《道樞》Vol. 20

Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao), Scroll 20, Part 8: A Vernacular Reading

Compiled by: Zeng Zao

Chapter on True-One Inner Alchemy (Neidan)

(Closing the Breath and Rinsing the Jade Fluid: Yin-Yang Coordination, Where One Hour's Work Can Stand for a Year's Image)

Ancient masters likened a year to a single day of twelve double-hours (shichen), and further divided each double-hour into two hexagrams of six lines each, twelve lines in all, corresponding to the small cycle of yin and yang waxing and waning over a year. Practicing by this rule is called "exchanging years for hours" (yi shi yi nian). If one diligently completes a single double-hour of practice, it is symbolically equivalent to having gathered the effect of a year of elixir method.

The correspondences between the twelve double-hours, the hexagrams, and the months run roughly as follows. The Zi hour corresponds to Fu (Return) and the eleventh month. Chou corresponds to Lin (Approach) and the twelfth month. Yin corresponds to Tai (Peace) and the first month. Mao corresponds to Dazhuang (Great Vigor) and the second month. Chen corresponds to Guai (Breakthrough) and the third month. Si corresponds to Qian (The Creative) and the fourth month. Wu corresponds to Gou (Coming to Meet) and the fifth month. Wei corresponds to Dun (Retreat) and the sixth month. Shen corresponds to Pi (Standstill) and the seventh month. You corresponds to Guan (Contemplation) and the eighth month. Xu corresponds to Bo (Splitting Apart) and the ninth month. Hai corresponds to Kun (The Receptive) and the tenth month.

From the Zi hour through the Si hour, one may practice by this method. After the Wu hour, it should no longer be used, as the text explains further below in terms of avoiding yin qi.

Using Two Hexagrams Within One Hour

During the Zi hour, the image used is that of Fu: one yang line below and five yin lines above. First, advance the fire. Fire is yang and is represented by closing the breath, and closing the breath thirty-six times counts as one yang line. Then, advance the water. Saliva is yin and is represented by rinsing the fluids (holding saliva in the mouth and then swallowing), and rinsing twenty-four times counts as one yin line. Thus, within the framework of Fu, the Zi hour proceeds yang first and then yin.

After the Si hour, around the Wu hour, the image of Gou is used instead: one yin line below and five yang lines above. The order is reversed. One first rinses the jade fluid twenty-four times (one yin line), then closes the breath thirty-six times (one yang line).

The Zi and Wu hexagrams stand in opposition as yin and yang. Within a single double-hour, one in fact traverses the scale of two hexagrams and twelve lines, which is what is meant by "using two hexagrams in one hour." If, beginning at the Zi hour, one completes the yin and yang counts line by line and carries five cycles through at the Zi position, then six yin and six yang are gathered together. It may then be said, symbolically, that one has seized "the use of a year."

Essentials of Practice

One sits level and holds the fist (the thumb wrapped within the four fingers), while tapping the teeth together. For the Zi hour, one faces zi, the north. Other hours change facing according to the rule. The counts follow the numbers given above: thirty-six closings of the breath and twenty-four rinsings, or, at the Wu hour, rinsing first and then breathing. The order must not be confused. When the practice is complete, one may perform guiding exercises (daoyin) such as the "supporting the heavens" stretch, repeating them several times. With long perseverance, it is said that the inner elixir coalesces. After a full year (the symbolic "year"), it is said that one may "produce the elixir." Bathing in the qi of the sun, the elixir is said to be the size of a pellet and yellow like a tangerine, which is what is meant by "leaving the Jade Pool and entering the Golden Chamber."

The general principle of cultivating qi is to use yang to refine yin. Yang qi begins at Zi and flourishes at Si, while yin qi begins at Wu and flourishes at Hai. For this reason, one often takes the Zi hour to initiate intent and move the fire, practices around the Yin hour, and stops at the Wu hour, so that pure yin qi does not take command and mix with the practice. This is the same reasoning behind the rule that the method is not used after Wu.

Chapter on the Returning Elixir and Concordance (Only the Title and Two Summary Lines Survive)

The meaning of the title is that the essence (jing) of a single qi grows only when it receives fire, and the root of the returning elixir lies in the Southern Li, the trigram associated with fire, the heart, and the sun.

Reading note (not part of the original text): This passage binds breath control (closing the breath), saliva (rinsing the fluids), the Book of Changes' twelve hexagrams of waxing and waning, and the double-hours together. It is a very typical example of the "counting breaths matched to lines" style found in Song-Yuan inner alchemy literature. Modern readers should treat it as material for the history of religion and self-cultivation. They should not practice breath retention by these ancient counts on their own, and those with risk of hypoxia or cardiovascular conditions should consult a physician.

In ancient times, Suirenshi drilled wood to make fire and Nüwa tempered stones to mend the heavens—these actions secretly aligned with the principles of refining divine elixirs. Someone might ask: What is the reasoning behind this? The answer lies in understanding that wood represents the nature of mercury (Hg), while metal embodies true fire. Thus, the foundation of refining the Golden Elixir (Jindan) rests in the position of the Li (Fire) trigram in the south (Nanli refers to the Li trigram in the Bagua, symbolizing fire). Why? Because the elixir is born from the true fire of the sun and must undergo tempering by fire to transform its form.

The refinement of the elixir passes through five stages of metamorphosis:

1. In the first stage, the elixir lies hidden in chaos, like a fetus receiving the essence of Qi (vital energy) in the womb, forming vermilion mercury.

2. In the second stage, the elixir's red primordial Qi merges with the Dantian (energy center), melting and congealing under the influence of heaven and earth's Qi, becoming as smooth as butter. Here, the Hun (ethereal soul) and Po (corporeal soul) embrace, and the mercury transforms into snow-white purity.

3. In the third stage, the azure divine liquid undergoes transformation alone in Fusang (symbolizing the eastern land of sunrise), where the snow-white elixir turns into granules.

4. In the fourth stage, the essence of the White Tiger (symbolizing western metal Qi) manifests, harmonizing mercury and Qi as they return to their origin—the granules become a yellow substance.

5. In the fifth stage, the profound yellow Qi surges from the depths of the earth, filling the upper Dantian. The elixir takes shape, and the yellow substance ultimately transforms into lead-gold. Hence the saying, "One substance contains five colors," refers precisely to this transformative process.

Without the tempering of fire, mercury remains unstable and elusive, while lead reveals its luster upon encountering water. This is like how the Jade Rabbit (symbolizing Yin) in the moon is visible, while the Golden Crow (symbolizing Yang) in the sun remains unseen. Thus, the elixir of Laozi (the Supreme Venerable Sovereign) embodies the Dao of emptiness. How is the mystery of mercury and lead transmitted? They arise from the realm of the indistinct, transform in the depths of the obscure, are born at the dawn of heaven and earth, and achieve completion in the state of primordial chaos—they are the root of Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth).

The refinement of the elixir requires passing through 3,600 cycles of solar terms and undergoing the Nine Reversions and Eight Refinements (Jiuzhuan Baqiong, referring to repeated purification). The Qi of water and fire fills the Dantian, while the sun and moon revolve within the cauldron (the alchemical furnace). Through the regulation of civil and martial fire (Wenwu Huohou, gentle and intense heating), refinement occurs in the profound and mysterious, seizing the arcane mechanism of creation. The alchemist holds the cosmos in their hands, with Qi circulating naturally within the body—subduing the Azure Dragon (mercury) in the east and taming the White Tiger (lead) in the west. The Jing (essence) sinks into the sea of Qi, the primordial Qi embraces the essence, and the profound yellow Qi undergoes mutual transformation. Because the elixir ultimately returns to the southern red, it is called the "Way of the Returned Elixir."

In this process, the order of the Five Phases (Wuxing) is disrupted, and the positions of the Bagua are inverted. The Hun and Po descend into positions of mutual embrace, with transformations endless and inexhaustible. Ultimately, the elixir of the Purple Mansion (upper Dantian) is achieved—this is the highest realm of cultivation.

An Explanatory Reading of the Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao)

Within the cinnabar chamber of the Douyu Cavern, a crow drives a golden toad and a hare rides a white horse, and only then does the wondrous efficacy arise. When the moon is full it begins to wane, and when the sun reaches its zenith it begins to slant west. Celestial changes are clearly marked, and the po (corporeal soul) and hun (ethereal soul) join with one another. Metal and Water subdue each other without leaking outward. The hexagrams Zhun and Meng stand for the medicinal substances, while Pi and Tai stand for the furnace, and the remaining materials each have their correspondences.

A year has three hundred and sixty days, which correspond to the sixty-four hexagrams, with three hundred and sixty lines distributed among them. A ten-day period (xun) has one hundred and twenty double-hour periods, and day and night circulate through twelve lines, or two hexagrams. Thus thirty days may be counted as one year, and ninety days as three years. The sun and moon turn day and night like the rim of a wheel, with thirty degrees in each day, and Heaven and Earth turn like a mechanism. The Daodejing says, "Thirty spokes share one hub; it is the emptiness within that makes the cart useful." This aptly expresses the wondrous principle of the image and pattern. Here the teaching has already come quite close to the Way of inner alchemy (neidan).

The Book of Odes says, "Ospreys call to one another on the river's sandbar." The female does not dwell alone, and the male does not wander alone; all things return to their roots, and like gathers with like. If the mercury is removed, the two will separate, and this is precisely what the Sushu means by "things of the same qi respond to one another." The Yinfu Jing (Scripture of Hidden Talismans) says, "The yellow-waisted one devours the tiger, and Water and Wood punish each other." Sweet yu wood, soft Metal, and the "river chariot" that subdues the mercury: the secret of these lies in the "divine water" and the "flowery pool."

The Record of Supreme Change says that black is the root of Water, and white is the nature of Metal. The Record of the Stone Cavern says that true Five Phases are simply one Water and one Stone, and that the central palace governs qi. When Water and Fire stir each other, things are formed, and this is the Golden Liquor and the Golden Elixir (jindan). The Cantong qi (Kinship of the Three) says, "Plant millet to grow grain, and use an egg to hatch a chicken," which is exactly this meaning. The Master Yin says that Yin is true sand and Yang is true mercury, and that one must not act rashly in seeking them. To generate substance from what has no substance is the Returning Elixir (huandan), and it is not ordinary mercury or ordinary sand.

Master Qingxia says: "I have cinnabar. Take the essence of metal and the liquid of stone, join them as husband and wife, arrange them as soul and spirit, let them become one undifferentiated whole, and let the two emotions stir each other. This is cinnabar." The Yijing says, of the first line of the hexagram Qian, "Hidden dragon, do not act," and of the second, "Dragon appearing in the field," and of the third, "The noble one is vigilant all day long." All things arise from the One. Lao Zi held that the nine mercuries have not yet received fire and so have not transformed, but remain hidden within.

Note: This text belongs to the literature of inner alchemy (neidan). It draws heavily on the hexagram names of the Book of Changes, the sun and moon, Metal and Water, cinnabar and mercury, and the furnace and cauldron, using them as metaphors for the timing of the fire and the union of Yin and Yang. It is not a discussion of chemical alchemy, but presents the cultivation steps as images and patterns. When reading it, one should treat the hexagrams, ten-day periods, years, husband and wife, and the po and hun as code names for stages and for the relationships between Yin and Yang, rather than taking each word literally as a material recipe.

Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao): A Plain-Language Reading

Within the cinnabar lies the image of the hidden dragon (qianlong), which may not yet be put to use. Cinnabar, the vermilion used in alchemy, holds the image of a "hidden dragon," and at this stage it cannot yet be truly employed.

When the cinnabar is refined to its pure form, fire is used to make it rise and fly. It is then placed in lead, where it resonates with true fire and true mercury. This is what the Yijing calls "the dragon appearing in the field" (jianlong zai tian). The "field" refers to the Dantian. Mercury is the elixir (dan), earth is the field (tian), and earth gives birth to all things. Where there is earth within water, there is true gold. True gold is the Dantian, the state toward which one strives "diligently all day long" (zhongri qianqian).

When gold and mercury are perfected, they can transform and give rise to change.

Qian is fire and metal; nine is the number of lead; three is the number of wood. "Qian" symbolizes fire and metal. Nine is the numerical principle of lead, and three is that of wood.

Heaven becomes manifest through one, water through two, fire through three, wood through four, and metal through five, and earth appears through these as well. Practitioners must not fail to understand this numerical order of the Five Phases. The Five Phases (wuxing) are the foundation of the numerical scheme in cultivation.

White gold and mercury are each eight taels. Two and eight combined make one jin. This is the proportion used in refining cinnabar and in shaping the spiritual images. White gold and mercury, each measured at eight taels, combine to form a single jin, which is the standard ratio for refining cinnabar and forming the spiritual images.

What gathers all into one is water. The Five Phases ultimately return to one, and this one is water.

Water contains fire, fire contains wood, wood contains metal, and metal contains earth. When the Five Phases merge into one body, the two forms (liangyi) open and close, the sun and moon shine clearly, and the three powers (sancai) of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are complete. Water holds fire, fire holds wood, wood holds metal, and metal holds earth. When the Five Phases fuse into a single whole, Heaven and Earth open and close, the sun and moon shine, and Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are all in place.

Thus, one generates two, two generates three, and three generates the myriad things. This follows the sequence of "the Dao generates one" in the Daodejing.

Qian is the father and kun is the mother. Within them are cold and heat, Yin and Yang, the sun, moon, and stars. Their arrangement, advance and retreat, and rise and decline all follow the natural Dao. Qian and kun are the father and mother of the body. Within the body are cold and heat, Yin and Yang, and the sun, moon, and stars. Their ordering, their movement and rest, and their waxing and waning all accord with natural principles.

Cinnabar and mercury rise when they meet fire, store their substance when they meet water, interact when they meet metal, reveal their root nature when they meet wood, and are completed and formed when they meet earth. Upon contact with fire they ascend, with water they conceal themselves, with metal they interact, with wood their fundamental nature becomes clear, and with earth they achieve their formation.

Accordingly, gold is taken as the elixir, the elixir is the White Tiger, the White Tiger is true fire, true fire is the sun's soul, the sun's soul is the Golden Rooster, the Golden Rooster is the Huachi (Flowery Pool), the Flowery Pool is yellow lead, and yellow lead serves as the matchmaker. Gold is taken as the elixir, which is symbolized by the White Tiger. The White Tiger is true fire, true fire is the soul of the sun, and the soul of the sun is likened to the Golden Rooster. The Golden Rooster corresponds to the Huachi, the Flowery Pool, which is yellow lead, and yellow lead acts as the go-between that brings the two together.

Mercury is taken as the Azure Dragon through wood. The Azure Dragon is yellow water, yellow water is the lunar soul, the lunar soul is the Jade Hare, and the Jade Hare gives birth to the yellow sprout. The yellow sprout is born in the Dantian. Mercury is identified with the Azure Dragon through wood. The Azure Dragon is yellow water, yellow water is the lunar essence, and the lunar essence is likened to the Jade Hare. The Jade Hare brings forth the yellow sprout, which is born in the Dantian.

The original substance of the Dantian is named Jin Gong, the Lord of Metal. The essential body of the Dantian bears the name Jin Gong.

If one understands this Dao, one need not abandon gold and water in order to transform the Azure Dragon. Once this principle is recognized, one does not have to discard gold and water in order to bring forth the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon is mercury. It must await the dark and yellow (Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang) to complete its beginning and end. The Azure Dragon is mercury, which must wait for the dark (xuan) and yellow (huang), that is, Heaven and Earth and Yin and Yang, to run through its beginning and end before it can be perfected.

Within the dark and yellow there is true gold, which must unite with the essence of wood (the qi of the wood phase) so that one may commune with the spirits. Inside the dark and yellow is hidden true gold, which should join with the essence of wood (the qi of the wood phase) in order to commune with the spirits (guishen).

The spirits (guishen) have no form or substance. The Great Emperor takes them as the golden chamber, and they descend and emerge in carefree freedom. "Spirits" refers to numinous presences without form or substance. The Great Emperor (Heaven's ruler) takes this as the golden chamber, and they descend and appear with effortless ease.

Note: This text uses the terminology of external alchemy (cinnabar, mercury, lead, white gold) to describe internal alchemy (neidan). The "dragon appearing in the field" is an image for the union of water and fire within the Dantian. The Qian-Kun, Five Phases, and "two and eight make one jin" passages address the timing of the fire and the proportions of the ingredients. The White Tiger, Azure Dragon, sun's soul, moon's soul, Flowery Pool, and yellow sprout are all names for the spirit-qi and vital essence within the body, not only substances in a furnace. The final lines, on the "golden chamber" and the descent of the Great Emperor, are most often read as an image of spirit-qi gathering and true yang manifesting within the inner landscape of the body.

I. The Gateway to Cultivation

The Jing (scripture) says that the Ford of Great Harmony (taihe zhi jin, the juncture where the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth blend and meet) can enable a person to become an immortal. To obtain the Flowery Pool (huachi, the place in the body where refined essences gather, which the ancients regarded as the crucial point of neidan, or internal alchemy), one must enter through this gate. Cinnabar (dansha, the principal raw material of alchemy, here a metaphor for the inner essences) is hidden within it. The author states that they have already understood the form and function of the ding vessel (the alchemical cauldron, a metaphor for the body and mind as the site of cultivation). They also studied the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in detail, clarified how the waxing and waning of the Eight Trigrams (Bagua) correspond to them, and distinguished the roots of the different stages, such as imprisonment and death.

II. The Correspondence of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases

The hun and po souls contend with one another, and Yin-Yang flow back and forth in alternation. Metal qi lies hidden in the hexagram images of autumn and winter, while mercury (shuiyin, quicksilver, an important alchemical substance here a metaphor for Yin essence) lies hidden in the forms of spring and summer. The southeast belongs to the spirit of cinnabar and mercury, while the northwest is the path where water and metal merge. The author also drew a diagram of the Ten Heavenly Stems: at the center lies the root of all things, and the Earth stems wu and ji are used for refining. In the east, jia and yi are assigned, with jia as sinking stone and yi as floating stone. In the south, bing and ding are assigned, with bing as the martial fire (a fierce flame) and ding as the civil fire (a gentle flame). In the west, geng and xin are assigned, with geng as worldly metal and xin as worldly silver. In the north, ren and gui are assigned, with ren as true lead and gui as true mercury. The author sighs that they have perhaps uncovered the secrets of Heaven and Earth.

III. The Essentials of the Treatise on the Bright Mirror of the Golden Elixir

The note beneath the title of this treatise explains that its content lies in clarifying the numbers of water and fire and the images of kan and li (the Water and Fire trigrams). Whoever probes its subtleties deeply has already gone halfway toward the Dao.

Xuanyi (a figure whose name means "Mysterious One") says that by observing the transformations of qian and kun (Heaven and Earth), the principles of the Book of Changes run through them. Therefore one knows that li belongs to the self and is the essence of the sun, while kan belongs to earth and is the radiance of the moon. The vessel of alchemy takes its pattern from Heaven and Earth, and its medicines take their pattern from the sun and moon, which also carry the images of male and female, Yin and Yang. Moving from the hexagram Pi (Standstill) to Tai (Peace), and from Ji Ji (After Completion) to Wei Ji (Before Completion), one cycle follows another without end, and so the medicinal vessel is finished. This is entirely different from what ordinary people call the five metals and eight stones (common metals and minerals).

The Jing says: "One generates two, two generates three, and three generates the myriad things." Therefore, the water that arises from one, the fire that arises from two, and the wood that arises from three become the Azure Dragon of the east. The fourth, metal, is the White Tiger of the west. The fifth, earth, which corresponds to the colors of earth, arises next, harmonizing with the Five Phases and making the Four Images clear. Whatever lies within qian and kun has form below and image above. To act according to the principle of Yin-Yang transformation is as easy as turning over one's palm. Thus, to recognize the water of one and the fire of two, as well as the functions of kan and li and the relationship between sun and moon, is to have already attained more than half of the returning elixir (huandan, the supreme treasure of the completed alchemical path). Therefore, the principles of the Five Phases are gathered into one.

Xuanyi further says that when they see people refining elixirs, most are confused and mistaken, and there are countless such people. They only seek huang bai (the alchemy of transmuting substances into gold and silver), but do not know to pursue longevity. How could those people know the root of Yin-Yang or the vital passages between north and south?

A Vernacular Interpretation of the Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao)

Lead and the Returning Elixir

"Use lead, yet do not use lead; the work must be done within the lead. When the time comes to actually use lead, if one still rigidly clings to 'using lead,' one is wrong again." To understand the huandan (Returning Elixir), an internal practice of restoring the Primordial Qi, one ultimately cannot do without the qianjiao (lead-foot). This is the pivot of the Way. Most people do not realize that to "gather lead" (caiqian), one must first understand the Jin Gong (Metal Lord) and the heche (River Chariot). In Neidan (internal alchemy), these are often metaphors for the circulation of yang qi and the rising and descending of the Ren and Du channels. Some commentaries associate them with the qi of the Five Phases and the cardinal directions.

External Lead Geography: Not the Way Described Here

Some take lead from Ya'an, lead from Jianwei, earthen lead, lead from Luotuo, or grass-node lead as the cauldron, and cast in mercury to nourish the fire. That belongs to the path of external alchemy (Waidan), and it is not the Way discussed here.

As the common saying goes: if the lead is genuine, it will not fail to serve as a loyal household minister; if the lead is not genuine, it will not even draw near. The essentials lie in the harmonious union of Yin-Yang, the completeness of the Five Phases, and the full presence of the Four Images. Only then can one recognize that true lead is true unity (zhenyi), the Supreme One (Taiyi). The beginning of work on the Dantian also starts from the side of "lead." When one observes the wood within fire and the metal within water, the metaphors of lead and mercury, representing Yin-Yang and firmness-yielding, become clear.

The formula says: the technique of inverting the Five Phases. The dragon emerges from fire; if the Five Phases proceed in their ordinary sequence, then the tiger is born within water. This speaks of true water and fire and the essence of sun and moon (riyue jingHua), which are gathered internally as Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy), not refined on a stove.

The Cauldron and "Producing Substance from the Insubstantial"

The cauldron has no head and no substance, yet it can "produce substance out of no-substance": when Yin reaches its extreme, Yang is born, and when Yang reaches its extreme, Yin is born. Foolish people, however, pile a thousand catties of charcoal into an empty furnace and fan the bellows in the open air. They believe they can draw in the essence of sun and moon and that "substance arises naturally from no-substance." The fire-sweat and crimson flames gather in the furnace to be taken as elixir, and this only scorches and injures the body.

Others hold a water essence (crystal bead) toward the sun and reflect fire onto the moon, then refine water with fire, taking these as true water-fire and as the essences of sun and moon. Still others, having heard a perfected person say "harvest before the silkworm eats, complete after fire transforms," take mulberry leaves that the silkworm has not yet eaten, burn them to ash, and on the night of the full moon in the eighth month collect dew on the ash to obtain its liquid. The Xuanyi (Mysterious One) states plainly: none of these is the Dao.

Fusang, the Lunar Cave, and the Oral Formulas

The sun emerges from Fusang (the mythical tree in the east), located in the positions of jia and yi. This is the so-called moment of "not yet silkworm," that is, before the mulberry is eaten. Fire is born from wood. Gengshen is the lunar cave, which lies within the fire-timing before Yin and after Wei (earthly branches). There is also the formula: Prince Huainan is called qiushi (autumn stone); Yang Yin speaks of huangya (yellow sprout); "the West receives the royal qi, and the Way is attained in China." Its form is also... (The original text breaks off here. Its general meaning is that the directions and names are metaphors for internal refining and fire-timing, and they do not refer solely to the external-alchemical history of Prince Huainan.)

Reading Note: Throughout the essay, the terms lead and mercury, cauldron and furnace, silkworm and mulberry, and sun and moon describe, through metaphor, the Yin-Yang relations, fire-timing, and gathering-and-refining of internal alchemy. Those who take genuine lead ore, mercury, or dew to form an elixir are all judged by the author to be outer paths (waidao). These stand opposed to the inner cultivation of "true lead, true unity, and the Dantian as the initial foundation."

Interpretation of the Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao)

Its outside is white and its inside golden yellow, shaped like an egg. Most people do not understand this. In the Five Phases (wuxing), the West belongs to Metal, specifically the Geng and Xin stems, and the Dui trigram symbolizes Metal. The Grand White Star (Venus) corresponds to it, and it matches autumn. In the Qian trigram, the "maiden" gathers this qi as the palace within the cauldron (ding) for use in alchemy. The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan called the maiden's qi the Golden Flower, and the Prince of Huainan secretly transmitted it as Autumn Stone. Metal is the child of Earth. Why? Metal and Earth generate each other, just as barley sprouts are nurtured in the soil.

In the eighth month, the Heavenly Vanguard (tiangang) stands in the You position, the myriad trees wither, and so Metal overcomes Wood. Only Wood can produce a sprout. The way of our alchemy is like growing a tender sprout on Metal. Its yellow is like barley dyed by the earth, corresponding to the central direction. This is the Yellow Sprout (huangya). Therefore it is said that the Yellow Sprout is transformed from lead and mercury. Within the yin shell lies the yang flower. Without the Yellow Sprout, one is far from the Golden Elixir (jindan).

Most people do not understand this either. When one counts from one to five and the cycle accords with the Five Phases, it then corresponds to the five-colored rainbow light at the horizon and the auspicious vapors rising above the furnace. Therefore, refining true water and true earth is the essential principle of cultivation. The Six Wu and Six Ji stems belong to Earth. Earth has no fixed shape; it flourishes at the end of each of the four seasons and corresponds to the five directions. Most people do not realize that One of Water plus Four of Metal makes Wu, and Two of Fire plus Three of Wood makes Ji. Wu and Ji truly merge at the center and are sufficient to complete the numbers of yin and yang. Only then is the work complete.

Thus, if Yang Ren does not depart from Fire, Yang Ren cannot transform into vapor. It is like a hen hatching an egg: when the days are sufficient, the chick is born, just as a human is born after ten months. Therefore it is said: a lone yin cannot form, and a lone yang cannot stand. Mercury and cinnabar are both yin. It is like two women sharing one room, unable to accomplish anything. Humans are born from the union of yin and yang qi, with the father's essence forming the bones and the mother's blood forming the flesh, condensing into form over ten months. Our Dao works the same way: the middle son joins with the middle daughter, and their union forms the body. The maiden's qi has its hundred secrets, but its essential key lies only in returning the essence (huan jing) and replenishing the qi (bu qi).

The Li trigram contains yin within it, symbolizing the golden crow within the sun, which is the woman's blood. The Kan trigram contains yang within it, symbolizing the hare within the moon. When yin reaches its extreme, yang arises, and this is the man's essence. The sages use the southern and northern positions as medicinal materials, just as a father and mother unite to bring forth a child.

This passage sets out the principles of gathering medicine, forming the cauldron, and managing the fire (caiyao, jieding, huohou) in internal alchemy (Neidan). It draws on the Eight Trigrams of the Yijing (Book of Changes), the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and Yin-Yang to show how the human body and the cosmos share the same process of creation.

Zhen, the Arousing, stands for the eldest son, who inherits the yang nature of the father, and it returns to Dui, the Joyous, which stands for the youngest daughter. Gathering the Qi of the young daughter until the count reaches one hundred forms the elixir (dan) and the cauldron (ding). Yet the cauldron has no actual vessel behind it, and the medicine has no ready-made substance either. Both arise from a person's own nature and never leave the body, and the body itself receives Qi from the Four Images (Shaoyang, Shaoyin, Laoyang, Laoyin). Foolish people who do not grasp this principle combine them with filthy substances, and that is a mistake.

The supreme medicine I speak of takes its model from Qian and Kun. When the single Qi is split, it divides into Yin and Yang, just as a person is born from the original Qi transmitted by the parents. Thus one unites sun and moon, prepares the Three Powers, completes the Four Images, and harmonizes the Five Phases. The saying "one phase every five days" refers to sixty double-hours (shichen). After a ten-day period plus five days, one Qi arrives. At thirty-six days the elixir takes the form of a phoenix, at forty-nine days the five colors are complete, and at sixty-four days the four Qi are full. The Qi of the Five Phases is then spent, and the medicine sprouts forth, and one sees the True One (zhenyi). Then one arranges thirty-six dragons, establishes the cauldron of Pi and Tai, and installs the Taiyi spirit chamber. Kan and Li serve as sun and moon, and Zhen and Dui serve as dragon and tiger, so that the true water and fire and the inner and outer Yin-Yang each find their proper place. Within the "city walls," one again sets up the spirit chamber by the method, listens to the water clock, and waits for the first yang line to be born. One then moves the Yin and Yang of Jiji and Weiji, and applies the civil and martial fires so that they blaze upward. Yang Qi rises and becomes Heaven, and water above moistens below, so Yin Qi descends and becomes Earth. Mercury here stands for the human being: man and woman unite, each carrying true Jing, and the transformation lies within a single instant, its sanctification without end.

Long ago, Xuanyuan (the Yellow Emperor) traveled to Shu, understood the Way of the Three Ones (sanyi), cast a cauldron, formed the elixir, and ascended as an immortal riding a red dragon, using exactly this method. The medicine I describe corresponds to the numbers of the upper and lower half-moon phases and the twice-eight count, and it totals three hundred and eighty-four zhu (twenty-four zhu to each liang, making up one jin). It also corresponds to the lines of the sixty-four hexagrams and to the two stalk counts of Qian and Kun, and in this way it achieves the nine transformations and seven returns.