The Bo Family Dao 帛家道

One of the early Taoist sects, named after its reverence for the immortal Bo He as its patriarch. According to Ge Hong’s Biographies of Immortals, Bo He, styled Zhongli, was a native of Liaodong (administered in present-day Liaoyang, Liaoning).

He entered Difei Mountain to serve Dong Feng (a figure during the reign of Sun Quan of the Wu Kingdom), who taught him methods of circulating qi and consuming shu (a type of medicinal herb). Later, he went to Xicheng Mountain to serve Lord Wang (Wang Fangping), who ordered him to stare intently at the stone walls in a stone chamber. After two years of gazing, he saw ancient inscriptions: Taiqing Zhongjing Shendan Fang (The Divine Elixir Formulas of the Central Scripture of Great Clarity), Sanhuang Tianwen Dazi (The Great Characters of the Heavenly Texts of the Three Sovereigns), and Wuyue Zhenxing Tu (The True-Form Diagrams of the Five Sacred Mountains).

When he encountered unresolved doubts, Wang Fangping imparted the formulas to him. Bo He later entered Linlü Mountain and became an earthly immortal.

Approximately during the Western Jin Dynasty, a small Taoist group revering Bo He emerged in northern China. As recorded in Baopuzi Neipian·Quhuo (Inner Chapters of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity·Dispelling Delusions): "A man in Hebei claimed to be Bo He (i.e., Bo He himself). People from near and far flocked to serve him, and he received generous gifts, growing wealthy. When Bo He’s disciples heard that their master had reappeared, they rejoiced and went to see him, only to confirm it was a fraud. The imposter then fled in panic."

By the Eastern Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the sect spread to the Jiangzhe region in the south, gaining followers among many aristocratic families in the Yangtze Delta. Tao Hongjing’s Zhengao (Declarations of the Perfected) states in Volume 4: Xu Mai of Danyang "originally adhered to the Bo Family Dao, offering sacrifices of living creatures." Volume 20 notes: "Hua Qiao, from a prominent family in Jinling, whose ancestors practiced ‘vulgar prayers’—Hua Qiao initially communicated with ghosts and spirits, often dreaming of feasting with them." "Vulgar prayers" (俗祷) referred to the worship of popular deities, a secular name for the Bo Family Dao.

In Zhou Shi Mingtong Ji (Records of Zhou’s Mystical Communications) by Tao Hongjing, it is mentioned that Zhou Ziliang, a disciple of Tao Hongjing, lived in Danyang and Jiankang before moving to Yuhang in Kuaiji; his family was an aristocratic clan. The annotation states: "The Zhou family originally practiced ‘vulgar deity worship,’ commonly known as the Bo Family Dao." Zhou Ziliang "had long followed the Bo Family practices" and later fell ill; his aunt feared "it might be a trick by the vulgar deities." This indicates that during the Eastern Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, prominent clans such as the Xu and Zhou families of Danyang and the Hua family of Jinling all adhered to the Bo Family Dao.

The scriptures revered by the Bo Family Dao mainly included those transmitted by Bo He: Taiqing Zhongjing Shendan Fang, Sanhuang Wen (Texts of the Three Sovereigns), and Wuyue Zhenxing Tu, along with the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace). Its practices included qi circulation, alchemy, summoning spirits, exorcism, and spell-casting to subdue enemies. The sect also worshipped popular deities, reflecting strong folk religious characteristics.

In its founding and spread, the Bo Family Dao was significantly influenced by the Taiping Dao (Way of Great Peace) and Wudoumi Dao (Five Pecks of Rice Dao). For example, the Taiping Jing, revered by Taiping Dao and historically attributed to figures like Gan Ji, Gong Chong, and Xiang Kai of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was later claimed in Taoist texts to include Bo He in its transmission lineage. One tradition holds that the scripture was passed by Laozi to Gan Ji at the end of the Zhou Dynasty, then from Gan Ji to Lord Bo He (as seen in Laozi Shuo Yibai Bashijie Xu [Preface to Laozi’s 180 Precepts] from the Southern and Northern Dynasties). Another tradition states that it was transmitted from the Golden Tower’s Later Sage Emperor to the Prime Minister, Youthful Boy Lord, then to Lord Wang of Xicheng, who passed it to his disciple Bo He, who in turn gave it to Gan Ji, enabling him to compile it into ten sections (A to J) in 170 volumes (as recorded in Taiping Jing Fuwen Xu [Preface to the Reconstructed Text of the Taiping Jing] from the Sui and Tang Dynasties).

While these legends are unreliable, they reflect a certain connection between the Bo Family Dao and Taiping Dao. Additionally, the Bo Family Dao had extensive ties to Tianshi Dao (Celestial Master Dao). For instance, followers of the Bo Family Dao in the Jiangdong region often also adhered to Tianshi Dao: Xu Mai studied under Li Dong, a jijiu (ritual master) of Tianshi Dao; Hua Qiao sought initiation from Xu Zhi, a jijiu of Danyang; and Zhou Ziliang’s maternal family, the Xu clan, produced jijiu of Tianshi Dao.

In 364 CE (the 2nd year of Xingning during the reign of Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin), Yang Xi and Xu Mi founded the Shangqing School (Supreme Clarity Sect), which gradually spread during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Subsequently, the Bo Family Dao was gradually absorbed into the Shangqing School and ceased to exist as an independent sect.