The Way of Highest Clarity

Highest Clarity (Shangqing) was a Daoist religious movement that flourished for a thousand years in medieval China. This book explores its chief religious ideas and practices through three key texts, translated into English for the first time. Together with introductory essays on the concepts of nature, vision, and revelation, the book provides an overview of a unique and fascinating religious imagination, of interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of humanity's cultural heritage. It is a prime study of a major Daoist school, offering path-breaking research of this little-known aspect of medieval Chinese culture.