"The book is beautifully set, adding value to its very informative, precise, marvelously detailed, and well-researched intellectual content." - Rudolf Pfister (East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine) "Pregadio has given us vastly improved picture of early alchemy, one that will certainly inspire a new generation to jump the barriers of scholarly habit. His deep textual study and willingness to ask new questions show that it is not too late to revivify the study of alchemy and its religious connections." - N. Sivin (Journal of Chinese Studies) "Pregadio has chosen this multifaceted term [Great Clarity/Taiqing] to label the earliest alchemist tradition, which is the focus of this superb study. With this publication, Pregadio has proven himself to be the leading scholar of early alchemy in China." - Journal of Chinese Religions