Secretly Transmitted Direct Pointers to the Great Elixir

This paper presents a complete annotated translation and exegesis of the Michuan dadan zhizhi 秘傳大丹直指 (Secretly Transmitted Direct Pointers to the Great Elixir), a late imperial text that deals with various practical, theoretical, and philosophical concepts in relation to internal alchemy. Despite its relevance and high quality, it has hardly been noticed so far in China and was only published very recently. In the West, it is virtually unknown, even among China scholars and Daoist practitioners. Its fifteen chapters have much to offer to our understanding of the system and process of internal alchemy.