Glossary of Common Taoist (Daoist) Terms

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Here’s a listing of some of the most commonly-used Chinese (Mandarin) Taoist terms, in both their pinyin and their Wade-Giles transliterations. As you’ll see, some of the terms are identical across the two transliteration (Romanization) systems, while others are radically different. Hopefully this listing—which I encourage you to bookmark, or print and keep close at hand—will help to eliminate some of the confusion, and allow your exploration of the wonderful terrain of Taoist philosophy and practice to be even more enjoyable.

(Excerpted & adapted—with additions—from Daoism: A Short Introduction, by James Miller.)

Pinyin	Wade-Giles	Brief English Definition
bagua	pa-k’ua	The eight trigrams; the basis of the divination scheme in the Book of Changes (Yijing)
baguazhang	pa k'ua chang	'Eight Trigrams Palm'; one of the main martial arts forms of the Wudang tradition
beidou	pei-tou	Lit. ‘northern bushel’; the constellation of the Big Dipper or Great Bear
bianhua	pien-hua	Transformation; the underlying principle of change within the world
bigu	pi-ku	Abstention from grains; a Taoist longevity practice based on the notion that Immortals live off the air and ‘soak up the dew’
bugang	pu-kang	Pacing the net; a Taoist ritual whose choreography is based on the Big Dipper
chujia	ch’u-chia	Lit. ‘leave home’; the process of becoming a Taoist monk
Damo	Tamo	Bodhidharma; the Indian Buddhist sage known as the founder of the Shaolin tradition of martial arts
dantian	tan-t’ien	Cinnabar field; one of three principal locations in the body used in the practice of inner alchemy (neidan)
dao	tao	Lit. “way” or “speak” - the ultimate cosmic principle in Taoism
Daodejing	Tao Te Ching	Taoism’s principle scripture, attributed to Laozi (Lao Tzu)
Daoism	Taoism	One of China’s three major religious traditions, composed of practices and philosophies addressing ones relationship to the Tao
daojia	tao-chia	Lit. “Tao-school’; a bibliographical classification used for proto-Taoist texts
daojiao	tao-chiao	Lit. “Tao-tradition’; the Taoist religion
daotan	tao-t’an	Taoist altar; often erected temporarily to perform a ritual and then disassembled
daozang	tao-tsang	Lit. ‘Taoist treasury’; the Taoist Canon compiled in 1445
de	te	Lit. “power’ or ‘virtue’; what one obtains by attaining the Tao
dongtian	tung-t’ien	Grotto-heavens; the network of caves connecting China’s sacred mountains
fangshi	fang-shih	‘Magico-technicians’; Han dynasty practitioners of alchemy and immortality whose methods influenced the later flourishing of Taoism
fuguang	fu-kuang	Absorb the light; a Taoist energy practice
fuqi	fu-ch’i	Absorb qi; a Taoist energy practice
hun	hun	Heavenly soul; one of the Five Shen; the soul/spirit that resides in the Liver, and at death ascends to heaven and is venerated in the form of ancestral tablets
hundun	hun-tun	Chaos; the state of pregnant non-being from which everything arises, and to which Taoist aim to return
jiao	chiao	Taoist ritual of renewal; the main ritual performed by Taoist priests today
jing	ching	Essence; a form of qi manifested in sexual fluids
jing	ching	Scripture; weft of a piece of fabric
Laozi	Lao-tzu	Old Master or Old Child; the traditional author of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching)
lingbao	ling-pao	Numinous Treasure or Numinous Jewel; a classical Taoist religious movement
loupan	lo p’an	Chinese compass; the primary tool of Fengshui practice
ming	ming	Fate, destiny, life; the physiological element of one’s person in Complete Perfection cultivation
neidan	nei-dan	Inner alchemy
Neijing tu	Nei-ching t’u	An illustration depicting the internal, energetic transformations of Inner Alchemy practice
niwan	ni-wan	Mud-pill; the cinnabar field in the head
po	p'o	Earthly soul; one of the Five Shen; the soul/spirit that resides in the Lungs, and at the time of death descends into the earth
qi	ch'i	Breath, vital energy, pneuma; life-force
qigong	ch’i-kung	Life-force cultivation; energy practices with roots in antiquity, that became popular in the 19th century
qinggong	ch’ing-kung	A qigong/martial arts technique for making the physical body extremely light in weight, by altering the flow of qi
qingjing	ch’ing-ching	Purity and stillness; the aims of the meditation in the Way of Complete Perfection
quanzhen	ch’uan-chen	Complete Perfection; Total Reality; the monastic Taoist movement founded by Wang Zhe
shangqing	shang-ch’ing	Highest Clarity, Supreme Purity; the classical Taoist movement
shen	shen	Spirit; spirits; divine; the most refined form of qi
taiji	t’ai-chi	Supreme Ridgepole; the centre of the heavens; Supreme Ultimate, the foundational metaphysical principle
taijiquan	t’ai chi ch’uan	Supreme Ultimate Fist; Tao-Chi; a principal practice form of the Wudang tradition
taiqing	t’ai-ching	Great Clarity; a Taoist alchemical movement
tian shi	t’ien-shih	Celestial Master, Heavenly Teacher; a title bestowed upon Zhang Daoling and his descendants; the first Taoist religious community
tui	t’uei	Extend; the process of bringing things into correlation with each other
waidan	wai-tan	Lit. ‘outer alchemy’; laboratory or operative alchemy
wuwei	wu-wei	Lit. ‘non-action’; actionless-action; non-assertive action; non-volitional action; action as though non-action
xianren	hsien-jen	Immortal, transcendent being; sometimes translated in popular literature as ‘fairy’ or ‘wizard’
xin	hsin	Heart, mind; the seat of the personality and the object of Confucian as well as Taoist self-cultivation
xing	hsing	Inner nature; the psychological element of one’s person in Complete Perfection cultivation
yang	yang	Sunny; the complement of yin
Yijing	I Ching	The Book of Changes; a Chinese text known in the west primarily as a divination system
yin	yin	Shady; the complement of yang
zhengyi	cheng-i	Orthodox Unity; the branch of Taoism founded by the Celestial Master; one of two branches officially recognized in China today
zhenren	chen-jen	Perfected person; a Taoist sage
zhonghe	chung-ho	Central harmony; the ideal state attained in the Way of Great Peace
Zhuangzi	Chuang Tzu	Taoist sage who was known for his anecdotal and playful parables, used as teaching stories
ziran	tzu-jan	Self-so, spontaneous, natural; the basic principle that the Tao follows in its evolution; and the core value of Taoism

By Elizabeth Reninger

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