Here’s a listing of some of the most commonly-used Chinese (Mandarin) Taoist terms, in both their pinyin and their Wade-Giles transliterations. As you’ll see, some of the terms are identical across the two transliteration (Romanization) systems, while others are radically different. Hopefully this listing - which I encourage you to bookmark, or print and keep close at hand - will help to eliminate some of the confusion, and allow your exploration of the wonderful terrain of Taoist philosophy and practice to be even more enjoyable.
(Excerpted & adapted - with additions - from Daoism: A Beginner’s Guide, by James Miller.)
| Pinyin | Wade-Giles | Brief English Definition |
| * | ** | *** |
| bagua | pa-k’ua | The eight trigrams; the basis of the divination scheme in the Book of Changes (Yijing) |
| baguazhang | pa k'ua chang | 'Eight Trigrams Palm'; one of the main martial arts forms of the Wudang tradition |
| beidou | pei-tou | Lit. ‘northern bushel’; the constellation of the Big Dipper or Great Bear |
| bianhua | pien-hua | Transformation; the underlying principle of change within the world |
| bigu | pi-ku | Abstention from grains; a Taoist longevity practice based on the notion that Immortals live off the air and ‘soak up the dew’ |
| bugang | pu-kang | Pacing the net; a Taoist ritual whose choreography is based on the Big Dipper |
| chujia | ch’u-chia | Lit. ‘leave home’; the process of becoming a Taoist monk |
| Damo | Tamo | Bodhidharma; the Indian Buddhist sage known as the founder of the Shaolin tradition of martial arts |
| dantian | tan-t’ien | Cinnabar field; one of three principal locations in the body used in the practice of inner alchemy (neidan) |
| dao | tao | Lit. “way” or “speak” - the ultimate cosmic principle in Taoism |
| Daodejing | Tao Te Ching | Taoism’s principle scripture, attributed to Laozi (Lao Tzu) |
| Daoism | Taoism | One of China’s three major religious traditions, composed of practices and philosophies addressing ones relationship to the Tao |
| daojia | tao-chia | Lit. “Tao-school’; a bibliographical classification used for proto-Taoist texts |
| daojiao | tao-chiao | Lit. “Tao-tradition’; the Taoist religion |
| daotan | tao-t’an | Taoist altar; often erected temporarily to perform a ritual and then disassembled |
| daozang | tao-tsang | Lit. ‘Taoist treasury’; the Taoist Canon compiled in 1445 |
| de | te | Lit. “power’ or ‘virtue’; what one obtains by attaining the Tao |
| dongtian | tung-t’ien | Grotto-heavens; the network of caves connecting China’s sacred mountains |
| fangshi | fang-shih | ‘Magico-technicians’; Han dynasty practitioners of alchemy and immortality whose methods influenced the later flourishing of Taoism |
| fuguang | fu-kuang | Absorb the light; a Taoist energy practice |
| fuqi | fu-ch’i | Absorb qi; a Taoist energy practice |
| hun | hun | Heavenly soul; one of the Five Shen; the soul/spirit that resides in the Liver, and at death ascends to heaven and is venerated in the form of ancestral tablets |
| hundun | hun-tun | Chaos; the state of pregnant non-being from which everything arises, and to which Taoist aim to return |
| jiao | chiao | Taoist ritual of renewal; the main ritual performed by Taoist priests today |
| jing | ching | Essence; a form of qi manifested in sexual fluids |
| jing | ching | Scripture; weft of a piece of fabric |
| Laozi | Lao-tzu | Old Master or Old Child; the traditional author of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) |
| lingbao | ling-pao | Numinous Treasure or Numinous Jewel; a classical Taoist religious movement |
| loupan | lo p’an | Chinese compass; the primary tool of Fengshui practice |
| ming | ming | Fate, destiny, life; the physiological element of one’s person in Complete Perfection cultivation |
| neidan | nei-dan | Inner alchemy |
| Neijing tu | Nei-ching t’u | An illustration depicting the internal, energetic transformations of Inner Alchemy practice |
| niwan | ni-wan | Mud-pill; the cinnabar field in the head |
| po | p'o | Earthly soul; one of the Five Shen; the soul/spirit that resides in the Lungs, and at the time of death descends into the earth |
| qi | ch'i | Breath, vital energy, pneuma; life-force |
| qigong | ch’i-kung | Life-force cultivation; energy practices with roots in antiquity, that became popular in the 19th century |
| qinggong | ch’ing-kung | A qigong/martial arts technique for making the physical body extremely light in weight, by altering the flow of qi |
| qingjing | ch’ing-ching | Purity and stillness; the aims of the meditation in the Way of Complete Perfection |
| quanzhen | ch’uan-chen | Complete Perfection; Total Reality; the monastic Taoist movement founded by Wang Zhe |
| shangqing | shang-ch’ing | Highest Clarity, Supreme Purity; the classical Taoist movement |
| shen | shen | Spirit; spirits; divine; the most refined form of qi |
| taiji | t’ai-chi | Supreme Ridgepole; the centre of the heavens; Supreme Ultimate, the foundational metaphysical principle |
| taijiquan | t’ai chi ch’uan | Supreme Ultimate Fist; Tao-Chi; a principal practice form of the Wudang tradition |
| taiqing | t’ai-ching | Great Clarity; a Taoist alchemical movement |
| tian shi | t’ien-shih | Celestial Master, Heavenly Teacher; a title bestowed upon Zhang Daoling and his descendants; the first Taoist religious community |
| tui | t’uei | Extend; the process of bringing things into correlation with each other |
| waidan | wai-tan | Lit. ‘outer alchemy’; laboratory or operative alchemy |
| wuwei | wu-wei | Lit. ‘non-action’; actionless-action; non-assertive action; non-volitional action; action as though non-action |
| xianren | hsien-jen | Immortal, transcendent being; sometimes translated in popular literature as ‘fairy’ or ‘wizard’ |
| xin | hsin | Heart, mind; the seat of the personality and the object of Confucian as well as Taoist self-cultivation |
| hsing | Inner nature; the psychological element of one’s person in Complete Perfection cultivation | |
| yang | yang | Sunny; the complement of yin |
| Yijing | I Ching | The Book of Changes; a Chinese text known in the west primarily as a divination system |
| yin | yin | Shady; the complement of yang |
| zhengyi | cheng-i | Orthodox Unity; the branch of Taoism founded by the Celestial Master; one of two branches officially recognized in China today |
| zhenren | chen-jen | Perfected person; a Taoist sage |
| zhonghe | chung-ho | Central harmony; the ideal state attained in the Way of Great Peace |
| Zhuangzi | Chuang Tzu | Taoist sage who was known for his anecdotal and playful parables, used as teaching stories |
| ziran | tzu-jan | Self-so, spontaneous, natural; the basic principle that the Tao follows in its evolution; and the core value of Taoism |
