Chapter 10 3. Alchemist’s Academics and Taoism

Talking about Taoism in this era, just as all academic thoughts are buried in the tide of science, so when we mention "alchemist", we have infinite emotion.First of all, I want to make a defense for the "alchemists" in history. The so-called real "alchemists" are the real scientists in our ancient times.Later, due to the influence of another concept of traditional culture, scholars who have always claimed to be Confucianism turned it into a contemptuous and contemptuous term based on information that was unfavorable to "alchemists".Therefore, the titles of "alchemist" in our history, "scholar of alchemy" and "scholar of alchemy" have always been intellectuals who have been read.It is regarded as the end of the rivers and lakes, and it is mixed with the concepts of horse racing and selling solutions (making tricks, magic tricks), walking in the rivers and lakes, and making a living.In fact, taking a step back, if a "alchemist" is a top-notch person who wanders the rivers and lakes and makes a living, although there are some elements of deceit, but it is just "the common people live by life", in order to make a living, compared with those who deceive the world and steal their names, There is nothing to be ashamed of.But the most unfortunate thing is that because of our historical culture, we had this kind of prejudice against "alchemists" in the past, so that the original scientific research discovered in ancient times, under this contemptuous point of view, will always be buried in "foreign alchemists". " in the corner.

Regarding the origin of the name "Alchemist", relatively reliable information was first found in scholars in the Warring States Period, who specifically proposed this name, but at that time, this title did not imply contempt, but was only used as a special name for academic skills Zhuangzi once proposed the name "Alchemy", which just means that "alchemist" is a person with academic expertise.After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the name of "alchemist" has gradually become common, especially in Sima Qian's "Historical Records", it is written that Qin Shihuang was superstitious about "alchemists" and sought immortals, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was deceived by "alchemists" and went to sea to seek immortals In "Book of Fengchan", the ignorance and superstition of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, as well as the fraudulent behavior of "alchemists" were described in a subtle way, so later generations followed the concept and dismissed the ugly and despicable "alchemists".In fact, in Sima Qian's writing, for valuable "alchemists", as long as his theories and alchemy skills are enough to influence people's hearts and benefit the society, he does not despise them, let alone let them go, and he will biography them one by one. .For example, Zou Yan, who belongs to the family of Yin and Yang, Cang Gong and Bian Que, who belong to the family of doctors, Dongfang Shuo, who belongs to the world of games and is good at being funny, belongs to the narration in "Gui Ce Biography", which belongs to divination, and even the ranger who later merged with "alchemists", etc. , all described to their heart's content, choosing to explain their specialties and practices.As for experts on astronomy and calendar research, they are more carefully recorded and attached great importance to.What's more, Sima Qian himself is obsessed with the study of astronomy and calendar. In other words, the strength of his knowledge is to inherit the spirit of Confucianism and Confucius and the purpose of Taoism, and his profound knowledge and academic cultivation, But it pays great attention to the exploration of astronomy and calendar.If we put it in a more humorous tone, only first-class figures like Zhuangzi and Sima Qian are qualified to be regarded as genuine "alchemists" in traditional Chinese culture!Of course, this can only be said to be occasional and used as a metaphor, not enough as a lesson.

(1) About primitive natural science Since we briefly talked about the inside story of "alchemists" earlier, now let's summarize the content of "alchemists" academics since Zhou and Qin, and we can probably know who the so-called "alchemists" in history were.In ancient times, astronomy and historians, historians and divination belonged to the same field of knowledge. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, they became more and more divided, and gradually became experts. After further study, they evolved into "alchemists".Therefore, in the later "alchemist" academics, it included astronomy, calendar science, astrology, divination, etc. about divination. Divination of things.Therefore, after the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was a distinction between tortoise and policy, and at the same time there was a method of combining tortoise and policy.Because academics related to astronomy, calendar, astrology, etc. must be based on mathematics, therefore, there is the development of mathematics.At the same time, because astronomy, calendar, astrology and other subjects are not only technical knowledge, but also must have a theoretical basis, so the yin and yang scholars who talk about the theoretical subjects of cosmic physics are full of enthusiasm.These academics, after the Qin and Han Dynasties, those who have brilliant research will be prominent in the imperial court, just as Sima Qian said: The emperor uses his wandering to excel.Those who are not well-known in the world will be exiled among the people, and they will be classified as "alchemists" one by one.

(2) About the evolution of Yin Yang school into humanities If we want to know why primitive sciences such as astronomy and calendar could not be developed in ancient times, it is our traditional cultural spirit since ancient times. Everything should focus on the cultivation of humanism and life.Therefore, scholars in the past have always had the bad habit of not paying attention to scientific scholarship. Everyone thinks it is "unique skills and obscene skills" and is not enough for legal scholarship.Although there is no explicit provision, such as astronomical technology, etc., are also related to "unique skills and obscene skills", but the Yin Yang school thought that developed into the theory of cosmic physics due to the study of astronomy, has been ruined under this concept, and cannot be used in practice. In terms of technical ability, it is fully tested and proved.As long as we understand the fact that Zou Yan advocated the theory of Kyushu in the universe and was ridiculed by scholars, the rest can be imagined. Therefore, the study of theoretical physics from the Onmyo school is bound to be transferred to the study of life.According to the theoretical physics of Yin Yang School, it is believed that human life can be free from the control of natural physical laws, and can freely control life by itself, or recreate new life by itself.So it developed slowly, seeking for physical changes, and researched the control alchemy of the unity of mind and matter. Therefore, there was the use of physical instincts to produce "alchemists" to practice fairy magic, and then integrate the research of physics and chemistry. There is the invention of alchemy in medicine.For the time being, we don't care about the "immortal" gods, can they really do it?At least for this purpose, the rudiments of health preservation, physiology, pharmacology, and physical therapy are formed. It is really an advanced life science, and it is also proud of the ancients.As for why the later generations are not as good as the present?That is the responsibility of our descendants of the Chinese nation who do not grow up and live up to expectations. We must not blame the ancients for all their sins.At the same time, by the way, it should be noted that our so-called health science is not completely the same as the current hygiene science in terms of its naming and content concepts. The so-called hygiene is passive resistance, and health preservation is the foundation of active training.Especially the current physiology is based on the anatomy of the dead body and the study of animal physiology. Therefore, its disadvantages can be used in the medical point of view of human life and in the cultivation of medical affairs. When treating a person, It is also the same as treating an animal, or even treating him as a materialistic mechanical dead person. This is precisely because of the lack of philosophical theoretical training in medicine itself.All these changes in concepts and how to merge with the spirit of Chinese culture are all waiting for the efforts of our generation and future generations. It is also the main point of the traditional spirit of Chinese culture that is obligatory.

(3) Relevant theoretical physical sciences In our ancient culture, there were theories about theoretical physics, that is, the five elements, ten heavenly stems, and twelve earthly branches, and later combined with induction, it became the Najia theory of the eight trigrams and numbers.This was first developed from the relationship between astronomy and calendar knowledge, and then formed into a special theoretical law after the Han, Wei, and Jin Dynasties.Regardless of astronomy, calendar, astrology, medicine, alchemy, agriculture, crafts, tortoise strategies for divination, "Japanese people" who choose yin and yang, and all kinds of humanities, more or less, all of them are counted by the magic of yin and yang. influence of thought.That is to say, the Confucian Confucianists in the Song Dynasty, such as Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao brothers, Zhu Peng, etc., although they rejected Buddhism and Taoism, they still bathed and wandered in the scope of the Yin-Yang family.However, it is a pity that we have never been able to jump out of this traditional habit in the past, expand and supplement it, apply it to the actual experience of physics and life, and use it to investigate the natural science of the universe and matter.Therefore, many people who do not understand these knowledge either call it superstition or call it unscientific. Although the spirit of science lies in the verification of reality, it is to testify the theory to the facts, but if these laws are combined with It is a great superstition to make a quick assertion without understanding the theory, and it is not in line with the spirit of modern science.My personal answer to this notion is very simple.First, any kind of knowledge that has been passed down for thousands of years and has not been completely overthrown must have its reason and value. Besides, the ancients are not necessarily stupid than the present. First-class smart people, are we smarter than the ancients when we "know what we don't know" and make a quick judgment?Second, even if this knowledge is completely deceptive, it can deceive smart people for thousands of years. Although it is indeed a deception, the deception is considerable!Why don't you touch the answer to it, and then make this conclusion?The most important thing about the attitude towards learning is to learn with an open mind. "Knowing what you know is knowing what you don't know, and knowing what you don't know is knowledge." We should reflect deeply on ourselves.

In short, we can distinguish the academic content of "alchemists" in the Zhou and Qin Dynasties into broad sense and narrow sense. If we look at the academic content of "alchemists" in a broad sense, apart from the ones listed above, all Spring and Autumn , Yin-Yang School, Farmers, Doctors, and even Miscellaneous Schools during the Warring States Period can all be summarized in the academic content of "alchemists".If we can only talk about the academics of "alchemists" in a narrow sense, it belongs to some specialized academic studies that specialize in the study of immortal medicines, in the hope of immortality, and even to achieve "emergence and immortality".However, we must not forget that this kind of specialized learning is also the earliest in the history of world culture. It would be too regrettable to underestimate the founders of natural sciences such as physics and chemistry, and pharmacology.