Under an allusive poetical language and thick layers of images and symbols, the Cantong qi (Seal of the Unity of the Three) hides the exposition of the teaching that gave origin to Taoist Internal Alchemy (Neidan).
Materials listed on this page are selected from:
Fabrizio Pregadio
Golden Elixir Press
Fabrizio Pregadio, The Seal of the Unity of the Three. Vol. 2 — Bibliographic Studies on the Cantong qi: Commentaries, Essays, and Related Works
Golden Elixir Press
Translations
Qian ☰ and Kun ☷ are the door and the gate of change, the father and the mother of all hexagrams. Kan ☵ and Li ☲ are the inner and the outer walls, they spin the hub and align the axle.
Read this translation →Innerly nourish yourself, serene and quiescent in Empty Non-Being. Going back to the fundament conceal your light, and innerly illuminate your body.
Read this translation →Know the white, keep to the black, and the Numinous Light will come of its own. White is the essence of Metal, Black the foundation of Water.
Read this translation →The Lovely Maid of the River is numinous and supremely divine: when she finds Fire she flies away, leaving behind not a speck of dust.
Read this translation →Articles
The Zhouyi cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three in Accordance with the Book of Changes) is the main Chinese alchemical scripture. According to the traditional account, the legendary Han immortal Wei Boyang wrote it after reading the Longhu jing (Book of the Dragon and Tiger).
Read this article →The alchemical discourse of the Cantong qi revolves around Lead and Mercury. Its basic principles are simple and straightforward, and proceed directly from its views on the relation between the Dao and the “ten thousand things” (wanwu).
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Read this PDF →Wei Boyang was a native of Wu (present-day Jiangsu, and parts of Anhui and Zhejiang). He was the son of a high-ranking family, but by nature was devoted to the arts of the Dao. Later he retired on a mountain with three disciples in order to compound the Elixir.
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