The Fuer School 服饵派

A school of the pre-Qin Fangxian Dao. It first prevailed in the Yan and Qi regions in northern China. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, there were legends of "elixirs of immortality" in China. During the Warring States Period, the Fangxian Dao began to search for such immortality elixirs to present to emperors and discovered some drugs that could promote health and longevity.

Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the fangshi (occult practitioners) in Yan and Zhao revered An Qisheng and Xianmen Gao. They believed that cinnabar, jujube, atractylodes macrocephala, ginseng, ganoderma lucidum, asparagus cochinchinensis, mica, polygonum multiflorum, jade, and other substances had magical life-prolonging effects, thus forming the Fuer School of Fangxian Dao. Starting with the search for immortal medicines, the Fuer School combined with craftsmen from the Mohist School who were skilled in metallurgical techniques, and developed into the alchemical art of refining golden elixirs and yellow and white (alloy) substances.

In addition, influenced by the Xingqi School (School of Qi Circulation), the Fuer School evolved from taking fragrant substances such as poria cocos, pine resin, and chrysanthemum to taking more ethereal things like dew, mist, qi (vital energy), and sunlight, eventually developing into the Fuqi School (School of Qi Ingestion) and the Cunsi School (School of Visualization). In summary, the Fuer School was an important branch of the pre-Qin Fangxian Dao.