| Inner Alchemy, an exotic flower of Daoist Culture, is one of the first Chinese cultures disseminated to the world. Li Xiyue is a synthesizer of the theories of integrated cultivation, but there hasn't any systematic studies on him within the academic circle. Therefore, this dissertation attempts to conduct a comprehensive study on Li's thoughts on inner alchemy as well as a reorganization of inner alchemy theories. There are altogether twelve chapters.Chapter One, the introduction, presents the actuality and significance of the study. It points out that Li Xiyue is a remarkable master of inner alchemy in mid and late Qing Dynasty, as a practitioner and theorist. He founded west sect inner alchemy in Xian Feng reign of Qing Dynasty, opened the fine inner alchemy theory and practice. Studies on Li Xiyue appeared only as some short papers or mentioned in some monographs, far from being comprehensive or systematic.Chapter Two, on the background, mainly introduces the life story and context of his theory. Li Xiyue (1860-1856), style named Han Xu, cultivated and wrote diligently with numerous works left to the following generations. Inner alchemy, is the cultivation theory and practice system with Daoism cosmology, body generation concept, syncretism of the heaven and human, the induction between the two, the theories of Ying Yang and five agents, as its philosophical basis, with vital energy and blood, collateral channels, acupuncture points in traditional medicine as its physiological basis, with spirit and body as its subject of cultivation, with and spirit in body as its raw medicine, describing the cultivation fire phases and the process of refining elixir by outer alchemy terms and semiotics in Yi system, with attaining the Tao and ascending as immortals as its ultimate goals. This chapter also narrates the imparting process of this sect and the works of the masters.Chapter Three, on the principles, mainly discuss the theoretical basis for inner alchemy cultivation. It holds that inner alchemy studies bases on the belief of Tao and deities and immortals as its philosophical backup and points out that the aim of cultivating inner alchemy is to enjoy longevity, attain the Tao and ascending to the heaven as immortals. The theories of network of collateral channels, acupuncture points and viscera are its physiological basis. The psychological bases are theories on perceiving, ardor and vitality consciousness.Chapter Four, on the integrated cultivation of spirit and body, states integrated cultivation is the prerequisite of cultivating to be immortals. Both sect of austerity cultivation and sect of integrated cultivation serve as theoretical backup of Li Xiyue's West sect of integrated cultivation. Cultivating spiritual nature means refining nature back to natural nature, while cultivating bodily life means refining cultivated life back to natural life. Both north sect and south sect of austerity cultivation maintains integrated cultivation, with south sect putting body cultivation before spirit cultivation and the north sect being the opposite. Sect of integrated cultivation naturally stresses the two. Master Li has a deep understanding of spirit and body. He discusses the two in many of his books, analyzing their relation to cycle, Ying and Yang, medicine, cultivating work, golden elixir, attaining immortals and the cultivation order. Li emphasizes the importance of cultivating with man and woman, holding everything in the nature is the intercourse of Ying and Yang, thus generating one after another. That is why integrated cultivation of spirit and body must based on the intercourse of Ying and Yang and this is also the theoretical foundation of integrated cultivation.Chapter Five, On Ying and Yang, the essence of inner alchemy is Ying and Yang. Inner alchemy theory combines Ying and Yang with life expectancy and attaining immortals or ghosts. Pure Yang without Yin is the immortal, the opposite is the ghost, mixture of both is human, so human can be pure Yang and become immortals through cultivating. The difference of the concept on Ying and Yang between the integrated cultivation sect and austerity sect lies in the origin of the natural authentic Yang. Austerity sect holds the natural authentic Yang comes from the emptiness, while the integrated cultivation sect thinks it from female. Master Li holds human can only be in harmony by combing Ying and Yang and the elixir can only be refined by the cultivation of both man and woman. He links the essential part of Ying and Yang in human, namely the genitals and sexual intercourse to life and death. He carefully divides the levels of Ying and Yang into the big, the small, the light, the heavy, the true, the false, the Ying in the Yang, the Yang in the Ying, the vides the levels of Ying and Yang into the big, the small, the light, the heavy, the true, the false, the Ying in the Yang, the Yang in the Ying, the Ying of a newborn baby. In the cultivating, Ying includes Yang and Yang comes from Ying. In his view, the achievement of cultivating is closely related with the interchange of Ying and Yang, with the waning the Ying and the Waxing of Yang till reefing the pure Yang. He also attaches Ying and Yang to lead, breath, fire and essence. The appearance of Yang essence is the mark of the success of elixir refining and the person can attain divine immortals correspondently. He thinks once the person gets the right way of inner alchemy, Ying and Yang will integrate and achieving the final golden elixir.Chapter Six, on the medicine, chiefly narrates the views of integrated cultivation sect and austerity sect on alchemy medicine. They have a lot in common, holding the essence, vital breath and spirit of the body as the medicine for cultivation. They differentiate in the location of essence in body or somewhere else. Inner alchemy classed the cultivating of mind as work of spirit and the cultivating of essence as the work of body. The sect of integrated cultivation is characterized by its inner and outer medicine idea. This sect takes the "outer medicine" in the sexual intercourse as golden elixir, when it is "swallowed" into the body, it can be cultivated into "inner medicine", namely "golden liquid back to elixir". Li Xiyue excesses his predecessors in the illustration of medicine. He divides medicine into three levels and differentiates the big and small, which is a creative work.Chapter Seven, on the cauldron, illustrates the different ideas in cauldron of the austerity sect and integrated cultivation sect. The former holds the cauldron lies in the body or emptiness. Li and his sect take the assistant women and her genitals in the cultivation as the cauldron. The cauldron of the man alchemist is still there, because the woman part is only used in the basic phase and the phase of refining the essence into vital breath and abandoned after that. In the other phases the man cauldron is still used as the site of alchemy, similar to austerity sect. Master Li thinks the golden elixir can only be cultivated in woman cauldron and then move it back and fro in the lower, middle and upper elixir field till attaining immortals. The differentiation of man and woman cauldron is also the difference between the austerity and integrated cultivation sects. The former takes the emptiness as outer cauldron while the latter takes the woman cauldron.Chapter Eight, on fire phases, discusses the control of inner alchemy. The fire phases are divided into many types with unique measurement and expressions. Master Li has a concrete and lucid explanation of fire phase. He points out the breath control depending on the fire phase, slow fire for hot temper while fast fire for absent-mindedness. In his point of view, adopting the first Yang for personal use and followed by cultivating will lead to perfect alchemist. The golden elixir is refined by 40- minute second fire phase for adopting outer medicine and 80-minute for the mixing of the outer and inner medicine and the Yang essence will appear after slow cultivation. He also talks about the choice of the outer and inner cauldron. If the outer cauldron is not abandoned when it should be, the fire phase will be too fast to do inner harm to elixir; meanwhile the inner cauldron is abandoned too early, the fire phase is not pure, making the elixir not so powerful.Chapter Nine, on the cultivating work, mainly illustrates the procedures and methods of inner alchemy. As to adults, they must get into formal inner alchemist cultivation after a preliminary stage because of the decline of their body. Middle-aged alchemist can also be successful by proper ways of visualizing spirit, controlling the breath, adopting into the inner cauldron. The work of open the acupuncture points is a must to adults not children. Here in this dissertation the cultivating work all refers to that for adults. The austerity sect lacks the process of adopting outer medicine from the woman cauldron including the steps of refining the vital breath into spirit, spirit into essence, essence back to emptiness and emptiness into Tao. The cultivating work of the south sect of integrated cultivation divides alchemy into three steps, cultivating the golden elixir, golden liquid back to elixir and the ultimate cultivation through nine transforms. The cultivating work of Luan sect of Sun Daoism is the forerunner of the west sect. Master Li's thoughts on inner alchemy mainly includes basic cultivation for self refinement, refining the vital breath into spirit, spirit into essence, essence back to emptiness and emptiness into Tao. Master Li puts more emphasis on cultivating work than those former alchemists and divides it into nine steps, which is even fine than the natural work. His inner cultivation work altogether involves thirteen steps.Chapter Ten, the syncretism of three teachings, discusses the heritage of the syncretism and Li Xiyue's contribution to the related theory, holding that the syncretism originated from the fight among them. The founder of the south sect, Zhang Boduan tries to combine the three teaching using the theory of cultivating the spirit and body of Daoism. While Bai Yuchan forms the theory of mind and spiritual nature treating the cultivating of these two is the core of the three teachings and conforming the three by the fundamental goal of returning to the root to regain life. Wang Chongyang sets up the north sect of Complete Perfect Sect with distinct character of syncretism. He names five Daoist sects founded in Shangdong province after the three teaching. His north sect stresses the conformity, equality, harmony of the three teachings. Li Xiyue's theory on the syncretism embodied in inner alchemy, holding the essential way to abandon spiritual nature is to free from fame and profits, which echoes the teachings of dimming fame and compressing desire in Confucianism and Buddhism.Chapter Eleven, on the comparison, compares the elixir methods of the east and west sects. Lu Xixing maintains the key step of integrated cultivation is cultivating the spirit to solve the problem of mind and spirit. The east sect of integrated cultivation is mainly including austerity cultivating for one hundred days, getting the medicine instantly, running the fire for ten months and transforming to divinity. The east sect elixir skills are concise while those of the west are complicated. The former has four steps and uses the cauldron only once, the latter has five steps and uses the cauldron over again. The east adopts the cultivating spirit in acupuncture points as the first work while the west takes the emptiness. The east has explicit ways of opening the acupuncture points and the west has its unique and hidden ways. The east limits the cultivating of mind within several steps while that in the west occupies the whole process.Chapter Twelve, on contribution, proves Li Xiyue's contribution to inner alchemy. He excels by his concrete system, clear details, lucid levels and complete structure. He attaches more importance to cultivating work by dividing it into nine steps. He riches the theory of integrated cultivation of inner alchemy by his unique skills of using the cauldron twice, taking the cultivating of spirit from emptiness as the first work, the opening of acupuncture points and the points that the Xuanguan point can be live or dead, the five steps of cultivating and the nine levels of cultivating the mind spreading through the whole process of inner alchemy cultivation.
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