The Shàng Qīng Huáng Qì Yáng Jīng Sān Dào Shùn Xíng Jīng 上清黄气阳精三道顺行经

Also known as Concealing the Heaven and Hiding the Moon (Cang Tian Yin Yue), this text is one of the early classic scriptures of the Shangqing School (Supreme Clarity School), likely composed during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties (317–589 CE).

In Volume Five of The True Declarations (Zhengao), it is stated: “The Dao encompasses the Yellow Qi, Yang Essence, as well as the concealment of Heaven and Moon”; The Catalogue of the Supreme Clarity Great Cavern True Scripture (Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing Mu) records: “One scroll of the Supreme Clarity Scripture of the Yellow Qi, Yang Essence, and the Single Dao of Smooth Circulation”—both references denote this very scripture.

The present version in the Daozang (Taoist Canon) consists of one scroll and is included in the “Original Texts Category” (Benwen Lei) of the Dongzhen Bu (True Grotto Section). In addition, Taoist texts such as The Essential Secrets of the Supreme (Wushang Miyao) and The Pearls of the Three Grottoes (Sandong Zhunang) frequently quote passages from this scripture.

Falsely attributed to be “orally transmitted by the Highest Jade Emperor (Gaoshang Yudi) to the Southern Pole Supreme Yuan Lord (Nanji Shangyuan Jun),” the text was later passed down by the Western City Lord (Xicheng Jun) to Lady Wei of the Southern Dynasties (Nan Dynasty Wei Furen). Its content mainly expounds on the practice of “the essentials of the Three Dao of Smooth Circulation and the Dao of the Yellow Qi and Yang Essence.”

The so-called “Yellow Qi and Yang Essence” refers to the vital energies of the sun and moon; the “Three Dao of Smooth Circulation” denotes the orbiting paths of the sun, moon, and the Seven Luminaries (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn). The scripture details the smooth circulation of the sun and moon, which is divided according to the Four Seasons and Eight Festivals (Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, Winter Solstice), and notes that the orbiting path of the Seven Luminaries is consistent with that of the sun and moon.

Taoist practitioners are instructed to, during the Four Seasons and Eight Festivals respectively, engage in cunsi (visualization meditation) on the deities of the sun, moon, and Seven Luminaries—specifically, four True Persons (zhenren) as the sun deities, four Ladies (furen) as the moon deities, and seven Boys (tongzi) as the deities of the Seven Luminaries. They are also to swallow the Yellow Qi and Yang Essence, wear talismans, and recite incantations. Long-term practice of this Dao is said to dispel disasters and enable one to attain immortality.