Daoism Series 35:
金津玉液
The Golden Fluid and Jade Liquid
The Golden Fluid and Jade Liquid are terms for a more refined stage of the saliva during alchemical transformation processes. It comes as no surprise that there are two extra acupuncture points, M-HN-20, on the sublingual veins under the tongue, which together are called Golden Fluid and Jade Liquid [jin jin yu ye金津玉液], right under the tongue where the ren and du vessels meet. The role of the Jade Liquid for longevity purposes is emphasized in Ge Hong’s Master of Embracing Simplicity [bao pu zi 抱朴子] in two instances:
善其术者，则能卻走马以补脑，还阴丹以朱肠，采玉液於金池，引三五於华梁，令人老有美色，终其所禀之天年。
Those who are good at the art are able to drive back the running horse in order to supplement the brain, to return the yin elixir to the vermillion intestines, draw the Jade Liquid in the Jade Pool, and guide the 3-5 [i.e. fire, water and earth] into the flowering ridge, which causes people to grow old with a beautiful facial complexion, and eventually [to reach] one’s allotted lifespan [i.e. to avoid a premature death].
若年尚少壮而知还年，服阴丹以补脑，采玉液於长谷者，不服药物，亦不失三百岁也，但不得仙耳。
If one is still young in years and strong, knows how to revert their years [i.e. to become physically younger], ingests the yin elixir in order to supplement the brain, and draws the Jade Liquid from the vast emptiness, then without ingesting medicines, they will also not fail [to reach] three hundred years [in lifespan], though they will not attain immortality.
Post-Scriptum: This article will be published as part of a book, entitled ‘The Arts of Daoism’ about meditation, stillness cultivation, abstention from grains [bi gu辟谷], sleeping gong [shui gong睡功], dreams, vegetarianism and diet in Daoism, formulae for fasting and meditation incense, including several chapters from the alchemical classic The Essentials of the Shortcut to the Great Achievement [da cheng jie yao 大成捷要]. It will be a mixture of anecdotal and oral transmissions from my teacher Li Shifu and translations of a number of chapters from ancient texts by Ge Hong, Sun Simiao, Wang Changyue, Zhang Jingyue, Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Bai Yuchan, Zhang Sanfeng and many more. It is set to be released March 2021, and a first draft has been already finalized.
If you enjoyed reading this please consider supporting us!
When we started the Purple Cloud Institute, our aim was to make accessible educational material about traditional Chinese cultural practices. We strive to keep prices of our books as affordable as possible and the content we provide free of charge. However, there are many ongoing behind the scenes costs and the time taken to provide such content is considerable.
If you have enjoyed our offerings please consider donating and supporting us. The help will allow us to make time to bring you more in the way of book publications, podcasts and videos about tradition-based Daoist, Chinese medicine and martial arts and help keep these traditions alive.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated!
