Daoist philosophical classics, early scriptures, the Shangqing and Lingbao corpora, alchemical works, ritual and precept manuals, talismanic texts, hagiographies and gazetteers, encyclopedias, morality books and medical works, together with the Zhengtong Daozang, Zhonghua Daozang and modern reference works. Links to full texts on CTEXT and Wikisource.
The Daodejing is the most fundamental classic of Daoist philosophy and religion, traditionally attributed to Lao Dan, Historian-Archivist of the Zhou royal library. The work takes …
The Heshanggong Commentary on the Laozi is one of the earliest surviving and most widely circulated commentaries on the Daodejing. Tradition holds that Heshanggong ('Master by the …
Wang Bi's Commentary on the Laozi is a foundational work of Wei–Jin Xuanxue (Learning of the Mysterious) and became the standard commentary on the Daodejing for later generations. …
The Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi is the early Way of the Celestial Masters' (Wudoumi Dao) religious commentary on the Daodejing, and the key document through which Daoism trans…
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) revered Daoism and honored Laozi as the Mysterious Primordial Emperor. He personally composed a commentary on the Daodejing, promulgated it thr…
The Zhuangzi, together with the Daodejing, is one of the two great classics of Daoist philosophy. Its author, Zhuang Zhou, was a native of Meng in the state of Song and once served…
Guo Xiang's Commentary on the Zhuangzi is the earliest complete extant commentary on the Zhuangzi, and also a summa of Wei–Jin Dark Learning (xuanxue). Guo Xiang condensed the Han-…
Cheng Xuanying's Subcommentary on the Zhuangzi is the subcommentary written on Guo Xiang's commentary by Cheng Xuanying, the great master of Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) learning in…
The Liezi is attributed to Lie Yukou of the state of Zheng, and is one of the "Three Mysteries" (San Xuan) of Daoist classics alongside the Laozi and the Zhuangzi. The received tex…
The Wenzi is a work of the Daoist Huang-Lao school, expounding the principles of the Dao and De, non-action, and self-cultivation and statecraft in the format of sayings beginning …
The Guanyinzi is attributed to Yin Xi, the Warden of Hangu Pass, the legendary figure said to have asked Laozi to write the Daodejing. The received text, in nine chapters titled "O…
The Heguanzi is a work combining Daoist and Military-School thought from the state of Chu in the late Warring States period; the author took his name from wearing a cap of pheasant…
The Huainanzi is a summa of early Western Han Huang-Lao Daoist thought, compiled by scholars and masters of methods gathered by Liu An, Prince of Huainan; it takes Daoism as its ma…
The Huangdi Sijing (Four Classics of Huangdi) comprises four ancient lost texts found at the head of manuscript B of the Laozi among the Mawangdui silk manuscripts, and is the most…
The Baopuzi Outer Chapters is Ge Hong's work discussing gains and losses in the human world and the merits and faults of worldly affairs, fifty chapters, classified among the Misce…
The Yinfu jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) runs to only a little over 300 characters, and together with the Daodejing and the Qingjing jing is one of the most important shor…
The Xisheng jing (Scripture of Laozi's Western Ascension) is presented as the words spoken by Laozi to the pass-keeper Yin Xi when he journeyed west and departed through the pass, …
The Treatise on the Mysterious Guideline (Xuangang lun) is a work by the eminent Tang priest Wu Yun systematically expounding Daoist philosophy and the theory of cultivation, divid…
The Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion (Zuowang lun) is the celebrated work of the Tang Shangqing patriarch Sima Chengzhen on the stages of cultivating the Dao, centered on the concep…
The Master of Heavenly Seclusion (Tianyinzi) is a short Tang-dynasty Daoist treatise on cultivation, in eight chapters: Immortals, Ease and Simplicity, the Gradual Gate, Fasting an…
The Treatise on the Substance of the Dao (Daoti lun) is a short philosophical treatise of the Tang Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) school discussing the ontology of the Dao, in questio…
The Xuanzhu lu (Record of the Mysterious Pearl) is the recorded sayings of Wang Xuanlan, a Daoist priest of Mianzhu in the early Tang, compiled and prefaced by his disciple Wang Ta…
The Neiguan jing (Scripture of Inner Observation) is attributed to the Most High Lord Lao and is a representative short scripture of Tang-dynasty Daoist cultivation of mind and nat…
The Dingguan jing (Scripture of Concentration and Observation) takes the two characters ding (concentration) and guan (observation) as its guiding thread, teaching that the practit…
Lectures on the Daodejing is Huang Yuanji's chapter-by-chapter exposition of the Daodejing according to the principles of internal-alchemical cultivation, forming a complementary p…
The Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace) is the earliest and longest of the surviving early Daoist scriptures, and the intellectual source of the Way of Great Peace (Taiping Dao…
The Taiping Jing Chao (Excerpts from the Scripture of Great Peace) is an abridgment compiled by the late-Tang Tiantai Daoist priest Lüqiu Fangyuan, excerpting one fascicle from eac…
The Baopuzi Inner Chapters is Ge Hong's systematic theoretical work summarizing the immortality arts transmitted from the Han and Wei onward, and the representative scripture of We…
The Scripture of the Yellow Court: Inner Effulgences (Huangting neijing jing) is the most important scripture of visualization practice in the Shangqing School, composed entirely i…
The Scripture of the Yellow Court: Outer Effulgences (Huangting waijing jing) is one of the two Huangting Jing texts, composed in seven-syllable rhymed verse and about half the len…
The Perfect Scripture of the Great Cavern of Highest Clarity (Shangqing dadong zhenjing) is the foremost scripture of the Shangqing corpus; its "thirty-nine chapters" correspond to…
The Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) is the fundamental text of the Shangqing School, compiled by Tao Hongjing from the handwritten records of "declarations descended from t…
The Concealed Instructions for Ascending to Perfection (Dengzhen yinjue) is Tao Hongjing's compilation of Shangqing scriptural instructions, in which he classified, arranged, and a…
The Shangqing Scriptural Corpus is a body of "descended revelation" scriptures formed in the mid-Eastern Jin between the Xu clan of Jurong and the medium Yang Xi, later honored by …
The Preface to the Five Talismans of Lingbao is the fountainhead text of the Lingbao scriptural lineage, and it is from this work that the name "Lingbao" (Numinous Treasure) derive…
The Duren jing, in full the Wondrous Scripture of the Upper Chapters on Limitless Salvation of Primordial Beginning, is the first scripture of the Lingbao lineage, and the Daoist C…
The Perfected Writs in Red Script of the Five Elders is a core scripture among the ancient Lingbao texts, placed first among all the scriptures in Lu Xiujing's Catalogue of Lingbao…
The Scripture of Wisdom, Fixing the Will, and Penetrating the Subtle is one of the ancient Lingbao scriptures, presented in the form of a dialogue between the Most High Lord of the…
The Scripture of the Three Sovereigns (Sanhuang wen) is the foundational scripture of the Dongshen (Cavern of Spirit) Section among the Daoist "Three Caverns," standing as one leg …
The Scripture of Laozi's Conversion of the Barbarians is a scripture produced by Daoism in the course of its disputes with Buddhism, claiming that after Laozi passed west through H…
The Qingjing jing (Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness) runs to only a little over 390 characters in total, and is one of the most frequently recited short scriptures in Da…
The Yuhuang jing, in full the Scripture of the Original Deeds of the Jade Emperor (Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Ji Jing), is a scripture that appeared after the rise of the cult of the…
The Beidou jing (Scripture of the Northern Dipper for Prolonging Life) tells how the Supreme Venerable Sovereign (Laojun) descended at the Yuju site in Chengdu and expounded to the…
The Taishang Dongyuan Shenzhou Jing (Scripture of Divine Incantations of the Cavernous Abyss) is the scripture of the popular Daoist ‘Dongyuan (Cavernous Abyss)’ tradition dating f…
The Central Scripture of Laozi (Laozi zhongjing), also called the Pearl Palace Jade Calendar (Zhugong yuli), is one of the earliest surviving Daoist scriptures to systematically de…
The Benji jing (Scripture of the Original Bound) was one of the most widely circulated Daoist doctrinal scriptures of the Sui–Tang transition; nearly a hundred manuscript copies ha…
The Haikong Zhizang jing (Scripture of the Wisdom Treasury of Ocean-Emptiness) is a Daoist doctrinal scripture composed by the Tang-dynasty Chongxuan school in imitation of Mahāyān…
The Jiutian Shengshen Zhang jing (Scripture of the Nine Heavens' Stanzas of Life-Giving Spirit) is an important scripture among the ancient Lingbao scriptures, describing the Lords…
The Zhouyi Cantong Qi (Token for the Agreement of the Three According to the Book of Changes) was later honored as the king of alchemical scriptures for all ages, and is the earlie…
The Xinyin jing (Mind Seal Scripture) consists of two hundred characters in tetrasyllabic verse, and is Daoism's most concise summary outline of internal alchemy; the Quanzhen scho…
The Guwen longhu jing (Ancient Text of the Dragon and Tiger Scripture) is presented as the source text on which Wei Boyang's Zhouyi cantong qi was based, but is in fact an elixir s…
The Huangdi jiuding shendan jingjue (Instructions on the Yellow Emperor's Nine-Tripod Divine Elixir) is among the most important surviving classics of external alchemy. Scroll one …
The Taiqing jinye shendan jing (Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Liquefied Gold of Great Clarity) belongs to the "Taiqing" lineage of external-alchemy scriptures, and together wit…
The Zhonglü chuandao ji (Anthology of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lü Dongbin) systematically expounds the theory of internal alchemy in the form of questions and answ…
The Lingbao bifa (Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure) is attributed to Zhongli Quan, said to have composed it from a Lingbao jing he obtained from a stone wall on Mount Zhon…
The Xishan qunxian huizhen ji (Records of the Assembled Immortals of the Western Hills) is one of the three books of Zhong–Lü elixir methods, attributed to the "Perfected Huayang" …
The Ruyao jing (Mirror for Compounding the Medicine), also known as the Cui Gong ruyao jing, is a set of internal-alchemy verse instructions composed by Cui Xifan of the Five Dynas…
The Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) is a collection of internal-alchemy poems by Zhang Boduan of the Northern Song, ranked together with the Zhouyi cantong qi as the twin master…
The Jindan sibai zi (Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir) is traditionally held to be alchemical instructions that Zhang Boduan transmitted to his disciple Ma Chuhou, eighty li…
The Qinghua miwen (Secret Text of the Azure Florescence), attributed to Zhang Boduan, explains in detail the mind-nature and the practical work of internal-alchemical cultivation i…
The Huandan fuming pian (Restoring the Elixir and Returning to Life) is a collection of internal-alchemy poems by Xue Daoguang, third patriarch of the Southern Lineage, with a pref…
The Huanyuan pian (Returning to the Source) is a collection of internal-alchemy poems by Shi Tai (styled Xinglin), second patriarch of the Southern Lineage, comprising eighty-one p…
The Cuixu pian (Anthology of Cuixu) is a collection of alchemical poetry and prose by Chen Nan (styled Cuixu, also Niwan), fourth patriarch of the Southern Lineage, containing the …
The Xiuzhen shishu (Ten Books on the Cultivation of Perfection) is a compendium of internal-alchemy literature assembled in the Yuan dynasty, in sixty juan, gathering together impo…
The Zhonghe ji (Anthology of Central Harmony) is a collection of treatises, poems and prose by Li Daochun (styled Qing'an, also Yingchanzi), an internal-alchemy master of the early…
The Chongyang lijiao shiwu lun (Fifteen Discourses of Wang Chongyang on Establishing the Teaching) is a summary of practice set out by the founder of Quanzhen Daoism, Wang Chongyan…
The Chongyang Quanzhen ji (Collected Works of Wang Chongyang on Complete Perfection) is a collection of Wang Chongyang's poetry and prose, in thirteen juan, containing over a thous…
The Danyang zhenren yulu (Recorded Sayings of the Perfected Danyang) compiles the teachings of Ma Yu (styled Danyangzi), foremost of the Quanzhen Seven Perfected, edited by his dis…
The Dadan zhizhi (Direct Pointers to the Great Elixir), attributed to Qiu Chuji, patriarch of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage, is an important text on the practical cultivation of int…
The Panxi ji (Anthology of Panxi) is a collection of poetry and lyrics by Qiu Chuji (styled Changchunzi), in six juan, containing over five hundred poems, lyrics and eulogies from …
The Qinghe zhenren beiyou yulu (Recorded Sayings of the Perfected Qinghe on the Northern Journey) compiles the teachings given to disciples by Qiu Chuji's successor, Yin Zhiping (s…
The Jindan dayao (Great Essentials of the Golden Elixir) is a monumental work systematically summarizing internal-alchemical theory by the Yuan-dynasty alchemist Chen Zhixu (styled…
Principles of the Balanced Cultivation of Nature and Life (Xingming guizhi) is the most widely circulated illustrated work of Ming-dynasty Internal Alchemy, attributed to 'a leadin…
Verified Discourse on the Golden Immortal (Jinxian zhenglun) is the representative work of the Qing-dynasty Buddhist monk and Internal Alchemy master Liu Huayang, and together with…
The Scripture of Wisdom and Life (Huiming jing) is a work of Liu Huayang's later years, which takes the Buddhist term 'wisdom-life' (huiming) to denote the pre-celestial qi of the …
Direct Discourse on the True Principles of Celestial Immortality (Tianxian zhengli zhilun) is the principal work in which Wu Shouyang (sobriquet Chongxuzi), of the Longmen Lineage …
Recorded Sayings on the Union of Immortals and Buddhas (Xianfo hezong yulu) is a record of Wu Shouyang's oral teaching of alchemical method to his disciples, answering specific dif…
The Wu-Liu School of Immortality (Wuliu xianzong) is a compendium combining the alchemical writings of Wu Shouyang of the late Ming and Liu Huayang of the Qing; the standard editio…
Direct Pointers to Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen zhizhi) is the Longmen-Lineage alchemist Liu Yiming's (sobriquet Wuyuanzi) commentary on Zhang Boduan's Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen…
Elucidating the Truth of the Book of Changes (Zhouyi chanzhen) is Liu Yiming's work interpreting the Zhouyi (Book of Changes) through the lens of alchemical teaching; it opens with…
Twelve Daoist Books is the collected works of Liu Yiming, eleventh-generation patriarch of the Longmen Lineage in the Qing dynasty. Though named "twelve," the standard edition actu…
The Recorded Sayings from the Hall of Joyful Cultivation collects the sayings on the Dao given by Huang Yuanji (personal name Shang), a Daoist of Fengcheng, Jiangxi, in the late Qi…
The Complete Works of Zhang Sanfeng is a collected edition of Zhang Sanfeng's writings compiled by Li Xiyue in the Qing dynasty, in eight chapters, containing the Treatise on the G…
The Collected Texts on Female Alchemy is an anthology assembled by He Longxiang in the late Qing bringing together texts on female internal-alchemical cultivation, including the Dh…
The Dharma Words of the Primordial Sovereign Sun Bu'er is attributed to Sun Bu'er, patriarch of the Quanzhen Qingjing (Clarity and Stillness) Lineage, and contains fourteen poems t…
The Song of the Great Dao from the Numinous Source (Lingyuan dadao ge) is a long heptasyllabic poem of 128 lines by the Northern Song Daoist priestess Cao Wenyi, and is one of the …
The Secret of the Golden Flower (Taiyi jinhua zongzhi) is said to have been revealed through Lü Dongbin, and is an internal-alchemy scripture that emerged from spirit-writing altar…
The Complete Works of Patriarch Lü (Lüzu quanshu) is a Qing-dynasty compendium gathering scriptures, poetry, and spirit-writing revelations attributed to Lü Dongbin; Liu Tishu comp…
Lü Dongbin's Hundred-Character Stele (Baizi bei) is a twenty-line pentasyllabic alchemical formula attributed to Lü Dongbin: 'Nurture qi, forgetting words, and hold fast; subdue th…
True Words Singing the Dao (Changdao zhenyan) is a work on internal alchemy produced at Qing-dynasty spirit-writing altars, said to have been transmitted through the brush of the '…
The True Transmission of the Golden Elixir (Jindan zhenzhuan) records the alchemical formulas transmitted by Sun Ruzhong of the Ming dynasty, who states in his own preface that he …
The Unofficial History of Fanghu (Fanghu waishi) is the collected writings of Lu Xixing (sobriquet Qianxu), founder of the Eastern Lineage of internal alchemy in the Ming dynasty, …
The Compass Pointing to the Center (Guizhong zhinan) is a set of essential formulas for internal alchemy by the Yuan-dynasty alchemist Chen Chongsu, in two scrolls. The upper scrol…
The Panshan Yulu (盘山语录, Recorded Sayings of Wang Zhijin of Mount Pan) compiles the sayings of the Quanzhen priest Wang Zhijin (a disciple of Hao Datong, sobriquet Qiyun) instructin…
Weng Baoguang's Commentary on the Wuzhen pian is one of the earliest and most influential commentaries on Awakening to Reality; in the Yuan dynasty Dai Qizong wrote a subcommentary…
Talks on the Aperture of the Dao and the Secret Purport of the Three Vehicles are the representative works of Li Xiyue (sobriquet Hanxu), founder of the Western Lineage of Qing int…
The Rootless Tree consists of twenty-four alchemical lyrics attributed to Zhang Sanfeng, using the “rootless tree” as a metaphor for the human body and the alchemical Way: “The roo…
Commentary on the Song of the Reverted Elixir of the Perfected Yin consists of an alchemical song attributed to the Han-dynasty immortal Yin Changsheng, together with a commentary …
Chen Yingning, an advocate of “Immortality Studies” (Xianxue) during the Republican era and later president of the Chinese Taoist Association, used modern language to organize the …
Bai Yuchan, fifth of the Five Southern Patriarchs and the effective founder of the Southern Lineage as an organized school, left his poetry, prose, and alchemical writings scattere…
The Treatise on the Essential Meaning of Ingesting Qi (Fuqi jingyi lun) is Sima Chengzhen's specialized work on health preservation through the ingestion of qi, in nine chapters: O…
Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life is the most systematic surviving compendium of life-nourishing arts from the Six Dynasties, divided into six sections: Admonitions, …
The Great Clarity Scripture of Daoyin and Nourishing Life is an important text in the Daoist Canon devoted specifically to recording daoyin exercises, gathering together numerous m…
Pengzu's Treatise on Preserving Health and Nourishing Nature is attributed to the legendarily long-lived Pengzu, and is a brief general treatise on nourishing life. It proposes tha…
Pillowbook Methods for Preserving Health is attributed to Sun Simiao, divided into sections on Self-Discipline, Prohibitions, Daoyin, Ingesting Qi, Guarding the One, and Ingesting …
Lord Lao's Instructions on Nourishing Life, in one fascicle, is brief but focused in content: it opens with the general principles of nourishing life, stating that 'the body should…
The Scripture of the Yellow Court and Hidden Stem Methods for the Body, in one fascicle, combines the body-god visualization tradition of the Scripture of the Yellow Court with the…
The Treatise on the Origins and Symptoms of Diseases is the first systematic Chinese treatise on the causes and mechanisms of disease, compiled by imperial order by Chao Yuanfang a…
Chapter 27, "Nourishing Nature" (Yangxing), of the Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies (Beiji qianjin yaofang) is the summa of Tang-dynasty nourishing-life lea…
The Perfected Sun's Treatise on Preserving Health (Sun zhenren sheyang lun), in one scroll, lists what to do and avoid for health preservation month by month through the lunar cale…
Instructions on the Heart-Elixir Scripture of the Upper Cavern (Shangdong xindan jingjue), in three scrolls, is a Tang-dynasty text combining external alchemy, ingestion, and healt…
Essentials for Cultivating Longevity (Xiuling yaozhi), in one scroll, by Leng Qian of the Ming, is one of the most concise and practical handbooks of health preservation from the M…
The Eight Discourses on Nurturing Life (Zunsheng bajian) is the summa of literati health-preservation learning in the Ming dynasty, compiled by the Hangzhou man of letters Gao Lian…
The Great Clarity Methods for Abstaining from Grain (Taiqing jing duangu fa), in one scroll, is devoted entirely to methods of grain avoidance (bigu — abstaining from grain, cuttin…
The five-scroll Laolao Hengyan (老老恒言, Constant Words on Caring for the Aged) was written by Cao Tingdong, a native of Jiashan in the Qing dynasty, and is the most systematic treati…
The Pivot of Meaning of the Daoist Teaching (Daojiao yishu) is a compendium of Daoist doctrine compiled by the Tang priest Meng Anpai of Qingxi, expounding fundamental Daoist conce…
The Daomen Jingfa Xiangcheng Cixu (Sequence of the Transmission of Daoist Scriptures and Methods) records the dialogue in which Emperor Gaozong of Tang travelled to Mount Song to i…
The Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips from the Bookbag of the Clouds) is a Daoist compendium compiled by Zhang Junfang of the Northern Song on the basis of his collation of the Da Song Tia…
The Daoshu (Pivot of the Dao) is a Daoist encyclopedic compilation of cultivation methods compiled by Zeng Zao of the Southern Song, in forty-two juan and 108 chapters, broadly gat…
The Wushang Biyao (Supreme Secret Essentials) is the earliest surviving Daoist encyclopedic compilation, commissioned by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, who after suppressing both Bud…
The Digest of Essential Rites, Regulations and Precepts is a Daoist compendium of ritual regulations and precepts compiled by Zhu Faman, a Daoist priest of Yuqing Temple in the Tan…
The Sandong zhunang (Pearl Satchel of the Three Caverns) is a Daoist encyclopedic compilation assembled in the early Tang; organized by topic, it excerpts from the scriptures and i…
The Heart Methods of the Dragon Gate Lineage is a record of the dharma-talks given by Wang Changyue, seventh-generation precept master of the Quanzhen Longmen Lineage, in the early…
The Platform Scripture of the Jade Garden is an alternative name for the Heart Methods of the Dragon Gate Lineage, so called because Wang Changyue set up an altar at the Jade Garde…
The Precept Scripture of the Most High Lord Lao is presented as precepts spoken by Laozi to Yin Xi as he passed through the pass, proclaiming Daoism's 'Five Precepts' (against kill…
The Scripture of Precepts Chanted by Lord Lao preserves a surviving portion of the Yunzhong Yinsong Xinke zhi Jie (New Chanted Regulations and Precepts from within the Clouds), the…
The Quanzhen Qinggui (Pure Rules of Complete Perfection) is a one-fascicle compilation of Quanzhen monastic regulations compiled by Lu Daohe in the Yuan dynasty, the earliest survi…
The Chuzhen Jielü (Precepts of Initial Perfection) is the precept text for the first of the "Three Altars of Great Precepts" (santan dajie) established by the early-Qing Longmen pr…
The Precepts of Medium Ultimate, in full the Precepts of Medium Ultimate: Great Precepts of Shangqing Dongzhen Wisdom on Contemplating the Body, form the second altar of Wang Chang…
The Great Precepts of Celestial Immortality form the third altar of the Quanzhen Three Altars of Great Precepts, also called the "Great Precepts of Celestial Immortality Completing…
The Scripture of the Dignified Observances of Orthodox Unity is a text of the Way of the Celestial Masters (Zhengyi) setting out the norms of dignified conduct for Daoist priests, …
Journey to the West of the Perfected Changchun is the first-hand record kept by Li Zhichang, a disciple of Qiu Chuji, of his master's journey in answer to a summons from Genghis Kh…
The Qingwei Xianpu (Genealogy of the Immortals of the Qingwei Tradition) is a one-fascicle genealogy of the Qingwei school's patriarchal transmission, compiled by Chen Cai in the e…
The Biographies of Exemplary Immortals is the earliest surviving book of immortal biographies, in two chapters, recording the deeds of seventy (some say seventy-one) immortals incl…
The Biographies of Divine Immortals is a collection of immortal biographies written by Ge Hong following his Baopuzi: Inner Chapters; he relates that because his disciple Teng Shen…
The Biographies of Grotto Immortals was originally in ten chapters, of which only the one chapter included in scroll 110 of the Seven Slips from the Bookbag of the Clouds survives …
The Yongcheng jixian lu (Records of the Assembled Immortals of the Fortified Walled City) is China's first collective biographical compilation devoted exclusively to female immorta…
The Xu xian zhuan (Supplementary Biographies of Immortals) is a collection of immortal biographies compiled around the Tang–Five Dynasties transition; the author, Shen Fen, states …
The Hanwudi neizhuan (Esoteric Biography of Emperor Wu of the Han) is presented as an account of Emperor Wu of the Han's quest for immortality: on the seventh day of the seventh mo…
The Hainei shizhou ji (Record of the Ten Continents within the Seas) is presented as Dongfang Shuo's answer to a question from Emperor Wu of the Han, describing in turn the ten sea…
The Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals Who Embodied the Dao through the Ages), abbreviated Xianjian, is the largest-scale collective biographical comp…
The Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian xubian (Sequel to the Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals), in five juan, supplements thirty-four Daoist figures of the Song–Yuan transition not cov…
The Later Collection of the Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals Who Embodied the Dao through the Ages (Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian houji), in six scrolls, is the largest collection…
The Record of the Orthodox Lineage of the Golden Lotus (Jinlian zhengzong ji) is the earliest formal historiographical biography of the Quanzhen tradition, providing biographies fo…
The Illustrated Biographies of the Immortal Origins of the Orthodox Golden Lotus Lineage (Jinlian zhengzong xianyuan xiangzhuan), in one scroll, records the patriarchs of Quanzhen …
The Records of the Immortal Stream of Ganshui (Ganshui xianyuan lu) is a general compilation of Quanzhen stele inscriptions, edited by Li Daoqian, who served as prior of Chongyang …
The Chronological Biographies of the Seven Perfected (Qizhen nianpu), in one scroll, records year by year in annalistic form the births, deaths, ordinations, teaching activities, t…
The Inner Biographies of the Immortals of the Ancestral Court on Mount Zhongnan (Zhongnanshan zuting xianzhen neizhuan), in three scrolls, is devoted to the deeds of several dozen …
The Record of Ranks of the Mysterious (Xuanpin lu), in five scrolls, was compiled by the celebrated Yuan-dynasty Daoist and poet-calligrapher Zhang Yu, who arranges Daoist figures …
The Genealogy of the Han Celestial Masters is the official lineage record of the Zhengyi Celestial Masters of Mount Longhu. Beginning with the first-generation Celestial Master Zha…
Records of Daoist Miraculous Efficacy is the most important collection of Daoist miracle-tales from the Tang and Five Dynasties, compiled by Du Guangting, gathering several hundred…
Lineage of the Perfected, compiled by Li Bo of the Tang, is a genealogy of Shangqing transmission, preserved today in fascicle 5, 'Section on the Transmission of Scriptures and Tea…
Biographies of Suspected Immortals, in three fascicles, bears a suggestive title: the 'suspected' (yi) of its name signals that all the figures it records performed extraordinary a…
Records of Extraordinary Persons of the Jiang-Huai Region, in two fascicles, was written by Wu Shu, a prominent official-scholar of the early Northern Song who took part in compili…
Biographies of Encounters with Divine Immortals is devoted specifically to accounts of chance encounters between ordinary mortals and immortals leading to attainment of the Dao thr…
The Scripture of the Void of Free Wandering (also written Xiaoyao Xu Jing), in two fascicles, was compiled by Hong Yingming during the Wanli era of the Ming, and is a popular illus…
The Youxiang Liexian Quanzhuan (Complete Illustrated Biographies of Immortals) in nine scrolls is the largest illustrated collection of immortal biographies from the Ming, attribut…
The Gazetteer of Patriarch Lü, in six scrolls, is included in the Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era and is a compendious document of the cult of Lü Dongbin. The work fall…
The Biography of the Perfected Lord Xu records the life and wonders of Xu Xun (c. 239–374) of the Eastern Jin: styled Jingzhi, a native of Nanchang, he once served as magistrate of…
The Regulations for the Practice of Daoism in Accordance with the Scriptures of the Three Caverns is the most important compendium of medieval Daoist institutional regulations, gov…
Lu Xiujing was the founder of Daoist retreat and offering ritual; while editing the scriptures of the Three Caverns he also drew on the ancient Lingbao scriptures to establish a sy…
Jin Yunzhong's recension of the Great Rites of Shangqing Lingbao is the culminating work of Southern Song Lingbao ritual, in forty-five scrolls (originally sixty-six). Jin Yunzhong…
Wang Qizhen's recension of the Great Rites of Shangqing Lingbao, in sixty-six scrolls, is a systematic compilation of the Lingbao methods of the Donghua tradition transmitted by Ni…
The Golden Book of Salvation according to the Lingbao Tradition is the largest compendium of ritual in the Daoist Canon, attributed to the transmission of Ning Quanzhen of the Dong…
The Established Regulations of the Daoist Community is a compendium of retreat and offering documents and ritual regulations compiled by Lü Yuansu of the Southern Song, in ten juan…
The Complete Collection of Daoist Ritual Protocols, attributed to the editorial hand of Du Guangting, is a compendium of retreat and offering ritual texts from the late Tang onward…
The Liturgies of the Yellow Register Retreat is the master compilation of Yellow Register Retreat ritual, edited by Du Guangting on the basis of the earlier liturgies of Lu Xiujing…
The Rites for Leaving the Family and Transmission of Ordination is a ritual manual for the ordination of Daoist priests written by the Northern Song Daoist Jia Shanxiang, recording…
The Jade Mirror of Lingbao is a compendium of Lingbao retreat and offering ritual essentials compiled in the Yuan dynasty, in 43 juan, its title "Jade Mirror" likening the work to …
The Qingwei Zhaifa (Retreat Rites of the Qingwei Tradition) is a Yuan-dynasty ritual manual of the Qingwei school in two fascicles, recording the procedures and essential instructi…
The Xuanmen Risong Zaowan Gongke Jing (Daily Morning and Evening Liturgy of the Mysterious Gate) is a compilation of scriptures and litanies recited daily, morning and evening, at …
The Corpus of Daoist Ritual is the largest compendium of talismanic and ritual methods in the Daoist Canon, in 268 juan, gathering the Thunder Rites and ritual methods of the Shenx…
The Pearls Left Behind from the Sea of Rituals is a compendium of ritual methods assembled in the Yuan–Ming transition, in 46 juan; similar in nature to the Corpus of Daoist Ritual…
The Shangqing Tianxin Zhengfa (Correct Rites of the Celestial Heart of Shangqing) is a seven-fascicle ritual manual of the Tianxin Zhengfa (Correct Method of the Celestial Heart) t…
The Taishang Zhuguo Jiumin Zongzhen Biyao (Secret Essentials of the Assembled Perfected for Aiding the State and Saving the People) is a Tianxin Zhengfa ritual manual compiled by Y…
The Gazetteer of the Wanshou Palace on Mount Xiaoyao, in twenty-two scrolls, records the history, institutions, and cult of Xu Xun at the Yulong Wanshou Palace on Mount Xishan (Mou…
The Gazetteer of Mount Mao is one of the most complete and rigorously organized of the surviving Daoist mountain gazetteers, recording the full history of Mount Mao (Mount Gouqu) i…
The Gazetteer of Mount Longhu records the history of Mount Longhu in Guixi, Jiangxi — the ancestral seat of Zhengyi Daoism and the residence of successive generations of Celestial …
The Wudang Fudi Zongzhen Ji (Comprehensive Collection of the Perfected of the Blessed Land of Wudang), in three juan, is the earliest surviving gazetteer of the Wudang Mountains. T…
The Chi Jian Da Yue Taihe Shan Zhi (Gazetteer of Mount Taihe, the Great Marchmount, Built by Imperial Decree) is the representative officially compiled gazetteer of the Wudang Moun…
The Zhongnanshan Shuojingtai Lidai Zhenxian Beiji (Stele Records of Perfected Immortals through the Ages at the Scripture Platform on Mount Zhongnan), in one juan, records the hist…
The Dongtian Fudi Yuedu Mingshan Ji (Record of Grotto-Heavens, Blessed Lands, Marchmounts, Rivers and Famous Mountains) is the definitive text of Daoist sacred geography. Du Guangt…
The Tiandi Gongfu Tu (Chart of the Palaces and Bureaus of Heaven and Earth) is the earliest surviving text to systematically arrange the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, written b…
Xishan refers to Mount Xiaoyao in Xinjian, Nanchang, Jiangxi, the site where Xu Xun (Perfected Lord Xu) is said to have cultivated the Dao and ascended to Heaven, and the birthplac…
Mount Luofu, in Boluo, Guangdong, is the seventh of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, the Heaven of Vermilion Brilliance and Manifest Perfection. Ge Hong built a hermitage there in the…
Mount Qingcheng, in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, is the fifth of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, the Heaven of Nine Chambers of Precious Immortals. Tradition holds that Zhang Daoling establi…
Mount Lao, in Qingdao, Shandong, rises beside the Yellow Sea and is a famous Daoist mountain long known as 'the foremost famous mountain upon the sea'; the Quanzhen Suishan Lineage…
Baiyun Guan in Beijing, the ancestral court of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen Daoism and the seat of the Chinese Taoist Association, had its predecessors in the Tang-dynasty Tianc…
The eighteen-juan Daishi (History of Mount Dai), compiled by Zha Zhilong of the Ming, is the earliest comparatively complete surviving gazetteer of Mount Tai. Mount Tai, the Easter…
The Taishang ganying pian (Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response) is the most widely circulated Daoist morality book in China; its opening lines, 'Fortune and misfortune…
The Tract on Hidden Merit of Lord Wenchang, together with the Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response and the True Scripture of Awakening the World by Lord Guan, is one of…
The True Scripture of Awakening the World by Lord Guan is one of the "Three Sage Scriptures," the morality books of the Ming and Qing periods, attributed to Guan Yu (Lord Guan) ins…
The Ledger of Merit and Demerit of the Immortal Lord of Taiwei is the earliest surviving "ledger of merit and demerit" (gongguoge), a moral account book that records good and evil …
Liaofan's Four Lessons is a Ming-dynasty book of instruction that Yuan Huang wrote for his son, divided into four chapters: "The Study of Establishing One's Destiny," "The Method o…
The Precious Records of the Jade Calendar is the most widely circulated illustrated morality book on hell, attributed to the Song-dynasty Daoist Danchi, who is said to have travele…
The Scripture Spoken by Lord Lao on Requiting the Profound Kindness of Parents is attributed to Lord Lao (Laojun) and proclaims the debt owed to parents for their care: the sufferi…
The Classic of Filial Piety of Lord Wenchang purports to have been transmitted through spirit-writing by Wenchang Dijun, composed in imitation of the format of the Confucian Classi…
'Ledgers of Merit and Demerit for Admonishing the World' is a general term for the large number of admonitory ledger-of-merit-and-demerit morality books printed during the Qing dyn…
The Register of the Cinnamon of Cinnabar is a Qing-dynasty compilation of morality-book texts centered on the cult of Wenchang Dijun; 'cinnabar cinnamon' (dangui) alludes to 'break…
The Collected Compilation on the Treatise on Action and Response is the most widely circulated and voluminous of the many commentarial editions of the Treatise of the Most High on …
Extended Meaning of the Tract on Hidden Merit is a commentary on the Tract on Hidden Merit composed by the Qing-dynasty lay Buddhist Zhou Mengyan (style name Siren, sobriquet Anshi…
The Catalogue of the Scriptures of the Three Caverns is the first formal comprehensive catalogue of Daoist scriptures in history, compiled by Lu Xiujing at imperial command in the …
The Catalogue of the Scriptures of the Seven Sections of the Jade Weft is an important comprehensive catalogue of Daoist scriptures following Lu Xiujing's Catalogue of the Scriptur…
The Daoist Canon of the Kaiyuan Era is the first Daoist Canon in history to be compiled and promulgated throughout the realm under state sponsorship. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, a de…
The Precious Canon of the Celestial Palace of the Great Song is the Daoist Canon compiled under state sponsorship in the early Northern Song. Emperor Zhenzong of Song, a devout pat…
The Wanshou Daoist Canon of the Zhenghe Era is the first block-printed Daoist Canon in Chinese history, a work of epoch-making significance. Emperor Huizong of Song, who styled him…
The Precious Canon of the Mysterious Metropolis of the Great Jin (Dajin xuandu baozang) is the Daoist canon compiled under the Jin dynasty. After the Jin took Bianjing, they acquir…
The Precious Canon of the Mysterious Metropolis (Yuan) (Xuandu baozang) is the largest Daoist canon in history. The Quanzhen Daoist Song Defang (sobriquet Pi Yunzi, a disciple of Q…
The Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era (Zhengtong Daozang) is the only complete premodern Daoist canon still in existence, and is the fundamental body of literature for the study of…
The Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era (Wanli xu Daozang) was compiled and printed by imperial edict in the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong of Min…
The Essentials of the Daoist Canon (Daozang jiyao) is the most important compendium of Daoist texts from the Qing dynasty. Two accounts exist of its compilation: one holds that Pen…
The Reprinted Essentials of the Daoist Canon is an expanded reprint of the Essentials of the Daoist Canon, published in the thirty-second year of the Guangxu era (1906) under the d…
The Record of the Essence of the Daoist Canon is a selection of Daoist texts compiled by the renowned modern bibliophile and physician Ding Fubao, published in 1922 by the Shanghai…
Daoist Texts outside the Canon is the most important modern facsimile compendium of Daoist texts, edited by Hu Daojing, Chen Yaoting, Duan Wengui, Lin Wanqing, and others, publishe…
The Zhonghua Daozang is the first systematic reorganization of Daoist scriptures undertaken in nearly five hundred years since the Ming, edited in chief by Zhang Jiyu of the China …
About eight hundred Daoist manuscripts were unearthed from the Library Cave at Dunhuang, direct physical witnesses to Daoist scriptures of the Tang and earlier, predating the survi…
The Catalogue of Scriptures Missing from the Daoist Canon (Daozang quejing mulu), in two scrolls, is included in the Taiping section of the Zhengtong Daozang and is devoted specifi…
Descriptive Notes on the Daoist Canon (Daozang tiyao) is the first descriptive catalogue in the Chinese-speaking world to examine every text in the Daozang individually, chief-edit…
Studies on the Origins and Development of the Daoist Canon (Daozang yuanliu kao) is the foundational work of Daoist textual scholarship. Chen Guofu was originally trained as a chem…
The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang is a landmark reference work of Western Daoist studies, co-edited by Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen with contrib…
The Encyclopedia of Taoism is the most comprehensive Daoist encyclopedia in the English-speaking world, chief-edited by the Italian-born scholar Fabrizio Pregadio with contribution…
Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn and published by Brill in 2000 as part of its Handbook of Oriental Studies series, is the first systematic collection of research surveys of D…
There are two principal works sharing the title Daojiao Dacidian (Great Dictionary of Daoism). The first was edited by Li Shuhuan and published by the Chuliu Book Company in Taipei…
The Zhonghua Daojiao Dacidian (Great Dictionary of Chinese Daoism) was edited by Hu Fuchen of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and published by China Social Sciences Press in…
The Daojiao Wenhua Cidian (Dictionary of Daoist Culture) was edited by Zhang Zhizhe and published by Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House in 1994; it is a Daoist dictionary that …
Qing Xitai's four-volume Zhongguo Daojiao Shi (History of Chinese Daoism), collectively compiled by the Institute for Religious Studies of Sichuan University, was published in succ…
Ren Jiyu's Zhongguo Daojiao Shi (History of Chinese Daoism), published by Shanghai People's Publishing House in 1990, was the first continuous general history of Daoism produced in…
The four-volume Zhongguo Daojiao Sixiang Shi (History of Chinese Daoist Thought), edited by Qing Xitai with Zhan Shichuang as deputy editor, was published by People's Publishing Ho…
Isabelle Robinet's Histoire du taoïsme (translated into English as Taoism: Growth of a Religion) is one of the most influential general histories of Daoism in the West. The book be…
The Taoist Body (French original title Le corps taoïste) is a classic work of Western Daoist studies. Kristofer Schipper conducted long-term fieldwork in southern Taiwan during the…
Early Daoist Scriptures is a landmark work of English translation and scholarship on early Daoist texts. Bokenkamp selected key scriptures of Six Dynasties Daoism and translated th…
Celestial Masters: History and Ritual in Early Daoist Communities is the most comprehensive English-language monograph on the early Way of the Celestial Masters. Kleeman draws toge…
Title Index to Daoist Collections is a practical reference tool for locating Daoist texts, edited by Louis Komjathy and published by Three Pines Press in 2002. The book compiles a …
The Selected Daoist Texts Series (Daojiao Dianji Xuankan) is a series of critically collated and annotated Daoist classics published by Zhonghua Book Company, appearing successivel…