Chinese Alchemy: Taoism, the Power of Gold, and the Quest for Immortality

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.

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