Atlas of the Golden Elixir Essentials 上阳子金丹大要图

Composed by Taoist priest Chen Zhixu in the Yuan Dynasty.

Originally an appendix to Essentials of the Golden Elixir, it was issued separately as one volume in The Daozang, included in the Taixuan Section.

Atlas of the Golden Elixir Essentials

This text uses diagrams to indicate the essentials of Internal Alchemy. It contains diagrams such as: Taiji Diagram, Taiji Division Diagram, Pre-Heaven Taiji Diagram, Post-Heaven Taiji Diagram, Golden Elixir Nine Returns Diagram, Golden Elixir Seven Reversions Diagram, Golden Elixir Five Elements Diagram, Taiji Shun-Ni Diagram, Primordial Qi Manifestation Diagram, Golden Elixir Three-Five-One Diagram, Purity-Turbidity Stillness-Movement Diagram, Precious Pearl Diagram, Golden Elixir Four Images Diagram, Golden Elixir Eight Trigrams Diagram, Mutual Resonance of Forms Diagram, Bright Mirror Dao of Elixir Diagram, Ziyang Alchemy Chamber Precious Mirror Diagram, Ziqing Golden Elixir Fire Phasing Diagram, Golden Elixir Principle Image Pitch-pot Diagram, and others.

Each diagram is accompanied by explanations that briefly outline the principles of internal alchemy.

Its theories integrate Taoist internal alchemy and Confucian I Ching learning, generally taking the orderly and reverse processes of Taiji as the foundation. It states that Taiji is the origin of yin and yang; yin is still, yang moves, and in the orderly process all things are produced. For elixir cultivation, one reverses this Dao: using still yang and moving yin to bring yin and yang into union, invert the Five Elements, and return to Taiji, thereby forming the pearl and engendering the elixir, refining oneself into immortal or Buddha.

It also uses hexagram images to explain the internal alchemy practice of “taking Kan to fill Li” and refining into pure yang. It employs dragon and tiger as symbols of essence and qi within the human body, and lists the various names for lead and mercury (i.e., spirit and qi).

There are also Eighteen Instructions Joining the Alchemical Methods, discussing the procedures and key points of elixir refinement. Gathering and concealing spirit and qi, abiding in one unmoving thought, and ultimately extinguishing thoughts and forgetting form are held as the most crucial elements of alchemy practice.