History of Chinese Daoism (ed. Ren Jiyu)中国道教史（任继愈主编）
- Author / transmission
- Ren Jiyu
- Period
- Modern · Edited by Ren Jiyu, first published in a single volume by Shanghai People's Publishing House in 1990; a revised and expanded edition, in two volumes, was published by China Social Sciences Press in 2001.
- Canon division
- Reference Works
- Collected in
- Modern work
- Category
- Reference Works
- Fascicles
- 1 volume (expanded edition in 2 volumes)
Synopsis
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 mainland China since the beginning of reform and opening, written collaboratively by scholars from the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a number of universities. The work narrates the origins, founding, development, and evolution of Daoism in historical sequence: from pre-Qin Daoist philosophy and the Fangxian Dao, through the Han-dynasty Way of Great Peace and Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, the Shangqing and Lingbao traditions of the Wei–Jin, the reforms of Kou Qianzhi and Lu Xiujing in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the establishment of Daoism as state religion under the Sui and Tang, the rise of new Daoist schools in the Song and Yuan, down to its decline in the Ming and Qing and its transformation in the modern era, giving attention throughout to Daoism's relations with politics, Buddhism, and popular religion. Moderate in length and clear in structure, this work has long served as a university textbook and an introductory reader for research; a revised and expanded edition, in two volumes, appeared in 2001, incorporating a great deal of new material and scholarship. Ren Jiyu also edited the Daozang Tiyao (Descriptive Notes on the Daoist Canon); the two works — one a history, the other a bibliographic guide — together formed the infrastructure of Chinese Daoist studies in the 1990s, with a profound influence on the establishment of the discipline.
Key Ideas
- The first general history of Daoism in mainland China since reform and opening
- Clear in structure and moderate in length, well suited as a textbook
- Attentive to Daoism's relations with politics, Buddhism, and popular religion
- A 2001 revised and expanded edition incorporated new material
- Together with the Daozang Tiyao formed the infrastructure of the field
Structure
Chapters arranged in dynastic order; the revised edition is in two volumes.
Editions
- Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1990 edition
- China Social Sciences Press, 2001 revised and expanded edition (2 volumes)
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
History of Chinese Daoism (ed. Qing Xitai), Descriptive Notes on the Daoist Canon, History of Chinese Daoist ThoughtRelated figures
Ren Jiyu, Wang Ka, Zhu Yueli- 任继愈主编《中国道教史》，上海人民出版社，1990／中国社会科学出版社，2001
- 中国社会科学院世界宗教研究所介绍
- 《世界宗教研究》相关书评
- 维基百科「任继愈」条