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Poria (Fuling, 茯苓) is naturally an upper-grade medicine of the immortals, but it contains red fibrous veins. If these veins are not removed, long-term consumption will be detrimental to the eyes or cause visual impairment (shrinkage of vision). The skin should be peeled off, cut into square-inch pieces, and boiled in clear water in silver or stone vessels. It is ready when it becomes soft and disintegrates, then put into a fine cloth bag. Rub and shake with cold water until it resembles the consistency of Polygonatum starch (Gefen, 葛粉), then settle and collect the starch. The fibrous veins remain in the cloth bag and should be discarded. Mix this starch with honey to form a moist incense-like paste, steam it, and consume it for optimal effect. For Sesamum indicum (Huma, 胡麻), select only pure black sesame seeds. Process them through nine steaming and nine drying cycles. Grind them thoroughly in water, filter to obtain white juice, and boil in silver or stone vessels until thick like almond milk (Xingluo, 杏酪), then add to the decoction. Pit and peel dates, grind them thoroughly, mix with the Poria starch, knead well, and consume; this yields extraordinary efficacy.

(Introduction)
In my youth, I suffered from frequent illnesses. In summer, my Spleen could not withstand food intake; in autumn, my Lungs could not resist cold. Treating the Lungs would harm the Spleen, and treating the Spleen would harm the Lungs. Daily medication hardly led to recovery. At thirty-two, while serving as an official in Wanqiu, someone pitied me and taught me the Daoist method of Qi regulation (Fuqi, 服气). After practicing for one year, my illness was largely cured. From then on, I began to pay attention to health preservation theories. In my later years, I read *Baopuzi* (The Master Who Embraces Simplicity). It stated that Qi regulation and herbal medicines cannot achieve immortality. Ancient immortals and true men all consumed Golden Elixir (Jindan, 金丹), believing that the nature of herbs is such that they rot when buried, decay when boiled, and char when burned. Since plants cannot generate life themselves, how could they enable humans to live forever? Having renounced worldly desires, I realized the Golden Elixir was unattainable, so I sought among herbs those that neither winter nor summer could damage, nor time corrupt—only Pine (Song, 松) and Cypress (Bai, 柏) were like this. Ancient texts state that pine resin flowing underground becomes Poria; after a thousand years, if lifted, it becomes Amber (Hupo, 琥珀). Though not gold or jade, it preserves itself perfectly, which has been the case for a long time. Thus, I sought it in famous mountains, crushed and processed it, removed its veins, and extracted its essence. Hoping to solidify the body, nourish Qi, prolong life, and reverse aging, I composed this poem to explain it.
In spring it flourishes, in summer it thrives. It withers before wind and frost, breaks after ice and snow. It undergoes change with seasons, decaying along with manure and soil. This is indeed a tiny thing among hundred herbs, common among trees. Although sometimes effective for bones on knife boards, exhausting life in mortars, resolving emergencies instantly, breaking strange evils by chance, all are born with shallow and narrow destinies. They change with times; morning mushrooms do not last a day, cicadas do not last a year. If they cannot even save themselves, how can they extend others' lives? Yet one wishes to pick minute roots and stems, relying on smell and taste to ascend to immortality. This is like entrusting a tired ox to run a thousand miles, or driving a cawing turtledove to heaven. One would toil at the bottom of valleys, die dry on cliff tops, sigh looking at the evening sun, thinking immortals are not like this. Consider the pines of the southern stream, rising a thousand feet from the ground, bark thick as rhinoceros hide, roots hard as iron and stone, hair and nails unchanged, standing green and independent, flowing resin into the yellow springs, consolidating through Yin and Yang, squatting like birds and beasts, hibernating like turtles and snakes, exterior dark and scaly, interior white and dense. Untouched by weeds above, untainted by ants below, enduring a thousand years, transforming into amber, becoming firmer with rain and dew, lasting with sun and moon, thus calming the Hun and Po souls, stabilizing the mind and will. Rejecting the five flavors and grains, following Chisongzi (Red Pine Lord) of antiquity. Counting a hundred years as a single breath, face like a maiden, green hair and square eyes, spirit still and Qi settled, wandering freely. Then riding the righteousness of Heaven and Earth, controlling the six Qi transformations, roaming the infinite, what more to seek or eat?