What is Southern Lineage of Golden Elixir 金丹派南宗?

The Southern Sect of the Golden Elixir School is a Taoist inner alchemy school formed during the Southern Song Dynasty, corresponding to the Quanzhen Dao in the north. It was called the "Southern Sect" because it was located in the Jiangnan region (south of the Yangtze River). This sect traces its origin to Zhong Liquan and Lü Dongbin, Taoist priests from the Five Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty, so it is said that its alchemy methods were passed down from Zhong and Lü. It regards Zhang Boduan of the Northern Song Dynasty as the founding ancestor and puts forward the lineage of dharma transmission as follows: Zhang Boduan - Shi Tai - Xue Daoguang - Chen Nan - Bai Yuchan.

The sect reveres Zhang Boduan's Awakening to Truth (Wu Zhen Pian) as its foundational scripture, which serves as the theoretical basis for the inner alchemy cultivation of this sect.

Inheriting the inner alchemy thoughts of Zhong and Lü, and under the influence of the idea of "the unity of the three teachings" (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism), this book establishes a unique academic system by combining Taoism with Chan Buddhism, absorbing Chan principles to interpret nature, and emphasizing "nurturing life first and then nature". Its cultivation starts with the traditional techniques of nurturing life. Although the Southern Sect of the Golden Elixir School existed as an independent cultivation school for a relatively short time, it had a significant influence.

Firstly, its inner alchemy theory exerted a great impact on Quanzhen Dao, making Quanzhen Dao's inner alchemy theory more substantial and complete after absorbing the achievements of the Southern Sect's inner alchemy. Secondly, it promoted the reform of the talisman schools by introducing inner alchemy cultivation into ritual activities, changing the tradition of the old talisman schools that only practiced talismans and incantations. The newly emerging Taoist schools such as Shenxiao, Qingwei, and Jingming all took "cultivating inner elixir and applying external methods" as their tenet.