two, considerably different in theme". The Neipian and Waipian "led entirely separate physical existences; they were not combined under a single title until a millennium after Ko's time". The (1444–1445) Ming dynasty Daozang "Taoist canon" first printed the two Baopuzi parts together. This Zhengtong Daozang (), or "Taoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era (1436-1450)", bibliographically categorized the Baopuzi under the Taiqing "Supreme Clarity" section for alchemical texts. Daozang editions encompass six juan ( "scrolls; fascicles; volumes"), three each for the Inner and Outer Chapters. Most received versions of Baopuzi descend from this Ming Daozang text. Content The Baopuzi'''s Inner and Outer Chapters discuss miscellaneous topics ranging from esotericism to social philosophy. The Inner Chapters discuss techniques to achieve hsien, also transcribed as "xian", () "immortality; transcendence", Chinese alchemy, meditation, Daoyin exercises, Chinese herbology, demons and other spiritual creatures, and fu () "magic talismans". The Outer Chapters discuss Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, Legalism, government, politics, literature, scholarship, and include Ge's autobiography, which Waley called "the fullest document of this kind that early China produced". According to Ge Hong's autobiography, he divided the Inner and Outer Chapters on the distinction between Taoism and Confucianism. Ge philosophically described Taoism as the ben () "root; trunk; origin" and Confucianism as the mo () "tip; branch; end". When asked, "Which has the priority, Confucianism or Taoism?" – Baopuzi replies, "Taoism is the very trunk of Confucianism, but Confucianism is only a branch of Taoism." While the Baopuzi Inner and Outer Chapters differ in content, they share a general format with an unnamed interlocutor posing questions and Ge Hong providing answers. The conventional syntax is Huowen yue () "Someone asked, saying" and Baopuzi da yue () "Baopuzi answered, saying". Inner Chapters The twenty Neipian "Inner Chapters" record arcane techniques for achieving hsien "transcendence; immortality". These techniques span two types of Chinese alchemy that Tang dynasty scholars later differentiated into neidan "internal elixir; internal alchemy" and waidan "external elixir; external alchemy". The word dan 丹 "cinnabar; red; pellet; [Chinese medicine] pill" means "pill of immortality, or elixir of life. Ge Hong details his researches into the arts of transcendence and immortality. "Internal alchemy" concerns creating an "immortal body" within the corporeal body through both physiological methods (dietary, respiratory, martial, etc.) and mental practices (meditation, extracorporeal visualization, etc.). "External" or "laboratory alchemy" concerns compounding elixirs (esp. from minerals and metals), writing fu talismans or amulets, herbalism, and exorcism. Lai