The Tang Dynasty was the "golden age" of Taoist external alchemy. Alchemists formed different alchemical schools due to their differing views on certain major principles, especially regarding which drugs to use as raw materials for the "returning elixir". Broadly speaking, they can be divided into three major schools:
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The Gold-Sand School
The dietary philosophy of the Gold-Sand School basically originated from medical practitioners, who believed that drugs could cure diseases, preserve life, and further lead to immortality. This school advocated using cinnabar as the main ingredient, supplemented by other materials. Historically, many in this school were proficient in medicine, such as Ge Hong and Tao Hongjing. Sun Simiao, an important alchemist in the early Tang Dynasty, was also a prominent medical scholar in the history of medicine. -
The Lead-Mercury School
The Lead-Mercury School originated with Wei Boyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and after Sui Dynasty alchemist Su Yuanlang reinterpreted the "Taiyi Alchemical Tao" in The Zhouyi Cantongqi, it began to flourish in the Tang Dynasty. This school insisted that alchemy must use lead and mercury, though it could also appropriately incorporate silver, cinnabar, realgar, sulfur, and other substances. Many Taoists of the time belonged to this school, such as Guo Xuzhou, who taught The Zhouyi Cantongqi to Bai Juyi, and Jin Zhupo, author of On Great Elixirs of Lead and Mercury. -
The Sulfur-Mercury School
The Sulfur-Mercury School refers to alchemists who sought divine elixirs by combining sulfur and mercury. They based their theories on the Yin-Yang doctrine of the I Ching, stating that "sulfur is the essence of the sun, mercury is the essence of the moon; Yin and Yang unite to form heaven and earth". They believed that combining sulfur and mercury could produce the great elixir of immortality.
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