The Huanyuan Pian 还原篇 The Return to Origin

Shi Tai, the author of Huanyuan Pian (The Return to Origin), styled Dezhi and known by the literary name Cuixuanzi, was a native of Changzhou (now part of Jiangsu Province). By nature, Shi Tai was kind-hearted; he often treated others with medicine without accepting payment, only asking patients to plant an apricot tree upon recovery. Over time, these apricot trees grew into a forest, earning him the nickname "Shi Xinglin" (Shi of the Apricot Grove). Later, Shi Xinglin met Zhang Boduan, from whom he received the teachings of the Golden Elixir Dao, and thereafter devoted himself to cultivation. Having eventually attained the Dao, he wrote Huanyuan Pian to leave for posterity. On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month in the 28th year of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty (1158 CE), he achieved completion and transcended his physical form at the age of 137. He left behind a verse: "Thunder breaks through the Niwan Cave; the true image rides the fire dragon. None know who struck the blow—shattering the great void." Two years later, someone claimed to have seen Shi Tai in Luofu Mountain, evidence that he had become an immortal.

In the short preface to Huanyuan Pian, Shi Tai stated that he had met Zhang Boduan in a post station in his early years, and the essential teachings of inner alchemy he received were simple—"expressed in plain words, no more than half a sentence, yet their verifying effects manifest in an instant." Having successfully achieved "the fusion of golden fluid and the completion of the sacred embryo" through practice, he composed this work consisting of 81 five-character quatrains to pass on to later students, enabling them to attain the true transmission early.

Huanyuan Pian also addresses principles of inner alchemy, as well as essential methods such as "medicinal substances," "furnace and cauldron," "fire phases," "bathing," and "transcending the embryo." Its main ideas are rooted in Zhang Boduan’s teachings, making it a key outline of the Southern School’s alchemical methods. It advocates that the lead and mercury within the human body are the elixirs, considering this the profound secret by which ancient immortals attained the Dao. As a poem in the text states: "Lv (Dongbin) inherited Zhong (Liquan)’s formulas; Ge (Hong) passed on to Zheng (Siyuan) the heart’s transmission. No idle words are spoken—all gather but mercury and lead." This explains that inner alchemy is nothing more than the condensation of spirit and qi into the Mysterious Pearl. It also notes that "qi is not generated from the kidneys, nor does spirit reside in the heart"—instead, both are hidden in the single Mysterious Pass orifice. One who understands the abode of spirit and qi can then "gather spirit within qi, and the elixir path will naturally succeed."

The work emphasizes that the first step in practice is to subdue the "mind-monkey" and "will-horse" (i.e., wandering thoughts). As a poem puts it: "The will-horse returns to the spirit’s chamber; the mind-monkey guards the bridal chamber. Essence, spirit, soul, po, and will—transmuted into purple-gold frost."