Song of Verifying the Dao Daoist Classic 证道歌

Composed by Zuo Zhangzi, a Taoist priest of the Song Dynasty.

Both Song Dynasty Catalog of Missing Books from the Four Treasuries and History of the Song Dynasty·Treatise on Arts and Literature record this work as one scroll. Meanwhile, Secret Catalog and General Records·Bibliographic Outline (Tongzhi·Yiwen Lue) list it as "One Scroll of Zuo Zhangzi’s Verification of the Dao."

Song of Verifying the Dao

Currently included in the Tai Xuan Section within the Taoist Canon (The Daozang), the text contains fifteen seven-character jueju poems. These poems respectively eulogize core elements of Internal Alchemy (Neidan) such as the spiritual elixir, alchemical fire control, golden flower and yellow sprout, black lead and white mercury, and red dragon and golden tiger.

A short preface at the beginning discusses the essentials of Internal Alchemy. Its main argument holds that those seeking immortality must first comprehend the True Unity (Zhenyi)—the True Unity is the Dao, and also the primordial Qi (Vital Energy) within the human body. Qi is the mother of humans and also the mother of all immortals; it is inherently present in the human body, requiring no external pursuit. External substances such as alchemical medicines, wood, and stone are not the true medicines for refining the elixir and achieving immortality.