Now, if the main purpose of a religious teaching is drawing people to faith, why are the alchemical texts so obscure? Essentially, the Taoist alchemical methods are kept secret within closed groups; the selection of disciples is severe, and the methods are transmitted under oath. The most important points are not committed to writing: they are

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Zhang Boduan’s works show that, in his view, the first stage of the alchemical practice (“laying the foundations”) consists of the dual cultivation of Xing (Nature) and Ming (Life). The second stage (“refining Essence to transmute it into Breath”) emphasizes the work on Ming. In the third stage (“refining Breath to transmute it into Spirit”), the

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