Essentials of the Daoist Canon道藏辑要

Also known as

Jiang edition of the Essentials of the Daoist Canon

Author / transmission

Jiang Yuanting (Jiang Yupu, 1755–1819), One account holds that Peng Dingqiu made the initial compilation

Period

Qing · One account holds that Peng Dingqiu of the Qing first compiled it during the Kangxi reign; the more widely accepted account is that Jiang Yuanting (Jiang Yupu) compiled and expanded it during the Jiaqing era, adding seventy-nine Daoist works not included in the Ming Daozang, and also compiling a General Catalogue of the Essentials of the Daoist Canon; it is arranged into collections by the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions.

Canon division

Qing-dynasty Daoist text collectanea

Collected in

Qing-dynasty printed compendium (outside the canon)

Category

Daozang Collections

Fascicles

Divided into collections by the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions, over 200 titles in total

Synopsis

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 Peng Dingqiu first compiled it during the Kangxi reign; the other, that Jiang Yuanting directed its compilation during the Jiaqing reign at the Jueyuan Altar in Beijing (a Daoist altar where the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen and the tradition of spirit-writing converged). Jiang's edition selects 200 titles from the Ming Daozang, and further adds seventy-nine newly composed Qing-dynasty Daoist works not included in the Ming canon, together with a compiled General Catalogue of the Essentials of the Daoist Canon; the whole work is divided into collections arranged by the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions (Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, and so on). Its criteria for selection favor practical use and circulation: works of internal alchemy (such as those related to the Complete Works of Patriarch Lü and the Wu-Liu School of Immortality), morality books, ritual texts, and works produced through spirit-writing make up a considerable proportion, a pattern quite different from that of the Ming Daozang, which is centered mainly on scriptural lineages, and this accurately reflects the actual emphasis of Qing-dynasty Daoism on internal-alchemy practice and moral instruction through morality books. This work circulated extremely widely in the late Qing and early Republican period, and was for many scholars and practitioners their first point of contact with Daoist literature; it was later reprinted with further additions by the Erxian Nunnery in Chengdu, making it still more complete.

Key Ideas

• The most important compendium of Daoist texts from the Qing dynasty
• Selects 200 titles from the Ming canon and adds seventy-nine new Qing-dynasty works
• Arranged into collections by the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions
• Emphasizes internal alchemy, morality books, ritual, and spirit-writing texts
• Reflects the actual center of gravity of Qing-dynasty Daoism

Structure

Arranged into collections by the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions, each collection containing a number of titles.

Editions

• Qing Jiaqing-era Jiang Yuanting printed edition
• Guangxu-era Reprinted Essentials of the Daoist Canon, Erxian Nunnery, Chengdu
• 1986 Bashu Press photolithographic reprint

Commentaries

• Monica Esposito's series of studies on the Essentials of the Daoist Canon

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Daozang jiyao
• Chinese University of Hong Kong: Digital Archive of the Reprinted Essentials of the Daoist Canon

Related scriptures

Related figures