Nei Jing Tu

The Nei Jing Tu- The chart of the internal universe.

The Nei Jing Tu is a classical chart from the Northern Taoist traditions which contains within it the entire process of Alchemy and is a map of the human body from the perspective esoteric Taoism.

The chart symbolically shows the process of Taoist Internal Alchemy from the bases stages of Neigong and the activation of the lower DanTien, through to the awakening of the Microcosmic Orbit, right up to the final stages of the Alchemical process, the formation of the internal Alchemical Pill of awakening. The chart was carved on to a wall in the White Cloud temple in Beijing the 1800s , prior to this time the chart would have been kept as a scroll within Taoist temples and kept by the custodians of the Internal Alchemy Traditions, in particular the Quan Zhen and Long me Pai Lineages.

The creation of this artwork for me was an opportunity to deepen my study of Taoist Internal arts and dive into the symbology and teachings contained in The Nei Jing Tu .The original chart that inspired this artwork contains poems and descriptions of the various teachings contained within the chart, in this art work I chose to focus on the study of the imagery, for those wishing to explore the chart in greater depth I highly recommend exploring the poetry and text which can easily be found on the internet and in particular some excellent lectures on youtube.

May this artwork inspire you as it did me!
- Jackson

Artwork Medium: Combination of pencil on paper and Digital illustration

Artwork size: A2 (420x594mm)