Free Excerpts
- Introduction (full text freely available from the Stanford UP website)
- "This book introduces the earliest identifiable tradition in the history of Chinese alchemy. Named after the celestial domain from which its teachings had descended and to which they promised ascent, the Taiqing, or Great Clarity, legacy flourished between the third and the fourth centuries in Jiangnan, the region south of the lower Yangzi River. While earlier documents yield fragmentary evidence on the origins of alchemy in China, the extant Taiqing sources provide details on the doctrines, rites, techniques, and aims of waidan, or "external alchemy," and on its relation to contemporary religious traditions. While earlier documents yield fragmentary evidence on the origins of alchemy in China, the extant Taiqing sources provide details on the doctrines, rites, techniques, and aims of waidan, or "external alchemy," and on its relation to contemporary religious traditions. . . ." (Read more)
- Chapter 1: The Early History of Chinese Alchemy and the Way of the Great Clarity (full text freely available from the Amazon.com website)
- "The origins of alchemy is a fascinating subject that has engaged the attention of several generations of scholars. In a survey of sources and studies of the Western tradition, Robert Halleux has pointed out the wide diversity of opinions that exist in this respect. As he shows, the debate among scholars has concerned not only the dating of the sources, but especially what constitutes alchemy, how it differs from metallurgy and proto-chemistry and whether the earliest extant sources provide definite evidence on their origins and background. Due to the remarkable variety of views concerning these issues, there is no agreement on when and where the arts of the elixirs first took shape, and on what role was played in this context by the speculative and ritual features that have characterized alchemy wherever it has developed. . . ." (Read more)