Transcendence

成仙 (Cheng Xian, “transcending”, or “achieving immortality”) is a very important element in Chinese mythology and Chinese occultism. It generally means that a mortal being (not necessarily a human) can transcend into Heaven and become an immortal being called "Xian" (some sort of demigod) under certain circumstances. In tales, the lives of those immortals were always described to be comfortable and carefree. They were not bound by earthly affairs, immune to fire and ice, didn’t need to eat or drink, could use magic and fly freely as if they were riding on wind. However, to achieve immortality, there were two different ways: Alchemy and Cultivation.

In the early ages, Chinese people believed that a mortal being could become immortal by taking some magical portions. As a result, unlike their colleagues in Greco-Roman Egypt who centered on the transmutation of base metals into noble metals, the early Chinese alchemists mainly focused attention on seeking the elixir of life. Around the 2nd century, the belief system of Chinese alchemists gradually merged with the philosophy of Tao and developed into the religion of Taoism. From then on, achieving immortality became one of the main goals of Taoism.

Later on, around 4 or 5th century, after absolving some idea of traditional Chinese medicine, Taoism developed a new theory of achieving immortality called Neidan (Inner Alchemy). Unlike traditional alchemy theory (also known as External Alchemy), Neidan theory tried to create an immortal spiritual body with the principles of traditional medicine instead of actual portions.

Those ancient Neidan participants believed that they could prolong their lives and achieve immortality by cultivating and transforming three essential energies sustaining human life: Jing (essence), Qi (breath or vitality), Shen (spirit or soul). Later on, this process was also called “Cultivation”. Although those Neidan participants failed, the idea of cultivating life energies to achieve greater power and even immortality made a significant influence on Chinese mythology. The Chinese folktales about demons and Taoists, the “cultivation” mentioned in Chinese Xianxia stories and even the magical Chi in modern popular culture all could be traced back to the ancient Neidan theory.‘