Dantian 丹田 ① (Cinnabar Fields)
This page is excerpted from F. Pregadio, Dictionary of Taoist Internal Alchemy (Brill, 2025).
Translation
Cinnabar Fields; Elixir Fields. Note: This page refers to the three Cinnabar Fields. For the lower Cinnabar Field, see the page Dantian 丹田 ②. — This entry also contains two examples for the equivalent term santian 三田 Three Fields.
Definition(s)
▣ The three Cinnabar Fields. Three immaterial centers of the human being located in the regions of the abdomen, the heart, and the brain. From the lower to the upper one, their most common names are: dantian 丹田 Cinnabar Field, jianggong 絳宮 Crimson Palace, and niwan 泥丸 Muddy Pellet. See the respective entries (for the lower Field, see dantian 丹田 ②). Again from the lower to the upper one, the three Cinnabar Fields are the residences of Essence (jing), Breath (qi), and Spirit (shen). In the classical Neidan practice, they are the focal points of its three main stages, most frequently known as “refining the Essence to transmute it into Breath” (lianjing huaqi), “refining the Breath to transmute it into Spirit” (lianqi huashen), and “refining the Spirit to return to Emptiness” (lianshen huanxu). The three Cinnabar Fields are also collectively called sangu 三谷 Three Valleys, sanyao 三要 three essentials, and nei sanyao 內三要 three inner essentials.
⦿ Zhong Lü chuandao ji 13: There are three Cinnabar Fields: the upper Field is the dwelling of Spirit; the middle Field is the mansion of Breath; the lower Field is the residence of the Essence. 丹田有三：上田神舍，中田氣府，下田精區。
⦿ Jindan wenda: What are the Three Fields? The brain is the upper Field, the heart is the middle Field, the Ocean of Breath (qihai) is the lower Field. 問曰：何謂三田？答曰：腦為上田，心為中田，氣海為下田。
⦿ Wuzhen pian JJ 43: The Great One (taiyi ②) is in the Furnace and should be carefully guarded; the Three Fields gather the jewels (i.e., Essence, Breath, and Spirit) and correspond to the Three Terraces (santai). 太一在爐宜慎守，三田寶聚應三台。Comm. Liu Yiming: The Three Fields . . . are the places where the Great Medicine (dayao) of the three precelestial (xiantian) items—Essence, Breath, and Spirit—is generated. They have no form and no image, and thus have no extension and no location. Because they are the places of generation of Essence, Breath, and Spirit, they are called Fields; and because Essence, Breath, and Spirit are spoken of separately, they are called Three Fields. Actually the Three Fields are altogether one Field, and the three treasures (sanbao) are altogether one treasure. Since there is a practice (gongfu) in three stages—refining the Essence to transmute it into Breath, refining the Breath to transmute it into Spirit, refining the Spirit to transmute it into Emptiness—one speaks of three separate Fields. When it comes to refining the Spirit and transmuting it into Emptiness, however, there is only one place, and Essence, Breath, and Spirit return to “leaving no trace” (wuji). How can one speak of Three Fields? 三田 . . . 乃先天精氣神三品大藥所生之處，無形無象，亦無方無所。以其是精氣神所生之處，故謂田。以其精氣神三者分言，故謂三田。其實三田總是一田，三寶總是一寶，因其有煉精化氣、煉氣化神、煉神化虛，三層功夫，故以三田分言之。若到煉神化虛時，只有一虛，而精氣神亦歸於無跡，更何有三田之說乎？
⦿ Tianxian zhengli zhilun qianshuo: There are three Cinnabar Fields. Breath is in the middle Cinnabar [Field], Spirit is in the upper Cinnabar [Field], the Essence is in the lower Cinnabar [Field]. 丹田有三，氣在中丹，神在上丹，精在下丹。
Related Terms
☞ dantian 丹田 ②; jianggong 絳宮; nei sanyao 內三要; niwan 泥丸; sangu 三谷; santian 三田