Library

Take one *shi* (approx. 120 jin or 60 kg) of *Rhizoma Polygonati* (Huangjing, 黄精), remove the rootlets and hairs, wash until clean, crush, and steam until thoroughly cooked. Press to extract the juice, then re-decoct to remove foam and excess water, yielding one *dou* (approx. 10 L) of liquid. Add three *liang* (approx. 45 g) of powdered dried ginger (*Radix Zingiberis Preparata*, Ganjiang, 干姜) and one *liang* (approx. 15 g) of powdered cinnamon twig bark (*Cortex Cinnamomi*, Guixin, 桂心). Simmer over a gentle fire until the color becomes rich and yellowish. Remove from heat, let cool, and store in a non-leaky vessel. To take, mix with five *he* (approx. 100 mL) of wine, taking two *he* per dose. Usually taken before meals, twice daily. Long-term use causes old skin to shed, complexion to become radiant, aura to change distinctively, and hair to renew. For long-term maintenance, do not mix with wine; instead, add roasted soybeans (*Soyae Semen Praeparatum*, Sheng Dahuanghuang, 生大豆黄) and practice grain avoidance (*Juegu*, 绝谷); hunger and thirst will cease, leading to longevity.

Select high-quality black sesame seeds (*Sesami Fructus*, Wuzhi Ma, 乌麻) with the color of black sandalwood. Mix with an appropriate amount of water to moisten, ensuring it is not too wet. Steam until the heat penetrates thoroughly, then sun-dry. Repeat this "nine steaming and nine drying" process, removing the outer skin. Before meals, take two *fangcunbi* (a measure equivalent to two square inches) mixed with water or wine, three times daily. Gradually adapt to grain avoidance; long-term use prevents all diseases and extends life.

Take two *sheng* (approx. 2 L) of *Semen Platycladi* (Baizi Ren, 柏子仁), pound finely. Soak in four *sheng* of pure wine, stirring into a paste. Add two *sheng* of white honey (*Mell*, Baimi, 白蜜) and three *sheng* of jujube paste (*Fructus Jujubae*, Zaogao, 枣膏). Pound until pillable. Add one *sheng* each of powdered dried Rehmannia root (*Radix Rehmanniae Preparata*, Dihuang, 干地黄) and powdered Atractylodes rhizome (*Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae*, Baizhu, 白术). Mix well and form pills the size of mulberry seeds. Take thirty pills per dose, twice daily. After twenty days, all diseases will be cured.

Collect pine nuts on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month; if delayed, they fall and cannot be obtained. For treatment, take one *fangcunbi* daily, three to four times. Another method states: take three *he* per dose; after one hundred days, the body feels light; after three hundred days, one can walk five hundred *li*; long-term grain avoidance leads to immortality. If thirsty, drink water, or mix with pine resin. If formed into pills the size of mulberry seeds, take ten per dose.

Take refined pine resin (*Pini Resina*, Songzhi, 松脂), sift it, and mix with honey. Store in a barrel, protecting it from wind. Take one piece the size of a Go stone (2 *cun* long, 1 *cun* square) daily, three times. Gradually, hunger ceases, extending life. Alternatively, mix with pure wine and white honey to form a syrup-like consistency, taking one to two *liang* daily. The best pine resin comes from natural accumulations on the bark of old pines. Resin found at broken roots, shielded from sunlight, is called "Yin Resin" (*Yin Zhi*, 阴脂) and is superior.

At sunset, break the yin side of the trunk to collect its sap (*Gao*, 膏), and the yang side to collect its resin (*Zhi*, 脂). Consume equal parts of both to enhance spiritual clarity. Drill holes five *cun* square and deep into the trunk's yin and yang aspects. Cover the holes with bark to prevent wind entry; if wind enters, it is unfit for use. Collect during spring and summer. After collection, seal tightly without leakage and coat with mud. Travel northeast to find Yin Spring Water at the Cinnabar Cave to drink with this remedy. Che Jun from Hongnong entered these mountains in the first year of Yuanfeng to consume pine resin. Sixteen years later, in summer, he returned to live in the East Market of Chang'an. He had previously traveled between Niutou Valley in Shanggu and the Qinling Mountains, appearing perpetually youthful, like a man of thirty.