《女丹合編》Vol. 4

This passage primarily discusses the classical texts and background of female cultivation in Daoist internal alchemy (Neidan). The Record of Unorthodox Paths (Pangmen Lu), authored by Qian Zhongren, and Discrimination on the Similarities and Differences in Male and Female Alchemical Practice (Nannü Dan Gong Yitong Bian), compiled by Yan Zehuan, are specialized texts addressing female cultivation. It mentions that female practice is divided into two methods: "gold refinement" (Waidan, external alchemy) and "jade refinement" (Neidan, internal alchemy). The key points of jade refinement are detailed in The Scripture of the Western Queen Mother on Preserving Spirit and Daily Practice (Xiwangmu Bao Shen Qiju Jing), already included in the Daoist Canon, while the teachings of Sun Yuanjun meticulously document the stages of female cultivation.

The text notes that other classics on female internal alchemy include Female Internal Alchemy (Nü Gong Neidan) and Secret Texts on the Alchemical Dao (Dandao Mishu), which contain important scriptures such as The Jade Clarity Scripture on Fostering the Primordial Inner Nourishment (Yuqing Taiyuan Nei Yang Zhenjing) and The Jade Clarity Supreme Scripture of Inner Scenery (Yuqing Wushang Neijing Zhenjing). However, these belong to the highest levels of the Great Dao and do not elaborate on practical techniques for beginners. The compiler intentionally included The Record of Unorthodox Paths to prevent novice female practitioners from straying onto misguided paths, while The Scripture of the Nine-Grade Lotus (Jiupin Lianhua Jing) serves as a guide for women who have advanced to a certain stage in their cultivation.

In the preface, Yan Zehuan recounts his personal background: orphaned of his father in childhood, his mother remained widowed, leaving only three sisters in the household. Later, his two younger sisters passed away one after another, and the third married. Unable to bear his mother’s solitude, he resolved to remain chaste and devoted himself to caring for her. From the age of twelve, he and his mother adopted a vegetarian diet (Zhaitang) for spiritual practice, finding solace in composing moral exhortations. Though he yearned for immortality through cultivation, he lacked guidance from an enlightened teacher or verification through alchemical scriptures, silently praying for celestial affinity for nearly a decade. It was not until the summer of the Gengzi year (1900), amid upheavals in the capital, that he took his mother to seek refuge on Mount Emei. There, he encountered Buddhist scriptures on female cultivation, such as The Scripture of Mahāmāyā (Moye Furen Jing) and The Scripture of Mātaṅgī (Modengqie Nü Jing). Later, he obtained The Collection of Mani’s Lamp for Women (Moni Zhu Kun Ji), comprising over seventy texts compiled by the Buddhist laywoman Shan Yi Youpo Yi (Upāsikā). However, Buddhist scriptures were profound, emphasizing spiritual nature (Xing) over life-nurturing techniques (Ming), making them difficult for beginners to approach.

The Compilation of Female Alchemy (Nüdan Hebian) documents methods for women's Neidan (internal alchemy, the Daoist practice of refining Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit)). In the preface, its author Yan Zehuan (Daoist name Yanqing) explains that teachings on female cultivation were previously scattered unsystematically across various Daoist canons—like being adrift in a vast ocean without direction.

Finding this unacceptable, she took the bold step (risking offense to sages) of extracting and compiling female alchemical methods from classical texts into this hundred-page work. She often read it aloud to her mother for both entertainment and personal motivation in spiritual practice. Later, at her mother’s suggestion, she further distilled over five thousand characters specifically comparing male and female cultivation techniques into a separate booklet titled Distinctions in Male and Female Alchemical Practice (Nannü Dan Gong Yitong Bian), which she kept at her desk for daily reference to avoid mixing methods.

Yan modestly admits that compiling texts without authorization might seem as erratic as "biting wildly from illness," inviting ridicule. Yet if anyone finds these materials beneficial for practice, she would be deeply gratified. This self-recorded note was written in spring 1903 (Guimao year of the Guangxu reign), signed "Female Scholar of Zhuyang, Yan Zehuan (Yanqing)."