The Golden Elixir

Reproduced from:

The Encyclopedia of Taoism, ed. by Fabrizio Pregadio

Routledge, 2008

Description

   See also the Introduction to The Encyclopedia of Taoism

The Encyclopedia of Taoism provides an overview of Taoist religion and thought through a wide selection of topics, reflects the current state of Taoist scholarship, and aims to contribute to a better understanding of this and related fields.

The book contains about 800 entries arranged in alphabetical order, an appendix, two bibliographies, a final index, and other front and back matter. With few exceptions, entries range between 250 and 2,000 words. The entries are concerned with the following subjects:

• Surveys of major topics: ca. 75 entries
• Schools and traditions: ca. 30 entries
• Persons: ca. 150 entries
• Texts: ca. 200 entries
• Terms (including ritual and self-cultivation practices): ca. 225 entries
• Divinities and immortals: ca. 80 entries
• Temples: ca. 20 entries
• Mountains: ca. 20 entries

Through a broad use of cross-references, marked by asterisks, each entry leads to other entries. A list of closely related entries is also found at the end of each entry.

Bibliographic references help to expand the amount of information gathered from the Encyclopedia. Several dozen illustrations and tables complement the entries. Both the entries and the bibliography contain Chinese and Japanese characters.

Sample Entries from the Golden Elixir website

• Daode jing (Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue)
• daojia (Taoism; “Lineage[s] of the Way”)
• daojiao (Taoism; Taoist teaching; “Teaching[s] of the Way”)
• Daozang (Taoist Canon) and Subsidiary Compilations
• jiao (Offering)
• jindan (Golden Elixir)
• Lingbao (Numinous Treasure)
• Quanzhen (Completion of Authenticity)
• Shangqing (Highest Clarity)
• Tianshi dao (Way of the Celestial Masters)

Table of Contents

Volume I

Foreword, by T.H. Barrett

vii

Contributors

xi

Introduction

xiii

Conventions, Format of the Entries, Abbreviations and Symbols

xxi

Synoptic Table of Contents

xxv

List of Illustrations

xliii

List of Tables

xlvii

Taoism: An Overview

1

List of entries

3

Entries

5

Entries A through L

197

Volume II

Entries M through Z

729

Appendix: Reference Works for the Study of Taoism

1311

Bibliographies

1333

Sources in the Daozang (Taoist Canon)

1335

Abbreviations of Serials

1361

Studies

1362

Periodization of Chinese History

1465

Pinyin to Wade-Giles Conversion Table

1473

Wade-Giles to Pinyin Conversion Table

1477

Index

1481

Contributors