Picture 1. Early representation of immortals as winged beings walking on clouds and holding a zhi (the plant of immortality) in their hands.
Source: Nanyang Wenwu yanjiusuo (Nanyang Institute for Cultural Heritage), ed.,
Nanyang Handai huaxiangbei (Han-dynasty stone reliefs from Nanyang, Hunan), fig. 171
(Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1990).
Picture 2. A "winged man" (yuren) bearing the “hare in the moon.” Eastern Han (1st-2nd century CE). Xindu 新都 (Sichuan).
The Taoist Tradition: An Introduction to Teachings, Schools, and Practices
A concise but comprehensive introduction to Taoist thought and religion, treating them not as separate domains but as two inseparable aspects of a single tradition. Early texts, history, cosmos and human being, and main practices, including External and Internal Alchemy.
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