The Shàng Qīng Huáng Qì Yáng Jīng Sān Dào Shùn Xíng Jīng 上清黄气阳精三道顺行经
Paul PengThe Supreme Clarity Scripture of the Yellow Qi, Yang Essence, and the Three Dao of Smooth Circulation
— Volume Five of The True Declarations (Zhengao)
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). 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, 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
The orbiting path of the Seven Luminaries is noted to be consistent with that of the sun and moon.
Taoist practitioners are instructed to, during the Four Seasons and Eight Festivals, engage in cunsi (visualization meditation) on the deities of the sun, moon, and Seven Luminaries:
Four True Persons (zhenren) — visualized as solar guardians during seasonal rites.
Four Ladies (furen) — embodying the lunar essence and its cyclical rhythms.
Seven Boys (tongzi) — representing the planetary spirits of the Seven Luminaries.
Swallow Yellow Qi and Yang Essence, wear talismans, recite incantations — dispel disasters and attain immortality.
