Articles on Taoism
Taoist Thought and Religion
The term daojia is a topic of debate among scholars, mainly concerning whether early Taoism constituted a ‘school’ or ‘lineage,’ as the term jia seems to imply, and the distinction between daojia and daojiao, which is often understood to mean the religious forms of Taoism.
Isabelle Robinet, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →This term, now denoting the religion which is the topic of this encyclopedia, originally meant no more than ‘Teaching of the Way’ — though even this is misleading, in that inculcation rather than education is implied by ‘teaching.’
T.H. Barrett, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →Texts and Textual Collections
The Daode jing, also known as Laozi, is ascribed to Laozi, who allegedly gave it to Yin Xi as he left the Middle Kingdom to go to the west. Scholars have long debated its authorship and date.
Isabelle Robinet, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →Current Western scholarship is virtually unanimous in asserting that there was no historical Laozi. The reputed author of the Daode jing, whose name means Old Master, might be best seen as a “collective entity” who embodies the nameless tradition.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →Zhuangzi — whose name was Zhuang Zhou — probably lived between 370 and 280 BCE. He wrote the “Inner Chapters” (1–7) of the work named after him, which form the first of its three main parts.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →What has popularly come to be known as the Daozang (Taoist Canon) is indisputably the foremost body of texts for research in the field of Taoist studies. The Ming Canon of 1445 lies at the heart of all modern editions of the Canon.
Judith M. Boltz, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →History, Schools, and Lineages
The process that, in the second half of the 2nd century CE, led to the formation of the first major Taoist religious movement (Tianshi dao, or Way of the Celestial Masters) could not be understood without paying attention to the divinization of Laozi.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from the The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →Huang-Lao dao is the name under which one part of the Taoist tradition was known in the early Han period (2nd century BCE). The precise contours of this “Way” are unclear.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →The founding of the Way of the Celestial Masters in modern Sichuan province during the 2nd century CE marks the formal establishment of the Taoist religion. The movement traces its origins to a revelation to Zhang Daoling in 142 CE, when Laozi descended to him atop Mount Heming.
Terry Kleeman, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →The term Shangqing initially denoted a corpus of scriptures revealed to Yang Xi (330–86) between 364 and 370. These scriptures were adopted by the southern Chinese aristocracy in the fifth and sixth centuries and were assigned the highest rank within the Three Caverns of the Taoist Canon.
Isabelle Robinet, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →The name lingbao (Numinous Treasure) was originally a description of a medium or sacred object into which a spirit had descended. The first scripture to use the name indicated its own status as spiritual treasure.
Stephen R. Bokenkamp, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →Quanzhen is today the main official branch of Taoism in continental China. This status is not primarily due to its doctrines, but rather to its celibate and communal mode of life.
Vincent Goossaert, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Read this article →Cosmos and Human Being
In Chinese cosmology, Yin and Yang are two opposite but complementary principles that regulate the functioning of the cosmos. Their repeated alternation provides the energy necessary for the cosmos to sustain itself.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →Like several other cultures, China has developed the macrocosm-microcosm theory in different forms. Taoism has borrowed some of them and elaborated others.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →The relations among the different cosmological configurations that intervene between the Dao and the “ten thousand things” are illustrated in the Chart of the Great Ultimate, discussed at length by both Taoist and Neo-Confucian authors.
Fabrizio Pregadio, for the Golden Elixir website
Read this article →Three main terms define the traditional Chinese views of the human body: ti (body, the physical frame as an ordered whole), xing (form, the body as counterpart and residence of spirit), and shen (person, the whole human being).
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →The ordinary Western understanding of the body as physical frame cannot convey the complexity of the premodern Chinese view, which revolves around three main terms.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →Meditation and Ritual
Besides the gods and goddesses who reside in heaven, a veritable pantheon of Taoist deities also exists within the human being. These deities personify abstract notions, allow communication with outer gods, manage the body, perform healing tasks, and are objects of meditation.
Fabrizio Pregadio, from The Taoist Tradition
Read this article →The term jiao means “offering” or “sacrifice.” It refers to the large-scale Taoist ceremonies organized by local communities in order to establish or confirm the relationship between the group and its tutelary deity.
Poul Andersen, from The Encyclopedia of Taoism
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