Li Shuhuan李叔还

Period

Republican Era–Present

Dates

? — ?

School

Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism

Role

Daoist ScholarsDictionary CompilerCouncil Member of the Taiwan Taoist Association

Birthplace

Unknown

Life

Li Shuhuan, a Daoist figure and scholar active in Taiwan from the Republican era into modern times; his birth and death years are unknown. After 1949 he engaged in Daoist religious affairs and scholarship in Taiwan, serving as a director of the Taoism Society of the Republic of China and other posts, and spent many years compiling the Great Dictionary of Daoism (Taipei: Juliu Publishing, 1979, subsequently reprinted many times with mainland and online editions), which collects several thousand entries on Daoist deities, figures, scriptures, and terminology. It was one of the earliest comprehensive Daoist dictionaries in the Chinese-speaking world and has long served as a reference both inside and outside Daoist circles. He also wrote Comprehensive Questions and Answers on the Essentials of Daoism. His dictionary provided a point of reference for the later compilation on the mainland of the Great Dictionary of Chinese Daoism and the Great Dictionary of Daoism, and it reflects the state of knowledge of Zhengyi Daoism and popular religion in postwar Taiwan, making it a reference source for the study of Taiwanese Daoist history.

Contributions & Influence

• Compiled the Great Dictionary of Daoism, one of the earliest comprehensive Daoist dictionaries in the Chinese-speaking world
• Wrote Comprehensive Questions and Answers on the Essentials of Daoism, popularizing Daoist knowledge
• Provided a reference point for the later compilation of mainland Daoist dictionaries

Works

• Great Dictionary of Daoism
• Complete Questions and Answers on the Essentials of Daoism