ABSTRACT
Fundamental to any therapeutic strategy is how it is conceived in time, whether one is reinstating former good health, or aiding in a process of healing with the ultimate goal being transcendence. Chinese alchemy is not narrowly therapeutic but it works on the elixir of life through two very different processes which share a common language. On the one hand, the alchemist compounds chemicals in the pursuit of longevity, and on the other refines inner body essences, qi 氣, and shen 神 (spirits) and cultivates them through a variety of meditative and exercise practices. Time in this process is understood as having been generated by the Dao and manifesting itself in the cyclical alternation of yin and yang. This chapter is, therefore, fundamental for understanding the basic ground upon which medieval Chinese medicine flourished.
