Arcane Treasure Canon 太玄宝典 - 道教典籍
Paul PengArcane Treasure Canon
The author is unknown.
Judging from its content, it is presumably compiled between the Tang and Song dynasties.
Consisting of two volumes, it is included in the Tai Xuan Section of The Daozang.
The book is divided into eight sections with more than fifty chapters: The Gate of Cultivating Truth and Embracing Tranquility, The Gate of Cultivating Truth and Talismanic Sagehood, The Gate of Cultivating Truth to Attain Subtlety, The Gate of Refining Mortality to Generate Spirit, The Gate of Refining Mortality to Manifest Forms, The Gate of Nourishing Qi to Construct Spirit, The Gate of Nourishing Qi to Enhance Spirituality, and The Gate of Refining Mortality to Achieve Complete Truth.
Arcane Treasure Canon
Its core content discusses the principles of refining and nurturing the body and spirit, as well as preserving and consolidating essence and Qi. The book states: "The Great Void exists within heaven and earth—boundless and formless, neither qi nor matter." The Great Void generates the Three Realms (heaven, earth, and humanity): "The clear qi ascends to become heaven, the turbid qi descends to become earth, and the separation of clear and turbid qi gives birth to humans."
The essence of cultivation lies in "refining emptiness and spirit to purify turbidness," preserving essence and qi, and returning to the Great Void. The method begins with emptying the mind to nourish qi; nourishing qi fosters spirit, which in turn consolidates essence, and firm essence ensures longevity. However, the cultivation methods differ between men and women: men refine qi to attain truth and preserve essence, while women refine blood to attain truth and safeguard spirit.
The qi cultivation techniques described in the book mainly include embryonic breathing, qi absorption, visualization, and massage, supplemented by herbal remedies. For example, it refers to herbs such as ginseng, acorus tatarinowii, rehmannia glutinosa, sesame, and polygonatum sibiricum as "the Five Elements Elixirs among Plants," claiming that taking them can stabilize essence and calm the spirit.
