It is said that these are the three tasks that Taoists most want. Do you know what they are?

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the reformer Zheng Guanying authored "Warnings from a Prosperous Age", which had a great role in enlightening the nation. This person held important positions in foreign firms and many Westernization enterprises and had a wealthy family. Having been exposed to a lot of Western modern science, his vision was extremely broad and forward-looking. Who would have thought that such a person was actually a devout believer in Taoism and an avid Taoist. Thus, a strange phenomenon emerged in Zheng Guanying: on the one hand, he was actively engaged in saving the country and enlightening the people; on the other hand, he was dedicated to cultivating the Tao and was keen on various Taoist methods.

What Taoist methods did Zheng Guanying, who had been cultivating assiduously for more than fifty years, most want to learn? According to himself, there are a total of three. In fact, these three Taoist skills are also what Taoists and ordinary people most want to learn.

The first Taoist skill is the Golden Elixir Great Way originated from Patriarch Lü Chunyang, which can achieve self-improvement and help others. The Golden Elixir Great Way is the inner alchemy of Taoism, which was basically formed in the hands of Lü Dongbin in the Tang Dynasty. Inner alchemy avoids the defect of easy poisoning of external alchemy. Taking oneself as the furnace, taking the Kan and supplementing the Li, one can finally achieve success in cultivation.

After the Five Dynasties, inner alchemy was regarded as the orthodox cultivation method of Taoism. Even in literary works such as "Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio", fox demons that can transform into human form have condensed inner elixirs. Other Taoist skills are all called side doors.

The second Taoist skill is the art of the Three Armies' Talismans originated from Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, used to clarify the world. Although the status of talismans has declined a lot after the maturity of inner alchemy, talismans still have many adherents due to their accumulated influence. For believers of the Zhengyi Dao to enter the Dao, they must undergo an initiation ceremony of receiving talismans. This shows the importance of talismans.

Among Taoist skills, talismans have almost omnipotent effects. The talismans of the Six Ding and Six Jia gods can eliminate soldiers and protect the country. In "Water Margin", Dai Zong's talisman for fast travel can be used to travel eight hundred li a day and can even take along the burly Li Kui. There are also many various talismans for praying for blessings, treating illnesses, protecting houses, and expelling demons, which are valued by Taoists and ordinary people. Simple and convenient with many functions, so the art of talismans is also one of the Taoist skills that Taoists most want to learn.

The third is the art of yellow and white by Real Person Zhang Sanfeng. The art of yellow and white in Taoism is a kind of alchemy. Its principle is actually not complicated. It is to generate compounds similar to gold after a series of reactions from relatively inexpensive metals. The raw materials of alchemy are mainly compounds of silver and copper. After some operations, a compound commonly known as "medicinal gold" is generated. This compound is stable in nature and looks the same as gold. In the context of the lack of detection methods in ancient times, many people thought that gold was really refined.

Taoist cultivation emphasizes four conditions: wealth, companions, methods, and places. Ancient alchemy was extremely expensive, so the condition of "wealth" is placed at the forefront. The art of yellow and white can just solve this problem, so it is valued by Taoists. And ordinary people are even more like "people die for wealth, and birds die for food". Of course, they like this art of turning stones into gold. Zheng Guanying wanted to use this to make each prefecture and county set up more handicraft factories to support the poor and establish more schools to cultivate talents. From this idea, we can also see Zheng's painstaking efforts. Truly profound Taoists always have the world in mind.

These three Taoist cultivation methods were the aspirations that Zheng Guanying set since childhood. He was weak and sickly since childhood. After cultivating inner alchemy, his body miraculously improved. And Zheng Guanying had a huge impact on the ideological enlightenment of the Chinese people. The teacher was influenced by him to pick up his studies and finally achieved extraordinary achievements!