Inner Alchemy (neidan) Research : The Zhenyuan School
Isabelle Robinet
Internal alchemy (neidan) must be distinguished from operative alchemy (waidan) and from the various techniques of breath- circulation. Internal alchemy borrows from operative alchemy its use of the Yijing and of certain chemical terms, but it does not seek to produce any chemical substance; rather, it transfers the alchemical goal of synthesis into the realm of breath and meditation techniques and philosophy. The nine texts to be examined here belong to the teaching of the True Origin (Zhenyuan), a school whose history remains obscure.