Never before published in any Western language except in fragments, this classical work of Chinese mysticism is a fundamental – and fascinating – source for the study of Taoism (“Deism”) as belief and as practice.
In the China of the 4th century A.D., alchemy, medicine, and religion were so closely interrelated as to form a single study; the Western gap between science and religion, and between scholarly study and moral practice did not obtain. This work, in effect, is a compendium of the state of knowledge and the mode of life open to the initiated in Ko Hung's time. In particular, it recounts the actual ways of Taoism as they have existed until fairly recent times – and it has been a prime canonical perpetuator of those ways. Taoism has tended to be known in the Occident only through the pure philosophical distillations attributed to Lao tzu and Chuang tzu. It was, however, the extraordinary amalgam of mystical insight, wild speculation, superstition and legend, disciplined observation, and intellectual control which together give the Nei P'ien its unique flavor. Ko Hung was apparently the first to break the taboo against putting this strictly oral tradition of a secret cabala into writing.
The material that a Westerner would separate under the term “alchemy” is said to surpass in historical value the writings of Stephanus of Alexandria, and its goals and concerns are identical (and not by coincidence) with those of the west: e.g., mercury, gold, “elixirs of immortality.” In the Taoist case, however, the theoretical framework is that of the Yin and Yang, as expressed in the symbolism of the hexagrams. Also, as in medieval Western alchemy, there was a double purpose in its practice: On the one hand, it was an exercise in “religious symbolism” in the Jungian sense; on the other, it was a first attempt at an empirical investigation of reality, grounded on careful observation and the compilation of data. Still, experience deferred to tradition: poisonous mercuric and arsenic compounds continued, unfortunately, to be prescribed ritualistically, and the development of more positive medical remedies was largely fortuitous or incidental.
In addition to the text, Ko Hung's autobiography is included, and “A Taoist Library,” the bibliography of texts prepared by Ko Hung himself,, is appended. There are also page references to Sun Hsing-yen's edition of the Chinese text, which remains available to scholars.
This volume is a source of primary evidence for students of mythology, religion, and the history of science, as well as for the sinologist and those more generally concerned with the development of this vastly influential culture, an influence likely to expand still more in the coming decades.
