The Wu-Liu School of Immortality (Wuliu xianzong)伍柳仙宗

Also known as

The Wu-Liu Lineage of Celestial Immortality

Author / transmission

Wu Shouyang, Liu Huayang

Period

Qing (compiled edition) · Compiled from the collected works of Wu Shouyang and Liu Huayang; the most widely circulated edition is Deng Huiji's reprint of the twenty-third year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing (1897).

Canon division

Outside the Canon

Collected in

Outside the Canon

Category

Alchemical Texts

Fascicles

Five works: Direct Discourse on the True Principles of Celestial Immortality, Recorded Sayings on the Union of Immortals and Buddhas, Verified Discourse on the Golden Immortal, Scripture of Wisdom and Life, and (appendix) Perfected Wu's Nine Essays on the Way of the Elixir

Synopsis

The Wu-Liu School of Immortality (Wuliu xianzong) is a compendium combining the alchemical writings of Wu Shouyang of the late Ming and Liu Huayang of the Qing; the standard edition includes the Direct Discourse on the True Principles of Celestial Immortality with Expanded Commentary, the Recorded Sayings on the Union of Immortals and Buddhas, the Verified Discourse on the Golden Immortal, the Scripture of Wisdom and Life, and the Nine Chapters on the Way of the Elixir by the Perfected Wu, among others. The Wu-Liu School takes celibate practice within the Longmen Lineage as its foundation while also absorbing Chan Buddhist principles, expounding the 'Pre-celestial One Qi' and the Three Passes and Nine Cycles of 'refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit to return to emptiness,' with fire phasing explained in careful, forthright detail; it became the most widely practiced system of celibate alchemy from the Ming and Qing onward, and since the Republican era, through the commentary and promotion of figures such as Chen Yingning, its title has become almost synonymous with Internal Alchemy itself. Although its plain language and concrete diagrams have repeatedly drawn accusations of 'leaking the secrets of Heaven,' and some alchemists have criticized it for leaning too heavily toward the refining of qi, as a systematically complete and readily studied compendium of alchemical texts its influence remains strong to this day.

Key Ideas

• A compendium of five texts of Wu-Liu alchemical method
• The Three Passes and Nine Cycles; orthodox celibate practice
• The union of immortals and Buddhas
• A popularizing model of Ming–Qing Internal Alchemy

Structure

A compilation of five works.

Editions

• Deng Huiji's Guangxu-era reprint
• The lithographic edition of the Jiangdong Shuju, Shanghai
• Zang wai dao shu, volume 5

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Wu-Liu School
• CTEXT (Chinese Text Project) search

Related scriptures

Related figures