Daozang (1-36): Complete Set of Six Boxes

Author: Shanghai Bookstore Press Editorial
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1988-03-01
Features: The Ming Zhengtong edition of the Dao Zang (Canon of the Way) collects 1,426 Daoist texts, totaling 5,305 volumes, categorized into the Three Caves, Four Auxiliaries, and Twelve Classes. The Wanli edition of the Dao Zang supplements 50 more texts, adding 180 volumes without specifying categories. Together, the Zhengtong and Wanli editions include 1,476 Daoist texts, totaling 5,485 volumes. It is a grand compilation of Daoist literature and also a treasure trove of traditional Chinese culture.
Daoism emerged during the Shun Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty and is a native Chinese religion. As it reveres Laozi (Lǐ ǎr) as its founder and uses the Dao De Jing as its primary scripture, it traces its roots to the Daoist philosophy of the Eastern Zhou Spring and Autumn period. Daoism is also known as the "Yellow Emperor's Way," and between the Qin and Han dynasties, it evolved into the "Yellow Emperor and Laozi School," which attributed its doctrines and views to the legendary Yellow Emperor, a symbol of the beginning of Chinese culture. In reality, Daoism is a complex amalgamation of various elements, including ancient Chinese beliefs in ghosts and spirits, shamanism, immortal cultivation techniques, the philosophical teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi, the political thought of the "Yellow Emperor and Laozi" emphasizing "non-action governance," and divination and geomancy derived from the pre-Qin Yin-Yang and Five Elements theories. During its formation, Daoism was also intertwined with peasant uprisings, absorbing certain social ideals and political demands of the peasant masses, such as the concept of "eternal peace."
Due to its inherent complexity, the Dao Zang exhibits a rich and diverse array of contents. It includes numerous philosophical, military, and medical texts attributed to the Yellow Emperor, masterpieces and commentaries by various Daoist philosophers, a vast collection of Daoist doctrines, rituals, talismans, biographies of immortals, and mountain records, and even "Confucian classics, medical texts, Yin-Yang studies, divination, and the works of the Hundred Schools of Thought." The exceptional inclusivity of the Dao Zang in collecting such a wide range of texts outside Daoism drew criticism and ridicule from both Confucian and Buddhist circles. The General Catalogue of the Four Treasuries harshly attacked the Dao Zang in its preface to the Detailed Notes on the Dao Zang Catalogue. However, many knowledgeable scholars have long valued the ancient non-Daoist texts included in the Dao Zang, using them as resources for collating, restoring lost classics, and studying ancient Chinese scholarship.