Abstract

Commemorated as one of Seven Perfected Ones (or Seven Perfected Daoist Masters), Sun Bu’Er’s teachings and writings explore the methodology of “inner alchemy” as a set of personal practices that is not exclusively for women. In her account, cultivation of both yin (female) and yang (male) principles are needed for any person to reach enlightenment. Such cultivation of seemingly opposite principles reveals that neither force should rule a person, rather that it is discovering how to balance the two harmoniously that supports the achievement of enlightenment. In this chapter the influences upon Sun of Confucianism and Buddhism are examined, together with an examination of the Daoist sources that inform her philosophy of “inner alchemy.”