The Profound Exegesis of Dao De Jing 道德真经疏义

Composed by Zhao Zhijian, a Taoist priest of the Tang Dynasty, this work originally consisted of six volumes, but Volumes 1 to 3 are lost. It is included in the Yujue (Jade Commentary) category of the Dongshen Section of the Daozang (Daoist Canon).

Following the stylistic rules of interpreting the opening themes based on the Chong Xuan (Double Mystery) philosophy of Tang Dynasty Taoism, this subcommentary also centers on the Chong Xuan (Double Mystery) doctrine, with its core tenet being the Chong Xuan school’s theory of returning to one’s original true nature. Some claim that the chapter title format of this work was adopted from Collected Commentaries on the Profound Virtue of the Dao De Zheng Jing by Qiang Siqi of the Former Shu Dynasty, but this is incorrect—Zhao Zhijian was presumably a Taoist priest around the High Tang period.