Essential Teachings of the True Origin 真元妙道要略

Originally attributed to Zheng Siyuan (Zheng Yin of the Jin Dynasty), the text repeatedly cites the words of Li Xun and Wu Yun of the Tang Dynasty as well as Yan Luozi of the Five Dynasties, and thus it must be a work falsely attributed by Taoist priests of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty.

Comprising one scroll, it is included in the Various Arts category of the Dongshen Section of The Daozang.

This book is divided into three treatises, focusing on the exposition of Internal Alchemy with incidental discussion of External Alchemy. The first treatise, The Mirror of Rejecting the False and Verifying the True, expounds on the importance of distinguishing true lead and true mercury, holding that "To discern the authenticity of lead and mercury is to fathom all transformations." Practitioners who misidentify lead and mercury shall achieve nothing despite prolonged cultivation. The text lists more than thirty examples of external alchemists who, having misrecognized lead and mercury, refined such substances as sulfur, saltpeter, mercury and black lead, thus bringing harm to their bodies and ruin to their families.

The second, The Treatise of Verifying the True, elaborates that nurturing the primordial essence and primordial Qi is the essential way to attain longevity and become a true immortal. It states that "The triune primordial essence is the root of heaven and earth, the ancestor of the Reverted Elixir, the mother of all things, the quintessence of the seven treasures, and the substance of the Great Dao." "Humans are formed from primordial Qi in the first place; when replenished by the essential Qi of the spiritual origin once more, they may attain longevity."

The third, The Treatise of Refining the Form, argues that the key to refining the physical form lies in abiding by the One, holding that "The One manifests outward as virtuous conduct and dwells inward as mind and nature; it is the supreme harmony of the True One." If a Taoist practitioner can preserve essence and circulate Qi, refine the form and transform the substance, anchor the mind in the Crimson Palace, still the spirit and calm the heart, random thoughts shall not arise and evil shall not be generated. "The spirit will guard the form, and the form shall attain eternal life."