摘要
道教的創立，雖然要算到東漢以後，但道教的根源，卻要遠溯到更早的時期。大致說來，可分做兩方面。第一，符籙及祭祀方面，這是從古代民間信仰和薩滿活動，推演而成的；第二，丹鼎方面，這是從醫藥長生術，以及對於朱沙及其他有色礦物質的迷信轉換而成的。符籙和丹鼎是相輔相成的，並非屬於兩個不同的派別；丹鼎中的外丹和內丹，也是相輔相成的，也不是屬於兩個不同的派別。只是著書和實行的人，各有所偏重，而各時代也有所偏重。
「外丹」是源於對於丹沙（或朱沙）的重視，可能追溯到很早，在新石器時代已有痕跡，到商周以後更廣泛的使用著。這也許丹的紅色代表了生氣，也就神祕的普用在藥劑之內。所謂「鍊丹」的丹也就是指朱沙。所謂丹鼎一項，當然也是以服食為主，運氣為輔。漢代著名的丹藥書「周易參同契」就是本來是「外丹」的書，後來才用內丹來解釋（也就是用靜坐運氣等方法，來比附「鉛」和「汞」。）
從漢代以來，經過北魏，經過唐，許多皇帝服丹藥中毒而死，宋代就轉而傾向到內丹（運氣），以及祭祀，來求長生登仙。但是鍊丹一事，並未停止。直到明清兩代小說中仍偶然涉及金石仙丹的事，但已經不如唐代以前那樣的被人真的相信了。
The development of the early science and the early techniques in China was closely related to the witchcraft and the alchemy. On the other hand alchemy should be rendered as the heart of the Taoist religion, since the main exceptance of them was to accomplish the first step of immortal at heaven by the way of taken elixir to get longevity. For the purpose to find elixir many kinds of herb drugs and minerals were used.
Cinnabar was treated as a profund material with magic power in longevity for the human being. In the Chinese language "dan" means cinnabar or elixir. Based on the etmology for Chinese characters, the formation of "dan" (cinnabar) was "a dot around with lines" showing a piece of cinnabar hidden in rock. Due to the dignified color of cinnabar, ancient Chinese chose it as a symbol of vitality or magnificence through thousand of years. The use of cinnabar could be traced back to the time of the new stone ages. To the time of the Yin-Shang dynasty we can find more decoration from the relics in Anyang to use cinnabar as red pigment. By this tradition cinnabar was always widely used in the later ages.
Under Chinese ancient folklore, five colors representated five directions, i. e. east, blue; west, white; red, south; black, north and yellow, center. Those five colors also related five elements and five seasons (four seasons plus the end months of the seasons). The special features of red color were, south, summer, hot and vigour. Those characters should attribute to cinnabar since cinnabar is the more stable matrial in red color.
Shenlung Bentsao Jing 神農本草經 the oldest book of herb drugs, which was written in the period of the Warring States and increased in the early Han dynasty ranked cinnabar as the first one of all the drugs, (since this book mixed with herbs and minerals taken a name of a book of herb drugs). The meaning was that cinnabar was considered as a heading drug for longevity. Inside of this book, most of the drugs, mentioned as: "it offers the user slim weight and longivity" because the immortal could fly freely and the slim weight was the requirment in the first step of flying.
Cinnabar is expensive but it is still a crude material. To refine many kinds of materials into so called "dan" or elixir, was required for amount of money to collect a great deal of expensive material, a great deal of man power and a great deal of working time. It is impossible for any alchemist to afford. The only way to start and maintain the laboratory was how to seek the patronage from feudal lord. Of course, the imperial court was the most ideal one for that purpose. However, there should be an inevitable tragedy for them with never a fruitful end for longevity emerged from the alchemists' stoves.
For the Chinese ancient alchemists (most of them were Taoists), the side excercise of physical training included psychological controling of nerve and breath, as an auxilliary method towards the destination of longevity.
Ge Hung a famous taoist scholar in the Gin dynasty, mentioned on his book Bao-Pu-Zi 抱朴子 (a typical book on the philosophy of alchemy) said:
Based on the Classics of Immortal craft, the highest rank of immortal could fly freely after taken refined mineral, the second rank one could manage the power inside the body easily by the way of volition controling and by taken magic fungas, and the thrid rank one is succeeded from taken herb drugs. -Bao-Pu-Zi, chapter of "yellow and white."
It is also in Chinese legend that the first rank of immortal is called tien-xian (the immortal living in heaven) or qun-xian (the golden immortal) whose settlement were on the heaven and could return to earth with magic power, the second ranked immortal is called di-xian (the immortal on earth) could not ascend to heaven but living on earth only with or without magic power and one in the third rank would not be qualified as immortal but to prolong the life into a great extent.
In the Chinese legend "Sheng" 神 and "Xian" 仙 are in different catagories. Sheng means a spirit with super power and always serves on the management of various supernatural organizations both in heaven and earth. Some of them were naturally appeared beings and some of them were late heroes. Xian were coming in other way who were converted from human being by the way of taken magic drug and with physical and psychological trainings.
The typical success of the immortals was ascending to heaven as Prince Liu An 劉安 said by Shen-Xian Chuan 神仙傳 or Tang Gung Fang 唐公房 Said by the Tablet of Immortal Tang Gung-fang 仙人唐公房碑， in which those immortals with their house and pets went for heaven. Of course, those legends are Toist legends. Any one could not find a little bit of truth from them.
The next step of expectation was that the immortals, not by the way lifting the whole house went into heaven but the way of turning the bodies into a new mould to fly into heaven freely. This consideration is very common to the religions east and west, although since nobody had really succeed to lift up. Every leading prophet in any religion died in the same condition as the common people, with no exception.
To solve this dilemma, a lie is required to decorate the death of the leading prophets from a common death into a significant death. At least a testmony should be given to show some miracle after the natural death of martyr. It is said the caseasket was so like there was nothing in it. This aspect was called Shi-jie 尸解 (release from corpse) or Yu-hua 羽化 (to chang into flying matter). These terms are commonly used in the Taoist priest funcral. Due to this arrangement, no more serious influence comes to the Taoist people for lacking of real person ascending to paradise.
Jhou-yi Tsan-tung-chi 周易參同契 is the most old classics for the alchemistic studies written in the Han Dynasty showing the main track to go on the way of immortal by use of minerals to make huan-dan 還丹 or returned elixir. Huan means to return and dan means cinnabar. That is to forge cinnabar in different type and in consequence it returns into cinnabar. This forged cinnabar would contain wonderful power to make common person into immortal. However it is a very requirement to cause to go to the way of immortal uneasy.
Since this book is very hard to read, a commentary written by Peng Shiao, 彭曉 a taoist priest at the time of the Five-dynasties, appeared. It is a typical commentary with excellent explanations for the making process of the immortalcraft on minerals. But in his preface, he mentioned that the better way for the students who is intending to go toward the immortality is not to take herb or mineral drugs, but following the natural channel to renew and enrich his own spirit and to keep good character in the peaceful atmospher. It shows at his time there was a tremendous influence to shake his mind.
This tendency showed that the direction of immortalcraft had been changed from the mineral drugs first, into physical exercise with internal organs first. More Taoist books related to immortality written in the Sung dynasty than that written in Tang. A view of those books, we find that all of them emphasized the importance of the exercise in internal parts. To the end of the Southern Sung a great philosopher Jhu Shi 朱熹 wrote his commentary for the Jhou-yi Can-tung-Oi, with a revolutionary idea to point all of the main points in that book to be internal exercises instead of the traditional explanation by the terms of alchemy. Certainly, it should be a
misinterpret based on the popular understanding of this time.
Meditation with and internal exercise in the immortalcraft had existed for a long time. It might be traced to the dao-yin, 導引 physical training from the early Han dynasty and its later development turned auxiliary part of the immortalcraft. To the Eastern Han dynasty, an inscription Lao-Zi Ming 老子銘 by a famous scholar Bieu Shao 邊韶, said:
Coming to and fro from dan-lu 丹廬 the settlement of elixer Climbing up and down to huang-ting 黃庭 the "yellow yard".
Here the "huang ting" or "yellow yard" in Chinese was considered as the main center of the human body. All power of the body should concentrate there. The situation of it was assumed in the center of brain. It is the earliest material, comparing with Huang-ting Jing 黃庭經 written in the Qin dynasty (and considered as early material for the Taoist Immortal craft), the point huang-ting is most important above any part of human body. Based of it we can understand more means from this inscription to show real the meditation with internal exercise had been begun at the Eastern Han age. But it was just an initial stage of the direction of the physical training. The later development was not during more success from the physical training but during more failure from the mineral drug using. In consequence to apply mineral drug become a highest target impossibly to reach.
In the inscription of Lao-Zi, "dan-lu" was used for the center of the power of human body. But at the later times, it was called dan-tien 丹田 the field of the elixir. Then, one center separated to three centers, i. e, upper dan-tien, middle dan-tien and lower dan-tien. The upper dan-tien indicates the center of brain; the middle dan-tien indicates the heart and the lower dan-tien indicates about two inches under novel. Finnally the lower one becomes the popular one in the recent dynasties.
Dan-lu or Dan-tien were calling in abstract meaning. The power moved through there did not called dan in the early stage. To call human internal power as yin-tan 陰丹 and the mineral drug as yang dan 陽丹 is appeared in the Song of dragon and tiger 龍虎歌 in Yun-Ji Chi-chian 雲笈七籤 part 73. This part of that collection is considered not early than the later part of the Tang Dynasty (750-900). To the Sung dynasty the collection of Yun-ji chichian mentioned in the list of this song changed yin-dan as nei-dan 內丹 or inner elixir. This change showed that in the beginning of Sung the idea of the dan or elixir developed into a new tendency.
The latter part of the Tang dynasty was a peak of the Taoist religion which infiltrated deeply to the imperial family. Most emperors used mineral drugs expected to ascend into the heaven by superstition. Three emperors Xian-Zung, Mo-zung and Wu-Zung were died by taken mineral drugs. Those cases shock all of the society and changed the direction for seeking longevity.