Mapping the Inner Landscape
The Neijing Tu and Daoist Visions of the Body
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/29682Keywords:
Neijingtu, Daoism, sacred geography, human body, internal alchemyAbstract
This visual essay examines the Neijing Tu (Chart of the Inner Landscape), which is a nineteenth-century Daoist diagram that represents the human body as sacred geography. Through visual analysis of its mountain metaphor and cosmological symbolism, it explores how historical body imagery encodes culturally specific models of wellness and invites health information professionals to reflect on the role of visual systems in communicating health knowledge.
References
1. Neidan. Neijing Tu (Chart of the Inner Landscape) [photograph of engraved stele]. Wikimedia Commons. Published July 23, 2010. Accessed March 2, 2026. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NeijingTu1.jpg
2. Despeux C. Taoism and self-knowledge: the chart for the cultivation of perfection (Xiuzhen tu). Leiden (NL): Brill; 2018.
3. Needham J. Science and civilisation in China. Vol 5, pt 5. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 1983.
4. Kohn L, ed. Daoist body cultivation: traditional models and contemporary practices. Honolulu (HI): University of Hawaii Press; 2006.
5. Chuah S. Week 1: Ancient views of the body. Lecture presented at: DCE 405: Writing the Creative Body; 2024; Arizona State University.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Shanny Rann
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