Zhouyi Cantongqi: The Foundational Taoist Alchemy Text

Zhouyi Cantongqi, abbreviated as Cantongqi, was written by Wei Boyang, a native of Shangyu in Kuaiji (present-day Shangyu, Zhejiang) during the Eastern Han Dynasty. As an early classic of Taoism, this book is regarded as the "ancestor of alchemical scriptures." The entire book discusses alchemy by relying on the images of the I Ching, integrating the principles of the three schools of "the Great I Ching", "Huang-Lao thought", and "alchemy" into one. It takes Qian and Kun (the first two hexagrams in the I Ching) as the cauldron and furnace, Yin and Yang as the embankment, water and fire as the mechanism of transformation, the Five Elements as auxiliary, and Xuanjing (mysterious essence) as the foundation of the elixir, thereby expounding the principles and methods of alchemy. It is the earliest systematic Taoist scripture on alchemy.

There have been many commentators throughout history. Famous ones include Peng Xiao of the Later Shu Dynasty with Zhouyi Cantongqi Fenzhang Tongzhengyi, Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty with Zhouyi Cantongqi Kaoyi (under the pseudonym Zou Xin, a Taoist priest of Kongtong), Chen Xianwei of the Song Dynasty with Zhouyi Cantongqi Jie, and Yu Yan of the Yuan Dynasty with Zhouyi Cantongqi Fahui. All these works are included in the "Taixuan Bu" (Taixuan Section) of the Zhengtong Daozang (Orthodox Taoist Canon).

The Cantongqi has long been recognized by the international scientific community as the oldest extant alchemical work in the world. None of the several external alchemy works before it formed a complete theoretical system like the Cantongqi. The Cantongqi has been valued by Taoist practitioners of all dynasties and has received high praise. Zhang Ziyang of the Song Dynasty stated in Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Truth): "Shutong learned from Wei Boyang, and his work remains the king of alchemical scriptures for all ages." Huang Ziru of the Song Dynasty wrote in the preface to Jindan Sibaizi (Four Hundred Words on Golden Elixir): "Within its few thousand words, there is Boyang who initiated its spread, and Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin who promoted it further."

Chen Zhixu of the Yuan Dynasty said in Zhouyi Cantongqi Fenzhang Zhu (Chapter-by-Chapter Annotation of Zhouyi Cantongqi): "Most alchemical books are unreliable; those who obtain the true secrets must take the Cantongqi as the main guide." In his poem Xingyan Shi (Wake-Up Poem), Chen Zhixu wrote: "There truly exists a method for eternal life, but ordinary people, with shallow karma, cannot undertake it. Lead, silver, cinnabar, and mercury are measured in weights; Wei Boyang, with profound virtue and grace, revealed it." The preface to Zhouyi Cantongqi Fahui (Elaboration on Zhouyi Cantongqi) also states: "The Cantongqi is the ancestor of alchemical scriptures for all ages."

Mr. Chen Yingning, a modern scholar, said in his works: "The Cantongqi is called the king of alchemical scriptures for all ages. Practitioners of all dynasties attached great importance to this book... Its knowledge directly inherits from the Yellow Emperor, and is further connected to the Yin-Yang theory of the I Ching, also conforming to the mysterious origin described by Laozi." It is evident that the Cantongqi occupies an extremely important position as a foundational scripture in Taoist alchemical methods.