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Do not fill this in! ==Texts== [[File:Mawangdui LaoTsu Ms2.JPG|thumb|upright|A part of a [[Taoist]] manuscript, ink on silk, 2nd century BCE, Han dynasty, unearthed from [[Mawangdui]] tomb 3rd]] Some religious Taoist movements view traditional texts as scriptures that are considered sacred, authoritative, binding, and divinely inspired or revealed.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=31}}<ref name="Gurdon-2002b">{{Cite book |title=World Religions: Eastern Traditions |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |editor=Willard Gurdon Oxtoby |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-541521-3 |edition=2nd |location=Don Mills, Ontario |pages=392, 394 |oclc=46661540}}</ref><ref name="Stefon-2023">{{Cite web |last=Stefon |first=Matt |date=2023-04-02 |title=Scripture |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/scripture |access-date=2023-05-22 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508204435/https://www.britannica.com/topic/scripture |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the ''Tao Te Ching'' was originally viewed as "human wisdom" and "written by humans for humans."<ref name="Stefon-2023" /> It and other important texts "acquired authority...that caused them to be regarded...as sacred."<ref name="Stefon-2023" /> Perhaps the most influential texts are the ''Tao Te Ching'' and the ''Zhuangzi''.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=31-32}}<ref>{{harvp|Miller|2003|p=ix}}</ref> ===''Tao Te Ching''=== {{Main|Tao Te Ching}} [[File:DaoDeJingWangBi.jpg|thumb|upright|1770 ''Wang Bi'' edition of the ''Tao Te Ching'']] Throughout the history of Taoism, the ''Tao Te Ching'' has been a central text, used for ritual, self-cultivation, and philosophical purposes.{{sfnp|Kohn|LaFargue|1998|p=158}}{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=32}} According to legend, the ''Tao Te Ching'' (also known as the ''Laozi'') was written by [[Laozi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patheos.com/Library/Taoism.html |title=Taoism: Overview |website=Patheos |access-date=2011-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016124951/http://www.patheos.com/Library/Taoism.html |archive-date=16 October 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> Authorship, precise date of origin, and even unity of the text are still subject of debate{{sfnp|Eliade|1984|p=26}} and will probably never be known with certainty.{{sfnp|Watts|1975|p=xxiii}} The earliest manuscripts of this work (written on [[Guodian Chu Slips|bamboo tablets]]) date back to the late 4th century BCE, and these contain significant differences from the later received edition (of [[Wang Bi]] {{Circa|226}}–249).{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=53-}}<ref name=stanford>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/ |chapter=Laozi |title=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |publisher=[[Stanford University]] |quote=The discovery of two ''Laozi'' silk manuscripts at Mawangdui, near Changsha, Hunan province in 1973 marks an important milestone in modern ''Laozi'' research. The manuscripts, identified simply as "A" (jia) and "B" (yi), were found in a tomb that was sealed in 168 B.C. The texts themselves can be dated earlier, the "A" manuscript being the older of the two, copied in all likelihood before 195 B.C.<br />Until recently, the Mawangdui manuscripts have held the pride of place as the oldest extant manuscripts of the ''Laozi''. In late 1993, the excavation of a tomb (identified as M1) in Guodian, Jingmen city, Hubei province, has yielded among other things some 800 bamboo slips, of which 730 are inscribed, containing over 13,000 Chinese characters. Some of these, amounting to about 2,000 characters, match the ''Laozi''. The tomb...is dated around 300 B.C. |year=2018 |access-date=18 September 2011 |archive-date=28 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428185936/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Apart from the Guodian text and the Wang Bi edition, another alternative version exists, the Mawangdui Tao Te Chings.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=53-55}} Louis Komjathy writes that the ''Tao Te Ching'' is "actually a multi-vocal anthology consisting of a variety of historical and textual layers; in certain respects, it is a collection of oral teachings of various members of the inner cultivation lineages."{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=32}} Meanwhile, Russell Kirkland argues that the text arose out of "various traditions of oral wisdom" from the [[Chu (state)|state of Chu]] that were written, circulated, edited, and rewritten by different hands. He also suggests that authors from the [[Jixia Academy|Jixia academy]] may have been involved in the editing process.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=65-66}} The ''Tao Te Ching ''is not organized in any clear fashion and is a collection of different sayings on various themes.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=54}} The leading themes of the Tao Te Ching revolve around the nature of Tao, how to attain it and De, the inner power of Tao, as well as the idea of [[Wu wei|wei wu-wei]].{{sfnp|Van Voorst|2005 |p=165}}{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=59}} Tao is said to be ineffable and accomplishes great things through small, lowly, effortless, and "feminine" (yin) ways (which are compared to the behavior of water).{{sfnp|Van Voorst|2005 |p=165}}{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=59}} Ancient commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' are important texts in their own right. Perhaps the oldest one, the ''[[Heshang Gong]]'' commentary, was most likely written in the 2nd century CE.<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|Verellen|2004|p=73}}</ref> Other important commentaries include the one from [[Wang Bi]] and the [[Xiang'er]] commentary.<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|Verellen|2004|pp=74–77}}</ref> ===''Zhuangzi''=== {{Main|Zhuangzi (book)}} The [[Zhuangzi (book)|''Zhuangzi'']] (''Book of Master Zhuang'', {{zh|labels=no|t=莊子}}), named after its supposed author [[Zhuang Zhou]], is a highly influential composite text of multi-vocal writings from various sources and historical periods.{{sfnp|Idema|Haft|1997|p=90}} The commentator and editor [[Guo Xiang]] (c. CE 300) helped establish the text as an important source for Taoist thought. One traditional view is that a sage called Zhuang Zhou wrote the first seven chapters (the "inner chapters"), and his students and related thinkers were responsible for the other parts (the outer and miscellaneous chapters). However, some modern scholars, like Russell Kirkland, argue that [[Guo Xiang]] is actually the creator of the 33-chapter Zhuangzi text and that there is no solid historical data for the existence of Zhuang Zhou himself (other than the sparse and unreliable mentions in [[Sima Qian]]).{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=34-35}} The ''Zhuangzi'' uses anecdotes, parables, and dialogues to express one of its main themes—avoiding cultural constructs and instead living in a spontaneous way aligned with the natural world.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=34-37}}<ref name="Ware-2023" /> This way of living might be perceived as "useless" by most people who follow their own "common sense" and social and political rules, but this uselessness is actually a wiser alternative, since it is more in accord with reality.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=37-38}} ===Chinese classics=== [[File:Anonymous - Zhenwu with the Eight Trigrams, the Northern Dipper, and Talismans - 1999.566 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg|thumb|Daoist deity [[Xuanwu (god)|Zhenwu]] with the Eight Trigrams ([[bagua]]) from the ''Yijing'' and the Northern Dipper, surrounded by Taoist talismans.]] Taoism draws on numerous [[Chinese classics]] that are not themselves "Taoist" texts but that remain important sources for Taoists. Perhaps the most important of these is the ancient divination text called the ''[[I Ching|Yijing]]'' (circa 1150 BCE).<ref>Pittman, Allen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HG-fUg2TqRQC&pg=PA21 ''Walking the I Ching''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018093755/https://books.google.com/books?id=HG-fUg2TqRQC&pg=PA21 |date=18 October 2015 }}. Blue Snake Books, 2008. p. 21</ref> The divination method in the ''Yijing'' and its associated concepts of yin and yang mapped into 64 "[[Hexagram (I Ching)|hexagrams]]"—combinations of the [[Bagua|8 trigrams]]—has influenced Taoism from its inception until today.<ref>Wing, R. L. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Mw-KtYRQHhoC&pg=PA15 ''The I Ching Workbook''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017045900/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mw-KtYRQHhoC&pg=PA15 |date=17 October 2015 }} Doubleday, 1979. pp. 15, 20.</ref><ref name="ClearyTIC">e.g. Cleary, Thomas, tr. [https://books.google.com/books?id=w9NFEyUKfQkC&pg=PT17 ''The Taoist I Ching''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101080655/https://books.google.com/books?id=w9NFEyUKfQkC&pg=PT17 |date=1 November 2015 }}. Shambhala, 1986. p. 6.</ref> Taoism also drew on other non-Taoist Chinese classic texts including:{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=2-10}}{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=23–33}}<ref name="Robinet 1997, p. 62"/> * The ''[[Mozi]]'', which was later adopted as a Taoist text by Taoists (who also saw master Mo – Mozi – as a Taoist immortal and included the ''Mozi'' into the Taoist canon).{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=26}} * The ''[[Han Feizi]]'' (''Writings of Master [[Han Fei]]''), a Legalist work that also contains key Taoist themes, such as wu-wei. * ([[Confucianism|Confucian]]) classics like the ''[[Analects]]'' and the ''[[Mencius (book)|Mengzi]]''. * ''[[Lüshi Chunqiu]]'', which is widely quoted in early Taoist sources. * ''[[Huangdi Neijing]]'' ''(The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor),'' an ancient Chinense medical text that was influential on Taoist inner cultivation theory. * ''[[Huainanzi]]'' ({{circa|139 BCE}}), an ancient source that includes [[Taoist]], [[Confucianist]], and [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]] ideas. * ''[[Guanzi (text)|Guanzi]]'', which discusses Taoist ideas in several chapters. === Other important Taoist texts === There are many other important Taoist texts, including: * ''[[Liezi]]'', a 4th century BCE classic Taoist work, which during the Tang was seen as the third great Taoist work alongside the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''Zhuangzi''.{{sfnp|Idema|Haft|1997|p=90}} * ''[[Neiye]]'', a 4th-century BCE text that describes self-cultivation, meditation, how to work with qi', and how to train one's heart-mind (xin) as well as one's body.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=41-46}} The ideas found in this text influenced later Taoist conceptions of internal alchemy.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=44-46}} * ''[[Wenzi]]''; attributed to a Disciple of Laozi but which likely dates to the [[Han dynasty]]. * ''[[Huahujing]]'' (''Classic on converting the barbarians''), an old text (5th–6th century BCE) that claims that Laozi traveled to China and is thus the source of [[Buddhism]]. * The ''[[Taipingjing]]'' (''Great Peace Scripture''), a key source for Han dynasty Taoism. * ''[[Liexian Zhuan]] (Biographies of Immortals),'' a Han dynasty text that is the earliest Taoist [[hagiography]] of Taoist immortals. * The ''[[Baopuzi]] neipian'', attributed to [[Ge Hong]], also known as Baopu (''Master who embraces simplicity''). This text is a major source for the [[Shangqing School]] and its inner-cultivation practices.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=19}} *The ''Dadong zhenjing'' (''Perfect Scripture of the Great Cavern'') and the ''Lingshu ziwen'' (''Purple Texts Inscribed by the Spirits''), the two most influential Supreme Clarity scriptures.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=35}} * ''[[Cantong qi|Cāntóng qì]]'' (''Kinship of the Three'')—one of the earliest sources on Taoist internal alchemy (neidan). * ''[[Yellow Court Classic|The Yellow Court Classic]]'' (''Huang Ting Jing'', 黄庭经) is a work on Taoist meditation revealed by Lady [[Wei Huacun]] of the [[Shangqing School|Shangqing school]] in the 288 CE. It remained an influential Shangqin text and was important for [[Lü Dongbin|Lu Dongbin]]. * ''[[Wupian zhenwen]]'' (''Perfect Writings in Five Sections''), the first of the [[Lingbao School|Lingbao]] scriptures.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=20}} * ''Ling Bao Bi Fai'' (''Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure''), a manual of longevity practices and neidan. * ''[[Zuowanglun]]'' (坐忘論 ), a work on [[Zuowang|zuòwàng]] ("sitting forgetting") meditation by [[Sima Chengzhen]] (647–735 CE), which is influenced by Buddhism.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=36}} * ''[[Huangdi Yinfujing|Huángdì Yǐnfújīng]]'' (黃帝陰符經, c. 8th century CE), a text on internal alchemy and astrology. * ''[[Huashu|Huàshū]]'' (化書), a 10th-century CE classic on internal alchemy. * ''[[Qingjing Jing|Qīngjìng Jīng]]'' (清静经, ''Classic of Clarity and Stillness''), Taoist teachings from the ''Tao Te Ching'' with [[Mahayana]] Buddhist ideas. The text was adopted as one of the key scriptures of the [[Quanzhen School|Quanzhen school]].{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=37}} * ''[[Huangdi Yinfujing|Yinfu jing]]'' (''Scripture on the Inner Talisman''), a 6th-century CE text that was adopted by Quanzen school as one of their key scriptures.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=37}} * ''[[Wuzhen pian|Wùzhēn piān]]'' (悟真篇, ''Folios on Awakening to Reality'') is a work on internal alchemy written by [[Wuzhen pian|Zhang Boduan]] (張伯端; 987?–1082), a Song era scholar of the three teachings. * The ''Lijiao shiwu lun'' (''Fifteen discourses to Establish the Teachings'') of [[Wang Chongyang]], the founder of Quanzhen.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=37}} * ''[[The Book of Balance and Harmony]]'' (''Zhong he ji'', 中和集) a 13th-century [[anthology]] by Daochun Li that outlines the teachings and practices of the [[Quanzhen School]]. * ''[[Treatise On the Response of the Tao|Taishang Ganying Pian]]'' (''Treatise of the Exalted One on Response and Retribution'', C. 12th century) discusses sin and [[ethic]]s and has become a popular morality tract in the last few centuries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jordan: The Taoist Canon |url=http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/hbcanondaw-u.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216160701/http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/hbcanondaw-u.html |archive-date=16 February 2007 |access-date=2011-05-16 |publisher=Weber.ucsd.edu}}</ref> It asserts that those in harmony with Tao will live long and fruitful lives. The wicked, and their descendants, will suffer and have shortened lives.{{sfnp|Van Voorst |2005 |p=165}} * ''[[The Secret of the Golden Flower]]'' (太乙金華宗旨; ''Tàiyǐ Jīnhuá Zōngzhǐ''), an influential neidan text from the late 17th century. * The key texts of the [[Dragon Gate Taoism|Dragon Gate School]] (Longmen Pai), composed by the founder Wang Changyue (1622?–80), focus on Daoist monasticism: ''Chuzhen jie'' (''Precepts for Novices''), ''Zhongji jie'' (''Precepts of the Central Pole''), ''Tianxian jie'' (''Precepts for Celestial Immortals''), and ''Longmen xinfa'' (''Central Teachings of Dragon Gate'').{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=22-23}} ===''The Taoist Canon''=== {{Main|Daozang}} The Taoist Canon ({{lang|zh-hant|道藏}}, ''Treasury of Tao'') is also referred to as the ''Daozang''. It was originally compiled during the [[Jin Dynasty (265-420)|Jin]], [[Tang dynasty|Tang]], and [[Song dynasty|Song]] dynasties. The extant version was published during the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|Verellen|2004|pp= 1, 30}}</ref> The Ming ''Daozang'' includes almost 1,500 [[sacred text|texts]].<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|Verellen|2004|p=36}}</ref> Following the example of the Buddhist [[Tripiṭaka]], it is divided into three ''dong'' ({{lang|zh|洞}}, "caves" or "grottoes"). They are arranged from "highest" to "lowest":<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|Verellen|2004|p=15}}; {{harvp|Little|Eichman|2000|p=46}}</ref> # The ''[[Reality|Zhen]]'' ("real" or "truth" {{lang|zh-hant|眞}}) grotto, which includes the [[Shangqing School|Shangqing]] texts. # The ''Xuan'' ("mystery" {{lang|zh-hant|玄}}) grotto, which includes the [[Lingbao School|Lingbao]] scriptures. # The ''[[Shen (Chinese religion)|Shen]]'' ("divine" {{lang|zh-hant|神}}) grotto, which includes texts predating the Maoshan ({{lang|zh-hant|茅山}}) revelations. ''Taoist'' generally do not consult published versions of the Daozang, but individually choose or inherit texts included in the Daozang. These texts have been passed down for generations from teacher to student.<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|Verellen|2004|p=44}}</ref> The [[Shangqing School]] has a tradition of approaching Taoism through scriptural study. It is believed that by reciting certain texts often enough one will be rewarded with immortality.<ref>{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=132}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page