Hydromantic Alchemy By Yellow Emperor 轩辕黄帝水经药法

The compiler is unknown.

Judging from its content, it was probably compiled between the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty.

Consisting of one volume, it is included in the Methods category of the Dongshen Section in The Daozang.

Hydromantic Alchemy By Yellow Emperor

The content of this book can be divided into two parts. The first half discusses water-stone alchemy, which is claimed to have been taught to Xu Jiu by an ancient immortal when he traveled to Lianxi Cave on Tiantai Mountain. It records the production methods of twelve types of "stone water", including Shensha Stone Water (Spiritual Sand Stone Water), Xionghuang Stone Water (Realgar Stone Water), Haifu Stone Water (Pumice Stone Water), Shuijing Stone Water (Crystal Stone Water), Yangqi Stone Water (Actinolite Stone Water), Yushi Stone Water (Jade Stone Water), Jinjing Stone Water (Gold Crystal Stone Water), Yinjing Stone Water (Silver Crystal Stone Water), Daqing Stone Water (Large Blue Stone Water), Dalu Stone Water (Large Malachite Stone Water), Baihua Stone Water (Talc Stone Water), Pishuang Stone Water (Arsenic Trioxide Stone Water), Baifan Stone Water (Alum Stone Water), etc. The production method is roughly as follows: grind a certain mineral medicine into powder and levigate it in water, add the required dragon sprout herbs, boil it dry with bitter wine (vinegar), then grind it together with gallstone and nitre, bury it underground for thirty or forty-nine days, and it will transform into stone water. It is claimed that stone water can be used to transmute metals into gold and silver, or to ward off fire, water, knives, and soldiers; ingesting it can prolong life and achieve immortality.

The second half of the book is titled Longya Yiming Bianzheng (Renaming and Differentiating Dragon Sprout Herbs), which records the names of sixty-nine types of dragon sprout herbs. Each of these herbs is used to subdue metallic and mineral medicines such as the Five Metals and Eight Stones. Among them, sixty-three herbs also appear in the book Medicinal Stone Preparations by True Person Chunyang. A poem attached at the end of this book is also found in Medicinal Stone Preparations, indicating that the two books were produced in the same era. For further reference, see the entry for that book.