Alchemy in China

Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, parts 2–5. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1974–1983. Broad overview of the Chinese alchemical tradition, partly superseded by later studies.

Pregadio, Fabrizio. "Elixirs and Alchemy." In Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2000. Surveys the history, texts, doctrines, and practices of waidan.

——. Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2005. Study of the Taiqing tradition of waidan and its relation to Daoism; includes translations of early sources.

Pregadio, Fabrizio, and Lowell Skar. "Inner Alchemy (Neidan)." In Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2000. Survey of history, texts, doctrines, and practices.

Robinet, Isabelle. Introduction à l'alchimie intérieure taoïste: De l'unité et de la multiplicité. Avec une traduction commentée des Versets de l'éveil à la Vérité. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1995. Collection of articles reflecting the best understanding of neidan among Western-language studies; includes a translation of a major neidan text.

——. "Le monde à l'envers dans l'alchimie intérieure taoïste." Revue de l'Histoire des Religions 209 (1992): 239–257. On the notion of "inversion" in neidan.

——. "Original Contributions of Neidan to Taoism and Chinese Thought." In Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, edited by Livia Kohn in cooperation with Yoshinobu Sakade. Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1989. Focuses on the notions and linguistic expedients used in texts of "inner alchemy" to formulate their doctrines.

Sivin, Nathan. Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1968. Translation of a seventh-century text, with an extensive introduction on waidan seen as a branch of the history of Chinese science.

Sivin, Nathan. 1980. "The Theoretical Background of Elixir Alchemy." In Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China. Vol. 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, part 4, Apparatus, Theories and Gifts. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. On the role of time in waidan and the cosmic correspondences embodied in the apparatus.