The Book of Balance and Harmony

The Book of Balance and Harmony ("Zhong he ji", 中和集) is a thirteenth-century Chinese anthology by the Taoist master Li Daochun (李道純, fl. 1288-1292) which outlines the teachings and practices of the Quanzhen School ("Way of complete reality").[1]

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Concepts Daoxue Dao De Wuji Taiji Yin-Yang Wu xing (Five Phases) Bianhua Fan (reversal) Wu-wei (non-action) Ziran Xian (immortal) Zhenren Zhenxing (true name) Three Treasures Jing Qi Shen Hun and po
Practices Three Treasures (virtues) Five Precepts Ten Precepts Meditation Neidan Waidan Bugang Chu Diet (Bigu) Sexual practices Art Talismans Priesthood
Texts I Ching Daodejing Zhuangzi Huainanzi Taipingjing Xiang'er Liezi Sanhuangjing Huahujing Qingjing Jing Baopuzi Daozang
Deities Hongjun Laozu Three Pure Ones Yuanshi Tianzun Lingbao Tianzun Daode Tianzun Four Sovereigns Yuhuang Dadi (Great Jade Emperor) Ziwei Dadi (Great Emperor of the North Star) Gouchen Dadi (Great Emperor of the Curved Array) Houtu Huang Diqi (Empress of the Earth) Others Xiwangmu (Queen Mother of the West) Dongwanggong (King Father of the East) Three Great Emperor-Officials Eight Immortals Chang'e Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors Yellow Emperor Guan Shengdi Li Hong Other deities
People Laozi Zhuangzi Lie Yukou Heshanggong Wei Boyang Zhang Daoling Gan Ji Zhang Jue Zhang Lu Ge Xuan He Yan Wang Bi Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove Guo Xiang Sun Hanhua Wei Huacun Ge Hong Bao Jingyan Kou Qianzhi Lu Xiujing Tao Hongjing Cheng Xuanying Chen Tuan Zhang Boduan Sun Bu'er Wang Chongyang Qiu Chuji Zhang Guoxiang Zhang Sanfeng Zhu Quan Fangshi
Schools Huang–Lao Way of the Taiping Xuanxue Shangqing Lijia Lingbao Chongxuan Quanzhen (Longmen) Wuliu Tianshi (Celestial Masters) Wudoumi Southern Tianshi Northern Tianshi Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Folk Taoism Yao Taoism
Sacred places Grotto-heavens Sacred Mountains of China Wudang Mountains Mount Penglai Mount Kunlun Taoist temple White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Monastery) Louguantai Temple Cebu Taoist Temple Taoist Temple (Hanford, California)
Institutions and organizations Chinese Taoist Association Celestial Masters Taoist priests

The Zhong he ji begins by affirming the theory of the Integration of the Three Doctrines ("Sanjiao Heyi", 三教合一). This theory holds that Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism evolved in different ways but are all based on the Absolute, or Supreme Ultimate ( "Taiji", 太極).[2] Thus the opening lines of the book state:

The absolute is movement and stillness without beginning, yin and yang without beginning. Buddhists call this complete awareness, Taoists call it the gold pill, Confucians call it the absolute. What is called the infinite absolute means the limit of the unlimited. Buddha called it "as is, immutable, ever clearly aware". The I Ching says, "tranquil and unperturbed, yet sensitive and effective". An alchemical text says, "Body and mind unstirring, subsequently there is yet an endless real potential". Yet all refer to the subtle root of the absolute.[3]

Central to the book is the search for the "gold pill" ("Jindan", 金丹), which produces spiritual transcendence and immortality. This practice is divided into Weidan (outer medicine) which deals with the physical body, and inner medicine ("Neidan", 內丹), which includes various forms of mental practices and deals with the spirit.[4]

The Book of Harmony also describes the experience of the "Mysterious Pass" ("Xuanguan", 玄關) and states that it has no fixed physical location. The Mysterious Pass is the central experience in which the Taoist practitioner achieves transcendence. The book then proceeds to outline a wide variety of practices and meditation techniques to achieve vitality, energy, and spirit - named the "three treasures".[5]

The book also includes a varied collection of Poems and Songs.