Discussing the Zhouyi Cantong Qi (29): The Crimson Maiden by the River, most numinous of spirits, flies upon meeting fire

The crimson maiden by the river, numinous and most divine, flies when meeting fire; no dust is seen—like a ghost hidden or a dragon concealed, none knows where she abides. If you would control her, take the yellow sprout as root.

In Jiang Yibiao's Collected Explanations and Citations, Peng Xiao is quoted as saying: "The crimson maiden by the river is true mercury. When it meets fire it soars aloft, like a ghost hidden or a dragon submerged—none knows where it has gone."

In external alchemy, "the crimson maiden by the river" is a metaphor for mercury. Anyone who has studied chemistry knows that mercury evaporates at room temperature, and once heated, rapidly becomes gas. Hence the line: "The crimson maiden by the river, numinous and most divine, flies upon meeting fire."

In the ancients' perception, mercury suddenly became formless and imageless, without even a trace of dust, as if it had flown up and vanished—yet it truly still exists. This is why it is likened to a ghost hidden so one cannot see it, or a dragon concealed so one cannot find it.

Cinnabar mainly contains mercury sulfide as well, which is why Daoism places such emphasis on the use of cinnabar—not only in external alchemy, but equally in talismans and spells, because cinnabar has the property of decomposing into sulfur and mercury when heated.

Therefore, when a talisman written in cinnabar is burned, the sulfur remains as traces on the paper ash, while the mercury evaporates instantly in the heat.

In some uses of talismans, burning a talisman drawn in cinnabar is in fact a process of modeling heaven and earth: the cinnabar decomposes under heat, allegorizing that yang, being light, rises to heaven, while yin, being turbid, descends to earth—and thus heaven and earth first open apart.

Among cinnabar-drawn talismans, another class is worn on the body rather than burned; it too carries allegory: earth qi rises, heavenly qi descends, and their conjoining forms heaven and earth.

Mercury becoming formless and shadowless under heat is a troublesome matter, so a method is needed to restrain it, so that when using fire one need not worry it will suddenly vanish.

This is also a metaphor for the problem faced in inner cultivation.

All things are yin and yang; when they go against heaven and turn from the source—the hen fertilizing her own eggs, her chicks will not be whole. Why? The pairing is not joined; the Three and Five do not interact; firm and yielding separate and divide. The essence of transformative activity belongs to heaven and earth of themselves: fire moves and flames upward; water flows and moistens downward. No teacher guided it so. The resources that order it rightly cannot again be altered.

Though it is said that the affairs of this world never depart from yin and yang, and only when yin and yang interact can truly vital things be produced—a hen, for instance, can herself lay eggs, yet eggs so laid cannot hatch into chicks.

Why? Because there is no conjoining of yin and yang; separated from the mode of the Three and Five, firm and yielding cannot organically join, and separation results—naturally, no chick can be hatched from this.

Thus the essence of transformative activity belongs to heaven and earth of themselves: fire moves and flames upward, water flows and moistens downward—not under human control; all things are simply so of themselves.

These are objective laws that have never changed, from before primordial chaos and on through the formation of the cosmos.

Observe the time when male and female join: firm and yield are bound together and cannot be loosed; they obtain their corresponding signs, not by any craft that contrives and controls them. The male is born face-down; the female lies on her back. This is fixed in the womb, received at the first breath of qi—not only manifested at birth, but likewise enacted at death. It is not that parents taught them to do so; it is rooted in the act of conjoining and fixed from the very beginning.

When male and female join in reproduction—especially when firm and yield are bound—they cannot be parted; within this there are also corresponding signs, none of which are achieved by any technique.

When men and women procreate, the man is prone and the woman is supine—just as in the womb, the same as the state at the first receiving of qi. And this condition manifests not only at birth: when a person dies, corresponding circumstances likewise appear.

Among the folk there circulates a very old saying: generally, when infants are born, boys more often face outward, while girls more often face inward, as if embracing their mother.

This is a long-circulated view; however, modern medicine knows better: because mothers change position from sleeping habits or ordinary movement, and because the baby also moves, fetal position does shift—so using this to determine sex is naturally unreliable.

Nevertheless, in normal vaginal delivery, whether the baby is prone or supine may relate to the child's later temperament. When the ancients determined destiny as yin-male and yang-female or yang-male and yin-female, besides using sex and the yin-yang of the year, another method was related to whether one was prone or supine at birth.

A person developing in the mother's womb is immersed in water; and when a person dies in water, a feature is usually observed: a female corpse tends to be head-up, while a male corpse tends to be head-down. So by observing whether a body in water is prone or supine, one can know its sex.

The reason is simple enough: a man's chest muscles and skeletal frame are larger than a woman's, while a woman's buttock muscles and pelvic girdle are larger than a man's.

These seem like coincidences, yet secretly accord wondrously with what is natural. They are not taught by parents; everything is simply so of itself.

Thus the principles of yin and yang can be attested through the conjoining of the myriad things.

The conjoining of yin and yang in animals is male and female; in feng shui, mountain and water; in the Daoist alchemy, lead and mercury. This is precisely: "One yin, one yang—this is called the Dao."

All things divide into yin and yang, and yin and yang can conjoin. Yet within conjoining, as is common in the world, there is infertility, and there are monstrous births—these arise because the qi received in the conjoin is impure and mixed.

Therefore in cultivation there is the conjoining of heart and spirit, the conjoining of spirit and qi, and so on—but whatever kind it is, purity must be sought.

Speaking in metaphysical terms, one says the Dao is plain and unadorned; therefore one must model oneself on this. In practical terms, wherever qi is mixed, things mostly do not turn out well. In feng shui too, one demands a pure and clear hexagram, never departing the proper hexagram as the highest good—this is the most proper approach.

Yet can mixed combinations still obtain auspiciousness? Naturally they can; however, the subtleties within are such that only a great master can grasp them. Without refined skill that communicates with the numinous and illuminating arts, one who gradually attains the Dao dares not lightly violate these rules.

How do heart and spirit conjoin? In ordinary people, intention is the heart; absence of intention is spirit. Thus the heart-mind takes deliberate aim; the spirit-mind does not begin from intention.

Seeing a hand and reaching out to touch it—that is the heart. The heart beats, sweat flows, blood circulates without the heart needing to participate; it operates likewise—that is the spirit.

After entering stillness, the heart is fire; once the heart stirs, fire stirs, and stillness is no more. Thus it is said the crimson maiden flies upon meeting fire. Yet remaining one-dimensionally still, motionless, is also wrong: dry sitting may consolidate the hun and po, but in the end it is a path toward the yin.

People are originally clear, still, and natural before birth; after birth, emotions, desires, and scattered thoughts disturb and shape the heart and spirit—hence many principles are known by all but practiced by none.

In the Learning of the Mind of Yangming, this one point is grasped most precisely: it is said that knowing and acting are one. To reshape heart and spirit is the way of seeking union with the sage.

Yet how difficult it is to unite knowing and acting! And yet how easy it is, lying only in daily cultivation.

Do not take the path of dry sitting and dead yin; within stillness one must seek its movement. Though the heart-mind stirs, it does not depart from stillness—heart and spirit must become one: the heart hides within the spirit, and the spirit is silent within the heart.

The Wuzhen Pian says: "Just take the earth po to seize the vermilion mercury; of itself the heavenly hun will control the water-metal."

This is plainly stated: with the earth po one can seize mercury. The principle is nothing other than: the earth po is husband, mercury is wife; the heavenly hun is husband, water-metal is wife. Husband and wife properly paired—yin and yang conjoined—transform and give birth.

As discussed earlier, burning cinnabar models the cosmic scene of generation; and sulfur clearly signifies what was before heaven and earth were formed.

But is sulfur that which restrains mercury? It is not.

Mercury is already born from cinnabar; to restrain it again with sulfur and again obtain cinnabar—what meaning would this have as a way of the elixir?

What may be used must be the yellow sprout.

What is the yellow sprout? The Ode to the Return of the Dragon-Tiger Elixir says:

Lord Wei asked: from what is the yellow sprout made? Lord Wei said: use lead or do not use lead—the five metals are born from the essence of lead. Green Clouds Master said: if the sprout is lead, one gallops ten thousand li after lead; if the sprout is not lead, it begins from lead. Lead is the sprout's mother; the sprout is lead's child. Once the golden blossom is obtained, cast lead aside and use it no more.

In the article "Discussing the Zhouyi Cantong Qi (10): The Jianmu Connects Heaven and Earth, the Wondrous Dao Arises from the Spirit Root," the Hundred Questions on the Return of the Golden Liquor Elixir is quoted as saying:

The Master said: lead emerging from within lead is the supreme treasure. Mercury transmits gold-mercury; lead and mercury forge qi—this is called the yellow sprout seed.

And within that formula it further says:

Guangxuan said: since the yellow sprout is spoken of as forged from lead and mercury, and metal and water generate each other, my mind remains confused and uncomprehending. I humbly hope the Master will again point out the true meaning.

The Master said: it is like someone asking how to plant trees. The fine fruits of good fields in the world—first one plows and harrows, then selects good ground; at the proper season, still relying on even wind and rain, with the seasonal nodes urging on, by year's end all the harvest is gathered. The cause of reaping the yellow sprout is likewise: blending lead and mercury, coupling Kan and Li, water and fire continuing each other, the season and timing complete of themselves—naturally transformed, incomparable without peer. If the yellow sprout is formed, the Great Dao becomes easy. An ancient song says: lead-mercury sprout, lead-mercury sprout, with the three flowers; gather my qi, congeal it into cinnabar; at the first dawn, apply the fire; cycle the five colors, enter the divine brilliance; once it has served as envoy, the Dao knows no wrong—when the three are complete and emerge, one is of the immortal family. From this it may be known.

All were originally one thing; only through transformation are they differentiated. Continuously without break, generation succeeding generation—what is finally attained is precisely the yellow sprout.

Among the greatest of heaven and earth are none greater than Qian and Kun. Qian is heaven, Kun is earth; and the conjoining of Qian and Kun can produce six children.

The Hanshu, Treatise on Feng and Sacrifice II, says: "The Changes has the eight trigrams—Qian and Kun and the six children. Water and fire do not reach each other; thunder and wind do not oppose each other; mountain and marsh communicate their qi—only then can there be transformation, and the myriad things be completed."

The Shuogua of the Changes: "Qian is heaven, therefore called father. Kun is earth, therefore called mother. Zhen, sought once, obtains a male, therefore called the eldest son. Xun, sought once, obtains a female, therefore called the eldest daughter. Kan, sought twice, obtains a male, therefore called the middle son. Li, sought twice, obtains a female, therefore called the middle daughter. Gen, sought thrice, obtains a male, therefore called the youngest son. Dui, sought thrice, obtains a female, therefore called the youngest daughter."

If one can reflect on this carefully and extend it by inference—the conjoining of Qian and Kun, the conjoining of Kan and Li, the conjoining of Gen and Dui, the conjoining of Zhen and Xun—and further consider the conjoining of the postnatal trigrams with their corresponding prenatal counterparts—it is nothing but two leaves of yin and yang; more than half of the illumination is already attained.