands the foundation of Kan-Li union, then the Heavenly Gate opens and the Earthly Door closes (in Neidan, the opening and closing of the upper and lower passes), the sun shines on Kunlun, the moon is born over the vast sea, and the Three Realms are within my own body.

The dragon comes from the Eastern Sea; the tiger rises from the Western Mountain. The two beasts fight once and transform into the essence of Heaven and Earth. The Zhen trigram (east) is the Azure Dragon, coming from the Eastern Sea; the Dui trigram (west) is the White Tiger, rising from the Western Mountain. If the dragon roars and clouds rise as it descends, and the tiger howls and wind arises as it ascends, the two beasts meet and fight before the Yellow House (the central Huangting, Yellow Court); then wind and clouds joyously converge and naturally blend into a single mass of essence.

Golden flowers open the mercury leaves; jade stems grow the lead branches. Kan and Li are never idle. At what hour have Qian and Kun now arrived? The golden flower is golden essence; above, the golden flower can open the mercury leaves. The “Jade Emperor” here refers to jade fluid; it is jade fluid. Below, the jade stem can grow the lead branches. If a person can keep the operation of Kan and Li from becoming idle, then in the work of a single ke he can seize a year’s allotment of Qi from Heaven and Earth. What need is there for much time? Bathing (in Neidan, warming and nurturing, “bathing”) must guard against danger; drawing out and adding (the advance and retreat of the fire phase) must be carefully guarded by oneself. Altogether there are thirty thousand ke; error is feared to lie only within a hair’s breadth.

Bathing is the method of transcendence: the seven-story pagoda and the three-tiered red tower rise from below, and one must guard against danger. Drawing out and adding is the method of chaoyuan (returning to the Dantian, energy center): Yang Qi (vital energy) arises at the beginning of the Zi hour, Yin Qi is born after the Wu hour; if one does not carefully guard it, there will ultimately be mistakes. One day has one hundred ke; one month has three thousand ke. In every ke one must apply effort, using it without laboring. Then in ten months—thirty thousand ke—one can seize the number of thirty thousand. If there is the slightest discrepancy, the elixir cannot be formed.

When husband and wife unite, clouds and rain rise in the bridal chamber. Each year a child is born; every one will ride a crane (a metaphor for becoming immortal). The infant in the Kan palace and the young maiden in the Li palace, if they get the Yellow Dame (Huangpo; central earth, a metaphor for true intention) to match them and become husband and wife, then in the bridal chamber they join; the rain scatters and the clouds withdraw, and it becomes the sacred embryo (Sheng Tai; the embryo formed in Neidan), and thereby is accomplished.

This passage elucidates the core principles of Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. After ten months of "gestation" (the incubation phase in internal cultivation) and two months of "purification" (the cleansing stage of body and mind), totaling one year, the practitioner can facilitate the emergence of "True Yang" (primordial Qi) from the Mud Ball Palace (upper Dantian) at the crown of the head.

The five regulated verses correspond to the Five Phases (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth) theory: the first four discuss the "foundation of life" (vital essence), while the final verse addresses the "foundation of nature" (spiritual essence). The author emphasizes that the relationship between nature (Xing) and life (Ming) is like that of substance and function, with all Five Phases relying on the central Earth virtue (the Qi of the spleen). Key alchemical components are encompassed here—the crucible (the body), medicinal ingredients (Jing, Qi, and Shen), firing times (practice rhythm), balancing techniques (adjusting Yin-Yang), and purification methods.

The first poem reveals that the Golden Elixir within the human body is discovered through inner contemplation (introspective vision). "Heavenly winds" metaphorically describe breath regulation, while "earthly thunder" depicts the activation of genuine Qi. The Jade Crucible (lower Dantian) refines Lead and Mercury (Yin and Yang energies), undergoing 720 firing adjustments (symbolizing celestial cycles) before achieving transformation in the Mud Ball Palace.

The second poem outlines the cultivation path: crossing the Magpie Bridge (tongue connecting the Governing and Conception vessels) to enter the Mysterious Pass (practice gateway). The Four Symbols (celestial animals) harmonize through central Earth Qi, as the Three Flowers (Jing, Qi, Shen) converge toward Kunlun (the crown). At Zi hour (Yang Qi's birth), true Qi ascends; at Wu hour (Yin Qi's birth), it circulates throughout the body. When the Jade Vessel (Dantian) is perfected, complete physical and spiritual renewal occurs.

The third poem explains the Five Phases inversion technique: the Dragon (liver Wood) dwells below mountains, the Tiger (lung Metal) resides in fields—signifying Metal-Wood interaction. The Xun position (southeast) stirs Qian's heavenly fire, while the Li position (heart Fire) opens Kun's earthly spring, highlighting Yin-Yang communion. Careful balancing through Fu and Gou hexagrams and focused purification during Zhun and Meng hexagrams are essential. Understanding life's origin enables immortal attainment through ten-month gestation.

The fourth poem describes adepts perpetually cultivating at the Mysterious Pass. The Golden Crow (sun) rests on mountain peaks while the Jade Rabbit (moon) sleeps beneath seas—symbolizing heart-kidney communion. Primordial Qi rises from the North (kidney Water) as the Three Armies (Jing, Qi, Shen) move Eastward (liver Wood). The author clarifies this isn't divine secret leakage but concerns about misinterpretation.

The fifth poem transcends alchemical terminology, introducing the mind cultivation of Caoxi (Chan Buddhism). Enlightenment knows no sequence—when mind-nature becomes perfectly rounded, it illuminates all Three Fields (upper, middle, lower Dantians). Śākyamuni's Nirvana wasn't literal death, nor was Bodhidharma's western return mere departure. The author hopes all may comprehend this truth and transcend suffering.

The sixth fascicle of the Zhixuan pian, a miscellaneous work in the Xiuzhen shishu, is Bai Yuchan’s “Letter of Thanks to Zhang Ziyang” (Zhang Ziyang is Zhang Boduan, styled Ziyang zhenren). I bow my head a hundred times and submit this letter to report to our patriarch, Master Wuzhen of Tiantai, Ziyang zhenren, Mr. Zhang. Now I respectfully report: since spring arrived, wind and rain have made all phenomena verdant, cold, and moist. I respectfully contemplate water and grass and the Valley Spirit (the empty, numinous spirit within the human body); heavenly guardians (protector deities) stand to left and right. Dragon essence (the primal essence of Neidan, internal alchemy) overflows the body; the fire times (the alchemical timing of breath regulation) are harmonious and still. The whole room is filled with golden flowers (luminous visions of Neidan); one returns to the root and restores life (returning to the source and recovering one’s original truth).

I have heard that under heaven there are not two Dao (the Way), and the sage does not have two minds. The vastness of the Dao cannot be described. If one describes this Dao, it is empty, still, void, and nothingness; wondrously clear (subtly pure), profoundly silent (deeply still). The vastness of the mind cannot be compared. If one compares this mind, it is pure, still, numinous, and bright; harmonious and warm-pure (gentle and pure). Gathering the ten thousand transformations back into the one Dao, the world naturally transforms and nurtures, and the myriad things are naturally in suchness. Gathering the hundred activities back into the one mind, the sage is naturally in Wuwei (non-action), and the hundred activities are naturally without attachment. Extending this mind until it unites with the Dao, this mind is the Dao. Realizing this Dao until it meets the mind, this Dao is the mind. Dao merges into mind, mind merges into Dao. Outside the mind there is no other Dao; outside the Dao there is no other thing. Therefore heaven and earth were originally never fixed as Qian and Kun (heaven and earth, yin-yang); the myriad things simply manifest Qian and Kun naturally. The sun and moon were originally never fixed as Li and Kan (Li is fire and sun; Kan is water and moon); the myriad things simply manifest Li and Kan naturally. Thinking afar of our Daoist ancestor Taishang Laojun, he used this Dao to enlighten the world and this mind to illuminate the sage.

This Dao in the world cannot use things to delimit things, nor transformations to delimit transformations. Therefore all the principles by which things are things and transformations are transformations belong to the world, not to this Dao; this Dao is suchness (true suchness, unmoving). It is enough to unite this mind with this Dao. This mind in the sage cannot use knowing to know, nor consciousness to be conscious. Those principles of knowing and consciousness belong to the sage, not to this mind; this mind is unmoving suchness. It is enough to unite this Dao with this mind. Taking Dao as Dao to penetrate this mind, taking mind as mind to nourish this Dao to the marrow, I do not know which is Dao and which is mind. I only see it vague and indistinct, dark and deep; like a thing yet not a thing, like an image yet not an image. Listening with the ear, one hears with the eye; looking with the eye, one sees with the ear. I fear I can only name it the marrow of Yin-Yang, the Jing (essence) of Hundun (primordial chaos), the root of emptiness, and the stem of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).

Our predecessors did not know its original name and merely provisionally called it Dao (the Way). From today’s perspective, a rainbow is simply called a rainbow, and is also called hudong (another name for a rainbow). Jade is pointed to as jade, yet it may be taken for wufu (a stone resembling jade). Is this not the Golden Elixir (Jindan)? Now that the marvel of the Golden Elixir is known, why be bound by physical images to set up a furnace, or fixated on forms to fashion a cauldron?

What are called “Yellow Sprout” and “White Snow” (Neidan, or internal alchemy, metaphors for medicinal substances) are not the Yellow Sprout and White Snow visible to the naked eye. What are called “Divine Water” and “Flower Pool” (Neidan metaphors for medicinal substances) are not a Divine Water and Flower Pool that can be physically taken and used. It is compared to the essence of lead and the marrow of mercury; it is likened to the essence of metal and the liquid of wood. Where does one cook and refine it in the Crescent-Moon Furnace (a Neidan metaphor for the furnace and cauldron)? Where does one smelt it in the Cinnabar Cauldron (a Neidan metaphor for the cauldron vessel)? Once this principle is understood, it is called the Sun Crow and Moon Hare (images of sun and moon, Yin and Yang); it is also called the Heavenly Horse and Earthly Dipper (images of Heaven and Earth and the firing times).

Qian and Kun (the Heaven and Earth trigrams) originally have no function of Li and Kan (the Fire and Water trigrams), nor do Li and Kan possess the body of Qian and Kun. Are Red Lead and Black Mercury (Yin-Yang medicinal substances) not the product of the copulation of Dragon and Tiger? Are White Gold and Black Tin not the image of the union of Tortoise and Snake? Two, eight, nine, and three are all different names for Yin-Yang. The measures of jin, zhu, and liang are merely leftover matters of Hundun (primordial chaos). The key lies in coordinating and harmonizing, in drawing out and adding, in applying them.

Therefore the medicinal substances are not materials of metal, stone, grass, or wood; the firing times are not numbers of years, months, days, and hours. Before one is born of father and mother, there is an inexhaustible living path; after body and mind become still, there is again the true mechanism of Wuji (the Limitless). In former times, through karmic affinity, we were drawn together like a needle and a mustard seed; dry bones were revived. For long I attended at the teacher’s side and was fortunate to receive the milk of Dharma (the teacher’s transmission of Dharma meaning).

The purport of cultivating the Golden Elixir is to gather the medicinal substances within stillness, to practice the firing times within Wuwei (non-action), to bathe them with Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy), and to match form and spirit to each other. Then one knows that within it there are inherently limitless medicinal ingredients, and that within the body there are inherently limitless fire talismans (tokens of the firing times). To awaken thus is called the elixir; to cultivate thus is called the Dao.

Chiseling stone to seek jade, washing sand to obtain gold, refining form and nurturing spirit, illuminating the mind and merging with the Dao—all are a single intention. This is the purport of what is called extracting quicksilver from lead and mercury from cinnabar. Practice according to this, like husband and wife in joyful union. Apply this principle to Confucian texts, and it is also consistent; apply it to Buddhist scriptures, and it is also consistent. Therefore under Heaven there are not two Daos. Since the Way of Heaven has no two principles, how could the sage’s mind operate in two ways?

Within the form, Shen (spirit) is the ruler; Shen is the life of the form. Within Shen, nature (xing) is the ultimate; nature is precisely the ultimate standard of Shen.

This passage of scripture discusses the core meaning of “returning to the root and recovering one’s mandate” (guigen fuming) in Daoist cultivation. “Returning to the root and recovering one’s mandate” means that through cultivation, the primordial spirit (yuanshen) within the physical form merges with one’s innate original nature. The mystery of the Seven Returns and Nine Reversions (qifan jiuhuan)—referring to the specific number of cycles through which Jing, Qi, and Shen circulate during cultivation—is seldom known to people in the world; its essence is simply to return to the source. Seven and nine are both yang numbers, and when a cultivator can make the mind free of distracting thoughts and pure and unstained, that person attains the realm of pure yang.

When cultivation reaches an advanced stage, the Three Corpses (sanshi)—which Daoism regards as three malign spirits within the human body—will disappear, and the Six Thieves (liuzei)—the desires of the six senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—will also be subdued. At this point, even producing a yang spirit (yangshen; a body beyond the body) is not considered extraordinary; only by reaching the shattering of emptiness (xukong fensui)—a state in which clinging is thoroughly broken—can one reveal the true self and original nature. It is very difficult for ordinary people to understand that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), celestial immortals, and earth immortals in fact gather medicine (caiyao, a cultivation term meaning to gather prenatal Qi) every day, and the more they gather, the more there is; mountains and rivers, the great earth, and all living beings are also constantly practicing fire timing (huohou, the breath-regulation work in cultivation) without ever stopping. To follow this pattern is to remain an ordinary person; to cultivate in reverse is to become a sage.

The text quotes an ancient saying: “When the Five Phases (Wuxing) are reversed (reverse cultivation), one obtains the seven treasures of the earth; when the Five Phases proceed in their ordinary order (drifting with the current), one falls as into a pit of fire.” It then recounts the transmission of the Daoist lineage: Master Niwan, the Perfected Cuixu, studied under the monk Xue of Piling, and Piling’s transmission came from Mr. Xinglin, Shi Tai, who in turn inherited the lineage of the Perfected Ziyang, Zhang Boduan. The author recalls that in former years he followed Perfected Niwan to Huotong Dongtian (a famous Daoist mountain), burned incense and paid homage to the patriarchs, and received patriarchal initiation. Later, in the Wuyi Mountains, he met Ma Ziran and received a precious four-hundred-character instruction, every word like good medicine, which suddenly opened his blocked understanding.

Finally, it mentions that because of cultivation causes and conditions, he was to go to Mount Qingcheng, and while passing Shiyan Cave he wrote this letter, mainly expounding the fundamental principle of the great medicine of the Golden Elixir (Jindan dayao)—the core of Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation. As for the more subtle mysteries of cultivation—such as the wonders contained in natural scenes like plantain blossoms meeting spring, wutong leaves encountering autumn, the night moon over a jade-green pool, and evening clouds over green mountains—these require separate discussion.

This profound and wondrous principle I dare not reveal, because it touches on heavenly secrets. Could the Patriarch nod in approval? With the three masters Xinglin, Piling, and Niyuan (patriarchs of the Southern School) above me, I wish to stand in attendance beside the immortal carriage, yet I am ashamed that the paths of immortals and mortals are separated; when will the work of warmly nurturing the sacred embryo be complete, so that I may fly in spirit and ride Qi, attend beneath the immortal’s shoes, and be assigned to summon phoenixes and call cranes? Facing the paper I am overcome with longing; tears fall on the brush tip, and I am at a loss. I make bold to ask the immortal master to ride the purple raft and mount the elixir ladder, to accumulate golden sand (the medicinal substances for alchemy), and to reach down and guide the deluded multitude; writing cannot fully express my meaning.

The “Xie Xianshi Jishu Ci” is a text thanking the immortal master for sending a letter.

The so-called Golden Elixir means gathering the medicine of “two-eight liang” (where Yin and Yang are evenly balanced) and forming an embryo over three hundred days. The cultivation of mind and nature does not consist in swallowing saliva and gulping Qi (vital energy); the pre-heaven transformation necessarily requires gathering Qi and concentrating Shen (spirit). If one wishes to put cultivation into practice, one must rely on oral instructions. It is exceedingly simple and easy, and is neither form nor emptiness. In emptiness and nothingness one nurtures the infant (the sacred embryo); within Yin one refines Yang Qi. Cause the Golden Lord (lead, a metaphor for primordial Jing [essence]) to capture the fierce tiger alive, and make the Maiden (mercury, a metaphor for primordial Shen [spirit]) ride the red dragon alone. The Qian husband and Kun wife borrow the Yellow Dame (true intention) as matchmaker; the Li maiden and Kan youth unite to become the newborn child (the sacred embryo). A furnace of flame refines the void and turns it into fine dust; a vast ice-jade vessel mirrors the world as something as large as a millet grain. When Shen returns to the four great elements (the body), that is when the turtle and snake couple (when water and fire have achieved mutual completion); when Qi enters the four limbs, that is where the crow and hare (sun and moon) are in Yuluo (the immortal realm). The jade gourd bursts forth with golden liquid; the golden lotus bud opens into white-jade flowers. Just when the wind is cold and the moon is bright, who can grasp the meaning of green mountains and blue-green waters? The sage masters transmitted it from mouth to mouth; generation after generation their minds have been sealed in mutual accord; a single phrase runs through ten thousand scrolls of immortal Jing (scriptures). With only a moment’s effort, there is boundless ease and joy. First understand the Nine Yang True Fire of the “three-five-one” process (a term for the fire phase) and use it to refine; afterward, through the accumulation of ten thousand, one hundred, and one thousand, the infant treasure (the sacred embryo) is achieved. A silver mountain and iron wall are opened straight through with a single awl; golden locks and jade gates—lift a foot and naturally there is no obstruction. To see ten thousand li as a dustless realm and to become a person who does not die for a thousand years. Though the sea turns into mulberry fields, I remain in the realm of free and easy wandering; though clothing wears away the kalpa stones (passing through long kalpas), together we return to the land of Nothing-Whatsoever (the realm of emptiness and nothingness). Yuchan (the author Bai Yuchan’s self-designation) has not changed his original aspiration; his initial heart is sincere and reverent. I sigh that my constitution is as frail as rushes and willows and already near the mulberry-and-elm years of old age; my old cheeks are still red, as if I have a share in the immortal lot; only when my soft beard turns black again will I return to the source of Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power). I sigh that the ancients at sixty-four thought cultivation could be rested from, while the former sages at eighty-one had their own profound meaning.

The teachings in your letter have benefited me; I beat my breast and wept, closed my mouth, and pressed my hand to my heart. All my former arduous efforts seem like chasing the wind and catching shadows; today, having obtained the oral method of emptiness and nonbeing, it is like turning iron into gold. The Holy Master Niwan Weng, the Perfected One Cuixu (that is, Chen Nan, sobriquet Cuixu, teacher of Bai Yuchan), is a hero who opened up the world and has the means to mend the heavens. He transmitted mind-to-mind the profound purport of cloud and rain (a metaphor for the Yin-Yang alchemical method), and in his hand he holds the illustrious authority of thunder and lightning (the Thunder Rites, leifa).

Reflecting that I, Wang Chan (the author’s self-reference), have for three generations been grateful for the master’s grace and for a thousand years awaited the true master’s arrival: on an autumn moonlit night in the guiyou year you expounded the daogui (the alchemical medicine and fire timing, a byword for the alchemical method), and in the spring rain of the yihai year you plumbed to the full the wonders of Kan and Li (water and fire, Yin and Yang). For my whole life, within the dark and obscure, I cherish the Great Treasure (a metaphor for the Dao or the Golden Elixir); through eternal kalpas, in purity and stillness, I guard the Mysterious Pearl (a metaphor for the Dao or the Golden Elixir). Those who awaken first teach those who awaken later; I have engraved the master’s transmission in my heart. That time and this time are the same, and all the more I do not forget the resolve for the Dao.

Suddenly I received from the crane messenger a phoenix-paper letter (a letter), commanding me to return to Mount Wuyi (a mountain) to meet. I am beset and sunk by obstacles, and am about to commit my body to Dragon and Tiger (which may refer to Mount Longhu or metaphorically to the alchemical method); with no wings to fly, I can only walk through the rain, lie down in the wind, eat in the wind, and hurry back to serve before the master. Moreover, from this mountain I gaze at the North Dipper and look up in admiration at the master’s countenance; my foolish sincerity is utterly earnest.

I wish to emulate the work of practice and conduct as if extracting a rhinoceros horn and polishing an elephant tusk; climbing the dragon’s scales and attaching myself to the phoenix’s wings, I wish to join the cloud journey of soaring ascension (feather-flight). I first offer these unadorned words to express a little of my ordinary aspiration; it is not to await reproof—how could my gratitude ever be fully expressed? On the twenty-fourth day of the intercalary seventh month of the bingzi year of the Great Song, Crane Slave Bai Yuchan burns incense, kowtows, and bows twice.

From the Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection, Miscellaneous Writings: “Pointing to the Mystery,” juan 6.

The Xiuzhen Shishu Zazhu Zhixuan Pian (one text in a Daoist collectanea), juan 7, in the same juan as juan 8, Zhen 6. Eight precious maxims left to the human world, expounded by True Lord Xu of Xishan (Xu Xun, patriarch of Jingming Dao). With loyalty, one does not deceive; with filial piety, one does not defy. Cultivating oneself in this way, one can bring De (Virtue/Power) to completion. Be incorruptible and not greedy; only with caution is there no fault. Being generous and magnanimous, one gains the support of the multitude and is ample with surplus. Treating others by these means, resentment and blame are all washed away. With tolerance and harmonious acceptance, and with patience, one is peaceful and at ease.

The “Song of Drunken Longing for Immortality” (a song of intoxication with longing for the immortal Dao, the Way). The Jade Emperor (Heavenly Sovereign) issues edicts assigning immortal offices. Dragons spit sweet dew; phoenixes lend their strength. In a moment it is accomplished. Looking down on the Huaxia heartland and the four border peoples, the immortal flower has not met a kindred connoisseur, and worldly people do not recognize it either. I ascend to Daluo Heaven (the highest heaven) to gaze upon the world; the world is as small as the palm of a hand. Had I not at that time been busy ascending to heaven, I would have taken you along to Yingzhou (an immortal island in the sea). If this medicine is used for Dantian (energy center) cultivation, when the crow and hare (sun and moon, Yin-Yang) conjoin, within one or two years the divine water will just dry, and the branches and trunk will already rise ten thousand zhang high. Had I known earlier that this body already belongs to the immortals, I would be drunk with longing for the immortal Dao. Drunk with longing for the immortal Dao.

When free of affairs, I leisurely visit the Dongtian (grotto-heavens, immortal abodes). Since parting from the luan and phoenix, many years have passed. For a long time I have not ridden the red dragon carriage (a curtained vehicle). Clouds long for the immortal islands; cranes long for the high heavens. The myriad things arise through mutual communication, which is originally natural. At the Hua Pond (saliva in the mouth; a Neidan, internal alchemy, term), gathering and drinking the liquid, the face becomes like jade. Leaping through the Golden Jing (essence of metal; a Neidan term), the face resembles a lotus. Shen (spirit) longs for the ruler; Qi (vital energy) longs for the original source. The creation of Wuwei (non-action) cannot be described. At the Xuanzhu Pavilion (a Neidan image), gather white jade; in the Shui Jing Palace (Water Essence Palace, a Neidan image), pick red lotuses. Lead (in Neidan, a metaphor for Yin and the medicinal substance) longs for mercury (a metaphor for Yang and the medicinal substance); mercury longs for lead. Seizing the power of Heaven and Earth’s creation, Xing and Ming (nature and life) in the final analysis are just two words, hidden within tens of thousands of immortal Jing (scriptures/classics).

Heaven longs for Earth; Earth longs for Heaven. Heaven and Earth contain the myriad phenomena completely. When a hen incubates eggs, it must wait until the days are fulfilled before it is settled. Who can recognize being within non-being—how many can actually see it? Water longs for the sea; the sea longs for its source. Rushing open the Ox and Dipper (Niu and Dou lunar mansions), it must circulate. Xuanji and Yuheng (the Northern Dipper; also astronomical instruments) all have order and sequence. Who can transport Jing (essence) and Qi into the Niwan (Niwan Palace, the upper Dantian in the head)? The heart longs for the wondrous; intent longs for the profound. The original Qi at the navel congeals into elixir. The Valley Shen (the Shen of the Dantian, the Shen of emptiness) does not die because of Taixi (embryonic breathing, breathing like a fetus). The gate of long life must be continuous and unbroken.

In the morning long for the Dao; in the evening long for the immortals. Secretly practice Yinzhi (hidden virtue), and the ten thousand Shen are at peace. Within, unite true Qi and preserve and guard the breath. Natural creation makes one return to a child’s complexion. Always long for goodness; do not dwell on grievances. Good and evil are clearly distinguished right before one’s eyes. Families that accumulate goodness ascend to heaven; those who accumulate evil drift by the shore of the sea of suffering. In stillness long for the wise; in movement long for the worthy. If there is no practice of merit and virtue, how could it be lightly transmitted? What is recorded in the Chunyang Pian (the chapter of Lü Chunyang) is precisely this principle.

This poetic passage depicts the profound challenges and mysteries of Daoist cultivation in pursuit of immortality. Attaining genuine methods requires karmic affinity to receive true transmission, much like offering incense at the Sanqing (Three Pure Ones) Hall demands devout perseverance. Natural imagery illustrates the cultivation process: tender branches easily coil into dragon shapes, yet withered phoenix trees rarely yield fine qin wood; vines may form splendid canopies, while jade bamboo shoots struggle to remain flawless.

The cultivator must emulate the carefree clouds and flowing waters of mountain valleys, comprehending the Dao through scripture recitation (the "buxuci" being a Daoist liturgical genre) and alchemical practice. The verses emphasize how fame and wealth prove illusory—far better to enjoy wine and zither music amidst clear breezes and bright moonlight. Cultivation demands urgency, for each wasted day means one less opportunity, just as ocean waves cannot endure nor sparks from struck stones last beyond an instant.

The text enumerates creatures transformed through cultivation: dragons shed mortal forms by playing with pearls, dung beetles drinking dew become singing cicadas, cranes gain three thousand years through crimson crowns, while divine turtles achieve eternal life in the Jade Pond (a celestial pool). Alchemists refine elixirs (terms like "dew liquor" and "great medicine" denote alchemical preparations), ultimately returning to life's primordial source. Human existence resembles dreams and illusions, yet by ingesting elixirs (alluding to legends where dogs lick tripods and chickens consume medicines), one may ascend like phoenixes.

Practice requires selecting sacred sites of purity, employing talismanic arts (fulu) and sword rituals. The alchemical process involves nine cyclical refinements, with three years needed to nurture the elixir while maintaining precise fire regulation (measuring by the slightest weight). Upon ingestion, one transcends life and death—when the elixir completes, celestial aspirations naturally arise. The conclusion portrays the ascension scene: after awakening to immortality in drunken epiphany, phoenix-drawn carriages arrive through violet mists as the Jade Emperor issues the summons. Nine generations of ancestors and entire households rise together, clad in celestial robes (the "six-zhu garments" of immortals), crowned with jewels, and treading auspicious clouds.

A thousand years of immortal music resounds to the clouds. The Rainbow-Skirt immortal melody fills the immortal realm. Luan birds and cranes fly and dance, ascending to pay court to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). We give thanks that the Holy Mother (Shengmu, a Daoist goddess akin to a holy mother figure) has long dwelled in the human world, passing through years of cold and heat. We weigh whether meritorious practice can accord with Suchness (the state of true reality that is not illusory); one’s name has already been entered in the register of immortals. The “Song of the Elixir Formula” was transmitted by Zhongli Quan and Lord Lü (Lü Dongbin). Knowing that you are fortunate enough to possess the heroic spirit-bone (the immortal root for cultivating the Dao), I therefore teach you to let the mind enter huanghu (a focused realization that is as if present and as if absent). In Hanyuan Hall and the Crystal Palace, it clearly points out the grotto-heaven of the immortals. When a great man encounters the true formula, he must hold fast to his will and advance with courageous diligence. When the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) are coordinated, one naturally conforms to the daogui (the measure of medicine and firing times in Neidan [internal alchemy]). Grasp the formula of the inverted turtle and snake (the method of inverting and conjoining Yin-Yang and water-fire). The Three Corpses (Sanshi: the three malevolent spirits within the body) must be purged. The heavenly mechanism of advance and retreat depends on the Six Jia (Liujia: the Six Jia spirits and the stem-branch firing times). Understand the Three Essentials (Sanyao: key cultivation elements such as Jing [essence], Qi [vital energy], and Shen [spirit]), and the ten thousand spirits return to their positions. Ride the fire dragon to leave the Nine Gates (the nine heavens and nine palaces). When the nine-times-nine cycles complete the Dao and the day of becoming true arrives, there will be the festival when the Three Pure Ones and Four Sovereigns (the highest gods and the Four Sovereigns) pay court to Heaven. Qi soars aloft, and Shen is radiant. Penglai (the immortal mountain in the sea) is my home. The assembled immortals drink together, joyous and bustling. Two youths lead in the guest who pays homage to the Origin (the immortal guest who worships the Original Beginning). Because your Dao-mind does not retreat, I transmit it to you. Make vows and pledges, personally sprinkling blood (smearing blood to seal the oath). Do not speak carelessly to everyone you meet; nor should you lightly divulge the oral formula to friends. Do not blame me for repeatedly uttering these words; disrespect will surely diminish hidden merit. Holding hands as we part, what feelings arise? Today I take leave of you and so compose this song. I have fully spoken of a thousand kinds of profound and wondrous principles; I wonder whether your heart can believe them. Later I will explain them clearly to you. Cherish my words, and you may ascend to Daluo (the highest immortal heaven).

The “Song of the Elixir Marrow” consists of thirty-four chapters and was composed by Xue Daoguang. In refining the elixir, one need not seek the winter solstice (the season when Yang Qi first arises); within the body, one Yang naturally arises. The dragon flies in the Red Water, waves surging; the tiger roars in the Elixir Mountain, wind and dew clear. At first it is like clouds emerging from a cave; next, like the moon reflected in a pool; then again like golden silkworms and jade shoots. It is good to use the firing times to refine the three-three (the number of three-three and the regulation of firing times). Charming as Xizi (Xi Shi) leaving the golden pavilion; beautiful as Chang’e descending from the jade tower. Day after day I get drunk with you beneath the flowers; what place could still be thought lacking in romantic charm? A mud snake at the bottom of the well dances the Zhezhi dance; the bright moon at the window shines on plum and pear. At night, Hundun (undifferentiated chaos) falls upside down to the ground; the myriad phenomena in dense array are all unknown. In former days I met my master, who personally transmitted the oral formula: simply concentrate the Shen and enter the Qi-cave (the Dantian, energy center). Use Jing to transform into Qi, and use Qi to nourish Shen. Refine into Yellow Sprout and White Snow (Neidan medicine and visions). For a year of bathing (warm nurturing), one must especially guard against danger; for ten months of harmonization (like pregnancy and regulating the fire), one must be cautious and restrained. When the elixir is taken, one consumes the refined Golden Elixir (Jindan).

Cinnabar pays homage to the Jade Emperor: cinnabar (a metaphor for the alchemist’s medicinal substances) pays homage to the Jade Emperor (the Daoist heavenly emperor), riding clouds and mounting a crane to ascend to the heavenly palace (the Heavenly Gate).

Seven: The sun crow has no shadow, the moon hare no form; the crow and hare (the golden crow and jade hare, representing the sun and moon) are only the Jing (essence) of the sun and moon; when sun and moon conjoin, Heaven and Earth endure forever.

Eight: The ox has no horns, the horse no hooves; ox and horse are only the essence of Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang); the operation of Qian and Kun lies precisely in Kan and Li (water and fire, Yin-Yang).

Nine: The turtle has no fixed form, the snake no trace; turtle and snake are only the forms of Yin-Yang; when the two Qi (vital energies) meet, they blend into one.

Ten: The dragon has no wings, the tiger no teeth; Dragon and Tiger (Yin-Yang in alchemical method) are originally one body; the eastern neighbor is none other than the western household.

Eleven: Lead is not ordinary lead, mercury is not ordinary mercury; lead and mercury (symbolizing the prenatal medicinal substances within the body) must originally be sought within the body; one must make body and mind still and unmoving.

Twelve: There is no fixed White Snow, nor any fixed Yellow Sprout; White Snow is the water in the Spirit Chamber (the chamber of the mind and Shen [spirit]); Yellow Sprout is the flower produced by the operation of the Qi pivot (the pivot of the Qi mechanism).

Thirteen: The husband is the true husband, the wife is the true wife; when the Kan male and Li female (symbolized by water-fire and Yin-Yang) interact; the void is without dust, and the true mechanism of Heaven and Earth is revealed.

Fourteen: True jiao pears and true fire jujubes (immortal fruits, symbolizing the fluids of Neidan [internal alchemy]); after eating the jiao pears the four limbs become light and vigorous; after swallowing the fire jujubes one is satisfied for ten thousand kalpas.

Fifteen: After the summer solstice and before the winter solstice; Yin-Yang cannot be taken only from this seasonal period; naturally there is Shen and Qi dividing into the two strings (the upper and lower strings, symbolizing fire timing/phases).

Sixteen: Water is true water, fire is true fire; following the aforementioned fire timing, circulate the celestial circuit (the circulation of the Qi mechanism); harmonize and refine thoroughly, accomplishing the treasure of long life.

Seventeen: The sun is Hun (ethereal soul), the moon is Po (corporeal soul); within the body there is naturally the true Qian and Kun; calcine and refine the elixir into oneness, thoroughly penetrating with a crimson color.

Eighteen: Heaven is honored and noble, Earth is low and humble; then use the heavenly Hun to capture the six thieves (the six roots: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind); further use the earthly Po to subdue the Three Corpses (the three corpse spirits within the body).

Nineteen: Medicine is not a material thing with form, fire is not a fixed hour; clearly it is only a single point of Yang Qi; once refined, it is inexhaustible through ten thousand kalpas.

Twenty: Metal does not refer only to the Dui trigram, Wood does not refer only to the Zhen trigram; from of old true Earth has corresponded with the Five Phases; Metal and Wood naturally can intersect and merge.

Twenty-one: Within black there is black, within white there is white; if only one can guard the black, white will naturally appear; black and white originally have no two colors.

Twenty-two: Gold is true gold, silver is true silver; when gold and silver are refined into the purple Golden Elixir (Jindan); naturally there is not a trace of axe or chisel.

Twenty-three: The Crescent Moon Furnace (a metaphor for the furnace and cauldron in alchemical method), the Cinnabar Cauldron; one must know to embrace the One and guard harmonious balance; there is no need to forcibly penetrate the passes and draw up the Jade Well (a metaphor for the water-fluid passes and apertures).

Twenty-four: This is the entry marker for the twenty-fourth item.

The Zazhu Zhixuan Pian of the Xiuzhen Shishu is an anthology of the miscellaneous writings that point to the mysterious in the Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection. In the central cauldron, guard one altar (the altar of guarding the One); the golden tripod should constantly keep the hot water warm; the royal furnace (the jade furnace) should not let the fire timing turn cold. The twenty-fifth says: Mysterious Truth, the mysterious female, and the true female—when they return to the root, all share a single gate and opening; they are not in the mouth and nose or in the heart and kidneys. The twenty-sixth says: true divine water and the true Hua Pond (Huachi; a Neidan elixir substance, not saliva); primal Qi is empty and void, hard to grasp; primal Qi is vast, empty, and still, and is originally Wuwei in itself. The twenty-seventh says: refining cinnabar and refining mercury (terms from Waidan; in Neidan they are borrowed metaphors for Shen and Qi); truly make cinnabar transform and die, gather mercury into the cabinet, and refine mercury until it is as fine as dust in a bright window. The twenty-eighth says: true yellow alum-type mineral (a yellow alum-type drug) and true purple powder (a purple medicinal powder) clearly transform within the inner tripod and inner furnace; even tiles and stones can become ninefold cycled (refined through nine cycles). The twenty-ninth says: true gate locks and the true River Chariot (Heche; the circulation of Jing and Qi); guard them firmly with iron locks and golden passes, and when the River Chariot turns, it can condense cinnabar (the Golden Elixir).

The thirtieth says: true golden Jing and true jade liquid; when golden Jing fills the tripod, Qi returns to the root; when jade liquid brims the vessel, Shen enters the inner chamber. The thirty-first says: the true Golden Old Man and true Channü (the beautiful maiden; metaphors for Yin-Yang elixir substances); the Golden Old Man and Channü form a marriage bond, and in the depths of the bridal chamber they perform true cloud and rain (a metaphor for the union of Yin and Yang into one). The thirty-second says: the true Ding Old Man (a metaphor for fire timing) and the true Yellow Granny (a metaphor for the true intention of the central Earth); Ding Old Man operates the fire to refine the golden flower, and Yellow Granny nurtures the golden goose in the bottle (a metaphor for gently warming and nourishing the elixir). The thirty-third says: the true infant and the true newborn (metaphors for the elixir embryo and primordial Shen); through nine cycles of refining, the ten-month embryo is completed; pure Yang without Yin, and life attains longevity. The thirty-fourth says: true Yin-Yang, true Yin-Yang; Yin-Yang are merely two words, yet the tens of thousands of chapters of alchemical books are all metaphors.

Postface: Those who refine the Golden Elixir must know that the winter solstice (the image of the first arising of one Yang) is not at the zi hour, and bathing (the practice of warming and nourishing, not washing the body) is also not at the mao and you hours. Lead and mercury (Neidan elixir substances, not metals) are both not tangible things such as saliva, nasal mucus, Jing, body fluids, Qi, blood, or liquids. Seven Returns means returning to the root; returning means returning to the source. When metal Jing and wood liquid (Five Phases metaphors for elixir substances) meet Earth (a metaphor for true intention), they unite; metaphors such as dragon and tiger, horse and ox, have no fixed form or appearance at all. The former teacher’s Wuzhen Pian (Zhang Boduan’s classic of Neidan) says that the essential point of the Golden Elixir lies in divine water and the Hua Pond; divine water and the Hua Pond are lead and mercury. If one can know the origin of lead, one will know the place where mercury is produced; once lead and mercury are known, divine water and the Hua Pond are known; once divine water and the Hua Pond are known, one can refine the Golden Elixir. The accomplishment of the Golden Elixir is completed in a moment; one must not cling to a schedule of nine years or three years, nor rigidly adhere to years, months, days, and hours in its application. What Zhongli Quan (a patriarch of Neidan) called “the Four Great Ones as One” also refers to the root of cultivation.

The physical body is entirely Yin, so one cannot seek it only within the fleshly body; one can only seek and obtain the single point of Yang Jing (yang essence; the Qi of pre-heaven true Yang) within the body. This point of Yang Jing lies in a key orifice (guanqiao, a critical aperture in Neidan, internal alchemy) that ordinary people cannot fathom. This key orifice is the Gate of Xuanpin (the Mysterious Female, the portal where Yin-Yang transforms and gives birth), precisely what is called the Huachi (Florid Pool) of Shen (spirit; the gathering place of Shen and Qi). Knowing this orifice, one can then gather and take the medicine (caiyao, gathering the medicine); next comes union (the joining of Yin-Yang); after that, cooking and refining (refining through huohou, fire timing); as for bathing (the warm washing stage) and dividing the embryo (the differentiation stage), one must further warm-nurture it to complete the elixir. How could one complete the elixir without discerning the source of the stream (the source of the medicine), knowing the catties and ounces (the measure of fire timing), and recognizing the time and day (the proper timing)?

Ever since Shi Tai (sobriquet Xinglin) received the master’s secret instructions, he has known that this body will not die and that this elixir will surely be completed. Now that the great matter has already been taken in hand, he issues this to inform future students of immortality. This is the preface written by Xinglin Shi Tai after receiving the instructions. The juan title is “Xiuzhen Shishu (Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection): Miscellaneous Writings Pointing to the Mysterious, juan 7.”

The Miscellaneous Writings on Pointing to the Mystery from the Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection, Volume 8, records ten precepts for spiritual cultivators and a longevity song.

Ten Precepts for Cultivating Perfection:

First, never secretly scheme to harm others for personal gain. Instead, accumulate hidden virtue (good deeds done in secret) and universally deliver all beings.

Second, never kill living creatures to satisfy cravings. Maintain a compassionate heart, showing care even for the smallest insects.

Third, never indulge in licentiousness and defile your true nature, tainting the primordial Qi (innate vital energy). Preserve your integrity and uphold the precepts.

Fourth, never undermine others' achievements or sow discord among kin and friends. Assist others with righteous means, fostering harmony.

Fifth, never slander the virtuous or boast of yourself. Praise others' good deeds without glorifying your own merits.

Sixth, never indulge in excessive drinking or consume forbidden meats. Regulate your breath and focus on attaining purity and emptiness.

Seventh, never hoard wealth greedily without giving. Practice frugality and self-discipline, aiding the poor and needy.

Eighth, never associate with the unvirtuous or dwell in filthy, chaotic places. Draw near to the wise and reside in tranquil spaces.

Ninth, never be disloyal, unfilial, unkind, or untrustworthy. Revere teachers and elders and treat all beings with sincerity.

Tenth, never act frivolously or behave improperly. Maintain humility and reverence, taking Dao and De (Virtue) as your foundation.

By upholding these ten precepts, one may ascend to become an immortal official.

Longevity Song (with Preface):

People often claim that consuming elixirs, miraculous herbs, or celestial fruits can lead to daytime ascension, but these are merely rumors—none have witnessed it. Breath-circulation techniques (daoyin and breathing exercises) are far more practical for nurturing life. Humans rely on Qi and blood to live, and the Treatise on Preserving Life states that the key to longevity lies in eliminating life-harming factors. My Song of Dispelling Illness compiles essential longevity teachings from various schools. Practicing them brings peace and joy; mastering their subtleties may prolong life.

The song goes thus:

Among the myriad beings, humans are most precious, yet a hundred years pass like a traveler’s brief stay. Without cultivation, suffering and illness will surely plague you. Why chase after immortality drugs, dreaming of a tortoise or crane’s lifespan? Simply restrain excess in food and desires, and peace will follow.

After meals, stroll a hundred steps, massaging your ribs and abdomen with both hands. Then gently rub the kidney region (lower back)—this is called "moving water and earth" (harmonizing the spleen and kidneys).

Continuing to face forward, perform the he-exhalation method three or four times in succession (he is a type of breathing practice for expelling Qi and preserving health); this will naturally wear away the toxic Qi of food. Sleeping after drunkenness and lying down after a full meal are both of no benefit. When thirsty, drink water; when hungry, eat—but one must still guard against overeating. Eating and drinking should be neither careless nor rushed. Better to eat small amounts and replenish continuously than to let a single full meal suddenly fill the stomach and intestines; that would damage Qi and injure the spleen (the organ governing transformation and transport in Chinese medicine), and it is not your good fortune.

Avoid raw, sticky, greasy, sinewy, hard-to-digest foods. Do not eat livestock that has died on its own (shenglao refers generally to livestock). Steamed buns block Qi and are unsuitable. Raw fish slices and raw meat slices especially invite spleen-stomach illness (kuai refers to finely cut raw meat and fish). Avoid salted fish paste, embryos and eggs, and greasy foods; stale, foul, heavily salted, and concentrated foods all belong to the Yin category (Yin-stagnant substances). The aged and weak should not still want to eat these again; this is no different from borrowing enemy troops (invading soldiers). Fried and roasted foods should be eaten only after they have cooled; otherwise they damage the teeth and injure the blood vessels.

Supper should be before the Shen and You hours (Shen and You are roughly 3 to 7 p.m.). Eating near night is merely futile and will stagnate and block the chest and diaphragm. The commentary says: the spleen likes music. If one eats at night, the spleen’s Qi will not transform and transport, because sounds and music have been cut off. The Rites of Zhou uses music to assist meals (youshi means assisting a meal); presumably the spleen delights in sound. Only when the ear hears the sound of string and bamboo instruments (sizhu refers to string and wind music) does the spleen transform and transport. Therefore all sound issues from the spleen. In summer, when nights are short, one should especially avoid nighttime eating; this is because it is feared to be hard to digest.

In drinking wine, do not let one become too drunk. Excessive drunkenness damages Shen (spirit) and harms the mind and will. After wine, when thirst comes and one drinks water and tea, from this the waist and legs develop heaviness and swelling (zhongzhui means swollen, heavy feet). Although wine can cultivate and refine the temperament and can open the blood vessels, it naturally invites wind pathogens. It injures and ruins the kidneys, rots the intestinal tract, and nothing corrodes the flanks more than wine. After a full meal one should especially abstain from wine. Drinking should not be rough, violent, or hurried, for it is feared it will injure and rupture the lungs. The lungs are the canopy of the five viscera (a covering umbrella above), and they especially must not be injured. When the wine has not yet worn off and one is very thirsty, one should not drink water or tea; much of it is carried by the wine into the kidneys, where it becomes stagnant toxic water. Thereupon it makes the waist and legs heavy and sagging, causes cold pain in the bladder, and also triggers edema, wasting-thirst (a condition involving excessive drinking and urination), and contracture and lameness (spasms of the sinews and inability to walk).

Generally speaking, tea is something that should not be drunk in any of the four seasons; it makes the lower burner deficient and cold (the lower burner refers to the lower abdomen). Only after a full meal is drinking one or two cups not a problem, because it can dissolve food. When hungry, one should especially avoid tea.

One often hears that avoiding wind is like avoiding arrows. When sitting or lying down, one should guard against wind troubles. Moreover, after drinking wine the pores are open; as soon as wind enters, it becomes paralysis. Wherever one sits or lies, if one first feels wind, one should quickly move away; one must not force oneself to endure it. Furthermore, in the aged the body is depleted and the interior is loose, so wind pathogens easily invade; one must guard against them from the outset.

At first one does not notice it, but over time it injures the person. Therefore, even in hot summer one should not cool oneself by facing the wind. After becoming drunk, one should not wave a fan. Once a man learned the way of longevity from Pengzu (the long-lived figure of ancient legend), yet he suffered from headaches. Pengzu examined the place where he slept and saw that there was a hole directly facing Naohu (an acupoint at the back of the head). Pengzu quickly had it plugged up. After that, he was no longer troubled by headaches.

Regardless of the season, wine should be warmed. If it is too hot, however, it is hard to drink. An excess of the five flavors is harmful to people; it is feared that, according to the organ each enters, it may cause harm. The commentary says: When the five flavors are slightly bland, they make one clear and refreshed. When they are slightly excessive, each causes damage according to the viscus or bowel it enters. Thus, too much sour injures the spleen; too much pungent injures the liver; too much salty injures the heart; too much bitter injures the lungs; too much sweet injures the kidneys. This is the natural principle of the Five Phases. At first the injury is not noticed; over time it becomes illness.

Looking, listening, walking, and sitting should none be prolonged too long. From this arise the five strains and seven injuries (the exhaustion of the five viscera and seven kinds of damage). The commentary says: Looking too long injures the heart and damages the blood; sitting too long injures the spleen and damages the flesh; lying too long injures the lungs and damages Qi; walking too long injures the liver and damages the sinews; standing too long injures the kidneys and damages the bones. Confucius’s saying, “When dwelling, one must change one’s seat”—that is, one must vary one’s sitting place—refers to this.

The four limbs should also receive mild activity, just as a door hinge, constantly turning, never decays. The commentary says: Some fatigue in people arises without any clear cause. It is not necessarily from lifting heavy objects or carrying light ones, nor necessarily from exerting strength all day without pause. It is simply that idle people often develop this illness, because those who are idle, at ease, and comfortable do not use their strength much. After eating their fill, they sit or lie without moving; the channels and vessels do not flow freely, and the blood vessels become stagnant—this is how the condition arises. Thus high-status people appear happy outwardly but labor inwardly, while the poor and lowly are inwardly at leisure but outwardly toil. High-status people do not restrain their appetites and desires in timely fashion; sometimes, not understanding the prohibitions, they transgress them. They eat rare delicacies and fine foods, and when full they lie down to sleep. Therefore one should regularly exert oneself in moderation, but not to the point of extreme exhaustion. What matters is that Ying and Wei (nutritive and defensive Qi, referring to the circulation of Qi and blood) flow freely and that the blood vessels are harmoniously unobstructed, like flowing water that does not become stale, or a door hinge that never rots because it turns constantly.

For sleep, lying on one’s side with the knees bent is acceptable; on waking, it is best to stretch out. After a full meal one may bathe; when hungry, one should comb the hair. Combing the hair often and bathing seldom benefits the heart and eyes. Extinguish the lamp when going to bed and sleep in darkness; then the spirit and mind are calm and at ease. The commentary says: Sleeping on one’s side with the knees bent benefits heart Qi. On waking one should stretch, and the spirit will not scatter. This is because spreading out the four limbs while sleeping will attract demons and specters. Confucius’s saying, “Do not sleep like a corpse”—that is, do not lie straight and stiff as a corpse—probably refers to this. Combing the hair often can dispel wind and brighten the eyes; therefore Daoists often make one hundred and twenty strokes the standard for morning combing. Bathing too often damages the heart and abdomen and makes one weary and languid. One does not speak during sleep because the five viscera are like bells and chimes—ancient instruments that require quiet and must not be shaken by speech.

If a thing is not suspended, it cannot produce sound; keeping lamps or candles lit while sleeping unsettles the spirit. Of the four seasons, summer is the hardest in which to regulate health: Yin Qi lies hidden within, the abdomen easily becomes cold, and stools easily become loose or slip out, so one should supplement the kidneys and intestines. Medicines are indispensable; once food has become slightly cold, one should stop eating and drinking it. The commentary says: summer is the time when people dissipate their spirit, when heart fire is exuberant and kidney water declines. The kidneys transform into water; by autumn it congeals, by winter it becomes firm and solid, and one should especially cherish and care for it. Thus in summer, old and young alike should eat warm, hot foods; then in autumn they will be less liable to cholera, vomiting, and diarrhea. Those whose abdomens are constantly warm naturally do not develop the various diseases, because their blood and Qi are strong and abundant. When the heart is exuberant and the kidneys declining, what is most taboo? Especially the draining away of Jing and Qi. Sleeping and dwelling places should be especially well enclosed; in leisure one should quiet the mind and reflect, harmonizing the heart and intentions.

The commentary says: The Yueling (Monthly Ordinances) states that in the mid-summer month the noble man fasts and purifies himself; his dwelling must screen and cover his body; he is not restless; he ceases music and sensual pleasures; he does not recklessly indulge; his food and drink are bland and weak in flavor; he does not seek rich, highly seasoned tastes; he cuts off cravings and desires; and he stabilizes heart Qi. Bathing, washing the face, and rinsing the mouth should all use warm water; do not take pleasure in sleeping on cold pillows or craving cool mats. The commentary says: Even when one is rushed by the heat of full summer, if one washes the face and hands with cold water, it will cause the five viscera to dry out and the body fluids to decrease—how much more so with bathing? Whenever cold objects are used as pillows, they greatly damage the eyes. Melons and raw vegetables are not beneficial to people; it is not only that autumn has more malaria and dysentery. The commentary says: Vegetables are extremely cold in nature; although vegetable melon can regulate Qi, it can also make the ears and eyes dim; if donkeys or horses eat it, their eyes ulcerate the same day. Such things generally should not be eaten in any of the four seasons, not only in summer; the elderly especially should avoid them.

In the three winter months Yang Qi lies hidden within; one must strictly avoid excessive sweating, which causes Yang Qi to leak out. The commentary says: Heaven and Earth are closed and storing, and blood and Qi are stored within; even if one is ill, it is not fitting to induce sweating. Do not travel far in dark fog; in violent rain and crashing thunder one should quickly take shelter. The commentary says: Formerly three men set out early in fog—one on an empty stomach, one having eaten porridge, and one having drunk wine. In the end the one with an empty stomach died, the porridge eater became ill, and the wine drinker remained healthy, because wine can withstand frost and dew and repel evil Qi. If on the road one suddenly meets gusty winds, crashing thunder, or darkness, one should enter a room and take shelter; otherwise it harms people, and though not felt at the time, in time it becomes a malady.

The Daoist tradition has further essential principles for nourishing life; the first is to make people reduce anger (the character for “kindness” is used interchangeably with the character for “anger”). In autumn and winter, add clothing only after the sun has come out; in spring and summer, one should rise early at cockcrow.

The commentary says: in spring and summer it is suitable to rise early; in autumn and winter one may rise later. But rising late should not go past sunrise, and rising early should not be earlier than cockcrow. After the zi hour and before the yin hour, when one wakes from sleep, close the eyes and click the teeth fourteen times; inhale fresh qi and exhale old qi without error; swallow and rinse-refine the Jade Spring (Yuquan, the saliva in the mouth) to return and nourish the fetal origin (taiyuan). The commentary says: water in the mouth is called the Hua Pool (Huachi), and is also called Jade Spring. The Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Scripture) says: “The clear water of Jade Spring irrigates the spiritual root; if you cultivate it, your lifespan can long endure.”

Bodhidharma’s Taixi Lun (Treatise on Embryonic Breathing) says: whenever one practices taking food (here meaning taking qi and swallowing saliva), one must do so after the midnight zi hour, sitting cross-legged on the bed with eyes closed, facing east, and with a he sound breathe out the old qi from the abdomen two or three times. Then pause the breath and gently draw several breaths of clear qi in through the nose. Beneath the tongue are two points that connect to the kidney orifices; press the tongue against the upper palate, hold the intention and regulate the breath for a moment, and saliva will naturally emerge. Rinse the whole mouth with the saliva and swallow it slowly; it will naturally permeate the five viscera. This is qi returning to the Dantian (the Dantian is the key place of cultivation in the lower abdomen). If there is not enough time to do this after the zi hour and before the chou hour, it is also acceptable to do it only before the yin hour; it may also be done while lying down in sleep, but the pillow should not be too high.

Kuai Jing of the Han dynasty lived to one hundred and twenty and was still robust. He said that every morning he took Jade Spring and clicked his teeth fourteen times; this was called refining Jing. Wang Zhen of the Later Han often rinsed his mouth with the Jade Spring beneath his tongue and swallowed it; this was called embryonic breathing (taixi). Sun Zhenren (Sun Simiao) said: the hair should be combed often, the hands should frequently massage the face, the teeth should be clicked often, saliva should be swallowed frequently, and qi should be refined. These five practices are what the Huangting Jing means by “If you wish not to die, cultivate Kunlun” (Kunlun here refers to the head and face).

Rub the palms of both hands until warm and warm them over both eyes. The commentary says: do this fourteen times each session, and naturally the eyes will be free of obstruction and film. For brightening the eyes and dispelling wind, nothing is better; it can also supplement kidney qi. One should also wipe and rub the forehead and face. The commentary says: frequently wiping the forehead is called cultivating the Heavenly Court (Tianting, referring to the forehead). Wipe together with the hairline fourteen times, and the face will naturally become smooth and radiant; those with dark spots or blemishes should wipe often.

From time to time, use the middle fingers to massage beside the nose. The commentary says: rub and massage both sides of the bridge of the nose twenty or thirty times until both the exterior and interior feel warm. This is what is meant by irrigating the Central Peak (Zhongyue, here referring to the nose) to moisten the lungs. Perform the quan method several times at the left and right ears and eyes. The commentary says: quan ear means massaging the ear helix, without counting the repetitions. This is called repairing the city walls, to supplement kidney qi and prevent deafness and dullness of hearing.

One can also perform dry bathing, covering the whole body. When pressing the thigh (bi, a variant word for thigh), one must make a twisting movement between the two corresponding places. Even if there is wind (wind pathogen, fengxie), one should treat it by the methods of dry bathing and massage.

As for strain injuries and various cold Qi (vital energy), why worry that the waist and back will again become tense and cramped? The commentary notes that when ordinary people sit, they often press both hands on their thighs (bi) and twist their shoulders left and right several dozen times. Xu, He, Hu, Xi, Chui, and Si—the Daoist Six-Character Qi Formula (Liuzi Qijue)—are applied separately by those who refine Qi. If one can truly apply them according to the oral instructions, both new and old illnesses (e) can be cured.

Although the pleasures of sound and color are said to be matters for the young, if one understands a little restraint (moderation), there will be no fault. One should learn early to close and store Jing (essence) and Qi and to regulate the breath, and should not let the fire inside a feather wrapping (a bundle wrapped in feathers) blaze up. The commentary notes that the ancients compared the matter of sexual desire to an ice cup (lingbei) holding yang or a feather wrapping storing fire. If a person can conduct himself and act while always keeping to uprightness and propriety, not greedy for fame and not contending for profit, then even if one does not fully carry out everything in the chanted formulas, when all kinds of good practices are complete within oneself, one will not become ill. The commentary notes that Laozi said that one who is good at nurturing life, when walking on land, will not encounter the rhinoceros or tiger (si and hu); this is an aid to the cultivation of Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power). This is volume eight of the Zazhu Zhixuan Pian (Miscellaneous Writings Pointing to the Mysterious) in the Xiuzhen Shishu (Ten Books on Cultivating Perfection).