01 “Daozang”
Before the compilation and organization of the “Daozang”, Taoist priests had already collected Taoist books, the most famous of which was the “Zheng Hidden Book” of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Zheng Yin collected 261 types of Taoist scriptures and 1299 volumes. This was a large number at that time. Ge Hong divided the “Zheng Hidden Book” into two categories: “Dao Jing” and “Zhu Fu”.
The Southern and Northern Dynasties period was the period when the most Taoist books were written, and the collection and organization of Taoist books were also very frequent during this period. With the support of Emperor Ming of Song, Taoist Lu Xiujing of the Liu Song Dynasty compiled the “Three Caves Classic” and compiled the “Catalogue of Three Caves Classic”. The “San Dong Jing Shu” collects approximately 1228 volumes of Taoist scriptures, making it the first catalog of scriptures in the history of Taoism. Lu Xiujing also established a classification method for the “Three Caves” in Taoist scriptures, and later added the “Four Assistants”, known as the “Three Caves and Four Assistants”. This classification method has been used for the compilation of the “Daozang” by later generations.
The Tang Dynasty respected Taoism. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong ordered a search for the world’s Taoist scriptures and compiled them into the “All Taoist Classics”, also known as the “Kaiyuan Taoist Canon”, which included 5300 volumes of Taoist books. After the founding of the Song Dynasty, the Daojing was collected and organized five times. Based on the remaining 3700 volumes of the Daozang from the Tang Dynasty, the Daozang was reconstructed and restored. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the worship of Taoism by rulers reached a new peak. Emperor Zhenzong of Song conferred upon Laozi the title of the Supreme Mixed Yuan Emperor. Zhang Junfang was ordered to lead the editing of the “Treasure of the Heavenly Palace of the Great Song Dynasty”, consisting of 5481 volumes. It was first printed in Fujian County, Fuzhou, and was called the “Wanshou Daozang” or “Politics and Wanshou Daozang”. This is the beginning of the Daozang woodcut edition. The chief editor of “Treasure of the Grand Golden Capital” was Zhang Zong of the Jin Dynasty, with a total of 6455 volumes. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the Quanzhen Taoist Song Defang presided over the compilation of over 7800 volumes of “Treasure of the Great Yuan Xuandu”.
The aforementioned ‘Daozang’ is now dead. The existing “Daozang” is a first generation version, compiled from the 17th year of the Yongle reign and completed in the 20th year of the Yongle reign. Edited, revised, and supplemented by Ren Ziyuan from Wudang Mountain, completed in the legitimate ten-year journal, with a total of 5305 volumes. Later generations claimed that his book was the “Orthodox Canon” based on its publication year. In the 35th year of the Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Guoxiang, the 50th generation celestial teacher, was appointed as the editor in chief of the “Continuation of the Taoist Canon”. The “Daozang” contains a total of 1476 types of roads, 5485 volumes, and is divided into 512 letters, each numbered in thousands of characters and consisting of 121589 pieces. The various classics in “Daozang” are arranged according to the classification method of “three caves, four accessories, and twelve categories”.
At present, there are three and a half collections of “Zhengtong Daozang” and “Wanli Xudao Cang” in domestic libraries, one of which exists in the National Library and the other in the Nanyang Library in Henan Province, while only half of them exist in the Shanghai Library. The Qingdao Museum has a collection of “Wanli Xudao Zang” and Xudao Zangjing tablets that have been passed down to the Qing Dynasty, but are still missing from time to time. In the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (1900), the Eight Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, resulting in its complete destruction. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, although there were many Taoist scriptures in various palaces and temples, there were relatively few that were believed to have been passed down through the military multiple times. From October 1923 to April 1926, the Commercial Press, under the name of Hanfen Building, reduced the photocopies of the official and continuing collections of the Baiyun Temple in Beijing to a six volume stone print with 1120 volumes.
The Tao Te Ching is considered the most important Taoist scripture and requires every Taoist to read it. The Tao Te Ching, also known as Laozi or the Five Thousand Words, is revered by Taoism as the Tao Te Ching. It was created by Laozi, the founder of Taoism, at the invitation of Guan Lingyin Xi when he left Hangu Pass in the west, that he left behind a timeless classic of five thousand words.
The Tao Te Ching centers around the principles of Taoism and nature, and elaborates on how to cultivate individuals to a state of less selfishness and desire, and how to achieve a state of harmony between heaven and man in their interactions. This is also the foundation of Taoism and a perfect exposition of the concept of “Dao”.
02 Tai Shang Gan Ying Pian
At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, there were approximately no written works. The “History of the Song Dynasty: Yiwen Zhi” includes one volume of “Li Changling’s Induction”, and the “Zhengtong Daozang” Taiqing Department has thirty volumes of “Induction” titled “Li Changling’s Biography”, which Zheng Qing praised endlessly The Re published Collection of Taoist Collections includes the Collection of Supreme Senses, and the Collection of essence of Taoist Collections includes the Collection of Supreme Senses in two volumes. The idea behind this article can be traced back to books such as “Yi Nei Jie”, “The Biography of Chisongzi”, and “He Tu Ji Ming Fu” that were reposted from “The Jade Seal Sutra”, “Dao Jie”, and “Bao Pu Zi · Nei Pian · Wei Zhi”.
The article on Taishang Induction is not long, totaling over 1200 words. The core of the “Taishang Induction Chapter” is to constantly reflect on one’s own mistakes, hone one’s body and mind, maintain good physical health, have a sense of harmony between heaven and man, be loyal, filial, and righteous, and abide by morality. Among them, “Taishang Induction” is hailed as the “first good book of ancient and modern times”. This book always suggests that the world accumulate virtues and do good deeds. There is no way to avoid misfortune and blessings, but people will call themselves; the rewards of good and evil follow; There are three good deeds in one day, and blessings will come in three years… As the saying goes, ‘When you lift your head three feet, there is a god.’ You cannot do anything without conscience, and there is a god watching over you.
03 Tai Shang Lao Jun Shuo Chang Qing Jing Jing
The full name of the “Tai Shang Lao Jun Shuo Chang Qing Jing Jing” is “Tai Shang Lao Jun Speaks the Chang Qing Jing Jing” or “Tai Shang Lao Jun Speaks the Chang Qing Jing Jing”, also known as “Tai Shang Hun Yuan Shang De Emperor Speaks the Chang Qing Jing Jing”, abbreviated as “Jing Jing” or “Chang Qing Jing Jing”.
The “Tai Shang Lao Jun Shuo Chang Qing Jing Jing” advises people to have a pure heart and few desires, to achieve the highest state of tranquility and harmony with the Tao, without any thoughts arising or being tainted by dust. The foundation of cultivating one’s mind and nature, learning the Tao, and practicing is to start from calming delusions and maintaining a calm mind and body, because the Tao of the world is nothing but the human heart.
If I can concentrate, have my heart determined, and my spirituality self generated, I can reach the path of the Heavenly Dao and merge with the realm of the Dao, which is the realm where I merge with all things in heaven and earth. To truly have a big heart and a big wish, one must go to the inner peace, reform and become good, and remove one’s own dirt. To truly be our own master, so that we can have the entirety of life.
There are many Taoist classics, such as the “Sanguan Jing” and “Beidou Jing” for dispelling disasters and misfortunes, and the “Shenxian Legend” and “Liexian Zhuan” for immortal legends. Due to space limitations, we will not go into detail about the “Seven Treasures of Yunji” and other works known as the “Little Path Collection”.
As the saying goes, ‘It’s better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.’ Life is also full of practice, and the ‘Dao’ is not only in books, but also in every aspect of life. The ‘Dao’ is also in everyone’s heart.
