Editing Taoism (section)

=== The Taoist body ===
{{See also|Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine)}}
[[file:NeijingTu1.jpg|thumb|The [[Neijing Tu]], a diagram which illustrates the complex Taoist schema of the body as a way to aid practitioners of inner cultivation.]]

Many Taoist practices work with ancient Chinese understandings of the body, its organs and parts, "elixir fields" ([[Dantian|dantien]]), inner substances (such as "essence" or jing), animating forces (like the [[hun and po]]), and [[Meridian (Chinese medicine)|meridians]] ([[qi]] channels). The complex Taoist schema of the body and its [[subtle body]] components contains many parallels with [[Traditional Chinese medicine]] and is used for health practices as well as for somatic and spiritual transformation (through [[neidan]] – "psychosomatic transmutation" or "internal alchemy").{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=110-111, 122–125}} Taoist physical cultivation rely on purifying and transforming the body's qi (vital breath, energy) in various ways such as dieting and meditation.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=50}}

According to Livia Kohn, qi is "the cosmic energy that pervades all. The concrete aspect of Tao, qi is the material force of the universe, the basic stuff of nature."{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=51}} According to the ''Zhuangzi,'' "human life is the accumulation of qi; death is its dispersal."{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=51}} Everyone has some amount of qi and can gain and lose qi in various ways. Therefore, Taoists hold that through various qi cultivation methods they can harmonize their qi, and thus improve health and [[longevity]], and even attain magic powers, [[Harmonious Society|social harmony]], and immortality.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=50}} The ''[[Neiye]]'' (Inward Training) is one of the earliest texts that teach qi cultivation methods.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=53}}

Qi is one of the [[Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine)|Three Treasures]], which is a specifically Taoist schema of the main elements in Taoist physical practices like [[qigong]] and [[neidan]].{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=112}} The three are: [[Jing (Chinese medicine)|jing]] (精, essence, the foundation for one's vitality), [[traditional Chinese medicine#Qi|qi]] and [[Shen (Chinese religion)|shén]] (神, spirit, subtle consciousness, a capacity to connect with the subtle spiritual reality).{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=112}}<ref name="Blofeld-2000">Blofeld, John. ''Taoism''. Shambhala, 2000.</ref>''<ref name="Gurdon-2002e">{{Cite book |title=World Religions: Eastern Traditions |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |editor=Willard Gurdon Oxtoby |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-541521-3 |edition=2nd |location=Don Mills, Ontario |page=397 |oclc=46661540}}</ref>'' These three are further associated with the three "elixir fields" ([[Dantian|dantien]]) and the organs in different ways.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=125}}''<ref name="Gurdon-2002e" />''

The body in Taoist [[political philosophy]] was important and their differing views on it and humanity's place in the universe were a point of distinction from Confucian [[politician]]s, [[writer]]s, and [[Pundit|political commentators]].<ref name="Pearson-2021">{{Cite book |last1=Pearson |first1=Patricia O'Connell |title=World History: Our Human Story |last2=Holdren |first2=John |date=May 2021 |publisher=Sheridan Kentucky |isbn=978-1-60153-123-0 |location=Versailles, Kentucky |pages=102–103}}</ref> Some Taoists viewed ancestors as merely corpses that were improperly revered and respect for the dead as irrelevant and others within groups that followed these beliefs viewed almost all traditions as worthless.<ref name="Pearson-2021" />