The Thread of Dao: Unraveling early Daoist oral traditions in Guan Zi's Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin), Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu), and Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)

"This is a real treasury, wonderfully organized and translated... full of all sorts of connections to all that we love most about China."

- Red Pine (Bill Porter), author of "Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits" and translator of "Lao-Tzu's Taoteching: with Selected Commentaries of the Past 2000 Years"
Ancient Chinese meditation and mindfulness traditions were often imparted through Daoist wisdom on governance and health preservation. Within these teachings lie subtle instructions in "the art of the heart-mind" - the Sages' technique for self purification, cultivating enlightenment and harmony within, and fostering virtue throughout the world.



While Lao Zi is said to be the founder of Daoism (Taoism) and author of the Dao De Jing, his classic on attaining the way of Nature is believed to have transmitted an earlier oral tradition. Modern scholars now believe that four texts, found in the ancient "Guan Zi" encyclopedia, are likely to have predated the completion of the Dao De Jing. These texts, "Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin)," "Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu I&II)," and "Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)," provide exceptionally direct explanations of Daoist spiritual, mental, and energetic cultivation, making them invaluable keys to the teachings of early Daoist masters. Thread of Dao translates and explores these texts alongside comparable teachings in the Dao De Jing and other Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and traditional Chinese medical sources, tracing their origins to a common thread of wisdom.



In translating Guan Zi's "Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin)," "Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu I&II)," and "Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)," Reid justifies the "received" version of these texts, rather than adopting revisions commonly accepted by modern scholars, making Thread of Dao a valuable contribution to several fields of Chinese studies, including Daoist and Buddhist Studies, pre-Qin history, Classical Chinese, and Chinese Political Science.