• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.39
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• pp.143-168
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• 2013

The purpose of this paper is to study the succession and method of five-masters of southern school in transmitting the internal alchemy in Taoism which is established by Zhang Bo-duan. In history, the internal alchemy is divided into a few schools but all of them are under the umbrella of Zhang Bo-duan's alchemy. The five master's method has been consistent from Zhang Bo-duan to Seok Tae to Seol Do Gwang based on three reasons. First, they lived long while practicing the method. Second, they learned the method from their direct master secretly. Third, they kept practicing the individual method while staying in the secular world rather than in a religious body. I limit three of them Zhang Bo-Dan, Seok Tae, Seol Do Gwang as figures who practiced the pure internal alchemy. Thus I argue that the method stayed only for 200 years, arising from the late Dang Dynasty and disappearing in 1911, when Seol Do-Gwang was dead. This method can be instructed only to the appropriate figure, and the specific steps of method are taught through the oral instruction so that this method cannot be wide spread. Based on the fact that the time of practicing method is quite long and it needs intensive and constant efforts, it is difficult for a mundane person to practice and cope with the training. Jin Nam and Baek Ok Seom are believed that they belonged to the school of Shin So. Baek Ok Seom is regarded as a figure that made efforts to unite the school of Wei and the internal alchemy. However, he made lots of fabrication and discrepancy. Thus I state that Jin Nam and Baek Ok Seom need to be out in the succession and method of five masters of southern school in Taoism. Their changed method in quality needs to be organized in a new genealogy.