Short description:

This concise and reliable introduction to Taoism (also known as Daoism) brings a fresh dimension to a tradition that has found a natural place in Western societies.

Long description:

This clear and reliable introduction to Taoism (also known as Daoism) brings a fresh dimension to a tradition that has found a natural place in Western society. Examining Taoist sacred texts together with current scholarship, it surveys Taoism's ancient roots, contemporary heritage and role in daily life.
From Taoism's spiritual philosophy to its practical perspectives on life and death, self-cultivation, morality, society, leadership and gender, Russell Kirkland's essential guide reveals the real contexts behind concepts such as Feng Shui and Tai Chi.

'Amid the paucity of reliable textbook and introductory treatments of Daoism, Kirkland?s work does an outstanding job of synthesizing contemporary scholarship with a highly readable overview of the historical, textual, and ritualistic aspects of Daoism. - Jeffrey Dippman, Central Washington University, Religious Studies Review

Table of Contents:

Foreword Norman J. Girardot  Preface  1. Understanding Taoism Realities, Constructs, and Hermeneutical Challenges  What "Taoism" is: Fact, Tradition, and Self-Identification  2. The Classical Legacy  Taoism and 'The Hundred Schools'  The 'Useless Words' of Chuang Chou  Cultivating Life's Subtle Forces: The Nei-Yeh  From 'The Elders' of Ch'u to the Chi-hsia Academy: The Tao Te Ching  What Taoists Inherited from Classical Times  3. The Course of the Taoist Tradition  Wellsprings  Southerly Currents  Northerly Currents  The High-Water Mark  The Damming of the Tao?  Old Currents, New Channels  Life in the Tideways  4. The Socio-Political Matrix of Taoism  'Literati Taoism'  Women in Taoism: Data, Interpretation, and Issues  Women in Taoist History  Taoists and Dynasts  5. The Cultivated Life  Life, Death, and 'Transcendence'  Cultivating Reality  Conclusion  Works Cited  Index