Health and Longevity in the Taoist Tradition

"Health and Longevity in the Taoist Tradition" for undergraduate or graduate-level study in Religious Studies, East Asian Studies, or Integrative Health programs.


📘 Course Title: Health and Longevity in the Taoist Tradition


🏛️ Department:

Religious Studies / East Asian Studies / Integrative Health


📚 Course Level:

Upper-division Undergraduate or Graduate


🕰️ Credit Hours:

3 semester units


📖 Course Description:

This course explores the rich tradition of health, vitality, and longevity in Taoist thought and practice. Through primary texts, historical context, and practical applications, students will examine how Taoism integrates cosmology, alchemy, meditation, dietetics, sexual practices, and qi cultivation (qigong) into a comprehensive model of well-being. Emphasis will be placed on both philosophical foundations (e.g., Dao De Jing, Zhuangzi) and practical lineages (e.g., Inner Alchemy, Five Elements Theory). The course will include experiential components where appropriate.


🎯 Learning Objectives:

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Understand key Taoist concepts of health, vitality, and longevity.
  2. Analyze Taoist medical and alchemical texts within their historical and philosophical contexts.
  3. Differentiate between philosophical Taoism (Daojia) and religious Taoism (Daojiao) as they pertain to health.
  4. Evaluate the role of practices such as qigong, neidan (inner alchemy), and dietetics.
  5. Reflect critically on the integration of Taoist health practices into contemporary wellness movements.


🗓️ Weekly Syllabus:

Week 1 – Introduction to Taoism and Health Paradigms

  • Overview of Taoism (philosophical & religious)
  • Definitions of health and longevity in early texts
  • Readings: Dao De Jing (Ch. 1–10), Kohn, “Taoist Visions of Longevity”

Week 2 – Cosmology and the Human Body

  • Yin-Yang theory, Five Phases (Wu Xing)
  • Microcosm/macrocosm correspondences
  • Readings: Zhuangzi (selections), Kohn, “Cosmos and the Body in Taoism”

Week 3 – Qi, Jing, and Shen: The Three Treasures

  • Concepts of vital essence, energy, and spirit
  • The Taoist energetic body
  • Readings: Robinet, Taoist Meditation, Ch. 2–3

Week 4 – Early Taoist Health Practices

  • Breathing, visualization, daoyin
  • Readings: Harper, Early Chinese Medical Literature, excerpts from Mawangdui texts

Week 5 – Taoist Dietetics and Sexual Cultivation

  • Fasting (bigu), herbalism, sexual alchemy (fangzhong)
  • Readings: Eskildsen, “Sexual Practices and Longevity”

Week 6 – Internal Alchemy (Neidan) I: Foundations

  • Inner circulation of qi
  • Meditation and moral cultivation
  • Readings: Fabrizio Pregadio, The Inner Teachings of Taoism (selections)

Week 7 – Internal Alchemy (Neidan) II: Practice Models

  • Stages of transformation: jing → qi → shen → xu
  • Readings: Liu Yiming, Cultivating the Tao (selections)

Week 8 – Taoist Immortality and Esoteric Bodies

  • Physical, subtle, and celestial bodies
  • Xian (immortals) and transcendence
  • Readings: Campany, To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth

Week 9 – Taoist Monastic and Ritual Healing Practices

  • Talismans, incantations, exorcism, healing rituals
  • Readings: Schipper, The Taoist Body, Ch. 5

Week 10 – Comparative Perspectives: Taoism and TCM

  • Taoist influence on Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • Divergences between Taoist alchemy and clinical TCM
  • Readings: Kaptchuk, The Web That Has No Weaver (selections)

Week 11 – Case Studies in Longevity

  • Hagiographies of Taoist sages
  • Case studies of modern practitioners
  • Readings: Campany, Signs from the Unseen Realm (selections)

Week 12 – Taoism and Contemporary Wellness

  • Neidan and qigong in global health contexts
  • Ethical and cultural considerations
  • Readings: Palmer & Siegler, Qigong Fever (selections)

Week 13 – Workshop: Qigong and Daoist Meditation

  • Experiential practice
  • Guided movement and meditation sessions
  • Guest teacher/practitioner session

Week 14 – Student Presentations

  • Research project presentations
  • Peer feedback and group discussion

Week 15 – Course Review and Final Reflections

  • Integrative synthesis of concepts
  • Final paper workshop


📑 Assessments:

  • Reading Reflections (20%) – Weekly short responses
  • Midterm Essay (20%) – Thematic analysis (5–7 pages)
  • Practice Journal (15%) – Documenting personal exploration of practices
  • Class Presentation (15%) – Research project summary
  • Final Research Paper (30%) – Critical essay (10–12 pages)


📚 Core Readings:

  • Primary Texts:
    • Dao De Jing (trans. D.C. Lau or Ellen Chen)
    • Zhuangzi (selections)
    • Liu Yiming, Cultivating the Tao
  • Secondary Sources:
    • Livia Kohn, Daoism and Chinese Culture
    • Isabelle Robinet, Taoist Meditation
    • Louis Komjathy, Taoist Mystical Philosophy
    • Harold Roth, Original Tao
    • Fabrizio Pregadio, The Taoist Body and the Taoist Path