Nine Palaces

《禮記·月令》：孟春，天子居青陽左個（注云：太寢東堂北偏也。《正義》云：是明堂北偏，而云太寢者，明堂與太廟、太寢制同；北偏者，近北也；四面旁室謂之個）；仲春居青陽太廟（東堂當太室）；季春居青陽右個（東堂南偏）；孟夏居明堂左個（太寢南堂東偏）；仲夏居明堂太室（南堂當太室）；季夏居明堂右個（南堂西偏）；中央土居太廟太室（中央之室也。土寄旺四時各十八日，共七十二日，除此則木火金水亦各七十二日矣。土無專氣，無定位，寄旺於辰戌丑未之末。未月在火金之間，又居一歲之中，故特揭中央土於此，以成五行之序焉）；孟秋居總章左個（太寢西堂南偏）；仲秋居總章太廟（西堂當太室）；季秋居總章右個（西堂北偏）；孟冬居玄堂左個（太寢北堂西偏）；仲冬居玄堂太廟（北堂當太室）；季冬居玄堂右個（北堂東偏）。

The Book of Rites, Monthly Orders records the system by which the Son of Heaven resided in different rooms of the Bright Hall according to the months: In the first month of spring, he stayed in the left room of Qingyang (Zheng Xuan's commentary says this is the room to the north of the eastern hall of the Great Hall. The Commentary says it is actually the room to the north of the Bright Hall. It is called "Great Hall" because the Bright Hall, the Great Temple, and the Great Hall have the same construction; "to the north" means close to the north. The side rooms on the four sides are called "ge"). In the second month of spring, he stayed in the central room of Qingyang (the central room of the eastern hall, facing the Great Hall). In the third month of spring, he stayed in the right room of Qingyang (the southern part of the eastern hall). In the first month of summer, he stayed in the left room of the Bright Hall (the eastern part of the southern hall). In the second month of summer, he stayed in the central room of the Bright Hall (the central room of the southern hall). In the third month of summer, he stayed in the right room of the Bright Hall (the western part of the southern hall). When the central earth element is in command, he stays in the central room of the Great Temple (the central room). The earth element is temporarily strong in the four months of the seasons, each for eighteen days, totaling seventy-two days. Excluding these seventy-two days, the wood, fire, metal, and water elements each also have seventy-two days. The earth element has no specific element or fixed direction, and it temporarily resides in the last days of the months of Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei. The month of Wei is between fire and metal, and it is also the middle of the year, so it is specially marked as "central earth" to complete the order of the Five Phases. In the first month of autumn, he stays in the left room of Zongzhang (the southern part of the western hall). In the second month of autumn, he stays in the central room of Zongzhang (the central room of the western hall). In the third month of autumn, he stays in the right room of Zongzhang (the northern part of the western hall). In the first month of winter, he stays in the left room of Xuantang (the western part of the northern hall). In the second month of winter, he stays in the central room of Xuantang (the central room of the northern hall). In the third month of winter, he stays in the right room of Xuantang (the eastern part of the northern hall).

朱子曰：「論明堂之制者非一，竊意當有九室，如井田之制。東之中為青陽太廟，東之南為青陽右個，東之北為青陽左個；南之中為明堂太廟，南之東即東之南為明堂左個，南之西即西之南為明堂右個；西之中為總章太廟，西之南即南之西為總章左個，西之北即北之西為總章右個；北之中為玄堂太廟，北之東即東之北為玄堂右個，北之西即西之北為玄堂左個；中為太廟太室。

Zhu Xi said: There are many different accounts regarding the form of the Bright Hall. In my private opinion, it should be nine rooms arranged in three rows and three columns, like the well-field system. The central room on the east is the Qingyang Taomiao, the room to the southeast of the east is Qingyang Youge, and the room to the northeast of the east is Qingyang Zige. The central room on the south is the Mingtang Taomiao, the room to the southeast of the south (which is also the room to the northeast of the east) is Mingtang Zige, and the room to the southwest of the south (which is also the room to the northwest of the west) is Mingtang Youge. The central room on the west is the Zongzhang Taomiao, the room to the southwest of the west (which is also the room to the southeast of the south) is Zongzhang Zige, and the room to the northwest of the west (which is also the room to the northeast of the north) is Zongzhang Youge. The central room on the north is the Xuantang Taomiao, the room to the northeast of the north (which is also the room to the northwest of the west) is Xuantang Youge, and the room to the northwest of the north (which is also the room to the northeast of the east) is Xuantang Zige. The central room is the Taomiao Taishi.

凡四方之太廟異方所，其左右個則青陽左個即玄堂之右個，青陽右個即明堂之左個，明堂右個即總章之左個，總章右個乃玄堂之左個也，但隨其時之方位開門耳。太廟太室，則每季十八日天子居之歟。古人制事多用井田遺意，此恐然也。」

The four cardinal temples each occupy different directions; as for left and right, the left of Qingyang is the right of Xuantang, and the right of Qingyang is the left of Mingtang, the right of Mingtang is the left of Zongzhang, and the right of Zongzhang is the left of Xuantang— the rooms at the four corners are shared by two sides, but the door is opened on which side corresponds to the current direction. The central temple, Tai Shi, is probably where the Son of Heaven resides for the last eighteen days of each season. Ancient people established systems often following the idea of well-field land division, and the nine chambers of Mingtang may be exactly like that.

《大戴禮記·明堂》篇曰：「明堂者，古有之也，凡九室。」（句。）「二九四」（句），「七五三」（句），「六一八」（句）。

The "Great Dai Li Ji · Bright Hall" chapter says: The system of the Bright Hall existed in ancient times, consisting of nine rooms. (This is one sentence.) Next are three sentences: "Two nine four" (one sentence), "Seven five three" (one sentence), "Six one eight" (one sentence). These three lines of nine numbers are the earliest textual record of the later "Nine Palaces," where the sum of the numbers in each row and column equals fifteen. This is also the source that Hu Wei sought to trace back to the true origin of the Nine Palaces.

按：後世以九宮為河圗，實造端於明堂《月令》之說。今考小戴言天子居明堂九室，依四時十二月之序，而大戴則分九室為三條而言之。南曰明堂，其本名。古者以西為上，故從西南起。或曰：《封禪書》公玉帶上黃帝時明堂圗，有樓從西南入，命曰崑崙，天子從之入以拜祠上帝，故九室起自西南也。

Hu Wei says: Later generations regarded the nine palaces as derived from the Yellow River Chart, but the origin actually comes from the Bright Hall and the concept in the "Monthly Orders." Now examining this: The "Small Dai Li Ji" states that the Son of Heaven resided in the nine rooms of the Bright Hall in sequence according to the four seasons and twelve months; the "Great Dai Li Ji" divides the nine rooms into three groups. The room facing south is called "Bright Hall," which is the proper name of the entire building. Ancients considered the west to be the direction of respect, so they counted from the southwest corner. Some also say: The "Records of the Grand Historian: Book of the Rites of the Imperial Sacrifices" records that Gong Yu Dai presented a diagram of the Bright Hall from the Yellow Emperor's time. The diagram shows a building entering from the southwest, named Kunlun, through which the Son of Heaven entered to worship the Supreme Deity. Therefore, the nine rooms were counted starting from the southwest.

「二九四」者，二為總章左個與明堂右個，九為明堂太室，四為明堂左個與青陽右個也；「七五三」者，七為總章太廟，五為太廟太室，三為青陽太廟也；「六一八」者，六為總章右個與玄堂左個，一為玄堂太廟，八為玄堂右個與青陽左個也。二九四共為十五，七五三共為十五，六一八亦共為十五，縱橫十五，妙合自然，後世九宮之數實權輿於此。其以某室當某數者，葢取九九算術所設乘除之位以定明堂九室之數也。（詳見於後。）

The so-called "two nine four" refers to two being the total hall on the left and the bright hall on the right (southwest corner), nine being the bright hall's main chamber (due south), and four being the bright hall on the left and the qingyang on the right (southeast corner). The so-called "seven five three" refers to seven being the total hall's main chamber (due west), five being the main chamber of the main hall (center), and three being the qingyang's main chamber (due east). The so-called "six one eight" refers to six being the total hall on the right and the xuantang on the left (northwest corner), one being the xuantang's main chamber (due north), and eight being the xuantang on the right and the qingyang on the left (northeast corner). Two plus nine plus four equals fifteen, seven plus five plus three also equals fifteen, and six plus one plus eight equals fifteen as well. Whether adding horizontally or vertically, the total is fifteen, a harmonious natural number. The later nine palace numbers really originated from here. As for which room should be assigned which number, it was probably determined by the multiplication and division positions of the nine by nine multiplication table, used to number the nine chambers of the bright hall. (Details are provided later.)

《漢蓺文志》禮十三家有《明堂陰陽》三十三篇，又《明堂陰陽說》五篇，此必戴記所自出。故宣帝時魏相表採《易陰陽》及《明堂月令》奏之，言五帝所司各有時，東方之卦不可以治西方，南方之卦不可以治北方，則以八卦之方位配明堂之九室可知矣。坎之為一以至離之為九，則又據明堂九室之數而定之也。

The Book of Han, in its section on rites, mentions under the category of thirteen schools of rites a text called "Bright Hall Yin and Yang" with thirty-three chapters, and another called "Explanations of Bright Hall Yin and Yang" with five chapters. This particular chapter from the Dai Dai Li Ji must have originated from these texts. Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Xuandi of the Han dynasty, the chancellor Wei Xiang submitted a memorial, adopting the "Yi Yin and Yang" and "Bright Hall Monthly Command" to present to the court. He stated that the five celestial emperors each preside over a season, and that the trigrams of the East cannot be used to govern the West, nor can the trigrams of the South be used to govern the North—this shows that at that time the trigrams had already been associated with the nine chambers of the Bright Hall. As for the system of matching Kan to Li as nine, this arrangement was also determined based on the number of the nine chambers of the Bright Hall.

古之制度，大而分州，小而井田，莫不以九為則，明堂亦然，其制皆起於黃帝，在伏羲畫卦之後。八卦之方位已定，並其中數之則為九，九州島、井田、明堂皆黃帝所以法八卦也。九宮葢即明堂之九室，故《隋志》有《九宮經》，依託黃帝。然自歆、固以前，未有直指為河圗者，唯《後漢·劉瑜傳》桓帝延熹八年上書，言「河圗授嗣，正在九房」，九房即九室也。（《考工記》云「內有九室，九嬪居之」，葢王者路寢聽朝時，則九嬪在此共聽事也。）

Ancient systems, whether large as the division of the Nine Provinces or small as the well-field system, all followed the number nine as a standard, and the Bright Hall was the same. These systems originated with the Yellow Emperor, after Fuxi had drawn the Eight Trigrams. Once the directions of the Eight Trigrams were fixed, including the center, the total became nine. Therefore, the Nine Provinces, the well-field system, and the Bright Hall were all products of the Yellow Emperor imitating the Eight Trigrams. The Nine Palaces might be the nine rooms of the Bright Hall, so the "Nine Palace Classic" recorded in the "Book of Sui, Catalogue of Books" is attributed to the Yellow Emperor. However, before Liu Xin and Ban Gu, no one directly referred to it as the Yellow River Chart. Only in the "Biography of Liu Yu" in the "Book of the Later Han" is there a record that in the eighth year of Huan Di's Yanshi period, Liu Yu submitted a memorial saying, "The Yellow River Chart is passed down to the successor, in the nine rooms." The "nine rooms" here refer to the nine rooms. ("The Rites of Zhou, Records of the Master of Works" states, "Inside there are nine rooms, where the nine concubines reside." Perhaps when the king held court in the main hall, the nine concubines would be here to attend to affairs together.)

葢其時已有據《乾鑿度》「河圗八文」一章而直指九宮為河圗者，此即偽《龍圗》三變之粉本矣。（《龍圗》第三變，劉牧謂之「太皥授龍馬負圗」。）然河圗乃天成卦畫之象，伏羲因之以作《易》，數因象而見，象不由數以生。縱橫十五之數，雖非人私智所能為，亦出畫卦之後，終不可指以為河圗也。

It is evident that by the Eastern Han dynasty there were already people who, based on the chapter "The Eight Characters of the River Chart" in the "Gan Zao Du," directly identified the nine palaces as the River Chart, which became the basis for the later false "Longtu" "Three Transformations." (The third transformation of the "Longtu," Liu Mu called "Tai Hao was given the dragon horse carrying the chart.") However, the River Chart was originally the image of the heavenly patterns used by Fuxi to create the Zhou Yi; numbers emerged along with the images, and the images were not produced by numbers. The system of adding numbers vertically and horizontally to total fifteen, although not something humans could fabricate on their own, also appeared after the drawing of the hexagrams, and therefore cannot be regarded as the River Chart. This sentence is Hu Wei's conclusive statement that the nine palaces are not the River Chart.

《後漢書·張衡傳》：自中興之後，儒者爭學圗緯，兼復附以妖言。衡以圗緯虛妄，非聖人之法，乃上疏曰：「聖人明審律歴以定吉凶，重之以卜筮，雜之以九宮，經天驗道，本盡於此。圗讖成於哀、平之際，皆欺世罔俗，以昧埶位，情偽較然。且律歴、卦候、九宮、風角，數有徵效，世莫肎學，而競稱不占之書，譬猶畫工惡圗犬馬而好作鬼魅，誠以實事難形而虛偽不窮也。宜收藏圗讖，一禁絶之，則朱紫無所眩，典籍無瑕玷矣。」

The Book of the Later Han, Biography of Zhang Heng, records that since the middle period of the Eastern Han dynasty, scholars of Confucianism had been competing to study diagrams, prophecies, and the writings of the School of the Mandate of Heaven, and they had also attached various superstitious and false statements. Zhang Heng believed that these diagrams and prophecies were baseless and inconsistent with the principles of the sages. Therefore, he submitted a memorial stating that the sages had carefully examined the laws of music, calendars, and astronomy to determine auspicious and inauspicious signs, and they had supplemented this with divination and the Nine Palaces system, observing celestial phenomena and verifying the heavenly way, and all these fundamental aspects were already included. Diagrams and prophecies were fabricated during the reigns of Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping of the Han dynasty, and they were all meant to deceive the world and confuse the people, in order to gain power. The truth or falsehood of these is obvious. Moreover, the studies of laws and calendars, the correspondence of hexagrams with climate, the Nine Palaces system, and wind divination all have verifiable results, yet people do not wish to learn them, but instead compete in citing those books that cannot predict events. It is like a painter who dislikes painting dogs and horses but prefers to paint ghosts and monsters—this is because real things are hard to depict, while false things can be easily fabricated. The diagrams and prophecies should be confiscated and sealed away, and completely prohibited, so that truth and falsehood will no longer be confused, and the classics will no longer be tainted.

按：九宮不見於《漢書》，至張衡始兩言之，上與律歴、卜筮並稱，下與卦候、風角相埓，非圗緯妖妄不經者比。九宮之數縱橫十五，不知起於何時。按《管子·輕重戊》篇曰：「宓戲作，造六峜以迎陰陽（方以智《通雅》云：舊以「峜」字未詳，一切字書皆不收入。智按《宛委編》以「六計」解之，升庵之說也，則當為「計」音，以「企」本是「跂」音也。又辛子文號計研，漢碑作「峜研」。王若谷曰：六峜其如《周髀》算法乎），作九九之數以合天道，而天下化之。」

Hu Wei said: The Nine Palaces are not mentioned in the "Book of Han," but Zhang Heng mentioned them twice. The above text refers to them together with the laws and calendars, and divination, while the following text compares them with the weather and wind divination, indicating that the Nine Palaces do not belong to the class of superstitious and baseless diagrams and writings. The numbers of the Nine Palaces, both in rows and columns, add up to fifteen. It is unknown when this system began. Checking the "Light and Weight" chapter of the "Guanzi," it says: When Fuxi rose to power, he created the "six jie" to conform to yin and yang. (Fang Yizhi's "Tongya" says: The character "jie" was not understood in the past, and it is not included in any dictionary. Fang Yizhi, following the "Wanwei Collection," interpreted it as "six ji," which is the view of Yang Shen. Therefore, it should be read as "ji" sound, since "qi" is originally read as "qi." Also, there was a scholar in the Warring States period named Xin Zi, whose courtesy name was Jiyan, and in Han dynasty inscriptions, it was written as "jieyan." Wang Ruogu said: "The six jie" probably correspond to the calculation system in the "Zhou Bi Suan Jing.") He also created the nine-by-nine multiplication table to conform to the heavenly way, and thus the world received education.

《世本》曰「隸首作數」，宋忠云「隸首，黃帝史也」。魏劉徽《九章算經》序曰：「包犧氏始畫八卦，作九九之術，以合六八之變，黃帝引而伸之。」（邵子《觀物外篇》曰：天圎而地方，圎之數起一而積六，方之數起一而積八，變之則起四而積十二也。六者常以六變，八者常以八變，十二者亦以八變，自然之道也。此所謂「六八之變」，疑即是此數。）

The Shiben says, "Li Shou first created arithmetic." Han dynasty's Song Zhong's commentary says, "Li Shou was the historian of the Yellow Emperor." In the preface to the Jiuzhang Suanshu, Liu Hui of the Three Kingdoms period Wei dynasty said: Fuxi first drew the eight trigrams and created the nine-nine multiplication table to correspond with the "six and eight changes." The Yellow Emperor then further developed and expanded it. (Shao Yong's Guanwu Wai pian says: Heaven is round and Earth is square. The numbers of the round start from one and accumulate to six, while the numbers of the square start from one and accumulate to eight. When they change, they start from four and accumulate to twelve. Six always changes according to six, eight always changes according to eight, and twelve also changes according to eight. This is the natural principle. The "six and eight changes" mentioned by Liu Hui probably refers to this set of numbers.)

夏侯陽《算經》序曰：「算數起自伏羲，而黃帝定三數為十等，隸首因以著《九章》。」《韓詩外傳》曰：「齊桓公設庭燎，東野人有以九九見者。」《吳書》：趙達治九宮一算之術。《隋志》有楊淑《九九算術》一卷。葢九宮一算即九九算術，伏羲始作之，黃帝使隸首引而伸之，以為《九章》之數者也。據劉徽之言，則伏羲先畫八卦，後作九九，班固云「伏羲畫八卦由數起」，非也。（漢儒據《說卦》第一章先言生蓍倚數，後言立卦生爻，故謂畫卦由數起，而傳意實不然，葢錯解也。）

Xiahou Yang's preface to the "Suanjing" says: arithmetic originated from Fuxi, and the Yellow Emperor established ten levels of numbers called "san shu." Li Shou wrote the "Jiu Zhang" based on this. The "Han Shu Wai Zhuan" says: when Duke Huan of Qi lit torches in the courtyard to attract talented people, a man from the east suburb requested an audience by demonstrating the "jiujiu" method. The "Wu Shu" records Zhao Da's mastery of the "jiu gong yi suan" technique. The "Sui Shu Jing Ji Zhi" lists Yang Shu's "Jiu Jiu Suan Shu" as a single volume. This shows that "jiu gong yi suan" is the same as "jiujiu suan," which was first created by Fuxi and later developed and expanded by the Yellow Emperor's minister Li Shou into the arithmetic system of the "Jiu Zhang." According to Liu Hui's view, Fuxi first drew the Eight Trigrams and then invented the "jiujiu" method. Therefore, Ban Gu's statement that "Fuxi drew the Eight Trigrams based on numbers" is incorrect. (Han dynasty scholars, based on the first chapter of the "Shuo Gua," first mentioned "sheng zhi yi shu" and then "li gua sheng yao," so they thought the drawing of the trigrams originated from numbers. In reality, the original intention of the "Shuo Gua" was not this, but they misunderstood it.)

今九九八十一乘除之算，疑即隸首遺制。《算經》每以物設為乘除法（《觀物外篇》曰：乘數，生數也；除數，消數也。算去雖多，不出乎此），有九數列為三條書之者，與《大戴·明堂》篇所列正相似。術家取九室之數配以八卦五行，名之曰九宮。後漢黃香有《九宮賦》，《隋志》有《黃帝九宮經》一卷、《九宮行棊經》三卷，並鄭玄注，又《九宮八卦式圗》一卷；《唐志》有《太一九宮雜占》一卷、《遁甲九宮八門圗》一卷。其曰「黃帝九宮」，葢以數成於隸首，而明堂之制亦創自黃帝，故依託之也。

Today's multiplication and division calculations involving the number 81, which is nine times nine, are suspected to be the old system left by Li Shou. Arithmetic texts often use physical objects to set up multiplication and division problems. The "Observations Beyond Objects" states that multiplication is "the generating number" and division is "the consuming number." Although there are many names for arithmetic methods, they all originate from these two concepts. Among them, there are problems that arrange nine numbers into three rows, which is exactly similar to the "two nines four, seven five three, six one eight" listed in the "Great Dai Li Ji · Bright Hall" chapter. Numerologists take the numbers of the nine rooms in the Bright Hall and combine them with the eight trigrams and the five phases, calling this arrangement the "Nine Palace." During the Eastern Han dynasty, Huang Xiang wrote the "Nine Palace Assignment." The "Sui Shu · Jing Ji Zhi" records "The Yellow Emperor's Nine Palace Classic" in one volume and "Nine Palace Chess Classic" in three volumes, both with Zheng Xuan's annotations, as well as "Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Diagram" in one volume. The term "Yellow Emperor's Nine Palace" is probably because this system was created by Li Shou, the official of the Yellow Emperor, and the construction of the Bright Hall also originated from the Yellow Emperor, so it was attributed to him.

右論古九宮之數。

The above section examines the origin of the ancient nine-square grid numbers.

王氏應麟《玉海》引《易·乾鑿度》曰：「河圗八文，《易》變而為一，一變而為七，七變而為九，九者氣之究也，乃復變而為一。」（語本《列子》。彼注云：太極本一而生陰陽五行則為七，其變為九，則又以七之少陽而進為老陽。陽主進，陰主退，八退為六，七進為九也。）

Wang Yinglin cites in his "Yu Hai" the "Yi Wei Gan Zao Du" which says: the River Chart consists of eight sections of text. The "Yi" originates from Tai Yi, which transforms into one, then one transforms into seven, and seven transforms into nine; nine is the ultimate of qi numbers, so it returns again to one. (This passage is based on the "Liezi." Zhang Zhan's commentary on the "Liezi" says: Tai Ji originally is one; when it produces yin and yang and the Five Phases, it becomes seven; it transforms into nine because the minor yang seven becomes old yang. Yang is active and progresses, while yin is passive and regresses, so eight regresses to six, and seven progresses to nine.) Hu Wei cites this passage to indicate that the "He Tu" referred to in the "Gan Zao Du" is eight sections of esoteric text, and is not the same as the nine palace diagram or the diagram with fifty-five points.

東坡蘇氏曰：「世之通於數者，論參伍錯綜，則以九宮言之。九宮不經見，見於《乾鑿度》，曰『太乙行九宮』。九宮之數，以九一三七為四方，以二四六八為四隅，而五為中宮，經緯四隅，交絡相值，無不得十五者。陰陽老少皆分取於十五：老陽取九，餘六以為老陰；少陽取七，餘八以為少陰。此與一行之學不同，然吾以為相表裡者。二者雖不經見，而其說皆不可廢也。」

Su Shi said: Those who are skilled in divination often talk about "San Wu Cuo Zhong" when discussing the Nine Palaces. The Nine Palaces are not found in the classics, but only in the "Qian Zao Du," which says "Taiyi moves through the Nine Palaces." The numbers of the Nine Palaces are arranged with nine, one, three, and seven in the four cardinal directions, and two, four, six, and eight in the four corners, with five in the Central Palace. When adding numbers horizontally, vertically, or along the diagonals crossing the corners, each combination adds up to fifteen. The four yin-yang trigrams of old and young are derived from fifteen: old yang takes nine, and the remaining six is old yin; young yang takes seven, and the remaining eight is young yin. This differs from the theory of Yixing of the Tang dynasty, but I believe they complement each other. Although neither school is found in the classics, their theories should not be discarded.

程氏大昌《易原》曰：「晉張湛傳《列子》，至『七變為九』，曰『此章全是《周易乾鑿度》』，則漢魏已降，凡言《易》《老》者皆已宗而用之，非後世托為也。然則圗書也者，《乾鑿度》實能得之，而孔、劉反不得見，何邪？所可言者，其四正四維皆為十五，正符陳摶所傳，則其來已古，篤可信爾。」

In the Southern Song dynasty, Cheng Dachang (styled Tai zhi) in his work "The Origins of the Changes" said: When Zhang Zhan of the Jin dynasty annotated the "Liezi," he came to the sentence "seven changes become nine" and said, "This entire chapter is entirely from the "Qian Zao Du" of the Zhou Changes." This shows that since the Han and Wei dynasties, anyone discussing the Changes and the Laozi has already followed and used it, and it is not a fabrication of later generations. If this is the case, then the Yellow River Chart and the Luo Writing, which the author of the "Qian Zao Du" actually saw, while Kong Anguo and Liu Xin did not, why is this so? It can be concluded that the sum of the four cardinal directions and the four intermediate directions adds up to fifteen, which exactly matches the diagram passed down by Chen Tuan. This shows that its origin is very ancient and entirely credible.

緯書多出於哀、平之世，而《後漢·律歴志》順帝時邊韶上言「太初改元易朔，以《乾鑿度》八十分之四十三為日法」，則似武帝時已有《乾鑿度》矣。是殆不然，葢作者以《太初》歴法竄入其中，暗與之合，非武帝果用此書為日法也。圗緯至唐時已多殘缺，宋世別有《乾鑿度》二卷，題云「蒼頡修」，乃贗書，《玉海》所載，不知是殘缺本文否。據晉張湛注《列子》「太易」一章云全是《乾鑿度》，而孔穎達《易正義》引《乾鑿度》有太易、太初、太始、太素，正與張湛所言合，其為本文無疑矣。河圗之形象久已無傳，自田何軰不能贊一辭，況撰《乾鑿度》者乎？程泰之謂作者親見河圗，葢為其所愚也。

Hu Wei argued that the writings of the 'Wai Shu' mostly originated during the reigns of Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping of the Han dynasty. However, the 'Book of the Later Han, Volume on the Calendar and Music' records that during the reign of Emperor Shun, Bian Shao submitted a memorial stating that during the Tai Chu period, the calendar was changed and the 'Qian Zao Du' used forty-three parts out of eighty as the 'ri fa' (daily standard). According to this, it seems that the 'Qian Zao Du' existed as early as the time of Emperor Wu of Han. In reality, this was the author of the 'Qian Zao Du' who secretly inserted the calendar system of the Tai Chu calendar into his book, making it appear to align with it, but Emperor Wu did not actually use this book as the basis for the 'ri fa'. By the Tang dynasty, the diagrams and writings had already become fragmented. In the Song dynasty, another two-volume version of the 'Qian Zao Du' was compiled, attributed to 'Cang Jie', which was a forgery. The citations from the 'Yu Hai' are unclear whether they are remnants of the original text. According to Zhang Zhan of the Jin dynasty, who annotated the 'Lie Zi' on the chapter 'Tai Yi', the entire chapter was derived from the 'Qian Zao Du'. The 'Zhou Yi Zhen Yi' by Kong Yingda also cites the 'Qian Zao Du' and mentions 'Tai Yi', 'Tai Chu', 'Tai Shi', and 'Tai Su', which exactly match what Zhang Zhan said. This shows that the text is indeed original. As for the image of the 'He Tu', it has long been lost. Even the early Han dynasty scholars who transmitted the 'Yi Jing', such as Tian He, could not say a word about it, let alone the person who fabricated the 'Qian Zao Du'. Cheng Dachang claimed that the author of the 'Qian Zao Du' had personally seen the 'He Tu', but he was deceived by this book.

《後漢書·張衡傳》注引《易·乾鑿度》曰「太一取其數以行九宮」，鄭玄注云：「太一者，北辰神名也，下行八卦之宮，每四乃還於中央。中央者，地神之所居（《日知錄》云：「地神」疑作「北辰」），故謂之九宮。天數大分，以陽出，以陰入，陽起於子，陰起於午，是以太一下九宮，從坎宮始。自此而坤而震而巽，所行者半矣，還息於中央之宮；既又自此而乾而兊而艮而離，行則周矣。上游息於太一之星，而反紫宮也。」

The "Hou Han Shu · Zhang Heng Zhuan" cites Li Xian's annotation which refers to the "Yi Wei Gan Zao Du" saying, "The Taiyi takes this set of numbers to tour the nine palaces." Zheng Xuan explains that Taiyi is the name of the star god at the North Pole, moving through the palace positions governed by the Eight Trigrams. Every time it moves through four palaces, it returns to the center. The center is where the earth god resides (Gu Yanwu's "Ri Zhi Lu" says, "earth god" is likely "beichi"), so it is called the nine palaces. The division of heavenly numbers is based on yang energy emerging and yin energy entering; yang begins at the Zi position, and yin begins at the Wu position. Therefore, Taiyi moves through the nine palaces starting from the Kan palace, proceeding to the Kun, Zhen, and Xun palaces, completing half the journey and resting in the central palace. Then it continues from there to the Qian, Dui, Gen, and Li palaces, completing one full circle. After that, it ascends to rest at the Taiyi star and returns to the Ziwei palace.

（《史記·天官書》：中宮天極星，其一明者為太一常居。《封禪書》：亳人謬忌奏祠太一方，曰「天神貴者太一，太一佐曰五帝。古者天子以春秋祭太一東南郊，用太牢七日，為壇開八通之鬼道」。於是天子令太祝立其祠長安東南郊，常奉祠如忌方。鄭康成《周禮注》云：昊天上帝又名太一。）

(Notes: The "Records of the Grand Historian: Celestial Officials" says that the brightest star in the Central Palace, Tianjiu Star, is where Taiyi resides permanently. The "Records of the Grand Historian: Rituals of Propitiation" says that a man from Bo County, Miu Ji, proposed the method of worshiping Taiyi, saying "Among the heavenly deities, Taiyi is the most exalted, and Taiyi's assistants are the Five Emperors; in ancient times, the Son of Heaven would worship Taiyi at the southeast outskirts in spring and autumn, using the grand sacrifice of ox, sheep, and pig for seven days, building a temple and opening eight paths leading to all directions." Thus, the Son of Heaven ordered the Grand Priest to establish a temple for Taiyi in the southeast outskirts of Chang'an, and to worship it permanently according to Miu Ji's method. Zheng Kangcheng's commentary on the "Rites of Zhou" says: "Hu Tian Shangdi is also called Taiyi.")

《南齊書·髙帝紀》：案太一九宮占歴，推自漢髙帝五年至宋順帝升明元年太一所在。《易·乾鑿度》曰「太一取其數以行九宮」。九宮者，一為天蓬，以制冀州之野；二為天內，以制荊州之野；三為天沖，其應在青；四為天輔，其應在徐；五為天禽，其應在豫；六為天心，七為天柱，八為天任，九為天英，其應在雍、在梁、在揚、在兗。天沖者木也，天輔者亦木也，故木行太過不及，其眚在青、在徐；天柱金也，天心亦金也，故金行太過不及，其眚在梁、在雍。惟水無應宮也。

The "Nan Qi Shu · Gao Di Ji" records that according to the divination method of the Taiyi Nine Palaces, one calculates the position of Taiyi in the nine palaces from the fifth year of Han Gao Di to the first year of Liu Song Shun Di Shengming. The "Yi Wei Qian Zao Du" says, "Taiyi takes that set of numbers to move through the nine palaces." The nine palaces are as follows: the first is Tianpeng, governing the Ji State; the second is Tiannei, governing the Jing State; the third is Tianchong, affecting the Qing State; the fourth is Tianfu, affecting the Xu State; the fifth is Tianqin, affecting the Yu State; the sixth is Tianxin, the seventh is Tianzhu, the eighth is Tianren, and the ninth is Tianying, each affecting the Yong State, Liang State, Yangzhou, and Yan State respectively. Tianchong belongs to wood, and Tianfu also belongs to wood, so when the movement of wood is excessive or insufficient, calamities occur in Qing and Xu States. Tianzhu belongs to metal, and Tianxin also belongs to metal, so when the movement of metal is excessive or insufficient, calamities occur in Liang and Yong States. Only water does not have a corresponding palace.

《唐書·玄宗紀》：天寶三載十二月癸丑，祠九宮貴神於東郊。

The Xintangshu · Xuanzong Benji records that on the tenth day of the twelfth month in the third year of Tianbao, Emperor Xuanzong performed worship at the eastern outskirts to the Nine Palaces Noble Deities. This marks the beginning of the Nine Palaces, as explained by numerological scholars, being formally included in the state rituals.

《唐會要》：玄宗天寶三載十月，術士蘇嘉慶上言，請於京城置九宮壇，壇一成，其上依位置小壇：東南曰招搖，正東曰軒轅，東北曰太陰，正南曰天一，中央曰天符，正北曰太一，西南曰攝提，正西曰咸池，西北曰青龍。五數為中，戴九履一，左三右七，二四為上，六八為下，符於遁甲。（晁氏曰：遁甲之書見於《隋志》凡十三家，則其學之來亦不在近世矣。以休、生、傷、杜、景、死、驚、開八門推國家之吉凶，通其學者以為冇驗，未之嘗試也。）肅宗至德三年六月，置太一神壇於南郊東。九宮以四孟隨歲改位行棊，謂之飛位，乾元後遂不易位。

The Tang Huiyao records that in the third year of Tianbao of Emperor Xuanzong, the astrologer Su Jiaqing submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of a nine palace altar in the capital. The altar was built in one layer, and on top of it, nine small altars were set up according to the directions: the southeast was called Zhao Yao, the due east was called Xuanyuan, the northeast was called Tai Yin, the due south was called Tian Yi, the center was called Tian Fu, the due north was called Tai Yi, the southwest was called She Ti, the due west was called Xian Chi, and the northwest was called Qing Long. Five occupied the center, with nine on top, one beneath, three on the left, seven on the right, two and four above (the shoulders), and six and eight below (the feet), matching the method of Dun Jia. (Chao Gongwu said: books on Dun Jia were recorded in thirteen families in the Sui Shu Jingji Zhi, indicating that this discipline is not a recent development. It uses the eight gates of Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, Jing, and Kai to calculate the auspiciousness and misfortune of the state. Those who are skilled in this discipline say it is very effective, but I have not tried it myself.) In the sixth month of Zhongde third year of Emperor Suzong, a Tai Yi deity altar was set up to the east of the southern altar. The nine palaces changed positions according to the four beginning months of the year, moving like playing chess, a practice called "fei wei"; however, after the reign of Ganyuan, the positions no longer changed.

武宗會昌二年正月，左僕射王起等奏：按《黃帝九宮經》及蕭吉《五行大義》，一宮其神太一，星天蓬，卦坎，行水，方白；二宮其神攝提，星天內，卦坤，行土，方黑；三宮其神軒轅，星天沖，卦震，行木，方碧；四宮其神招搖，星天輔，卦巽，行木，方綠；五宮其神天符，星天禽，卦坤，行土，方黃；六宮其神青龍，星天心，卦乾，行金，方白；七宮其神咸池，星天柱，卦兊，行金，方赤；八宮其神太陰，星天任，卦艮，行土，方白；九宮其神天一，星天英，卦離，行火，方紫。統八卦，運五行，土飛於中，數轉於極。（章俊卿《山堂考索》云：漢立太一祠，即甘泉泰畤也，唐謂之太清紫極宮，宋謂之太一宮，尤重其祠。以太一飛在九宮，每四十餘年而一徒，所臨之地則兵疫不興，水旱不作。）

In the second year of Wu Zong's reign during the period of the Kai Cheng era, Left Chancellor Wang Qi and others submitted a memorial stating: According to the "Yellow Emperor's Nine Palaces Classic" and Xiao Ji's "The Great Meaning of the Five Phases," the deity of the first palace is Taiyi, whose star is Tianpeng, associated with the Kan trigram, governing water, with the color white. The deity of the second palace is SheTi, whose star is Tiannei, associated with the Kun trigram, governing earth, with the color black. The deity of the third palace is Xuanyuan, whose star is Tianchong, associated with the Zhen trigram, governing wood, with the color green. The deity of the fourth palace is Zhaoyao, whose star is Tianfu, associated with the Xun trigram, governing wood, with the color green. The deity of the fifth palace is Tianfu, whose star is Tianqin, associated with the Kun trigram, governing earth, with the color yellow. The deity of the sixth palace is Qinglong, whose star is Tianxin, associated with the Qian trigram, governing metal, with the color white. The deity of the seventh palace is Xianchi, whose star is Tianzhu, associated with the Dui trigram, governing metal, with the color red. The deity of the eighth palace is Taiyin, whose star is Tianren, associated with the Gen trigram, governing earth, with the color white. The deity of the ninth palace is Tianyi, whose star is Tianying, associated with the Li trigram, governing fire, with the color purple. These deities oversee the eight trigrams and the five phases, with earth flying in the center, and the numbers cycling back when they reach the end. (Zhang Junqing's "Shangtang Kao Suo" states: The Taiyi temple established during the Han dynasty was the Taizhi Palace at Ganquan; during the Tang dynasty it was called the Taqing Zijie Palace, and during the Song dynasty it was called the Taiyi Palace, and the worship of Taiyi was especially emphasized. Because Taiyi moves through the nine palaces, shifting every forty years or so, the places it arrives at are free from war, plague, and drought or flood.)

按：張衡所稱九宮，不過如明堂《月令》之說，而《易緯·乾鑿度》則以為太一下行之數，涉於誕矣。衡方斥圗緯為非聖之書，九宮必不取諸《乾鑿度》，章懷不當引以為注。蘇嘉慶、王起等所奏神號、星名、方色，則又其穿鑿傅會之甚者也。

Hu Wei said: Zhang Heng's nine palaces are merely the explanation of the Bright Hall in the "Monthly Orders"; however, the "Yi Wei Qian Zao Du" describes it as the number of the Supreme Ruler moving downward, which becomes absurd. Zhang Heng was actually condemning the diagrams and writings of the classics as non-sacred books, so the nine palaces he mentioned must not have come from the "Qian Zao Du". Prince Li Xian of Zhanghua should not have cited the "Qian Zao Du" to annotate him. As for the divine names, star names, and directional colors mentioned in the memorials by Su Jiaqing and Wang Qi, they are even more fabricated and forced.

九宮非河圗也。自《乾鑿度》有「河圗八文」之語，劉瑜有「河圗九房」之稱，而世遂以九宮為河圗矣。又有指此為洛書者，葢以九疇之故。然九疇有次第，無方位也，強配八卦以附會之數，豈理也哉！

The Nine Palaces are not the Yellow River Chart. It is only because the "Qian Zao Du" mentions "eight characters of the Yellow River Chart" and Liu Yu refers to "nine rooms of the Yellow River Chart" that people have come to associate the Nine Palaces with the Yellow River Chart. Similarly, some people claim the Nine Palaces correspond to the Luo Writing, because the Luo Writing relates to the nine categories. However, the nine categories only have a sequence of order, not a directional aspect. To force them into the Eight Trigrams and create this system is clearly not reasonable.

右論乾鑿度太一九宮之數。

In the above section, the discussion examines the numerical system of the Great One (Taiyi) moving through the nine palaces as described in the "Danzuode."

《舊唐書·經籍志》丙部五行類：《周易參同契》二卷，魏伯陽撰；《周易五相類》一卷，魏伯陽撰。

The *Old Book of Tang* *Catalogue of the Classics* under the category of the Five Phases records: *The Threefold Concordance of the Zhou Changes* in two volumes, written by Wei Boyang; and *The Five Categories of the Zhou Changes* in one volume, also written by Wei Boyang. Wei Boyang was a native of Shangyu, Huizhou, in the Eastern Han dynasty. Daoist alchemists regard his *Threefold Concordance* as the "King of Ten Thousand Ancient Alchemical Classics." Hu Wei devoted a special section, volume three, to *The Threefold Concordance* because the diagrammatic forms known as the "Earlier Heaven Diagram" and the "Taiji Diagram" mentioned by Song dynasty scholars actually originated from this alchemical text.

《唐書·藝文志》五行類：魏伯陽《周易參同契》二卷，又《五相類》一卷。（《古文參同契》本云「三相類」，淳于叔通撰，未知孰是。）

The "Five Phases" category in the "Art and Literature Catalogue" of the "New Book of Tang" lists Wei Boyang's "Threefold Concordance of the Zhou Changes" in two volumes, and another volume titled "Five Categories." ("Ancient Texts of the Threefold Concordance" refers to it as "Three Categories," attributed to Chunyu Shutong. It is unclear which account is correct.)

真一子彭曉《參同契解義序》曰：「魏伯陽，會稽上虞人，修真潛黙，養志虛無，博贍文詞，通諸緯候，得《古文龍虎經》，盡獲妙旨，乃約《周易》譔《參同契》三篇，復作《補塞遺脫》一篇，密授青州徐從事（名景休），徐乃隠名而注之。桓帝時復授同郡淳于叔通，遂行於世。」

In the preface of his work "Explanation of the Meaning of the Great Ultimate" (参同契解义), Peng Xiao, a person from the Shu state during the Five Dynasties period (道号真一子), said that Wei Boyang was from Shangyu, Kuaiji. He practiced the true Dao, remained silent and self-restrained, cultivated his mind in the void, had rich and eloquent writings, and understood various books of omens and prophecies. He obtained the "Classic of the Dragon and Tiger in Ancient Texts" (古文龙虎经), fully grasped its profound meanings, and then modeled his work on the "Zhou Changes" (周易) to compose the "Great Ultimate" (参同契) in three chapters. He also wrote another chapter called "Supplementing the Missing and Removing the Deficient" (补塞遗脱). He secretly passed it on to Xu Chengshi (徐从事), a person from Qingzhou named Jingxiu. Xu Jingxiu then concealed his name and made annotations on it. Later, during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, it was passed on to Chunyu Shutong, a person from the same county, and the book then became well known in the world.

《雲笈七籤·神仙傳》曰：「魏伯陽作《參同契》，似解釋《周易》，其實假借爻象以論作丹之意。而儒者不知神仙之事，多作陰陽注之，失其奧旨矣。」

The "Yun Ji Qi Jian" includes a passage from the "Shen Xian Zhuan" which says: Wei Boyang wrote the "Cen Tong Qi", which on the surface seems to be explaining the "Zhou Yi", but in reality uses the trigrams to discuss the principles of alchemy. However, Confucian scholars do not understand the practices of immortality, and mostly interpret it according to the meanings of yin and yang, thus losing its profound meaning. This very point shows that the "Cen Tong Qi" was not originally a book for interpreting the "Zhou Yi". Hu Wei cited it in order to clearly distinguish alchemical diagrams from the study of the "Zhou Yi".

鼂氏公武《讀書志》曰：「《周易參同契》三卷，漢魏伯陽撰，彭曉為之解，隋、唐書皆不載。（唐新舊二史皆有。）按陸德明解『易』字雲『虞翻作《參同契》，言字從日下月』，今此書有『日月為易』之文，其為古書明矣。」

In the Southern Song dynasty, Zhao Gongwu's "Juzhai Reading Notes" says: "The "Zhou Yi Cangtongqi" (The Supreme Concord of the Zhou Yi) in three volumes was written by Han dynasty Wei Boyang, and Peng Xiao wrote an explanation for it. The "Sui Shu" and "Tang Shu" did not record it. (Hu Wei's marginal note points out that both the old and new versions of the "Tang Shu" actually did record it.) Zhao Gongwu also says: Lu Deming explained the character "Yi" by saying "Yu Fan wrote the "Cangtongqi", explaining that this character is composed of "sun" on top and "moon" below." Now this book actually contains the phrase "the sun and moon are called Yi", which shows that it is indeed an ancient text.

陳氏振孫《書錄解題》曰：「《參同契分章通真義》三卷、《明鏡圗訣》一卷，真一子彭曉秀川撰，蜀永康人也。《參同契》因《易》以言養生，後世言修煉者祖之。序稱廣政丁未（蜀孟昶廣政十年歲在丁未，漢髙祖之天福十二年也），以《參同契》分十九章而為之注，且為圗八環，謂之《明鏡圗》。」

In the Southern Song dynasty, Chen Zhenzun of the "Zhai Zhai Shu Lu Jie Ti" said: "The book 'Fen Zhang Tong Zhen Yi' of the 'Cantongqi' in three volumes and 'Ming Jing Tu Jue' in one volume were written by Zhenyi Zi Peng Xiao (whose name was Xiu Chuan), who was from Yongkang in Sichuan. The 'Cantongqi' uses the 'Zhou Yi' to discuss health preservation, and later generations of those who practiced cultivation regarded it as the ancestor. Peng Xiao's preface is titled 'Guangzheng Dingwei' (the tenth year of Guangzheng of Meng Chang, the ruler of the Later Shu, which coincided with the year Dingwei, also known as the twelfth year of Tianfu of the Later Han High Ancestry). He divided the 'Cantongqi' into nineteen chapters and provided annotations, and also drew eight circular diagrams, called 'Ming Jing Tu'."

升庵楊氏慎《古文參同契序》曰：「《參同契》為丹經之祖，然考隋、唐經籍志皆不載（承鼂氏之誤），惟《神仙傳》云魏伯陽上虞人，通貫詩律，文詞贍博，修真養志，約《周易》作《參同契》，徐氏景休箋註，桓帝時以授同郡淳于叔通，因行於世。五代之時，蜀永康道士彭曉分為九十章，以應火候之九轉，餘《鼎歌》一篇，以應真鉛之得一，其說穿鑿，且非魏公之本意也。其書散亂橫決，後之讀者不知孰為經，孰為注，亦不知孰為魏，孰為徐與淳于，自彭始矣。朱子作《考異》及解，亦據彭本；元俞玉吾所注，又據朱本。」

In the Ming dynasty, Yang Shen (styled Sheng'an) wrote in his "Preface to the Ancient 'Canyongqi'": The "Canyongqi" is regarded as the ancestor of alchemical texts, but it is not recorded in the "Classic Catalogue" of the "Sui Shu" or the "Tang Shu". This is following the mistake of Zhao Gongwu. Only the "Shenxian Zhuan" mentions that Wei Boyang was from Shuyu, skilled in poetry and prose, knowledgeable in literature, and devoted to cultivating his spirit and virtue. He studied the "Zhou Yi" and composed the "Canyongqi", which was annotated by Xu Jingxiu. It was passed down to Chen Yushutong of the same county during the reign of Emperor Huan, thus becoming well known. In the Five Dynasties period, the Daoist priest Peng Xiao from Yongkang in Shu divided the text into ninety chapters, corresponding to the "nine transformations" of alchemical fire. The remaining chapter, "Dingge", corresponds to the concept of "getting one" in true lead. This division is artificial and inconsistent with Wei Boyang's original intention. The text is disordered and mixed, making it difficult for later readers to distinguish between the original text, annotations, and contributions from Wei Boyang, Xu Jingxiu, and Chen Yushutong. The confusion began with Peng Xiao. Zhu Xi's "Examination and Commentary on the 'Zhou Yi Canyongqi'" and his commentary were based on Peng Xiao's version. Later, Yuan dynasty scholar Yu Yan (styled Yiwu) also based his commentary on Zhu Xi's version.

復陽子蔣一彪《古文參同契集解序》曰：「昨偶檢先大夫雲龍公遺籍，得《古文參同契》一帙，魏伯陽所著上中下三篇、序一篇，徐景休箋註亦三篇、序一篇，淳于叔通補遺《三相類》上下二篇、後序一篇，合為十一篇，惟白文無注，是未經後人妄紊者，為成都升庵楊慎氏所序本。覽之始知往年所閱者，乃以魏君序及景休、叔通二家之注序竄入於魏君經文中，大相混亂。

A Ming dynasty scholar named Jiang Yibiao, who took the Daoist name Fuyangzi, wrote in the preface to his collected interpretations of the "Ancient Texts of the Perfect Union" that some time ago he accidentally came across some old books left by his father, Yunlong Gong, and found a copy of the "Ancient Texts of the Perfect Union." It contained the upper, middle, and lower chapters written by Wei Boyang, as well as an introduction, and three chapters plus an introduction by Xu Jingxiu's annotations, and two chapters plus a postscript by Chunyu Shutong's supplements, making a total of eleven chapters. This version had only the main text and no marginal notes, and had not been disturbed by later commentators. It was exactly the edition that Chengdu Yang Shen wrote a preface for. Only after reading this version did he realize that the commonly circulated edition had mixed Wei Boyang's introduction and the annotations and prefaces by Xu Jingxiu and Chunyu Shutong into the main text of Wei Boyang's work, causing great confusion.

後人注者不知所自，訛以因訛，經注莫辨，皆緣飾以成文，則不無牽引附會之誤。又無怪乎最後之觀者，見其重文復義，不達所指，咸即成說而一切草草錯會焉。不知亂肇自何人，而升庵謂於彭始。予今釐正其訛，一以古文為準，別出魏君經文，取彭曉、陳顯微、陳致虛、俞琰四子之注節集於各段之下，以顯明其義。」（一彪餘姚人，萬歴甲寅序。）

Later commentators did not know the origins of these words, and they passed on errors, making it difficult to distinguish between the original text and the annotations. They simply embellished everything to form coherent passages, inevitably leading to forced and incorrect interpretations. It is therefore not surprising that later readers found the text repetitive and its meanings overlapping, unable to understand what it actually meant, and thus followed old interpretations without proper understanding. Who started this confusion is unknown, but Yang Shen claimed it began with Peng Xiao. Now I am correcting these errors, using the ancient text as the standard. I have separately extracted Wei Boyang's original text and selected excerpts from the annotations of Peng Xiao, Chen Xianwei, Chen Zhi Xu, and Yu Yan, placing them beneath each section to clarify the meaning. (Jiang Yibiao was from Yuyao; this preface was written in the year Jiayin of the Wanan era.)

《朱子語類》曰：「《易》只是個陰陽，莊生曰『《易》以道陰陽』，亦不為無見。等而下之，如醫技、養生家之說，皆不離陰陽二者。魏伯陽《參同契》，恐希夷之學有些是其源流。」又曰：「先天圗傳自希夷，希夷又自有所傳，葢方士技術用以修煉，《參同契》所言是也。」

The Zhu Zi Yu Leiu records Zhu Xi's words saying: The Zhou Yi talks about nothing but yin and yang. The Zhuangzi says, "The Yi is used to explain yin and yang," which cannot be considered without insight. Going further, the doctrines of medicine and those of the practitioners of health preservation all depend on these two aspects of yin and yang. Wei Boyang's Cang Tong Qi, perhaps part of Chen Tuan's learning (who was known as Master Xiyi) came from it. Zhu Xi also said: The Earlier Heaven diagram was passed down by Chen Tuan, and Chen Tuan had another lineage - that was originally a technique of alchemists used for cultivation. The Cang Tong Qi talks about exactly that. Hu Wei cites Zhu Xi's two statements, using Zhu Xi's own words to prove that the Earlier Heaven diagram originated from alchemy, not from Fuxi.

「參，雜也；同，通也；契，合也。」謂與《周易》理通而義合也。其書假借君臣以彰內外，敘其離坎；直指汞鉛，列以乾坤；奠量鼎器，明之父母；保以始終，合以夫妻；拘其交媾，譬諸男女；顯以化生，材以陰陽；導之反覆，示之晦朔；通以降騰，配以卦爻；形於變化，隨之斗柄；取以周星，分以晨昏，昭諸刻漏：莫不託《易》象而論之，故名《周易參同契》云。

The explanation of the book's title is: "San" means mixture, "Tong" means communication, and "Qie" means conformity. It means that it is in harmony with the principles of the Zhou Changes and its meanings are consistent. This book uses the relationship between sovereign and minister to illustrate internal and external distinctions, discussing the trigrams Li and Kan; it directly points to mercury and lead, combined with Qian and Kun; it arranges the vessels for measurement, likening them to parents; it uses beginning and end to preserve, and husband and wife to coordinate; it restrains their interaction, comparing it to male and female; it shows generation and transformation, drawing from yin and yang; it guides the cycle of movement and stillness, using the waxing and waning of the moon to indicate; it connects ascending and descending, combined with trigrams and lines; it demonstrates change, following the movement of the Big Dipper's handle; it takes the celestial phenomena of the entire year as a model, dividing day and night, using water clocks to demonstrate—all these are based on the trigrams of the Zhou Changes, hence the name "The Zhou Changes Combined with the Three Principles."

合沙鄭氏東卿曰：「伯陽之《參同契》意在鍛鍊，而入於術，於聖人之道為異端。」

A scholar from the Southern Song dynasty named Zheng Dongqing from Heshā said that Wei Boyang's "Cantong Qi" was intended for the alchemy of elixirs, falling into the category of esoteric practices, and thus regarded as heretical in relation to the teachings of the sages.

黃氏震《日抄》曰：「《參同契》者，漢世魏伯陽所造，其說出於《神仙傳》，不足憑。為之註釋者五代末彭曉，則此書必出於五代之前也。此方士煉丹之書，然必冒《周易》為稱者，煉丹取子午時為火候，是坎離，因用乾坤坎離四正卦於槖鑰之外。

In the Southern Song dynasty, Huang Zhen's "Huang Shi Ri Chao" said: The "Cantong Qi" was created by Wei Boyang of the Han dynasty, but this claim comes from the "Shen Xian Zhuan" and is not reliable. The person who made annotations on it was Peng Xiao from the late Five Dynasties period, which shows that the book must have existed before the Five Dynasties. Originally, it was a book used by alchemists for the practice of elixir making. It was forced to take the name of the "Zhou Changes" because in the process of elixir making, they used the time of the "zi" and "wu" hours as the fire timing, which corresponded to the trigrams Kan and Li. Therefore, in addition to the "tuoyue" (furnace and bellows), they also used the four trigrams Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li.

其次言屯蒙六十卦，以見一日用功之早晚；又次言納甲六卦，以見一日用功之進退；又次言十二闢卦，以分納甲六卦而兩之：要皆附會《周易》以張大粉飾之。其實煉丹無藉於《易》，《易》本無預於煉丹。而今世言火候者，因以三百八十四爻為一周天，以一爻直一日，而爻多日少，終不相合，其妄可知。近世蔡季通學博而不免於雜，嘗留意此書，而晦庵與之遊，因為校正，其書頗行，然求其義則終無之。」

Then he explained the sixty hexagrams following Zhun and Meng, using them to represent the early and late times of effort in a day; next he explained the six hexagrams of Najia, using them to represent the advance and retreat in effort during the day; then he explained the twelve great hexagrams, which were formed by doubling the six Najia hexagrams. In summary, all these are artificial interpretations of the Zhou Changes to embellish and decorate their own practices. In reality, alchemy does not need to rely on the Zhou Changes, and the Zhou Changes were originally unrelated to alchemy. Now, those who talk about fire timing take the 384 lines as one cycle of the heavens, with each line corresponding to one day. However, since there are more lines than days, they do not match up, and their absurdity is evident. In recent times, Cai Yuan ding (whose name is Jitong) had broad knowledge but was not free from confusion, and he once paid attention to this book. Zhu Xi, having communicated with him, corrected it, and thus the book became quite popular. However, there is no real meaning to be found in it.

河津薛氏瑄曰：「《參同契》假《易》論長生之術，若指諸掌，然終是方技之書。」

In the Ming dynasty, Xue Xuan, a famous Confucian scholar from Hejin, said: The "Canyongqi" uses the "Zhou Yi" to explain the method of long life, explaining it as clearly as pointing to one's own palm. However, it is ultimately a book about magical techniques.

京山郝氏敬《學易枝言》曰：「《周易參同契》作自魏伯陽，大旨宗老氏《道德經》者，老子之《易》也。門戶、轂軸、槖鑰、牝牡，稽數探賾，不一而足，有無玄妙悉本其中。故知此書宗老氏，於《易》則《參同契》云爾。」

In the "Xue Yi Zhi Yan" by Hao Jing of Jingshan in the Ming dynasty, it is said that the "Zhou Yi San Tong Qi" was written by Wei Boyang, and its main purpose is based on the "Dao De Jing" by Laozi -- the "Dao De Jing" is Laozi's "Yi." The book contains many terms such as "men hu," "gu zhou," "tuo yao," and "pi mu," which explore numerical principles and delve into subtle mysteries. All the profound and subtle ideas in the book are rooted in the "Dao De Jing." Therefore, it can be known that this book follows the teachings of Laozi. As for the "Zhou Yi," it is merely a matter of "participating in harmony and unity" with it.

河右毛氏奇齡曰：「《參同契》諸圗，自朱子注後則學者多刪之。徐氏注本已亡，他本厖雜不足據，惟彭本有《水火匡廓圗》《三五至精圗》《斗建子午圗》《將指天罡圗》《昬見圗》《晨見圗》《九宮八卦圗》《八卦納甲圗》《含元播精三五歸一圗》，然或並《至精》《歸一》圗，或並《斗建》《將指》圗，故或九或七，今藏書家與道家多有之。以其書本丹灶家抽坎填離之術，故隋、唐志以其書入道家類（渭按：唐志入五行類，隋志無）。相傳漢桓帝時淳于叔通受其學，始以行世，故張平叔《悟真詩》云『叔通受學魏伯陽，留為萬古丹經王』也。」（見《太極圗說遺議》。）

In the early Qing dynasty, Mao Qiling, who was from He You, said: The various diagrams attached to the "Cantong Qi" have, since Zhu Xi's commentary, mostly been deleted by scholars. Xu Jingxiu's commentary has long been lost, and other versions are disorderly and unreliable. Only Peng Xiao's edition preserves the "Water and Fire Enclosure Diagram," "Three and Five Ultimate Essence Diagram," "Celestial Stem and Earthly Branches Diagram," "Heavenly Gang Diagram," "Dusk Appearance Diagram," "Dawn Appearance Diagram," "Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Diagram," "Eight Trigrams and Heavenly Stems Assignment Diagram," and "Inclusion of Essence and Distribution of Vitality, Three and Five Return to One Diagram." However, some editions combine the "Ultimate Essence" and "Return to One" into one diagram, and others combine the "Celestial Stem and Earthly Branches" and "Heavenly Gang" into one diagram, so the number of diagrams varies, either nine or seven. Now, these diagrams are mostly preserved in the collections of bibliophiles and Daoists. Since this book is essentially a method of alchemical practice known as "drawing the Yin into the Yang," the "Sui Shu" and "Tang Shu" classified it under the Daoist category. (Hu Wei remarked: In fact, the "Tang Shu" classified it under the Five Phases category, and the "Sui Shu" did not even record it.) It is said that this book began to circulate in the world after Chun Yu Shutong received this teaching during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han. Therefore, Zhang Boshan (Zhang Pingshu) in his "Wuzhen Pian" wrote, "Chun Yu Shutong received the teachings from Wei Boyang, leaving it as the supreme alchemical classic for all ages." (See Mao Qiling's "Yitiku Shuyi.") Hu Wei's key point is that the predecessors of the Song dynasty's "Taiji Diagram," namely the "Water and Fire Enclosure Diagram" and the "Three and Five Ultimate Essence Diagram," are preserved in the diagrams of this alchemical text.

《書錄解題》言彭本《明鏡圗》有八環，今其存者非九則七，葢《斗建》《將指》不當併合，而《至精》《歸一》本係一圗，是為八環耳。

Chen Zhenzun in "Zhai Zhai Shu Lu Jie Ti" says that Peng Xiao's "Ming Jing Tu" originally had eight rings, but the version passed down today is either nine or seven. Probably the two pictures "Dou Jian" and "Jiang Zhi" should not have been combined, while "Zhi Jing" and "Gui Yi" were originally a single picture; thus, adding them up, they make exactly eight rings.

《易外別傳》校正彭真一《明鏡圖》，畧加增損而成九環。《易》曰：「至哉坤元，萬物資生，乃順承天。」《參同契》曰：「恆順地理，承天布宣。」石澗俞氏琰曰：「人之元氣藏於腹，猶萬物藏於坤；神入氣中，猶天氣降而至於地；氣與神合，猶地道之承天。天地以此而生物，吾身以此而產藥。《太玄經》云『藏心於淵，美厥靈根』，與此同旨。」

In the Yuan dynasty, Yu Yan of the Shih Chien school edited Peng Zhenyi, a scholar from the Shu state of the Five Dynasties period, who wrote the "Ming Jing Tu" (Diagram of the Clear Mirror). Yu Yan made slight additions and deletions to the original diagram, transforming it into nine circular rings. The first ring cites the "Commentary on the Judgment" from the "Zhou Yi" (I Ching): "How great is the primordial power of the Earth! All things depend on it for their growth, and it follows and supports the heavenly way." It also cites the "Chen Tong Qi" from the "Zhou Yi": "Forever following the order of the earth, receiving the gifts of heaven and spreading them forth." Master Shi Jian, Yu Yan, explains that human vital energy is stored within the abdomen, just as all things are stored within the earth; the "spirit" enters the "vital energy," just as the heavenly qi descends to the earth; the "vital energy" and "spirit" unite, just as the earth's way supports the heavenly way. Heaven and earth use this principle to nurture all things, and the human body uses this principle to produce the elixir. Yang Xiong's "Classic of Supreme Mystery" says, "Keep the mind in the deep abyss, nurturing one's spiritual root," which is the same meaning as here.

邵子曰：「月體本黑，受日之光而白。」俞氏曰：「日為太陽，月為太陰。月本無光，月之光乃日之光也。陽明陰暗，陽稟陰受，故太陰受太陽之光以為明。人之心為太陽，氣海猶太陰。心定則神凝，神凝則氣聚。人能凝神入於氣中，則氣與神合，與太陰受太陽之光無異。」

The second ring cites Shao Yong's words: "The essence of the moon is originally black, and it appears white only after receiving the light of the sun." Yu Yan explains that the sun belongs to "Taiyang" and the moon belongs to "Taiyin." The moon itself does not emit light; its light is actually the light of the sun. Yang represents brightness, while Yin represents darkness. Yang is responsible for giving, and Yin is responsible for receiving. Therefore, Taiyin must receive the light of Taiyang to become bright. In the human body, the heart corresponds to Taiyang, and the "Qihai" in the lower abdomen corresponds to Taiyin. When the heart becomes calm, the spirit gathers, and when the spirit gathers, the qi accumulates. If a person can hold the spirit and send it into the qi, the qi and spirit will merge into one, which is the same as Taiyin receiving the light of Taiyang.

邵子曰：「神統於心，氣統於腎，形統於首。形氣交而神主乎其中，三才之道也。」俞氏曰：「人之一身，首乾腹坤，而心居其中，其位猶三才也。氣統於腎，形統於首，一上一下本不相交，所以使之交者神也。神運乎中，則上下渾融，與天地同運，此非三才之道歟？夫神守於腎則靜而藏伏，坤之道也；守於首則動而運行，乾之道也。藏伏則妙合而凝，運行則周流不息。妙合而凝者藥也，用流不息者火也。」

The third ring cites Shao Yong's words: "The spirit is governed by the mind, the vital energy by the kidney, and the form by the head. When form and vital energy interact, the spirit acts as the central authority, which is the principle of heaven, earth, and humanity." Yu Yanyan explains that in the human body, the head belongs to Qian (Heaven), the abdomen to Kun (Earth), and the heart is in the middle, a position analogous to the three principles. Vital energy is governed by the kidney below, and form by the head above; naturally, they do not interact. The spirit enables their interaction. The spirit moves in the center, uniting the upper and lower parts, harmonizing with the rhythm of heaven and earth. Is this not the way of the three principles? When the spirit resides in the kidney, it is quiet and hidden, embodying the principle of Kun; when it resides in the head, it is active and in motion, embodying the principle of Qian. Being hidden allows for "wonderful union and coagulation," while being active allows for continuous circulation. The "wonderful union and coagulation" forms the "drug," and the continuous circulation is the "fire," that is, the fire timing.

《陰符經》曰：「機在目。」邵子曰：「天之神發乎日，人之神發乎目。」俞氏曰：「目之所至，心亦至焉，故內煉之法，以目視鼻，以鼻對臍，降心火入於氣海，葢不過片餉工夫而已。」《易》曰：「乾為天，坤為地，離為日，坎為月。」又曰：「乾為首，坤為腹。」《太玄經》曰：「陽氣潛萌於黃宮。」《黃庭經》曰：「子欲不死修崑崙。」又曰：「出日入月呼吸存。」

The fourth ring cites the "Classic of Hidden符" saying, "The key lies in the eyes." It also cites Shao Yong saying, "The divine manifestations of heaven are revealed in the sun, and the divine manifestations of man are revealed in the eyes." Yu Yan explains that wherever the eyes look, the mind follows, so the method of internal alchemy involves looking from the eyes to the nose, aligning the nose with the navel, and bringing the heart fire down into the qihai. This is actually only a brief moment. The next ring cites the "Commentary on the Hexagrams" from the "Zhou Changes" saying, "Qian represents heaven, Kun represents earth, Li represents the sun, and Kan represents the moon." It also says, "Qian represents the head, and Kun represents the abdomen." It cites Yang Xiong's "Classic of Supreme Mystery" saying, "Yang energy quietly emerges from the yellow central palace." It also cites the Taoist "Classic of the Yellow Court" saying, "If you wish to avoid death, cultivate the 'Kunlun' (referring to the top of the head)." It also says, "The sun rises and the moon enters, all within the breath and mental visualization."

俞氏曰：「首居上而圎，諸陽之所會，乾天之象也，故《易》以乾為首；崑崙在西北乾位，故《黃庭經》以乾為崑崙。腹居下而中虛，八脈之所歸，坤地之象也，故《易》以坤為腹；天玄而地黃，故《太玄》以坤為黃宮。日生於東，月生於西，故《易》以離為日、坎為月；呼吸出入，升降上下，往來無窮，故《黃庭》以呼吸為日月。或以兩目為日月，非也，兩目僅有日月之形，無日月之用。」

Yu Yan explains that the head is the highest part of the human body and has a round shape, being the place where all the yang meridians converge. This corresponds to the image of Heaven, so the Zhou Changes use Qian to represent the head. The Kunlun Mountains are located in the northwest, which is the position of Qian, so the Huangting Jing refers to Qian as "Kunlun," meaning the top of the head. The abdomen is located below the body and is hollow in the center, being the place where the eight extraordinary meridians converge. This corresponds to the image of Earth, so the Zhou Changes use Kun to represent the abdomen. The sky is dark and the earth is yellow, so the Tai Xuan Jing refers to Kun as "the Yellow Palace." The sun rises in the east and the moon appears in the west, so the Zhou Changes use Li to represent the sun and Kan to represent the moon. Human breathing has both exhalation and inhalation, rising and falling, moving up and down endlessly, so the Huangting Jing compares breathing to the sun and moon. Some people take the two eyes as representing the sun and moon, which is incorrect: the two eyes only have the shape of the sun and moon, but not the function of the sun and moon moving and circulating endlessly.

《參同契》曰：「九還七返，八歸六居。」又曰：「七八數十五，九六亦相應。」又曰：「金水合處，木火為侶，四者渾沌，列為龍虎。」俞氏曰：「六七八九乃水火木金之成數。木數八屬東，火數七屬南，木自東而升，則與火為侶於南矣；金數九屬西，水數六屬北，金自西而降，則與水合處於北矣。丹家有所謂赤龍、黑虎者，東方蒼龍七宿運而之南則為赤龍，西方白虎七宿運而之北則為黑虎，無非譬喻身中之呼吸。究而言之，何龍虎之有？何金水木火之有？何七八九六之有？皆譬喻耳。或疑九、七、八言還、返、歸，六獨言居，得無異乎？曰：六居北不動，三方之還、返、歸皆聚於北，故言居也。」

The *Zhou Yi San Tong Qi* says: "Nine returns, seven reverses, eight returns, six resides." It also says: "Seven plus eight equals fifteen; nine plus six also equals fifteen." It further says: "Gold and water meet together, wood and fire become companions; the four elements blend and are indistinct, arranged as dragon and tiger." Yu Yan explains that six, seven, eight, and nine are the 'completed numbers' of water, fire, wood, and metal. The number for wood is eight, belonging to the east; the number for fire is seven, belonging to the south; wood rises from the east and meets fire in the south. The number for metal is nine, belonging to the west; the number for water is six, belonging to the north; metal descends from the west and meets water in the north. The alchemists' "red dragon" and "black tiger" refer to the seven stars of the eastern dragon constellation moving to the south becoming the red dragon, and the seven stars of the western white tiger constellation moving to the north becoming the black tiger. This is merely a metaphor for the breathing within the body. In the end, where are there really dragons and tigers? Where are there really gold, water, wood, and fire? Where are there really nine, seven, eight, and six? They are all metaphors. Some people question: nine, seven, and eight respectively refer to 'return,' 'reverse,' and 'return,' but six refers to 'reside,' is this not inconsistent? The answer is: six resides in the north and does not move; the returns, reverses, and returns from the other three directions eventually converge to the north, so six is only said to 'reside.'

俞氏曰：「乾上坤下，吾身之天地也；泰左否右，吾身天地之升降也。復非十一月，亦非夜半子時，乃身中之子也；姤非五月，亦非日中午時，乃身中之午也。張悟真雲『否泰交，則陰陽或升或降』，葢謂身中之泰否。」俞氏曰：「坎北離南，吾身之水火也；既濟東，未濟西，吾身水火之升降也。屯居寅，蒙居戌，吾身之火候也。寅非平旦寅，乃身中之寅；戌非黃昏戌，乃身中之戌。張悟真雲『屯蒙作動靜，在朝在昏』，葢謂身中之屯蒙。」

Yu Yanyin explains the other two circles: Qian is above and Kun is below, representing the heaven and earth within my body; Tai is on the left and Po is on the right, representing the rising and falling of the heavenly and earthly energies within my body. The Fu hexagram in the diagram does not refer to the eleventh lunar month or the midnight Zi hour, but rather the internal "Zi" within the body; the Gou hexagram does not refer to the fifth month or the noon Wu hour, but rather the internal "Wu" within the body. Zhang Bodaan's "Wuzhen Pian" says "the alternation of Po and Tai leads to the rising and falling of yin and yang," referring precisely to the Tai and Po within the body. Yu Yanyin also says: Kan is in the north and Li is in the south, representing the water and fire within my body; Ji Ji is in the east and Wei Ji is in the west, representing the rising and falling of water and fire within my body. The Tun hexagram corresponds to Yin and the Meng hexagram corresponds to Xu, representing the "fire timing" within the body. Yin is not the寅 hour of morning, but the internal Yin within the body; Xu is not the evening Xu hour, but the internal Xu within the body. Zhang Bodaan says "Tun and Meng differentiate between active and still states, one in the morning and one in the evening," referring also to the internal Tun and Meng within the body.

《參同契》曰：「朔旦屯直事，至暮蒙當受。晝夜各一卦，用之依次序。既未至昧爽，終則復更始。日辰為期度，動靜有早晚。春夏據內體，從子到辰巳；秋冬當外用，自午訖戌亥。」俞氏曰：「《參同契》以乾坤為鼎，坎離為藥物，因以其餘六十卦為火候。一日有十二時，兩卦計十二爻，故日用兩卦：朝屯則暮蒙，朝需則暮訟，以至於既濟未濟一也。屯倒轉則為蒙，有一升一降之象。屯自內而升，為朝、為晝、為春夏；蒙自外而降，為暮、為夜、為秋冬，諸卦皆然。夫以六十卦分佈為三十日以象一月，然遇小盡則當如之何？葢比喻耳，非真謂三十日也。或以此為閉目數息之法，則不勝其煩且勞矣，豈至簡至易之道哉！」

The Shangong Qishi says: "On the first day of the month, the Zun trigram is in charge in the morning, and the Meng trigram takes over in the evening. Day and night each use one trigram, following the order. From Ji Ji to Wei Ji until dawn, one cycle is completed and then it starts again. Using the day branch as the measure, movement and stillness each have their own time. In spring and summer, the trigrams are based on the inner trigram, from Zi to Chen and Si hours; in autumn and winter, the trigrams are based on the outer trigram, from Wu to Xu and Hai hours." Yu Yan explains that the Shangong Qishi uses Qian and Kun as the 'cauldron,' and Kan and Li as the 'medicinal ingredients,' and uses the remaining sixty trigrams as the 'fire timing.' A day has twelve hours, and two trigrams together make twelve lines, so each day uses two trigrams: Zun in the morning and Meng in the evening, Xu in the morning and Song in the evening, continuing until Ji Ji and Wei Ji, the reasoning is the same. Zun reversed is Meng, symbolizing an ascent and descent. Zun rises from within, matching morning, day, spring and summer; Meng descends from outside, matching evening, night, autumn and winter, and the rest of the trigrams follow the same pattern. However, if the sixty trigrams are divided into thirty days to symbolize a month, what about months with only twenty-nine days, called 'small full'? This shows that it is only a metaphor, not actually referring to thirty days. Some people take it as a method of counting breaths with closed eyes, which would be too complicated and exhausting, how could it be called the simple and easy great way?"

《周易參同契》金丹鼎器藥物火候萬殊一本之圗。惟斯之妙術兮，審諦不誑語；傳於億世後兮，昭然而可考；煥若星經漢兮，昺如水宗海；思之務令熟兮，反覆眂上下。千秋燦彬彬兮，萬遍將可覩；神明或告人兮，心靈忽自悟；探端索其緒兮，必得其門戶；天道無適莫兮，當傳與賢者。

This is the title and inscription of the diagram titled 「Diagram of the Single Root of the Golden Elixir Cauldron, Medicinal Substances, Fire, and Timing」 from the book Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi. The inscription says: This marvelous art, when carefully examined, is certainly not empty talk; it will still be clearly understandable even after countless generations. It shines brightly like stars across the Milky Way, and is clear as countless rivers flowing into the sea. To contemplate it, one must thoroughly understand it, repeatedly examining it from top to bottom. Even thousands of years later, it will still shine brilliantly; reading it ten thousand times will eventually make it clear. Perhaps the divine will enlighten people, and the mind will suddenly become enlightened. Grasping the thread to trace its origins, one will surely find the way in. The heavenly way has no favor or neglect for people; it should be passed on to the virtuous.

右論《參同契》指要十七。

The above is a discussion of the essential principles of the Zhou Changes (I Ching) with seventeen points.

《參同契》曰：「乾坤者，易之門戶，眾卦之父母。坎離匡廓（朱子《考異》作「匡郭」，雲其象如垣郭之形），運轂正軸，牝牡四卦，以為槖鑰。」（空同道士鄒欣曰：以宇內言之，則乾天在上，坤地在下，而陰陽變化在其間；以人身言之，則乾陽在上，坤陰在下，而一身之陰陽變化在其間。此乾坤所以為易之門戶、眾卦之父母也。凡言易皆指陰陽變化而言，在人身則所謂金丹大藥者也。然則乾坤其爐鼎歟？乾坤位乎上下，而坎離升降於其間，如車軸之貫轂以運輪，□下而□上也。牝牡謂配合之四卦，震、艮、巽、兊是也。槖，鞴囊；鑰，其管也。）

The *Zhou Yi San Tong Qi* says: "Qian and Kun are the gateways of the *I Ching* and the parents of all hexagrams; Kan and Li are like city walls surrounding the outside, driving the wheel hub and supporting the axle; the four hexagrams of male and female pairing serve as the bellows and the blowing tube." The Taoist monk Kong Tong explains that in the universe, Qian (Heaven) is above and Kun (Earth) is below, with yin and yang transformations occurring in between; in the human body, Qian yang is above and Kun yin is below, with the body's yin and yang transformations also occurring in between. This is why Qian and Kun are called the gateways of the *I Ching* and the parents of all hexagrams. Whenever the term "easy" is mentioned, it refers to the transformation of yin and yang. When applied to the human body, this is called the "golden elixir." Therefore, are Qian and Kun not the furnace and cauldron for alchemy? Qian and Kun are fixed at the top and bottom, while Kan and Li rise and fall in the middle, like the axle passing through the hub to drive the wheel, one moving down and the other up (the original text has two missing characters here). "Pine and male" refer to the four paired hexagrams, namely Zhen, Gen, Xun, and Dui. "Tuo" is a leather bag for blowing air, and "yue" is the air duct of the bag.

（上陽子陳致虛曰：何謂坎離匡廓？葢陽乘陰則乾中虛而為離，陰乘陽則坤腹實而為坎，故坎離繼乾坤之體而為陰陽之匡廓。比乾坤之於坎離，猶車輻之於轂軸，乾坤正坎離之輻，坎離輳乾坤之轂。老子曰「三十輻共一轂」，此大小徐君之旨同也。）

Shangyangzi Chen Zhi Xu continued to explain: What does "Kan Li Kuang Kuo" mean? Basically, when yang is above yin, the Qian hexagram in the middle becomes empty and transforms into the Li hexagram; when yin is above yang, the Kun hexagram in the middle becomes full and transforms into the Kan hexagram. Therefore, Kan and Li take on the form of Qian and Kun, serving as the outer boundaries of yin and yang. Comparing Qian and Kun with Kan and Li is like comparing the spokes of a wheel to the hub and axle: Qian and Kun are the spokes, while Kan and Li are the hub formed by the gathering of all the spokes. Laozi said, "Thirty spokes share a single hub," which is consistent with the meaning of the two masters, Da Xu Jun and Xiao Xu Jun.

「天地設位，而易行乎其中矣。天地者，乾坤之象也；設位者，列陰陽配合之位也。易謂坎離，坎離者乾坤二用。二用無爻位，周流行六虛，往來既不定，上下亦無常，幽潛淪匿，升降於中，包囊萬物，為道紀綱。」（全陽子俞琰曰：乾天坤地，吾身之鼎器也；離日坎月，吾身之藥物也。先天八卦乾南坤北，列天地配合之位；離東坎西，分日月出入之門。反求吾身，其致□也。乾坤為體，坎離為用。坎離二者周流升降於六虛，往來上下木無爻位；吾身坎離運行乎鼎器之內，潛天潛地，豈有爻位哉！）

The "Supplement to the Great Ultimate" also says: "Heaven and Earth have established positions of above and below, and the 'Book of Changes' operates within them. Heaven and Earth represent the images of Qian and Kun; 'setting positions' refers to arranging the positions of yin and yang. Here, the 'Book of Changes' refers to Kan and Li, which are the two functions of Qian and Kun. These two functions do not have fixed lines, but circulate through the six directions above and below, coming and going without fixed positions, moving up and down without constant place, hidden deep within, rising and falling in the middle, encompassing all things, becoming the principles of the great way." Master Qu Yanyin explains that Qian Heaven and Kun Earth are the 'vessel' within my body; Li Sun and Kan Moon are the 'medicinal substances' within my body. In the Earlier Heaven Trigrams, Qian is in the south and Kun in the north, arranging the positions of Heaven and Earth; Li is in the east and Kan in the west, distinguishing the gates of the rising and setting of the sun and moon. Reversing this to seek within oneself, the principle is the same. Qian and Kun are the essence, while Kan and Li are the functions. Kan and Li circulate and rise and fall within the six voids, moving up and down without fixed lines; the Kan and Li within my body operate within the vessel, able to rise to Heaven and descend to Earth, where could there be any fixed lines!"

河右毛氏曰：「水火匡廓圗者，以章首有『坎離匡廓，運轂正軸』二語，所云水火即坎離也。丹家以坎離為用，故輪而象之，又名水火二用圗，則又取『天地者乾坤之象，坎離者乾坤之用』二語。葢其圖正作坎離二卦而運為一軸，非所謂兩儀也，亦非所謂陽動生陰、陰靜復生陽也。其中一○則坎離之胎也，左((為離，白黑白即□—□也；右))為坎，黑白黑即—□—也。」（見《太極圗說遺議》）

Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai Trigrams: Qian (Heaven), Dui (Lake), Li (Fire), Zhen (Thunder), Xun (Wind), Kan (Water), Gen (Mountain), Kun (Earth) Mao Qiling, a person from He You, said: The so-called "Water and Fire Enclosure Diagram" is because the beginning of the "Cantongqi" mentions "Kan and Li enclose, the wheel moves along the axis." The water and fire referred to here are Kan and Li. The alchemists regard Kan and Li as functions, so they draw them in a wheel-like form to symbolize them. This diagram is also called the "Diagram of the Two Functions of Water and Fire," taking the phrase "Heaven and Earth are the images of Qian and Kun, while Kan and Li are their functions." In reality, this diagram merely draws the two trigrams Kan and Li and makes them rotate like a wheel axis. It is not the "Two Principles" mentioned by Zhou Dunyi, nor does it refer to "Yang moves to produce Yin, and Yin is still to produce Yang." The circle in the middle of the diagram is the embryo of Kan and Li. The left half is the trigram Li, with white, black, and white alternating, which is exactly the way Li is drawn: Yang, Yin, Yang. The right half is the trigram Kan, with black, white, and black alternating, which is exactly the way Kan is drawn: Yin, Yang, Yin. This view is presented in Mao Qiling's "Discourses on the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate."