Annotations on the Zhouyi Cantong Qi 周易参同契解

Compiled by Chen Xianwei, a Taoist priest of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was roughly completed during the Baoqing period (1225–1227).

Consisting of three volumes, it is included in the Taixuan Section of The Daozang.

Annotations on the Zhouyi Cantong Qi

As an annotation to the Cantong Qi, this book states that the way of the Golden Elixir takes Qian and Kun as its essence and imitates the sun and moon for its application. Its theory regards Qian and Kun as the heaven and earth within the human body, and Kan and Li as the sun and moon within the human body; the ascent and descent of Qian and Kun serve as the time markers, while the coordination of Kan and Li acts as the driving mechanism. It also quotes the internal alchemy works of Chen Tuan, Liu Haichan, Zhang Boduan and other figures, thus belonging to the Southern Sect of the Golden Elixir School in the Song Dynasty, which embodies the core doctrines of Taoism internal cultivation centered on the circulation of Qi.