TAO-CH’O SEE DAOCHUO
TAO HONGJING (456–536 CE), a polymath scholar
of Daoism, was largely responsible for establishing the textu-
al corpus of the Maoshan or Shangqing (Highest Clarity) lin-
eage, of which he is recognized as the tenth patriarch. Tao’s
contributions to the study of pharmacology and alchemy in
China are also of singular importance, and during his own
lifetime he was recognized for his authoritative knowledge
of calligraphy and astrological calculations. Born near the
southern imperial capital of Jiankang (modern-day Nanjing),
Tao was the scion of a leading family of gentry officials with
a long history of service to the southern courts since the fall
of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).
The Tao family had marital links to some of the most
important Daoist figures in Southern China, including the
great scholar Ge Hong (283–343 CE), but Hongjing’s moth-
er and grandfather were both Buddhists. Despite these reli-
gious affiliations, Tao’s early training was Confucian. He
completed several commentaries on Confucian classics at an
early age, and his dedication to scholarship soon earned him
a reputation at court. By his early twenties he had achieved
modest success in official service, being appointed “reader in
attendance” to imperial princes. His intellectual and scholas-
tic accomplishments garnered him much respect and allowed
him to move freely in the élite social circles and literary sa-
lons of Jiankang.
During the period of mourning for his mother between
484 and 486, Tao began his formal initiation into Daoism.
He became a disciple of Sun Youyue (398–489 CE), abbot
of the Xingshi Temple in Jiankang. Sun had, in turn, been
a disciple of Lu Xiujing (406–477 CE), the main systematizer
of the Lingbao ritual liturgy. Sun possessed textual artifacts
of the Maoshan revelations passed on by Lu, and he allowed
Tao to view them. These texts had been produced between
364 and 370 CE by a visionary named Yang Xi (330–c. 386)
living in the area of Maoshan (Mount Mao), southwest of
the imperial capital. Yang claimed that he had received the
texts from a number of “perfected immortals” (zhenren), resi-
dents of the Heaven of Highest Clarity (Shangqing tian). The
message of the perfected was a synthesis of Celestial Master’s
Daoism, and elements of the southern occult traditions, such
as represented in the work of Ge Hong. Alchemy and apotro-
paic ritual is much in evidence, but the texts pointed towards
the future of Daoism with their tendency toward techniques
of internal cultivation, such as visualization meditation.
The style and content of the Maoshan manuscripts, as
well as their calligraphy, made a deep impression on Tao,
and he began searching for more examples, making a trip in
490 to the eastern regions (present-day Zhejiang) for that
purpose. Two years later, in 492, he renounced secular life
altogether and retired to live at Maoshan. With the help of
imperial sponsorship, Tao built a hermitage there, which he
named the Huayang Observatory (Huayang guan). He as-
sembled some disciples, and began the work of reconstruct-
ing the Shangqing scriptural corpus.
Tao’s first major project was the compilation of the De-
ngzhen yinjue (Secret formulae for ascending to perfection).
Most of this work is now lost, but originally it was a large
collection of technical material derived from Yang Xi’s reve-
lations. It was intended for Tao’s disciples, for whom he
added copious annotations. The two works for which Tao
Hongjing is best know seem both to have been completed
in the same year, 499. The Zhengao (Declarations of the per-
fected), is a compendium of the Maoshan revelations them-
selves. It includes correspondence between Yang Xi and his
patrons, and records of conversations between Yang and his
perfected guests, as well as information on the secret geogra-
phy of the Maoshan area. The Zhengao also contains many
poems, ostensibly composed by the perfected. The ecstatic
style of these poems was to be influential, particularly during
the later Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).
Continuing a tradition passed down from his father and
grandfather, Tao also compiled his Bencao jing jizhu (Col-
lected notes on the classic of pharmacopoeia). This was an
expanded and annotated version of the oldest work of Chi-
nese pharmacopoeia, Shennong bencao jing (Shen Nong’s
classic of pharmacopoeia). Tao doubled the number of en-
tries in the earlier classic and also reorganized the material
according to more rational criteria. Although this work
comes down to us only in fragmentary form, it had an enor-
mous impact on traditional Chinese medicine because it
brought order and reason to a tradition in disarray. It also
facilitated the systematic incorporation of materia medica
into Chinese medical practice.
In 502 a new dynasty, the Liang, replaced the previous
Qi dynasty (479–502 CE). Fortunately, Tao Hongjing en-
joyed a close personal relationship with Wudi (464–549 CE),
the first Liang emperor. This ensured continued imperial
support for Tao’s work, even when Wudi, a fervent Bud-
dhist, proscribed Daoism in 504. It was in the same year,
504, that Wudi commissioned Tao to undertake alchemical
experiments on his behalf. Tao expended a great amount of
time and energy in his attempts to produce elixirs according
to recipes described in the Shangqing scriptures. Tao’s care-
ful notes on his research are the earliest extant records of al-
chemical experimentation in China. His work also strength-
ened the relationship of alchemy to Daoism.
During the latter part of his life, Tao Hongjing re-
mained based at Maoshan, but made an extended trip to the
southeast, to the area of modern Fujian province. He contin-
ued his alchemical experiments on the trip, but it may be that
he was also motivated by anticipation of a messianic apoca-
lypse, such as predicted in certain Shangqing texts. While on
that excursion, Tao made the acquaintance of Zhou Ziliang,
a young man who became his disciple. Zhou was a visionary
after the model of Yang Xi, and played host to some of the
same perfected beings. In 515, at the age of only twenty,8996 TAO-CH’O