Religion 268 - DAOISM

This course considers the development of the Daoist religious tradition, beginning with a close reading of the Laozi and Zhuangzi, the two great classics of Daoist philosophy from the 3rd century BCE. We will also survey a wide of variety of Daoist materials and movements over the last two millennia -- including poetry, hagiography, and scriptures -- in considering topics such as the cult of the immortals, esoteric revelations, millenarian communities, alchemy, and various technologies of spiritual transcendence.