Moriah L

Moriah L. Miller

LS 558 W2

Pathfinder

Pathfinder on Taoism

for Lebanon Valley College Bishop Library

http://www.lvc.edu/library/

Icon from http://www.weidemyr.com/sym/religion/taoism.shtml

Overview:

Taoism or Daoism means the road or way, it teaches simplicity and humility as a way to peace and harmony in life. It is a philosophy that started in China around 300 BC and became a religion in 100 BC. Taoism as a philosophy is said to be started by two leaders around 500 BC who were against Confucianism, Lao-tzu who wrote the Tao Te Ching and Chang-tzu. The Taoist idea is for people to avoid conventional social obligations to lead a life close to nature. Taoism has influenced literature and art. Taoism as religion came about from Chinese folk religion, it has a priesthood and it is said that immortality can be attained by meditation. Since Taoism is so closely intertwined with nature many believers have tended to go pursue things such as astronomy or medicine to search for knowledge of nature.

Sivin, N. 2004. "Taoism." World Book Online Reference Center. World Book, Inc. Available at http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar546820

Scope:

This pathfinder is designed to help the user find things easily on Taoism, the resources have descriptions so as to help the user decide what they want to use. The categories are split up by Library of Congress Subject Headings, Call numbers, General reference works, Specific reference works, Books, Databases, and Websites.

Library of Congress Subject Headings:

Philosophy and religion Religion—Dictionaries Taoism

Philosophy—Dictionaries Religions—Philosophy Taoism—Dictionaries

Philosophy, Chinese—Philosophy, Taoist Religions—Taoism Taoism in literature

Philosophy, Chinese—Tao Religions—Yin-yang Taoists

Philosophy, Taoist

Call numbers on Taoism:

B 1-5802 Philosophy

BL 48-50 Religion

BL 1900-1940 Taoism

PR 6025 Taoism in literature

General References on Taoism:

Philosophy

Audi, Robert ed. 1999. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press. REF B 41 .C35

Top dictionary in the field that provides things on Eastern and Western philosophy and thought.

Borchert, Donald M. 1996. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Macmillan. REF B 41 .E5 1996

Tries to cover whole realm of Eastern and Western philosophy. There are wonderful articles on different types of philosophy.

Craig, Edward, ed. 1998. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York: Routledge. REF B 51 .R68 1998

Provides in depth information on philosophers, theories, and more.

Religion

Adams, Charles J. and et. al, ed. 1987. The Encyclopedia of Religion. New York: Macmillan. BL 31 .E46 1987

Provides broad descriptions on religious traditions, it does a good job of this with Eastern religions and culture.

Parrinder, Geoffrey. 1973. A Dictionary of Non-Christian Religions. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. REF BL 31 .P36 1973

Useful for coverage of non-Christian faiths and their belief systems.

Specific References on Taoism:

Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid., et al. 1994. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Boston: Shambhala. REF BL 1005 .L4813

A recent source that concentrates on Eastern traditions.

Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid. Wünsche, Werner trans. 1996. The Shambhala Dictionary of Taoism. Boston: Shambhala. REF BL 1923 .S48 1996

Provides definitions on Taoism and its traditions within philosophy and religion.

Pas, Julian F. 1998. Historical Dictionary of Taoism. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. REF BL 1923 .P37 1998

Provides definitions on Taoism along with its history.

Books on Taoism:

*The books are just a general overview of Taoism including the history, beliefs, works, practices, and literature on Taoism.

Blofeld, John. 2000. Taoism: the Road to Immortality. Boston: Shambhala. BL 1920 .B57

Bokenkamp, Stephen R. 1997. Early Daoist Scripture. Berkeley: University of California Press. BL 1920 .B64 1997

Cleary, Thomas F. 1991. The Essential Tao: An Initiation into the Heart of Taoism through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang Tzu. San Francisco: Harper. BL 1910 .C63

Henricks, Robert G. 2000. Lao Tzu’s Te Ching: A Translation of the Startling New Documents Found at Guodian. New York: Columbia University Press. BL 1900 .L26 E5

Hoff, Benjamin. 1982. The Tao of Pooh. New York: Penguin Books. PR 6025 .I65 Z68

Hoff, Benjamin. 1992. The Te of Piglet. New York: Penguin Books. PR 6025 .I65 Z69

Kohn, Livia and LaFargue, Michael, eds. 1998. Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. BL 1900 .L35 L3755 1998

Kohn, Livia. 2001. Daoism and Chinese Culture. 1st ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Three Pines Press. BL 1920 .K64

Laozi and LaFargue, Michael. 1992. The Tao of the Tao Te Ching: A Translation and Commentary. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. BL 1900 .L26 E5 1992

Laozi and Lao-tzu. Ma-wang-tui texts trans. Henricks, Robert G. introduction and commentary. 1993. Tao-te Ching. New York: Modern Library. BL 1900 .L5 1993

Lin, Yiming. Cleary, Thomas, ed. 1988. Awakening the Tao. 1st ed. Boston: Shambhala. BL 1920 .L57 1988

Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer. 2003. Taoism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Scared Places. New York: Oxford University Press. BL 1920 .055

Schipper, Kristofer Marinus. 1993. The Taoist Body. Berkeley: University of California Press. BL 1920 .S2813 1993

Databases:

Academic Search Premier available through EbscoHost

*All articles available through full text

Goicoechea, D. March 2003. “Heidegger—The Taoists—Kierkegaard.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 30, no. 1: 81-98.

Compares the Eastern philosophy of Taoism with the Western philosophies of Heidegeer and Kierkegaard.

Grange, Joseph. “Introduction: Tao and God.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 29, no. 1, 3-5.

The idea about creation and its creator, the religious experience.

Karn-Shing Yip. March 2004. “Taoism and its Impact on Mental Health of the Chinese Communities.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry, vol. 50, no. 1: 25-43.

How Taoism practices affect the mental health of the Chinese people.

Millay, Krista. January 2004. “Implicit Harmony: An Overview of Confucianism and Taoism and Their Gift to the Christian Faith.” Chinese American Forum, vol. 19, no. 3: 2-7.

How Confucianism and Taoism gave a gift to the Christian faith.

Schipper, Kristofer. Nov.-Dec. 2000. “Taoism.” Humanities, vol. 21, no. 6: 35-39.

Focuses on the founder Laozi who founded Taoism.

Websites:

*Remember not all websites are scholarly and could be bias, it should always be checked for its content along with its publisher before decided on whether or not it is okay to use.

Definitions of Taoism

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/

Thursby, Gene. 2004. Taoism Information Page

This webpage gives lots of information on Taoism including definitions, Chinese culture, texts, and more.

http://taopage.org/

SOTAR. 2004. Taoism Initiation Page.

Explains Taoism, Yin-yang, emptiness, meditation, and more.

General Information on Taoism

http://religion-cults.com/Eastern/Taoism/taoism.htm

Domnguez, J. 1998. Religions in China.

Provides details on Taoism including dates.

http://www.taorestore.org/