Contents Illustrations v Map of China vii Dynastic Chart viii Pronunciation Guide x Background to Daoism 1 Shang Ancestors and Divination 2 The Yijing 4 Ancient Philosophical Schools 8 Confucianism 10 Part I: Foundations 15 The Daoism That Can’t Be Told 16 The Text of the Daode Jing 17 The Dao 20 Creation and Decline 22 The Sage 23 Interpreting the Daode Jing 25 Lord Lao 28 Ritual Application 30 At Ease in Perfect Happiness 35 The Zhuangzi 36 The World of ZHuang ZHou 38 The Ideal Life 41 Poetic Adaptations 43 The Zen Connection 46 From Health to Immortality 50 i Body Energetics 51 Qi Cultivation 52 Healing Exercises 54 Magical Practitioners and Immortals 59 Major Schools of the Middle Ages 64 Celestial Masters 65 Highest Clarity 66 Numinous Treasure 68 The Theocracy 70 The Three Caverns 71 State Religion 74 Cosmos, Gods, and Governance 80 Yin and Yang 81 The Five Phases 82 The Chinese Calendar 85 Deities, Demons, and Divine Rulers 87 The Ideal of Great Peace 92 Cosmic Cycles 94 Part II: Development 96 Ethics and the Community 97 The Celestial Connection 98 Millenarian Structures 100 Self-Cultivation Groups 103 Lay Organizations 105 The Monastic Life 108 Creation and the Pantheon 114 Creation 115 Spells, Charts, and Talismans 118 Heavens and Hells 122 ii Gods, Ancestors, and Immortals 125 Religious Practices 130 Longevity Techniques 131 Breath and Sex 134 Forms of Meditation 136 Body Transformation 140 Ritual Activation 143 Part III: Modernity 148 Modern Daoism 149 New Texts and Gods 150 Ritual Masters 152 Complete Perfection 154 Imperial Adaptations 157 An Expanded Pantheon 161 Reaching for the Dao 167 Trance Practices 168 Internal Alchemy 170 Healing and Martial Arts 173 Philosophical Speculation 177 Vernacular Novels 179 Daoism in China Today 183 Recent Developments 184 Structure and Administration 185 Daoist Lives 188 Ritual Activities 191 The Qigong Connection 195 Western Adaptations 200 Transmission in East Asia 201 Western Apperception 203 iii Temples and Communities 207 Heath Practices 209 Part IV: Reflections 215 The Nature and Study of Daoism 216 Key Characteristics 217 Evolution of Study 219 Current Trends 221 Activities and Resources 225 Appendix I: Chronology of Daoist History 231 Appendix II: The Daoist Canon 240 The Three Caverns 240 The Twelve Classes 241 Canonical Supplements 242 Further Collections 243 Indexes and Discussions 243 Glossary 245 iv Illustrations Fig. 0.1 The eight trigrams (author’s picture) Fig. 0.2 Confucius (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 1.1 An ancient scripture carved in stone (author’s picture) Fig. 1.2 Laozi, the Old Master (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 2.1 Sitting in oblivion (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 2.2 Floating above the clouds (author’s picture) Fig. 3.1 Qi channels in the body (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 3.2 The Exercise Chart (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 3.3 The text of the Stretch Book (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 3.4 Master Redpine (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 4.1 Yin and Yang (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 4.2 The five phases (author’s design) Fig. 4.3 The Yellow Emperor, worshiped in Taiwan today (author’s picture) Fig. 5.1 A talisman of Numinous Treasure (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 5.2 The Three Pure Ones (author’s picture) Fig. 5.3 A Daoist temple in the mountains (author’s picture) Fig. 6.1 The Worms in the body (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 6.2 A Chinese monastery (author’s picture) Fig. 6.3 Daoist food in formal presentation (author’s picture) Fig. 7.1 Classic talismans (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 7.2 The Diagram of the Great Ultimate (ancient Chinese text) v Illustrations Fig. 7.3 A Daoist immortal (author’s picture) Fig. 8.1 Sun Simiao (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 8.2 Beating the heavenly drum (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 8.3 Visualizing the arrival of the gods (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 9.1 A Daoist god in shining armor (author’s picture) Fig. 9.2 A Ritual Master today (author’s picture) Fig. 9.3 A Daoist garden (author’s picture) Fig. 10.1 The microcosmic orbit (author’s chart) Fig. 10.2 The immortal embryo exits the body (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 10.3 A woman practices the Five Animal Frolics (ancient Chinese text) Fig. 10.4 Practitioners of Taiji Sword today (author’s picture) Fig. 11.1 A community temple (author’s picture) Fig. 11.2 A temporary altar at the Grand Jiao (author’s picture) Fig. 11.3 Ceremonial procession at the Grand Jiao (author’s picture) Fig. 11.4 Qigong practice at a Hong Kong Daoist temple (author’s picture) vi Map of China vii Dynastic Chart B.C.E. Xia ca. 2100-1600 Shang ca. 1600-1028 Zhou 1027-221 Western 1027-771 Eastern 770-221 Spring and Autumn 722-468 Warring States 403-221 Qin 221-206 Former Han 206-8 C.E. Later Han 25-220 Three Kingdoms 220-265 Western Jin 265-317 Eastern Jin 317-420 Six Dynasties 420-589 SOUTHERN Liu Song 420-479 Southern Qi 479-502 Southern Liang 502-557 Southern Chen 557-589 NORTHERN Northern Wei 386-534 Eastern Wei 534-550 Western Wei 535-577 Northern Zhou 557-681 viii Sui 581-618 Tang 618-907 Empress Wu 690-705 Five Dynasties 907-960 Liao 916-1125 Song 960-1279 Northern 960-1126 Southern 1126-1279 Mongol-Yuan 1260-1368 Ming 1368-1644 Manchu-Qing 1644-1911 Republic (Taiwan) 1911- People’s Republic 1949- ix Pronunciation Guide The transliteration used in this book is Pinyin, the official form of transcribing Chinese used in mainland China. Although Pinyin is most commonly used today, older works and some recent studies still make use of the traditional Wade-Giles system. Generally, vowels are very close in both systems, with the one exception that Wade-Giles uses the “ü” with umlaut while Pinyin for the most part does not, especially after the vowels “j” and “ch.” The pronunciation is “ü” in either case. Consonants differ more significantly. Whereas Pinyin conforms to standard English usage, in Wade-Giles all aspirated consonants (written with an apostrophe) are pronounced as original (T’ = T, P’ = P), while nonaspirated ones are pronounced softly (T = D, P = B). Thus the tradi- tional transliteration “Taoism” and the more modern “Daoism.” In addition, “J” in Wade-Giles is “R” in Pinyin, and pronounced like a deep, growling “R.” Finally, the various “tch” and “dse” sounds differ: PY WG Engl. Example x hs soft sh Xu = Hsü = Shü j ch soft dch Juan = chüan = dchüen q ch’ sharp tch Qi = ch’i = tchee zh ch soft dch Zhang = Chang = Dchang ch ch’ sharp tch Cheng = Ch’eng = Tcheng zhi chih soft dch-rr chi ch’ih sharp tch-rr zi tzu soft dse Laozi = Lao-tzu = Laodse ci tz’u sharp tse si ssu hissing sse x Background to Daoism In this chapter Daoism forms an integral part of Chinese culture and has not only contributed considerably to its shaping and development, but is also deeply embedded in it. In the time before even the first traces of Daoism appear on the historical horizon—usually associated with the philoso - pher Laozi, dated to around 500 B.C.E.—various cultural perceptions and religious practices were established that have had a lasting effect on Daoist philosophy, cosmology, ritual, and religious cultivation ever since. The four most notable ones form the contents of this chapter. Main topics covered • Shang Ancestors and Divination • The Yijing • Ancient Philosophical Schools • Confucianism | Background to Daoism Shang Ancestors and Divination he Shang dynasty (ca.1600-1028 B.C.E.) is the earliest Chinese state documented in writing as well as archaeological finds—its predecessor, the Xia dynasty (ca. 2100-1600 B.C.E.), and its contemporary, the western culture in Sichuan, are only known from excavated tombs and artifacts. Ruling the central area of China with a capital in what is today Henan, the Shang state worked through an extensive Tadministrative bureaucracy, constituted by the king as central ruler, his relatives, local aristo- crats, and educated upper-class officials. Shang Ancestors The dominant belief of the dynasty was that the otherworld was similarly organized as the Shang bureaucracy. Populated by nature deities such as sun, moon, rain, and thunder as well as a plethora of ancestors—most importantly those of the ruling house and its original founder , known as Shangdi or Highest Ruler—the realm beyond had a major impact on all events and occurrences on Earth. Ancestors not only served as intermediaries to the great nature deities but also influenced events on Earth by bestowing either blessings or curses on human actions. As a result, all actions involving the ruler, from the most mundane to the most decisive, had to be submitted to the ancestors’ inspection and were either supported or rejected. All events like- ly to occur were posted to the ancestors for their prediction and guidance. Different ancestors, moreover, were responsible for different areas of life. They received regular offerings based on a complex ritual schedule that followed a calendar consisting of a ten-day week and twelve- year cycle. Both are still in use in China today, notably for fortune-telling purposes (see ch. 4). Ancestor Worship and Divination The key religious activity of the Shang dynasty involved ancestral sacrifices and divination. Ancestral sacrifices consisted of regular offerings of food and drink in special ritual vessels, usually cast from bronze. They came in all shapes and sizes and were richly ornamented with supernatural figures and intricate patterns. These vessels are the famousShang bronzes, exhib- ited in numerous museums around the world, and the object of more or less skilled forgeries since the Song dynasty.