From Pre-Qin Lao-Zhuang and Huang-Lao thought to Twofold Mystery, mind-nature, political and life philosophy, while preserving the distinction between philosophical traditions and later Daoist religion.
民间求财拜财神，道教内部则有一套经典与科仪系统支撑：《正统道藏》所收《道法会元》卷二三二至二四〇的「正一玄坛赵元帅秘法」是财神职能的道藏源头，其中「公平买卖，求财利宜和合，但有至公至正之事，可以对神言者，祷之无不如意」一句，为道教财神立下了「至公至正」的伦理前提；近世宫观课诵的《玄坛宝诰》称赵公明「受命玉帝，管理财源」「玄化财神天尊」；台…
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…
John Chalmers published the first English translation of the Daodejing in 1868; further translations followed one after another — James Legge (1891), Richard Wilhelm (Ger…
The Way of the Five Pecks of Rice made the Daodejing a scripture that adherents were required to recite, and produced the Xiang'er Commentary to expound the precepts of t…
The received text of the Liezi is generally held to have been compiled during the Wei–Jin period, while the Han bamboo slips excavated at Dingzhou in 1973 confirmed the p…
Prognostication texts and apocrypha (chenwei) flourished at the turn of the Western and Eastern Han, and both Wang Mang and Emperor Guangwu relied on prophetic charts to …
With Dong Zhongshu's policy proposals and Emperor Wu's dismissal of the Hundred Schools in favor of exalting the Six Classics, Huang–Lao learning shifted from a technique…
In the seventh year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era, Emperor Zhenzong of Song personally traveled to the Taiqing Gong at Bozhou to pay homage, and augmented Laozi's title to S…
In the first year of the Qianfeng era, after performing the Feng and Shan sacrifices at Mount Tai, Emperor Gaozong of Tang went to the Laojun Temple at Bozhou and honored…
Tradition holds that when Laozi passed through the pass, he wrote his book for Yin Xi, the pass warden; Guan Yin (Yin Xi) is counted among the figures of Daoist philosoph…
Cao Can governed Qi using the Huang–Lao methods of Master Gai, and later served as chancellor of the Han; Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing, and Empress Dowager Dou all venerated…
In the eighth year of the Yanxi era (165), Emperor Huan twice sent a palace eunuch attendant to Kuxian to sacrifice to Laozi, and Bian Shao composed the 'Laozi Ming' (Ins…
At the Jixia Academy of the state of Qi, scholars such as Shen Dao, Tian Pian, and Huan Yuan gathered; invoking the name of Huangdi while following the methods of Laozi, …
Tradition holds that Laozi (Li Er, Lao Dan) served as the Zhou court's archivist-historian, and that Confucius once asked him about ritual propriety. Later Daoism venerat…
In the seventh year of the Tianbao era, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang made a sacrificial offering at the Taiqing Gong and further augmented Laozi's honorific title. Earlier, i…
Han Tomb No. 3 at Mawangdui, Changsha (interred in 168 BCE) yielded silk manuscripts including Laozi manuscripts A and B, the Huangdi Sijing (Four Classics of Huangdi, a …
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…
In the third year of the Wude era, Ji Shanxing of Jinzhou reported that at Yangjiao Mountain he had seen Laojun, who declared himself an ancestor of the Tang imperial hou…
Wang Bi annotated the Laozi and Guo Xiang annotated the Zhuangzi, while He Yan, Ruan Ji, and Ji Kang engaged in discourse on the mysterious (xuanxue); the Laozi, Zhuangzi…
In the twenty-first year of the Kaiyuan era, an edict ordered every household, gentry and commoner alike, to keep a copy of the Laozi, and the annual metropolitan examina…
Cheng Xuanying wrote a subcommentary on the Laozi and the Zhuangzi, and Li Rong wrote a commentary on the Laozi; taking mystery upon mystery (xuan zhi you xuan) as their …
Zhuangzi, a native of Meng in the state of Song, taught the equalization of things (qiwu), free and easy wandering (xiaoyao), sitting in forgetfulness (zuowang), and the …
Akizuki Kan'ei was a Japanese scholar of Daoism, professor at Hirosaki University, known for his research on Jingming Daoism. His The Formation of Modern Chinese Daoism: …
Anna Seidel, a German sinologist and student of Max Kaltenmark, wrote her doctoral dissertation, La divinisation de Lao tseu dans le taoïsme des Han (1969), on the deific…
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 Yunji, courtesy name Mingzhi, sobriquet Zaixuzi, was a native of Nanjing and a late-Ming Daoist priest whose dates of birth and death are unknown. In the sixth year o…
Chen Jingyuan, style name Taichu, sobriquet Bixuzi, was a renowned Daoist scholar of the Northern Song. In his youth he became a Daoist at the Tianqing Guan in Gao'an cou…
Chen Yuan, a native of Xinhui in Guangdong, was a renowned modern historian and one of the founders of the study of religious history, who served successively as presiden…
Cheng Xuanying, style name Zishi, was an early Tang Daoist priest and a leading representative of Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) learning. His dates of birth and death are n…
Cui Hao, courtesy name Boyuan, of the Cui clan of Qinghe, was the leading strategist and counselor at the court of Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, rising to the office of …
Emperor Gaozong of Tang, personal name Li Zhi, was the ninth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang and reigned 649–683. Since the Tang imperial house claimed descent from Laozi,…
Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, established the state policy of "Daoism first, Buddhism after" that held throughout the Tang, and marks the starting point of Daoism's att…
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…
The sacrifices to Laozi conducted during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han (Liu Zhi, r. 146–168) are a key marker of Laozi's transformation from a philosopher into a vener…
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…
Emperor Zhenzong of Song, personal name Zhao Heng, reigned 997–1022. After the Treaty of Chanyuan (1004), in order to "overawe the realm and impress foreign states," unde…
Fukui Kōjun, a Japanese scholar of Daoism, was a professor at Waseda University and the founding president (1950) of the Japanese Society for Daoist Studies, and was a le…
Ge Hong, style name Zhichuan, self-styled Baopuzi (Master Who Embraces Simplicity), was a native of Jurong in Danyang under the Eastern Jin, and a grand-nephew of Ge Xuan…
Gu Huan, styled Jingyi (also styled Xuanping), was a Daoist scholar and recluse of the Southern Dynasties. Poor but devoted to study, he lived in reclusion on Mount Tiant…
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…
Guo Xiang, styled Zixuan, a native of Henan in the Western Jin, rose to the offices of Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate and Registrar to the Grand Tutor, was the re…
Heguanzi, a recluse of the state of Chu in the late Warring States period, took his name from the pheasant-feather cap he wore; his personal name is unknown. The Bibliogr…
Heshang Gong ("Master on the River") is traditionally held to have been a recluse in the time of Emperor Wen of Han, who built a thatched hut on a riverbank and taught Em…
Hu Fuchen is a research fellow and doctoral supervisor at the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a student of Wang Ming, and his main research a…
Huang Yuanji, given name Shang, a native of Fengcheng in Jiangxi, was an internal-alchemy master of the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns of the Qing; his dates of birth and d…
Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) is a tribal leader and cultural progenitor of Chinese high antiquity in legend, not a verifiable historical individual: accounts of his name …
Isabelle Robinet, a French sinologist and professor at the University of Provence, was a central member of the French school of Daoist studies. A student of Max Kaltenmar…
James Legge was a Scottish missionary and sinologist, a member of the London Missionary Society, who in his early career headed the Anglo-Chinese College in Malacca and m…
Jia Shanxiang, style name Hongju, sobriquet Pengqiuzi, was a Daoist priest of the Northern Song, a native of Pengzhou. Under Emperors Shenzong and Zhezong he successively…
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 …
Laozi, surnamed Li, given name Er, styled Dan, was a thinker of the late Spring and Autumn period, traditionally said to have served as archivist of the Zhou royal librar…
Lee Fong-mao is a Taiwanese scholar of Daoism, chair professor at the Graduate Institute of Religious Studies, National Chengchi University, and research fellow (emeritus…
Lei Siqi, style name Qixian, was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi, and a scholar at the Song–Yuan transition. After the fall of the Song he abandoned Confucian scholarship t…
Li Rong, an early Tang Daoist priest with the sobriquet Renzhenzi, a native of Mianzhou, is ranked together with Cheng Xuanying as one of the two great masters of Chongxu…
Li Yuanxing was a Daoist priest of Yizhou active under Emperor Gaozong of Tang, one of the figures, along with Li Rong and Fang Huichang, in the tradition of Daoist doctr…
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 …
Liang Chen, a Western Jin Daoist priest, was a pivotal figure in the transmission lineage of the Louguan School. According to Louguan-authored texts such as the Original …
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 An, a grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han and son of Liu Chang, King Li of Huainan, inherited the title of King of Huainan in the sixteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign (…
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 Yu, courtesy name Yizhen, a native of Nanchang, Jiangxi, was the actual founder of Jingming Daoism in the Yuan dynasty. In his youth he studied the Confucian classics…
Livia Kohn, a German-American scholar of Daoism, is professor emerita of religious studies at Boston University and spent many years as a researcher at the Institute for …
Lu Xixing, courtesy name Changgeng, sobriquet Qianxuzi, was a native of Xinghua, Jiangsu, and the founder of the Ming-dynasty Eastern Lineage of internal alchemy. In his …
Ma Yu, a native of Ninghai, Shandong, born into great wealth, took Wang Chongyang as his teacher in 1167 together with his wife Sun Bu'er, and stands foremost among the S…
Max Kaltenmark, an Austrian-born French sinologist and student of Henri Maspero, held the chair in 'Chinese Religions' in the Fifth Section of the École pratique des haut…
Meng Anpai was a Daoist priest active under Emperor Gaozong of Tang and during the Zhou dynasty of Empress Wu Zetian, resident at Qingxi Temple; his dates of birth and de…
Meng Wentong, a native of Yanting in Sichuan, was a renowned modern historian and classicist, and a professor at Sichuan University. In his early years he studied under L…
Meng Zhizhou was a Daoist priest of the Liang in the Southern Dynasties, styled Master Xuanjing; his dates of birth and death are unknown. He wrote the Catalogue of the S…
Mugitani Kunio is a Japanese scholar of Daoism, professor emeritus at the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, and president of the Japanese Society of…
Nan Huaijin, a native of Yueqing, Zhejiang, was a well-known modern lecturer on Chinese classical learning (guoxue). In his early years he studied martial arts and Chan m…
Ōfuchi Ninji was a Japanese scholar of Daoist textual studies, professor emeritus at Okayama University. He is known for his research on the Dunhuang Daoist manuscripts a…
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 Hui, also named Pingding, was the leader of the Louguan School at the Sui–Tang juncture. At the end of the Daye era of Sui, when Li Yuan raised an army against the Sui…
Russell Kirkland, an American scholar of Daoism, is professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of Georgia and is known for his work on Tang-dynasty Daoism …
Sakai Tadao was a Japanese historian, professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, and president of the Japanese Society of Taoist Studies. He is known for his resear…
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…
Sima Chengzhen, style name Ziwei, Dharma name Daoyin, sobriquet Baiyunzi, was the twelfth patriarch of the Tang-dynasty Maoshan Shangqing School, a descendant of Sima Kui…
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 En, styled Lingxiu, was a native of Langya in the Eastern Jin who "for generations followed the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice"; his uncle Sun Tai had studied under Du…
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…
Tang Kwok-wah (1910–2004) was a Hong Kong businessman, philanthropist and Daoist leader who served for many years as chairman of the Yuen Yuen Institute and chairman (pre…
Tang Yijie, son of the philosopher Tang Yongtong, was a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University and founding dean of the Institute of Chinese Cultu…
Tao Zhongwen, a native of Huanggang, Hubei, originally served as a county clerk and practiced the use of talisman water; he was recommended to the capital by Shao Yuanjie…
Tian Chengyang, a native of Shandong, is a Daoist priest of the Longmen lineage of Quanzhen. He left home to become a Daoist on Mount Lao (Laoshan) in the 1980s, later st…
Wang Bi, styled Fusi, a native of Gaoping, Shanyang, in the Wei kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period, was the representative figure of Zhengshi-era Xuanxue (Neo-Daoist Le…
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 Ka was a research fellow at the Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and director of its Daoist studies section, a leading scholar of co…
Wang Ming, a native of Yueqing in Zhejiang, was a research fellow at the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and one of the founders of…
Wang Xuanlan, original name Hui, style name Xuanlan, was a Tang-dynasty Daoist priest of Mianzhu, an important thinker of Chongxuan learning. He entered the Daoist order …
Wei Boyang was an alchemist of the Eastern Han, a native of Shangyu in Kuaiji, styled Yunyazi. Ge Hong's Biographies of Divine Immortals says he was "the son of a disting…
Wei Jie was a Daoist priest of the Louguan School under the Northern Zhou, together with Yan Da, Wang Yan and others one of the 'Ten Elders of Tiangu at Louguan' (also ca…
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…
Wu Yun, courtesy name Zhenjie, was a Tang-dynasty Daoist priest and man of letters. In his youth he was well versed in the classics and histories and skilled in compositi…
Wu Zetian was the empress of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and proclaimed herself emperor, founding the Zhou dynasty, from 690 to 705. Her relationship with Daoism was two-side…
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…
Xiao Tianshi, a native of Shaoyang, Hunan, studied military affairs and philosophy in his early years, moved to Taiwan in 1949, and founded the Freedom Press (Ziyou Chuba…
Xiao Yingsou, sobriquet Guanfu, was a Daoist priest of the late Southern Song whose life details are unknown; he was active roughly during the reigns of Emperor Lizong an…
Xu Dishan, whose pen name was Luo Huasheng, was a native of Tainan, Taiwan, a modern writer and scholar of religion who studied in the United States at Columbia Universit…
Yan Junping, originally named Zhuang Zun (changed to "Yan" in the Eastern Han to avoid the taboo name of Emperor Ming), courtesy name Junping, was a native of Chengdu, Sh…
Yang Zhu, a thinker of the early Warring States period, was ranked alongside Mo Di in renown; Mencius said that 'the words of Yang Zhu and Mo Di fill the world.' His doct…
Ye Fashan, courtesy name Daoyuan, was a celebrated Daoist priest of the Tang, a native of Kuocang in Kuozhou, born into a family that had practised Daoist arts for four g…
Yi Xinying, a native of Suining, Sichuan, was a Daoist of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage and a leading representative of modern Daoism at Mount Qingcheng. In 1917 he entere…
Yin Wencao, courtesy name Jingxian, was a Tang-dynasty Louguan School Daoist priest who claimed descent from Yin Xi. He entered the Daoist priesthood in his youth and res…
Zang Jin was a Daoist priest of the Chen dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, and the teacher of Wang Yuanzhi, the tenth-generation patriarch of the Shangqing lineage (one …
Zhan Shichuang, a native of Xiamen, Fujian, is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Institute of Daoist and Religious Culture, Sichuan University, and formerly a pr…
Zhang Ling, courtesy name Fuhan, known to later generations as Zhang Daoling, was a native of Feng in the state of Pei in the Eastern Han, and the founder of the Way of t…
Zhang Guangbao is a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University, and formerly a research fellow at the Institute of History, Ch…
Zhang Heng, courtesy name Lingzhen, was the son of Zhang Ling and the second-generation leader of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, honored by Daoism as the "Successor M…
Zhang Jiao was a native of Julu at the end of the Eastern Han, founder of the Way of Great Peace, and leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. According to the "Biography o…
Zhang Liang, courtesy name Zifang, was a founding strategist of the early Han and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Liu. Originally an aristocrat of the state of Han, after Qin…
Zhang Liang, younger brother of Zhang Jiao, was one of the leaders of the Way of Great Peace, styling himself "General of Man" during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. After Z…
Zhang Liusun, a native of Guixi in Jiangxi, was the founder of Xuanjiao (the Mysterious Teaching) in the Yuan dynasty. In his youth he entered Mount Longhu to become a pr…
Zhang Lu, courtesy name Gongqi, was the grandson of Zhang Daoling and son of Zhang Heng, and the third-generation leader of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice; Daoism call…
Zhang Xiu, a native of Ba Commandery in the late Eastern Han, was an important leader of the early Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. The Book of Later Han, "Annals of Empero…
Zhang Yucai, the thirty-eighth Celestial Master of Mount Longhu, was the second son of Zhang Zongyan. He succeeded his elder brother Zhang Yudi as head of the order in 12…
Zhao Guizhen was a Daoist priest active under Emperor Jingzong and Emperor Wuzong of Tang. He entered the palace with Daoist arts during Jingzong's Baoli era, and was rec…
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; …
Zou Yan, a native of Qi during the Warring States period, was a celebrated scholar at the Jixia Academy and the representative figure of the Yin-Yang School. The 'Biograp…
The Belgian branch of the Taoist Tai Chi Society / Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism, with teaching centers in Brussels, Antwerp and elsewhere; it teaches "Taoist Tai Chi"…
Founded in Toronto in 1970 by the Hong Kong Daoist priest Moy Lin-shin, it primarily teaches "Taoist Tai Chi," with branches in 26 countries worldwide and tens of thousan…
The provincial organization for Daoism in Henan, headquartered in Zhengzhou, it coordinates temples such as Zhongyue Temple on Mount Song, Taiqing Palace in Luyi, Xuanmia…
A local Dutch organization for Daoist philosophy and practice, which holds lectures on the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, courses in meditation and taiji, and publishes Dutc…
Built in 1972 on Beverly Hills by Chinese merchants of Cebu, enshrining Laozi and other deities, it is a landmark building of Daoism in the Philippines and a site where l…
Founded in 1961 on the initiative of Daoist halls such as Fung Ying Seen Koon, Ching Chung Koon, and the Yuen Yuen Institute, and registered as a nonprofit corporation in…
Founded in 1950 at Sam Dip Tam in Tsuen Wan, it advocates the unity of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, enshrining the sages of all three teachings; it is one of the f…
The transmission of Daoism beyond China's borders has a long but uneven history. In East Asia: Tang-dynasty Daoism influenced the Korean peninsula (Goguryeo sent an envoy…
In the mid-to-late Eastern Han, on the foundation of Huang–Lao Dao, belief in the Taiping jing, and popular shamanic cults, religious communities emerged that possessed s…
During the wars and upheavals of the Five Dynasties, Daoism continued to be honored under the various regional regimes (Du Guangting under the Former Shu, and under South…
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 Northern and Southern Dynasties were an era of "reform, consolidation, and official recognition" for Daoism, with distinct developments in north and south. In the nor…
In the pre-Qin period there was not yet an organized religion called "Daoism" (Daojiao), but most of the ideas, beliefs, and technical resources on which later Daoism wou…
The Qin and Han were a crucial stage in the "prehistory" of Daoism. Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han both put great faith in fangshi (masters of methods): they dispatc…
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 Wei-Jin period saw Daoism move from a local religious community toward a nationwide religion, and from popular belief toward aristocratization and canon formation. Af…
A collection guide to the British Library's holdings of Stein Dunhuang manuscripts (Or.8210/S. shelfmarks), with images provided mainly through IDP. The Daoist material i…
A research institute for Daoist philosophy and religion affiliated with the School of History and Culture and the School of Marxism at Central China Normal University, le…
A platform for the study of religion established at National Chengchi University, Taiwan, in 2012, directed by scholars such as Lee Fong-mao and Hsieh Shu-wei; it publish…
An open, full-text repository of classical texts built by Donald Sturgeon. Its 'Daoist' section holds pre-Qin Daoist source texts such as the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Liezi, …
Coursera and edX host a number of open courses touching on Daoist philosophy and religion, such as Harvard's "Religions of China" (part of the ChinaX series), and courses…
David A. Palmer studies the rise and fall of the qigong movement in China after 1949, touching on the modern transformation of the Daoist internal-alchemy tradition and t…
The Department of Philosophy at Peking University has a Department of Religious Studies with a track in Daoist philosophy and religion; Tang Yijie founded the Institute o…
An international Daoist organization founded in Canada in 1970 by the Daoist master Moy Lin-shin, with the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism as its religious body. It prom…
A database of Dunhuang and Silk Road manuscripts led by the British Library in collaboration with institutions in multiple countries, bringing together high-resolution im…
An overview of Daoist philosophy in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, written by Ronnie Littlejohn, covering the origins of Daoist thought, the Laozi, Zhuangzi, Hu…
A Korean academic society for the study of Daoism and Daoist culture, publishing the journal Studies in Daoist Culture; its members research the history of Korean Daoism,…
A textbook survey of Daoist history written by Livia Kohn, concisely introducing the development, doctrine, and practice of Daoism from the pre-Qin period to the present;…
The digital collection of Japan's National Diet Library holds Japanese woodblock editions of the Laozi and Zhuangzi, the Taishang ganying pian, Edo-period printed Daoist …
Russell Kirkland addresses the long-standing Western dichotomy between "philosophical Daoism" and "religious Taoism" and its Orientalist biases, reworking the history of …
The general entry on Daoism in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, written by Chad Hansen, with separate entries on Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Neo-Daoism (Xuanxue). It dis…
Stephen R. Bokenkamp selected, translated, and extensively annotated early Daoist scriptures including the Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi, the Commands and Admonitions …
A biannual journal published by the Center for the Study of Chinese Religions at National Chengchi University, Taiwan (founded 2013), publishing research on Daoism, Buddh…
The Chinese philosophy programme in the Graduate School of Arts and Letters at Tohoku University in Japan has historically included scholars such as Kanaya Osamu and Miur…
The classical-text repository of the Zdic (Hanyu) website, holding electronic texts of Daoist philosophical and religious classics such as the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Liezi,…
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 Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) school was not an organized religious community but a hermeneutical school and philosophical current within Sui-Tang Daoism devoted to int…
Bixia Yuanjun, popularly known as the Lady of Mount Tai or the Old Grandmother of Mount Tai, is the female deity with the greatest popular influence within the Daoist pan…
The Cult of Wenchang Dijun is the worship, within Daoism, of the deity who presides over civil office and emolument, formed by the merging of two strands: one is the loca…
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…
The spread of Daoism in Europe and the Americas may be traced along two threads: the Daoism of Chinese immigrants and an indigenized Western Daoism. From the mid-nineteen…
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 …
The Eastern Lineage of Internal Alchemy (Dongpai) was founded by Lu Xixing (1520–1606?), a native of Xinghua in Jiangsu during the Ming dynasty, and takes its name from i…
Fangxian Dao is the general term for the immortality beliefs and traditions of esoteric arts current from the Warring States through the Qin and Han, taking its name from…
The Golden Elixir tradition, or Danding (Elixir and Tripod) School, is a Daoist tradition whose principal path of cultivation is the compounding of external elixirs (waid…
"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…
Jingming Daoism (Pure and Bright Daoism) is a Daoist order formed during the Song and Yuan at Xishan, Nanchang, Jiangxi, taking Xu Xun of the Eastern Jin as its patriarch…
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 Longmen (Dragon Gate) Lineage is the most influential of the branches descending from the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen, honoring Qiu Chuji as its patriarch, and takes …
Louguan Daoism was a Daoist tradition centered on the Louguan (Tower Belvedere) on Mount Zhongnan, active from the Northern and Southern Dynasties through the Sui and Tan…
The Maoshan Lineage is the sectarian institution that the Shangqing School developed after the Southern Dynasties, centered on Mount Mao (Maoshan) as its ancestral court;…
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 Northern Celestial Masters is the school that took shape after the Daoist priest Kou Qianzhi reformed the Way of the Celestial Masters under the Northern Wei. Kou Qia…
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…
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 …
The spread of Daoism on the Korean peninsula began in the Three Kingdoms period. The Samguk sagi records that in the seventh year of the Wude reign of the Tang (624) Empe…
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 Sanyi Teaching is a religion founded by Lin Zhao'en of Putian, Fujian, in the Ming dynasty, teaching the unity of the Three Teachings; it does not itself belong to Da…
The Shangqing (Highest Clarity) School is a new Daoist school that emerged among the great clans of Jiangnan in the mid-Eastern Jin, taking its name from the Shangqing Sc…
The Shenxiao (Divine Empyrean) School is a talismanic Daoist order distinguished by its thunder rites, which arose at the end of the Northern Song. "Shenxiao" refers to t…
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…
Taiyi Daoism was a new Daoist tradition that arose in the Hebei–Henan region in the early Jin dynasty, together with Quanzhen Daoism and Zhen Dadao known as the 'Three Gr…
The Way of Great Peace (Taiping Dao) was an early Daoist religious community founded by Zhang Jiao in Jizhou at the end of the Eastern Han, and together with the Way of t…
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 Way of the Five Pecks of Rice (Wudoumi Dao) was a Daoist religious community founded by Zhang Daoling (Zhang Ling) in the Ba-Shu region at the end of the Eastern Han,…
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…
Xuanjiao (the Mysterious Teaching) is a lineage that split off from Zhengyi Daoism in the Yuan dynasty, founded by Zhang Liusun. Zhang Liusun (1248–1321), a native of Gui…
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…
Zhen Dadao (True Great Way), originally named Dadao Jiao (Teaching of the Great Way), is a new Daoist order founded by Liu Deren (1122–1180) of Cangzhou, Hebei, in the ea…
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…
Caodaism (Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ) was formally established as a religion on 7 October 1926, growing out of a spirit-writing (扶乩) circle in Saigon in 1925; its founders inc…
Cebu Taoist Temple was built in 1972, funded by Cebu's Chinese-Filipino community, on the high ground of the Beverly Hills subdivision overlooking downtown Cebu City; it …
The Wailuku Chee Kung Tong was built in 1904, one of the six original Chinese association halls on Maui. The lintel bears the inscription 'Chee Kung Tong Hall,' with 'Equ…
The Chee Ying Society is located in the sugarcane district of Honokaa on the north coast of the island of Hawaiʻi, and is a branch organization of the Pacific network of …
Daode Zhonggong stands in the old town of Bozhou, and is also known as the Hall of the Old Ancestor; it was first built in the Tang dynasty as a temple for sacrifices to …
The Daoist Association of Russia (Даосская Ассоциация России) was founded in 2021 by Li Jia and Cheng Bohan, and is the principal Daoist organization in the Russian-speak…
Dongmyo (Eastern Guan Yu Shrine, in full the Eastern Shrine to the King Guan) was begun in 1599 and completed in 1601; it enshrines Guan Yu as its principal deity (honore…
The Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism was founded in Toronto in 1970 by Moy Lin-shin, together with its sister organization the International Taoist Tai Chi Society, formi…
Gee Hing Church stands at 13 Black Burn Lane; its present building dates from 1920, though its origins are said by some to go back to 1888, and it is dedicated chiefly to…
The Hong Kong Taoist Association was founded in June 1961, and serves as the overarching coordinating body for the Daoist community in Hong Kong, spanning the Quanzhen, X…
Kaohsiung Daode Temple is dedicated primarily to the Most High Ancestor of the Dao (Laozi), and also worships the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, and the Three Officia…
Laojun Mountain in Xinjin is traditionally held (according to one view) to be the site of the 'Chougeng Parish,' one of Zhang Daoling's twenty-four parishes; it was an ar…
The Laojun Portrait Stele on the west pillar of the Sanqing Hall at Xuanmiao Temple, Suzhou, was carved in the first year of the Baoqing era of the Southern Song (1225); …
Laojun Rock is the largest surviving Daoist stone sculpture in China, a seated statue of Laozi carved in the Song dynasty from a natural granite boulder, 5.63 meters high…
Louguantai is traditionally held to be the place where Yin Xi, keeper of Hangu Pass in the Zhou dynasty, built a thatched tower to observe the stars and watch for auspici…
The Maoshan Daoist Culture Museum, located within the Maoshan Scenic Area in Jiangsu, is a dedicated exhibition institution devoted to the Shangqing school and the Daoism…
Mingdao Palace stands within the town of Luyi County, centered on the Laojun Terrace (Ascension Terrace). Tradition holds that Laozi lectured here and ascended to immorta…
Mount Kongtong is a famous mountain in eastern Gansu; tradition holds that the Yellow Emperor ascended it in the west to ask about the Dao from Guang Chengzi (as recorded…
Mount Tai is foremost among the Five Marchmounts, anciently called Daizong or the Eastern Peak, and the site where successive emperors performed the Feng and Shan sacrifi…
Mount Wangwu is the foremost of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens of Daoism, the 'Heaven of Lesser Existence and Clear Emptiness.' Tradition holds that the Yellow Emperor once…
The Qingyang Palace (Green Ram Temple) is one of the largest and oldest Daoist temples in Southwest China. Tradition holds that Laozi arranged to meet the Guardian of the…
Shangqing Palace in Luoyang is located on Cuiyun Peak of Mount Mang; tradition holds that Laozi once refined the elixir there. In the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, a …
The Song Stele on the Rebuilding of Taiqing Gong was erected in the seventh year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song (1014), stands about 3.60 meters in total…
Louguantai, also known as the Zongsheng Guan or "Ancient Louguan," is traditionally said to be the place where Yin Xi wove grass into a tower to observe the stars and whe…
The Stele of the Sacred Record of Qingtang Guan on Longjiaoshan of the Great Tang, known for short as the Stele of the Sacred Record, was erected in the ninth month of th…
Taiqing Palace at Luyi is a memorial temple at the reputed birthplace of Laozi. In the eighth year of the Yanxi reign of the Eastern Han (165), Emperor Huan sent the pala…
The Tang Imperial Daodejing Commentary Stele at the Taiqing Palace in Luyi bears Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's imperial commentary on the Daodejing, and is the earliest surv…
The Tang stone seated statue of Laojun held at the Xi'an Beilin Museum originally stood at the Laojun Temple on Mount Li in Lintong, Shaanxi, before being moved into the …
The Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego is one of the earliest religious corporations in the United States registered under the name 'Daoist,' established in 1975; its current …
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…
Tianjing Palace, also called the Central Taiqing Palace, stands on the north bank of the Guo River in Guoyang; local scholars in Guoyang, citing the Commentary on the Wat…
Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou was founded in the second year of the Xianning era of the Western Jin (276), and was known successively as the Zhenqing Daoyuan, the Kaiyuan Pal…
The Yuanfu Wanning Palace, popularly known as the Seal Palace, takes its name from the fact that it houses the jade seal bestowed by Emperor Huizong of Song, the 'Seal of…
Yuntai Mountain in Xiuwu, Henan, is known for its Taihang landscape of streams and cliffs and as the retreat of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," and it was also a s…
The Zhongnan Mountains are one of the birthplaces of Daoism and one of its sacred sites of eremitic cultivation, anciently called Nanshan, Taiyi Shan, or Zhongnan Shan, e…
Body Gods (Shenshen): Daoism holds that the human body is a microcosm, with divinities residing in each part of the body (such as the gods of Niwan, the dantian, and the …
A concept of causality put forward in the Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping jing): the good or evil deeds of earlier generations bring blessings or misfortunes that are b…
A philosophical current in Sui and Tang Daoism developed from the phrase 'mystery upon mystery' in the Daodejing, with Cheng Xuanying and Li Rong as its representative fi…
The supreme category in Daoist philosophy and religion. The Daodejing states, 'The Dao that can be told is not the constant Dao,' meaning the ultimate reality and fundame…
A text of some five thousand characters attributed to Laozi, divided into the Dao chapters and the De chapters across eighty-one sections. It is the foundational scriptur…
Some eight hundred Daoist manuscripts of the Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang periods recovered from the Library Cave at Dunhuang, including fragments of the Xiang'er Commenta…
Fasting of the Mind (Xinzhai): from the 'In the World of Men' chapter of the Zhuangzi — 'Do not listen with the ears but listen with the mind; do not listen with the mind…
Compiled by the retainers of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, in the Western Han, in twenty-one chapters. Predominantly Daoist in orientation but incorporating other schools of…
A Han-dynasty current of thought that took Huangdi and Laozi as its founders, blending the non-action of Daoist philosophy with immortality techniques and yin-yang numero…
The ideal person of Daoism: one who has attained the Dao through cultivation, achieved immortality, and gained the ability to transform freely. The Baopuzi (Master Who Em…
A Daoist lineage of the late Southern Song and early Yuan tracing its founder to Xu Xun, formally established by Liu Yu in the Yuan dynasty; it took 'loyalty, filial piet…
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…
The claim that after Laozi passed west through the Hangu Pass he traveled to India and became the Buddha to teach the western barbarians, making Buddhism a branch of Daoi…
A moral self-examination handbook that records daily good and bad deeds and assigns them quantified scores; the earliest example is the Southern Song Ledger of Merit and …
Attributed to Lie Yukou, the received text in eight chapters is generally thought to have been compiled by people of the Wei-Jin period. The Tang court honored it as the …
A Daoist lineage that flourished at Louguan on the Zhongnan Mountains from the Northern Dynasties through the Sui and Tang; it venerated Yin Xi as its founder, holding th…
Popular religious texts that propagate the doctrine of retribution and exhort people to do good, with the Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response, the Tract on H…
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…
Compiled by Meng Anpai of the Tang in ten scrolls, it systematically summarizes Daoist doctrine under thirty-seven headings, including the Dao and De, the Dharma-body, th…
The Taishang laojun shuo chang qingjing jing, which appeared in the Tang dynasty. In only four hundred characters it expounds clarity, stillness, and non-action, and the …
Written by the Western Jin Daoist priest Wang Fu and later expanded to ten scrolls, it relates how Laozi traveled west and converted the barbarians, becoming the Buddha. …
The Huangdi yinfu jing, just over three hundred characters, appeared in the Tang dynasty (though some hold it to be earlier). It expounds the principle of mutual 'pilferi…
Transmitted by the Louguan School, it purports to record the words Laozi gave to Yin Xi upon his western ascension. Fusing the thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi with Buddhist…
Sitting in Oblivion (Zuowang): from the 'Great and Venerable Teacher' chapter of the Zhuangzi — 'Cast off the limbs and body, dismiss hearing and sight, leave form and kn…
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…
Immortality techniques transmitted by the fangshi of Yan and Qi during the Warring States, Qin, and Han periods, centered on the Three Divine Mountains of the sea, the el…
Attributed to Wenzi, a disciple of Laozi, it was honored by the Tang court as the Tongxuan zhenjing. It frequently cites Laozi's words to expound the principles of Dao, D…
A principle of conduct and statecraft that accords with what is natural and refrains from forced action: 'The Dao constantly takes no action, yet nothing is left undone.'…
An early Celestial Masters commentary on the Daodejing, traditionally attributed to Zhang Daoling or Zhang Lu; the first half survives in a Dunhuang fragment (S.6825). It…
Written by Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han, it correlates the hexagrams and lines of the Zhouyi (Book of Changes), Huang-Lao thought, and the furnace methods of alchemy. Wr…
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…
Composed by Zhuang Zhou and his later followers, the received text comprises thirty-three chapters (seven Inner Chapters, fifteen Outer Chapters, and eleven Miscellaneous…
Meaning 'being so of itself' or 'being as it originally is': 'Humans model themselves on earth, earth models itself on heaven, heaven models itself on the Dao, and the Da…
The Baopuzi Outer Chapters is Ge Hong's work discussing gains and losses in the human world and the merits and faults of worldly affairs, fifty chapters, classified among…
The Biographies of Exemplary Immortals is the earliest surviving book of immortal biographies, in two chapters, recording the deeds of seventy (some say seventy-one) immo…
The Biographies of Grotto Immortals was originally in ten chapters, of which only the one chapter included in scroll 110 of the Seven Slips from the Bookbag of the Clouds…
The Biography of the Perfected Lord Xu records the life and wonders of Xu Xun (c. 239–374) of the Eastern Jin: styled Jingzhi, a native of Nanchang, he once served as mag…
The Central Scripture of Laozi, also called the Pearl Palace and Jade Calendar, is one of the earliest surviving Daoist scriptures to describe the spirits within the huma…
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…
Cheng Xuanying's Subcommentary on the Zhuangzi is the subcommentary written on Guo Xiang's commentary by Cheng Xuanying, the great master of Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) l…
The Classic of Filial Piety of Lord Wenchang purports to have been transmitted through spirit-writing by Wenchang Dijun, composed in imitation of the format of the Confuc…
The Collected Compilation on the Treatise on Action and Response is the most widely circulated and voluminous of the many commentarial editions of the Treatise of the Mos…
The Chongyang Quanzhen ji (Collected Works of Wang Chongyang on Complete Perfection) is a collection of Wang Chongyang's poetry and prose, in thirteen juan, containing ov…
The Youxiang Liexian Quanzhuan (Complete Illustrated Biographies of Immortals) in nine scrolls is the largest illustrated collection of immortal biographies from the Ming…
The Daodejing is the most fundamental classic of Daoist philosophy and religion, traditionally attributed to Lao Dan, Historian-Archivist of the Zhou royal library. The w…
Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn and published by Brill in 2000 as part of its Handbook of Oriental Studies series, is the first systematic collection of research su…
The Daoist Canon of the Kaiyuan Era is the first Daoist Canon in history to be compiled and promulgated throughout the realm under state sponsorship. Emperor Xuanzong of …
Direct Pointers to Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen zhizhi) is the Longmen-Lineage alchemist Liu Yiming's (sobriquet Wuyuanzi) commentary on Zhang Boduan's Awakening to Reali…
About eight hundred Daoist manuscripts were unearthed from the Library Cave at Dunhuang, direct physical witnesses to Daoist scriptures of the Tang and earlier, predating…
Early Daoist Scriptures is a landmark work of English translation and scholarship on early Daoist texts. Bokenkamp selected key scriptures of Six Dynasties Daoism and tra…
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) revered Daoism and honored Laozi as the Mysterious Primordial Emperor. He personally composed a commentary on the Daodejing, promulga…
Extended Meaning of the Tract on Hidden Merit is a commentary on the Tract on Hidden Merit composed by the Qing-dynasty lay Buddhist Zhou Mengyan (style name Siren, sobri…
The Huangdi Sijing (Four Classics of Huangdi) comprises four ancient lost texts found at the head of manuscript B of the Laozi among the Mawangdui silk manuscripts, and i…
The Qingwei Xianpu (Genealogy of the Immortals of the Qingwei Tradition) is a one-fascicle genealogy of the Qingwei school's patriarchal transmission, compiled by Chen Ca…
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…
Guo Xiang's Commentary on the Zhuangzi is the earliest complete extant commentary on the Zhuangzi, and also a summa of Wei–Jin Dark Learning (xuanxue). Guo Xiang condense…
The Heart Methods of the Dragon Gate Lineage is a record of the dharma-talks given by Wang Changyue, seventh-generation precept master of the Quanzhen Longmen Lineage, in…
The Heguanzi is a work combining Daoist and Military-School thought from the state of Chu in the late Warring States period; the author took his name from wearing a cap o…
The Heshanggong Commentary on the Laozi is one of the earliest surviving and most widely circulated commentaries on the Daodejing. Tradition holds that Heshanggong ('Mast…
Qing Xitai's four-volume Zhongguo Daojiao Shi (History of Chinese Daoism), collectively compiled by the Institute for Religious Studies of Sichuan University, was publish…
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 p…
The four-volume Zhongguo Daojiao Sixiang Shi (History of Chinese Daoist Thought), edited by Qing Xitai with Zhan Shichuang as deputy editor, was published by People's Pub…
The Huainanzi is a summa of early Western Han Huang-Lao Daoist thought, compiled by scholars and masters of methods gathered by Liu An, Prince of Huainan; it takes Daoism…
《大明玄天上帝瑞应图录》是明永乐朝为「北建故宫、南修武当」的武当大营建配套官修的瑞应图册，图文对照记录永乐十年至十七年间营建武当宫观时的「祥瑞显应」：黑云感应、榔梅呈瑞、五色圆光、骞林应祥等数十事，每事一图一记。其政治功能十分明确——朱棣以「靖难」得位，宣称真武「阴翊默赞」，此图录即以图像证明皇帝崇奉真武获得神明回应，为永乐政权的合法性叙…
Instructions on the Heart-Elixir Scripture of the Upper Cavern (Shangdong xindan jingjue), in three scrolls, is a Tang-dynasty text combining external alchemy, ingestion,…
Lectures on the Daodejing is Huang Yuanji's chapter-by-chapter exposition of the Daodejing according to the principles of internal-alchemical cultivation, forming a compl…
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…
The Master of Heavenly Seclusion (Tianyinzi) is a short Tang-dynasty Daoist treatise on cultivation, in eight chapters: Immortals, Ease and Simplicity, the Gradual Gate, …
The Sandong zhunang (Pearl Satchel of the Three Caverns) is a Daoist encyclopedic compilation assembled in the early Tang; organized by topic, it excerpts from the script…
Pengzu's Treatise on Preserving Health and Nourishing Nature is attributed to the legendarily long-lived Pengzu, and is a brief general treatise on nourishing life. It pr…
The Pivot of Meaning of the Daoist Teaching (Daojiao yishu) is a compendium of Daoist doctrine compiled by the Tang priest Meng Anpai of Qingxi, expounding fundamental Da…
The Precept Scripture of the Most High Lord Lao is presented as precepts spoken by Laozi to Yin Xi as he passed through the pass, proclaiming Daoism's 'Five Precepts' (ag…
The Precepts of Medium Ultimate, in full the Precepts of Medium Ultimate: Great Precepts of Shangqing Dongzhen Wisdom on Contemplating the Body, form the second altar of …
The Record of Ranks of the Mysterious (Xuanpin lu), in five scrolls, was compiled by the celebrated Yuan-dynasty Daoist and poet-calligrapher Zhang Yu, who arranges Daois…
The Xuanzhu lu (Record of the Mysterious Pearl) is the recorded sayings of Wang Xuanlan, a Daoist priest of Mianzhu in the early Tang, compiled and prefaced by his discip…
The Recorded Sayings from the Hall of Joyful Cultivation collects the sayings on the Dao given by Huang Yuanji (personal name Shang), a Daoist of Fengcheng, Jiangxi, in t…
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 …
Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life is the most systematic surviving compendium of life-nourishing arts from the Six Dynasties, divided into six sections: Adm…
The Dingguan jing (Scripture of Concentration and Observation) takes the two characters ding (concentration) and guan (observation) as its guiding thread, teaching that t…
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…
The Neiguan jing (Scripture of Inner Observation) is attributed to the Most High Lord Lao and is a representative short scripture of Tang-dynasty Daoist cultivation of mi…
The Scripture of Laozi's Conversion of the Barbarians is a scripture produced by Daoism in the course of its disputes with Buddhism, claiming that after Laozi passed west…
The Xisheng jing (Scripture of Laozi's Western Ascension) is presented as the words spoken by Laozi to the pass-keeper Yin Xi when he journeyed west and departed through …
The Scripture of Precepts Chanted by Lord Lao preserves a surviving portion of the Yunzhong Yinsong Xinke zhi Jie (New Chanted Regulations and Precepts from within the Cl…
The Benji jing (Scripture of the Original Bound) was one of the most widely circulated doctrinal scriptures of Daoism at the turn of the Sui and Tang; nearly a hundred ma…
The Scripture of the Three Sovereigns (Sanhuang wen) is the foundational scripture of the Dongshen (Cavern of Spirit) Section among the Daoist "Three Caverns," standing a…
The Scripture of the Void of Free Wandering (also written Xiaoyao Xu Jing), in two fascicles, was compiled by Hong Yingming during the Wanli era of the Ming, and is a pop…
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 Scripture of the Yellow Court: Outer Effulgences (Huangting waijing jing) is one of the two Huangting Jing texts, composed in seven-syllable rhymed verse and about ha…
The Scripture Spoken by Lord Lao on Requiting the Profound Kindness of Parents proclaims, in the name of the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, the kindness of parents in beari…
The Selected Daoist Texts Series (Daojiao Dianji Xuankan) is a series of critically collated and annotated Daoist classics published by Zhonghua Book Company, appearing s…
The Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips from the Bookbag of the Clouds) is a Daoist compendium compiled by Zhang Junfang of the Northern Song on the basis of his collation of the D…
The Zhongnanshan Shuojingtai Lidai Zhenxian Beiji (Stele Records of Perfected Immortals through the Ages at the Scripture Platform on Mount Zhongnan), in one juan, record…
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. T…
The Taoist Body (French original title Le corps taoïste) is a classic work of Western Daoist studies. Kristofer Schipper conducted long-term fieldwork in southern Taiwan …
The Taishang ganying pian (Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response) is the most widely circulated Daoist morality book in China; its opening lines, 'Fortune and …
The Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion (Zuowang lun) is the celebrated work of the Tang Shangqing patriarch Sima Chengzhen on the stages of cultivating the Dao, centered on …
The Treatise on the Mysterious Guideline (Xuangang lun) is a work by the eminent Tang priest Wu Yun systematically expounding Daoist philosophy and the theory of cultivat…
The Treatise on the Substance of the Dao (Daoti lun) is a short philosophical treatise of the Tang Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) school discussing the ontology of the Dao, …
The True Scripture of Awakening the World by Lord Guan is one of the "Three Sage Scriptures," the morality books of the Ming and Qing periods, attributed to Guan Yu (Lord…
Twelve Daoist Books is the collected works of Liu Yiming, eleventh-generation patriarch of the Longmen Lineage in the Qing dynasty. Though named "twelve," the standard ed…
The Fanghu waishi (Unofficial History of Fanghu) is the collected writings of Lu Xixing (styled Qianxu), founder of the Eastern Lineage of internal alchemy in the Ming, c…
Wang Bi's Commentary on the Laozi is a foundational work of Wei–Jin Xuanxue (Learning of the Mysterious) and became the standard commentary on the Daodejing for later gen…
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 Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi is the early Way of the Celestial Masters' (Wudoumi Dao) religious commentary on the Daodejing, and the key document through which Da…
The Yinfu jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) runs to only a little over 300 characters, and together with the Daodejing and the Qingjing jing is one of the most impo…
The Zhouyi Cantong Qi (Token for the Agreement of the Three According to the Book of Changes) was later honored as the king of alchemical scriptures for all ages, and is …
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…