Hemp-Robed Daoist Heart-Method 麻衣道者正易心法

Traditionally attributed to the Ma Yi Daoist of the Song Dynasty, this work is alternatively credited to Master Xiyi, who is said to have received and annotated it.

Master Xiyi refers to Chen Tuan, a renowned scholar at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, and the Ma Yi Daoist is traditionally regarded as his mentor.

Prefaced by Li Qian, dated the third year of the Chongning reign period, the preface states: "I recently obtained The Correct Heart Method of the Zhouyi of the Xi Huang Clan by the Ma Yi Daoist from an extraordinary person (some say Xu Jian) on Mount Lu." It praises the work’s diction and arguments as "a drop of pure gold, originating from nature itself—unprecedented in the past and unmatched in the future. It roams freely in the spiritual realm of Xi Huang, truly a book of transcendent immortals beyond the mortal world." At the end of the book, there is also a postscript by Dai Shiyu. Disputes over the authenticity of this work emerged as early as the Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi argued that it was a forgery, with Dai Shiyu identified as the forger. The compilers of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) adopted Zhu Xi’s view, classifying the work under the category of divination arts and only listing it in the Catalog of Uncollected Works. The main text of the book consists of forty-two chapters, each containing four four-character lines, with textual explanations and annotations below, referred to as "annotations". Its theories are rather heterogeneous, largely interpreting inner alchemy cultivation methods through the image-number studies of the Taoism -influenced Zhouyi. Thus, Zhu Xi dismissed it as "a trivial craft of alchemy". However, owing to Chen Tuan’s prominent reputation in the history of Taoism and Zhouyi studies, the work—falsely attributed to him and his mentor—still achieved widespread circulation. It is included in the category of religious doctrines and tenets in the Extra-Taoist Canons, with its core theories intertwined with the five elements theory.