05/07/2021 Chinese alchemy - Wikipedia

Chinese alchemy
Chinese alchemy is an ancient Chinese scientific and
technological approach to alchemy, a part of the larger tradition
of Taoist / Daoist body-spirit cultivation developed from the
traditional Chinese understanding of medicine and the body.
According to original texts such as the Cantong qi, the body is
understood as the focus of cosmological processes summarized in
the five agents of change, or Wuxing, the observation and
cultivation of which leads the practitioner into alignment and
harmony with the Tao. Therefore, the traditional view in China is
that alchemy focuses mainly on longevity and the purification of Crystals of cinnabar, crystals of
one's spirit, mind and body, providing, health, longevity and barite, crystals of quartz, crystals of
wisdom, through the practice of Qigong, wuxingheqidao. The calcite : Wanshan Mine, Wanshan
consumption and use of various concoctions known as alchemical District, Tongren Prefecture,
medicines or elixirs, each of which having different purposes but Guizhou Province, China, an
example of material historically
largely were concerned with immortality.
associated with Chinese alchemy
Pao zhi (炮制；Pao chi) or Processing (Chinese materia medica)
is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, such as honey or wine
frying and roasting with toxic metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic.[1]

Daoism had two distinct parts, the classical Daojia (道家 Tao chia), which was mystical and stemmed
primarily from Laozi and Zhuangzi, and the more popular Daojiao (道教 Tao chiao), which was the
popular, magical and alchemical side of Daoism. In general, classical Daojia was more austere,
whereas Daojiao was more practiced by the general populace.[2]

Contents
Process and purpose
East Asian vs Eastern Mediterranean views
Origins
Yin and Yang
Outer and inner alchemy
Outer alchemy (Waidan)
Inner alchemy (Neidan)
Associated risks
Conception of medicine
Practitioners
Chinese women alchemists
See also
References
Additional bibliography
External links

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Process and purpose

By refining bases into gold and ingesting the "fake" or synthetic gold, the alchemist believed that
immortal life would be delivered. The idea that fake gold was superior to real gold arose because the
alchemists believed the combination of a variety of substances (and the transformation of these
substances through roasting or burning) gave the final substance a spiritual value, possessing a
superior essence when compared to natural gold.[2] Gold and cinnabar (jindan) were the most
sought-after substances to manipulate and ingest, believed to have longevity and thus able to
elongate the life of the consumer.

Cinnabar is a mineral with a reddish-brown colour and is the most common source of mercury in
nature.[3] The significance of its red colour and difficulty with which it was refined implied to
alchemists its connection with the search for immortality. The colour was significant to symbolic
belief as well, red being considered in Chinese culture to be the "zenith of the colour representing the
sun, fire, royalty and energy."[2] Cinnabar could also be roasted, which produced a liquid form of
silver known as quicksilver, now known as mercury. This substance was ingested but it could also be
combined with sulphur and burned again to return to its natural form of cinnabar, the solid seen as
the yang to quicksilver's yin.[2] In China, gold was quite rare, so it was usually imported from other
surrounding countries. However, cinnabar could be refined in the mountains of Sichuan and Hunan
provinces in central China.

Although the majority of xian (immortality) elixirs were combinations of jindan, many other elixirs
were formed by combining metallic bases with natural herbs or animals bi-products. The rhinoceros'
horn was commonly used in medicines and elixirs and was held to have fertility-increasing abilities.
Elixirs were composed of metallic compounds such as gold and silver, but could also be made of more
lethal components like arsenic, and sulphur.

East Asian vs Eastern Mediterranean views

Both the Eastern practice and the later Western practice of alchemy are remarkably similar in their
methods and ultimate purpose. To be sure, the desire to create an elixir of immortality was more
appealing to the Taoists, but European alchemists were not averse to seeking out formulas for various
longevity-boosting substances. The secret of transmuting one element into another, specifically base
metals into gold or silver, was equally explored by both schools for obvious reasons.

In the European outlook, the ability to turn relatively worthless materials into gold was attractive
enough to allow medieval alchemy to enjoy extensive practice long after the Chinese form had been
forgotten. Alternatively, transmutation was also a means of accruing the precious metals that were
key in making life-extending elixirs, and were otherwise expensive and difficult to obtain. Alchemical
knowledge in the East and West favored different opinions of the true form of alchemy due to
different theological views and cultural biases, however these disputes do not lessen the integrity of
alchemy's canonical nature.

Chinese alchemy specifically was consistent in its practice from the beginning, and there was
relatively little controversy among its practitioners. Definition amongst alchemists varied only in
their medical prescription for the elixir of immortality, or perhaps only over their names for it, of
which sinology has counted about 1000. Because the Chinese approach was through the fundamental
doctrine of Yin and Yang, the influence of the I Ching, and the teachings of the Five Elements,
Chinese alchemy had its roots considerably more in obtaining a higher mental-spiritual level.

In the West, there were conflicts between advocates of herbal and "chemical" (mineral) pharmacy,
but in China, mineral remedies were always accepted. In Europe, there were conflicts between
alchemists who favored gold-making and those who thought medicine the proper goal, but the

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Chinese always favored the latter. Since alchemy rarely achieved any of these goals, it was an
advantage to the Western alchemist to have the situation obscured, and the art survived in Europe
long after Chinese alchemy had simply faded away.

Origins
Despite much research, many scholars are still unable to marshal conflicting evidence in order to
determine when exactly Chinese alchemy started. It was thought that China was making gold about
one thousand years before Confucius' time, but this is contradicted by other academics stating that
during the 5th century BCE there was no word for gold and that it was an unknown metal in China.[4]

However, despite the uncertain origins, there are enough similarities in the ideas of practices of
Chinese alchemy and the Daoist tradition so that one can conclude that Laozi and Zhang Daoling are
the creators of this tradition. In her article, Radcliffe tells that Zhang rejected serving the Emperor
and retreated to live in the mountains. At this time, he met Laozi and together they created (or
attempted to create) the Elixir of Life (Radcliffe, 2001), by creating the theory that would be used in
order to achieve the making of such an elixir. This is the starting point to the Chinese tradition of
alchemy, whose purpose was to achieve immortality.

One of the first evidence of Chinese alchemy being openly discussed in history is during the Qin's
First Emperor's period when Huan Kuan (73-49 BC) states how modifying forms of nature and
ingesting them will bring immortality to the person who drinks them.[5] Before Huan Kuan, the idea
of alchemy was to turn base metals into gold. Conflicting research on the origins of alchemy are
further demonstrated by Cooper, who claims that alchemy "flourished well before 144 BCE, for at that
date the Emperor issued an edict which ordered public execution for anyone found making
counterfeit gold".[2] This suggests that people were well aware of how to heat the metals in order to
change them into a desired form. A further counter to Pregadio from Cooper is the latter's contention
that an emperor in 60 BCE had hired "a well-known scholar, Liu Hsiang, as Master of the Recipes so
that he could make alchemical gold and prolong the Emperor's life." All of these conflicting origins
considered, it is nearly impossible to claim any absolute knowledge on the origins of Chinese
alchemy. However, historical texts of Daoist teaching include alchemical practices, most of which
posit the existence of an elixir or the Golden Elixir that, when ingested, gives the drinker eternal life.

As there is a direct connection between Daoism and Laozi, some suggest he played a major role in the
creation of Chinese alchemy. Zhou Dynasty philosopher Zou Yan is said to have written many of the
alchemical books, although none of them have ever been found, nor have the existing ones been
credited to him.[4] The likeliest proponents of Chinese alchemy are as previously stated, Laozi, and
Zhang Daoling as well as Zhuangzi. Each of these men are major icons in Daoist teachings. Although
these three are credited with the creation of alchemy, there is no definitive proof to suggest or dispute
that they were responsible for its creation.

Yin and Yang

The concept of yin-yang is pervasive throughout Chinese alchemical theory. Metals were categorized
as being male or female, and mercury and sulphur especially were thought to have powers relating to
lunar and solar respectively.[2]

Prior to Taoist tradition, the Chinese already had very definitive notions of the natural world's
processes and "changes", especially involving the wu xing: Water, Fire, Earth, Metal and Wood.[6]
These were commonly thought to be interchangeable with one another; each were capable of
becoming another element. The concept is integral, as the belief in outer alchemy necessitates the
belief in natural elements being able to change into others. The cyclical balance of the elements
relates to the binary opposition of yin-yang, and so it appears quite frequently.

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Outer and inner alchemy

Chinese alchemy can be divided into two methods of practice,
waidan or "external alchemy" and neidan or "internal alchemy".
Doctrine can be accessed to describe these methods in greater
detail; the majority of Chinese alchemical sources can be found in
the Daozang, the "Taoist Canon".

Outer alchemy (Waidan)

The meaning of waidan derives from wai (outside, exterior) and

dan referring to alchemical operations, such as the preparation of
chemical elixirs, made from cinnabar, realgar, and other
substances generally involving mercury, sulfur, lead, and arsenic
or else the animal and botanical products which are found in
Chinese herbology and Traditional Chinese medicine. Waidan
refers to practices relating to the process of making an elixir often
containing herbal or chemical substances found outside of the
body. This process involves esoteric oral instructions, building a
laboratory, kindling and sustaining the special fires used in the Chinese woodblock illustration of a
production process, rules of seclusion and purification for the waidan alchemical refining furnace,
alchemist to follow, and various practices including the 1856 Waike tushuo (外科圖説,
Illustrated Manual of External
performance of ceremonies to protect the self and the ritual area.
Medicine)
Waidan can also include following a dietary regimen which
prescribes or proscribes certain foods. Preparing medicines and
elixirs can be referred to as outer practices or waidan as these
practices occur outside of the body until they are verified by the
ingestion of medicines, herbs, and pills to bring about physical
changes within the body, separate to the soul.

Inner alchemy (Neidan)

The term Neidan can be divided into two parts: Nei, meaning
inner, and Dan, which refers to alchemy, elixir, and cinnabar
(mercury). Neidan uses techniques such as: composed
meditation techniques, visualization, breathing and bodily
posture exercises. Breathing exercises were used to preserve jing
or "life essence" and bodily postures were used to improve qi or
"energy" flow in the body. Neidan comprises the elixir from the
principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the cultivation of
substances already present in the body, in particular the
manipulation of three substances in the body known as the
"Three Treasures".
Chinese woodblock illustration of
neidan "Cleansing the heart-mind
The three treasures are:
and retiring into concealment", 1615
Xingming guizhi 性命圭旨 (Pointers
1. Jing which can be translated as "life essence". A person is
on Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life)
born with Jing and it governs the developmental growth
processes in the body. Since people are born with a certain
amount of Jing, it is taught that a person can increase their
Jing through dietary and lifestyle practices.
2. Qi which can be translated as "energy" or "vital energy". Qi energy results from the interaction of
yin and yang. A healthy body is constantly circulating Qi.
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3. Shen can be translated as "spirit" or "mind". Shen is the energy used in mental, spiritual and
creative functioning (Lu, 30).

The three treasures are also associated with locations in the body where the alchemical process takes
place. These locations include major organs and energy centers, called dantians.

1. Jing or "life essence" is found in the Kidneys and possibly the adrenal glands.
2. Qi or "vital energy" resides in Lower Dantian or "elixir field" and it is located about an inch down
from navel.
3. Shen or "spiritual energy" is seated in the Middle Dantian, which is the Heart.

During the Han dynasty and after, Neidan and Daoist martial arts gradually merged into one,
becoming Neijia martial arts. Famous Taijiquan masters who practiced Neijia include Wu Tunan (吳
圖南) and Chen Weiming (陳微明).

Associated risks
When ingested, these compounds did not always result in the desired outcome. Many individuals
died or had psychological difficulties after taking certain elixirs. However, the loss of life may not
have seemed a large risk, when compared with the promise of the afterlife. Although these elixirs
were lethal or dangerous, there is some contention that these individuals were not ignorant of the
fatality of some of the materials they were ingesting.

There were certain grades of immortality, so if the practiced alchemist died, the level of immortality
they achieved was determined by their corpse. If their corpse was sweet-smelling, it was said that
they had achieved immortality in an ephemeral state. Likewise, if their corpse disappeared, leaving
behind only the clothes, such as in the death of an adept named Ko Hung, this was another form of
immortality known as shih chieh hsien (corpse-free immortals) (Cooper, 14).

Conception of medicine
Medicines can be used to heal ailments on the exterior or interior of the body, to control the ageing of
the body, or even to prevent death. The term medicine and elixir are virtually interchangeable
because of the array of ailments they can influence. The difference between defining an elixir from a
medicine was that many medicines were composed mainly of all natural products like herbs and
animal products. Never the animals themselves, only their products, which could consist of dung or
fur. Although metal compounds are more potent when curing ailments, herbs were used because they
were easier to combine and more abundantly available. To make medicines one would use
ingredients like: Kolo nuts, which would be used in famous longevity pills like "Fo-Ti-Ti"; Asparagus,
which was used because it was known to increase strength; sesame, which prevents senility; and pine
which has over 300 different uses. (Cooper, 1990. Pg. 62) Mushrooms were and still are very popular,
they are known as the "magic fungus" (Ganoderma) and have thousands of purposes within Chinese
alchemy.

Practitioners

Chinese women alchemists

With the rise of alchemy in Chinese civilization, alchemy began to be seen as an art. Among many
practitioners, a significant number of women were known to have mastered this art. The earliest
recorded woman alchemist had the family name of Fang (Chinese: 方 ), and lived around the first
century B.C.[7] Raised in a scholarly family skilled in the alchemical arts, she studied alchemy with
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one of the Emperor Han Wu Ti's spouses, and therefore had access to the highest levels of society.
Fang was credited with the discovery of the method to turn mercury into silver. It was believed that
she may have used the chemical technique of silver extraction from ores using mercury, where pure
silver residue is left behind from the boiled mercury. Fang's husband was Cheng Wei (simplified
Chinese: 程伟; traditional Chinese: 程偉；see zh:程偉). Details of Fang's life were recorded by author
and alchemist Ge Hong.[7]

Keng Hsien-Seng (circa A.D. 975)[8] was another female alchemist who, according to the science
writings of Wu Shu "mastered the art of the yellow and white [alchemy] with many other strong
transformations, mysterious and incomprehensible".[7] Wu Shu also described Keng as being
acquainted with other Taoist techniques and was believed able to control the spirits. She also
mastered the transformation of mercury and "snow" into silver, probably using the technique of
extraction of silver from its ores, as well as using a primitive type of Soxhlet process to continuously
extract camphor into alcohol.[7]

Other female alchemists who have been recognized in Chinese literature are Pao Ku Ko (third century
A.D.),[9] Thai Hsuan Nu,[10] Sun Pu-Eh (12th century), and Shen Yu Hsiu (15th century).[7]

See also
Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam
Cold-Food Powder
Yellow Court Classic

References
1. "Medieval Transmission of Alchemical and Chemical Ideas Between China and India", Vijay
Deshpande, Indiana Journal of History of Science, 22 (1), pp. 15-28, 1987
2. Cooper, J.C. (1990). Chinese Alchemy: the Daoist Quest for Immortality. Sterling Publishing Co.
pp. 55–70.
3. "Environment Canada : Natural Sources" (http://ec.gc.ca/mercure-mercury/default.asp?lang=En&
n=2C1BBBDA-1). Ec.gc.ca. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
4. Sivin, Nathan (1968). Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies. Harvard University Press. pp. 21–
22.
5. Pregadio, Fabrizio (2012). The Way of the Golden Elixir: A Historical Overview of Taoist Alchemy.
Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press.
6. Davis, Tenney L., and Wu Lu-Ch'iang (September 1930). "Chinese Alchemy". The Scientific
Monthly, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Vol. 31, No. 3: 225–235.
7. Rayner-Canham, Marelene; Rayner-Canham, Geoffrey (2001). Women in Chemistry: Their
Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century (History of Modern
Chemical Sciences (https://archive.org/details/womeninchemistry0000rayn/page/4). Philadelphia:
Chemical Heritage Foundation. pp. 4–5 (https://archive.org/details/womeninchemistry0000rayn/p
age/4). ISBN 978-0941901277.
8. "Science and Religion - Alchemy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160505060020/http://facultypag
es.ecc.edu/tong/About_ChinaScienceANDReligion.htm). Archived from the original (http://facultyp
ages.ecc.edu/tong/About_ChinaScienceANDReligion.htm) on 2016-05-05.
9. Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Wiles, Sue (2014). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II:
Tang Through Ming 618 - 1644 (University of Hong Kong Libraries Publications). Armonk, New
York: M.E Sharpe, Inc. p. 221. ISBN 978-0765643148.
10. Radcliffe, Jeannie. "Chinese Alchemy and Art" (http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~panopus/jeannie/
chinese%20alchemy%20&%20art.htm).

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Additional bibliography
Jefferson, R.B., Doctrine of the Elixir (http://duversity.org/PDF/Elixir.pdf). Coombe Springs Press
1982. ISBN 0-900306-15-7.
Miller, James, and Elijah Siegler. "Of Alchemy and Authenticity: Teaching About Daoism Today".
In Teaching Theology and Religion, Vol. 10 (2007): 101-108. ISSN 1368-4868.
Pregadio, Fabrizio. The Seal of the Unity of the Three: A Study and Translation of the Cantong qi,
the Source of the Taoist Way of the Golden Elixir (http://www.goldenelixir.com/press/trl_02_ctq.ht
ml). Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-9843082-8-6. Partial online version (h
ttp://www.goldenelixir.com/files/Zhouyi_cantong_qi_SAMPLE.pdf), retrieved March 29, 2012.
Pregadio, Fabrizio. The Way of the Golden Elixir: A Historical Overview of Taoist Alchemy (http://
www.goldenelixir.com/press/occ_03_jindan_history.html). Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press,
2012. [PDF, 60 pp., free download.]
Pregadio, Fabrizio. Chinese Alchemy: An Annotated Bibliography of Works in Western
Languages (http://www.goldenelixir.com/press/ref_01_alchemy_biblio.html). Mountain View:
Golden Elixir Press, 2009.
Radcliffe, Jeannie. "Alchemy and Daoism" (http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~panopus/jeannie/alch
emy%20&%20daoism.html). 2001.
Rouselle, Irwin. "Spiritual Guidance in Contemporary Taoism". In Spiritual Disciplines, Papers
from the Eranos Yearbooks. Princeton University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-691-01863-4.
Sivin, Nathan. "The Theoretical Background of Laboratory Alchemy" (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~
nsivin/alch.html). In Joseph Needham et al., Science and Civilisation in China, vol. V, part 5.
Cambridge University Press, 1980, pp. 210–305.
Sivin, Nathan. "Comparing Greek and Chinese Philosophy and Science" (http://ccat.sas.upenn.ed
u/~nsivin/comp.html). In Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in Ancient China, chapter 1.
Variorum, 1995.
Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. Harper Collins, 1991.
Wang, Mu. Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Taoist Practice of Neidan (http://www.goldenelix
ir.com/press/tao_01_foundations.html). Golden Elixir Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-9843082-5-5.
Wilhelm, Richard. Secret of the Golden Flower. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1931. ISBN 0-15-
679980-4.
Yu, Lu K'uan, Taoist Yoga. Rider, 1970. ISBN 0-7126-1725-6.

External links
Taoist Alchemy (http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan.html) — Fabrizio Pregadio.
Science and magic in Ge Hong's Baopu-zi nei pian (http://www.levity.com/alchemy/ge_hong.html)
— Evgueni A. Tortchinov
(in Chinese) Annotated Book of Alchemy by Tao Zhi (http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4695)
Chinese Alchemy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS4CDA8wBPA)

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