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Daoism: Origins, Texts and Ideas
A plain introduction to Daoism as both a philosophy and a lived religion: its early texts, core ideas, organized traditions and how the two sides relate.
Ideas and Meaning
Daoism and Folk Belief
Daoist ideas, household spirits, temples and myths.
Ancestor Veneration in Chinese Households
How Chinese families have traditionally remembered their ancestors through spirit tablets, home altars, food offerings and seasonal gatherings, and how customs vary.
Chinese Creation Myths: Pangu and Nuwa
Retells the Pangu and Nuwa stories of how the world and people began, notes when they were written down, and what they suggest about ancient views of the world.
City Gods and Local Temples
How Chinese towns traditionally honored protective city god deities, how the temple worked like a spiritual magistrate's office, and its role in community life.
Daoist Temples and Sacred Mountains
Why mountains are holy in Chinese tradition, from the Five Great Mountains to Daoist and Buddhist peaks, with their temples, stairways and pilgrim paths.
Guanyin: Compassion in Buddhist and Folk Belief
Traces Guanyin from the Indian bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara to a beloved figure of compassion in Chinese art, legend and everyday devotion, with regional variety.
The Daodejing and Its Short Verses
A reader's guide to the Daodejing: its authorship questions, brief paradoxical verses, nature imagery such as water, and its advice about ruling with a light hand.
The Eight Immortals in Folklore
Meet the Eight Immortals of Chinese folklore: who they are, the objects each carries, their stories in tales, art and theater, and what they symbolize.
Wu Wei: The Idea of Effortless Action
Explains the Daoist idea of wu wei as acting in harmony with circumstances rather than forcing things, with classic examples and common misunderstandings.
Zhuangzi and the Butterfly Dream
The famous Zhuangzi story of a man who dreams he is a butterfly, what it may say about doubt and change, and the playful style of the book it comes from.
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