The Seal of the Unity of the Three â Vol. 2 - The Golden Elixir

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204 Appendixes ————————————————————————————————————————— those between sections 1 and 43, on the representation of change by trigrams and hexagrams; 3 and 45, on the sixty-hexagram cycle; 10 and 48, on the joining of the Sun and Moon; 13 and 49, on the cycle of trigrams; and 39–40 and 62, on the alchemical conjunction of Lead and Mercury. Several scholars have drawn attention to this feature and have discussed the possible historical priorities among these portions of the text. One point, however, does not seem to have been considered. The Cantong qi describes three main cosmological cycles: those of the sixty hexagrams during the days, of the eight trigrams during the month, and of the twelve “sovereign hexagrams” (bigua 辟卦 ) during the year. 4 The first cycle is described once in four-character verses and once in five-character verses (sections 45 and 3, respectively); the second cycle also is described once in four-character verses and once in five-character verses (sections 49 and 13); but the third cycle is described only in four-character verses (section 51). In the extent to which the twelve-hexagram cycle is integral to the doctrines of the Cantong qi, its description may be deemed to be part of the original core of the text; and as long as this assumption is correct, the original core would consist of the portions in four-character verses. Whether and how this may be related to the view that the Cantong qi includes a “Canon” and a “Commentary” remains unclear. Nevertheless, the mirrored sections suggest that, in parallel to the separate composition of the portions on cosmology, Taoism, and alchemy, the individual sections that form Books 1 and 2 were written in different times. BOOK 3: ADDITIONAL WRITINGS Book 3 contains three distinct additional compositions: (1) “Epilogue” (“Luanci” 亂辭 , sections 75–81) (2) “Song of the Tripod” (“Dingqi ge” 鼎器歌 , section 82) (3) “Filling Lacunae” (“Busai yituo” 補塞遺脫 , sections 83–88) In Peng Xiao’s, Zhu Xi’s, and Yu Yan’s redactions, moreover, Book 3 is concluded by a postface entitled “Eulogium” (“Zanxu” 讚序 ). These additional writings have given rise to further hypotheses con- 4 See The Seal, vol. 1, pp. 41–43. © Fabrizio Pregadio and Golden Elixir Press 2012
1. The Three Books 205 ————————————————————————————————————————— cerning the respective authorship, in both commentaries and modern studies. Without touching on these insoluble issues, the individual compositions of Book 3 are introduced below, pointing out differences in content and format compared to the first two Books. (1) “Epilogue.” The first subdivision of Book 3 consists of two poems. The first poem, which is in four-character verses (sections 75–76), states that the sages of antiquity gave teachings on the Elixir, but intentionally used a veiled and suggestive language. In later times, those who devoted themselves to the alchemical arts ignored or misunderstood their writings. It is for this reason, says the author, that he wrote his Cantong qi. Having done so, he appends a concluding portion in order to “open a gateway” to his work. He refers to this portion as “Epilogue” (or “Envoi,” “Luanci” 亂辭 ), using the same term that, in the Songs of Chu (Chuci 楚辭 ), defines the portion appended to a poem in order to summarize its essential points. In fact, the verses of the “Epilogue” proper (sections 77–81) are patterned on the saoti 騷體 prosody, so called after the “Lisao” 離騷 (“Encountering Sorrow”) piece in the Songs of Chu, where the verses of each couplet are separated by the metrical particle xi 兮 . Given the different prosodic forms of the introductory poem and the “Epilogue” proper, it seems possible that the “Epilogue” was originally a separate composition related in content and language to the Cantong qi, which was later incorporated into the text and grafted onto it by means of the introductory poem. One detail suggests that this may indeed have been the case. While the introductory poem states that the Cantong qi and the “Epilogue” are closely related to one another, it has been noted that, unlike the alchemical sections of Books 1 and 2 that are focused on Lead and Mercury, this composition alludes to a process based on the five agents (see 78:1–12). With the explicit statement that the “Epilogue” is a supplement meant to elucidate the Cantong qi, and with its peculiar poetic form, this divergence suggests that this composition originated separately Pages 206-210 are not included in this preview Visit the Web page on this book • www.goldenelixir.com
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The Seal of the Unity of the Three â Vol. 2 - The Golden Elixir