Cún shén liàn qì míng 存神鍊氣銘

Inscription on Preserving Spirit and Refining Pneuma

attributed to 孫思邈 (Sūn Sīmiǎo, c. 581–682) — the famous Suí-Táng physician

A short inscription (míng 銘) on the meditation practice of preserving shén 神 and refining 氣, attributed to the great Suí-Táng physician Sūn Sīmiǎo 孫思邈 (traditional dates 581–682, though his actual dates are disputed — various sources give birth c. 541, 581, or later; generally agreed to have lived into the mid-7th century). Preserved as DZ 834 / CT 834.

About the work

Sūn Sīmiǎo’s Daoist corpus

Several short Daoist-medical texts are attributed to Sūn Sīmiǎo in the Daozang:

  1. Cún shén liàn qì míng (DZ 834) — the present text.
  2. Bǎo shēng míng 保生銘 (DZ 835).
  3. Sūn zhēn rén shè yǎng lùn 孫真人攝養論 (DZ 841).

These supplement his famous medical works: Qiān jīn fāng 千金方 (“Thousand-Gold Prescriptions”) and Qiān jīn yì fāng 千金翼方.

Dating. Traditional Sūn Sīmiǎo dates (581–682). Dynasty: 隋-唐.