Restoring the Elixir and Returning to Life还丹复命篇
- Also known as
- Cuixuan Pian (翠玄篇, Emerald Mystery Chapters) (appendix), Xue Zixian Huandan Fuming Pian (Xue Zixian's Restoring the Elixir and Returning to Life)
- Author / transmission
- Xue Daoguang
- Period
- Southern Song · Compiled by Xue Daoguang (1078–1191, or 1077–1191 by another account); the preface was written during the Xuanhe era of Emperor Huizong of Song (around 1120).
- Canon division
- Dongzhen Section, Methods (Fangfa) category (Ten Books on the Cultivation of Perfection edition)
- Collected in
- Zhengtong Daozang, Dongzhen Section, Methods category, in juan 20 of the Xiuzhen shishu.
- Category
- Alchemical Texts
- Fascicles
- One Fascicle (Juan)
Synopsis
The Huandan fuming pian (Restoring the Elixir and Returning to Life) is a collection of internal-alchemy poems by Xue Daoguang, third patriarch of the Southern Lineage, with a preface recounting his own path from Buddhist monk to Daoist, and his study under Shi Tai, through whom he received Zhang Boduan's alchemical methods. The whole work comprises over sixty poems — pentasyllabic and heptasyllabic quatrains, Xijiang yue lyrics, and the like — chanting the essentials of internal alchemy, such as 'a whole world is hidden within a single grain of millet; mountains and rivers are boiled within half a pint pot,' discussing the intercourse of Kan and Li, the mutual governance of lead and mercury, and the addition and withdrawal of the fire phases, in direct continuity with the Wuzhen pian, advocating that one cultivate the work of life first and complete the study of nature afterward; a set of thirty-four Dansui ge (Songs of the Elixir Marrow) is appended at the end. Xue Daoguang also collaborated with Lu Shu and Chen Zhixu on a joint commentary to the Wuzhen pian. Among the writings of the Southern Lineage's five patriarchs, this work is comparatively systematic, and reflects the transmission of the Southern Lineage at the transition between the Northern and Southern Song.
Key Ideas
- Intercourse of Kan and Li; mutual governance of lead and mercury
- Cultivating life first, nature after
- Addition and withdrawal of the fire phases; restoring the elixir and returning to life
- A spiritual journey from Chan Buddhism into Daoism
Structure
One preface, over sixty poems and lyrics, with the Dansui ge appended.
Editions
- Xiuzhen shishu edition
- Daozang jiyao edition
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen pian), Returning to the Source, Anthology of Cuixu (Chen Nan), Ten Books on the Cultivation of PerfectionRelated figures
Xue Daoguang, Shi Tai, Zhang Boduan- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
- 卿希泰主编《中国道教史》第三卷