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

1. Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties 111
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1
Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties
After a few mentions in sources dating from the sixth century, 1 approximately
from the beginning of the Tang period (618–907) several
works display an increased awareness of the Cantong qi, and not only
in the context of the alchemical traditions. The earliest quotations of
the text are found in encyclopedias and in poetical works, showing
that, by that time, copies of the Cantong qi were kept in the imperial
library and circulated among certain literati. The first quotation is
found in the Beitang shuchao 北 堂 書 鈔 (Excerpts from the Books of
the Northern Hall), an encyclopedia dating from the short-lived Sui
dynasty (581–618). This quotation was followed, after a few decades,
by those found in the Yiwen leiju 藝 文 類 聚 (Classified Compendium
of Arts and Letters; 624), and one century later in the Chuxue ji 初 學
記 (Records for Primary Studies; 725). 2 Illustrious poets, notably Li
Bai 李 白 (better known as Li Po, 701–62) and Bai Juyi 白 居 易 (772–
846), were also attracted to this text. Li Bai even composed a piece
that can be defined as a short poetical paraphrase of the Cantong qi,
adopting its imagery and vocabulary. 3 One of Bai Juyi’s poems, also
abounding in alchemical terminology, describes a meeting with a
Master Guo Xuzhou 郭 虛 舟 who “taught the Cantong qi.” 4
Around the time in which Bai Juyi was writing, Mei Biao 梅 彪
(756–after 806, from Sichuan) recorded for the first time the title of
the Cantong qi in an extant bibliography, appended to his dictionary
1
See Pregadio, The Seal of the Unity of the Three, vol. 1, pp. 23–25.
2
The Beitang shuchao, 160.1a, quotes verses 42:3–6. The Yiwen leiju,
95.1650, quotes verses 35:11–12. The Chuxue ji, 23.549 and 27.645, quotes the
whole section 75 and verses 32:7–8, respectively.
3
Li Bai ji jiaozhu, 10.691–92. See Waley, The Poetry and Career of Li Po,
55–56.
4
Bai Xiangshan shi houji, 1.9b-10b. See Waley, The Life and Times of Po
Chü-i, 127–28; Ho, Goh and Parker, “Po Chü-i’s Poems on Immortality,” 167;
and Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, V.3:148–49.
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