Page 18 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM VOL. I

in the Taoist Canon (Daozang ,i1]JiiO are often given in abbreviated form; the
full titles are found in the bibliography of sources in the Taoist Canon (pp.
1335-60).

Editions. Most of the texts cited in this book are found in the Taoist Canon.
References to these texts typically include, at the first occurrence in an entry, the
abbreviation CT followed by the number assigned to the text in the catalogue
by Kristofer Schipper, Concordance du Tao-tsang: Titres des ouvrages (Schipper
1975b). The bibliography of sources in the Taoist Canon (pp. I335-60) provides
the corresponding numbers in two other catalogues, namely Daozang zimu
yinde @ ~ {- R iJ 11~ (Combined Indices to the Authors and Titles of Books
in Two Collections of Taoist Literature; Weng Dujian I935) and Daozang tiyao
j1!~tfl!:~ (A Conspectus of the Taoist Canon; RenJiyu and ZhongZhaopeng
199I).
Citations of the Taiping jing 1::. 3f M\ and the Baopu zi neipian tfiI;t+ -r I*J
m refer to the editions published by Wang Ming ~t~ IV] (Wang Ming I960 and
Wang Ming I985, respectively). All references of the Standard Histories refer
to the Zhonghua shuju C:P.1f JB] editions. The editions used for other texts
are indicated within the entries.
Dynasties, rulers, and reign periods. The dates of dynasties, rulers, and reign
periods, as well as the corresponding Chinese characters, are found in the
tables on pp. I465-66 ("Periodization of Chinese History"') and pp. 1467-70
("Rulers and Reign Periods"').

Format of the entries

The Encyclopedia of Taoism has been conceived from the beginning to func-
tion as a starting point for further study and research. Cross-references, lists
of related entries, and bibliographies-in addition to the Synoptic Table of
Contents and the final indexes-serve this purpose.

Cross-reftrences. Through the broad use of cross-references, marked by an
asterisk (*) at the first relevant occurrence of a term within an entry, virtually
all the entries in the book lead the reader to other entries. Cross-references
are not supplied, however, for four entries whose subjects are repeatedly
mentioned in the book, namely "Dao,"' "Laozi,"' "Daode jing,"' and "Yin and
Yang." Cross-references to entries found in the first part of the book ("Taoism:
An Overview"') are indicated in SMALL CAPITALS; the page numbers of the
individual entries in this part of the book are found on pp. 3-4.
Related entries. Most entries conclude with a list of related entries. While the
cross-references within the main body of an entry refer to any item that has