{"product_id":"chinese-alchemy-taoism-the-power-of-gold-and-the-quest-for-immortality-9781578635771","title":"Chinese Alchemy: Taoism, the Power of Gold, and the Quest for Immortality","description":"\u003cp\u003eHere in one slender volume is a basic introduction to Chinese alchemy--a tradition that dates back 5,000 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChinese 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean Cooper describes the history and development of Taoist alchemy, compares it to similar traditions in India and Turkistan, and gives it context by contrasting it with the rationale of the Western hermetic tradition. As she writes in her concluding chapter: \u003ci\u003eThe whole work of alchemy is summed up in the phrase To make of the body a spirit and of the spirit a body. . . . The goal of the Taoist alchemist-mystic was transformation, or perhaps more correctly, transfiguration, of the whole body until it ceases to be and is absorbed into and becomes the Tao.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is an essential guide for anyone interested in Chinese legend and lore, Chinese magic and medicine, and Taoism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Weiser Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781578635771\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.40d","brand":"Jean Cooper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42925073891509,"sku":"9781578635771","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_1ec4c83b-1d08-421f-aed3-bd65db20bbae.jpg?v=1687844990","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/chinese-alchemy-taoism-the-power-of-gold-and-the-quest-for-immortality-9781578635771","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}