Deities and immortals organized by scriptural pantheon, ritual function and cult history, explicitly marking core, adopted, shared and disputed affiliations.
「财神」在民间信仰中从来不是单一神祇，而是一个不断吸纳成员的职能神系：正财神赵公明之外，有以「无心不偏」的比干、「三聚三散」的范蠡、「三受皇封」的李诡祖、儒商鼻祖子贡为代表的文财神；有借晋商网络封圣的武财神关羽；有从江南五通淫祀「洗白」而来的五路财神；还有刘海蟾、沈万三、韩信、利市仙官、和合二仙等准财神与偏财神，以及在闽台财神化的土地公。…
The Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure is the second of the Three Pure Ones. Earlier titles include the Great Lord of the Dao of Jade Dawn and the Supreme Lord of the …
The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning stands first among the Three Pure Ones. Lingbao scriptures present him as the supreme deity who opens cosmic eras, proclaims …
The Celestial Worthy of the Dao and Its Virtue, also known as the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, is the deified form of Laozi and one of the Three Pure Ones. From the Easte…
The Great Emperor of the North Star of Purple Tenuity is one of the Four Sovereigns. Symbolically centred on the north celestial pole and the Purple Tenuity Enclosure, he…
The Great Heavenly Emperor of the Curved Array is one of the Four Sovereigns; his title derives from the Gouchen asterism in the traditional Purple Tenuity Enclosure. Dao…
The Imperial Sovereign of Earth is one of the Four Sovereigns, presiding over mountains and rivers, yin-yang generation and the transformation of all beings, in a Heaven-…
The Jade Emperor governs the gods within the Daoist celestial administration. The traditional Four Sovereigns scheme places him below the Three Pure Ones and first among …
In the first year of the Tianbao era, an edict conferred honorific titles: Zhuangzi as Perfected Nanhua, Wenzi as Perfected Tongxuan, Liezi as Perfected Chongxu, and Geng…
Anqi Sheng, a fangshi (master of methods) of the Qin dynasty, was a native of Fuxiang in Langya, traditionally said to have been a disciple of the Elder of the Riverbank.…
Bai Yuchan, originally surnamed Ge, given name Changgeng, whose ancestral home was Minqing, Fujian, was born in Qiongzhou. Renowned as a child prodigy, he later abandoned…
Cui Xifan was an internal-alchemy master of the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, styled the Perfected Zhiyi; little is known of his life, though one account places hi…
Emperor Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang), founder of the Ming dynasty, established the basic institutions for the administration of Daoism, his guiding principle being "to make use…
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, personal name Li Longji, reigned 712–756 and was the Tang emperor most devoted to Daoism; under his rule Daoism reached its high point of the dy…
Fu Jinquan, sobriquet Jiyizi, was a native of Jinxi, Jiangxi, and an internal-alchemy master of the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras of the Qing; his dates of birth and death ar…
Gan Zhongke, a master of esoteric arts from Qi in the time of Emperor Cheng of Han, is recorded in the "Biography of Li Xun" in the Book of Han as having composed the twe…
Ge Xuan, courtesy name Xiaoxian, was a native of Jurong in Danyang under the Wu of the Three Kingdoms, a great-uncle of Ge Hong, and known to the world as "Immortal Elder…
Guan Yin, that is, Yin Xi, keeper of the pass, was the warden of the Hangu Pass of Zhou in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Records of the Grand Historian records t…
Hao Datong, a native of Ninghai, Shandong, was one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen; originally skilled in divination and the study of the Yijing, he took Wang Chongyan…
He Zhizhang, courtesy name Jizhen, in his later years styled himself "Mad Guest of Siming," was a Tang-dynasty poet who placed first in the palace examination in the firs…
Hou Baoyuan, a native of Nanhai, Guangdong, was a Daoist priest of the Longmen lineage of Quanzhen and the founder of Ching Chung Koon in Hong Kong. He entered the priest…
Huang Shunshen, personal name Yingyan, a native of Jianning, Fujian, was the actual synthesizer of the Qingwei School and is honored as its tenth-generation patriarch. As…
Ji Zhizhen, a native of Lintong in Shaanxi, was a Yuan-dynasty Quanzhen priest who came from a Confucian family and was broadly learned in the classics and histories; he …
Zhu Houcong, the eleventh emperor of the Ming, reigned under the era name Jiajing for forty-five years and was the Ming ruler most devoted to Daoism. After his accession …
Kublai Khan, Emperor Shizu of Yuan, adopted a dual-track policy toward Daoism of suppressing Quanzhen while supporting Zhengyi, profoundly reshaping the Daoist landscape …
Li Xicheng was the fifth-generation head of Zhen Dadao in the early Yuan. At the end of the Jin, Zhen Dadao split, and one branch was led by Li Xicheng, who received the …
Li Zhichang, the seventh head of the Quanzhen teaching, renounced the household in his early years and studied under Qiu Chuji; in 1220 he accompanied his teacher on the …
Liezi, personal name Yukou, was a native of the state of Zheng in the early Warring States period, who lived in seclusion in Zheng territory for forty years without seeki…
Liu Chuxuan, a native of Donglai, Shandong, was one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen, taking Wang Chongyang as his teacher in 1169. After completing his mourning duties…
Liu Deren, a native of Le Ling in Cangzhou, was the founder of Zhen Dadao (originally named Dadao jiao, "the Teaching of the Great Way") in the Jin dynasty. According to …
Liu Haichan, given name Cao, courtesy name Zongcheng (also given as Zhaoyuan), styled Haichanzi, was an internal alchemist of the Five Dynasties and one of the Five North…
Liu Yuanran, a native of Ganxian, Jiangxi, was a disciple of Zhao Yizhen and one of the most important Daoist priests of the early Ming. In the twenty-sixth year of the H…
Lou Jinyuan, a native of Songjiang in Shanghai, was the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) priest of highest standing in the Qing dynasty. He entered Longhushan young and became ri…
Lü Dongbin, personal name Yan, courtesy name Dongbin, styled Chunyangzi, is the patriarch venerated by the Zhong–Lü school of Daoist internal alchemy, the most influentia…
Lu Shizhong, courtesy name Dangke, an important transmitter of the Tianxin Zhengfa system in the late Northern and early Southern Song, dates of birth and death unknown, …
Lu Xiujing, styled Yuande, was a celebrated Daoist priest of the Liu Song in the Southern Dynasties, a native of Dongqian, Wuxing, and a descendant of Lu Kai, chancellor …
Mao Ying, styled Shushen, was the eldest of the Three Mao Lords of Daoism, venerated by the Shangqing school as the Perfected Lord Who Controls Destiny (Siming Zhenjun) a…
Min Zhiting, a native of Nanzhao, Henan, was a Daoist of the Quanzhen Huashan lineage. In 1941 he entered the priesthood at Mount Hua, studying under Liu Lixian, and late…
Paul R. Katz, an American historian, is a distinguished research fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, working on Chinese popular religion, …
Peng Dingqiu, a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu, was the top graduate (zhuangyuan) of the metropolitan examination in the fifteenth year of the Kangxi era (1676), rising to the…
Peng Si, styled Jiyi, a native of Fuzhou, Fujian, was an inner-chamber disciple of Bai Yuchan. According to the Lishi Zhenxian Tidao Tongjian Xubian, he was widely learne…
Qi Zhicheng, a native of Datong in Shanxi, was the tenth-generation head of the Quanzhen order. In his youth he met Yu Daoxian and thereafter left home to enter the Quanz…
Qiu Chuji, a native of Qixia, Shandong, renounced the household at nineteen and took Wang Chongyang as his teacher the following year, the youngest of the Seven Perfected…
Sa Shoujian, sobriquet 'Guest of Fenyang,' was a renowned Daoist priest of the Song dynasty, later venerated as 'Perfected Man Sa' or 'Patriarch Sa,' and is counted toget…
Shao Yizheng, sobriquet Chengkangzi, was a native of Kunming, Yunnan, a disciple of Liu Yuanran, and the leading Daoist figure at the early Ming court. During the Xuande …
Shao Yuanjie, a native of Guixi, Jiangxi, was a Daoist priest of the Shangqing Palace at Mount Longhu, who studied under Fan Wentai, Li Bofang, and others, learning the Q…
Shi Jianwu, courtesy name Xisheng, styled himself Dongzhai, and after taking up Daoist practice styled himself Qizhenzi, was a Tang-dynasty poet and Daoist priest. He pas…
Shiga Ichiko is a Japanese cultural anthropologist and professor at Ibaraki Christian University who studies Daoism, spirit-writing altars and the cult of Lü Dongbin in H…
Song Defang, a native of Laizhou, Shandong, was a major figure in Quanzhen Daoism who studied under Liu Chuxuan and Qiu Chuji and accompanied Qiu Chuji on the journey wes…
Stephen R. Bokenkamp, an American sinologist and professor at Arizona State University (previously a longtime member of the faculty at Indiana University), is a leading f…
Sun Bu'er, a native of Ninghai, Shandong, and the wife of Ma Yu, was the only woman among the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. She took Wang Chongyang as her teacher along wi…
Sun Simiao was a Tang-dynasty physician and Daoist priest from Huayuan in the Jingzhao region, revered by later generations as the “King of Medicine.” His birth year is v…
Sun Xuanqing, a native of Shouguang, Shandong, was a Ming-dynasty Quanzhen Daoist priest of Mount Lao, of the fourth (some sources say fifth) generation of the Longmen li…
Tan Chuduan, a native of Ninghai, Shandong, was one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. Originally a Confucian scholar, he suffered from a wind-paralysis affliction; hear…
Tan Qiao, courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Daoist priest and thinker of the Five Dynasties, a native of Quanzhou and son of Tan Zhu, who served as Vice Director of the Dire…
Wang Chongyang, founder of Quanzhen Daoism. Born into a wealthy family in Guanzhong, he sat for both the civil and military examinations in his early years but failed to …
Wang Chuyi, a native of Ninghai, Shandong, was one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen, taking Wang Chongyang as his teacher in 1168. He then lived for nine years in ascet…
Wang Zhijin, sobriquet Qiyunzi, was a Quanzhen Daoist priest active during the Jin–Yuan transition, a disciple of Hao Datong (the Perfected Guangning) and one of the repr…
Wei Huacun, style name Xian'an, was the daughter of Wei Shu, Minister of Works under the Western Jin; the Shangqing lineage honours her as its first-generation Grand Prec…
Weng Baoguang, courtesy name Yuanming, sobriquet Wumingzi (Master Nameless), was a Southern Song Daoist priest whose dates of birth and death are unknown; he was active r…
Wenzi, traditionally a disciple of Laozi, was a Daoist figure of the Warring States period whose life is difficult to verify. The Bibliographic Treatise of the Han Histor…
Xiao Baozhen, a native of Weizhou in Henan, was the founder of Taiyi Daoism in the Jin dynasty. According to stele biographies, during the Tianjuan era (1138–1140) he cla…
Yang Xi, style name Yihe, was the actual founder of the Shangqing lineage in the Eastern Jin, the first to transmit the Shangqing scriptural corpus. Originally from Wu, h…
Yau Chi-on is a Hong Kong historian, director and professor at the Centre for Hong Kong Historical and Cultural Studies at Chu Hai College, formerly on the faculty of the…
Yin Zhiping, the sixth head of the Quanzhen teaching, renounced the household at fourteen and studied successively under the Perfected Ma Yu, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Hao …
Zhang Boduan, styled Pingshu and later renamed Yongcheng, with the sobriquet Ziyang, was a renowned master of internal alchemy in the Northern Song, honored by the Southe…
Zhang Guo, a Daoist priest of the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the prototype for "Zhang Guolao," one of the later Eight Immortals. The Biographies of Masters of Tech…
Zhang Jizong, the fifty-fourth-generation Celestial Master of Longhushan, succeeded to the office in the seventeenth year of the Kangxi reign (1678), and was among the ea…
Zhang Qingye, a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu, was a tenth-generation Daoist priest of the Longmen Lineage in the Qing, and the pioneer of Longmen Daoism in Sichuan. In his e…
Zhang Shouqing, personal name Dongyuan, courtesy name Shouqing, was a native of Yidu in Xiazhou, Hubei, and the central figure of Wudang Daoism under the Yuan. He served …
Zhang Wumeng, style name Lingyin, sobriquet Hongmengzi, was a Daoist priest of the early Northern Song. In his youth he entered Mount Hua, where he studied together with …
Zhang Yanyu, the forty-eighth-generation Celestial Master of Mount Longhu, succeeded to the office in the seventeenth year of Hongzhi (1504). He lived through the Hongzhi…
Zhang Zhengchang, the forty-second-generation Celestial Master of Mount Longhu, succeeded to the office during the Zhizheng era of the Yuan. When Emperor Hongwu of Ming r…
Zhang Zhijing, a native of Anci in Hebei, was the eighth-generation head of the Quanzhen order. He left home to become a priest in his childhood, studying under Li Zhicha…
Zhang Zhishun, a native of Shenqiu in Henan, was a twenty-first-generation priest of the Quanzhen Longmen Lineage, with the Daoist name Mijingzi. He left home to become a…
Zhang Zongyan was the thirty-sixth Celestial Master of Mount Longhu. He succeeded to the office at the end of the Southern Song, and in the thirteenth year of the Zhiyuan…
Zhao Daojian, originally named Jiugu, was a Quanzhen priest and a disciple of Qiu Chuji. In 1220 he accompanied Qiu Chuji on his journey to the west, and died of illness …
Zhao Yizhen, courtesy name Yuanyang, was a native of Anfu, Jiangxi, and an eminent Daoist of the late Yuan and early Ming who inherited the transmission of three traditio…
Zhongli Quan, courtesy name Yunfang, styled Zhengyangzi, is the patriarch venerated by the Zhong–Lü Internal Alchemy Tradition of Daoism, and is one of the Eight Immortal…
Zhou Ziliang, style name Yuanhe, was a Daoist priest of Maoshan under the Liang and a disciple of Tao Hongjing. He entered the mountain in his youth to attend upon Tao Ho…
Zhuangzi, personal name Zhou, was a native of Meng in the state of Song in the mid-Warring States period, who once served as an official in charge of the lacquer garden; …
A branch temple established in Sydney by the Ching Chung Koon of Hong Kong in the 1980s, one of the principal Chinese Daoist temples in Australia, enshrining Patriarch Lü…
The local Daoist organization for the city of Beijing, founded in 1984 and headquartered at the White Cloud Temple, it coordinates the religious affairs, ordinations, and…
Founded in 1950 by Daoist companions who migrated south from Zhibao Terrace in Guangzhou, it is located in Tuen Mun and belongs to the Quanzhen Longmen lineage; it is kno…
A branch temple established in San Francisco by the Ching Chung Koon of Hong Kong, enshrining Patriarch Lü, one of the representative Chinese Quanzhen Daoist temples in N…
The provincial organization for Daoism in Shaanxi, headquartered at the Eight Immortals Palace in Xi'an, it coordinates temples such as Louguantai, Chongyang Palace, Yuqu…
A charitable religious organization established after Dejiao (the Teaching of Virtue, originating in Chaoyang in 1939) spread to Thailand, it venerates the "Sages of the …
Ming Daoism, under state administration, continued the twofold "Zhengyi–Quanzhen" configuration, with Zhengyi more heavily relied upon by the court for its expertise in l…
The Qing dynasty made Tibetan Buddhism its state religion, and its attitude toward Daoism grew cool and controlling. The Shunzhi reign and the early Kangxi reign still tr…
The Sui and Tang were among the golden ages of Daoism. Both Emperor Wen and Emperor Yang of Sui treated Daoist priests with favor, and the reign title "Kaihuang" was itse…
The National Palace Museum, Taipei, holds a large number of Daoist-related paintings and calligraphy (such as Daoist Immortals, copies of the Procession of Immortals Payi…
Stephen R. Bokenkamp selected, translated, and extensively annotated early Daoist scriptures including the Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi, the Commands and Admonitions …
The ancestral court of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen, and the seat of the China Taoist Association and the China Taoist College; the Perfected Changchun, Qiu Chuji, onc…
The Bidong Branch, in full the "Dantai Bidong Zong," is a branch of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen that emerged in Sichuan, and has been the main current of Daoism in th…
The Central Lineage of Internal Alchemy (Zhongpai) is an internal-alchemy school founded by the Yuan-dynasty Daoist Li Daochun, centered on the principle of “guarding the…
Daoism in Southeast Asia arrived with waves of Chinese emigration from Fujian, Guangdong, Chaozhou, Hakka, and Hainan communities from the nineteenth century onward, taki…
Daoism in Taiwan is composed mainly of the system of married (huoju) Zhengyi Daoist priests brought by Hokkien and Cantonese emigrants during the Ming and Qing, and Taiwa…
Daoism in Hong Kong and Macau consists mainly of Daoist halls (daotan), temples, and married (huoju) Zhengyi Daoist priests who arrived from Guangdong from the late Qing …
"Huang-Lao" refers to a system of thought and belief attributed to the Yellow Emperor and following the teaching of Laozi. In the Warring States period, scholars of the J…
The Huashan Lineage was founded by Hao Datong, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. Hao Datong's given name was Lin, his courtesy name Taigu, and his sobriquet Guangni…
The Jinshan Lineage is a branch that split off from the Quanzhen Longmen lineage in the Ming, centered on Mount Lao (Laoshan), named for its founding patriarch Sun Xuanqi…
The Lao–Zhuang School is the strand of pre-Qin philosophical thought that takes the "Dao" as its highest category; it was first named "Daoism" (Daojia) in the Han dynasty…
The Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) School is a Daoist scriptural tradition that arose at the end of the Eastern Jin, based on the Lingbao scriptures. The transmission of the…
The Lü Dongbin cult refers to the worship and ritual tradition centered on Lü Dongbin (given name Yan, courtesy name Dongbin, style Chunyangzi), the most widely dissemina…
The Nanwu Lineage is the branch founded by Tan Chuduan, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. Tan Chuduan, courtesy name Tongzheng, sobriquet Changzhen Zi, was a native…
The Qingjing Lineage was founded by Sun Bu'er, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen, and takes its name from her sobriquet 'Wanderer of Clarity and Stillness' (Qingjing…
The Qingwei School is a Thunder Rites Daoist tradition that arose at the end of the Southern Song and into the Yuan, fusing the talismanic methods of the Shangqing, Lingb…
Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism was founded by Wang Chongyang (1112–1170) of the Jin dynasty and, together with Zhengyi Daoism, forms one of the two main currents o…
Daoism was never transmitted to Japan as an organized religious order, but from ancient times its ideas, deities, and techniques were transmitted in great volume via the …
Vietnam has been under Daoist influence since the Han dynasty, when it belonged to Jiaozhi Commandery, and it is one of the regions within the Sinitic cultural sphere whe…
The Sanfeng Lineage is a Daoist tradition honoring Zhang Sanfeng as its founding patriarch, transmitted mainly at Mount Wudang. Zhang Sanfeng, given name Quanyi, also cal…
The Southern Lineage of the Golden Elixir (Nanzong) is a Daoist school of the Song–Yuan period that takes Zhang Boduan as its founding patriarch and internal-alchemical c…
The Suishan Lineage is the branch founded by Liu Chuxuan, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. Liu Chuxuan, courtesy name Tongmiao, sobriquet Changsheng Zi, was a nati…
The Way of the Celestial Masters (Tianshi Dao) is the continuation and further development of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice after Zhang Lu's surrender to Wei in 215, …
The Western Lineage of Internal Alchemy (Xipai) was founded by Li Xiyue (1806–1856), a native of Leshan in Sichuan during the Qing dynasty, and takes its name from its lo…
The Wu-Liu School is a lineage of Internal Alchemy represented by the master-disciple pair Wu Shouyang and Liu Huayang at the end of the Ming and beginning of the Qing, t…
Wudang Daoism refers to the Daoist tradition centered on Mount Wudang in Hubei and on the cult of Zhenwu (the Dark Emperor of Heaven); historically it was not a single sc…
The Langmei (Elm-Plum) Lineage is one of the resident schools of the Wudang Mountains, taking its name from Wudang's native "langmei" fruit and from Li Suxi, a Daoist pri…
The Wudang Qingwei Lineage is a local branch that formed after the Qingwei Thunder Rites spread north to the Wudang Mountains. Its founder, Zhang Shouqing (1253–1336?), p…
The Xihe Lineage is a ritual tradition that honors Sa Shoujian as its founding patriarch, taking its name from Sa Shoujian's self-styling as the "Sa Guest of Fenyang" and…
The Xizhu Xinzong (Western India Mind Lineage) of Longmen is a branch of the Longmen lineage that emerged in the early Qing, named for its founding patriarch, the 'Jizu D…
The Yinxian (Hidden Immortals) Lineage is a name later applied to the internal-alchemy and Yijing-study transmission descending from Chen Tuan in the Five Dynasties and N…
The Yushan Lineage was founded by Wang Chuyi, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen, and takes its name from his long cultivation of the Dao at Mount Kunyu (Yushan) in S…
The Yuxian Lineage was founded by Ma Yu, foremost of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. Ma Yu was originally named Congyi, courtesy name Yifu; after entering the Dao he cha…
Zhengyi Daoism takes the Celestial Masters of Longhushan as its patriarchal line and is characterized by talismans, registers, and rites of retreat and offering; together…
The Zhong-Lü internal-alchemy tradition took shape in the late Tang and Five Dynasties, attributed to the transmission of Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, and is the common s…
The eighth of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, one hundred and fifty li in circumference and titled the "Heaven of the Golden Altar and Splendid Yang," governed by the Perfe…
The ninth of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, four hundred li in circumference and titled the "Heaven of the Left Spirits and Dark Emptiness" (also written "Dragon Spirits a…
The tenth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies at Mount Magu, and is the place where the Perfected Cai Jing attained the Dao." It is identified today with Mount Mag…
The thirteenth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies north of Jianyang County, Jianzhou, and is the retreat of the Perfected Yin." It is identified today with Jianya…
The fifteenth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies south of Shan County, Yuezhou, and is governed by the Perfected Fang Ming." It is identified today with Wozhou in…
The sixteenth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies south of Shan County, and is governed by the Perfected Wei Xianren." This is Mount Tianmu, the mountain of Li Bai…
The seventeenth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies south of Kuaiji County, Yuezhou, and is governed by the Perfected Shan Shiyuan." This is the Ruoye Stream of th…
The nineteenth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Qingyuan County, Guangzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Yin." It is identified today with Qingyuan, Guan…
The second of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands, described as lying “in Xiandu County, Quzhou, governed by the Perfected Shi Cun”; there is also a Gaizhu Mountain Grotto-Heav…
The twenty-first of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies east of the water within the walls of Chenzhou, the retreat of the Perfected Su Dan." It is identified today w…
The twenty-third of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Changsha County, Tanzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Han Zhong of the Western Peak." Later tradition …
The twenty-fifth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies at the western headwaters of the Southern Peak, and is governed by the Perfected Feng."
The twenty-ninth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Hengyang County, Wenzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Bao Cha." It is identified today with Pingyang (…
The third of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands, “governed by the Perfected Zhang Zhonghua,” located around Baixi within the territory of Wenzhou; now conjectured to be Yueqin…
The thirty-third of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies north of Shangrao County, Xinzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Mo." It is identified today with Mount Lin…
The thirty-sixth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: “It lies in Xingan County, Jizhou, and is governed by the Perfected Guo.” Du Guangting’s Record of Grotto-Heavens, Bles…
The thirty-seventh of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Fengcheng County, Hongzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Yin."
The thirty-eighth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Nanchang County, Hongzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Xu." This is the site of Xu Xun's practice at …
The thirty-ninth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies east of Xinwu County, Hongzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Liu." It is identified today with the area of…
The forty-first of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Dantu County, Runzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Zhong." It is identified today with the area of Dany…
The forty-second of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Changzhou County, Suzhou, and is governed by the Perfected Zhuang." This is Xishan in Lake Tai, traditional…
The forty-third of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies in Liyang County, Hezhou, and is governed by the Perfected Guo." It is identified today with Mount Jilong in He…
49th of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Lianshan county, Lian prefecture, under the administration of the Perfected Lord Fan,' identified with the Lianzhou–Lianshan ar…
51st of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Duchang county, Jiang prefecture, administered by Perfected Sun and Anqi Sheng,' identified with present-day Duchang.
52nd of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Poyang county, Rao prefecture, administered by the Perfected Zizhou.'
59th of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Yixing county, Chang prefecture, administered by the Perfected Kang Sang,' identified with the Zhanggong Cave in Yixing today, …
The sixth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands, described as lying “east of the Eastern Sea, reachable by boat, governed by the Perfected Liu”; now conjectured to be Mount Na…
61st of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Changshan county, Qi prefecture, administered by the Perfected Mao,' identified with present-day Zouping (Tang-dynasty Changsha…
63rd of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Jianchang county, Nankang prefecture, administered by the Perfected Zhang Xuanxuan,' identified with present-day Yongxiu, Jiang…
66th of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in southern Qian, the place administered by the Perfected Ning,' tentatively identified with southeastern Guizhou or Qianjiang, Ch…
68th of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'at the garrison of Guxian, under the administration of the Perfected Shi'; 'Guxian garrison' cannot be identified with certainty, …
70th of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Luoyang county, Eastern Capital, under the administration of the Perfected Wei,' identified with present-day Mount Mang north o…
71st of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'in Lianjiang county, Fu prefecture, under the administration of the Perfected Xie,' identified with present-day Lianjiang, Fujian.
72nd of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: 'twenty-five li east of Hai prefecture, under the administration of the Perfected Wang,' identified with present-day Yuntai Mountai…
The eighth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands: "It lies west of the Eastern Sea, adjoining Fusang, and is governed by the Perfected Liu Ziguang." This is a legendary mariti…
Changchun Temple is the largest Quanzhen Daoist temple in the middle reaches of the Yangzi; tradition holds that a disciple of Qiu Chuji of the Yuan propagated the Dao in…
The Chi Sin Buddhist and Taoist Association is located on Powell Street in Chinatown, and like the Jeng Sen Buddhism and Taoism Association belongs to the category of ass…
Ching Chung Koon is one of the three great Daoist halls (daotang) of Hong Kong, belonging to the Longmen (Dragon Gate) Lineage of Quanzhen Daoism, tracing its origin to t…
The Ching Chung Taoist Association of America is a North American branch of Ching Chung Koon in Hong Kong (a Quanzhen Longmen Daoist temple founded in 1950 by Hou Baoyuan…
Chongxu Ancient Temple originated as the Duxu Hermitage built by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin, the foremost of the four hermitages of Mount Luofu; Ge Hong compounded elixir…
Chunyang Palace in Taiyuan, popularly known as the Lüzu Temple, is dedicated to Lü Dongbin. It was first built in the Yuan dynasty (some say the Song), rebuilt in the 25t…
Chunyang Temple stands at Shuzhu Hill in Haizhu District, Guangzhou, founded in the fourth year of the Daoguang era of the Qing (1824) by the Quanzhen priest and astronom…
The Eight Immortals Palace, popularly called the Baxian An, is Xi'an's largest Daoist temple and a public monastery (shifang conglin) of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen i…
The Erxian Nunnery stands east of the Qingyang Palace. It was built in the thirty-fourth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing (1695) by the Sichuan judicial commissioner …
The cult of the 'Two Immortals' (Erxian) is widespread in the Shangdang region of southeastern Shanxi; tradition holds that the two daughters of the Yue family attained t…
Houtu Temple in Jiexiu is dedicated to 'Houtu, Empress of Earth, Who Carries Out the Mandate of Heaven and Embodies Its Law,' an important temple to Houtu, one of the Fou…
The Jeng Sen Buddhism and Taoism Association occupies the second floor of a building on Waverly Place (formerly called Tin How Temple Street) in Chinatown, and is one of …
The Jintai Temple stands on the southern slope of Lingyuan Mountain on the northern plateau of Baoji, where Zhang Sanfeng cultivated the Dao in the late Yuan and early Mi…
Juexiu Temple, popularly known as the Dalongdong Immortal Lord's Temple, is dedicated mainly to Sovereign Lord Fuyou, together with Lord Guan (Guan Shengdijun), Yue Fei (…
Khanh Van Nam Vien is one of the few temples in Vietnam, and indeed in Southeast Asia, that is a Daoist monastery in the strict sense: it preserves traditional Chinese Da…
The first of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the "Grotto-Heaven of Huolin," governed by the immortal Wang Weixuan. Today it is Mount Huotong in Ningde, Fujia…
The twelfth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the "Heaven of the Celestial Pillar and Treasured Ultimate Mystery," governed by the Perfected Tang Gongcheng.…
The fifteenth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the "Heaven of Noble Mystery and Ruling Perfection," governed by the Perfected Cui Wenzi. Today it is Mount …
The sixteenth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of True Ascension and Mystical Transformation,” governed by the Perfected Liu Shaogong. Identifi…
The seventeenth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Great Mystery's Dharma-Joy,” governed by the Perfected Liang Boluan. Identified with pr…
The twenty-first of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Elegant Joy and Lasting Perfection,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Bai. Identified wi…
The twenty-second of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Jade Watchtower and Precious Tablet,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Qian. Identi…
The twenty-fourth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Hidden Watchtower of Cavernous Yang,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Liu. Identif…
The twenty-fifth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Mysterious and True Great Origin,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Chen. Identified…
The twenty-sixth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Great Yu's Flourishing Wonder,” governed by the Perfected Yin. Identified with present-day…
The twenty-eighth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, the “Heaven of Cinnabar Radiance,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Wang. Identified with present-day Mount M…
The twenty-ninth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Immortal Capital's Quest for Transcendence,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Zhao. …
The thirtieth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Qingtian's Great Crane,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Fu. Identified with present-day T…
The thirty-first of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Vermilion Sun’s Great Growth,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Gong. Today it is Mo…
The thirty-second of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Everlasting Constancy,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Li. Identified with present-da…
The thirty-third of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Purple Mystery's Cavernous Radiance,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Gongsun. The Char…
The thirty-fourth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the Celestial Canopy's Cleansed Mystery,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Jiang. Ident…
The thirty-fifth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of the White Horse's Mysterious Light,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Xie. Identified wi…
The thirty-sixth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Jinhua's Cavernous Origin,” governed by the Immortal Perfected Dai. Identified with presen…
The eighth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the "Grotto-Heaven of Numinous Truth," governed by the Perfected Zhou Zhengshi. This is Mount Lu in Jiangxi, si…
The ninth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, titled the “Heaven of Cinnabar Mountain and Crimson Water,” governed by the Perfected Diao Daolin. Today it is Mount Si…
Ling Sen Tong stands at the foot of the limestone hills of Ipoh's Kinta Valley, neighboring Sam Poh Tong and Nam Thean Tong, and is generally believed to have been built …
Lüzu Palace in Beijing was first built during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing, originally named Lüzu Pavilion, dedicated to Patriarch Chunyang, Lü Dongbin; it is one of th…
Man Tak Chi Sin She traces its origins to the Yingyuan Palace on Guanyin Mountain in Guangzhou. In the early 1950s, Zeng Chengchi, a twenty-fourth-generation Daoist maste…
The Mansion of the Celestial Masters was the residence and seat of authority of successive generations of the Celestial Master Zhang. It was built by imperial decree at G…
Mount Emei is today counted among the Four Great Buddhist Mountains of China, but from the Han–Wei period through the Tang it was chiefly a center of Daoism. The Baopuzi …
Mount Gezao is the ancestral court of the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) School. Tradition holds that Ge Xuan (the Immortal Elder Ge) of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms per…
Mount Lao is known as 'the foremost mountain by the sea,' and in Daoism as 'the dwelling of immortals and the abode of the numinous and marvelous.' Tradition holds that Z…
Mount Longhu is the ancestral seat of Zhengyi Daoism (the Way of the Celestial Masters). According to tradition, Zhang Daoling refined the Nine-Heaven Divine Elixir here …
Mount Tiantai is a famous mountain of both Buddhism and Daoism: Guoqing Temple, the ancestral court of the Buddhist Tiantai school, and the Daoist Tongbai Palace stand wi…
Nam Thean Tong is one of the earliest limestone-cave temples developed in Ipoh; according to the temple's own history it was built in 1867, developed by a Daoist priest, …
Ngoc Son Temple stands on Jade Island in Hoan Kiem Lake, connected to the shore by the vermilion wooden Huc Bridge (The Huc); its predecessor was a shrine of the Tran dyn…
The Nuwa Temple in Macau stands at the junction of Rua do Tarrafeiro and Rua de São Paulo, and is the only temple in Macau dedicated mainly to the goddess Nuwa, with Long…
The Pagode Guan Di in Saint-Pierre was completed in 1920; its predecessor was a meeting hall established by Hakka immigrants from Meixian in the 1920s — these Hakka immig…
Penglai Pavilion was built in the sixth year of the Jiayou reign of the Northern Song (1061), standing atop Danya Hill in Penglai overlooking the sea, and is one of the '…
Pung Loi Long Yuen stands in Pun San Chau Village, on the slopes of Wun Yiu, Tai Po, in the New Territories, dedicated primarily to Lü Dongbin and known locally as the Lü…
Sanyuan Palace is the oldest and largest Daoist temple in Guangzhou; tradition holds that Bao Jing, Governor of Nanhai, built Yuegang Cloister here in the second year of …
Shang Sin Chun Tong traces its origins to a charitable body called 'Chenfan Zhenyu' founded in 1942 in Dongguan, Guangdong, which received the name 'Pung Ying Kok' throug…
Shun Shin Chee Kit Yin Koon originated with the Xinshan Tang in Fangcun, Guangzhou; it was reestablished in Hong Kong in 1972 and registered in 1975 as 'Shun Shin Chee Ki…
The Wong Tai Sin Temple is the most actively worshipped Daoist temple in Hong Kong, administered by the charitable organization Sik Sik Yuen. Wong Tai Sin is Huang Chupin…
The Stele of the Three Mao Lords, Perfected Ones Granted the Nine Bestowals records how the Three Mao Lords (Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong) received the title "Perfecte…
The Taiqing Palace in Hohhot is the principal Quanzhen Daoist temple in Inner Mongolia. In the Qing dynasty, temples (originally named the Lüzu Temple and others) were bu…
The Taiqing Palace in Shenyang is the birthplace and ancestral court of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen in Northeast China. In the second year of the Kangxi reign of the …
The Yuen Yuen Institute, in full the "Special-Grade Heavenly Altar of the Perfected Way of Roundness and Mystery, Enrolled by the Nine Heavens," was proposed for construc…
Tung Sen Tan was founded in 1938 in Central, Hong Kong Island, belonging to the Quanzhen cult of Patriarch Lü, one of the many Quanzhen Daoist halls established in Hong K…
The White Cloud Temple, Lanzhou, stands on the southern bank of the Yellow River. It was built in the seventeenth year of the Daoguang era of the Qing (1837) by Husongge,…
Wuliang Temple is the foremost Daoist temple of Mount Qian. In the early Kangxi reign of the Qing (c. 1667), Liu Tailin, an eighth-generation Longmen Quanzhen priest, cam…
Wun Chuen Sin Koon traces its origin to the Wun Chuen Sin Koon at Baiyun Cave, Mount Xiqiao, Nanhai, Guangdong (built in the twenty-seventh year of the Daoguang era of th…
Yuhuangding was originally named Yuhuang Ding ('Jade Emperor Summit'), taking its name from the Jade Emperor Temple built atop the hill in the Yuan dynasty; it was repeat…
Yunlu Palace stands atop Yunlu Peak, the highest point of Yuelu Mountain; it was built in the 14th year of the Chenghua era of the Ming (1478) by Zhu Jianjun, Prince Ji J…
Zhinan Temple, popularly known as the Immortal Lord's Temple (Xiangong Miao), is dedicated mainly to Sovereign Lord Fuyou, Lü Dongbin, and is the most famous place of Lü …
Bixia Yuanjun (Sovereign of the Azure Clouds), the 'Lady of Mount Tai' (Taishan Niangniang). A shrine was established after Emperor Zhenzong of Song obtained an image of …
The Seventy-two Blessed Lands, mostly described as 'places where perfected beings attained the Dao,' of a scale secondary to the Grotto-Heavens — for example, Mount Difei…
The second of the Three Pure Ones, also called the Most High Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun) or the Great Emperor of the Highest Clarity, dwelling in the Yuyu Heaven of…
The foremost of the Three Pure Ones, dwelling in the Qingwei Heaven (Pure Tenuity) of the Jade Clarity Realm, a supreme deity held to have existed before the creation of …
The god who guards a city and administers judicial affairs in the realm of the dead, the role usually held by a deceased loyal and virtuous official. From the Tang and So…
The Michuan zhengyang zhenren lingbao bifa, attributed to a transmission from Zhongli Quan to Lü Dongbin. It is divided into the Lesser Vehicle method of peace and longev…
A Daoist organization formed by lay believers, centered chiefly on revelations received through spirit writing; it flourished in Guangdong and Hong Kong in the late Qing …
A selective compendium of the Daoist Canon compiled by Jiang Yuanting during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing and reprinted with additions by Erxian Nunnery in Chengdu durin…
The birthdays of the gods, such as the Jade Emperor's birthday on the ninth day of the first month, Laojun's birthday on the fifteenth of the second month, Zhenwu's birth…
Divine generals who guard the Dharma, temples, and ritual altars, such as Wang Lingguan, the Four Great Marshals (Ma, Zhao, Wen, and Guan), the marshals of the Thunder De…
The mother of the stars of the Northern Dipper, also called Doumu Yuanjun or the Numinous Sovereign Great Sage Doumu of the Prior Heaven. Her iconography, with three eyes…
The grassroots earth deity who guards a locality, the 'Correct God of Blessing and Virtue,' depicted as a white-bearded old man; he is the deity in the Daoist pantheon cl…
The best-known group of immortals in popular belief: Li Tieguai, Han Zhongli (Zhongli Quan), Zhang Guolao, Lü Dongbin, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guojiu, …
The lord of the Daoist underworld, dwelling on Mount Luofeng in the north and ruling the ghosts and spirits of the Six Heavens, already recorded in the Shangqing scriptur…
The Empress of Earth Who Embodies Heaven, Emulates Its Virtue, and Manifests Great Brightness, one of the Four Sovereigns, who rules over mountains, rivers, and land, and…
The Five Celestial Lords of the Five Directions: Qingling Shilao of the East, Danling Zhenlao of the South, Yuanling Yuanlao of the Center, Haoling Huanglao of the West, …
The transmission patriarchs retroactively recognized by Quanzhen Daoism: Wang Xuanfu (Donghua Dijun), Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Liu Haichan, and Wang Chongyang, represent…
The four Celestial Masters venerated by Daoism as Dharma Protectors: Zhang Daoling, Ge Xuan, Xu Xun, and Sa Shoujian (in one account Qiu Chuji replaces Sa Shoujian). Thei…
Four great emperors who assist the Three Pure Ones in governing Heaven and Earth: the Jade Emperor; the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the Central Heaven and North Po…
Lord Immortal Ge, the Supreme Ultimate's Immortal of the Left, a Daoist priest of the Wu kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, great-uncle of Ge Hong. He is said to h…
The deity who presides over wealth. The Civil God of Wealth usually refers to Bi Gan or Fan Li, while the Martial God of Wealth is Zhao Gongming (Perfected Lord of the My…
The Heavenly Sovereign Great Emperor of Curved Array of the Upper Palace, one of the Four Sovereigns, who assists the Jade Emperor in governing the North and South Poles …
The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the Central Heaven and North Pole, one of the Four Sovereigns, who governs the warp of Heaven and the weft of Earth, the sun, moon,…
The god of Mount Tai, who oversees life and death, rank and status in the human world, and the seventy-five bureaus of the underworld. Emperor Zhenzong of Song granted hi…
The deification of Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms period. From the Song onward Daoism enfeoffed him as 'Perfected Lord Chongning'; Emperor Shenzong of Ming granted him the…
Head of the Order (zhangjiao) was the supreme leadership position of the Quanzhen order during the Jin and Yuan dynasties. After Wang Chongyang, the post was held in succ…
The lord of the heavens who oversees the Three Realms, the ten directions, and the four modes of birth and six paths of rebirth. Emperor Zhenzong of Song honored him as t…
The foremost of the male immortals, paired with the Queen Mother of the West, already appearing on Han-dynasty stone reliefs. Daoism honors him as the Wood Father, the Ea…
Sun Simiao, the Tang-dynasty Daoist physician, is honored by later generations as the King of Medicine. Author of the Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold (Qianjin ya…
The Overseer of Fate Kitchen Lord, who observes the good and evil deeds of a household and ascends to Heaven to report on the twenty-third (or twenty-fourth) day of the t…
Kuixing, the first star of the Northern Dipper, or the four stars forming the 'dipper bowl' (kui), presiding over literary fortune. Depicted as a blue-faced, red-haired d…
Li Er, a Spring and Autumn period thinker and author of the Daodejing, founder of Daoist philosophy. Daoism venerates him as its founding teacher and as an incarnation of…
Lin Mo, the sea goddess Tianhou (Heavenly Empress), a native of Meizhou in Fujian in the Northern Song, granted successive titles of Tianfei (Heavenly Consort) and Tianho…
The deification of the nine stars of the Northern Dipper, said to be the nine sons born of Doumu (including the Heavenly Sovereign, the Purple Tenuity Sovereign, and the …
Lü Dongbin, styled Chunyangzi, a late-Tang Daoist priest, one of the Eight Immortals, and patriarch of the Zhong–Lü Internal Alchemy Tradition; Quanzhen venerates him as …
The Zhuangzi calls the utmost person who embodies the Dao a zhenren, "Perfected Person." Daoism uses the term as an honorific for immortals and adepts who have attained t…
A Ming-dynasty work on internal alchemy attributed to a senior disciple of the Perfected Yin, divided into four collections named after the Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen hexag…
A Public Monastery (shifang conglin) is a large Quanzhen temple that receives itinerant priests from every direction for lodging and that publicly confers ordination, suc…
The foremost of the female immortals, dwelling by the Turquoise Pond of Kunlun. The Classic of Mountains and Seas describes her as half-human, half-beast; by the Han dyna…
Perfected Man Sa, a Song-dynasty Daoist priest who transmitted the Thunder Rites of Shenxiao and secret methods of incantation with jujubes, known for burning down licent…
Twelve divine generals named after the sexagenary stems and branches — the six Ding are yin spirits, jade maidens, and the six Jia are yang spirits, mighty warriors — who…
An expanded version of the Four Sovereigns: besides the Jade Emperor, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, the Great Emperor of Curved Array, and the Empress of Earth, it…
A method of divination and revelation in which a planchette writes on a tray of sand to invite a deity's descent; already flourishing in the Song dynasty, a great many Da…
The deification of Laozi, the third of the Three Pure Ones as the Celestial Worthy of the Dao and Virtue (Daode Tianzun), residing in the Great Scarlet Heaven of the Grea…
A hypothetical stellar deity corresponding to the movement of Jupiter (the Year Star), governing the fortune and misfortune of each year. Daoism assigns a Lord of Taisui …
The Great Emperor of Blue Florescence of the East Pole, who presides over the salvation of suffering souls in hell and their release from torment, an iconography resembli…
The three great emperors of Heaven, Earth, and Water: the Official of Heaven bestows blessings, the Official of Earth pardons sins, and the Official of Water dispels cala…
The highest deities of Daoism: the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning of the Jade Clarity, the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure of the Highest Clarity, and the…
The Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation through the Sound of Thunder, Responding to the Primordial from the Nine Heavens, the highest deity of the Thunder Depart…
A Dharma-protecting deity of Daoism, 'the Three-Eyed Numinous Light,' shown with a red face, three eyes, and a golden whip, said to be the transformation of Wang Shan, di…
The god of literary learning who governs examination success and official rank, formed by the merging of the star Wenchang with Zhang Yazi, a deity of Zitong in Sichuan. …
Huang Chuping, a Jin-dynasty Daoist priest of Jinhua, Zhejiang; the Biographies of Divine Immortals (Shenxian zhuan) records that he transformed stones into sheep by a sh…
Perfected Lord Xu, a native of Yuzhang in the Jin dynasty, said in legend to have slain a flood dragon, controlled floodwaters, and ascended to Heaven with his whole hous…
Xuanwu (Black Tortoise), the tortoise-and-serpent deity of the north among the Four Symbols, presiding over water, the northern direction and winter. From the Song onward…
Zhang Ling, a native of the Kingdom of Pei in the Eastern Han, said to have received the Way of the Covenant of Orthodox Unity (Zhengyi Mengwei) from the Most High Lord L…
Perfected Lord of the Mysterious Altar, originally recorded as a plague deity as early as the Jin dynasty; in Song and Yuan Daoist scriptures he is a marshal of the Thund…
Emperor Xuanwu, the northern god of water; the name was changed to Zhenwu under a naming taboo of the Song. Emperor Yongle of Ming honored him as 'Perfected Warrior, Myst…
Compiled by Shi Jianwu of the Five Dynasties, it systematically expounds the theory of internal alchemy in the form of a dialogue between Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, com…
Han Zhongli, styled Zhengyangzi, said to have attained the Dao as a Han-dynasty general, one of the Eight Immortals, patriarch of the Zhong–Lü Golden Elixir Tradition, an…
Zhuang Zhou of the Warring States period, a leading figure of Daoist philosophy and author of the Zhuangzi, who advocated free and easy wandering, the equalization of thi…
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 eulo…
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 question…
Chapter 27, "Nourishing Nature" (Yangxing), of the Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies (Beiji qianjin yaofang) is the summa of Tang-dynasty nourishin…
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,…
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 writing…
The Youxiang Liexian Quanzhuan (Complete Illustrated Biographies of Immortals) in nine scrolls is the largest illustrated collection of immortal biographies from the Ming…
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 …
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 …
The Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) is the fundamental text of the Shangqing School, compiled by Tao Hongjing from the handwritten records of "declarations descen…
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 dictio…
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 hold…
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…
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…
The Illustrated Biographies of the Immortal Origins of the Orthodox Golden Lotus Lineage (Jinlian zhengzong xianyuan xiangzhuan), in one scroll, records the patriarchs of…
The Journey to the West of the Perfected Changchun is the record kept by Li Zhichang, a disciple of Qiu Chuji, of his master's journey in answer to the summons of Chinggi…
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 re…
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;…
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 …
Pillowbook Methods for Preserving Health is attributed to Sun Simiao, divided into sections on Self-Discipline, Prohibitions, Daoyin, Ingesting Qi, Guarding the One, and …
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, b…
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…
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 earl…
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.…
The Record of the Orthodox Lineage of the Golden Lotus (Jinlian zhengzong ji) is the earliest formal historiographical biography of the Quanzhen tradition, providing biog…
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 …
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 …
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) …
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 sp…
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 sever…
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…
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 script…
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 (T…
《元始天尊说北方真武妙经》是真武（玄天上帝）信仰最核心的「本传」经典，经中元始天尊为妙行真人说真武来历：净乐国王与善胜皇后梦吞日光，怀胎十四月，于开皇元年三月初三日诞太子于王宫；太子「生而神灵，长而勇猛，不统王位，唯务修行」，誓断天下妖魔，遂辞父母入武当山修道四十二年，功成果满，白日登天，玉帝敕镇北方，统摄真武之位；又敕真武率天兵下界收断…
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 …
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 o…
The Xu xian zhuan (Supplementary Biographies of Immortals) is a collection of immortal biographies compiled around the Tang–Five Dynasties transition; the author, Shen Fe…
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 Shenz…
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-wri…
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 stand…
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 sub…
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 …
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 o…
清微雷法是宋元「道法合一」运动的完成形态：它把内丹学彻底注入符箓道法，主张「以道为体、以法为用」，符咒诀罡只是末技，先天一炁与正心诚意才是根本。本文依据《正统道藏》原典——《道法会元》前五十五卷清微部分、《清微元降大法》《清微神烈秘法》《清微斋法》《清微丹诀》——逐项整理清微雷法的具体行持：法论纲领、内炼基础、变神存思、书符运炁、掐诀步罡…
「武当玄武派」作为有连续可考谱系的道派，文献依据相当薄弱；它今天的形态，本质上是 1989 年由武当山道教协会（首任会长王光德）恢复并统合而设的本山派系。其起源叙事有三种互相竞争的说法——明永乐十一年（1413）张宇清选调四百道士说、张三丰开创说、元代张守清一系说——三说均带有不同程度的追认性质：选调道士确有其事（任自垣《敕建大岳太和山志…
「武当＝武学圣地」的公众形象，是三重叠加的产物：黄宗羲《王征南墓志铭》（1669）一句「内家拳起于宋之张三峰」、民国中央国术馆把太极形意八卦划归「武当门」的分类建构、以及金庸与还珠楼主的小说想象。真实的武当道教以真武信仰、斋醮科仪、内丹修炼为主体，武术是附属，且大量内容为民国以来整合追认；但当代武当山又以这一形象为依托，重建了确实存在且已…
玄武最初不是神，而是天上的一片星区：二十八宿中北方七宿连缀成龟蛇缠绕之形，与青龙、白虎、朱雀并为四象。此后两千年，这个星象一步步走向人格化的至上神：六朝隋唐被道教吸收为北方之神；宋真宗为避「圣祖」赵玄朗名讳改「玄武」为「真武」，此后宋室累加封号；元成宗大德七年（1303）加封「玄天上帝」，由真君升格为上帝；明成祖借「靖难显圣」尊为皇室保护…
武当山是玄天上帝信仰的祖庭：九宫九观 33 处建筑群、约 160 万平方米，1994 年整体列入《世界遗产名录》，从山脚均州净乐宫到 1612 米天柱峰金殿，整座山被明代皇家营造成一部真武圣传的建筑叙事。而玄帝信仰的地理远不止武当：珠三角以佛山祖庙为中心的「北帝」系统、潮汕陆丰玄武山元山寺与南洋潮人的分香网络、泉州法石真武庙的海神化转型、…