Associated Risks
When ingested, these compounds did not always result in the desired outcome. Many individuals died or had psychological difficulties after taking certain elixirs. However, the loss of life may not have seemed a large risk, when compared with the promise of the afterlife. Although these elixirs were lethal or dangerous, there is some contention that these individuals were not ignorant of the fatality of some of the materials they were ingesting. Cooper states that "there seems to be little doubt, however, that some of these lethal preparations were taken with full knowledge of their effects and that the subsequent death was a deliberate journey to the next world, in full faith of attaining immortality." (pg. 55).
There were certain grades of immortality, so if the practiced alchemist died - as they all inevitably did - the level of immortality they achieved was determined by their corpse. If their corpse was sweet-smelling, it was said that they had achieved immortality in an ephemeral state. Likewise, if their corpse disappeared, leaving behind only the clothes, such as in the death of an adept named Ko Hung, this was another form of immortality known as shih chieh hsien (corpse-free immortals) (Cooper, 14).
Read more about this topic: Chinese Alchemy
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