This article looks at the view of the body held by the Chongxuan School of Daoism at a time of Daoist-Buddhist syncretism. Early Daoism, including Pre-Qin Daoism and Han-Jin (206 BC-420 AD) Daoists, developed a theory of the body as being in motion and a theory of correspondence between the body and its form, which was transformed in Daoist religion into mysterious rituals for preserving potency of spirit. Under the influence of Buddhism, the Chongxuan School of the 5-6th centuries brought another interpretation to challenge the then dominant three-in-one view of the body. This transformed the theory into a form of gongfu in which the priority was given to cultivating human nature.The article examines the syncretism of the early Sichuanese Chongxuan School's view of the body with a theory of qi at its heart and the Buddhist view of the body centred on enlightenment. This has had an obvious influence on the understanding of the body and of spiritual cultivation in Chinese culture today.
