Taoist Huang-Lao Dao 黄老派

During the Xin Mang period (between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties), apocryphal theology flourished, and ideas about immortality developed significantly. Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) and Laozi were deified, and Huang-Lao learning merged with the study of immortality and life-nourishing techniques, becoming the theoretical pillar of Fangxian Dao. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Fangxian Dao took Huang-Lao learning as its foundation, religiously and esoterically transforming Huangdi, Laozi, and their doctrines into what became known as Huang-Lao Dao.

During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying, the Prince of Chu, already practiced Huang-Lao Dao. He "recited the subtle words of Huang-Lao" and "observed a pure fast for three months, swearing an oath with the gods." During the reign of Emperor Huan, a shrine was built in the imperial palace to worship the Yellow Old Lord (Huang-Laojun). In the eighth year of Yanxi (165 CE) alone, Emperor Huan sent envoys three times to Kuxian County to offer sacrifices to Laozi, making Huang-Lao Dao a religious belief promoted by the imperial court.

Huang-Lao Dao deified Laozi as the Supreme Old Lord (Taishang Laojun) and worshipped the Yellow Middle Supreme (Zhonghuang Taiyi), forming a belief in the "Dao" and embodying the prototype of Taoism. During the Later Han Dynasty, the Taiping Qingling Shu (The Green Collar Book of Great Peace), supposedly revealed to Gan Ji by a divine being, circulated within Huang-Lao Dao. Zhang Ling and Zhang Jiao then founded early Taoism based on Huang-Lao Dao.