Taoist studies have progressed beyond all expectations during recent decades. A number of important studies in different languages have investigated topics virtually unknown only a few years earlier, while others have surveyed for the first time textual, doctrinal and ritual corpora. These works have greatly increased our knowledge of Taoism, and have opened new paths to research. This volume builds on these works. Its content and format make it an extremely useful tool for scholars and students, who will be able easily to access historical, terminological and bibliographical information on a great number of subjects related to Taoism. The Encyclopedia reflects the current state of Taoist scholarship and contributes to further progress in this and related fields. It provides an accurate overview of Taoist history, thought and religion through a wide selection of topics, while entries are cross-referenced and provided with bibliographical data. Crucially, no other serious reference work is available in a Western language.
Over 1750 entries arranged in alphabetical order cover schools, texts, historical characters, divinities, practices, techniques, places, temples and important terms. The entries and the bibliography include Chinese and Japanese characters, and the book includes a chronology of Taoism.