Inner Alchemy (Neidan): Building the Foundation (Zhù Jī 築基)

Zhù Jī (築基) is the preliminary stage of Neidan (internal alchemy) in which the practitioner stabilizes the body-mind through regulation of diet, sleep, breath, and sexual energy. The body is treated as the alchemical laboratory — the furnace (lú 爐) and the cauldron (dǐng 鼎) must be prepared before any transmutation of the Three Treasures (sān bǎo: jing, qi, shen) can begin. Daoist texts such as the Cantong Qi and later Quanzhen manuals insist that without this foundation, attempts at higher refinement scatter the practitioner's qi rather than consolidate it.