Commentary on the Song of the Reverted Elixir of the Perfected Yin阴真君还丹歌注
- Also known as
- Song of the Reverted Elixir of the Perfected Yin, Yin Changsheng's Song of the Reverted Elixir
- Author / transmission
- Yin Changsheng
- Period
- Tang–Song · The song is attributed to Yin Changsheng of the Han, and the commentary is attributed to “Chen Tuan” (according to one account, a false attribution), taking shape roughly between the late Tang and the Northern Song.
- Canon division
- Dongzhen Section, Jade Instructions Category
- Collected in
- Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era, Dongzhen Section, Jade Instructions category
- Category
- Alchemical Texts
- Fascicles
- One Fascicle (Juan)
Synopsis
Commentary on the Song of the Reverted Elixir of the Perfected Yin consists of an alchemical song attributed to the Han-dynasty immortal Yin Changsheng, together with a commentary attributed to Chen Tuan, a text from the period of transition from external to internal alchemy. The song, in heptasyllabic verse, describes the method of the reverted elixir, touching on lead and mercury, dragon and tiger, and Fire Phasing, and can be read as an account of the external-alchemical furnace and fire; the commentary, however, explicitly interprets it through the essence and qi of the human body and the intercourse of Kan and Li, taking “the body as the furnace and tripod, and the heart and kidneys as the medicines” — representative of the reinterpretation of older alchemical scriptures during the rise of internal alchemy in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. Though brief, this text holds a distinctive place, and scholars such as Pregadio regard it as a typical source for observing the “transition from external to internal alchemy.”
Key Ideas
- An internal-alchemical reading of an external-alchemical song
- The body as furnace and tripod, the heart and kidneys as medicines
- The transformation of alchemical thought at the Tang–Song transition
Structure
One heptasyllabic song, with an appended commentary.
Editions
- Edition in the Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era
Commentaries
- Commentary attributed to Chen Tuan
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Liquefied Gold of Great Clarity, Zhouyi cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three), Anthology of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lü DongbinRelated figures
Yin Changsheng, Chen Tuan- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
- Fabrizio Pregadio & Lowell Skar, 'Inner Alchemy (Neidan)', in Daoism Handbook, 2000