Inner Alchemy

Farzeen Baldrian Hussein

Inner Alchemy: Notes on the Origin and Use of the Term neidanIn: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, Vol. 5, 1989. pp. 163-190.

RésuméLe terme neidan désigne un ensemble de pratiques d'ordre physiologique et psychologique qu'on pourrait qualifier de "yogachinois". Destinées à prolonger la vie et, sur le plan mystique, à mener à la délivrance finale, ces pratiques s'étendent de laconcentration et la méditation jusqu'à des exercices respiratoires et de gymnastique. Les techniques même furent connues dèsla dynastie des Han mais le terme neidan ne figure pas encore dans les textes taoïstes de cette époque.L'emploi de ce terme est un phénomène tardif qui, selon l'auteur, devrait se situer entre les dynasties des Tang et des Song. Uneanalyse historique et régionale des sources montre que le terme était utilisé d'abord dans certaines régions du Sud, où il sembleavoir été lié aux montagnes sacrées telles que le Lofou Shan et le Heng Shan. Les informations concernant ce sujet sont tiréessurtout des biographies des immortels taoïstes.Quant aux différentes définitions du terme neidan dans les textes alchimiques, on note que souvent, le neidan est défini commetechnique du Souffle, telle que la respiration embryonnaire (taixi) ou l'art de conduire le Souffle (xingqi). D'autres textes parlent duneidan comme d'une étape dans le processus alchimique, d'autres encore le comprennent comme "médecine intérieure", oucomme une technique de pratique sexuelle (fangzhong) . La diversité de ces interprétations dans les enseignements dedifférents maîtres nous permettra peut-être, dans l'avenir, d'établir une liste des écoles au sein du courant neidan dans letaoïsme.

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Baldrian Hussein Farzeen. Inner Alchemy: Notes on the Origin and Use of the Term neidan. In: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, Vol. 5,1989. pp. 163-190.

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INNER ALCHEMY: NOTES ON THE ORIGIN AND USE

OF THE TERM NEIDAN

Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein

Le terme neidan désigne un ensemble de pratiques d'ordre physiologique et psychologique qu'on pourrait qualifier de "yoga chinois". Destinées à prolonger la vie et, sur le plan mystique, à mener à la délivrance finale, ces pratiques s'étendent de la concentration et la méditation jusqu'à des exercices respiratoires et de gymnastique. Les techniques même furent connues dès la dynastie des Han mais le terme neidan ne figure pas encore dans les textes taoïstes de cette époque.

L'emploi de ce terme est un phénomène tardif qui, selon l'auteur, devrait se situer entre les dynasties des Tang et des Song. Une analyse historique et régionale des sources montre que le terme était utilisé d'abord dans certaines régions du Sud, où il semble avoir été lié aux montagnes sacrées telles que le Lofou Shan et le Heng Shan. Les informations concernant ce sujet sont tirées surtout des biographies des immortels taoïstes.

Quant aux différentes définitions du terme neidan dans les textes alchimiques, on note que souvent, le neidan est défini comme technique du Souffle, telle que la respiration embryonnaire (ta.hd) ou l'art de conduire le Souffle fxingqij. D'autres textes parlent du neidan comme d'une étape dans le processus alchimique, d'autres encore le comprennent comme "médecine intérieure", ou comme une technique de pratique sexuelle (Tangzhong) . La diversité de ces interprétations dans les enseignements de différents maîtres nous permettra peut-être, dans l'avenir, d'établir une liste des écoles au sein du courant neidan dans le taoïsme.

Introduction

In recent years the study of Chinese religion in general, and of Taoist meditational techniques in particular, has attracted the attention of scholars both in the West and the Orient. Confusion reigns, however, in the use of the term neidan p3f5", or "inner alchemy," since it covers a number of schools using one or a combination of spiritual techniques. A twelfth-century author defines it as a syncretic system comprising all the longevity methods. It is, moreover, characterized by the use of a special esoteric vocabulary borrowed from practitioners of waidan ^j-^-, alchemists. Although the latter often worked in a laboratory and used various ingredients in an effort to turn base metals into gold and silver or to concoct drugs which would cure diseases and

Cahiers d'Extrême- Asie 5 (1989-1990): 163-190

164 Farzeen Baldrian- Hussein

eventually lengthen the lifespan of the user, the main motive seems to have been religious (N. Sivin, see postscript, p. 189). One of the aims of Chinese alchemy, since antiquity, has been the attainment of immortality. This goal was shared by both waidan and neidan adepts alike. For the neidan alchemist, however, his body was the laboratory which contained all the elements needed to transform the mortal self into an indestructible entity. How this was done depended on the affiliation of the adept : although most neidan masters employed a common terminology, their interpretation of the terms and techniques involved were often dissimilar. What these techniques were does not concern us here, as this topic has been the object of various studies.1 The present article deals with two vital problems in the study of neidan, namely, the date when the term neidan actually came into use and secondly, the different meanings and equivalents of the term itself.

1. Pseudo-historical Sources

The problem of the earliest use of the term neidan is a thorny one. We are dealing with a term for which the sources are of dubious date and at best can be considered pseudo-historical. The present article cannot claim to be a complete or exhaustive study of a subject that would require a considerable amount of research on Buddhism, especially concerning the problem of the relationship of Taoism to the Tiantai î$ and Mijiao $J|& schools of Buddhism. Until this has been done, nothing definitive can be said on the problem.2 The present study is simply intended as an outline of the present level of research.

Many years ago Arthur Waley, in his "Notes on Chinese Alchemy,"3 claimed to have found the source of the first use of the term neidan fàfjr: the phrase, surprisingly enough, figures in a vow taken by the meditation pp master Huisi H,g> (515-77), entitled: Nanyue da chanshi lishi yuanwen W&JkWMaLm^Â^C (see below, p. 169). Many scholars, including Joseph Needham and Yoshinobu

1) See in particular J. Needham, SCC, vol. V:5; I. Robinet, Méditation taoïste, Paris, 1979, and La révélation du Shangqing dans L'histoire du taoïsme, Paris, 1984; Catherine Despeux, Traité d'alchimie et de physiologie taoïste, Paris, 1 979 ; Poul Andersen, The Method of Holding the Three Ones : A Taoist Manual of Meditation of the Fourth Century A.D., Copenhagen and Atlantic Highlands, N.J., 1980; Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein, Procédés Secrets du Joyau magique, Paris, 1984; Edward A. Schafer, The Divine Woman, Berkeley, 1973, and Pacing the Void, Berkeley, 1977; Livla Kohn, Seven Steps to the Tao: Sima Chengzhen's Jûozvang tun, Monumenta Serica Monograph Series XX, Nettetal, 1987; Ute Engelhardt, Die klassische Tradition der Qi-Ubungen (Qigong), Mûnchener Ostasiatische Studien, Stuttgart, 1987.

2) It is to be hoped that Michel Strickmann will soon publish a study on the subject. I have unfortunately been unable so far to obtain a copy of the article by Sengoku Keisho flllEIÏJÏ, "Eshi no shinsen shiso to Nangaku nyûzan ni tsuite" @JS©#flllSfê!£ S?SfcA|iJK.o(,>-C, in Koma- zawa Daigaku Daigakuin Bukkyôgaku kenkyûkai nenpô ^}R±^±Û\%WiWiftî¥-W 16, 1983, pp. 38^14.

3) Arthur Waley, "Notes on Chinese Alchemy (supplementary to Johnson's 'Study of Chinese Alchemy')," in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1930, 6.1, p. 14.

Motes on the Term ' neidan3 165

Sakade, accept the authenticity of this tradition.4 Chen Guofu I^H^F, on the other hand, believes the phrase was first used in the £hidao pian Hg, attributed to the elusive Taoist Su Yuanming Mtu^B (or Yuan-lang xâf]).5 Both these sources are dubious, as we shall presently see. As far as Taoist tradition is concerned, we find the terms neidan and waidan used in the biographies of legendary or semi-historical figures such as Laozi ̂ ^ and Deng Yuzhi fP|j|$;è.; the latter at least antedates the monk Huisi (see below, p. 169).

The development of meditational techniques in the South and their connection with particular regions, especially mountains, in pre-Tang Taoism, has already been the subject of studies by Isabelle Robinet and Michel Strick- mann.6 Robinet has shown that meditational techniques practiced on Maoshan (in Jiangxi) underwent a progressive change towards interiorization, which can be said to be a characteristic of the later neidan schools.7 Although Maoshan techniques play an important role in inner alchemy, two other mountains in the South are of interest to us in connection with the use of the term neidan'. Luofoushan H#|iJ in the vicinity of Canton and Hengshan HfiiJ in Hunan. In the following pages I present some of the stories which link these two mountains to the first use of the term neidan.

a. Luofoushan

It is difficult to find sources for the use of the term neidan that definitely date to the pre-Tang period, as most of the sources available to us are of a much later date. As far as Luofoushan is concerned, Michel Soymié's excellent monograph gives us a list of these.8 The monograph further shows the importance of this mountain as a religious and alchemical center. Luofoushan is the mountain where Ge Xuan M~&> Ge Hong M$k and Zheng Siyuan HJSsi are said to have practiced their alchemical arts.9 The Taoist Su Yuanlang Mtù^, considered to be the earliest exponent of neidan by Chen Guofu, was also a hermit on this mountain.

The following extract from the J^hidaopian if Hit attributed to Su Yuanlang is recounted in his biography in the Luofoushan zhi li??U4^.10 This geographical monograph, which is quoted in the Gujin tushu jicheng "É" 4* 39 If Mffc encyclo-

4) SCC V:5, p. 140. Sakade Yoshinobu 4gtf}|#t>, Rendan Shûyo hô fiW&eS, Tokyo, 1987, p. 8. 5) Chen Guofu fàmÏÏ, Daozangyuanliu kao mMMMM, Peking, 1963, Vol. 2, p. 435, n. 16. 6) Robinet, Méditation taoïste and La révélation du Shangqing dans l'histoire du taoïsme. Michel

Strickmann, Le taoïsme du Mao Chan {chronique d'une révélation), Paris, 1981. 7) Cf. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. I, p. 176. 8) Cf. Michel Soymié, "Le Lo-feou chan," Bulletin de l' Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient XLVIII,

Paris, 1956. 9) Cf. Soymié, op. cit., pp. 120-1. 10) Cf. Soymié, op. cit., pp. 128-9. There existed several works to which the title Luofoushan

zhi could apply. Of the two Luofoushan zhi, one is dated 1557, the other, 1689. The Luofou zhi SifèM (Lingnan yishu HilOJiïï ed.) 4.2a by Chen Lian WE: (1410) says that Su Yuanming lived during the Han dynasty. On Su Yuanlang cf. also J. Needham, SCCV-.2, p. 273, and SCC V:3, p. 130.

166 Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein

paedia of the Qing dynasty (1725) states:

Su Yuanlang originally studied the Tao on Mount Gouqu (Maoshan)11 where he obtained "true secrets" from the [Director of] Destinies (i.e., Mao Ying12) and thereupon attained the rank of "terrestrial immortal." During the Kaihuang era (581-600) of the Sui Dynasty, already over three hundred years old, he came to Mount Luofou. He sojourned in the Ravine of Blue Mist (qingxia gu), where he cultivated and purified the Great Elixir.

Disciples who had accompanied him [to the mountain], having heard that the immortal Zhu13 had ingested a mushroom and thereby attained immortality, were discussing the attributes of the numinous fungus animatedly: [its color was] green in spring, red in summer, white in autumn and black in winter.14 [Regrettably, they said] the Yellow Mushroom only grows on Mt. Song, which is too far away for us to go and fetch it.15 Yuanlang laughed and said: "The numinous fungus is within your eight luminaries,16 why not search the yellow chamber for it? This is what is meant by the proverb: 'Before heaven and earth existed, the numinous plant without roots was controlled by the mind and turned into the perfect treasure."' He thereupon wrote the ZJiidao pian ("Instructions on the Tao") for them. Thenceforth, Taoist disciples at last became aware of inner alchemy.

11) Gouqu and Luofou are linked by subterranean caverns, cf. Soymié, op. cit., pp. 95-6. 12) Cf. Maoshan zhi f=Ui;£ 5.1a ff., DZ 304, fasc. 153-8. On Mao Ying or Lord Mao's con

nections with alchemy, cf. Michel Strickmann, "On the Alchemy of T'ao Hung-ching," in H. Welch and A. Seidel eds., Facets of Taoism, Yaie U.P., 1979. Lord Mao had sown hidden mushrooms on Maoshan which were already efficacious during T'ao Hung-ching's lifetime (Six Dynasties) in the quest for immortality (Strickmann, op. cit., p. 176). Cf. also Strickmann's Le Taoïsme du Mao Chan, p. 172.

13) Cf. Soymié, op. cit., p. 25. Zhu zhenren is a legendary Taoist named Zhu Lingzhi %zM3E or Qingjing xiansheng W'Sî of the Han dynasty. An alchemist and master of breathing and meditational techniques, he was approached by a bird carrying a mushroom called the "Mushroom of the Red Dragon" ^H3E in its beak. He ate the mushroom and became immortal.

14) Taipingyulan -jZ^'Mft 97.5b-6a (Zhonghua shu ju éd.), p. 4366: "Gui Bao's Gujin zhu says: '. . . The mushroom grows by the stream Ying. Every sixth month it grows a leaf: it is green in spring, purple in summer, white in autumn and black in winter'"

15) Cf. Taipingyulan iC^PK 97.5b-6a: "The Pharmacopea says: 'The Yellow Mushroom is also known as the Golden Mushroom. He who ingests it becomes an immortal. It grows in the ravines of Mount Song'" *^g0: . . . ïfê— «&£, ££j*<lll, ^.MMlUiU^^. Cf. also Tujing yanyi bencao fHISffilS^^ 9.23a, D£ 769, fasc. 536-50, which also states that the yellow or golden mushroom is found on Mt. Song.

16) On the term bajing AJS, cf. M. Kaltenmark "King yu pa-king" jprfÂjp: Fukui Kojun ig#HJlM Festschrift, Tôyô bunka ronshû jfCï¥3tibfnS, Tokyo, 1969, pp. 1147-54; and Michel Strickmann, "On the Alchemy of T'ao Hung-ching," op. cit., pp. 173-8, who explains the different meanings of the term. Bajing, the eight luminaries or "eight effulgences" (Strickmann), designates luminous spirits within the adept's body and also the brilliance of heavenly constellations in Maoshan texts. In the above quotation, bajing refers to the adept's microcosm as a whole.

Notes on the Term 'neidan' 167

This source is not very ancient: the £hidao pian by Su Yuanlang is first mentioned in the bibliographical chapters of the Songshi 5i?jë..17 It is possible that Su Yuanlang or Su Yuanming tcK was a Taoist of the Sui dynasty.18 What we do know is that Qingxiazi is mentioned as the author of alchemical texts in bibliographies from Tang times. The Shiyao erya £jHHi3B, which has a preface dated 806, mentions a "Qingxiazi jue |£."19 Nevertheless, most titles attributed to him are found in bibliographies of the Northern Song period. The Chongwen zongmu ^~%M @ and the Xin Tangshu {yiwen zhi) both indicate Su Yuanlang as the author of the Taiging shibiji This text, according to the bibliographies, was later compiled by a Mr. Sima between 758 and 760. As far as the Qingxiazi quotations are concerned, the majority are found in texts of the Northern Song.21 The same can be said for the tradition linking Su Yuanlang and Maojun.22

Also of interest in the Su Yuanlang story is the name of the legendary Taoist Zhu Lingzhi. According to the Luofou zhi SËff/ë of 1410, Zhu presides over the Grotto-Heaven of Red Brilliance fè^MMM^.23 Elsewhere, though,24 it says that the name of the Taoist is Zhu Taozhui ^WfèMlfe&MiMMJi'î.- Zhu Taozhui's biography states that he was a native of Sichuan Hj and the author of "Explanations on Inner Alchemy"

b. Hengshan

Hengshan $$\H, or Nanyue ^t|5, in Hunan, one of the five sacred peaks,

17) Songshi yiwenzhi SSaiJIiC* 4.16a (Bona edition; cf. also Piet van der Loon, Taoist Books in the Libraries of the Sung Period, London, 1984, p. 102).

18) Soymié, op. cit., pp. 120 and 122, suggests that the names refer to two different persons. Chen Guofu, however, is convinced that Su Yuanlang died in the last year of the Kaihuang era (i-e. 600) of the Sui dynasty, cf. Daozang yuanliu xukao WWMMM%, Taipei, 1983, p. 315.

19) DZ 901, fasc. 588, T, 3a. 20) Cf. van der Loon, op. cit., p. 91. The text with the same title in the Daozang (DZ 881,

fasc. 582-583) mentions another author. 21) Cf. for example the quotations in Xiuzhen liyan chaotu 1^f8MSÉ#g, DZ 152, fasc. 68, also

in TJddJ. 72; Tujingyanyi bencao gg|SS*^, DZ 769, fasc. 536-50, ca. 1116; Jindan zhenyi lun &f$î—M DZ 1080, fasc. 741. Some of these quotations are clearly waidan, the others are open to various interpretations. For a study of the dates of the Qingxiazi quotations, cf. Chen Guofu, Daozang yuanliu xukao MMMMM^, Taipei 1983, pp. 314-20.

22) Cf. Jindan zhenyi lun ^fl-fi— Wë, DZ 1080, fasc. 741, lb, 4b. The Maoshan zhi 9.13a lists a Shou Maojun ge gf^tfc by Su Yuanming of the Taikang era (280-90) W^ffiÂISxMP.

23) The Luofou zhi »#& (Lingnan yishu £3fSft ed.) 4.2a. 24) Luofou zhi 1.1b. 25) Cf. LSZX^- ̂ a ff- which mentions a Shenxian zhuan fWlljflï of the Tang dynasty as a source:


is a mountain renowned for its Buddhist and Taoist temples. From the Six Dynasties on, many books have been written describing the splendor of the temples and the beauty of the sites. Most of these monographs, however, are no longer extant. We have, nevertheless, a Song edition of the Nanyue zong shengji fffefvUMB, compiled by Chen Yuxing UUM in 1163,26 which quotes many lost sources. One of these is the Xiangzhongji, which says :

[On the Linglu peak WkMM\ there is the Grotto of Embracing the Yellow. Below it lies the abbey Dongzhen (Grotto of Perfection) , where Deng Yuzhi of the Eastern Jin (3 1 7-420) cultivated the inner and outer elixirs. Later he rose to the rank of Perfected One on the Southern Peak ( = ITeng- shan) .

m-21

Slightly further on, the Nanyue zongsheng ji recounts the following anecdote concerning Deng Yuzhi f^ftiè., a Taoist alchemist from the Jiuxian gong

(Temple of the Nine Immortals) :28

Then there was Deng Yuzhi, a native of Xinye in Nanyang.29 . . . He met a Perfected One who transmitted the technique of the Golden Tripod and the Fire Dragon to him. In the second year of the Yuanhui era (474) of the Song, [the Taoist] Xu30 ascended [to the heavens as an immortal] . Youzhi thereupon retired to the Gate of the Grotto (Dongmen) where he sojourned for a long time .... The emperor gave him money and silk and let him choose a secluded scenic site at which to build three temples, one above the other so that he could cultivate the inner and outer elixirs.

According to his biography, Deng died towards the end of the Tianjian era (502-519) of the Liang dynasty. A Tang text quoting the Daoxue zhuan

5 A: 26) Nanyue zongsheng ji ^S£$Ë!fï2, T. 1097, p. 1075a. The Taishô and the Song edition repro

duced in the Lushanjingshe congshu lÈU-lSiiïf iSlIr are the same. 27) Nanyue zongsheng ji _h 1060c. A note after Linglu leng says rhat Linglu is just another name

for Yuelu gffi. Yuelu lies at the foot of Mount Heng. Cf. also LXZX 33.6b-7b, which writes:

28) 1075c. Deng Yuzhi was himself one of the nine immortals of Hengshan, cf. Nanyue jiu zhenren zhuan if Sb^RÀ*! 0»£452, fasc. 201) 6b and Nanyue xiaolu mm^M (A? 453, fasc. 201), p. 12b.

29) In Henan. During the Jin (If) dynasty, it was known as Xinye jun mfftm. wmmmmmm.

30) Xu Lingzhi Î&H2E:, also one of the nine Hengshan immortals.

Notes on the Term'neidan' 169

M¥\4j- 18, places Deng between 483 and 493 (Pf^KÂ).31 All these examples contain conflicting material regarding such matters as Deng Yuzhi's dates. Moreover, we do not know which Xiangzhong ji Chen Youxing had access to in 1163. Both the Taiping yulan and the Taiping guangji quote many books with similar sounding titles.32 The Xiangzhong ji compiled by a Q,ing scholar from earlier quotations does not include any such passage.33 Moreover, the older version of the biography in the Nanyue jiu zhenren zhuan^4 does not mention neijwaidan, but writes "cultivation and purification" ||tif[;e.$? instead.

The second important Hengshan hermit is the monk Huisi U©, the teacher of the founder of the Tiantai school of Buddhism, Zhiyi ^H. The vow entitled Nanyue Si dachanshi lishi yuanwen ^SS^ClPSPSltfl^^35 is believed by Waley and by Needham to be the first text to use the words neidan and waidan. Here is the text as translated by Needham :36

I am now going into the mountains to meditate and practice austerities, repenting of the numerous sins and infractions of the Law which have been so many obstructions to the Tao, both in my present and previous incarnations. I am seeking for longevity in order to defend the Faith, not in order to enjoy worldly happiness. I pray that all the saints and sages will come to my help, so that I may obtain some good magic mushrooms 3E and numinous elixirs ;|f fjr, enabling me to cure all illnesses and to stop hunger and thirst. In this way I shall be able to practice continually the way of the Sutras and to engage in the several forms of meditation. I hope that I shall find a peaceful dwelling in the depths of the mountains, with enough of the numinous elixirs and medicines to carry out my plans. Thus by the aid of external elixirs ^ffl- I shall be able to cultivate the elixir within p3^-. For in order to bring peace to others I must first bring peace to myself; in order to undo the bonds of others one must first undo one's own.

31) Sandong zhunang Hîiïfcïg 2.3b (Z>£ 1 139, fasc. 780-2). Cf. also Tao Tinju neizhuan ^ffigftli 2. 12b- 13a (DZ 300, fasc. 151), which quotes the Dengzhen yinjue gMUlfe {DZ 421, fasc. 193) in connection with Deng Yuzhi.

32) Xiangzhouji flflWHH, Xiangchuanji #8J!II2, cf. the indices to these two encyclopaedias. The Sandong qunxian lu HPfîtilft (DZ 1248, fasc. 992-5) quotes a Xiangzhong bieji M^MB (19.3b- 4a) and a Xiangzhong yelu ftfl^lfife (20.1b). This last title is of the Song dynasty since it mentions Chen Tuan M.W (Five Dynasties, early Song) .

33) Xiangzhong ji M^B by Geng Zhongyong MWM of the Liu Song (gljîfc) dynasty (420-79). Lushanjingshe congshu ftlillltiîrïïïl ed. Some sources indicate Luo Han gl"â" of the Jin (If) dynasty as the author.

34) See above, note 28. 35) T. 1933, p. 791, 1.3. 36) SCC. V:5, p. 140.


According to a study on Huisi by Paul Magnin, which analyzes his life and thought,37 there is no doubt as to the authenticity of the vow itself, which was made in 559. 38 Magnin has some doubts, however, concerning the authenticity of the Taoist passages.39 This view is not quite shared by Chen Yinke M.'M.'fë,40 who quotes some Tang sources to prove his point. In these examples, however, only the ancient techniques of ingesting drugs IIHjl and of longevity JIÉL are used, not neidan or waidan. Coming back to the vow itself, what can we deduce from the content of the vow in general? In several places in his vow, Huisi reiterates his desire to live as an ascetic in the mountains, in order to live long enough for the coming of Maitreya, who will lead the chosen to salvation in this age of decline of the Law (mofa ^^) . As Erik Zûrcher has pointed out,41 belief in the apocalypse and the coming of a savior was not restricted to Buddhist circles, but played an equally important role in early Taoist eschatology.42 The question as to which group influenced which is beyond the scope of this article, as we are dealing here with "a typically hybrid complex of ideas."43 The impact of prophetic Taoist texts on the Chinese politico-religious scene has been amply dealt with, and I shall not go into it here.44 There are some early Taoist texts, however, in the Daozang which show a remarkable similarity of ideas. The Nuqing guilu ^cW^^545 a collection of community rules of the Celestial Master tradition, parts of which go back to the third century, describes the cataclysm of the cyclical year gengzi

The calamities of gengzi are also the main theme of the Laozi bianhua wuji jing ~M~f'MitMW&,4'7 which advocates retreat to the mountains and abstention from cereals as a means of escaping disaster. Describing the vows taken by a Taoist, the Taishang dongxuan lingbao sifang dayuan jing

37) Paul Magnin, La Vie et l'Oeuvre de Huisi {515-577) : Les origines de la secte bouddhique chinoise du Tiantai, Paris, 1979, pp. 104-16.

38) Magnin, op. cit., p. 109. 39) Magnin, op. cit., pp. 23 and 236, n. 99. 40) Ghen Yinke, Chen Yinke xiansheng lunji E£j£fô5fc4.ifeS, Taipei, 1971, p. 261 (re-edition) .

I am grateful to Madame Kuo Liying for having brought this point to my attention. 41) HH for the Taoists, see Anna Seidel, "The Image of the Perfect Ruler in Early Taoist

Messianism: Lao-tzu and Li Hung $3/,," in History of Religions 9, 1969-70, pp. 216—47. 42) Erik Zûrcher, "Prince Moonlight," T'oung Pao LXVIII, 1-3, 1982, pp. 1-75. See also

the excellent summary by A. Seidel, "Le Sutra merveilleux du Ling-pao Suprême, traitant de Lao-tseu qui convertit les barbares," in M. Soymié, éd., Contributions aux études de Touen-houang III, Publications de l'Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient, Vol. CXXXV, Paris, 1984.

43) Zûrcher, op. cit., p. 1. 44) Cf. Anna Seidel, La divinisation de Lao-tseu dans le taoïsme des Han, Paris, 1969; id., "The

Image of the Perfect Ruler in Early Taoist Messianism: Lao-tzu and Li Hung," loc. cit.; Barbara Kandel, Taipingjing, the Origin and Transmission of the "Scripture of General Welfare": The History of an Unofficial Text, Hamburg, 1979. K.M. Schipper, "Millénarismes et messianismes dans la Chine ancienne," in Understanding Modem China, Proceedings of the XXVlth Conference of Chinese Studies, Rome, 1970, pp. 31^9.

45) DZ 790, fasc. 563, j. 5, contains an apocalyptic poem. 46) On gengzi, cf. Zûrcher, op. cit. 47) DZ 1 195 (fasc. 875), 7b.8b. For the date see below, n. 73.


states: "I now vow to become an immortal in order to see the True Lord, avoid the calamities of this world and become one of the future elect" 4"l§f5£

M, gMWM, ^î&ffiS.48 The fifth-century Dongyuan shenzhoujing M, on the contrary, says:49

If a Taoist desires to save himself50 he should retire to some famous mountain, but if he wishes to save all mankind he should remain among the people and transform the stupid. The stupid have no wisdom, but when they see a Taoist they are transformed. If the Taoist retires to lofty mountains, the common people cannot see him and have no chance of being transformed, and although they may have good intentions at the start, there is no hope of salvation without a teacher. This is the reason why the wise Taoist does not necessarily belong in the mountains.

As we can see, there are clearly two different attitudes towards asceticism and immortality, and the benefit and salvation of mankind. While the Six Dynasty alchemists, such as Ge Hong Jf$Ç and Tao Hongjing p^§£j|;, considered personal immortality to be vital, the Shenzhoujing clearly emphasizes the Taoists' position in the community of the faithful.51 These examples show that although the basic ideas inherent in the vow were current during the Six Dynasties period, there is no certainty that the phrases containing the terms neidan and waidan are not a later interpolation. That this was common practice during the Song is illustrated in the case of Laozi.

2. Laozi and the Alchemical Tradition

Laozi has for centuries been linked with change, transformation and the alchemical tradition. For the use of neidan and waidan we have two traditions : in the first, Laozi is portrayed as a teacher of alchemical secrets, in the second he himself is the disciple. The first of these has already been pointed out by Chen Guofu52 and is found in the biography of Yin Xi ^||fl|. The second is

48) Taishang dongxuan lingbao sifang dayman jing, DZ 343, fasc. 1 76, 2a. 49) Juan 8, P. 2365, cf. Ôfuchi Ninji ±WMM éd., Tonka dôkyô ^{fîttS {Torokuhen WMM)

Tokyo, 1979, p. 549. 50) The Taoist's vow to save himself and become an immortal is a common formula: in one

of the litanies of the Taishang dongxuan lingbao zhong jiamven %±MiM.%^M% {DZ 410, fasc. 191, 12b) we find the following verse: HK@i£, ffifflWlil.

51) This tendency is continued in the Southern Song, for the Jinsuo liuzhuyin &^ffî%î%\ {DZ 1051, fasc. 631-6), attributed to Li Shun-feng ^W%. of the Tang dynasty, clearly vituperates against asceticism — especially that of hermits who retire to the mountains, and of alchemists — as a false method of obtaining immortality: f#îl^£fè**i=-, ^fWÊWlJÊ'MW (3.6a), mm-eLgmnzmtti® mmmm\UAmnmm, c-mmmmmm (7.1 a).

52) Chen Guofu, Daozangyuanliu xukao UWMMM^, Taipei, 1983, pp. 255-6.

1 72 Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein

found in the eleventh-century Toulong %huan WMM--

a. Laozi and Tin Xi

In Yin Xi's biography in the Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjianj. 8, "Yin Xi zhuan" ^•|||ij,53 we find the following passage:

Yin Xi asked Laozi: "Purifying gold and absorbing breath, can the Tao be dichotomous in this way?" Laozi replied: "The floreate essence of Heaven and Earth, the root of Yin and Yang, is what is known as the two qi (breath, pneuma). The Yang dragon and Yin tiger, the liquid of wood and the essence of metal, take their two qi and unite them; the product obtained upon purification is what is called the outer elixir (waidan). Keep it within and purify the viscera, expel the old [breath] and introduce the new, conduct it up to the Nihuan (upper field of cinnabar), make it descend and concentrate in the lower cinnabar field, circulate it non-stop until it goes to audience in the scarlet palace (heart, middle field of cinnabar). To collect [the qi] of the five receptacles (= five viscera) and to nurture the myriad (lit. hundred) divinities [of the body] is what is called inner elixir (neidan) . If the adept who cultivates the Tao obtains the inner elixir, he can lengthen his lifespan; if he obtains the outer elixir, he can ascend to the heavens. Concentration on the Three Ones and the Nine54 constitutes the essence of inner cultivation ; the gold liquid and the nine elixirs are the culmination of the outer transmutation. Combining and cultivating both together will result in the Tao being definitively accomplished.55

rmnm.

Chen Guofu considers the Tin Xi zhuan to be the same as the Wenshi xiansheng Wushang zhenren guanling neizhuan ^Ctè^c^-M-hRAtM^VJ^-56 As Anna Seidel has shown, there were several versions of the Huahu jing {b#3ic ("Scripture on [Laozi's] Conversion of the Barbarians"), which included many extracts

53) The same text with slight variants figures in the Xiantian xuanmiao yu'nû taishang shengmu zichuan xiandao 5fe^Si^>EE^C^cJ:lESSW{ll|pfi 5b (for the date, see below, p. 177). The variants are in brackets in the Chinese text.

54) On this form of meditation, cf. YJQ_Q_ 54 (S— %'&'&) and Robinet, Méditation taoïste, pp. 191-201. The Nine Palaces or Chambers refer to the nine divisions found in each of the three cinnabar fields (dantian fi EH) . The Three Ones are the divinities residing in three dantian.

55) The last section contains stereotyped ideas which one encounters constantly in alchemical texts.

56) Chen Guofu, op. cit., p. 255: . . . f*gfc (gSBC*&ft£Jte±J9ABfl<&-ftW) . . .

Notes on the Term 'neidan' 1 73

from the Wenshi xiansheng Wushang zhenren guarding neizhuan.57 This work is quoted in the seventh-century Sandong zhunang HMS^>58 but it includes much older material.59 Unfortunately, the passage in question does not figure in it. It was, however, well known during the Song for it is quoted in Laozi's biographies of the twelfth century.60 There is no doubt that a work which mentions Laozi's transmission of alchemical secrets to Yin Xi existed during the Tang, for one alchemical text written between 713 and 741 states:61

Laojun was formerly archivist for the Zhou. Knowing that the house of Zhou was weakened, he travelled to the West and traversed the pass, (but) fearing that the alchemical art would be lost, he bestowed the method of cinnabar upon [the guardian of the pass] Yin Xi.

This statement is further elucidated in the late Tang Taishang hunyuan zhenlu 7CM^,62 which quotes Laozi as saying:

The Great Tao embraces the truth, the three categories (or ranks) are the rule. Take unity as the measure and orthodoxy as virtue (power) . . . If you can grasp unity, the ten thousand things will be accomplished. Block your desires and enter the mysterious chamber, [consider] transmutation (or purification) of gold and the absorption of breath as the supreme [method]. If you understand this truth, concentrate on it and do not lose it. . ." Laojun then transmitted [the following alchemical texts] to [Yin] Xi : the books of the Eight Talismans and of the Observation of Heaven, Taiqing Scriptures; the books of the Nine Capitals,63

57) Cf. A. Seidel, "Le Sutra merveilleux du Ling-pao Suprême," p. 326. 58) Sandong zhunang 9.8b-20b (D^ 1139, fasc. 780-2). The author is given as Guigu xiansheng

59) A. Seidel, loc. cit., p. 326, n. 89. Cf also E. Zûrcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, Leiden, 1959, p. 432, n. 56. Fukui Kôjun m&MM, Dôkyô no kisoteki kenkyû MWtomMfflft, Tokyo, 1958, p. 290 sq.; and Kusuyama Haruki ffi04#^, Rôshi densetsu no kenkyû ^T ffiSOff^g, Tokyo, 1979, pp. 439-48.

60) See Huanyuan shengji WxMU by Xie Shouhao M^M (1191), DZ 770, fasc. 551-3, 3.13a, and Taishang hunyuan Laozi shilue ±±S7Ê^?-£B§, DZ 868, fasc. 579, T. 16b. It was known earlier, though, for Zeng Cao (d. 1155) quotes a variant, cf. Daoshu jlfll {DZ 1017, fasc. 641- 8) 18.9a-b; -^H

6 1 ) Z^ng zhenren jinshi lingsha lun 56MÀ^feESB>l^, DZ 887, fasc. 586, 4a. Laozi's biography in the Shenxian zhuan only says that he transmitted long-life techniques to Yin Xi (H^^îSU), cf. Fukui Kôjun |S#I^HH, Shinsenden {Shenxian zhuan), Tokyo, 1983, p. 88.

62) Ta;shang hunyuan zhenlu X±.Ux,KM, DZ 954, fasc. 604, 7a-7b. On the date of the text, cf. Kusuyama Haruki fiilH#tat, Rôshi densetsu no kenkyû, p. 397 ff. A longer version of this passage is quoted in the Hunyuan shengji of 1191 {DZ 770, fasc. 553-4), 3.10b-12b, and in the Taishang hunyuan Laozi shilue ~M±.M7t%,=F$L®8, T. 14b-16b. Cf. also the condensed version in the Shangdong xindanjingjue ±M<bf\-Wlfc. T. 2a, where it is entitled: js:±ft-FiUW.

63) Many of the titles mentioned here are lost. The Book of the Nine Capitals, though, is often quoted in Tang alchemical texts; Chen Guofu, Daozangyuan liu xukao, p. 346.


of the Numinous Elixir,64 and of the Gold Liquid and Explanations of the Eight Transmutations of the Nine-fold Cyclical Elixir and of Subduing by Fire.65 The recipe says: "With the cyclical elixir of gold liquid, one enters the ranks of the immortals, soars aloft into the empyrean and ascends to the Heavens."66

mm.

This passage is quoted, with some variants, in all the Laozi biographies of the Song dynasty.67

Of particular interest to us is the expression "transmutation or purification of gold and the absorption of breath," as the two techniques are later considered equivalent to neidan and waidan. The famous Five Dynasties Taoist Du Guang- ting £fc)£ijt£ (850-933) 68 recounts in his Daode zkenjing guangsheng yi jSÎJKiM SHE it, completed in 901 :

In order to encourage adepts to practice [the alchemical art], Laojun wished to explain that the mysterious Tao lay in assiduous application and was manifest in the transmutation of cinnabar. The well and the Pagoda tree (Sophora Japonica) where he transmuted cinnabar still exist in the Bozhou temple .... Laojun taught people to practice the Tao and to cultivate the inner and the outer simultaneously; he transmuted the golden elixir and at the same time exercised his true qi. The present Hall of the Void in the Bozhou temple is where he exercised his

&n.

64) The title Shendanjing {Book of the Numinous Elixir) applies, I believe, to the Taiping jinyi shendanjing ~fc¥n&W.H$ff%E., (Z)^880, fasc. 582) rather than to Huangdi jiuding shendanjing W8ÎA. W,mnm (DZ 885, fasc. 584-5).

65) I follow here the version in the Hunyuan shengji MtcMM, 3.12b, which writes A^ (eight transmutations) instead of AH;.

66) The poem is culled from the Taiqing jinyi shendanjing isv^^MMfï^, {DZ 880, fasc. 582) 4*. 1 a, where it is ascribed to Yin Ghangsheng HÉjjJËl.

67) Cf., for example, the Hunyuan shengji 3.12b and the LSZX 8.4b-6b. The first part of the text (until the transmission of alchemical books) also figures in the Xiantian xuanmiaoyu'nii taishang shengmu zichuan xiandao 5fe^S;^>ï**±Sf5S^{lllJt {DZ 868, fasc. 579) 5b. See also the Shang- dong xindanjue ±Miùfisk, T. 2a.

68) For the historical information on Du Guanting, I am indebted to Franciscus Verellen and his remarkable dissertation: Du Guangting {850-933), Taoïste de cour à la fin de la Chine médiévale, Mémoires de l'Institut des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, Vol. XXX, Paris, 1989.

69) Daode zhenjing guangsheng yi ^gtM^ÊSsMM 2.13a-13b. In this chapter Du Guangting refers to Laozi's successive reincarnations. The passage is also quoted in the Youlong zhuan 3.2b, with the following variants:

Motes on the Term eneidan} 175

The problem lies, I believe, in the complementary pairs so popular in the Chinese language — e.g., inner and outer, above and below, etc. The Laojun bianhua Wuji jing, a text of the early Celestial Master tradition, says for instance :70

Three, Five, Seven, Nine, the inner and outer unite: the method of nourishing life lies in conducting the qi . . . . The Chamber of the pure Yin is in the middle cinnabar field; when the inner and outer interpenetrate, there will be no further difficulties.

And the ^hang zkenren jinshi lingsha lun, written between 713 and 741, states:71

Apply the shaping and Transforming Forces [i.e. yin and yang] without in order to accomplish the cyclical elixir, nourish the essence and breath within in order to consolidate the body.

Of particular interest also is the case of two Tiantai monks, Chen Huixu l$OSlÊ and Hanshanzi ggiil^p. In Chen Huixu 's biography we find the sentence:72

The power of the numinous elixir is demonstrated when [the adept] preserves his spirits and transmutes his qi internally and ingests the elixir flower from the outside, thus transforming himself into an immortal.

Hanshanzi, it is said, once told a Taoist that the art of cultivating life lies in "making the mind face upward within and regulating one's conduct without" pgfflJÔ, ^-fèKlh After the accumulation of sufficient merit ^^J, "the inner actions will reach fullness and the outer elixir will be achieved"

70) DZ 1195, fasc. 875, 3b and 5a. The text may be of the Eastern Jin jg^ (317-420), personal communication, K.M. Schipper. Cf. also A. Seidel, La divinisation de Lao-tseu dans le taoïsme des Han, p. 60, n. 1 , who dates the text to the end of the sixth century, and Ofuchi Ninji jzMMM "Gotobei do no kyôhô ni tsuite" S4*M©icffi&-3^t, in Tôyô Gakuhô m#*^ 49.3 (1966), pp. 48 and 65, n. 11.

71) SRÀ&ES8>i&, DZ 887, fasc. 586, 10a. 72) Xianzhuan shiyi jllj^fajfi j. 4, quoted in the Taiping guangji ^ÎScbB 49 (Zhonghua shuju

éd.), p. 306. This lost work by Du Guangting, originally in 4Ojuan, has been partially reconstructed from quotations, cf. Yan Yiping H&-~ffî éd., Daojiao yanjiu ziliao 5EWtffl$L.$£P[, I, Taipei, 1974. Chen, fl. 858, was a Buddhist monk of Tiantai. The story is also recounted in the Hunyuan shengji9. 13b- 15a.

73) On the elixir flower (danhua), cf. SCC V:3, p. 83. The elixir flower is the first of the nine numinous elixirs mentioned in the Baopuzi neipian ÎËtKPPiîii (Zhuzi jicheng t&^Mfât éd.), j. 4.

74) Hanshanzi was a hermit of the Dali era (766-79), cf. Taiping guangji, j. 55, and Sandong qunxian lu,j. 2.


b. The Disciple Laozi

Ge Hong %^k (284-362) recounts in his Baopuzi Wï175 that Yuanjun. 7C?q, the mother of Laozi, instructed him in alchemy. According to Du Guang- ting JitJtïiiê, Laozi received a complete revelation from his mother immediately after birth :76

The name of the saintly mother in heaven was Xuanmiao yu'nii; when she descended to earth to give birth to the saint (Laozi), she became Taiyi yuanjun. [After birth] Yuanjun taught Laojun how to transform the world by propagating his teachings, the method of inner cultivation [though concentration on] the Nine Chambers and the Three Ones, the precepts of the ten thousand good and bad actions, the formulae for the hundred diseases and the hundred medicines, the rule of the void and [inner] tranquility, and how to ingest and transmute the nine elixirs. All of these he was to reveal to the world. [She also explained] the method of transmission from master to disciple .... The saintly mother then returned to the heaven of Jade purity, where, to the present day, she dwells as Taiyi yuanjun.

This passage is transformed by the eleventh-century Toulong zhuan $tfgf|i as follows:77

Xuanmiao yu'nu . . . explained the origins of the hundred diseases and the essentials of their remedies in order to make these known to mortals^ so that they may protect their lifespan. At the same time she divulged the technique of the three luminaries and the three originals, the method of the five elements and the five sprouts and the art of protecting the (inner) spirits and consolidating the body, and that of the inner and outer cyclical and golden elixirs. By these means, mortals could attain long life and then transcend the three spheres.78

75) Baopuzi neipian Mfflïrfim, j- 4., p. 15. Gf. also Seidel^ La divinisation de Lao-tseu dans le taoïsme des Han, p. 115.

76) Daode zhenjing guangsheng yi TÈ!ÛMMMM:i& 2.21b-22a. Du Guangting is also the author of Yuanjun's biography, entitled Xuanmiao yu'nu yuanjun zhuan ^.$>ï£.~k7tfëp$, in Yongcheng jixian Lu «««{III» (after 913), D£ 783, fasc. 560-1. l.la-8b.

77) ®fl|f# 2.18a-b: The Youlong zhuan by Jia Shanxiang ~ixW&& was itself based on the lost biography Xuanyiian huangdi shengji STCM^lEifl, written by Yin Wencao ^~%M. between 679 and 688.

78) All these ancient techniques, except for the one of the inner and outer elixirs, are described in the YJQQ and by Robinet in Méditation taoïste.

Motes on the Term l neidan3 177

We have in the Daozang a text entitled Xiantian xuanmiao yu'nù taishang shengmu zichuan xiandao ^c^^^^-k^^^MMBi^M {D% 868, fasc. 579) which regroups both the Yuanjun and the Yin Xi traditions. Unfortunately, the date of the text is not known. Since the first part is based on Du Guangting's biography of Yuanjun, it is later than Du's work. On the other hand, since sections of the text included in the Taishang hunyuan laozi shiliie ^C_h^7C^ -f-jfeH£ are practically identical,79 the text was surely composed between the publication of these two works. It is unclear, however, whether the author of the Toulong zhuan knew of the text, for although the Xiantian Xuanmiao yu'nù taishang shengmu zichuan xiandao elaborates on the use of qi, the nine elixirs and the five talismans, the hundred diseases and their medicines are not mentioned.

Finally, it must be admitted that, although the terms neidan and waidan have been linked to Laozi since the early Song, there is no clear proof of this being the case prior to this dynasty. A text with a preface dated 1052 is so far one of the earliest sources in this respect.80 But there is, nevertheless, a Laozi neidan jing ^Ë^p^fflM quoted by Yang Gu $H§, a Taoist summoned to court by the Emperor Zhenzong (r. 99 7-1 022). 81 As for texts such as the Taishang laojun neidan jing ;fc_h:ëif F^^H {&Z 643, fasc. 342) and the Taishang neidan shouyi zhendingjing ^-hp^^Tp—^JK/ElS {&Z ̂ 44, fasc. 342), their dates have yet to be established. The book quoted by Yang Gu and the Taishang Laojun neidan jing in the Daozang do not correspond.82 That Jia Shanxiang HH^3, a contemporary of Su Dongpo, should use the expression neijwai huandan is not surprising, for we already find the term in the Tunji qiqian.^ By the time Jia Shanxiang wrote his Toulong zhuan during Zhezong's reign (1085-1 100), the term was used quite frequently.84

79) *±ig7C^ÊB& {DZ 773, fasc. 554) T 16b ff. 80) Huandan zhongxian tun WFïMiÙiWè by Yang Zai W& {DZ 233, fasc. 113). Cf. p. lb:

81) Xubai wenpian ffiafUB in Daoshu jtjg 6.2a {DZ 1017, fasc. 641-8). The text is mentioned in Song bibliographies as Shoudao zhi fëjSJÈ, 1 j'., cf. van der Loon, op. cit., p. 135.

82) The Taishang laojun neidan jing was known during the twelfth century, for it is quoted in the Daodejing qushanji MWM&W-M {DZ 718, fasc. 424-7) 2.11a, a commentary, of the Jin (&) dynasty, dated 1172. The text itself does not employ the term neidan but dadan jzft. I believe this could be the Laozi dadan jing î^fl-®, 1 j., listed in Song bibliographies, cf. van der Loon, op. cit., p. 102.

83) Tunji qiqian WH^Wk, compiled by Zhang Junfang WSW in 1019 (cf. K.M. Schipper, Index du Tunji qiqian, Paris, 1981), lists texts under the headings: Jindanjue ^JJlfe {j. 63), Neidan juefa PiftWi (j. 70) and neidan ÉW (j. 72).

84) Cf. IJ>ZX>J- 51. Jia Shanxiang was also author of the lost work Gaodao zhuan MWM-


3. Neidan in Early Alchemical Texts

The term neidan, we have seen, is mentioned in the Tunji qiqian (1019). On the other hand, we have found waidan in a text attributed to Du Guangting (850-933), 85 but quoted in the Taiping guangji, a compilation of the Taiping xingguo era (976-983). The earliest mention of the term in a Song text with a date is 988. 86 Both terms are used in book titles listed in Song bibliographies.87 Most of the sources we have for the use of the terms neidan and waidan remain Song, although many of these are purportedly Tang. One of these is a lost work compiled by Wang Yuanzheng EE7CIE,88 Li Huangzhong Ît^f3 et al., entitled Neiwai danjue fàp\-fftk in two juan. Although we know very little about Li Huangzhong,89 an entire chapter by Wang Yuanzheng is preserved in the Daoshu jHflS, compiled by Zeng Cao H*^ (d. 1155). The latter says in a note that Wang Yuanzheng was a Taoist who lived on Taibaishan ^cèl-U in the period 785-805. 90 In another alchemical compilation, he is said to be the author of a purely waidan work, the date of which is 808. 91 Another title mentioned in the Song bibliographies is the Neidan bizang faf$%W< by Cui You %èMx of the Tang.92 The Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian (end of Song, early Yuan) also mentions some titles: Zhu Taochui is supposed to have written a Neidan jue R^fîife;93 Shi Jianwu MM^ (n- 806) received a Wuzhong neidan jue 51® p^ ^ffe from Xu Jingyang f^îÈf^l of the Six Dynasties.94 There are also two texts with dates in the Daozang, but both are unreliable: the Nantong dajun neidan jiuzhang jing ^W.~kM^f\ih%W: (see below, p. 180), dated 818, and another attributed to Cui Xifan H?#ià\ of the Five Dynasties, the Tianyuan ruyao jing

M, dated 940. 95 The terms also figure in a lost work by Tanluozi

85) See above, p. 174. 86) See below, p. 180. 87) Cf. van der Loon, op. cit., pp. 82 and 146. 88) Wang Yuanzheng, H. Qjngxuzi fifJÉïS was the author of many books listed in Song

bibliographies, cf. van der Loon, op. cit., pp. 82, 83, 91, 95 and 135. 89) The Quart Tangwen £iS3$C 398.7b (Taiwan Datong shuju ±3WIj reprint, Vol. 9, p. 5134)

mentions a Li Huangzhong of the Kaiyuan era (713-41), but this date is surely too early for this compilation.

90) I am not quite sure which Taibaishan Zeng Cao is referring to. According to the <û Ruzi zhuan %M?-& (cf. Xu xian zhuan fg-ftll^, D£295, fasc. 138, 1.2b-3b), Zhu Ruzi and his teacher Wang Yuanzheng both lived on Maoshan. The story is also mentioned in the Sandong qunxian tu, DZ 1248, fasc. 922-95 5.14a-15a, which quotes the lost Gaodao zhuan MW& as the source. The LSZX<S& writes Wang Xuanzhen EE^K instead of Wang Yuanzhen.

91) Qianhongjiageng zhibao jicheng $àW$$k^MMïX (££919, fasc. 595) 2.7b-10b: ^JgxfOH^

92) Cui You is mentioned in the Xin Tangshu fr&lt 9/72 T (Zhonghua shuju éd., p. 2769). 93) LSZX 43.1a. See above, p. 167. 94) LSZX 45.5a. Shi Jianwu is supposed to be one of the authors of a group of neidan texts

attributed to Zhongli Quan §s&t&WL and Lu Dongbin SPSS, texts which played an important role in the Northern Song (cf. my Procédés secrets du joyau magique, pp. 30, 31 and 41-51).

95) Cf. Xiuzhen shishu «+*, DZ 263, fasc. 122-31, 21.6b-9b.


MMr^ of the tenth century.96 The terms neidan and waidan appear in two Tang ( ?) alchemical texts where,

curiously enough, both designate alchemical (i.e. waidan) techniques. The Huangdi jiuding shendanjing says: "Therefore, the Perfected One wrote a song on the nine tripods, in which the first [step] is the fixing of external elixir flowers" âfeJKÀ3fc;7Lif» H— 'Mftfï'ZM?1 and the Taiqing shibiji of the eighth century describes a method of fabricating neidan (ieftfl-^) using plant and mineral ingredients.98

The problem of the use of neidan is also connected with the transmission of the Taijitu ~fcMM (Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate), which I discuss later in this article.99 The earliest texts which speak of neidan compare it with qi techniques, either with embryonic breathing or with the absorption of breath. I intend to examine some of these usages below.

a. Cultivation and Transmutation (Xiulian ^W)

We have seen that Laozi is said to have perfected metal and absorbed breath M.&MMf100 This phrase was later interpreted as Laozi's cultivation of waidan and neidan. During the Tang dynasty, the term xiulian H£iii (cultivate and transmute) was also applied to breathing practices and alchemy. The Huangdi yinfu jing "M^^ffiM. states: "He who knows the art of cultivation and transmutation is a saint" £n£1îf £lgÀ.101 And the Tang Taoist Wu Yun i^gg writes: "Among thousands of persons who practice the art of cultivation and transmutation, there is probably only one who practices it assiduously" M-^^î fSHî'f'iîSjÀ'+'S? — ÀM3-102 Other terms applied to techniques of inner cultivation were liandan ||if} (transmutation of cinnabar, elixir or the field of cinnabar) and lianqi $%M< (transmutation of qi, or as Needham translates it, recasting of qi).103 The latter procedure is defined in one text as the equivalent of the circulation of qi (xingqi frlR)-104

b. Embryonic Breathing (taixi UnJi.)

We know that respiratory techniques played an important role during the

96) Cf. Xiuzhen shishu la ff. On Yanluo zi's dates, cf. Chen Guofu, Daozang yuanliu kao, p. 284. 97) The Huangdi jiuding shendanjing ¥H&%WmftU 10.3b, DZ 885, fasc. 584-5. Danhua fïW

is the name of an elixir, see above, n. 73. 98) Taiqing shibiji Xm^MB, DZ 881, fasc. 582-3. 99) See below, p. 188. 100) £«=HB(£)fc. 101) TJdd 15.5a. 102) Shenxian kexue lun Iffllinjlpjir, ZonSxuan xiansheng wenji zR^llltS^Ï 10a. Cf. also the use

of xiulian in Yuanqi lun, TJQjQ, 56.21b: £ft&;, 26a: x^ ... ttft, 56.22a and 24a: &mxM>, 56.28b: ^ôt%^^.. Cf. also Danlunjuezhi xinjian, rjQjQ, 66.13a: T^SPW ^$î£B^ — *PJR.

103) Cf. SCC. V:5, p. 148. For liandan, cf. YJQ_Q_ 72.36b, and for lianqi, Taishang laojun neiguan jing (rjQ.Q. 17.12b), ï>%mM&M%BfôJ<\ Tuanqi lun, 56.28b,

104) Cf. Mozi biqi xingqi fa, YJQSl 59.10b (also 6b) : f


Tang, not only in Taoist circles but also in others (see postscript). Fukui Fumimasa has shown that a number of texts on embryonic breathing attributed to the legendary Bodhidharma were in circulation during this period.105 Even the Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi, wrote on the subject.106 It is interesting to note that one of the oldest texts which speaks ofneidan, the Taixijing zhu,10^ considers it a synonym of embryonic breathing In JE. :

[This technique] is called "embryonic breathing," but its proper name is "inner elixir"

Earlier in the text taixi is defined as the formation of the immortal embryo through uniting the primordial qi 7C^, concentrated in the lower cinnabar field, and the spirit, shen jjif .108 The embryonic breathing described in the text is similar to the technique of conducting the breath : the adept concentrates on the lower cinnabar field, and when enough primordial qi has been accumulated, he then circulates the qi throughout the body in order to purify the latter. This is also the definition in an early Song text dated 988 which states :

Waidan consists in understanding the "indistinct and obscure"; for [the circulation of] the inner qi, one must understand the basic practice of going against the current, and embryonic breathing

Further on in the same text, this circulation of inner qi is equated with neidan ^fïWM^WMW-109 Another spurious text, dated 818 and attributed to the Tang Taoist Wu Yun ^k%> affirms that neidan is the result of the "accumulation of the inner divinités."110 A similar statement is also found in the Taixi

105) Fukui Fumimasa j|iia#3t3i, "Key to Longevity in a Taoist Text ascribed to the Great Master Dharma," paper presented at the Third International Conference of Taoist Studies, Unteraegeri, 1979. On the importance of the Bodhidharma techniques in neidan, cf. my Procédés secrets du joyau magique, p. 206. On Tang respiratory techniques see Engelhardt, op. cit.

106) Cf. Nakajima RyûzS 4»JtrH15, "Tendai Chigi no Shitsubyôkan" 3z-à&M£<D&1?§WL, in Sakade Yoshinobu, éd., Cfiûgoku kodai yôsei shisô no sôgoteki kenkyû : Kenkyû seika hôkokusào no khi #H#ft*£S8©«£»W9e: Wftm%:m%mZ- (1987), pp. 48-51. Tiantai's close links to Taoism, especially in the early Song, have been amply demonstrated in Fukui Fumimasa's excellent dissertation Hannyashingyd no rekishiteki kenkyû $k%'uM<DM$.ift¥i% Tokyo, 1987, pp. 241-78.

107) Taixijing zhu SêHSIÊ, by a Huanzhen xiansheng £jfl#£ {DZ 130, fasc. 59), 3b. Part of the text figures in TJQ_Q, 60, but this quotation is missing. On the date of this text, cf. Henri Maspero, Le taoïsme et les religions chinoises, Paris, 1971, p. 507.

108) lb. 109) Taixuan langranzi jindao ski ttffi&^MfêM by Liu Xiyue U%& {DZ 271, fasc. 133),

preface la and text la. The preface is dated 988. The poem, however, is first mentioned in the Songshi yiwen zhi 4.17b, but it was inscribed on stone during the Song dynasty in 1111 and later inscribed and published under the Jin dynasty in 1150 (cf. Baqiong shijinshi buzheng AÏEULS fi&IE 123.18a-24a).

110) Nantongdajun neidan jiuzhangjing ^WzM^Bil^W., DZ 1054, fasc. 727, la: f


jingwei lun SpM^^^,111 which states:

The primordial qi is the root of the spirit, the body is the home of the qi, the mind is the house of the spirit .... If the qi decreases, the spirit weakens

Actually the technique referred to in this section of the book concerns the ancient sexual art of huanjing bunao jH^fif SS) that is, "returning the sperm to fortify the brain." This is evident from the alternative title of this section: Liujing huiqi bunao ^^HI^Mfâj "Preserving the Seminal Essence and Returning the Qi in Order to Fortify the Brain." It further defines neidan as being formed of blood, spittle, secretions, seminal essence and qi of the brain

^-È-112 The same text exclaims:

Among the hundred techniques of the art of the chamber, none is so marvellous as that of returning the qi to fortify the brain

c. The Cyclical Elixir {huandan :Mft)

We have seen earlier that Laozi is said to have received instruction on inner and outer cyclical elixirs {neijwai huandan) from his saintly mother Yuanjun. The term huandan was originally the name of an elixir in alchemy.114 In inner alchemy, it has several meanings: huandan as a cyclical elixir, in which the compound huan (return) plus dan (cinnabar field, dantian) implies returning to the cinnabar field.115 A commentary on the £houyi cantong qi, one of the most important alchemical works, explains the phrase, "when metal returns to its original nature," thus:116

Quicksilver is originally metallic in nature. The term dan is the appellation of the color vermillion, huan has the meaning of reverting and returning. Mercury is subdued and becomes (vermillion) cinnabar, cinnabar is changed into the elixir, hence it is called cyclical elixir.

The text explains that this elixir is also known as the "Exterior Cyclical Elixir"

111) ftUEM'tikm (D£829, fasc. 571), 6a. Part of the text figures in the TJdQ, 88, but this section, entitled Taixi shenhui neidan qifanjue flêlïJfrfï'PîfJ'-bsSffc, is missing.

112) 6b. The sentence is a quotation from a section of Huangdi neidan qifanjue i^c^ft^-fcMtfe, a title mentioned in the Songshi yiwen zhi 4.15a.

113) Ibid. 7b. Much has been written on this fangzhong technique and I shall not go into it here. The reader can refer to H. Maspero, op. cit., p. 574, and J. Needham, SCC V:5, p. 184 ff.

114) Cf. Baopuzi neipiansj. 4. 115) Cf. Dongyuanzi neidan jue Mïtl- ftfj&, DZ 1097, fasc. 743, ± la: ftft*, ttfflîlife. 116) Zhouyi cantongqi zhu M^#IH^&, DZ 1004, fasc. 624, T 40b. This text is of uncertain

date. Chen Guofu believes it may be Tang (cf. Daozang yuanliu xukao, p. 377), but it is more likely Song.


ff' It further advises the adept to absorb both the outer and inner cyclical elixirs in order to obtain immortality; the inner elixir is defined as the technique of returning the sperm to fortify the brain StBg^Mfî- ifcMftlMFi'- RJiMfêifP. &HMim. JbU^tiL. (See postscript).

The term most commonly used in early alchemical poems remains huandan117 5af}, and not neidan as we find in later alchemical texts. We find the term used in such famous poems such as Tin zhenjun huandan ge118 where the commentary is attributed to the Taoist Chen Tuan £|[fl|.119 His biography in the Songshi ^^. states that Chen Tuan wrote a %hixuan pian tfaUm in 81 sections which dealt with the art of gymnastics and the cyclical elixir sHÎMfïiè.sfï-120 Another of his poems was entitled Rushi huandan shi AHMf^lrF-121 The term qifan huandan -fcMMfi; which we find in Lu Dongbin's famous poem,122 is rendered in later texts as Qifan neidan -fciMp^fJ, as in the title quoted above.123

d. The Golden Elixir (jindan ékfï) and the Great Elixir (dadan

In old alchemical texts, we often find the term jindan used as a synonym for huandan or neidan.124 We have seen that the term neijwai huandan is often employed in the sense of huanjing bunao.125 The Tongyou jue, for instance, advocates the ingestion of both inner and outer golden elixirs as a means to immortality: "If one chances to acquire the inner and outer golden elixirs and ingests them . . ." ^^rMF^^f^fJfB^-126 Another text of possibly similar date, the Tuqing neishu 3s:?r P3H,127 gives a clearer rendering of the last two sentences of the Tongyou jue:

If [the adept] does not acquire the floreate qi of the sun and the moon, and if he does not circulate his secretions and fluids and [produce] the

117) And its composite expressions such as longku huandan MlÈMfi, qifan huandan -tl'MMfi, jinyi,yuyi huandan &M, 3L$iMfï (cf. Procédés secrets du joyau magique, p. 57 ff.).

118) Tin zhenjun huandan gezhu ^^M'Mfi^M- 119) On Ghen Tuan, cf. Livia Knaul, Leben und Légende des Ch'en T'uan. Wûrzburger Sino-

Japonica 9, Frankfurt am Main, 1981 ; and Qing Xitai M^M, Zhongguo daojiao sixiang shigang (Sui, Tang, Wudai, Beisong shiqi) #HJiftJSîg5fc»l (PfïJtSftfcSfëSi), Chengdu, 1985, pp. 701-12. On the Tin zhenjun huandan ge zhu, Qing Xitai (p. 710) says that the book concerns inner alchemical arts of cultivation and purification pjfl"{£$!.

120) Songshi, j. 457. 121) Taihua xiyi zhi *^*HiÈ, DZ 306, fasc. 160, T 7b. 122) Lu Chunyang zhenren Qinyuan chun danci zhujie &Wiïk&MiM^¥ïs%WèM {DZ 136, fasc. 60)

la. See also F. Baldrian-Hussein, "Yûeh-yang and Lu Tung-pin's Ch'in-yuan ch'un: A Sung Alchemical Poem," in Religion und Philosophie in Ostasien, Festschrift fur Hans Steininger, Wûrzburg, 1985.

123) See above, n. 111. 124) For example, the Tao zhenren neidan fu P&JSAftf})^, DZ 259, fasc. 121, has as an alterna

tive title Jindan fu MiW., DZ 261, fasc. 121. 125) See above, p. 181. 126) Sl&llfe, DZ 913, fasc. 591, 26a. 127) DZ 947, fasc. 599,6a.

Notes on the Term cneidan' 183

Three-in-One huandan, how will he save his body?. . . If he happens to attain the inner and outer golden elixirs, ingests them and makes them circulate in the body, the physical form will remain [on earth].

Famous alchemical poems, such as the Wuzhen pian '(cfiH-iï by Zhang Boduan Sfifa^rfil (984-1082) never mention neidan but describe the "art of the golden elixir" î^jE. The poem, nevertheless, uses the terms "inner and outer drugs [or ingredients]" pjHI, ^f§|.128 In other texts, primarily Song, we find the expression "golden elixir" used as the equivalent of the "sacred embryo" {shengtai ^H£).129

e. The Interior and Exterior Medicines {neif waiyao f*3^H^|); the Inner and Outer Counterparts (Neifwaixiang

The term yao, which designates an ingredient or a drug in alchemy, is frequently used in neidan poems. Thus, a text dated 988130 uses the term waiyao in connection with fire phasing. Meiyao and waiyao, which Needham translates as "inner and outer medicinal entities,"131 play a predominant role in later alchemical schools which interpret Zhang Boduan's famous sentence, "The inner medicine is similar to the outer medicine; when the inner communication has been established, the outer must follow" p3^H#n^fli, P^S^^HM-132 In one commentary we are told waiyao is the golden elixir éitfï, and neiyao is the cyclical elixir of liquified gold ^^Mjf.133 The commentaries also equate the terms with the "elixir yin" and the "elixir yang" and quote Peng Xiao of the Five Dynasties as their autority.

Peng Xiao j^H, in a postface dated 947, mentions neijwai faxiang P3^f|ë|^, terms which originally designate the inner and outer symbols of the Tijing.134: Although Peng Xiao does not use the term neidan, he is the author of a lost text preserved in the Tunji qiqian, entitled Huandan neixiang jin yaoshi MfffàM &%à$i- This text discusses inner alchemical techniques and is classified as such.135

The Da huandan zhaojian of 962 quotes the Buddhist Seng Ruona fH^rift

128) Wuzhen pian IgMH, in Xiuzhen shishu 29.1a. 129) Gf. Taishang changwen dadong lingbao youxuan shangpin miaqjing

W>m (Z)£ 991, fasc. 619) 8a. 130) Taixuan langranzi jindao shi ttm^MMW by Liu Xiyue gfl^fir, A£ 271, fasc. 133, la.

On the date of the text, see above, p. 180. 131) See SCC V:5 p. 40. Since Needham has given excellent examples of the use of these terms,

I shall limit myself to the few examples of interest to us here. 132) Xiuzhen shishu wuzhenpian «+«f§i*i»> D£263, fasc. 122-31, 29.1a. 133) Ibid., 29.1b. 134) Zhouyi canlongqi dingqigs mingjingtu n%3&WWMW$tf&ÇÊM, DZ 1003, fasc. 624, 1 lb. 135) 2^0.0.70. The text is classified under the heading, "Practical Instructions on NeidarC*


as saying:136

Most people who transmute the supreme medicine consider it to be the yellow floreate essence of lead (i.e. massicot) ; but the floreate essence of lead is an inanimate thing. How could it lead to immortality? The yellow sprout is not an exterior medicine ; in inner symbolism it means using the floreate essences (of the sun and moon and those within the body).

m. mmmnit. wt-îtm. nmum.

The ^honglii chuandao ji ÉlBâl-SI describes two drugs for curing illnesses as neidan and waidan i^7

There are two types of medicines which can cure illnesses of the body or those due to age. The first is called neidan, the second waidan.

f. Tin Elixir and Tang Elixir (yindan PièfJ andyangdan ^ff)

In an eighth-century text we find the following definition of the yin and yang elixirs :138

The elixir yang permits one to ascend to the heavens, the elixir yin confers longevity. The elixir yang is known as the cyclical elixir, the elixir yin concerns the technique of returning the seminal essence.

The ancient terms yindan andyangdan, which are related to the art of the bedchamber,139 came to be considered synonyms for neidan and waidan in later texts. A passage preserved in the Tunji qiqian S^-tH, of the (lost work) Xuan- bian Tuanjun bianjinhu qianhong zaoding rujin bizhen zhouhou fang

When the adept obtains unity by internal cultivation, this is the yin elixir, the qi; with qi one can preserve life. If he obtains unity by external cultivation, this is the yang elixir. When the elixir is completed and ingested,

136) Da huandan zhaojian ^js/îMIt, D£ 926, fasc. 597, 7b. Seng Ruona (Sanskrit, jnâna, fl. 838, was a native of Kucha. He is the author of Foding zunsheng tuoluoni biefa ffiWWWftMïîL SUS?, T. 974 (f), but I am not sure if this is the same person as the one mentioned in our text.

137) Cited in Xiuzhen shishu 15.8a-8b. 138) TJQJQ, 64.14a: Wangwu zhenren houshou yindan bijue lingpian ÏE.^K^^MW&WMM- 139) rjQCLJ. 33.6b: Sheyang zhenzhong Jang j^kt^ attributed to Sun Simo WMM: £$k

fïfàWM-'^'i.'iÊ- On Sun Simo, cf. Nathan Sivin, Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958. For the date and authenticity of the Sheyang zhenzhong fang, cf. pp. 1 19-20. Cf. also SCC, V-5, p. 184 ff.

140) DZ 1032, fasc. 677-702, 63.1b-2a.


it has the power of consolidating the (true) nature and the life-force within and transforming the five metals without.

The Tongyoujue says:141

The qi which can preserve life is neidan, the medicine which can consolidate the body is waidan. To obtain longevity through ingestion, nothing can surpass the inner and outer elixirs or the ethereal essences of the sun and the moon.

The Shangdong xindanjue explains:142

When the five phases of man occur in order, the material form is born; reverse them and one attains perfection. For the qi of yin, yang and the five elements with which man is endowed, form his body. Nevertheless, the body encloses a treasure, the spirit. [The manifestation] of the spirit in heaven is heat, and on earth fire ; within man it is the spirit of the heart, the ancestor of the Way and the principal means of cultivating immortality. This is the reason for using only one ingredient, cinnabar, and transmuting it nine times to obtain the cyclical cinnabar of liquified gold. If one understands this logic and acts accordingly, one transmutes the cyclical elixir without (^) and ingests it according to formula and one seeks the mysterious pearl in the red waters within (pg) and forms the cyclical elixir in the Yellow Court. If one can make the inner and outer elixirs accomplish the nine-fold transformation, he will very quickly succeed in uniting with the perfection of the Tao. For internal cultivation is the yin elixir, external cultivation is the yang elixir. With the yin elixir, one lengthens the lifespan ; with the yang elixir, one ascends as an immortal. This is why the practitioner of the Tao can increase the number of his allotted years if he possesses the inner elixir, and can ascend to the heavens if he has the outer elixir. If the inner elixir has been achieved but not the outer elixir, or if the outer elixir has been completed but the inner elixir has not yet been mastered, in both these cases one cannot become an immortal. The methods of the Three Ones and the Nine Chambers which I have transmitted are the essentials of inner cultivation ; those of the cyclical elixir and liquified gold are the culmination of outer transmutation.

141) Z>£913, iasc. 591, 18b. 142) Skangdong xindan jingjue (j. fp. la-lb) attributes the quotation to Ge Xuan H;È;(=xian-

weng Wm), but the last two sentences are identical with the words of Laozi, see above, p. 172.


.-z±.

g. Neidan and Waidan as Grades

In the examples we have seen so far, the term neidan usually denotes one particular technique which corresponds in most cases to the basic practice of purifying either the seminal essence or the qi. In later more sophisticated alchemical texts, it is defined as a grade in one system of immortality techniques. This is the case with the Zhonglu texts which I have discussed elsewhere.143 In these texts the first stage, in which the adept purifies his seminal essence, culminates in neidan; the second step which corresponds to purification of qi, ends in waidan. According to the ninth-century text Taibai huandan pian ~X.&M.f\m>1Â the first step, neidan, requires three years

Only when this has been achieved can the adept accomplish waidan. At this stage he can make use of the great medicine to transform tiles and bricks into gold.146

Another text, the Huayang pian ^^M, says that the true qi is produced after neidan has been achieved, but when the adept succeeds in attaining waidan his body will become healthy and strong fafïgt, fllJM^fc^. #!&£. SilJl't"

Conclusion

Early alchemical texts, such as the £houyi cantong qi MM/^ffi^l and the Guwen longhu jing t^^tfl^^, include passages and expressions that can be easily interpreted as neidan. Indeed early neidan texts all use an alchemical vocabulary, as can be seen from the texts found in the Tunji qiqian under the heading neidan. The texts make use of complicated secret names for ingredients, the five element theory and the Tijing symbols for instructions in purification and transmutation. Su Dongpo, for instance, writes148 that what the ancients called neidan was:

143) Cf. Procédés secrets du joyau magique,. 144) Daoshu 27.4a-13a. 145) Daoshu 27 .lia. 14G) Daoshu 27.9a. 147) Daoshu 10.1a-lb. 148) Zhongmiao pian iifc>M, Daoshu 35.6b-8a.


the technique of the reversal of the five elements, in which the dragon emerges from fire ; when the five elements do not follow the natural order, the tiger will be born in water.

Some texts, though, are quite explicit. The Tianyuan ruyao jing states :149

The body of him who desires to nurture the inner elixir is modelled on the cauldron, his essence and breath represent lead and mercury, and the trigrams Kan and Li, water and fire.

Another text explains:150

Those who cultivate the inner elixir should first set the furnace in order. The furnace is the [trigram] K'un externally [surrounding] the cauldron. This is our body. It contains the drugs of longevity which are the spirit, qi, seminal essence and the fluids.

These are just some examples from among many. As to the date of the first use of the term neidan, the present level of research

precludes any definite conclusion. As I have already stated, all our sources so far are Song ( Taiping guangji, Tunji qiqian, Daoshu) . These in turn comprise older material attributed to lost texts and Tang (or older) authors. If we are to believe the dating of the Taibai huandan pian quoted above (785-805), the term was in current use in the ninth century. It is surprising, nevertheless, that Five Dynasties authors such as Peng Xiao, Du Guanting and the author of the Da huandan zhaojian (962) seem not to have known it. One reason for this, of course, could be regional, since all three were inhabitants of the Kingdom of Shu ID . Even if we do accept some of the early dates mentioned above, we must admit that the use of the term during the Tang and Five Dynasties is rare. All we can deduce from the material presented is this : 1 ) in early texts, neidan refers to a specific technique; 2) by Zhenzong's reign (997-1022), the term designates a group of techniques, expressed in texts employing specific alchemical language. This development had reached its climax by the twelfth century, when Wu Wu ^'[§151 defined neidan as a syncretic system comprising all the longevity methods: gymnastic, respiratory, dietary and sexual techniques. This is the definition which persists to the present day.

I cannot conclude this article without mentioning a major problem, to

149) Xiuzhen shishu 21.8b. 150) Jinshuyujianpian ^HiElili, Daoshu 2 1 .2a. 151) See his Zhiguiji fêftJK, 2)^ 921, fasc. 596.


wit, that of the Taijitu ^cffiffj. The question concerns the present study insofar as many articles in recent years have dealt with a diagram which preceded the Taijitu, entitled Xiantian zhi tu 5fe^è.H- This diagram is found in a text with inner alchemical theories which is supposedly Tang. I have no intention of contributing to the polemics regarding the date of the diagram, but there are a few points which concern neidan directly. There is no doubt that diagrams explaining the system of the ZJiouyi cantong qi existed prior to the Song. This was the case of the lost Taiyi zhi tu ;£—;£. H and of another diagram by Peng Xiao. It is also true that the Northern Song saw an increasing number of texts with microcosmic/macrocosmic theories accompanied by diagrams. One of these is the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate ( Taijitu) . According to Fung Yulan,152 the source of Zhou Dunyi's M^M. (1017-1073) famous Taijitu was a Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate that Precdes Heaven (^fe^^H) which the Tijing exegete Zhu Zhen ^H (1072-1138) traces back to Chen Tuan. In connection with the Xiantian zhi tu, Fung Yulan remarks that the diagram existed during the Tang dynasty. The reason for this statement, I believe, lies in the fact that the diagram is found in a series of texts preceded by a preface by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-55). This text, the Shangfang dadong zhenyuan miaojingtu AzJjjzWlSijtl&WzW, is one of a series of scriptures which discuss zhenyuan (primordial perfection).153 One of these zhenyuan texts which follows the Xuanzong preface uses the terms neidan and waidan.154 Upon closer examination, I discovered the following points :

1) The Shangfang dadong zhenyuan miaojingtu, which contains the diagram in question, quotes Shangu \U£r (2b). Shangu daoren jJIA was the hao of Huang Tingjian (1045-1104). The text also employs the term zhenyuanyi qi jjSjh—M*, a term which we also find in Zhonglu texts of the Northern Song. In addition, the cosmological section in the Lingbao bifa is entitled MJE5 which can hardly be a coincidence.155

2) The following text, the Taishang dadong zhenyuan yinyang zhijiang tushu houjie Aiî^M^jt^MWWMWÛM mentions a Song poem, Zhongli Quan and a quotation from Qmgxiazi which is actually an excerpt from a poem attributed to Lu Dongbin.156 The approximate date of the poem can easily

152) A History of Chinese Philosophy, translated by Derk Bodde, Princeton, 1953, Vol. II, pp. 438-9.

153) Z)£ 436, fasc. 196. 154) Shangfang dadong zhenyuan tushu jishuo zhongpian ALîzM^ytUtBMBM (DZ 439, fasc.

197) 4a: fi^\-i.fi. Another text of the group is the Yuanyuan daomiao dongzhen jipian WiW-M^M^ MM, DZ 995, fasc. 619; it employs the terms neidan/waidan (T 3a-3b). This text is also Song, for the author mentions Langranzi PM&lr, Liu Xiyue (fl. 988).

155) The Baiwen pian TgffiWi (Daoshtt 5.18a) defines the zhenyuan zhi qi Mx^S. Cf. also Bkhuan Zhengyang zhenren lingbao bifa ffi#Œ^MÀ'ï£9l|'£, DZ 1191, fasc. 874-5.

156) Cf. F. Baldrian, "Lu Tung-pin in Northern Sung Literature," in Cahiers d'Extrême- Asie 2, 1986, p. 138. The poem is entitled Taotou piige W&R®. {Quan Tangshi £f§W 858, p. 9704, Zhonghua shuju cd.).

Notes on the Term c neidan' 189

be guessed since it ridicules three high Song officials, one of whom was Fu Bi U^ (1004-1083). It further mentions Xiyi chushi #HJE±, probably Chen Tu an.

3) The text with neijwaidan, the Shangfang dadong zhenyuan tushujishuo zhongpian Jc.^j\M^^WiWiWkWkW:iE mentions Li Fang of the early Song.

4) There are two other important zhenyuan texts, the ZJienyuan miaodao xiudao liyan chaotu ^yt'k^M^fiM^fPM157 and the Zhenyuan miaodao yao lue ^jtî^M. HB£. Neither of these texts mentions neidan, but the former explains the neidan process in terms of Yin/Yang and the five elements, and the latter contains long passages on inner cultivation.158

These examples show that the arguments presented so far concerning the antiquity of these texts are far from convincing.

In summary, given the many unsolved problems, not to mention the inadequacy of research on Buddhist texts, I believe it yet too early yet to draw any definite conclusions as to the date and usage of the term neidan.

Postscript : I would like to thank Professor Nathan Sivin (University of Pennsylvania) for his pertinent remarks concerning this article. Unfortunately, time does not permit a discussion of the problems he mentions on the aims oïwaidan or the milieu in which qi techniques originated.

I regret this, and can only refer to Sivin's "Chinese Alchemy and the Manipulation of Time," in N. Sivin, éd., Science and Technology in East Asia, New York, 1977, and "On the Word 'Taoist' as a Source of Perplexity: With Special Reference to the Relations of Science and Religion in Traditional China," in History of Religions 17 (1978). I would like to point out, nevertheless, that qi techniques in general cannot be considered either Taoist or Buddhist, but form part of Chinese civilization in general.

I would also like to bring two other points to the attention of the reader :

a) Huanjing bu nao is wrongly considered as being only a sexual technique, cf. Isabelle Robinet's La revelation du Shanqing (as in note 1), p. 175, where it is shown that the term huanjing referred to the visualization and circulation of colored qi already in ancient Taoist texts ; the two terms were also applied to other, non-sexual, techniques.

b) For "cyclical elixir huandan," read : "cyclically transformed elixir."

157) 370.0.72. 158) The Zhenyuan miaodao yaolûe, D£ 924, fasc. 596, is mainly known for its passage on gun

powder. The text mentions a Five Dynasty Taoist and can be dated at the earliest towards the end of the tenth century.


Abbreviations

= Daozang jUlit I give the serial numbers as indicated in K.M. Schipper, Concordance du Tao-tsang, Paris, 1975. This is followed by the fascicle number of the Daozang (Hanfen lou M^-W: edition), which is also included in Weng Tu-chien HiJUlit, Tao-tsang tzu-mu yin-te jttii^P@3l#, Harvard- Yenching Institute Sinological Index Series No. 25, reprint, Taipei, 1966.

LSZX=Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian MWî^fÊMM&t &Z 296, fasc. 139-48.

SCC= Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. V:2, Cambridge 1974; vol. V:3, Cambridge 1976; vol. V:5, Cambridge 1983.

T. = Taishô daizôkyô ^lEîSIc. Standard numbers as given in P. Demiéville, H. Durt, A. Seidel, eds., Répertoire du Canon Bouddhique Sino-Japanais, Tôkyô and Paris, 1978.

rjQQj=Yunji qiqian m%-k^, D£ 1032, fasc. 677-702.

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Inner Alchemy