The Treatise on the Great Elixir 大丹篇
Paul PengThe Treatise on the Great Elixir
The author of this text is unknown. Based on its content and linguistic style, it is presumably compiled by Taoist priests from the Five Dynasties to the early Song Dynasty.
Consisting of one scroll, it is included in the Various Arts category of the Dongshen Section of The Daozang.
The Treatise on the Great Elixir
This book is a compilation of alchemical verses and formulas from the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods, with brief annotations added. The collected verses include The Supreme Scripture of the Dragon and Tiger (i.e., The Song of the Golden Elixir and Reverted Cinnabar by Yuanyangzi), The Golden Splendor Song of Huangniu Mountain, The Song of True Lord Liu, The Great Elixir Song of True Lord of the Nine Heavens, The Great Elixir and Golden Elixir Formula of True Lord Li of Jingnan, The Song of True Lord Peng, The Scripture of the Art (i.e., the middle section of The Art of Reversion to Gold by Tao Zhi), The Song of the Ninefold Golden Elixir and Great Reverted Cinnabar of Master Guiguzi, and The Song of Minister Pei, among others.
Except for the first piece, which is falsely attributed to Yuanyangzi and expounds the techniques of External Alchemy, most of the remaining works discuss Internal Alchemy. Their general theme is to explain the intermingling of Kan and Li, the Dragon and Tiger, and the principles of the formation of the Golden Elixir and Reverted Cinnabar by drawing on the theories of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
