Jindan
/ˈdʒɪn.dæn/noun
A Taoist alchemical elixir, especially one believed to cultivate immortality or spiritual transformation.
Did you know?Jindan could refer both to a literal laboratory elixir and to an inner spiritual transformation, especially in the Taoist tradition of internal alchemy.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
金丹
“Literally “gold/cinnabar”; an alchemical elixir associated with longevity and transcendence.”
2nd–4th Century CE
Chinese
金丹
“A central term in Taoist alchemical writings describing medicines intended to perfect the body and prolong life.”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
kim tan
“The pronunciation ancestral to later Sino-Tibetan and modern Mandarin readings of 金丹.”
Medieval China
Chinese
jīndān
“A “golden elixir,” increasingly interpreted through both external alchemy and internal spiritual cultivation.”
20th Century
English
jindan
“An English transliteration used in academic and popular writing about Taoist alchemy.”