The Essentials of the Taoist Canon (Daozang Juyao) 道藏举要
Paul PengShare
Essentials of the Taoist Canon (Daozang Juyao) is a series of Taoist classics.
Compiled by The Commercial Press, it was published as a facsimile edition based on the Daozang (Taoist Canon) of the Ming Dynasty by The Commercial Press Shanghai during the Republic of China era. The series includes more than 170 works, all selected from the Ming Daozang but reclassified into ten categories:
- "Daode Zhenjing" (The Classic of the Virtue of the Dao): Collects 52 commentaries and annotations on Laozi’s works.
- "Nanhua Zhenjing" (The Classic of the Southern Florescence): Collects 12 commentaries and annotations on Zhuangzi’s works.
- "Chongxu Zhide Zhenjing" (The Classic of Supreme Emptiness and Ultimate Virtue): Collects 6 commentaries on Liezi’s works.
- "Zhouyi Cantongqi" (The Seal of the Unity of the Three [with the Zhouyi]): Collects 10 annotated versions of the Cantongqi.
- Philosophical Works (Zhuzi): Collects 21 philosophical texts originally included in the Daozang. This category includes not only works that do not originally belong to Taoism or Taoist thought—such as Mozi, Gongsun Longzi, Guiguzi, and Hanfeizi—but also works by Taoist practitioners, including Baopuzi, Xuanzhenzi, Tianyinzi, and Hua Shu (The Book of Transformation).
- Taoist Texts (Daoshu): Collects 19 Taoist works, including Huangdi Yinfujing Jizhu (Collected Annotations on the Yellow Emperor’s Hidden Talisman Classic), Ziyang Zhenren Wuzhenpian Zhushu (Commentaries on "Awakening to Truth" by True Person Ziyang [Zhang Boduan]), Xisheng Jing (The Classic of Western Ascension), Dongling Zhenjing (The Classic of the Numinous Spirit of the Cavern), Tongxuan Zhenjing (The Classic of Penetrating the Mystery), Zhengao (Declarations of the True), and Yunji Qijian (Seven Slips from the Cloud Satchel).
- Histories, Biographies, and Geographic Records: Collects 25 works, including biographies of immortals and records of famous mountains. Examples include Guang Huangdi Benxing Ji (Expanded Records of the Yellow Emperor’s Life), Mu Tianzi Zhuan (The Biography of King Mu of Zhou), Shenxian Ganyu Zhuan (Stories of Encounters with Immortals), Maoshan Zhi (Records of Mao Mountain), Wudang Fudi Zongzhen Ji (Complete Authentic Records of Wudang as a Blessed Land), as well as Shanhai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) and Changchun Zhenren Xiyou Ji (The Journey to the West by True Person Changchun [Qiu Chuji]).
- Health Preservation (Shesheng): Collects 16 works on medicine and health cultivation, such as Siqi Shesheng Tu (Illustrations of Health Preservation According to the Four Seasons), Yangxing Yanming Lu (Records of Nourishing Nature and Extending Life), Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic), and Beiji Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies).
- Divination and Metaphysics (Shushu): Collects 9 works on geomancy (kanyu), divination, and fate-calculation.
- Six Taoist Books (Daojia Liushu): Collects 6 works, including writings by Tao Hongjing, Du Guangting, Qiu Chuji, Tan Churui, and Hao Datong, as well as Yichuan Jirang Ji (The Collection of Yi River Verses) by Shao Yong of the Song Dynasty.
As a large-scale selected edition of the Daozang during the Republic of China era, this series, however, ignored the cultural connotations and structural integrity of Taoism: numerous Taoist scriptures are missing, and works on Taoist ritual ceremonies (zhaijiao kefan) and internal/external alchemy (neidan/waidan) are also not included.
About the Author
Paul Peng
Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is the curator of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.
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