Citation Information
Article Title: Daoism
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 12 August 2019
URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism
Access Date: August 15, 2019
Additional Reading General works
Max Kaltenmark, Lao Tzu and Taoism (1969; originally published in French, 1965), is a good general introduction to Daoist philosophy and religion. Other studies include Marcel Granet, La Pensée chinoise (1934, reissued 1988), the classic work on the basic systems of classification in Chinese thought—difficult but highly enlightening; Holmes Welch, The Parting of the Way: Lao Tzu and the Taoist Movement (1957, reissued 1966), a readable interpretation of the Daodejing and an account of the Daoist movement; Herrlee G. Creel, What Is Taoism? (1970, reprinted 1982), eight essays on Daoist thought; Henri Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion (1981; originally published in French, 1971), a classic pioneer work on religious Daoism; and C. Bell, “In Search of the Tao in Taoism: New Questions of Unity and Multiplicity,” History of Religions, 33:187–201 (November 1993). Texts
Arthur Waley, The Way and Its Power (1934, reissued 1977), is a classic translation of the Daodejing preceded by a good introduction on its place in Chinese thought. A contemporary liberal translation in a topical arrangement is Michael Lafargue (trans. and ed.), The Tao of the Tao Te Ching (1992). The texts of the Shiji concerning Laozi have been translated and thoroughly discussed in a debate between H.H. Dubs and Derk Bodde in Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 61 (1941), 62 (1942), and 64 (1944). A very readable translation of the most important and most difficult text of Daoist mysticism is found in Burton Watson (trans.), The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (1968). A more philosophical translation is A.C. Graham (trans.), Chuang-tzŭ: The Seven Inner Chapters and Other Writings from the Book Chuang-tzŭ (1981). A.C. Graham (trans.), The Book of Lieh-tzu (1960, reissued 1990), provides a good translation and introduction to Daoist mysticism. Max Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sien tchouan (1953, reprinted 1987), a translation of the earliest extant Daoist hagiography, contains much information on mythology hidden in long notes. Kristofer Marinus Schipper, L’Empereur Wou des Han dans la légende taoiste (1965), includes a translation of a Daoist hagiographic novel and a study of its ritual background in the Maoshan sect. An imperfect but complete translation of probably the most important text of religious Daoism is found in James R. Ware (trans. and ed.), Alchemy, Medicine, and Religion in the China of A.D. 320: The Nei P’ien of Ko Hung (1966, reissued 1981). Nathan Sivin, Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies (1968), is an annotated translation of a treatise by a 6th-century alchemist—a most scholarly introduction on the study of Chinese alchemy. History
Daoist speculation and mysticism are discussed in Fung Yu-lan (Yu-lan Feng), A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. from Chinese by Derk Bodde, 2 vol. (1937, reissued 1983), a standard reference work on the classical period of Chinese thought; Arthur Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China (1939, reprinted 1982), the Zhuangzi studied in relation to the thought of its time; Joseph Needham and Wang Ling, “The Tao Chia (Taoists) and Taoism,” Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 2, chapter 10 (1956, reissued 1991), a highly lucid exposé of early Daoist speculation and later Daoist technology; A.C Graham, Disputers of the Tao (1989), researching the period 500–200 bce; and Livia Kohn, Early Chinese Mysticism: Philosophy and Soteriology in the Taoist Tradition (1992), which includes a glossary and excellent bibliography.
Dao legends are treated in Henri Doré, Lao-tse et le taoïsme (1938, reprinted 1981), not very scientific but with much information; and Anna K. Seidel, “The Image of the Perfect Ruler in Early Taoist Messianism: Lao-tzu and Li Hung,” History of Religions, 9:216–247 (1969–70).
The history of Daoist religion is examined in Anna K. Seidel, La Divinisation de Lao tseu dans le Taoisme des Han (1969), an excellent detailed study of the formation of the Daoist system in the early imperial period; Édouard Chavannes, Le Jet des dragons (1916), a classic study and translation of a Daoist liturgy dating from the end of the Tang dynasty; Charles D. Benn, The Cavern-Mystery Transmission: A Taoist Ordination Rite of A.D. 711 (1991), a scholarly milestone in understanding Daoist liturgy; Arthur Waley, The Poetry and Career of Li Po, 701-762 A.D. (1950, reissued 1979), the life of the Daoist poet; Arthur Waley (trans. and ed.), The Travels of an Alchemist (1931, reprinted 1963), the account of the Central Asian journey of the second patriarch of the Chuanzhan sect; and J.J.M. De Groot, Jaarlijksche feesten en gebruiken van de Emoy-Chineezen (1880), also available in a French translation, Les Fêtes annuellement célébrées à Émoui (Amoy), 2 vol. (1886, reprinted 1981), and The Religious System of China, vol. 6 (1910, reprinted 1989), both valuable pioneering descriptions of the Daoist priesthood and popular exorcists in Fujian at the end of the 19th century.
Other aspects of Daoism are explored in History of Religions, vol. 9, no. 2 (November 1969) and no. 3 (February 1970), issues devoted to the reports from the First International Conference on Taoist Studies, including papers on the conference discussions, on Zhuangzi, on neo-Daoism, on Daoist antecedents in Buddhist thought, and on Daoist messianism; R.G.H. Siu, Chʿi: A Neo-Taoist Approach to Life (1974), a presentation of the Daoist philosophy of time; Michael Saso, The Teachings of Taoist Master Chuang (1978), a discussion of contemporary liturgical Daoism; Holmes Welch and Anna K. Seidel (eds.), Facets of Taoism: Essays in Chinese Religion (1979), studies of religious Daoism from the Second International Conference on Taoist Studies; Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts (1984); John Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society and History (1987); and Livia Kohn and Yoshinobu Sakade (eds.), Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques (1989), articles explaining everyday practices on this seldom-treated subject.Roger T. Ames