Laozi (老子) and the Daode Jing (道德經) are traditionally dated to the 6th century BCE, though scholarly estimates for the text range from the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE. For comparison, the Buddha is variously dated from the 6th to the 4th century BCE, while Kongzi (孔子, Confucius) can be more securely dated to 551-479 BCE.
Following Laozi, Zhuangzi (莊子, “Chuang Tzu”), the second major Daoist author, lived c. 369–286 BCE.
Zhengyi Dao
The founding of Daoism as a religious institution (道教, Daojiao) is traditionally attributed to Zhang Daoling (张道陵) and his Zhengyi Mengwei (正一盟威). At the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Ling settled on Heming Shan (鶴鳴山, Crane’s Cry Mountain) in what is now Sichuan province and began teaching. The school that arose is called Zhengyi Dao (正一道), variously known as Tianshi Dao (天師道, Celestial Masters Taoism) or Wudoumi Dao (五斗米道, Five Pecks of Rice Taoism). After Zhang Ling, his son Zhang Heng (張衡) and grandson Zhang Lu (張魯) led the school. Zhang Lu submitted to Cao Cao (曹操) in 215 CE.
Taiping Dao
At roughly the same time, in the eastern and central plains of China, Zhang Jiao (张角) founded the Taiping Dao (太平道), which led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion (黄巾起義, 184 CE), one of the earliest major peasant uprisings in Chinese history.
→ For a dedicated account of the Taiping tradition, see our About page.
The Three Schools (Shangqing, Lingbao, Sanhuang)
The Shangqing Maoshan (上清茅山) school traces its origins to 362 CE, when the wife of Xu Mi (許謐), Tao Kedou (陶可斗), passed away. The Xu (许) brothers engaged a medium, Yang Xi (楊羲), to contact Tao Kedou’s spirit. The spirit described, among other things, the highest heaven Shangqing (上清) and the Huayang (華陽) Grotto on Maoshan (茅山). The written records of the Xu brothers were scattered until a descendant of Tao Kedou, Tao Hongjing (陶弘景, 456–536 CE), recompiled them into the Zhengao (真誥, Declarations of the Perfected). Tao Hongjing is therefore regarded as the founder of the Shangqing school (上清), which became the dominant Daoist school during the Sui Dynasty (581–618 CE).
In the 390s, the Shangqing practitioner Ge Chaofu (葛巢甫) founded the Lingbao (靈寶) school. Among its key developments was the idea of a central creator god, Yuanshi Tianzun (元始天尊, Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginnings). In this formulation, Laozi became Taishang Daojun (太尚道君, Lord of the Dao).
Alongside Shangqing and Lingbao, there was also the Sanhuang (三皇, Three Sovereigns) school, which had fallen out of active use by the 7th century.
Lu Xiujing (陆修靜) systematised Daoist knowledge into three divisions based on the major schools:
- Dongzhen (洞真) → Shangqing (上清) → Yuanshi Tianzun (元始天尊)
- Dongxuan (洞玄) → Lingbao (靈寶) → Taishang Daojun (太尚道君)
- Dongshen (洞神) → Sanhuang (三皇) → Laojun (老君)
Northern & Southern Celestial Master Schools
Daoism first became a state religion when Kou Qianzhi (寇謙之, 365–448 CE) brought his revelations to the Toba court in 424 CE (Northern Wei, 北朝北魏). Kou reformed Celestial Masters Daoism (Zhengyi) based on revelations he received at Songshan (松山).
A century later, Lu Xiujing (陆修靜, 406–477 CE) reformed Daoist practice during the Southern Song (南朝宋) period. Lu’s school of reform became known as the Southern Celestial Master school, while the earlier reform by Kou became the Northern Celestial Master school.
Louguan Dao
This school was founded by Yin Tong (尹通), who is said to have received the Dao in 424 CE. Yin Tong is traditionally considered a descendant of Yin Xi (尹喜), the official who met Laozi at Hangu Pass (函谷關) in Henan. Yin Xi is said to have brought Laozi to his tower, Louguan Tai (樓觀台), on Zhongnan Shan (終南山) in Shaanxi. Louguan Tai became the first established Daoist monastery and, during the Tang Dynasty, was bestowed the imperial name Zongsheng Guan (宗聖觀, Monastery of the Ancestral Sage). The school’s period of greatest influence was during the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Song Schools
The Song period saw the development of the most important Neidan (內丹, Inner Alchemy) school: the Nanzong (南宗, Southern School). Inner Alchemy is traditionally attributed to the immortals Zhong Liquan (鍾離權) and Lü Dongbin (呂洞賓). Zongdong Inner Alchemy is most closely associated with the Nanzong tradition.
The Southern Song period was dominated by the Longhu Shan (龍虎山) school in Jiangxi (江西), a Lingbao-affiliated tradition. Also influential were the Maoshan (茅山) and Gezao Shan (閣皂山) schools. Like Longhu Shan, Gezao Shan was a Lingbao school based in Jiangxi.
Jin Schools (1115-1234CE)
During the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234 CE), the principal traditions were Taiyi (太一, Supreme Oneness), Dadao (大道, Great Dao), and Quanzhen (全真, Complete Perfection). Both Taiyi and Dadao were absorbed into Zhengyi by the end of the Yuan Dynasty.
Quanzhen Dao (全真道) was founded by Wang Chongyang (王重陽, 1112–1170 CE), who retired to Zhongnan Shan (終南山) in 1159 CE before moving to Shandong (山東) in 1167 CE to teach. Of his seven disciples (七真, Qizhen), the most prominent was Qiu Chuji (邱處機, “Changchun”), who founded the Longmen (龍門) branch of Quanzhen in Shaanxi in 1227 CE. Qiu Chuji was summoned to meet Genghis Khan in 1219 CE. The account of his journey was recorded in the Xiyou Ji (西遊記, Travels of an Alchemist) by his disciple and successor, Li Zhichang (李志常).
During the Yuan Dynasty, the Zhengyi and Quanzhen schools became the dominant institutions of Chinese Daoism and have retained their significance to the present day.
- A Note on Overlap
- In practice, the boundaries between these schools were never rigid. Orthodox and heterodox traditions intermingled, and elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, and other traditions were continuously absorbed and reinterpreted. The Taiping Dao, as documented on our About page, is one such thread: foundational, dispersed, and enduring beneath the more visible institutional structures.