Chinese Alchemy

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Chinese Alchemy

Author : Jean Cooper
Publisher : Weiser Books
ISBN 13 : 1609259823
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Alchemy by : Jean Cooper

Download or read book Chinese Alchemy written by Jean Cooper and published by Weiser Books. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here in one slender volume is a basic introduction to Chinese alchemy—a tradition that dates back 5,000 years. Chinese alchemy, largely associated with Taoism, has a recorded history of more than 2,000 years, but traditionally it goes back even further to nearly 3000 BC and the time of the Yellow Emperor. While Western alchemy was concerned with the search for spiritual and material gold, classic Taoist alchemy was a mystical quest for immortality with its aim being union with the Absolute. Jean Cooper describes the history and development of Taoist alchemy, compares it to similar traditions in India and Turkistan, and gives it context by contrasting it with the rationale of the Western hermetic tradition. As she writes in her concluding chapter: The whole work of alchemy is summed up in the phrase "To make of the body a spirit and of the spirit a body". . . . The goal of the Taoist alchemist-mystic was transformation, or perhaps more correctly, transfiguration, of the whole body until it ceases to "be" and is absorbed into and becomes the Tao. This is an essential guide for anyone interested in Chinese legend and lore, Chinese magic and medicine, and Taoism.

A Study of Chinese Alchemy

Author : Obed Simon Johnson
Publisher : Martino Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781578986828
Total Pages : 178 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (868 download)

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Book Synopsis A Study of Chinese Alchemy by : Obed Simon Johnson

Download or read book A Study of Chinese Alchemy written by Obed Simon Johnson and published by Martino Publishing. This book was released on 2009-04 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reprint. Paperback.156p. In China as elsewhere, alchemy is a doctrine aiming to afford an understanding of the principles underlying the formation and functioning of the cosmos. The alchemist overcomes the limits of individuality, and ascends to higher states of being; he becomes, in Chinese terms, a zhenren or Authentic Man. Chinese alchemy went through a complex and not yet entirely understood development along its twenty centuries of documented history. The two main traditions are conventionally known as waidan or "external alchemy" and neidan or "internal alchemy". The bulk of the Chinese alchemical sources is found in the Daozang (Taoist Canon), the largest collection of Taoist texts. The cosmos as we know it is conceived of as the final stage in a series of spontaneous transmutations stemming from original non-existence. This process entails the apparent separation of primeval Unity into the two complementary principles, yin and yang. Their re-union generates the cosmos. When the process is completed, the cosmos is subject to the laws of cosmology. The alchemist's task is to retrace this process backwards. Alchemy, whether "external" or "internal," providessupport to the adept, leading one to the point when, as some texts put it, "Heaven spontaneously reveals its secrets." Its practice must be performed under the close supervision of a master, who provides the "oral instructions" (koujue) necessary to an understanding of the processes that the adept performs with minerals and metals, or undergoes within himself. Modern study of the alchemical literature began in the present century, after the Canon was reprinted and made widely available in 1926. Johnson's work, originally published in 1928, remains one of the full book length treatises in English on the subject.

Chinese Alchemy

Author : Jean Cooper
Publisher : Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN 13 : 1578635772
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (786 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Alchemy by : Jean Cooper

Download or read book Chinese Alchemy written by Jean Cooper and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here in one slender volume is a basic introduction to Chinese alchemy - a tradition that dates back 5,000 years. Chinese alchemy, largely associated with Taoism, has a recorded history of more than 2,000 years, but traditionally it goes back even further to nearly 3000 BC and the time of the Yellow Emperor. While Western alchemy was concerned with the search for spiritual and material gold, classic Taoist alchemy was a mystical quest for immortality with its aim being union with the Absolute. Jean Cooper describes the history and development of Taoist alchemy, compares it to similar traditions in India and Turkistan, and gives it context by contrasting it with the rationale of the Western hermetic tradition. As she writes in her concluding chapter: The whole work of alchemy is summed up in the phrase 'To make of the body a spirit and of the spirit a body'. . . . The goal of the Taoist alchemist-mystic was transformation, or perhaps more correctly, transfiguration, of the whole body until it ceases to 'be' and is absorbed into and becomes the Tao. This is an essential guide for anyone interested in Chinese legend and lore, Chinese magic and medicine, and Taoism.

Great Clarity

Author : Fabrizio Pregadio
Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0804767734
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis Great Clarity by : Fabrizio Pregadio

Download or read book Great Clarity written by Fabrizio Pregadio and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2006-02-27 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to examine extensively the religious aspects of Chinese alchemy. Its main focus is the relation of alchemy to the Daoist traditions of the early medieval period (third to sixth centuries). It shows how alchemy contributed to and was tightly integrated into the elaborate body of doctrines and practices that Daoists built at that time, from which Daoism as we know it today evolved. The book also clarifies the origins of Chinese alchemy and the respective roles of alchemy and meditation in self-cultivation practices. It contains full translations of three important medieval texts, all of them accompanied by running commentaries, making available for the first time in English the gist of the early Chinese alchemical corpus.

Chinese Alchemy

Author : Nathan Sivin
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780783717241
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (172 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Alchemy by : Nathan Sivin

Download or read book Chinese Alchemy written by Nathan Sivin and published by . This book was released on 1968-01-01 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Chinese Alchemy

Author : Fabrizio Pregadio
Publisher : Golden Elixir Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 58 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Alchemy by : Fabrizio Pregadio

Download or read book Chinese Alchemy written by Fabrizio Pregadio and published by Golden Elixir Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies

Author : Nathan Sivin
Publisher : Cambridge : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies by : Nathan Sivin

Download or read book Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies written by Nathan Sivin and published by Cambridge : Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1968 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Art and Alchemy of Chinese Tea

Author : Daniel P. Reid
Publisher : Singing Dragon
ISBN 13 : 1848190867
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (481 download)

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Book Synopsis The Art and Alchemy of Chinese Tea by : Daniel P. Reid

Download or read book The Art and Alchemy of Chinese Tea written by Daniel P. Reid and published by Singing Dragon. This book was released on 2011 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fine art of preparing and drinking tea has become a hallmark ofChinese civilization. In his latest book, Daniel Reid explores Chinesetea in its manifold varieties, its long and colorful historicaldevelopment in China, and the fine art of preparing and drinking it, atradition handed down through the agesby monks and martial artists,and emperors. He describes the principles that lie at the heart oftea culture in China, the potent medicinal properties of Chinese tea,and how to cultivate Cha Dao, the Daoist way of tea, in daily life.Illustrated with many photographs by Christan Janzen, the book containsdetailed descriptions of many Chinese tea varieties, as well asentertaining tea anecdotes from the author's 'Tea Tidings'bulletin, and a useful glossary of Chinese tea terms.

Foundations of Internal Alchemy

Author : Mu Wang
Publisher : Golden Elixir Press
ISBN 13 : 0984308253
Total Pages : 156 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (843 download)

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Book Synopsis Foundations of Internal Alchemy by : Mu Wang

Download or read book Foundations of Internal Alchemy written by Mu Wang and published by Golden Elixir Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally written for Chinese readers, this book provides a clear description of the Taoist practice of Internal Alchemy, or Neidan. The author outlines the four stages of the alchemical practice and clarifies several relevant terms and notions, including Essence, Breath, and Spirit; the Cinnabar Fields; the "Fire Times"; and the Embryo. The book is based on the system of the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality), one of the main sources of Internal Alchemy, and contains about two hundred quotations from original Taoist texts. Table of Contents Foreword, vii INTRODUCTION, 1 The Basis: Essence and Spirit, 3 STAGES OF THE ALCHEMICAL PRACTICE IN AWAKENING TO REALITY, 11 The Four Stages, 13 "Laying the Foundations," 15 Main Points in the Practice of "Laying the Foundations," 20 The Functions of Essence, Breath, and Spirit, 36 Terms Related to the "Coagulation of the Three Treasures," 52 Conclusion of the Stage of "Laying the Foundations," 63 "Refining Essence to Transmute it into Breath," 65 "Refining Breath to Transmute it into Spirit," 99 "Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness," 109 CONCLUSION, 119 The "Arts of the Way," 121 Tables, 123 Glossary of Chinese Characters, 133

Chinese Alchemy

Author : Jean C. Cooper
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780850303278
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Alchemy by : Jean C. Cooper

Download or read book Chinese Alchemy written by Jean C. Cooper and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Taoism and Self Knowledge

Author : Catherine Despeux
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 900438345X
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Taoism and Self Knowledge by : Catherine Despeux

Download or read book Taoism and Self Knowledge written by Catherine Despeux and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Taoism and Self Knowledge, Catherine Despeux develops a history of the "Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection" a text containing an array of meditative techniques for individual salvation and thunder rites. This chart was transmitted widely among Taoists in Quanzhen tradition.

Stairway to Heaven

Author : Peter Levenda
Publisher : A&C Black
ISBN 13 : 0826428509
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (264 download)

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Book Synopsis Stairway to Heaven by : Peter Levenda

Download or read book Stairway to Heaven written by Peter Levenda and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2008-06-01 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of heavenly ascent, while popularized in Jewish mysticism, is neither a unique nor recent one. Expertly tracing its origins back to the ancient Middle East, Levenda unearths ascent literature in Africa, India, and China, discerns a common connection in the heavens themselves, and determines that this connection has been sorely neglected in contemporary scholarship. Because scholars treat the "heavens" as metaphorical, it is necessary to recreate the physical context of the culture under discussion in order to better understand it. For the benefit of the reader, Levenda offers two useful concepts for his investigative journey: a "map," whereby he means the cosmological system to better understand the mystical technologies of each culture investigated, and a "vehicle," the method by which the individual equipped with special knowledge is able to navigate the culture's particular cosmology. With these two tools, Levenda travels from the worlds of ancient Egypt and Babylon to the Hebrew Bible, to Jewish and Christian kabbalists, to Daoists in ancient China, to Hindu Tantra and Haitian Vodoun, and, finally, to nineteenth and twentieth century European occult societies.

The Study of Chinese Alchemy

Author : Obed Simon Johnson
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781258957582
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (575 download)

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Book Synopsis The Study of Chinese Alchemy by : Obed Simon Johnson

Download or read book The Study of Chinese Alchemy written by Obed Simon Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2013-10 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a new release of the original 1928 edition.

Alchemy

Author : E. J. Holmyard
Publisher : Courier Corporation
ISBN 13 : 048615114X
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (861 download)

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Book Synopsis Alchemy by : E. J. Holmyard

Download or read book Alchemy written by E. J. Holmyard and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alchemy is thought to have originated over 2000 years ago in Hellenic Egypt, the result of three converging streams: Greek philosophy, Egyptian technology and the mysticism of Middle Eastern religions. Its heyday was from about 800 A.D. to the middle of the seventeenth century, and its practitioners ranged from kings, popes, and emperors to minor clergy, parish clerks, smiths, dyers, and tinkers. Even such accomplished men as Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Sir Thomas Browne and Isaac Newton took an interest in alchemical matters. In its search for the "Philosopher's Stone" that would transmute base metals into silver and gold, alchemy took on many philosophical, religious and mystical overtones. These and many other facets of alchemy are explored with enormous insight and erudition in this classic work. E. J. Holmyard, a noted scholar in the field, begins with the alchemists of ancient Greece and China and goes on to discuss alchemical apparatus, Islamic and early Western alchemy; signs, symbols, and secret terms; Paracelsus; English, Scottish and French alchemists; Helvetius, Price, and Semler, and much more. Ranging over two millennia of alchemical history, Mr. Holmyard shows how, like astrology and witchcraft, alchemy was an integral part of the pre-scientific moral order, arousing the cupidity of princes, the blind fear of mobs and the intellectual curiosity of learned men. Eventually, however, with the advent and ascension of the scientific method, the hopes and ideas of the alchemists faded to the status of "pseudo-science." That transformation, as well as alchemy's undeniable role as a precursor of modern chemistry, are brilliantly illuminated in this book. Students of alchemy, chemistry, the history of science, and the occult, plus anyone interested in the origin and evolution of one of mankind's most enduring and influential myths, will want to have a copy of this masterly study.

The Story of Han Xiangzi

Author : Erzeng Yang
Publisher : University of Washington Press
ISBN 13 : 0295801948
Total Pages : 510 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (958 download)

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Book Synopsis The Story of Han Xiangzi by : Erzeng Yang

Download or read book The Story of Han Xiangzi written by Erzeng Yang and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this seventeenth-century Chinese novel, Han Xiangzi, best known as one of the Eight Immortals, seeks and achieves immortality and then devotes himself to converting his materialistic, politically ambitious Confucian uncle—Han Yu, a real historical figure—to Daoism. Written in lively vernacular prose interspersed with poems and songs, the novel takes its readers across China, to the heavens, and into the underworld. Readers listen to debates among Confucians, Daoists, and Buddhists and witness trials of faith and the performance of magical feats. In the mode of the famous religious novel Journey to the West, The Story of Han Xiangzi uses colorful characters, twists of plot, witty dialogue, and action suitable for a superhero comic book to convey its religious message—that worldly life is ephemeral and that true contentment can be found only through Daoist cultivation. This is the first translation into any Western language of Han Xiangzi quanzhuan (literally, The Complete Story of Han Xiangzi). On one level, the novel is a delightful adventure; on another, it is serious theology. Although The Story of Han Xiangzi’s irreverent attitude toward the Confucian establishment prevented its acceptance by literary critics in imperial China, it has remained popular among Chinese readers for four centuries. Philip Clart’s introduction outlines the Han Xiangzi story cycle, presents Yang Erzeng in his social context, assesses the literary merits and religious significance of the text, and explores the theory and practice of inner alchemy. This unabridged translation will appeal to students of Chinese literature and to general readers who enjoy international fiction, as well as to readers with an interest in Daoism.

The Inner Teachings of Taoism

Author : Chang Po-tuan
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 157062710X
Total Pages : 141 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (76 download)

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Book Synopsis The Inner Teachings of Taoism by : Chang Po-tuan

Download or read book The Inner Teachings of Taoism written by Chang Po-tuan and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2001-01-09 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taoist inner alchemy is a collection of theories and practices for transforming the mind and refining the self. The Inner Teachings of Taoism includes a classic of Chinese alchemy known as Four Hundred Words on the Gold Elixir. Written in the eleventh century by a founder of the Complete Reality School, this text is accompanied by the lucid commentary of the nineteenth-century adept Lui I-ming.

Explorations in Daoism

Author : Ho Peng Yoke
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780415691277
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Explorations in Daoism by : Ho Peng Yoke

Download or read book Explorations in Daoism written by Ho Peng Yoke and published by . This book was released on 2011-07-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Daoist canon is the definitive fifteenth century compilation of texts, however many of these texts are undated and anonymous. This book brings together an extraordinary compendium of data on alchemical knowledge in China, describing the methods used for dating important alchemical texts in the Daoist canon.