《太極真人雜丹藥方》

Miscellaneous Elixir Formulas of the Great Ultimate Perfected: Eighth Pine Resin Formula

The essential points for cultivating this elixir:

1. Transmission requirements: Only to be transmitted to male practitioners with steadfast resolve and upright character. Strictly prohibited from being passed to those who are unjust, untrustworthy, or lacking in benevolence and righteousness.

2. Refining environment: Must be performed in a quiet, secluded purification chamber, avoiding the presence of women and maintaining solemn silence (even excluding the sounds of chickens and dogs).

3. Transmission protocol: Only one successor per generation.

Detailed Refining Method:

[Basic Formula]

Primary ingredients:

• Green-Waisted Messenger (mineral-based medicine)
• Imperial Maiden’s Blood (plant sap or mineral)
• Borax
• Northern Court (mineral name)

Procedure:

1. Grind the ingredients into fine powder.

2. First boil the Northern Court powder with mulberry wood ash solution until dry.

3. Place the first two ingredients into a golden cauldron, adding three liang (≈50g) of mercury.

4. Cover the mercury with five liang of the medicinal powder.

5. Refine over gentle fire (low heat) for three days.

6. Switch to fierce fire (high heat) until thirty jin (≈18kg) of fuel is reduced to seven jin, then extinguish the flame.

[Refinement Process]

1. Place the golden cauldron inside an earthenware cauldron.

2. Alternate between gentle and fierce fire until the elixir fully liquefies.

3. Pour into molds, cover with damp paper, and cool.

4. During remelting, add a small amount of salt crystals.

5. The final product resembles purple-polished gold.

6. Optimal refining cycles: 75 or 86 days.

[Advanced Formula]

Ingredients:

• Green-Waisted Messenger
• Imperial Maiden’s Blood
• Golden Star Realgar (gold-bearing mineral)
• Golden Thread (five liang each)

Method:

1. Grind ingredients to flour-like fineness.

2. Seal in a vessel with Six-One Clay (refractory lute).

3. Cover the mouth with clean tile and seal tightly.

4. Refine over gentle fire for three days (four liang fuel daily).

5. After cooling, grind and blend with six other medicines.

Precautions:

All ingredients must be finely powdered before refining. After seven days in the sealed vessel, the nine holes at the base must be plugged with Six-One Clay.

(Note: In the original text, "mercury" refers to quicksilver, and "gentle/fierce fire" denotes alternating heat intensities—classical techniques of ancient alchemy. These formulas reflect Daoist waidan (external alchemy) practices, though some minerals are toxic and should not be attempted today.)

Upon completing this method, place the medicinal ingredients into the furnace for refinement, carefully observing changes in their quantity. Afterwards, perform an offering with fresh fruits, fragrant tea, and a white silk cloth measuring four feet nine inches in length. Then transfer the medicine into a gentle fire furnace to be tempered for seven days. Subsequently, take one tael of the medicine each time for future use.

The formula is as follows:

Floral salt (3 taels), saltpeter (2 taels), imported red vitriol (1 fen), high-quality borax (1 tael), imported large-period vitriol (1 tael), and yellow lead (1 fen). These ingredients should ideally be sourced from authentic regions to ensure the highest success rate in refinement.

Grind these six medicinal ingredients into powder, mix them thoroughly, and seal them in a bottle. Following the aforementioned method, temper them with gentle fire for twenty-one days, then remove and smelt them with strong fire until they glow red. After refining with ten jin of firepower for twenty-one days, switch to intense fire forging until they turn crimson. Stop the fire when ten jin of firepower can smelt seven jin of medicine. Then transfer it to a yin furnace for one day of tempering.

Specific procedure: First, place one jin of mercury into a pot and heat it gently to the appropriate temperature. Add one fen of the medicine first, then after the time it takes to finish a meal, add another two fen of the medicine. This will refine the treasure. The numbers eight and nine represent the fire phases, while four and five signify the key techniques.

Golden Elixir Method formula:

Red, purple, willow, and chicken (each 1 tael, all from authentic sources), lead sand (2 taels), yellow lead (1 tael), and floral salt (1 tael). Grind these ingredients finely into powder, seal them in a bottle, and cover with a tile. After sealing as described earlier, temper with gentle fire for seven days.

Then transfer it to a flowing furnace two feet four inches in height for refinement, using twenty jin of firepower. A high-quality medicine bottle should have nine holes at the bottom, sealed with six-one mud. Refine from morning till evening—the yield varies, possibly producing one thousand or five hundred. The resulting orpiment pellets, about the size of millet grains, can be stored in small bottles and tempered with approximately five taels of saltpeter. Apply four taels of firepower daily for fourteen days. Upon completion, perform a sincere offering, preparing five-colored silk cloths (each one zhang three chi in length), along with fruits, fragrant tea, wine, meat, and other ritual offerings.

This scripture details the practical methods of Daoist alchemy, specifically focusing on Waidan (external alchemy) techniques. The content is divided into several key sections:

First, it describes sacrificial rituals requiring offerings such as dates, emphasizing sincerity as the key to efficacy. Each alchemical pellet requires one tael (liang) of offerings, with the participation of two young girls and one boy in the ceremony.

Next, it meticulously outlines the specifications for the alchemical furnace: the stove should be two chi and four cun (about 80 cm) tall, with nine holes, each as thin as a hairpin's tip.

The text then lists the alchemical ingredients: silver stars (a mineral), pengsha (borax), mercury, iron powder, half a tael of chicken, and kunlun (possibly alum). These must be ground into powder in a mortar and placed in a "tiger crucible" (a sealed container). The initial refining process uses gentle fire (wenhuo) for twenty-four days, with twenty-four taels of fuel per day. Subsequently, the heat is increased to twenty-eight taels, using medium fire (wenwu huo) for five to seven more days. The resulting elixir will manifest a purple-gold hue.

The scripture particularly emphasizes the elixir's precious nature—capable of connecting with divine spirits and reaching the Nine Springs (the underworld)—but warns against indiscriminate transmission. When adding the final three ingredients (salt flowers, yellow lead, and bloodstone), one must maintain utmost sincerity. These three must also be finely ground and mixed with the previous compounds.

The operational steps are as follows: first, place two jin of raw material in a gan pot (alchemical vessel), add one fen of medicinal powder, and stir two hundred times with a green bamboo spatula; then add one qian of powder and mix thoroughly; next, heat the tingchi (another vessel) until red-hot, pour in a small amount of oil, transfer the mixture into it, and cover with damp paper. The resulting elixir will resemble mountain lakes—a marvel to behold.

An alternative "crucible method" is also described: using borax, mercury, red waves (possibly cinnabar), bloodstone, and red quartz, ground into powder and placed in a "yellow sprout crucible." Refine with gentle fire for seven days, then transfer to a yang furnace with strong fire (wuhuo), using forty-two taels of fuel daily for seven days, followed by three days in a yin furnace. After cooling, remove and add to a cauldron in proportion, stirring hundreds of times with willow branches. Finally, pour the golden liquid (molten metal) into a preheated trough and cover with damp paper.

The final section lists several ingredients in equal proportions: borax, yellow lead, purple frost, infantile (possibly lead), sand grains, and daqi (a mineral), all ground three hundred times into fine powder.

These alchemical methods demonstrate the meticulous attention to fire control, timing, and ingredient ratios in Daoist Waidan practices aimed at creating immortality elixirs. It is crucial to note that substances like mercury and lead used in ancient alchemy are toxic, and modern practitioners should never attempt to replicate these methods blindly.

This passage details the specific operational procedures for ancient Daoist alchemical practices (Waidan, external alchemy). Let me explain it in several sections:

The first part describes preparatory work before alchemical refinement:

1. First, properly seal the alchemical vessel (固济如法)

2. Place various medicinal powders into the vessel

3. Cover the opening with ceramic tiles and allow it to dry

4. Refine with gentle fire (文火) for fourteen days

5. After cooling, apply intense fire (武火) until glowing red

6. Notes the proportion: approximately 10 jin can be refined from 20 jin of material

The second section elaborates on the medicine-making process:

• First melt the materials in a crucible (甘锅)
• Add one qian of medicinal powder and stir one hundred times
• Add another half qian of powder and continue stirring
• Specifically mentions "seven and five mark its numerical pattern, six and three contain its essential formula" - referring to specific numerical ratios in the recipe

The third section lists various materia medica:

Chicken (possibly realgar), mercury (水银), sulfur (硫磺), magnetite (磁石), orpiment (雄黄), halite (青盐), blood (possibly cinnabar)

The fourth section continues with preparation methods:

1. Grind ingredients into fine powder and bottle

2. Use alum for the outer container

3. After drying with gentle fire, refine in the solar furnace for seven days

4. Use 1 jin 4 liang of fire daily

5. Mentions refinement stages of "first rotation, second rotation, third rotation"

6. Finally obtain bluish-black medicinal powder

The fifth section describes subsequent processing:

1. Regrind the powder

2. Add half liang of green vitriol (possibly 碌)

3. Rebottle and refine for one day

4. Refine with 3 jin of gentle fire

5. After cooling, apply intense fire

6. Approximately 7 jin can be refined from 10 jin material

The sixth section covers post-refinement procedures:

1. Melt the refined substance in a crucible

2. Add powder proportionally (2 qian for 2 jin material, 5 qian for 3 jin)

3. Heat the refining vessel (挺池) and add oil

4. Pour in metallic solution

5. Cover with damp paper to complete the "treasure" refinement

The seventh section lists another set of ingredients:

Cooked (possibly prepared rehmannia), sulfur, realgar, white tiger brain (a mineral), yellow orpiment, yellow flower (possibly chrysanthemum), solar soul (possibly cinnabar), saltpeter, sacred stone (each half liang)

The eighth section describes another preparation method:

1. Grind ingredients and use alum container

2. The alum must be refined three times before use

3. Use 4 liang of gentle fire daily, switching to intense fire after seven days for fourteen days

Finally, it mentions rituals for worshiping the alchemical furnace:

Offer fruits, incense, tea, dried white meat, wine, and five-colored silks (each 1 zhang 2 chi long) as sacrifices to ensure infallible results.

These methods reflect how ancient Daoists produced elixirs through repeated refinement and mixing of various minerals, containing many specialized terms and secret proportional formulas. It's important to note that many mentioned ingredients like mercury and sulfur are actually toxic, making these ancient alchemical practices potentially hazardous.

This scripture records several elixir formulas and preparation methods from Daoist alchemical traditions. It details three distinct processes for crafting alchemical medicines:

The first elixir method:

Begin by grinding medicinal ingredients into fine powder (requiring precisely 300 grindings). Place the powder in a "White Tiger Vessel" (a type of sealed container) for ten days of cultivation. After removal, grind the mixture another 200 times before transferring it to a "Yellow Sprout Vessel" for fourteen additional days of cultivation. The firing process requires initial intense heat (known as "martial fire") followed by gentle simmering ("civil fire"). Application requires careful attention to directional alignment (specifically the eight-six position) and the recitation of prescribed incantations.

The second elixir method:

Grind ingredients including blood-purple herb and imperial maiden flower into powder. Cultivate the mixture in a "Sacred Stone Vessel" for thirty-one days. After grinding, incorporate three varieties of vermilion minerals (known as "flowing vermilion phoenixes"), followed by seven more days of cultivation. Heat with martial fire until the mixture glows red-hot, then allow cooling before extraction. Usage demands observance of six-number sequences and three-five formula incantations.

The third elixir method:

Grind ingredients including crane, phoenix, and chicken components into powder. Seal the mixture in a flask using "six-one mud" (a specialized sealing compound). Begin with seven days of civil fire cultivation. After grinding, blend in six additional medicinal ingredients for fourteen more days of cultivation. For application, maintain a ratio of one jin (catty) to one qian (mace), stirring thirty times with mulberry wood.

The text concludes by mentioning common alchemical materials like yellow elixir and sulfur. These preparation methods uniformly emphasize:

• Precise grinding repetitions
• Specific cultivation durations
• The crucial transition between martial and civil fire
• Directional alignments and incantations during application
• The use of specialized sealed vessels

These alchemical practices reflect ancient Daoist rituals where elixir preparation followed meticulously symbolic procedures, incorporating meaningful numerical systems and operational techniques. The methods embody the integration of material processes with cosmological principles characteristic of Daoist Waidan (external alchemy) traditions.

This scripture records several elixir formulas and preparation methods from Daoist alchemical traditions. I will explain them in sections:

First Elixir Preparation:

Grind five medicinal ingredients - borax, mercury, sodium borate, willow ash, and amethyst quartz - into fine powder using a mortar. Place the mixture into a "Azure Dragon Vessel" (a specialized alchemical container). Use a Hunan-produced bottle as the upper vessel, sealing it with "Six-One Clay" (a sealing paste made from six materials). Apply alternating gentle and fierce fires for seven days, using twenty-four taels of fuel daily. Then add sulfur, red sal ammoniac, gen-earth, and magnetite. Grind these four ingredients together four hundred times, return them to the vessel, and continue firing for fourteen more days. Finally, apply fierce fire until glowing red (using approximately thirty catties of fuel), stopping when about eighty to ninety percent of the materials have melted. After cooling, place in a "yin furnace" (low-temperature furnace) for seven days. For use, first melt the material in a gan pot until liquefied, add one qian of the powdered medicine, and stir three hundred times with mulberry wood.

Second Elixir Preparation:

Requires amethyst quartz, white bloodstone, sulfur, flower stamen stone, mercury, salt, and yellow flower. First grind one tael of "yellow sprout" (an alchemical term referring to initially refined elixir) with one tael of mercury into powder. Fire in a yin furnace for fourteen days, using six taels of alternating gentle and fierce fire daily while maintaining constant temperature. After completion, apply fierce fire until glowing red for one full day and night, then transfer to a "yang furnace" (high-temperature furnace). Before use, heat the vessel until red-hot and apply the medicine mixed with vinegar three to five times.

Third Elixir Preparation:

Requires Persian cinnabar, Persian sal ammoniac, yellow alum, dragon's blood, mercury, sand, and salt flowers. First grind the initial seven ingredients into powder and fire in a mulberry wood vessel for seven days. Remove, regrind, add the remaining two ingredients, and fire for another fourteen days. Use ten catties of alternating gentle and fierce fire until seventy percent melted. After cooling, take the red substance, melt it, add one and a half qian of the powdered medicine, and stir three hundred times with green bamboo to complete.

Final Formula:

Requires sulfur, mercury, dragon's blood, red sal ammoniac, ark shell, jade powder, borneol, and yellow flower, with preparation methods similar to those described above.

In these formulas, the "vessel" refers to a sealed alchemical container, "gentle and fierce fires" indicate alternating fire intensity control, while "yin furnace" and "yang furnace" denote furnaces of different temperatures. These alchemical methods demonstrate the sophisticated techniques ancient Daoists employed in elixir preparation through precise mineral combinations and fire regulation.

This scripture records several methods of ancient alchemical operations, primarily detailing the process of refining various mineral herbs into elixirs or "treasures." Here is the modern interpretation:

First, the medicinal materials must be ground into fine powder using a mortar (a grinding tool) and stored in a sealed container for seven days. Then, two additional herbs are added, and the mixture is sealed again for fourteen days. Afterwards, it is calcined over intense heat until it turns red. For use, the material is melted into a golden liquid in a crucible (an alchemical vessel), with herbs added proportionally (one qian of herb per jin of raw material).

The text further describes the ratios and processing methods for various mineral ingredients:

• Six liang of "white vermilion yellow flower cluster flow"
• Two liang of high-quality cinnabar
• A small amount of "golden sprouts" ground together with cinnabar
• Six liang of yellow lead oxide as a covering layer
• Two liang of premium-grade cinnabar
• Two liang of sulfur

The refining process requires first treating the "black tiger" (likely referring to a certain black mineral) before adding "crane crest" (possibly a red mineral), ultimately producing the "treasure elixir."

The scripture also lists the origins of various medicinal materials:

• Herbs such as red, daqi, bo, jade, yellow, bloodstone, gold-thread, etc., are sourced from Guangzhou
• White iron comes from Jinzhou
• Tile fragments are obtained from Chizhou
• Willow flowers are imported from overseas
• "Imperial maiden’s blood" is produced in Wudu
• "Green-waist envoys" are harvested from Mount Jingong
• White brain is sourced from Hunan

Another group of herbs (red, purple, da, bo, bloodstone, yellow flower, zeng) must be ground into powder, sealed in a container, and refined over alternating moderate and low heat for seven days before being calcined over intense heat. The firing must be carefully controlled—when ten jin of firewood burns down to about seven jin, the process should cease.

Before use, ancient coins must be soaked in rice vinegar for seven days, then fired three times and coated with a mixture of high-quality vinegar and medicinal paste. The text also mentions using wrought iron plates, green-waist envoys, green vitriol, bloodstone, gold-thread, and yellow vitriol. These are boiled over alternating heat for three days, then the iron plates are coated with the vinegar-medicine mixture and finally sprinkled with salt crystals before firing.

The final method involves boiling bloodstone, willow flowers, vinegar stone, and borax in high-quality vinegar for seven days. The resulting mixture is ground into powder, combined with half a liang of raw bloodstone and vinegar, then prepared according to the aforementioned method.

The Miscellaneous Elixir Formulas of the Great Ultimate Perfected (Taiji Zhenren Za Dan Yaofang) records several ancient alchemical methods primarily involving minerals and special materials. Here is a modern interpretation:

First Method:

Use green vitriol (qingfan), vinegar crystals (cunao), azurite (qingyao shizhe, "Blue-Waist Emissary"), cinnabar (dinü xue, "Imperial Maiden’s Blood"), and chicken droppings. First, grind the ingredients into a fine powder, then boil them in wine for five days. Grind again into powder and mix with vinegar. Heat the object to be treated until red-hot, coat it with the medicinal solution, and reheat. Repeat this process five times to refine the treasure.

Second Method:

Use green vitriol (lüfan), hematite (xueshi), iron, jade, and orpiment (cihuang). Grind these into fine powder in a mortar and blend with high-quality vinegar. Heat the object until red-hot, apply the mixture, and carefully control the firing temperature. Apply one layer, fire once, repeating three to five times. Finally, rinse with brine to complete the treasure.

Third Method:

Use calomel (fenshuang), special clay (gentu), green mineral pigments (tulu), substances related to infants, and alum (baifan), finely ground to make a container. Place the medicinal materials inside and cultivate for twenty-one days. First, refine with alternating gentle and intense heat for seven and a half days, then extract the red substance. Add two qian (about 7.5 grams) of medicinal powder per jin (600 grams) of raw material, stir twice, and pour out to form the treasure.

Additional Material Notes:

• Special materials like "raw iron blood waves" (shengtie xuebo), "iron waves purple blood" (tiebo zixue), and "golden roc tiles" (jinpeng wa) each have specific uses.
• Realgar (xionghuang) is used in combination with "blood gold" (xuejin) and "purple blood" (zixue).
• Iron is paired with chicken blood, red blood, and other substances.

Method for Making Six-One Mud (Liu Yi Ni):

Mix equal parts oyster shells, red halloysite (chishizhi), white halloysite (baishizhi), and ant droppings, along with one liang (about 37 grams) of salt and one sheng (about 0.6 liters) of high-quality vinegar. Soak in paper for three days, then pound into a paste to seal bottles. Once dried, it can store various mineral medicines like red vitriol (hongfan), jade-yellow (yuhuang), and "blood gold thread vitriol" (xuejin xianfan).

Material Origins:

• Thread vitriol (xianfan) and willow-catkin vitriol (liuxufan) are sourced from Guangzhou.
• Iron vitriol (tiefan) comes from Jinzhou.
• Green and copper mineral pigments (tulu, tonglu) are mined from Mount Jingong.
• Cinnabar ("Imperial Maiden’s Blood") is produced in Wudu.
• Natural cinnabar (ziran zhusha) is found in Beiting.
• Borax (pengsha), azurite, saltpeter (xiaoshi), "sacred stone" (shengshi), "yellow sprout" (huangya), and sulfur (liuhuang) are all specific mineral materials.

(Note: These methods document the concrete practices of ancient Daoist alchemy (Waidan), employing many minerals and special terms now obscure or difficult to identify in modern terms.)

This scripture records a series of mineral ingredients and alchemical tools used in ancient Daoist alchemy. The content primarily consists of two parts:

First are the various mineral materials for alchemy:

• Lead essence (refined lead compounds), sand, arsenic, yellow flower (likely sulfur), vinegar stone (acetate minerals), horse tooth saltpeter (potassium nitrate minerals), and red quartz
• Magnetite, purple quartz, white quartz, yellow quartz, purple stone powder, and red top (likely cinnabar)
• Crane crest (likely realgar), yellow sprout (another name for sulfur), cabinet white tiger (white mineral preparation), cabinet black tiger (black mineral preparation), cabinet yellow (yellow mineral preparation), hanging needle cabinet (needle-shaped crystalline preparation)
• Standing preparation cabinet, sprinkled preparation cabinet, gushing spring cabinet, naturally occurring yellow sprout cabinet, and various other processed mineral preparations

The text notes that these medicinal materials should ideally be high-quality ingredients from specific regions ("from their native soils").

Next are the alchemical tools:

• Water-fire cauldron (an alchemical vessel with adjustable water and fire temperatures)
• Pure Yang cauldron (a high-temperature refining vessel)

These were commonly used materials and tools when ancient Daoist practitioners prepared Waidan (external alchemy/mineral elixirs). Most of these minerals contain heavy metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic, which modern science has confirmed to be toxic. Their preparation or ingestion is strongly discouraged today.