Taipingjing

Taipingjing
Traditional Chinese太平經
Simplified Chinese太平经
Hanyu PinyinTàipíng Jīng
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTàipíng Jīng
Wade–GilesTai P'ing Ching
Daozang edition of Taipingjing

Taipingjing ("Scriptures of the Great Peace") is the name of several different Taoist texts. At least two works were known by this title:

  • Chinese: 天官歷包元太平經; pinyin: Tiānguān lì Bāoyuán Tàipíng jīng, 12 Chapters, contents unknown, author: Gan Zhongke 甘忠可
  • Chinese: 太平清領書; pinyin: Tàipíng Qīnglǐng Shū, 170 Chapters, only 57 of which survive via the Daozang, author: unknown

Taipingjing usually refers to the work which has been preserved in the Daozang. It is considered to be a valuable resource for researching early Taoist beliefs and the society at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Zhang Jue (d. 184), the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, taught "Taiping Taoism" (太平道) based on this work.

The contents of the Taipingjing are diverse but it primarily deals with subjects such as heaven and earth, the five elements, yin and yang and the sexagenary cycle.