Yin Zhenjun Huandan Ge Zhu — The Song of Reverting Cinnabar, with the Commentary of the Perfected Lord Yin

This is a short verse treatise of inner alchemy (neidan) from the Daoist Canon, paired verse by verse with a prose commentary spoken in the voice of "the Perfected Lord Yin" (陰真君). Bibliographies of the Daoist Canon associate the underlying song with the tenth-century recluse and immortal Chen Tuan (陳摶, d. 989) and place the text in the Song dynasty; one modern survey of Daoist texts in Western translation catalogues it as DZ 134, though that number is given here only as a hedge, not a certainty. The commentary's own attribution to "the Perfected Lord Yin" cannot be independently confirmed from the text itself.

The poem proceeds in short rhymed lines — mostly seven characters, some four — each followed by a prose gloss that unpacks its alchemical imagery: the River Chariot, the Vermilion Bird, the Dragon and Tiger, the Golden Flower. It is dense, allusive body-alchemy: the poem speaks of directions, seasons, and the five phases as coded names for the body's own fires, waters, and vital fluids, and the commentary reads each line as instruction for a practice never spelled out in full — the tradition guards its "oral transmission" openly, more than once telling the reader that the essential method is "not transmitted" on the page. This translation renders 丹田 as "Elixir Field," following this library's Daoist glossary, and keeps 河車 ("River Chariot"), 泥丸 ("Niwan," the Muddy Pellet Palace of the head), and the double-hours zi and wu as the tradition's own terms, glossed once at first use.

The source text, transcribed from the Daoist Canon, is corrupt or ambiguous in a few short places — noted honestly in the colophon below rather than smoothed over. Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese, which is printed in full below the translation. A modern bibliography of Daoist texts in Western translation records that this text, together with other writings of the Chen Tuan corpus, was rendered into English by Livia Kohn; this Good Works Translation was made independently from the Chinese and did not consult that earlier work.

Translation

The true qi of the North is the River Chariot,

The Black Emperor of the North is the most honored one; he is the yin of a person's lower origin. The "true qi" belongs to water — it is a person's blood. The River Chariot is the flow of northern qi returning to the south: fire refines water into fine dust, and this becomes the River Chariot, the essence of the lower origin. The North is black and belongs to water; in a person it is the kidneys. The kidneys are the root of human life; they divide into the essence of sun and moon and the qi of empty nothingness, and when the kidneys flourish they are transformed into the child.

The East, jia and yi, is named Gold Sand,

The East is the Azure Emperor, who governs the liver — this is what is meant by "jia and yi." Through the water of the North and the fire of the South, fire is born from wood, and wood is nourished by water, growing thick and lush and green — hence it is called jia-yi. It belongs to wood and governs a person's Elixir Field. As for "giving birth to Gold Sand": in the world today there are waters as numberless as the sands of the Ganges, and just as gold sand forms of itself in the waters of the Han and Jialing rivers, craftsmen pan and smelt it into yellow gold. There is also this method: what is sought within the human body dwells in the Upper Elixir Field, where there is a chamber called the Jade Spring Grotto. Within the grotto is the Jade Spring water, called the Source of Clear Purity. Sought with devoted effort, it is named the Sacred Water of Great Merit. Without knowing its bounds, one draws it down into the Lower Elixir Field, and in time it naturally congeals into sand.

The two dispositions, nourished together, return to a single body,

The "two" are yin and yang: Heaven is yang, Earth is yin; the left is yang, the right is yin. Yin and yang are husband and wife. In the body, the Elixir Field above is yang and the field below is yin; nourished together through the four seasons and set in motion through the five phases, Heaven and Earth intermingle and the hundred things arise of themselves. When the sun embraces the moon, brightness arises naturally; when the moon embraces the sun, the stars are born naturally. When husband complies and wife is harmonious, sons and daughters are born. So too, by this method, one seeks the Sacred Water of Great Merit in the Upper Elixir Field, refines it, and carries it down to circulate and be held within the Jade Chamber of the lower origin.

The Vermilion Bird, tempered and nourished, gives birth to the Golden Flower.

The Vermilion Bird is fire. On Earth it is the fire of bing and ding in the South; in Heaven it is the planet Mars. On Earth it is fire; in a person it is the heart. This fire's arising and passing away is governed by the person: at its greatest it encompasses Heaven and Earth, at its finest it enters the tip of a hair. Controlled, it stops; released, it runs wild. The scriptures call it the "bright fire." As for tempering and circulating this fire: when clay is fired it becomes tile and roof-brick, and does not decay for ten thousand years; when wood is burned into charcoal and kept in the earth, after ten thousand years the charcoal still remains. A person tempers and subdues the fire in the same way — seeking the water of the Jade Spring in the Upper Elixir Field, refining it with the fire of the heart, and carrying it into the Lower Elixir Field, locking it at the Pass of the Jade Prison. At the Pass of the Jade Prison there is a separate method of the yin elixir, by which a separate hun-soul is naturally engendered; with sun and moon accumulating in depth, its color naturally glows and it congeals, and this is called the Golden Pool. The Great Elixir Instructions say: "The father is gold, the mother is wood — these are the true lead and mercury." Lead contains the five colors and belongs to the water of the North; within water there is gold, and gold forms a dike and embankment — hence it is called the Golden Flower.

The Golden Flower brings forth the treasure of Heaven and Earth,

The Golden Flower is like the gold sand within the waters of the Han River, born naturally within it. One seeks the elixir within the water, dwelling in the chamber of essence in a person's lower parts. In time the essence within the water becomes golden dust and of itself becomes a pearl — this is called "fire emerging from within water." There is another method: retain the essence of the lower parts, circulate it by the fire of the heart up to the upper origin, and it naturally congeals into a pearl dwelling in the Niwan Palace — this is called "water emerging from within fire." Hence the Yellow Court Scripture says: "The water of the Jade-Clear Pool waters the numinous root; if one can truly cultivate this, one may endure long."

When a person grasps these words, this is the true and correct Way.

Grasping this is not for just any person; those who do not trust the Way call the Way "empty nothingness." Hence the scripture says: "The great Way is not the constant way." The Way is like empty space, having nothing to depend on. The instructions say: "As a fish in water does not see the water, so a person within the Way does not see the Way; the dragon does not see the mountain rock, the ghost does not see the earth." Are these words idle talk? Never! The true and correct Way is a person's essence and flower: most of it is lost, spilled out upon women, thereby begetting sons and daughters, whose faces, forms, and spirits truly resemble their parents, root and nature alike. If it is bound and retained within one's own body, and one further seeks the water of the upper origin and joins it with the lower field to form the elixir, this is called the treasure. Hence the Classic of the Hidden Accordance says: "Yin and yang thrust against each other, and harmony arises of itself." When a person grasps these words, the true and correct Way is complete.

Zi is called the tiger, mao is the dragon; dragon and tiger, mutually engendering, of themselves unite.

These two lines concern two of the twelve branches. The tiger of zi belongs to yin; yin belongs to woman, and woman's nature is that of water — hence it is called ren-gui of the North, this being the position of water. The Yellow Emperor's Instructions say: "Call it black lead; it can subdue mercury and turn it to cinnabar sand." If a person attains the true Way and enters the yang Elixir Field, this is put to use after the hour of zi and before the hour of wu. The dragon belongs to wood — the wood of the East — and the instructions call it mercury. Mercury belongs to fire, and is also called quicksilver. One saying holds: "If quicksilver is subdued and fixed by a medicine, it becomes a treasure of the world." Within a person's body this is the essence and flower. The instructions say: "By yin one refines yang, and its truth may be prolonged." This method must lie within the single branch that belongs to yin. The Treatise on the Elixir says: "What yang stirs cannot be subdued; what yin kills cannot be subdued." But if one nourishes it so as to subdue it, yin dies and yang is born — the birth being like quicksilver fixed by fire to become a treasure of the world. As for yang, when mercury is subdued by yin and does not stir, it is fixed as the treasure of the body. Hence the scripture says: "Nourish and tend the numinous branch and it will never wither again; seal shut the Gate of Life and preserve the Jade Capital." Sought and congealed upon the tongue, this is practiced after zi and before wu, seeking the water within the Upper Jade Spring, also called yang mercury. When it comes to hold the yin, what is sought is lead-water, called the Twin Dragon and Tiger. Hence the Tianfeng Upper Scripture says: "Beneath the primal blue, moon and sun — the two things harmonize and unite as one; emerging from that Jade Pool, entering the Golden Chamber — each person has this; take care not to lose it. If you attain it, the ten thousand affairs are done." How could this lie outside oneself!

The dragon dwells in the position of Zhen, corresponding to eight; the tiger's number originally arises in the first palace.

This is practiced from the new moon to the full moon: seeking by the upper method and walking the Way increases the hun-soul; from the full moon to the dark of the moon, the practice of swallowing increases the po-soul. A boy's teeth appear at eight years; sixteen is the middle stage. Below the age of ten, if one attains the method and cultivates the real, this is best; the rest attain only corpse-liberation.

There is a day for gathering, there is a season for taking,

In practicing the upper method, one takes care to avoid the dark moon, the full moon, and the new moon. In initiating the lower method, one waits for the moon in the sky to be full, when a person's spirit pervades the whole body; seeking by sun and moon, if one follows the proper order there is a season for it — after zi, before wu, at mao. Seeking the yin qi, one returns it to the Niwan Palace above. Hence the scripture says: "Irrigate and nourish the numinous branch and it will never wither again." Though essence is not emitted, still it returns to beauty; day by day it forms a pearl, ever a great emptiness — an emptiness with nothing to look upon, nothing to be done, yet within the emptiness there is a thing. The origin of this emptiness is the yin qi turning upward to return to the Niwan Palace; then one draws the water within the Jade Pool and pours it into the Golden Chamber of the Lower Elixir Field. As for where its source comes from, a person does not know from where it comes nor to where it goes, nor in what direction it is arranged — each has its own spirit-transformation, and in time it naturally changes into a treasure-pearl. This is why people do not die. Hence the scripture says: "The great Way is without form."

The people of the world make use of this, yet do not know how to gather it in; if the timing goes astray, all manner of labor and effort are spent in vain.

One may encounter a prohibition of Heaven and Earth and not know where to place the practice, or one may find that the yin gate does not open; acting on one's own notion brings harm, and causes a person to age swiftly. Hence it is said: "When one attains the One, it is behind Kunlun; though one's tongue should be cut out for it, do not slight the Way. To speak of it recklessly to the people of the world is to determine that blood will flow and the body die before its time." This method, given to an ordinary person, must not be received. Its text is transmitted at the Palace of the Great One. The scripture says: "The Great One has its Lord, said by all to dwell within the scene of the heart — inconceivable, who can see it? It cannot be measured." It dwells in a person's head, which is Kunlun; above are the halls where the spirit-lights dwell, each having its own chamber. From the nape of the neck up to the crown there are of themselves nine palaces, each spirit having its own name, contained within the Numinous Register above the Great One — there is a separate essential text for this. Down to the chamber of the navel there are a further Three Officials; these, following the twelve palaces above, each have their own towers and terraces. Hence the Scripture of Internal Vision says: "Within there are twelve tiers of layered towers" — this is what is meant. The Elixir Field, too, has twelve towers, corresponding to the twelve double-hours, by which the method of circulation is put to use.

The utmost spirit and utmost sagehood are exceedingly easy to attain,

The wise seek these two medicines within the body; though its bounds are not known, the body's own spirit-light knows it. But most people, taken up only with the floating flower of surface show, understand none of these transformations — hence it is said that knowledge of the way of long life is as remote as ten thousand mountains apart. Thus it is known that among ordinary people this cannot be known. As for seeking it among the palaces: one seeks it among the twelve palaces upon the body, and only then does one know that the cauldron and vessel of the great Way is spirit and sagehood.

First seek the cauldron and vessel within the palace,

This method is not transmitted; the celestial writing must not be disclosed. Hence the Scripture of the Way says: "A hall filled with gold and jade — none can keep it forever; wealth and rank bring arrogance, and one bequeaths calamity to oneself." This is because, once born into the world, within Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, people all draw near to arrogance, extravagance, wealth, and rank, and do not seek the great Way.

Warm and nourish, tend the fire's timing, and discern yin and yang,

"Warm and nourish" means bringing a person to be without joy or anger. "The fire's timing" means applying the heart-fire month by month through the four seasons, adding the practice of swallowing in its due measure — this method is transmitted by word of mouth. "Nourishing yin and yang" means distinguishing true yin from true yang, which reside in a person's two lives; seeking to join them becomes the ranking of destiny. It is said in wonder: "The two things are a single body."

Setting the furnace-chamber in order, one must choose the place.

"Setting in order" means seeking the true qi-water above and settling it in the lower origin, and seeking the yin qi-water below and circulating it to the upper origin — setting each in its own furnace-chamber is the achievement of spirit-transformation. If the setting fails to find its place, calamity comes upon the body. As for the furnace-chamber, its wondrous method lies with the female, and belongs separately to the instructions of the yin elixir, the upper method of the elixir. The furnace-chamber takes the body and mouth as its furnace, and takes the palace-chamber as its dwelling. What is broken and unfit for use is a thing already worn out by use — unfit, no longer suited. In the chamber, of the five grades, the very stout are unfit for use, and the very thin are unfit for use; the middle of the three-and-five grades, from fifteen years and above to under twenty, is the middle way. A person's qi from twenty years and above is entirely unfit for use. If it is to be used at all, one must borrow its qi and join it with mercury before it can be fixed; without governing it, it is stolen away by ghosts and spirits. Choosing the place, above, means knowing the season of the palace-chamber.

If one has not found the place, do not act rashly,

Whoever wishes to refine this yin, if not relying on a person of the age described above and the vessel of the cauldron, cannot form the treasure. If one has not yet reached that age but borrows the qi and makes use of it, one obtains only a temporary dwelling, with the merit of halting the breath and dispelling demons, but without gaining the higher power of salvation. If one keeps within the proper measure and does not lose the due count in practicing it, the treasure may be formed while young. But if one merely acts as one pleases, in ten thousand attempts not one will succeed.

One must above all keep this hidden and secret, and guard and hold it with care,

Whoever wishes to practice the Way in stillness and seclusion should, dwelling at ease, perform the guiding exercises: clicking the teeth to gather the spirit, clasping the hands firmly and sitting upright, practicing it in secret. "Guarding and holding" means being sparing in food and speech, and free of joy and anger.

Guard and preserve it; do not let slip the pivot-secret of Heaven and Earth.

"Guarding and preserving" means devoting the whole body's practice to its use. If one practices for ten years, wholeheartedly from beginning to end, and practices for long, one becomes careless and complacent; to have a beginning without an end is certainly to waste one's effort in vain — in ten thousand attempts, it will not succeed!

This medicine's transformation is inconceivable.

The merit of taking this medicine, if the proper timing is not lost over nine years, and the practice of swallowing is increased to its full measure, with three thousand acts of merit fulfilled and eight hundred good deeds performed, then the medicine is easily formed. Heaven cannot kill it, Earth cannot bury it — its merit is inconceivable. Note: though Heaven and Earth undergo transformation, this body remains firm and solid. Its merit is of three kinds: the highest attain to being a celestial immortal; the middle and lower attain only corpse-liberation.

Yang true sand,

By the method of the yin essence of the lower origin, it congeals into sand; what is sought in the yin time of the upper origin sinks and becomes sand, and belongs to yang qi.

Yin true mercury,

The qi of the upper origin congeals into a treasure; the qi of the lower origin enters Kunlun, the Niwan Palace, and forms into a pearl — one that can illumine the three-thousandfold great chiliocosm!

Let people of this age who seek it not act rashly.

People of this world mostly take the five metals and eight minerals, or burn all manner of herbs and woods, seeking thereby the great reverted elixir — is this not folly?

That which, having no substance, gives birth to substance — this is the reverted elixir,

To pass from non-being into being, and from being into non-being — taking the substanceless qi and congealing it through the intercourse of yin and yang, this is it. The great elixir has no external medicine; the true qi of the five phases is itself the medicine!

Common mercury and common sand — do not trouble to work with these.

People of the world take cinnabar-silver for mercury, and cinnabar, copper, and iron for sand — if one seeks the Way by means of these, it will not succeed.

Meet with these instructions, grasp these words — whoever meets with this song, refining it and partaking of it, becomes a true immortal.

Whoever meets with this song should refrain from all reckless action, and instead silence the mind and cultivate in refinement, hold to stillness of intent, never retreat from the initial resolve, and diligently advance the earlier aspiration — only then, by refining it and partaking of it, does one become a true immortal.

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Meditation and Inner Alchemy shelf of the Good Works Library. The English was translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. The source alternates short verse lines with a prose commentary; the verse lines are set in bold above their commentary to keep the alternation visible, matching the source's own layout.

Before the claim below was written, a bounded translation-status check was performed: both local reference bibliographies of Daoist texts in Western translation were searched by Chinese title, pinyin, and the DZ number found for this text. Komjathy's bibliography did not list this title directly. The Purple Cloud 2023 survey lists "Yin Zhenjun Huandan Gezhu 陰真君還丹歌注: Commentary to the Songs on Reverting Cinnabar by the Realized One Yin (DZ 134)," describing it as a poem attributed to Chen Tuan and citing Livia Kohn, Chen Tuan: Discussions and Translations (Three Pines Press, 2001) as containing a translation. One further web search for the title and Kohn's name did not turn up independent confirmation of the contents of that book, so the citation is reported here as found in the bibliography rather than independently verified. Because a named prior translation is recorded, this Good Works Translation makes no claim of firstness; it was made independently from the Chinese and did not consult Kohn's work.

A few short passages in the source are corrupt or ambiguous and are rendered as best understood rather than smoothed over: 泥九官 (in two places) is treated as a variant or transcription slip for 泥丸宮, "the Niwan Palace," and translated accordingly; 喊 recurs several times where context strongly suggests the alchemical practice of swallowing saliva (usually written 咽), and is translated "swallowing" on that reading; the passage on choosing a partner's age and the furnace-chamber (溫養火候審陰陽 through 不得地，莫妄為) is especially compressed and its details are given as literally as English allows without invented clarification. 丹田 is rendered "Elixir Field" throughout, following this library's Daoist glossary; 河車, 泥丸, 崑崙, and the double-hours zi/卯/午 are kept as the tradition's own terms.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

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Source Text: 陰真君還丹歌註

Classical Chinese text of the Daoist Canon, in the Chinese Wikisource transcription. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above. 〔 〕 marks the small-type commentary as formatted in the transcription.

陰真君還丹歌註

北方正氣為河車，
〔北方黑帝，極尊也，人之下元陰也。正氣者屬水，人之血也。河車者，北方氣流歸南方，以火煉水成塵，得變為河車下元精也。北方黑屬水，人之腎也。腎為人生根本，分作日月 · 之精，虛無之氣，腎王即化為赤子也。〕
東方甲乙名金砂，
〔東方為青帝，主肝，甲乙者。以北方水，南方火，火生於木，以水養之，鬱鬱生於青翠，故日甲乙也。屬木，主人丹田也。生金砂者，今天下水有恆河沙數，只如漢江之水，嘉陵之江中，自生金砂，工人淘取煉成黃金也。故又法：以探於人身者，居上丹田，有屋宅，號為玉泉洞，洞中有玉泉水，名為清淨源，探之功志，名號大功德神水。不知涯岸，納至下丹田，日久自結為砂。〕
兩情含養歸一體，
〔兩者，陰陽也；天為陽，地為陰；左為陽，右為陰。陰陽者，夫妻也。在身上，丹田為陽，下屬陰，含養四時，運動五行，天地交感，百物自生。日含月，自然光明，月含日，自然生星宿。夫順妻和，遂生男女。今以法探上丹田大功德神水，修煉納至下元玉室含運。〕
朱雀調養生金華。
〔朱雀者，火也，在地者南方丙丁火，在天者熒惑星也。在地為火，在人為心，其火生滅由人，大包天地，細入毫釐，制之則止，放之則狂，經中呼為明火。火調運者，修煉為泥，以火燒作甍瓦，千萬年不朽；木以燒作炭，在土中，以得千萬年，其炭還在。人以調伏，探上丹田玉泉中水，以心火修煉之，入下丹田，鎳之玉牢之關。玉牢之關，別有陰丹之法，自然別生其魂，日月久深，自然色煥以結成，號日金池也。《大丹訣》云：金父木母真鉛汞也。鉛含五彩，屬北方水，水中有金，金作隄防，故號金華。〕
金華生出天地寶，
〔金華者，似漢江之水中金砂，自然生其中也。探丹於水中，居人下部精室之中。日久水中精成金塵，自然為珠，以號水中火出。又一法：留下部之精，以心火運轉居上元，自然結為珠，居泥丸官，以號火中出水。故《黃庭經》云：玉清池水灌靈根，審能修之可長存也。〕
人會此言真正道。
〔會者非几人，人不信道，道號虛無。故經日：大道非常道。道如虛空，無所依。訣云：如魚在水，不見其水，人處道中，不見其道。龍不見其山石，鬼不見其土。此言者，豈妄說也！真正道者，人之精華也，多失泄於婦女，即生男女，更面貌形神，真似父母，根性若也。結留住在己身，又探上元之水，用合下田為丹，名日珍寶。故《陰符經》云：陰場相推，自然調和。人會此言。真正道畢矣！〕
子稱虎，卯為龍，龍虎相生自合同。
〔此二語，兩支事。子虎者，屬陰，陰者，屬女，女之水性，故號北方壬癸，此是水之位。《黃帝訣》云：呼之為黑鉛，能伏汞為砂，若人得真道，入陽丹田，以用之子後午前是也。龍屬木，木者東方木，訣云汞也。汞者屬火，又呼為水銀是也。一云：綠水銀若有藥制伏得伏火，即成世寶。若人身中，即精華是也。訣云：以陰煉陽，其真可長。其法須在一支屬陰也。丹論云：陽動不能伏，陰殺不可伏也。若養之令伏，陰死陽生，生者如水銀伏火，以成世寶。陽，汞伏於陰，不動定為身寶。故《經》云：就養靈柯不復枯，閉塞命門保玉都。舌上探結，行之子後午前，探上玉泉中水，亦日陽汞。將含陰時，探者鉛水，號日雙龍虎。故《天豐上經》云：始青之下月與日，兩物相和合成一。出彼玉池入金室，人各有之慎勿失，子若得之萬事畢。豈在於外乎！〕
龍居震位，當其八，虎數元生在一宮。
〔此是朔至望行之，探上法行道，增魂；從望至晦喊之，益魄也。男八歲齒生，十六為之中，十歲已下，得法修真為上，餘並得尸解者也。〕
採有日，取有時，
〔上法行之，取避晦望朔。起下法者，候天上月圓，人神遍體，探之日月，順則有時，子後午前卯是也。探陰氣歸上泥九官，故經云：溉養靈柯不復枯也。雖不施精，亦還美，日日於珠，常為大空，空無可望可為，空中有物，元其空是陰氣轉上歸泥九官，卻取玉池中水，灌入下丹田金室之中，其元頭來，人亦不知從何處來，去歸何處，方位安排那里，各有神化，日久自然變為寶珠。所以人皆不死是也。故經云大道無形也。〕
世人用之，而不知收取，氣候若差錯，萬般工力徒勞施。
〔或遇天地禁忌，安排不知去處，或值，陰戶不開，取意行為害，令人速衰老也。故云：得一之時崑崙後，雖當截舌不忽道。妄言傳於世人，叉定流血身先夭。法文若常人則不可受也。其文傳在太一官，經云：太一有君，皆云在心景中，不思議，誰能得見，不可度量也。居人頭，為崑崙，上官室，神明居，泊各有室宅。自項上至頭，自占九官，其神各有名字，在太一上索靈中，別有要文。至下臍室，別有三官，此依前十二官，各有樓臺。故《內景經》云：內有重樓十二級此是也。又丹田有十二樓，應十二時，用轉法也。〕
至神至聖極容易，
〔智者其探二件藥在身，雖不知涯岸，身有神明知也。但人只以浮花，皆不知變化，故云知長生道，敵隔萬山。是知几間世人，不可知也。求官中者，向身上十二官求覓，方知大道之鼎器者，神聖也。〕
先向宮中求鼎器，
〔其法不傳，不可露天文，故《道經》云：金玉滿堂，莫之能守，富貴而驕，自遺其咎。是為人生下，綠天地人，須皆近驕奢富貴，不尋於大道也。〕
溫養火候審陰陽，
〔溫養者，令人無喜怒也；火候者，以心火四季之月，加喊行之兩數，其法在口傳。養陰陽者，別識真陰真陽，居人二命，探合為命級從。訝云：二物同一體。〕
安排鑪室須擇地。
〔安排者，探上真氣水，安於下元；探下陰氣水，運於上元，安排各著鑪室，自神化之功。若安排不著去處，於身有禍。鑪室者，妙法在女，別在陰丹一訣丹上法。鑪室者，以身口為鑪也，電者，以官室為寵是也。破不堪使用者，是人用過者弊物，不堪使用，是已不中也。房中至甚五級者，大肥不堪用，大瘦不堪用。道三合五級者，是十五已上，二十已下，是中道。人氣二十已上，並是不堪使用。可用須借其氣合汞者方住，以無制之，被鬼神偷他也。上擇地者，是知官室時候。〕
不得地，莫妄為，
〔几欲煉其陰者，若不依前說年紀人，及鼎器之物，不可成寶。不及年借氣用之，即得暫住，有卻息除魔之功，又不得上救助之力也。若在法度，須不失度數行之，少年成寶也。若只欲取意行之，萬無一成也。〕
切須隱密審護持，
〔几欲行道靜隱，閑居｀導引，叩齒集神，握固平坐，密而行之。護持者，喊食少語，莫喜怒。〕
保守莫泄天地機。
〔保守者，盡一身之行用，若行年十歲，頭尾至心，行用久，即慢易，有頭無尾，定虛費工夫也。千萬不成矣！〕
此藥變化不思議。
〔其服藥之功，九年不失候，增喊十六兩數足，功滿三千，行有八百，藥方成，易矣！．天不能殺，地不能埋，其功不可思議。註天地有變化，其身堅固，其功有三：上者得上仙，中下者只得尸解也。〕
陽真砂，
〔下元陰精法，結為砂，上元陰時探者，沉以為砂，屬陽氣。〕
陰真汞，
〔上元氣結成寶，下元氣入崑崙泥丸，註為珠，可照三千大千世界矣！〕
時人求之莫妄動。
〔世人多取五金八石，諸般草木燒之，要覓大還丹，豈不妄也？〕
無質生質是還丹，
〔從無入有，從有入無，將無質氣，結為陰氣交感是也。大丹無藥，五行真氣是矣！〕
凡汞凡砂不勞弄。
〔世人取砂銀為汞，取朱銅鐵為砂是也，若將此求道，不成也。〕
逢此訣，會此言若逢此歌，煉之餌之，成真仙。
〔若逢此歌，免妄為諸事，遂默心修煉，靜意保持，不退初心，勤進前志，方乃煉之餌之成真仙耳。〕

陰真君還丹歌註 竟

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Daoist Canon edition of this text (article 陰真君還丹歌註, revision of 18 September 2017), inspected from a witness copy captured on 8 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header and license templates have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.

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