Taoist Canon

This is also known as Daozang. It’s the largest canon of Taoist writings. It’s 1 of the most massive & complex religious compilations in human history. It has roughly 1,500 texts. It was first embodied by the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, & Liezi.

The canon was assembled by monds circa 400 CE in an attempt to bring together these disparate yet consonant teachings. This anthology consisted of 3 divisions (grottoes) based on what was seen at that time in Southern China as Taoism’s primary focus: meditation, ritual, & exorcism. These grottoes were ranked by skill level (exorcism is the lowest, meditation the highest) & used for the initiation of Taoist masters.

In addition to the 3 Grottoes, there were the “Four Supplements” that were added to the canon circa 500 CE. 3 were primarily sourced from the older core texts, with the other from a separate, established philosophical tradition known as Tianshi Dao.

Originally the Three Caverns & Four Supplements represented 3 distinct lineages of Daoism that emerged in Southern China.

The Three Caverns:

The Cavern of Authenticity (Dongzhen):

Contains texts of the Shangqing (Supreme Purity) tradition. This was considered the highest level of initiation, focusing on internal visualization, meditation, & “celestial travel.” (Think astral projection.)

The Cavern of Mystery (Dongxuan):

Contains texts of the Lingbao (Sacred Treasure) tradition. This tradition focused on communal rituals, liturgy, & the salvation of the dead.

The Cavern of Divinity (Dongshen):

Contains texts of the Sanhuang (Three Sovereigns) tradition. This was the lowest level, focusing on practical exorcisms, talismans, & warding off spirits.

Each of the 3 Grottoes contains the following 12 chapters:

• Main texts (Benwen)
• Talismans (Yujue)
• Diagrams & illustrations (Lingtu)
• Histories & genealogies (Pulu)
• Precepts (Jielu)
• Ceremonies (Weiyi)
• Rituals (Fangfa)
• Practices (Zhongshu)
• Biographies (Jizhuan)
• Hymns (Zansong)
• Memorials (Biaozou)

The Four Supplements:

As newer movements & the original “classical” texts needed to be integrated, 4 supplementary sections were added.

Great Mystery (Taixuan):

Centered on the Daodejing.

Great Peace (Taiping):

Based on the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace).

Great Purity (Taiqing):

Focused on Waidan (External Alchemy), such as the creation of elixirs.

Orthodox One (Zhengyi):

Dedicated to the Celestial Masters, the oldest organized Daoist movement.

As with most religious texts, the history of the Daozang is a story of imperial patronage & periodic destruction.

The 1st Catalog (471 CE): The scholar Lu Xiujing compiled the 1st comprehensive catalog of Daoist scriptures. He was the 1st to formalize the “Three Caverns” structure, effectively creating a unified Daoist identity to compete with the rising influence of Buddhism.

The Tang “Golden Age” (748 CE): Emperor Xuanzong (who claimed to be a descendant of Laozi) ordered the 1st official “Canon of the Kaiyuan Era.” Copies were distributed to state-sponsored abbeys across China.

The Song & the 1st Painting (1111-1118 CE): Under Emperor Huizong (a “Daoist Emperor”), the canon was 1st carved into woodblocks for painting. This allowed for wider distribution but also made it a target during wars.

The Mongol Destruction: During the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongol rulers favored Buddhism. After a series of debates between Daoists & Buddhists, the Mongols ordered the burning of the Daoist Canon in 1281. Only the Daodejing was officially spared.

The Ming Canon (1445 CE): The version we use today is the Zhengtong Daozang, compiled during the Ming Dynasty. It survived because it was safely housed in the White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan) in Beijing. While other copies were destroyed during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion & subsequent wars.

The Daozang is essentially an “encyclopedia of Chinese culture.” Because Daoism was so deeply integrated into every level of society, the canon records nowhere else:

• Science: It contains the world’s oldest descriptions of chemical reactions & metallurgical techniques (from alchemy).
• Medicine: Many texts describe the “inner landscape” of the body, which forms the basis for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TDM) & Qigong.
• Sociology: It documents the life of the common people (their fears of demons, their village rituals, & their hopes for immortality), which were often ignored by official Confucian court histories.

If you’re interested in looking at the texts yourself, the Zhonghua Daozang (2003) is a modern, punctuated edition that’s MUCH easier to read than the original Ming woodblock prints. Many of these are now being digitized by projects at the Chinese University of Hong Kong & several American research libraries.

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Zhengyi Tao/Dao

In pinyin: Zheng Yi Dao. It’s also known as: the Way of Orthodox Unity, Teaching of the Orthodox Unity, & Branch of the Orthodox Unity.

This is a Chinese Taoist movement that traditionally refers to the same Taoist lineage as: the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice & Way of the Celestial Masters. But in the period of the Tang Dynasty & its history thereafter.

The leader of Zhengyi Taoism is known as a Celestial Master, like in the Way of Celestial Masters (Tianshi Dao).

The term Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) has been used since Taoism became an organized religion in 142 AD. This was when Taishang Laojun granted the Covenant with the Powers of Orthodox Unity (zhengyi mengwei) on Zhang Daoling. Zhang Daoling was a Chinese Taoist religious leader during the Eastern Han dynasty. He founded the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice millenarian movement.

Zhang’s followers called his teachings the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, while the Six Dynasties Period. The Southern Taoists called it the Way of the Celestial Masters. The Covenant, Five Pecks of Rice, & Celestial Masters all refer to the Zhengyi branch of Taoism but in different periods.

Celestial Master communities suffered from many migrations in the late Three Kingdoms & Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms periods. Cao Cao resettled them in the North. Then they joined mass migrations to the South after the loss of Northern China in 317 to the Uprising of the Five Barbarians.

In the 5th century Abridged Codes for the Taoist Community, Lu Xiujing lamented that Taoist Assemblies no longer observed the proper rules & the position of libationer had become hereditary. A libationer is a religious official that’s responsible for leading pa6rishes & performing rituals.

By the Tang Dynasty, the title of Celestial Master had been degraded to where ANY prominent Taoist could claim the title. Celestial Master priests no longer figured prominently in Taoist texts.

Emperor Xuanzong (7 12-756) canonized the first Celestial Master, Zhang Daoling, during his reign. This didn’t have any effect/benefit to the original base of Celestial Masters in Sichuan. It did, however, benefit a temple in the Jiangnan area of Jiangxi Province.

This temple was located at Mount Longhu. This is claimed to be the spot where Zhang Daoling had gotten the Tao & where his descendants still lived. Recognized by the emperor as the legit descendants of Zhang Daoling, these new Celestial Masters established a new patriarchy at their base at Mount Langhu.

The importance of the Zhangyi school grew during the Song Dynasty. The Celestial Master frequently got imperial appointments. In 1239, the Southern Song Dynasty‘s Emperor Lizong commanded the 35th Zhang Keda to unite 3 schools: Lingbao School, Shangqing School, & Zhengyi Dao. The new unified school kept the Zhengyi name & stayed based in Mount Longhu.

Shortly after the schools were united, the Mongols, under Kublai Khan, conquered the Southern Song Dynasty. Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty in China. Kublai Khan accepted the claim that the Celestial Master of Mount Longhu was descended from Zhang Daoling. Kublai Khan also granted the school the right to control affairs relating to Taoism in the Jinagnan area.

In 1304, as result of Zhengyi Dao‘s increased importance the Mongols, all of the Taoist schools (except the Quanzhen school) were united under the banner of the Zhengyi School, with the 38th Celestial Master, Zhang Yucai, as the spiritual leaders.

The founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368 started at the beginning of a long decline of the power of Zhengyi Taoism. The first Ming ruler, the Hongwu Emperor (1368-98), suppressed the use of the title of “Celestial Master” among the Zhengyi School.

By the Daoguang period (1821-50) of the Qing Dynasty, relations between the court & the Celestial Masters came to an end. The activities became more localized to regions in which the school was particularly important.

Even though their court association was over the Celestial Master themselves still had a great deal of prestige, & importance, among Taoists throughout China. This importance, that arose from the belief that they were descended from Zhang Daoling, was evident when the Celestial Master traveled & attracted crowds of people wherever they went.

Unlike prior incarnations of the Celestial Masters, like the school based at Louguan, the Zhengyi Taoists didn’t venerate Laozi as a god. They viewed him as the ancestor of the school’s teaching.

There are 2 main types of rituals performed by the Zhengyi Taoists: the jiao (offering) & zhai (retreat) rituals. The zhai rituals are performed as a way to gain benefits through purification & abstinence. They usually take place immediately after the jiao ritual.

In performing a ritual, the participant recites a litany of repentance first. Then notify the deities of the merits gained through repentance by submitting a document to Heaven. When the zhai ritual is done, the jiao ritual begins in which deities are given offerings & are thanked.

The jian ritual is usually performed over 3 days. A lot of the ritual is performed by priests in a temple. But can also involve religious processions through the city, musical performances & a mass offering in front of the temple.

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