The Northern Sect 北宗

The Northern Sect is an important school of internal alchemy in Taoism.

It was founded during the Southern Song Dynasty in the area around Chang'an, which was then under the rule of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty in the north. The sect reveres Donghua Shaoyang, Zhongli Zhengyang, Lü Yan Chunyang, Liu Haichan, and Wang Zhe as the "Five Patriarchs," with Wang Zhe being its actual founder.

Wang Zhe (1112–1170), also known as Chongyangzi, was originally from a prominent family in Xianyang. He excelled in both literature and martial arts. At the age of 18, he traveled and encountered immortals in Ganhe Town, obtaining the secrets of internal cultivation. He then "cut off all ties and merged with all things," practicing in seclusion at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain and beginning to accept disciples and propagate his teachings, with the mission of "enduring humiliation, suffering for oneself to benefit others."

In the 7th year of the Dading era of the Jin Dynasty (1167), he traveled far to Shandong and enlightened seven disciples on the Jiaodong Peninsula: Ma Yu Danyangzi (1122–1183), Tan Chuduan Changzhenzi (1122–1185), Liu Chuxuan Changshengzi (1146–1203), Qiu Chuji Changchunzi (1117–1227), Wang Chuyi Yuyangzi (1112–1207), Hao Datong Guangningzi (1110–1203), and Sun Buer Qingjing Zhenren (1118–1182). They were known as the "Seven Perfected Ones," among whom the Longmen School founded by Qiu Chuji had the greatest influence. The second-generation disciples of the "Seven Perfected Ones" included Zhao Xuanwu, Yin Zhiping, Li Zhichang, Yu Shanqing, Song Defang, Qi Zhiyuan, Li Zhifang, and Zhao Daokuan. Later figures such as Chen Zhixu in the Yuan Dynasty, Wu Shouyang and Liu Huayang in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and even Liu Yiming and Min Xiaogen were also part of its branches.

The sect pursued "perfection of truth to become immortals," with its cultivation centered on purity and tranquility. It regarded "understanding the mind and perceiving nature" as the primary goal and cultivating the mind and refining oneself as the foundation, while also not neglecting the cultivation of essence and qi. Wang Chongyang stated: "Understanding the mind and perceiving nature brings the awakening of perfect truth; knowing mercury and connecting lead fosters the growth of good sprouts" (from Collected Works of Chongyang on Perfect Truth, Vol. 2). This juxtaposes "refining the mind through understanding the mind and perceiving nature" and "refining qi through knowing mercury and connecting lead" as the two fundamental aspects of "perfect truth."

In contrast to the Southern Sect’s method of "cultivating life first, then nature," the Northern Sect’s alchemy was characterized by "cultivating nature first, then life." Regarding pure cultivation of nature, all branches of the Northern Sect regarded this as the supreme alchemical method, though with varying approaches. Wang Chongyang said: "If you truly wish to cultivate, eat when hungry, sleep when tired. Do not sit in meditation, do not 'study the Dao'—just eliminate trivial distractions, just focus on the two words 'pure heart'; everything else is not cultivation" (from Collected Works of Chongyang on Perfect Truth, Vol. 10, No. 20).

Ma Yu stated: "Purity means cleansing the source of the mind; tranquility means purifying the sea of qi. When the source of the mind is pure, external things cannot disturb it, so emotions stabilize and spirit flourishes. When the sea of qi is tranquil, evil desires cannot invade it, so essence is preserved and the abdomen is fulfilled. Thus, clarifying the mind is like clarifying water; nurturing qi is like nurturing a child. When qi thrives, the spirit becomes divine; when the spirit is divine, qi transforms—this is the result of purity and tranquility" (from Recorded Sayings of Real Person Danyang).

Qiu Chuji said: "My teaching values nothing more than perceiving nature; the coordination of water and fire is secondary" (from Recorded Sayings of Patriarch Changchun).

The Northern Sect’s emphasis on cultivating nature and refining oneself stemmed from two reasons: first, the sect itself was a fusion of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, deeply influenced by Buddhism’s concept of "enlightening the mind and perceiving nature"; second, it held unique views on the relationship between nature (xing) and life (ming). For Qiu Chuji, the physical form is born and perishes, but the divine nature is imperishable. Thus, "all forms decay; even heaven and earth are illusory bodies that end when their epoch expires. Only a spark of yang, transcending the cycle of kalpas, exists in the human body as the sea of nature, i.e., the original spirit" (from Recorded Sayings of Real Person Changchun). Therefore, in its fundamental sense, cultivation is to perfect one’s true nature; only when the true nature is bright and unobscured can one’s innate life force fully manifest.

However, prioritizing the cultivation of nature did not mean neglecting the cultivation of life. The sect also emphasized the union of spirit and qi. For example, Wang Chongyang said: "The union of qi and spirit is what makes immortals" (from Collected Teachings of Chongyang, Vol. 3, No. 12). Regarding qi cultivation, Wang Chongyang had a unique understanding of essence and spirit: he equated essence with nature and blood with life, stating, "Essence and blood are the foundation of the physical body; true qi is the foundation of nature and life. Thus, those with blood can generate true qi; those with abundant true qi naturally endure long, as essence and blood gather to form the body" (from Master Chongyang’s Formula of the Golden Gate and Jade Lock). Since essence and blood are inseparable, and nature and life are interconnected, cultivating nature cannot avoid cultivating true qi.

Qiu Chuji further explained in Direct Points on the Great Elixir: "The secret of the golden elixir lies in nature and life alone. Nature, like heaven, resides in the crown of the head; life, like earth, resides in the navel. The crown is the root of nature; the navel is the root of life. These two roots, one stalk, are the origin and ancestor of heaven and earth.... Nature in the crown is lead, tiger, water, metal...; life in the navel is mercury, dragon, fire, root." Thus, all internal cultivation masters of the Northern Sect were adept at "knowing lead and connecting mercury" and "subduing dragons and tigers."

The division between the Northern and Southern Sects did not lie in one cultivating only nature or the other only life; in fact, both cultivated both, differing only in sequence, priority, and initial practices. The Southern Sect "spoke more of life, less of nature," while the Northern Sect emphasized "30% life cultivation, 70% nature study." The Southern Sect advocated starting with filling the abdomen to cultivate life, while the Northern Sect advocated starting with emptying the mind to cultivate nature—for example, Wu Shouyang of the Ming Dynasty identified "refining oneself to return to emptiness" as the initial practice in Nine Chapters on the Alchemical Path. Both sects agreed on the key issue of using cultivation methods to promote the condensation of spirit and qi into an immortal embryo.

The Northern and Southern Sects merged in the Yuan Dynasty through Chen Zhixu’s efforts, becoming two branches within Quanzhen (Perfect Truth) Taoism. This merger was possible not only due to political considerations and the needs of religious development but also because both sects inherited the alchemical thought of Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin. Additionally, the pure cultivation methods of the Northern Sect’s Longmen School and the pure cultivation branch of the Southern Sect’s Bai Yuchan shared many similarities in absorbing Buddhist elements to facilitate the cultivation of the immortal embryo.

The Northern Sect also had branches practicing Yin-Yang alchemy, such as those of Liu Chuxuan and Ma Yu. Ma Yu passed his teachings to Song Defang, who passed them to Li Shuangyu, then to Zhang Ziyang, then to Zhao Youqin (Yuanduzu), and finally to Chen Zhixu (Shangyangzi)—forming the Yin-Yang dual-cultivation branch. However, the Northern Sect was dominated by Qiu Chuji’s Longmen School, which propagated the pure and solitary cultivation method and was regarded as the orthodox branch of Northern Sect alchemy.

Key works of the Northern Sect include: Wang Zhe’s Collected Works of Chongyang on Perfect Truth, Fifteen Theses on Establishing the Teaching by Chongyang, Master Chongyang’s Formula of the Golden Gate and Jade Lock, and Twenty-Four Admonitions from Chongyang to Danyang; Ma Yu’s Brilliant Divine Light, Recorded Sayings of Real Person Danyang (compiled by Wang Yizhong, Lingyinzi), and Collected Works of the Cavern Mysteries and Golden Jade; Qiu Chuji’s Direct Points on the Great Elixir, Treatise on Nourishing Life According to Seasons, Collected Works of Panxi, Annotations on the Song of the Blue Sky (annotated by Wang Daoyuan), and Recorded Sayings of Real Person Changchun; Sun Buer’s Recorded Sayings of the Female Immortal Sun Buer; and Chen Zhixu’s Collected Great Achievements of the Golden Elixir, Diagrams of the Essential Teachings on the Golden Elixir by Shangyangzi, and Three Annotations on the Awakening to Truth.