The Yellow Book of Dongzhen
The Yellow Book of Dongzhen is an early classic of the Tianshi Dao (Celestial Master Dao). It was probably compiled between the late Han Dynasty and the Wei-Jin period.
This book has been mentioned many times in Zhen Gao (True Instructions).
It is said that in the first year of Han'an (142 AD), the Supreme Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun) descended and bestowed this book to Zhang Ling, the Celestial Master. Later, Zhang Ling passed it on to his disciples such as Zhao Sheng and Wang Chang.
The original book had eight volumes, but only one volume of the surviving version exists today. It is included in the "Zhengyi Section" of the Taoist Canon.
This book mainly discusses the "Yellow-Red Dao (Huangchi Dao) and the method of blending Qi", which refers to the Taoist art of sexual cultivation for health preservation.
The book states that this Dao is also known as the "Eight Birth Methods of Yin-Yang Magnitude". It matches the Nine Palaces, Eight Trigrams, Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches with specific days and months to select auspicious days for men and women to blend Qi and identify taboo days.
It also prescribes that actions such as visualizing deities, focusing on Qi, massage, and Daoyin (guiding Qi through movement) should be coordinated with the Qi-blending between men and women.
It is claimed that practicing this Dao can dispel disasters, protect life, transcend the mortal world, and achieve longevity.
However, Zhen Luan, a Buddhist monk of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, criticized this book in his Treatise on Ridiculing Daoism (Xiaodao Lun), stating that it "teaches exchanging wives, taking lust as the primary pursuit" and is "vulgar and messy, unfit to be spoken of".
Volume Two of Zhen Gao also refers to the Yellow-Red Dao as "the inferior Dao of turbid generation, which corrupts the upright Qi of the true firmament".
✨ Recommended Taoist Talismans
Discover powerful talismans for your spiritual journey
