The Diversity and Harmony of Taoism: Ideas, Behaviors and Influences

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2024 | Viewed by 985

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Guest Editor
Department of Religious Studies, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
Interests: the history of Taoism; Taoist philosophy; Taoist practice methods
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In memory of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity promulgated by UNESCO, the International Summit Forum on "World Cultural Diversity & Laozi Taoist Culture" will proceed in May 20-22, 2024. It is organized by the Research Association of Laozi Taoist Culture of China, and the Oriental Renaissance Alliance of the United States. This forum will discuss the Eastern Taoist wisdom focusing on the "Laozi Taoist culture" and its significance. However, we are well aware that due to the limit of the meeting time and number of participants, it is impossible for a forum to reveal Taoist ideas on "diversity" and “harmony” completely, and more scholars should participate in relevant studies and discussions. Therefore, we set up a Special Issue on this topic in the journal Religions to provide an academic platform for in-depth discussions among scholars.

As a representative of traditional Chinese culture, Taoism has always advocated for "He-er-bu-tong和而不同"(harmony but diversity); for example, Boyangfu伯陽父 in the Western Zhou Dynasty(1046-771 BC) told the truth of “He-shi-sheng-wu, tong-ze-bu-ji和實生物,同則不繼”(harmony between diversity fosters new things actually, but the same of everything will not be continued) to the governor Laozi老子 in the spring and autumn period (770-476 BC), and gave us the sentence “Wanwu fuyin er baoyang, chongqi yi weihe萬物負陰而抱陽,沖氣以為和” (all things possess Yin and embrace Yang, and the state of them blending is harmony) in his book Taode Jing(《道德經》). These ideas, which emphasize diversity and harmony, provide wisdom for people of different cultures around the world to get along with each other today. In order to discover this wisdom of Taoism in depth, we are pleased to accept original research articles and reviews that focus on (but are not limited to) the following:

  1. Thoughts about diversity and harmony in Taoist philosophy, moral education, and political ideal.
  2. Diversity and harmony in Taoist practices of religious cultivation, health preservation, and psychological treatment.
  3. Historical cases of diversity and harmony in Taoist temples, sects, and communities.
  4. Contemporary value of Taoist diversity in its thoughts, practices, and history.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Wu Guo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Taoism
  • diversity
  • harmony
  • ideas
  • behaviors
  • contemporary value

Published Papers (1 paper)

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22 pages, 7529 KiB  
Article
The Diverse Health Preservation Literature and Ideas in the Sanyuan Canzan Yanshou Shu
by Lu Li and Yongfeng Huang
Religions 2024, 15(7), 834; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070834 - 10 Jul 2024
Viewed by 442
Abstract
The Sanyuan Canzan Yanshou Shu 三元參贊延壽書, compiled by Li Pengfei during the Yuan dynasty, is a comprehensive collection of the essence of earlier health preservation literature. Recently, the Jianwen first-year (1399) re-engraved edition by Liu Yuanran 劉淵然 (1351–1432) has emerged, which is currently [...] Read more.
The Sanyuan Canzan Yanshou Shu 三元參贊延壽書, compiled by Li Pengfei during the Yuan dynasty, is a comprehensive collection of the essence of earlier health preservation literature. Recently, the Jianwen first-year (1399) re-engraved edition by Liu Yuanran 劉淵然 (1351–1432) has emerged, which is currently housed in the Imperial Household Agency Library in Japan. It has challenged the prevailing consensus in China that the edition (1445) in the Daozang 道藏 is the earliest version. This discovery not only enriches our understanding of the text’s historical dissemination but also highlights the international appreciation and preservation of Chinese traditional medical and health knowledge. Upon meticulous examination, the various editions of this text can be systematically classified into two distinct lineages: Yanshou Canzan 延壽參贊 and Canzan Yanshou 參贊延壽. The latter lineage is notably more comprehensive, with the Wanli 萬曆 edition serving as a prime exemplar of this expanded scope. Li Pengfei primarily drew upon the Yangsheng Leizuan 養生類纂 as the foundational text for his work, skillfully integrating a wealth of Daoism and medical scriptures. He adeptly restructured the content by employing the conceptual framework of three primes (sanyuan 三元), incorporating the health preservation philosophies of Confucianism and Buddhism, thereby transforming it into a more systematic and diverse Daoism scripture dedicated to health preservation. The book eloquently advocates for health-preserving philosophies centered around the principle of not diminishing (busun 不損) primordial pneuma (yuanqi 元氣), extending life through three primes, and prolonging life through the virtue of yin (yinde 陰德). These ideas emphasize a human-centered approach, focusing on preserving the primordial pneuma as the foundation and employing both loss prevention and supplementation as dual pathways. It aims to achieve a state of health preservation where there is unity of man with heaven (tianren heyi 天人合一) and a harmonious balance of yin and yang energies (yinyang qihe 陰陽氣和). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Diversity and Harmony of Taoism: Ideas, Behaviors and Influences)
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