The fangshi advised and taught members of the Chinese royal family. Waidan’s origins are also linked to the enigmatic figures of the fangshi (‘masters of the esoteric methods’) who specialised in astrology, divination, alchemy, etc. The mythical origins of Waidan are related to beliefs about the existence of natural elixirs and medicines of immortality found in remote places inhabited by divine beings. In this brief introduction, I am going to concentrate on the tradition of external alchemy or Waidan. Both words are related to the word dan ( elixir), which evolves from a root-meaning of ‘essence’ (the true nature and quality of an entity). Provides an overview of alchemical practices in the ancient world-from Europe to China.Chinese alchemy has two main branches: ‘external alchemy’ ( Waidan) and ‘internal alchemy’ ( Naidan).
Reveals the alchemical secrets for creating this elixir in clear scientific language. In 1989, while attempting to extract precious minerals from his property, a wealthy Arizonan obtained a mysterious white material that initially defied scientific attempts to identify it. After several years of testing, this substance was revealed to consist of gold and platinum-but in a form unknown to modern science. Further research showed that this powder, which had also been discovered to possess marvelous healing powers, contained monatomic forms of precious metals whose electron units had been altered to no longer display the physical, chemical, or electrical properties of the original elements. This substance, Robert Cox shows, bears eerie resemblance to the ultimate quest of the alchemists: the elixir of immortality.
The mysterious material-spiritual science of alchemy was once pervasive throughout the ancient world, spanning the globe from China and India to Egypt and medieval Europe. In The Elixir of Immortality, Robert Cox reviews the alchemical lore of these traditions and the procedures each used to produce this fabulous elixir. Using his own alchemical research, Cox then reveals secrets that have been kept hidden for millennia uncovered in his own modern-day quest to rediscover this long-sought elixir of life. With respect to ingesting the elixir, the European alchemists were very wary. They report that many practitioners died in the process of trying to ingest the elixir-either because their elixir was false and thus poisonous, or because they took too much and died because of its enormous transformational power. The prescribed dose was to take a tiny grain of the stone and dissolve it in alcohol or water so that the liquid attains a red color, resembling red wine. Then one should take a drop of this liquor and place it in another jug of water or alcohol, which will be less red. This process should be continued until the liquid obtains a golden color. This was called “potable gold.” In one passage it is said that one should take a few drops of this golden liquor every few months to maintain perfect health and freedom from disease.