Taoism and the Arts of China

This text brings together a remarkable collection of art from one of China's most ancient and influential traditions.

Produced to accompany the first major exhibition ever organised on the Taoist philosophy and religion, this book includes more than 150 works of art from as early as the late Zhou dynasty (fifth-third century BC) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

Many of these works are paintings that show the breathtaking range of style and subjects that make the Taoist heritage so rich.

Sculpture, calligraphy, rare books, textiles, and ritual objects are also represented. Like the exhibition, the book is organised thematically.

It begins with the sage Laozi (to whom the Daode Jing is attributed), and moves on to explore the birth of religious Taoism and the interaction between Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

A wealth of subjects are covered: the gods of the Taoist pantheon, ritual, the boundaries and intersections between Taoism and popular religion, Taoist "immortals" and "realised beings", the role of alchemy, sacred landscape and its significance, and Taoist temples and their architecture. This book includes a series of introductory essays by scholars with a deep understandi