Sources

The Taoist Body

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Taoist Body." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-taoist-body.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Taoist Body. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-taoist-body

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-taoist-body,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Taoist Body},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-taoist-body},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Kristofer Schipper was a scholar and ordained Daoist priest, which is unusual and important context, he combines academic training with direct participation in the tradition he studies, and this book, translated into English by Karen Duval and published by University of California Press, examines Daoist body practices, ritual and cosmology from that dual position. Its strength is access, Schipper could describe ritual practice from inside as a practitioner while still writing with a scholar's analytical distance. Its limit is exactly the same fact, a insider's account can carry the assumptions of the lineage he was ordained into, so readers should be aware his description of Daoist practice reflects the particular tradition he trained in rather than a completely neutral outside survey of all Daoist schools.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Kristofer Schipper's scholarly study of Daoist body cosmology and ritual, written by a scholar who was himself ordained as a Daoist priest; an academic study whose author's own ordination gives it a practitioner's-eye view alongside the scholarship.

Notes

Kristofer Schipper's scholarly study of Daoist body cosmology and ritual, written by a scholar known for his own ordination as a Daoist priest, covering meditation, liturgy and the symbolic body in Daoist practice. Use for established facts about Daoist ritual and bodily cosmology; an academic study, though the author's own ordination gives it a practitioner's-eye view alongside the scholarship.

Citation

Author

Kristofer Schipper (translated by Karen C. Duval)

Publisher

University of California Press

Publication Year

1993

URL

https://archive.org/details/taoistbody0000schi

Source Type

book

Claims Backed By This Source (96 claims)

This source backs 96 claims across the atlas. As facts: 71 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 10 holds. Plus 14 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Practices, 36 claims: 30 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 5 general references.
Articles, 14 claims: 14 well-attested.
Rituals, 14 claims: 9 well-attested, 3 holds, 2 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Religious Dress & Vestments, 7 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Doctrines, 4 claims: 3 holds, 1 general references.
Sacred Sound, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Beliefs & Restrictions, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
Denominations, 3 claims: 2 holds, 1 general references.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 1 claims: 1 general references.