Existing Taoist schools and their cultivation focus

Taoism

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Taoist series of articles

Basic teachings

Tao, Morality, Sanqing and Cultivation

anyone/anybody

Lao Zi, Zhuangzi, Zhang Daoling.

Zhang Jiao, Ge Hong, Chen Tuan, Wang Zhongyang.

Taoist immortals

Yuan Buddha, Lingbao Buddha, Moral Buddha

Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West, Eight Immortals

Taoist school

Masaichi, Quanzhen Road

Taoist classics

Tao Te Ching, South China Ching

fairyland

Ten continents, three islands and ten caves.

Thirty-six small caves and seventy-two blessed places.

Wiki theme: religion

Taijitu Taoism is a polytheistic religion formed and spread in China, and its influence in ancient China is second only to Buddhism. Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism are considered as the three pillars of traditional culture in China. Taoism is named after the pursuit of Tao. Taoism was formed on the basis of China's ancient Taoist thoughts and theories, absorbing fairy witchcraft, folk worship of ghosts and gods and witchcraft activities. It advocates the immortality and immortality of quietism.

Directory [hidden]

1 Introduction

2 Doctrine and Doctrine

3 history

3. 1 origin

3.2 Development process

3.3 Modern Taoism

4 Taoist immortals

Five commandments

Six-way operation

7 classics

Eight sects

9 Taoist activities

10 Taoist culture

10. 1 Influence on China culture

1 1 Taoism and Taoism

The difference between Taoism and other religions.

The relationship between Taoism and Buddhism.

14 reference

15 See Synonyms at 0

16 external link

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introduce

In the history of China, the original meaning of the word "Tao" refers to various theoretical theories and practical methods inspired by "Tao". Many contending people are used to calling their theories and methods "Tao". Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Yin and Yang, and even Buddhism all called themselves "Tao" for various reasons. Confucianism first used the word "Tao" and called the theories of Wang Zhidao and Confucius "Tao". When Buddhism was first introduced into China, it was translated into Tao, so it was also called Tao. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, five doorways appeared, calling themselves "Tao" and taking the meaning of "Tao is good". Since then, in order to show their uniqueness, other factions have stopped calling themselves "Tao" and become the special names of Wudou Rice Road.

Taoism now refers to a religion which is based on China's ancient religious beliefs, inherited some religious concepts and practice methods such as Fang and Huang, and gradually formed, with "Tao" as the highest belief, Laozi as the leader, and Laozi's Tao Te Ching as the main classic, and pursued the cultivation of immortality.

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Teaching and doctrine

From the very beginning, Taoism regarded Laozi's Classic of Tao Te Ching as the basic classic, and regarded "Tao" and "virtue" as the basic beliefs. Taoism believes that "Tao" is the source and master of all things in the universe, omnipresent and all-encompassing, and everything evolved from "Tao". And "virtue" is the embodiment of "Tao".

Taoism takes Taishang Laojun as its leader, that is, Laozi. In addition, the highest god of Taoism has other sayings in the Taoist scriptures. First, it is to respect the supreme god of Jade Qing and Yuan Dynasty; The second is to respect the Qing Lingbao Buddha as the highest god; Third, it is the highest god who respects the moral Buddha. Later, it evolved into a trinity of Laozi, one gasification and three cleanness.

Taoism is born again, hates death and pursues immortality. It believes that people can make their own decisions in their lives and don't have to obey the heavens. People think that as long as people are good at cultivating health, they can live forever. Therefore, there are many ways to practice: alchemy, eating, breathing, fetal interest, massage, guidance, room, avoiding valley, thinking, offering symbols and chanting.

Taoist theology and Taoist thought may not be consistent, especially in depth; The similarities and differences between them are worth pondering. However, the ancestors called Laozi and Zhuangzi and regarded Laozi and Zhuangzi as classic Taoism. After all, they absorbed and inherited many contents of Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts. In addition, it is also influenced by Yi and Yin and Yang.

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history

See the history of Taoism

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origin

Although Taoism takes Laozi as its ancestor, its thought is not completely consistent with Laozi's thought, and it is more due to the fact that Huang used Laozi's famous words to cultivate health in the early Han Dynasty. Another source of Taoism is Fang Xiandao, which began in the Warring States and flourished in Qin and Han Dynasties. In addition, we can also pursue the worship of ghosts and gods in Shang Dynasty.

In the process of its gradual formation, the interaction between Taoism and Buddhism (the influence of Buddhism on Taoism and the influence of Taoism on Buddhist China) was also worthy of attention.

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Development history

The development of Taoism can be roughly divided into four periods: the origin of Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, the prosperity of Tang and Song Dynasties, the emergence of Quanzhen religion in Yuan and Ming Dynasties and the decline after Qing Dynasty.

The formation of Taoism is a slow development process. As two landmark events in the final formation of Taoism, one is the spread of Taiping Jing, and the other is Zhang Daoling's Five Mi Dou Roads. During the Shundi period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (126-144), Taiping Jing was published and widely circulated. When he arrived at the Lingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Jiao preached in Taiping Qingling, nicknamed Taipingdao, calling himself the teacher of Dade, and his followers were all over Kyushu, which was already quite influential. Later, the Yellow turban insurrectionary failed, and Taiping Road gradually declined. It was also in the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Emperor Shun Di of the Eastern Han Dynasty, that Zhang Ling returned to Mingshan in Shu County to learn Taoism and recruit disciples to preach, so the believers gave him five measures of rice, so he called it five measures of rice. His grandson, Zhang Lu, stayed in Hanzhong for many years, and later cooperated with the supreme ruling authorities to spread the influence of Wudou Mi Dao from the southwest corner to the sea and become an authentic Taoism.

During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the prevalence of alchemy and the deepening of related theories, Taoism gained great development. At the same time, Taoism also absorbed the popular metaphysics at that time and enriched its own theory. In the first year of Jianwu in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ge Hong systematically expounded the theory of immortals since the Warring States Period and wrote Bao Puzi, which was the first systematization of Taoist theory and enriched the ideological content of Taoism. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, with the support of Taizu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Kou established the "North" Road and Lu established the "South" Road.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan recognized Laozi Li Er as his ancestor, and Song Zhenzong and Song Huizong also believed in Taoism, so Taoism was highly respected and became the state religion. At this time, Maoshan, Gezhi and other factions appeared, and Shi Tiandao also re-emerged. In theory, Chen Tuan and Zhang Boduan's "Inner Dan Theory" is very popular.

During the Jin Dynasty, Quanzhen Taoism advocated by Wang Zhongyang appeared in the north. Later, Qiu Chuji, a disciple of Wang Zhongyang, preached for Genghis Khan in Mongolia, which earned him great trust. He was granted the power to take charge of Taoism in the world by the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. At the same time, in order to cope with the rapid rise of Quanzhen religion, the original Shi Tian Taoism in Longhushan, the Shangqing School in Maoshan and the Lingbao School in Gezaoshan were merged into one, and Zhang Tianshi was regarded as the founder of the orthodox school, thus formally forming the Taoist pattern of Quanzhen religion in the north and orthodox school or two schools in the south.

Judy, the Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty, claimed to be the embodiment of Zhenwu Emperor, and gave great support to Zhang Sanfeng and Wu Tang who sacrificed Zhenwu. At this time, Taoism is still dominant in various religions in China.

Since the Qing Dynasty, Manchu rulers believed in Tibetan Buddhism and suppressed Taoism, which was dominated by Han people. Taoism has since declined.

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Modern Taoism

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taoism has basically stopped developing. After entering the modern society, Taoism declined even more. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), with the implementation of the new religious policy of the China government, some previous Taoist rules and regulations failed because they violated the current laws. 1957, the Chinese Taoist Association was established to manage the internal affairs of Taoism in China. In the Cultural Revolution, Taoism, like other religions in China, suffered a catastrophe. It was not until the end of the Cultural Revolution that Taoism began to resume normal religious activities.

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Taoist immortals

See Taoist immortals

Taoist figures in the British Museum, like Taoism, are polytheists. The highest god is the Sanqing God originated from Taoism, that is, the Yuan God, the Lingbao God and the Moral God, among which the Moral God is the Taishang Laojun. In addition, Taoism created a series of officials such as Tian and his emperor Jade Emperor according to the human order, and absorbed the concepts of Buddhist hell and the world in the sea. As a subsidiary of heaven, it also created the immortal official series of Yamaraja Temple and Crystal Palace, plus the four-value meritorious service, mountain gods, city gods, land gods, kitchen gods and other local immortal series. It also absorbed many western queens and the Eight Immortals in ancient China myths as "scattered immortals" outside the natural order. Therefore, there are many immortals in Taoism. All immortals created by local people and celebrities they worship, such as Mazu and Guandi, can be absorbed into the Taoist immortal system at any time. But generally speaking, temples only worship Sanqing God, and other gods can build their own temples.

In addition, Taoism believes that the human body is also a small world, so all kinds of organs on the human body, such as hair, facial features and so on, are also stationed by gods. And there are corresponding practice methods.

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Religious discipline

Taoist precepts are some norms that restrict Taoist thought and behavior. Taoist precepts have different contents according to different sects. Generally speaking, the commandments of Quanzhen school are stricter than those of Zuo Fu school. The main contents of the commandments are not to kill, not to drink and eat meat, not to steal, not to commit adultery and so on. Commandments are what believers must abide by, and Taoist priests must have a rite of passage to be counted as believers. According to the strictness of discipline, discipline can be divided into top-grade discipline, middle-grade discipline and inferior discipline. According to the musical number, there are three precepts, five precepts, eight precepts, ten precepts and twenty-seven precepts of Laojun.

In addition to the precepts, there are Taoist rules, which are a means of punishment for Taoist priests who violate the precepts. Specifically, different factions have different regulations.

On the basis of absorbing some contents of Buddhism and requirements of Confucianism, Taoist precepts have formed a set of their own unique contents. Taoist rules and regulations also change with time, and when they conflict with the laws of the regime, they will be adjusted appropriately.

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Taoism

The old gentleman's entering the mountain symbol in Bao Puzi thinks that it can avoid Taoist religious activities, which is very complicated. It is mainly divided into two categories: Taoist self-cultivation (praising learning) and Taoist rituals, including Taoist scriptures, confessions, fasting, rituals, spells, curses, seclusion, chariot riding, exorcism, enchanting and so on.

Taoism has become a Taoism, including inner alchemy, outer alchemy, feeding and housing. External alchemy refers to burning minerals such as lead and mercury in alchemy sand and medicine to make pills that can make people live forever. Modern science believes that most of these pills are poisonous, and there were many fatal cases in ancient times. So later Taoism realized that it was dangerous to take and prepare Inner Dan, so later generations turned to safer Inner Dan practice. Wei Dan is also regarded as the pioneer of modern chemistry.

Inner alchemy refers to refining alchemy in the body through qi-flowing, qi-guiding, breathing and breathing, so as to achieve the goal of immortality. The terms of Waidan and Neidan are the same, but their meanings are completely different. For example, the human body is compared to a furnace that burns an alchemy pill, but it is still connected in theory. The teaching of ancient alchemy is mostly passed down from master to apprentice, which is difficult for outsiders to understand.

In addition, there are many Daoism in Taoism. For example, introspection, keeping quiet, thinking and breaking through the trough. These modern times are mostly classified as qigong. In addition, many Taoist priests of Quanzhen Sect practice martial arts. Chinese medicine theory also comes from Taoism.

Taoist rituals are collectively called "fasting rituals", in which fasting means purity and fasting means prayer, also known as Dojo. Taoism worships immortals, because they think immortals are quiet and noble, so they need to bathe and change clothes, do not drink or eat meat, and fast before sacrifice. Sacrificial activities are called "rites", and Taoism has absorbed many Buddhist contents in its development, with various names. Taoism believes that through these rituals, we can get rid of disasters and seek happiness. Divination is also a part of Taoism, including divination, drawing lots and measuring characters. In addition, Taoism is characterized by the use of symbols and reeds. Characters are some symbols painted on yellow paper with cinnabar. Taoism believes that it can be used to cure diseases, while Confucianism is considered to drive away gods. In addition, Taoism believes that oral spells can cure diseases, exorcise ghosts and spirits, and drive away wild animals. These are mainly the same spells.

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Main classics

See Tao Jing.

Taoism regards Laozi's Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi's Nanhua Ching as the two most important classics. In addition, Taoism also imitated the Buddhist tripitaka to create a collection of Taoist works, including not only philosophy and Taoist theory, but also works on alchemy, health care, medical care and qigong. There are mainly orthodox Taoist scriptures, Taoist scriptures and the continuation of Wanli Taoist scriptures. At present, only the orthodox Taoist scriptures of the Ming Dynasty have been circulated, and other versions have been lost. Most of the existing Taoist classics are included here. The number of Taoist scriptures is very large, and the main classics of various factions are also different.

Zhouyi Shentongqi is the earliest single crystal and is called the ancestor of single crystal. In addition, Bao Puzi is also a basic classic of Taoist Dante School. Taiping Jing and Old Xiangzi Jules are also the main classics of early Taoism. Huang Tingjing and The True Classic of Shangqing Dadong are the main classics of Shangqing Classic left, and Maoshan School also attaches great importance to them. Du Hewen is the main classic of Lingbao School and School. Yin Fu Jing and Chang Jing Qing Jing are also two very important Taoist classics that Taoist priests must recite. In addition, the Jade Emperor Sutra and the Heart Seal Sutra are also one of the daily lessons of Taoists.

Although the Southern Sect of Taoism took Fuyong and Zhai Zhi as the main body, after the Northern Song Dynasty, it also advocated three religions and one principle, and cultivated the inner alchemy, resulting in such classics as Wu Zhen Jing and Four Hundred Words at that time. Taoism, the northern Sect of Quanzhen religion, advocates the unity of the three religions, the gathering of spirits and spirits, the understanding of nature, and the integration of Confucianism and Taoism. Focusing on the three classics of Tao Te Ching, Xiao Jing and Prajna Heart Jing, it advocates "filial piety and purity, honesty and simplicity".

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religious sect

Look at Taoism

A Taoist priest on Mount Tai, in terms of practice, Taoism is mainly divided into two factions-Zuo Fu and Dante. The former advocates using spells to cure diseases and exorcise ghosts, while the latter advocates alchemy and seeking immortality, which is different from external Dan and internal Dan.

Generally speaking, the spread of Taoism began in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. There are five influential schools in the history of Taoism:

Justice Road: There are Lingbao School, Justice School and Jing Ming School below.

Quanzhen Road: There are two schools, Nanzong and Beizong. There are also many tribes, such as the Dragon School, the Encounter Fairy School, the Namo School, the Suishan School, the Lushan School, the Huashan School and the Static School.

True Taoism: Founded in the Jin Dynasty, it gradually declined after the Yuan Dynasty.

Taiyi Road: It was built in the Jin Dynasty and gradually declined after the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Jing Ming Dow: Founded in the Southern Song Dynasty, it declined after the Ming Dynasty.

After the Ming dynasty, Taoism was divided into orthodox school and quanzhen school, and all other schools were under these two schools. At present, the Baiyun Temple in Beijing has the general classics of all the true sects, and there are 86 Taoist sects, but actually there are only 80.

Righteousness Road: Righteousness Road was Wudoumi Road in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and was later renamed Shitian Road and Righteousness Road. Its Taoist priests can practice at home, do not abstain from meat, marry and have children. Its Taoist temple is generally called "descendants temple".

Quanzhen religion: Quanzhen religion flourished in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties and was the largest and most important school of Neo-Daoism in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Representative figures are Wang Zhongyang and Qiu Chuji. Quanzhen religion emphasizes cultivation, and its Taoist must become a vegetarian. Its Taoist temple is generally called "the ten-square jungle".

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Taoist activities

Taoist activities are mainly carried out in temples. There are two kinds of temples:

Children's Temple: The temple property is privately owned by the temple owner, and it is passed down from master to apprentice, which is generally small in scale.

Shifang Jungle: The temple property belongs to Taoists or a certain Taoist school, and all Taoists can stay here through certain procedures. Generally larger in scale. Ten jungles can preach precepts, but they can't accept disciples.

There is also a special "offspring jungle", which is a mixture of the two. Generally, it developed from the temple of descendants.

In addition, the temples of Orthodox Taoism and Quanzhen Taoism are also different in system and daily activities, and generally do not mix them.

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Taoist culture

Taoism had different influences on politics, economy, philosophy, literature, art, music, painting, architecture, medicine, pharmacology, health preservation, qigong, chemistry, martial arts, astronomy and geography in ancient China. In addition, it also has a profound impact on China people's way of thinking, ethics, folk customs, ethnic relations, national psychology, national character and so on.

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Influence on China culture

Taoism has influenced all aspects of China culture to varying degrees.

Some sects in Taoism pass on some martial arts and qigong from master to apprentice. For example, the Wutang School, a famous martial art, is said to have been handed down by many Taoist priests on Wudang Mountain. Taoist martial arts are also different from many martial arts. They pay attention to roundness and softness, which fully embodies the teachings of Taoism. Among them, simple Wushu routines like Tai Ji Chuan have gradually become people's daily fitness activities. Taoist Qigong is also a major school of Qigong in China. The cultivation method of Quanzhen Daoism is basically Qigong, which has made great contributions to the exploration and development of Qigong.

Taoist regimen also inherits and develops the collateral theory in Huangdi Neijing, a traditional medicine in China. In addition, there are many Taoists who study medical skills and have made great contributions to the development of Chinese medicine, such as Ge Hong and Tao Hongjing.

Taoist alchemy has an important influence on the invention of gunpowder.

Li Bai, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, was deeply influenced by Taoism. He has traveled around the world, seeking immortals to visit Taoism, and even being an alchemist. He can be said to be a devout Taoist. This experience had a very important influence on his character, poetry creation and even life experience. Li Bai was called to Chang 'an and was recommended by many Taoist priests and friends who believed in Taoism, such as Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. In the process of seeking immortality, he traveled all over the five mountains and brought him a lot of materials. Concepts such as "immortality" and "feathering" often appear in his poems.

The Journey to the West, one of China's four classical literary masterpieces, tells the story of four people, including the Buddhist Tang Priest, who went to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures. However, many Taoist concepts are used in the book, such as heart ape, horse, maiden, yuan god and so on. And also built a Taoist official system with the Jade Emperor as the core. There are also many Taoist figures and monsters in the book, but most of them are villains.

The most famous novel with Taoism as its core is Romance of Gods. The essence of the Shang and Zhou wars described in the book is the dispute between the two factions of Taoism about the interpretation and interception of religion. All kinds of fairy treasures in the book also belong to the Taoist system.

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Taoism and Taoism

The words "Tao" and "Tao" are often misused. Historically, these two words refer to many different contents and have been confused; Others advocate equating the two. However, if Taoism is understood as a school of philosophical thoughts initiated by Laozi and Zhuangzi and recreated in Wei and Jin Dynasties, and as a religion gradually formed and further developed in Han Dynasty, then, although Taoism has absorbed a lot of Taoist thoughts in theory, even taking Laozi as the leader, the two cannot be confused, nor can it be said that Taoist theory is Taoist thought. As a religion, Taoism has its immortal worship and belief, its followers and organizations, a series of religious ceremonies and activities, and the inheritance of its main factions is generally clear. As a school of philosophical thought, Taoism's ideological evolution and representative figures should be the most important contents in its interpretation; The inheritance and evolution of Taoist thought after Wei and Jin Dynasties is still vague and difficult to explain, but its influence on literati in past dynasties is still discernible. From this point of view, it can also be said that the narrow sense of "Tao" refers to the philosophical school represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi in the pre-Qin period.

The similarities and differences between Taoist theology and Taoist thought are really a long story. Let me give you an example: Taoism says immortality, immortality and spirituality, which is not mentioned by Laozi and Zhuangzi, nor can it be regarded as a reasonable extension of Laozi and Zhuangzi's thought. It can even be said that there is no contradiction with the way of nature.

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The difference between Taoism and other religions

The ideal world of Taoism is different from the paradise of Buddhism and Christianity. There are two ideal worlds of Taoism, one is secular and the other is religious. The secular ideal world is clearly stated in Taiping Jing, hoping that the world will become a fair and peaceful world without disasters and wars. The ideal world of religion is "fairyland", and Taoism pursues immortality, so that it can transcend life and death and live a fairy-like life in fairyland. Different from other religions, Taoism does not think that people can reach fairyland after death, but that people's bodies can live forever through some form of exercise. After becoming immortals, they can also live in the world of ordinary people, be "living immortals" and live in fairyland. However, it is not easy to achieve immortality, so methods such as "autopsy" appeared later. Moreover, most of the fairyland mentioned is in reality. For example, many of the so-called "land blessed with caves" are some scenic spots in China.

Most religious teachings believe that life is full of misfortune or sin, and the soul can only be saved after death. But Taoism believes that living in the world is a beautiful thing and dying is painful, so Taoism pursues immortality. So there are many ways to keep fit, such as Qigong, which has been developed in Taoism.

Many religions believe that human life span cannot be changed. However, Taoism doesn't think so. There is a saying that "my life is in me, not in the sky", which comes from the Buddhist scriptures in the West of Taoism. In addition, Taoism, as a polytheist, believes that all things have spirits, and even all organs of the human body have gods.

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The relationship between Taoism and Buddhism

Taoism and Buddhism, as the main religions in China, absorbed each other in the struggle, making them more suitable for the needs of local culture in China.

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refer to

Li Jibing, The Law of Enriching the Country-The Law of Enriching the Country in Thirty Years, published by Tianma Book Co., Ltd., 2004, ISBN 962-450-844-5.

Li Jibing, Li Jiazhu in Tao Te Ching.

Tang Dynasty, A Brief History of Taoism in China, Religious Culture Press, 200 1, ISBN 7-80123-229-1.

Ding Peiren, A Hundred Questions about Taoist Classics, religious culture series, China Press today, 1996, ISBN 7-5072-0409-X.

Li, Basic Knowledge of Taoism, published by Chinese Taoist Association (unofficial publication), 1985.

South, Taoism, Tantric Buddhism and Oriental Mysticism, China Esperanto Publishing House, 1994, ISBN 7-5052-0203-0.

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involve

List of Shi Tian in Longhu Mountain of Taoism in Past Dynasties

taoist music

List of Taoist figures

National key Taoist temples

fairyland