Zhōu yì cān tóng qì (yī) 周易參同契(一)
Token for the Agreement of the Three in the Zhōu yì (Recension I)
originally attributed to 魏伯陽 (Wèi Bóyáng); present recension with commentary attributed to 陰長生 (Yīn Chángshēng)
The Zhōu yì cān tóng qì 周易參同契 is the foundational classic of Chinese alchemy — the text traditionally attributed to the Eastern-Hàn Wèi Bóyáng that argues for the convergence (“Token for the Agreement of the Three”) of (1) Zhōu yì 周易 cosmology, (2) HuángLǎo 黃老 Daoist metaphysics, and (3) alchemical practice. It is the Urtext of both the external-alchemy (wài dān) and, from the Sòng onward, the inner-alchemy (nèi dān) traditions.
The Dào zàng preserves three distinct recensions / commentaries of the text — this is the first. Commentary attributed here to the Hàn immortal Yīn Chángshēng is a pseudepigraphical Táng-era layer.
For the other major Dào zàng recensions, see KR5d0017, KR5d0018 (Zhū Xī’s philological kǎo yì), and KR5d0019 (Péng Xiǎo’s fēn zhāng tōng zhēn yì of 947). Preserved as DZ 999 / CT 999 (Tài xuán bù 太玄部).
Dating. Táng for the received recension; the core scripture goes back to the Eastern Hàn (traditional attribution, contested). Dynasty: 唐.
Translations and research
- Pregadio, Fabrizio. The Seal of the Unity of the Three: A Study and Translation of the Cantong qi. Mountain View, CA: Golden Elixir Press, 2011. Standard modern translation.
- Pregadio, Fabrizio. Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China. Stanford UP, 2006.