← Complete Catalogue

Cultivating the Tao: Taoism and Internal Alchemy

This book contains the first complete translation of one of the main works of the eminent Taoist master Liu Yiming (1734–1821). Divided into 26 short chapters, Cultivating the Tao is both a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental principles of Taoism and a concise presentation of Taoist Internal Alchemy (Neidan), written by one of the tradition’s greatest exponents.

An 11th-generation master of the Longmen (Dragon Gate) lineage, Liu Yiming overcame severe illnesses in his youth and subsequently embarked on extensive travels that led him to meet his two principal teachers. In 1780, he settled in the Qiyun Mountains of present-day Gansu Province, where he spent the second half of his life teaching, writing, and engaging in charitable works, including the restoration of shrines and the purchase of burial grounds for the poor. His writings consist primarily of original works on Neidan and commentaries on major alchemical scriptures.

Few Taoist masters have illuminated the relationship between Taoism and Internal Alchemy with the clarity found in this work. Integrating the teachings of Internal Alchemy with those of the Daode jing (Book of the Way and Its Virtue) and the later Taoist tradition, Liu Yiming shows how the Way of the Golden Elixir leads to the highest state of realization envisioned by Taoism.

Original title: Liu Yiming 劉一明, Xiuzhen houbian 修真後辨