Taoism remains the only major religion whose canonical texts have not been systematically arranged and made available for study. This long-awaited work, a milestone in Chinese studies, catalogs and describes all existing texts within the Taoist canon. The result will not only make the entire range of existing Taoist texts accessible to scholars of religion, it will open up a crucial resource in the study of the history of China. The vast literature of the Taoist canon, or Daozang, survives in a Ming Dynasty edition of some fifteen hundred different texts. Compiled under imperial auspices and completed in 1445—with a supplement added in 1607—many of the books in the Daozang concern the history, organization, and liturgy of China's indigenous religion. A large number of works deal with medicine, alchemy, and divination. If scholars have long neglected this unique storehouse of China's religious traditions, it is largely because it was so difficult to find one's way within it. Not only was the rationale of its medieval classification system inoperable for the many new texts that later entered the Daozang, but the system itself was no longer understood by the Ming editors; hence the haphazard arrangement of the canon as it has come down to us. This new work sets out the contents of the Daozang chronologically, allowing the reader to follow the long evolution of Taoist literature. Lavishly illustrated, the first volume ranges from antiquity through the Middle Ages, while the second spans the modern period. Within this frame, texts are grouped by theme and subject. Each one is the subject of a historical abstract that identifies the text's contents, date of origin, and author. Throughout the first two volumes, introductions outline the evolution of Taoism and its spiritual heritage. A third volume offering biographical sketches of frequently mentioned Taoists, multiple indexes, and an extensive bibliography provides critical tools for navigating this guide to one of the fundamental aspects of Chinese culture.

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Opening the Dragon Gate is the authorized biography of Wang Liping (1949- ), a modern Taoist wizard. It is the true story of how a young boy becomes heir to a tradition of esoteric knowledge and practice accumulated and refined over eleven centuries. As told to his students Chen Kaiguo and Zheng Shunchao, the story tells of Liping's arduous fifteen-year apprenticeship with the masters, during which time he enters an ancient realm and learns the true source of health, healing, and long life. A compelling story of the making of a modern wizard, this book reveals never-before-available information about Taoist principles and procedures, people and places. Wang Liping imparts his knowledge on esoteric exercises, alchemical elixirs, mysteries of Man and Nature, and the secrets of inner transformation, making this a mystical and extraordinary book.

本书又名《道德经》, 共八十一章, 前三十七章为《道经》, 后四十四章为《德经》.