Taoism: Growth of a Religion道教：一个宗教的成长

Also known as

Histoire du taoïsme: des origines au XIVe siècle

Author / transmission

Isabelle Robinet

Period

Modern · By Isabelle Robinet (1932–2000); French original, Histoire du taoïsme: des origines au XIVe siècle (Cerf, 1991); English translation by Phyllis Brooks, Taoism: Growth of a Religion, Stanford University Press, 1997.

Canon division

Reference Works

Collected in

A modern work.

Category

Reference Works

Fascicles

1 Volume

Synopsis

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 begins with pre-Qin philosophical Daoism and proceeds through the magical arts and prophetic apocrypha of the Han, the founding of the Way of the Celestial Masters, the formation of the Shangqing and Lingbao scriptural corpora, the consolidation of Daoism in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, its establishment as state religion and the rise of Chongxuan learning in the Tang, and internal alchemy and new Daoist schools in the Song and Yuan, ending in the fourteenth century. Robinet excelled at close analysis of canonical texts and was especially renowned for her research on the Shangqing school (her two-volume La révélation du Shangqing remains the authoritative work in that field); this book likewise takes the evolution of scriptural corpora and the history of ideas as its main thread, emphasizing that Daoism is not a jumble of folk superstition but a religious tradition with a rigorous cosmology and system of cultivation. Her interpretation of ‘internal alchemy’ — as a fusion of symbolic language and mind-nature practice — has been highly influential. Clearly written and rigorously structured, the book has long served as a standard textbook for Daoism courses at European and American universities, and together with Schipper's The Taoist Body it is regarded as one of the two classic introductory works of Western Daoist studies.

Key Ideas

• One of the most influential general histories of Daoism in the West
• Takes the evolution of scriptural corpora and the history of ideas as its main thread
• Emphasizes Daoism's cosmology and system of cultivation
• Interprets internal alchemy as a fusion of symbolic language and mind-nature practice
• A standard textbook for Daoism courses at European and American universities

Structure

Organized into chapters by historical period, from the pre-Qin era to the fourteenth century.

Editions

• Cerf, 1991 (French original)
• Stanford University Press, 1997 (English translation)

Translations

• English translation by Phyllis Brooks (1997)
• Chinese translation, Daojiao shi (related renderings)

Full Text & Online Resources

• Stanford University Press
• Wikipedia: Isabelle Robinet

Related scriptures

Related figures