Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China

Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China

by Fabrizio Pregadio
Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China

Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China

by Fabrizio Pregadio

eBook

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Overview

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.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780804767736
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication date: 02/27/2006
Series: Asian Religions and Cultures
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 392
File size: 6 MB

About the Author

Fabrizio Pregadio is Acting Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University and General Editor of the Encyclopedia of Taoism (2005).

Table of Contents

CONTENTS List of Illustrations, vi List of Tables, vii Conventions, viii Preface, xi Introduction, 1 Part One: THE HEAVEN OF GREAT CLARITY AND ITS REVELATIONS 1 The Early History of Chinese Alchemy and the Way of the Great Clarity, 33 2 The Heaven of Great Clarity, 53 3 The Great Clarity Corpus, 82 Part Two: THE ELIXIRS OF THE GREAT CLARITY 4 The Crucible and the Elixir, 104 5 The Ritual Sequence, 124 6 The Medicines of Great Clarity, 156 Part Three: A HISTORY OF THE GREAT CLARITY 7 Gods, Demons, and Elixirs: Alchemy in Fourth-Century Jiangnan, 191 8 The Way of the Great Clarity and Daoism in the Six Dynasties, 218 Part Four: TEXTS OF THE GREAT CLARITY 9 Scripture of The Nine Elixirs, 244 10 Scripture of the Golden Liquor, 288 11 Scripture of the Reverted Elixir in Nine Cycles, 294 Part Five: THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT CLARITY 12 The Later History of Chinese Alchemy and the Decline of the Great Clarity, 306 Appendixes A Dates of Texts in the Waidan Corpus, 340 B Additional Notes on Great Clarity and Related Texts, 346 C Additional Notes on the Commentary to the Scripture of the Nine Elixirs, 363 Glossary, 389 Works Quoted, 405 Index
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