「身體」一詞在中國古代的語言脈絡裡，乃是兼括形、神之全體，而非現代用語所狹義指稱的相對於神魂的形骸骨肉之軀。因此，古代「身」字不僅指凡體的形、神，更兼及修鍊始現的「真身」。本論文以「身外之身」（即「真身」）為題，一方面意在彰顯「身體」一詞在古今之間的關鍵性歧異，另方面則欲強調，在當前「身體」研究中，丹道學的「真身」乃是一箇迥異西方、值得重視的本土論題。
本論文擬尋繹道教內丹學關於「身體」論述的原型，而《黃庭經》堪稱道教丹經之鼻祖，故本論文乃根據《黃庭內景經》目前所能輯得的十九注家、四十版本，整理其中身體論述的根本異同與類型。

This paper examines the nineteen existent commentaries and forty editions of the Classic of Huang-Ting Nei-Jing, the earliest and most original work in Taoist Neidan. The first section deals with the basic procedure in the Neidan practice: the closure of the external senses and the commencement of the inward vision of the incorporeal body. The second section focuses on the diverse images of the incorporeal body in the various commentaries of the Classic of Huang-Ting Nei-Jing and to be used in the Neidan practice. The images are divided into two groups: one is the model of 'the incorporeal body resided by one spirit alone,' the other 'the incorporeal body resided by various spirits simultaneously.' The two models of the incorporeal body not only result from distinct interpretations of the Classic, but also establish two kinds of Taoist Neidan practice. The last section evaluates the two models and outlines how they had been respectively supported and discarded from the T'ang to the Qing.