Teachings of the Primordial Sovereign Sun Bu-er. Taoist Teaching for Women

Sun Bu-er 孫不二 (1119–1182) — one of the founders of the Quanzhen school 全真. In the Taoist tradition, she is revered as the pioneer of Taoist cultivation methods for women, known as "women's alchemy" (女丹 nǚ dān). The book provides a complete translation from ancient Chinese (文言 wényán) of the collection of poetic works "Teachings of the Primordial Sovereign Sun Bu-er" (孫不二元君法語). It includes "Women's Mastery of Internal Alchemy" (女功內丹 Nǚ gōng nèi dān) (7 poems) and "Sequence of Mastery in the Women's Dao-Path" (坤道功夫次第 Kùn dào gōngfu cì dì) (14 poems). The translation of the poems is supplemented by comments from the renowned Taoist figure and researcher of Taoism Chen Yingning 陳櫻寧 (1880–1969). The monograph introduces the reader to ancient Taoist practices of spiritual cultivation. Special attention is given to the description of methods for rejuvenation and health restoration, such as "Decapitation of the Red Dragon" (斬赤龍 zhǎn chì lóng), "Embryonic Breathing" (胎息 tāi xī), "Abandonment of Grains" (闢穀 pì gǔ), and others. It is addressed to all those interested in Taoism, the history of Chinese spiritual culture, and Eastern religions.