Tales of the dancing dragon : stories of the Tao

by Eva Wong

Paperback, 2007

Publication

Imprint: Boston : New York : Shambhala, 2007. Responsibility: Eva Wong. OCLC Number: 123284916. Physical: Text : 1 volume : vi, 167 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

Call number

GT-D / Wong

Barcode

BK-07617

ISBN

9781590305232

Collections

Your library, Adult Materials, The Great Traditions

CSS Library Notes

Description: These delightful folktales, stories, and legends are a traditional means of conveying the history and spiritual evolution of Taoism. Eva Wong heard them as a child growing up in Hong Kong from the local storytellers. The stories are by turns mysterious and intriguing, passionate and violent, and are peppered with colorful characters, including hermits, politicians, social activists, revolutionaries, scholars, scientists, and mystics.Arranged chronologically from prehistory through the Qing dynasty (which ended around 1912), these stories introduce us to the schools in the Taoist lineages, and capture the defeats and victories of Taoism, its periods of decadence and decay, and its renewal, maturation, and spiritual triumph. Wong puts these stories into context, and shows that Taoism is a dynamic spiritual tradition, constantly changing - and being changed by - history.

Contents: Introduction -- Part One: The Legendary Times -- The Great Beginning -- Fu Xi and the Precelestial Bagua -- Shen Nong the Herbalist -- King Wen¿s Hexagrams -- Peng Zu and Emperor Zhou Mu -- Part Two: The Qin, Han, and the Three Kingdoms -- Xu Fu¿s Voyage to the Islands of Immortality -- The Three Brothers of Mount Mao -- The Huang Lao Teachings -- The Way of Harmony and Peace -- Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban Movement11. Zhang Lu¿s Kingdom -- Part Three: The Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties -- Kai Gong of the Bamboo Grove -- Wang Xizhi the Calligrapher -- Lady Wei Huacun and the Shangqing School of Taoism -- Yang Xi and the Shangqing Scriptures -- Ge Xuan and the Lingbao Classics of Taoism -- Lu Xiujing¿s Compilation of the Taoist Scriptures -- Guo Qianzhi¿s Reformation of Taoism -- Part Four: The Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties -- Sun Xiyao the Medicine Sage -- Cai Fu, Judge of the Living and the Dead -- Xie Xiran and Sima Zhengzhen -- Luo Gongyuan and Emperor Tang Xuanzong -- Li Quan and the Old Woman -- Yan Zhenxing¿s Calligraphy -- Liu Xuanjing and Emperor Tang Jingzong -- The Patriarchs of Southern Complete Reality Taoism -- Emperor Song Gaozong¿s Dream - Part Five: The Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties -- Qui Changchun and Genghis Khan -- The Compilation of the Taoist Canon

FY2017

Physical description

vi, 167 p.; 22 cm

Description

Here, Taoist practitioner Eva Wong offers a colorful treatment of the history and evolution of Taoism, told through traditional teaching tales. These tales, which Wong first heard as a child growing up in Hong Kong, are gleaned from the local storytellers and the uncensored chronicles known as yeshi--the wild history of China, not monitored by the official imperial scholars and historians. The stories are by turns mysterious and intriguing, passionate and violent, and they are peppered with colorful characters, including hermits, politicians, social activists, revolutionaries, scholars, scientists, and mystics. Arranged chronologically from prehistory through the early twentieth century, these stories introduce the schools in the Taoist lineages, and capture the defeats and victories of Taoism, its periods of decadence and decay, and its renewal, maturation, and spiritual triumph. Wong puts these stories into context, and shows that Taoism is a dynamic spiritual tradition, constantly changing--and being influenced by--history.… (more)