The Inner Alchemy Classic of Zhong-Lü 钟吕传道集

Originally attributed to "Narrated by Zhong Liquan, Compiled by Lü Yan, and Transmitted by Shi Jianwu".

It was presumably compiled during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period.

The version in the Daoist Canon (The Daozang) consists of three scrolls, included in The Ten Books of Cultivating Truth (Methods Category of the Dongzhen Section).

The Inner Alchemy Classic of Zhong-Lü

This text is a record of dialogues between Zhong Liquan and Lü Dongbin, in which Zhong imparts alchemical methods to Lü. It refutes various "heterodox minor practices" and asserts that only Internal Alchemy cultivation constitutes the true Dao. It separately discusses the essential principles of alchemy, including true immortals, the great Dao, heaven and earth, the four seasons, the Five Elements, water and fire, dragon and tiger, elixirs, lead and mercury, extraction and supplementation, the River Chariot, the Returning Elixir, body refinement, paying homage to the origin, inner observation, demonic obstacles, and verification of attainments.

Its doctrine is largely based on the principles of heaven and earth. It argues that the human body is analogous to heaven and earth; therefore, those cultivating the Dao should imitate the principles of the ascent and descent of Yin and Yang in heaven and earth, the laws of generation and restriction among the Five Elements, and the degree of communion between the sun and the moon. The innate primordial Yang Qi (Vital Energy) concealed in the kidney water is taken as the foundation of the elixir. Through the communion and harmony of true Yin and true Yang, Yang refines Yin, and the three Cinnabar Fields circulate repeatedly—thus, essence merges with Qi, Qi merges with spirit, and spirit merges with the Dao. Only then is the Golden Elixir accomplished, and the Yang Spirit transcends to become an immortal.

Its cultivation procedures are divided into twelve sections: matching Yin and Yang, gathering and dispersing water and fire, uniting the dragon and tiger, smelting the elixir, the flight of golden essence behind the elbows, the Jade Fluid Returning Elixir, body refinement with Jade Fluid, the Golden Fluid Returning Elixir, body refinement with Golden Fluid, cultivating Qi to pay homage to the origin, inner observation and transformation, and transcendence with form separation. This work is the most systematic Internal Alchemy text between the Tang and Song dynasties, and the foundational source of the doctrines and practices of the Zhong-Lü Golden Elixir School.