Abstract

The impacts of the inner alchemy of Zhong-Lu on the formation and developments of the Daoist culture are enormous. While it is the ultimate goal of the Daoist religion to pursue immortality, the Daoists consider the practice of inner alchemy the way that can never be bypassed in order to achieve that goal. In conviction of the attainability of immortality, the Daoists had, however, experienced much frustration and painfulness before they ceased swallowing alchemic pills and started practicing inner alchemy. The inner alchemy of Zhong-Lu that appeared in the Late Tang and the Five Dynasties had not only inherited the theory of immortality and the concept of the immortals from the past, but also successfully transformed the practice of the outer alchemy into that of the inner alchemy. And, as a result of its being repeatedly adopted by those practicing inner alchemy of the subsequent ages, it has been exerting an influence that lasts till even today. This thesis is intended to be an in-depth investigation into the formation, developments, and the basic teachings of the inner alchemy of Zhong-Lu, focusing on its notion of the creativity of Dao and De