Tao Hongjing's Health Preservation - Fasting and Alchemy

Tao Hongjing never married throughout his life and devoted himself entirely to the study of health preservation. He was deeply impressed by Zhang Liangzhi's character and believed that he was "extremely virtuous in ancient times". After achieving success and fame, Zhang Liang retired at the height of his power and secluded himself in the mountains. He followed Chi Songzi and practiced the art of fasting, seeking the path to immortality. This had a profound impact on him. Tao Hongjing had extensive research on fasting and guiding exercises and was good at practicing these techniques. He once built a three-story building on Maoshan Mountain. He lived on top of it, his disciples in the middle and his guests below. He was isolated from the outside world and only had a servant by his side to serve him. It is recorded that his diet was extremely simple. He did not eat meat or muttiness, but only "green hunger rice", which was a kind of medicine mainly based on nan zhu (an ancient herbal name) 饍, possibly formulated in combination with fasting. After he went into seclusion in the mountains, Emperor Wu of Qi ordered that five jin of white poria cocos and two liters of white honey be provided every month for use as bait. Both poria cocos and white honey are excellent for health preservation and consumption, which shows that he was very proficient in the method of health preservation through diet. In addition, Hongjing had also refined elixirs. He traveled far and wide and once obtained the secrets of alchemy. Later, he attempted to make them but was troubled by the lack of medicines in the mountains. Fortunately, he received strong support from Emperor Wu of Liang, and all the necessary medicines were provided by Emperor Wu.