The orthodox cultivation of Taoism - the Southern Sect of Golden Elixir. Why was it merged by Quanzhen Taoism?

There are numerous cultivation methods in Taoism. Only inner alchemy is recognized as the orthodox method. Inner alchemy has many sects, divided into various branches such as southern, northern, central, eastern, and western. Among them, the southern and northern sects are the mainstream. In fact, the southern sect is the true orthodoxy of inner alchemy.

The southern sect advocates the dual cultivation of life and nature, first cultivating life and then nature. First, cultivate the physical body to a certain extent before considering spiritual cultivation. "Cultivating only nature without cultivating life is the first illness in cultivation." This concept of the southern sect is the most in line with the Taoist cultivation concept. The significant characteristic that distinguishes Taoism from other religions is that it cultivates the physical body to achieve longevity and clear vision, completely different from other religions that seek the afterlife. The southern sect particularly values the physical body, that is, the cultivation of "life," which inherits the tradition of Taoism.

During the Song and Jin dynasties, Taoism also divided into southern and northern branches. The southern sect mainly spread in the areas ruled by the Southern Song Dynasty. The lineage of the southern sect can be traced back a long way. Some people say that the southern sect was passed down from Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Wei Boyang authored "Zhouyi Cantong Qi," which is hailed as the "king of all alchemical scriptures." What Wei Boyang passed down is the sect of immortality. Tracing further back, it is the technique of refining the body by Emperor Huangdi. This is the earliest source of the southern sect.
However, it is generally believed that the true patriarch of the southern sect is Zhang Ziyang of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Ziyang, named Zhang Boduan, is known as the Real Person of Purple Yang. His work "Wuzhen Pian" is another "king of alchemical scriptures" that can be compared with "Zhouyi Cantong Qi." At first, the southern sect was called the Southern Sect of Golden Elixir and has been spreading in the Jiangnan region.

After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, the southern sect was quickly merged into Quanzhen Taoism and was called "the southern sect of Quanzhen Taoism." Why did this orthodox cultivation method merge into Quanzhen Taoism? There are three reasons behind it.

The first reason is that Quanzhen Taoism also practices inner alchemy. Judging from the origin and development compiled by Quanzhen Taoism, its inner alchemy inheritance and the inheritance of the southern sect come from the same source. "The Origin of Taoist Schools" says, "According to Laozi's Tao, the Wenshi School is the highest, and the Shaoyang School is the largest. Shaoyang passed it on to Zhengyang, Zhengyang passed it on to Chunyang. Chunyang first passed it on to Qiu Changchun, opening the northern sect; Chunyang also passed it on to Liu Haichan, and Liu Haichan passed it on to Zhang Ziyang, opening the southern sect."

This record is suspected of elevating the northern sect. Generally, it is believed that Lü Chunyang, that is, Lü Dongbin, and Liu Haichan are brothers in learning. The inner alchemy of Quanzhen Taoism was also passed on to Patriarch Wang Chongyang by Lü Dongbin. However, from this record, the origins of the southern and northern sects are finally combined under the same patriarch.

The second reason is that Quanzhen Taoism is extremely powerful. Soon after the establishment of Quanzhen Taoism, it was valued by the rulers of the Jin Dynasty. Later, Real Person Qiu Chuji traveled thousands of miles to pay homage to Genghis Khan at the Tianshan Mountains. With "one word to stop the killing," he won the trust of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, Quanzhen Taoism achieved great development. The power of Quanzhen Taoism quickly expanded from northern China to Jiangnan. In this process, it had contact with the Southern Sect of Golden Elixir.

The third reason is that the religious group of the Southern Sect of Golden Elixir is not large and its power is relatively weak. There are not many successors in several generations of the southern sect, and its inheritance is extremely strict in choosing people. The masters of each generation are outstanding figures for a time and have little interest in expanding the religious group. Bai Yuchan, the most influential figure in the history of the southern sect, also failed to expand the southern sect to a certain scale. Therefore, the powerful Quanzhen Taoism, relying on the power of the court, easily incorporated the southern sect under its command.

After the merger, the status of the southern sect declined. Both the northern and southern sects of Quanzhen Taoism revere the Five Patriarchs, namely Wang Xuanfu, Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Liu Haichan, and Wang Chongyang. Under them are the Northern Seven True Persons and the Southern Seven True Persons. The Northern Seven True Persons are the well-known Seven True Persons of Quanzhen. And the original Five Patriarchs of the southern sect: Zhang Ziyang, Shi Tai, Xue Daoguang, Chen Nan, and Bai Yuchan, were demoted to the Southern Seven True Persons.

This is the reality: sheltering under someone else's gate, one cannot help but bow one's head!