The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History

Abstract

Daoism, at its core, is a religion: a way of interpreting the cosmos. Historically, Daoism evolved by incorporating elements of diverse religious traditions and maintained a dialectical relationship with Chinese society as a whole, affecting the worldviews, value systems and practices of all social classes. Daoist temples synthetically and syncretically embody the successive stages of Daoist history. This book studies the history of the eminent Tongbai Palace within its natural, cultural, religious and political landscape. It highlights what the temple owed to the significance of its location and the people and deities inhabiting it, while showing how, in turn, it increased their prestige.