{"product_id":"traditions-of-exemplary-transcendents-by-robert-ford-campany-9783112236871","title":"Traditions of Exemplary Transcendents by Liu Xiang (79-8 Bce)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy the middle of the third century BCE, some people in China had begun to imagine it possible to employ esoteric methods to refashion themselves into posthuman beings with spirit-like capabilities, enhanced bodies, and greatly extended lifespans. Such beings were termed transcendents (\u003cem\u003exian\u003c\/em\u003e 仙). \u003cem\u003eTraditions of Exemplary Transcendents\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cem\u003eLiexian zhuan\u003c\/em\u003e 列仙傳), attributed to the imperial bibliographer Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 BCE), is the earliest extant collection of colorful stories about such figures. This volume makes available a critical edition and the first complete, annotated English translation of a text preserving some of the earliest mentions of alchemical, dietary, and medicinal methods of self-cultivation that later became standard in transcendence-seekers' repertoire of practices. Through this work we can already glimpse the sorts of engagements with local communities that made the quest for transcendence a matter of keen interest not just to practitioners themselves but to many in Chinese society for centuries thereafter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Ford Campany\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 3112236874\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9783112236871\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e de Gruyter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/04\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.72lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.63d","brand":"Robert Ford Campany","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48588478120191,"sku":"9783112236871","price":38.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/traditions-of-exemplary-transcendents-by-robert-ford-campany-9783112236871","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}