Scripture of the Alchemical Golden Talisman 太极左仙公说神符经

The author is unknown.

Judging from its content and wording, it was presumably compiled by Taoist priests during the Tang and Song dynasties.

Both the Secret Catalogue of the Southern Song Dynasty and the Comprehensive Records of Literature·Bibliographic Survey catalog this work in one scroll.

The existing version is included in the Taiping Section of The Daozang.

The scripture is falsely attributed to Ge Xuan, the Left Immortal Lord of the Supreme Ultimate, who expounded the method of the Longevity Divine Talisman to the Taoist priest Zheng Siyuan in the Huayang Grotto Heaven. This Divine Talisman refers to the Golden Elixir (External Alchemy), which operates between metal and wood, conforming to the principles of the Five Elements and the nature of water and fire. Refined in a stove and cauldron, it transforms cinnabar into gold and gold into a precious elixir; ingesting it can prolong life and increase blessings.

The scripture briefly describes the methods of erecting stoves and cauldrons, as well as refining with water, yet its wording is quite obscure. Annotations are inserted in the text, with no names of the annotators indicated either.