Daoist Images
Warring States Period
Terracotta Warriors
Great Wall
One Hundred Schools of Thought
Confucius
Mencius
Mozi
Han Feizi
Dao
Laozi
Stele with the Deified Laozi and Two Attendants
Northern Wei dynasty, dated 515
Laozi, Fachang Muchi (early thirteenth century)
Dao De Jing
Guodian Tao Te Ching
Wang Pi's Redaction
Page from the manuscript by Chao MengFu, Ming Dynasty
First Chapter of Dao De Jing in Seal Script
Translation of first five chapters
Copyright, 2002, Jeff Rasmussen
Inscribed on wall of Changchun Temple
Zhuangzi
Lu Zhi, Zhuangzi Dreaming of a Butterfly (leaf 1)
Ming dynasty, mid-16th century
The Pleasures of Fishes, 1291, by Zhou Dongqing, Chia, Yuan dynasty (1260–1368)
Book Illustration
Pages from the Zhuangzi
External Alchemy
Tao Hongjing, Taoist master, alchemist, and pharmacologist, born in 456 near present-day Nanjing
Dragon and Tiger joining their essences in the alchemical tripod
Alchemical Apparatus
Meditation and Internal Alchemy
Xiuzhen tu: Diagram of Cultivating Perfection.
Translated by Catherine Despeux. Taoïsme et corps humain: Le Xiuzhen tu. Paris: Guy Trédaniel Éditeur, 1994.
Probably
dating from the early 19th century, this is a diagram (tu) depicting
the Daoist body in terms of alchemical and cosmological principles.
Versions of this diagram have been found in Guangdong, on Wudang shan
(Hubei), on Qingcheng shan (Sichuan), and in Daoist monasteries in
Beijing and Shanghai. It contains inscriptions in textual form, symbols
of paradises, alchemical symbolism and practice descriptions, lunar
phases, names of the twenty-eight constellations, and elements relating
to thunder rites (leifa).
The
Yellow Court (huangting), symbolic center of the human being. The
phrase in the inner circle reads "Spirit of the Center." The other
phrases read (clockwise from the top): "Yellow Court," "Gate of the
Meaning of the Dao," "Empty Non-being," "Gate of All Wonders," "Great
Ultimate," "Gate of the Mysterious Female," "True Emptiness," "Gate of
the Non-dual Doctrine." Liu Yiming, Huangting jing jie� (Explication of
the Scripture of the Yellow Court). - Fabrizio Pregadio
Human
figure surrounded by emblems associated with Yin and Yang and the Five
Agents (wuxing): Dragon (Yang) and Tiger (Yin); the hare in Moon (Yang
within Yin) and the crow in the Sun (Yin within Yang); trigrams of the
Book of Changes (Yijing); and names of ingredients of the Inner Elixir
(neidan). Source: Yunji qiqian (Seven Lots from the Bookbag of the
Clouds; CT 1032), chapter 72. - Fabrizio Pregadio
The
human body represented as a mountain. Depicted here are the Cinnabar
Fields (dantian), the Three Passes (sanguan), and the palaces of the
inner deities. Source: Duren shangpin miaojing neiyi (Inner Meaning of
the Wondrous Scripture of the Upper Chapters on Salvation; CT 90),
8a-b. - Fabrizio Pregadio
Acupuncture Points
Inner Circulation
Neijing tu: Diagram of Internal Pathways.
Sections translated by Catherine Despeux. Taoïsme et corps humain: Le Xiuzhen tu. Paris: Guy Trédaniel Éditeur, 1994.
Sections
translated by David Teh-yu Wang. "Nei Jing Tu, a Daoist Diagram of the
Internal Circulation of Man." The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery
49/50 (1991-92): 141-58.
Translated by Louis Komjathy. "Mapping the Daoist Body: The Neijing tu and the Daoist Internal Landscape." Forthcoming.
A
stele dated to 1886 and attributed to Liu Chengyin (Suyun [Pure Cloud];
fl. 1870-1890) of Baiyun guan (White Cloud Monastery), where it is
currently housed. It depicts a human torso from the side, with
iconographic elements relating to Daoist subtle physiology. Textual
components include passages from the Huangting jing (Scripture on the
Yellow Court) and two poems attributed to Lü Dongbin (b. 798 C.E.?).
Inner Circulation
The Child's Manifest Form from the 17th Century Xingming guizh
The Immortal Fetus of the Daoist Adept
Inner Gods: visualization of the Lords of the thirty-nine gates (hu) of the human body
Gathering the Light Meditation from The Secret of the Golden Flower
Sleeping Meditation
Meditation Under the Great Dipper
Qigong
Joining Energy
Images from a taoist sex manual for newly married couples
Immortals
The Eight Immortals Gathering near the Island of Penglai
The Eight Immortals
The Eight Immortals, the Three Stars, and the Queen Mother of the West at the Turquoise Pond
Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign (1736-95
Lu Dongbin
The Taoist Immortal Lu Dongbin, Yuan dynasty, late 13th/early 14th century
Immortal U Wash
Immortal Cao Guojiu
Immortal Flying on the Back of a Crane
Early
representation of immortals as winged beings walking on clouds and
holding a zhi ("numinous mushroom") in their hands. Source: Nanyang
Wenwu yanjiusuo (Nanyang Institute for Cultural Heritage), ed., Nanyang
Handai huaxiangbei (Han-dynasty stone reliefs from Nanyang, Hunan),
fig. 171 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1990).
Mushroom of Immortality
Liang K'ai (Sung Dynasty), Inkwash Painted Immortal
The Fanghu Isle of the Immortals
Qiu Ying (1509 - 1551), Pavilions in the Mountains of the Immortals
Immortal Walking on Water
(16th Century), Details from Scholar in Thatched Hut Dreaming He is an Immortal
Landscape Painting
Zhu Derun, Hunlu tu [Primordial Chaos], 1349
Great Mountain of Fuchun
Juran, Seeking the Tao in the Autumn Mountains, Northern Song dynasty, 10th century
Tang Yin (1470-1523), Conversation by the River
Tung Yuan (10th century), Mansions in the Mountains of Paradise
Wang Yüan (active 1299-1366), Meeting Friends in the Pine Pavilion
Tang Yin (1470-1523), Winter by the Lake
Su Shi (Song Dynasty, 1036-1101), Stone
Tung Chi-Chang (1555-1636): Discussing Antiquity by the River
Li Cheng (919-967), A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks
Chen Hongshou (1635, Ming dynasty), A Tall Pine and Daoist Immortal
Shen Zhou (15th century), Poet on a Mountain Top
Shen Chou (1427-1509), Lofty Mount Lu
Wu Chen (1280-1354), From Manual of Ink-Bamboo
Wu Chen (1280-1354), Fishermen
Fang Congyi (Yuan Dynasty), Bridge on the Creek
Guo Xi (1023 – 1085), Early Spring
Chen Rong (active c. 1235–1260, Southern Song), Details of the painting The Nine Dragons
Dong Qichang(1555 - 1636, Ming Dynasty), Wanluan Thatched Hall
Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基; 1398-1435), Gibbons At Play
Ma Lin (1246), Listen to the Wind in the Forest
Zhang Peidun (1772-1846), Zhong Kui Awaiting The New Year
Zhang Wo (Yuan Dynasty), Celebration in Jade Pool
Xia Gui (fl. ca. 1190–1230), Streams and Mountains with a Clear Distant View
Other Artworks
Covered bowl with dragons in the Daoist Eastern Ocean, Qing Dynasty (1723-1735)
Huang Chen-hsiao (active early 18th century), Small screen in the form of a wrist rest with a
scene of the Gathering at the Orchard Pavilion, Carved ivory
Mountain-shaped Censer from the tomb of Liu Shen at Lingshan, Mancheng,
Hebei province Western Han dynasty, second half 2nd century BC
Miniature rock-form carving, 17th century
Imperial lingzhi fungus, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-95)
Two Panels from a Sarcophagus: Tiger and Dragon, Northern Wei dynasty, c 500/534
Priests, Patriarchs, Monks, and Hermits
Zhang Daoling, Second Century CE founder of the sect of the Celestial Masters, the beginning of a Daoist "church"
Priests' Robes
Daoist Hermit
Qiu Changchun, founder of the Longmen Group of the Quanzhen Sect of Daoism
Wang Changyue, seventh patriarch of the Longmen branch of the Quanzhen sect
Patriarch Chongyang and His Seven Disciples
Altars
Taoist Ritual at the Imperial Court, Qing dynasty, 1723-1726
Monasteries
Hall of the Three August Ones (三皇殿, San Huang Dian) in Changchun Temple, Wuhan
Xining
Hanging Monastery, Heng Shan, Shanxi
White Cloud
Wudang
Gods and Goddesses
Zhenwu, Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven
Xi Wang Mu ("Godmother of the West"), a Daoist deity, decor on
a Qing dynasty porcelain plate, famille-rose style, Yongzheng Emperor
period, 1725 AD.
The Three Pure Ones
Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, Ming dynasty, late 15th/early 16th century
The Dipper Mother (detail), Qing dynasty, 18th century
Queen Mother of the West
Old Man of Southern Celestial Pole
The Three Divine Officials: the Official of Heaven, the Official of Earth, and the Official of Water
God of the Kitchen
Laozi represented as a deity (late seventh-early eighth century)
Jade Emperor
The Three Star-gods of Happiness, Rank and Affluence, and Longevity
The
Department of Controlling Evil Spirits, one of the 76 Departments of
the Celestial Bureaucracy in the Dongyue Taoist Temple in Beijing. The
official seated at the top presides over the demons and evil spirits.
The Department of Forest Ghosts and Spirits
Woodprint showing Taoist god Liu Hachan (right) playing with the wealth-bringing toad
Magic
Magical Swords
Mirror for warding off demons
Talisman
Books of Talismans
Talisman of the Emperor of the Center, from one of the main Lingbao scriptures
Star Chart, Southern Song dynasty, Chunyou reign, dated 1247
Shang Xi (Ming Dynasty, 15th Century), Four Magicians and The God of Longevity
Yellow Turban Rebellion
Images from Ehon Tsūzoku Sangokushi: An Illustrated Popular History of the Three Kingdoms (1883) illustrating the Daoist uprising of 184 CE that led to the downfall of the Han Empire.
Zhang
Jiao, a Daoist healer, receives three Heavenly Scrolls titled "Keys to
the Way of Peace" and founds the Way of Supreme Peace (Tai Ping Dao)
sect which announces the coming of a utopian age of equality. Assisted
by his two brothers, he becomes leader of the Yellow Turban peasant
rebellion against the increasingly oppression Han Imperial government.
One of the Zhang brothers magically calls forth a storm
Engaged in Battle
Han generals
A
drunken Zhang Fei thrashing the Imperial representative because of his
poor treatment of Liu Bei - Zhang's friend and superior.
Taiji
Taoist Symbols
Yin-Yang and Eight Trigrams. A diagram showing Yin and Yang surrounded by the Eight Trigrams (bagua)
Other representations
Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, from the Compendium of Diagrams
Ming dynasty, dated 1623
Chart
of the Great Ultimate (Taiji tu) depicting the cosmological
configurations that intervene between the Dao and the "ten thousand
things"
China,
Ink Tablet in the Form of a Tortoise, Eastern Han Dynasty, earthenware
with modeled and incised decor, including the Eight Trigrams of the
I-Ching (The Book of Changes)
Blue and white bowl
Daoguang sealmark and period
Painted with roundels of trigrams divided by cranes and clouds
Dragons with Flaming Pearls