Alchemical Commentary on the Triple Concordance 周易参同契注

The original author is unrecorded.

Based on the place names mentioned in the book, the modern scholar Chen Guofu verified that this work was probably written during the Tang Dynasty or the Five Dynasties period.

Consisting of two volumes, it is included in the Taixuan Section of The Daozang. As an annotation to Cantong Qi, this book interprets the scripture from the perspective of external alchemy.

Alchemical Commentary on the Triple Concordance

It states that cinnabar is refined until it turns purple-red to form the Reverted Elixir, and "if it does not take on a purple-red hue, it cannot be called the Supreme Elixir". It also mentions: "Once the elixir is formed, take one knife-edge amount and refine it into gold. If it cannot transmute the five metals, it should not be taken rashly—the elixir at this stage is inherently toxic and has not yet attained spiritual transformation. Refine it again as before until it turns into gold with spiritual transformation and a deep purple color; only then can it be titled the Great Reverted Elixir, and taking one pill of this will enable communication with the divine. Furthermore, take another knife-edge amount, and it can transmute the five metals as well as one catty of raw mercury into gold instantly." It is evident that the alchemical method expounded in this book belongs to the external alchemy of aurification and cinnabar elixir, which embodies the core alchemical tenets of Taoism centered on the circulation of Qi and the mutual transformation of substances.