Introduction
The history of Daoism may be seen as a continuous restatement of the principles enunciated in the early founding texts, through various revelations, from various holy beings, of new texts from which new schools and practices developed. These events gave rise to the idea that the Dao may appear under the guise of various divine beings, and through them may play an active role in the world, in particular by granting revelations to some adepts.

Pivotal event for the traditions: sectarian developments
The period from the 2nd and the 7th centuries represents the era in which many Daoist practices, texts and rituals initially took shape. Also during this period, Buddhism was brought to China by missionaries from India and Tibet. Buddhist ideas and practices were absorbed into Daoism (and vice-versa) but there were also periods of intense rivalry between Daoists and Buddhists. Two major traditions developed: Highest Purity  and Numinous Treasure (see below).
This creative period of Daoism ends with the Tang dynasty (618-906), one of the high-points of Chinese civilisation from the point of view of art and culture. During the Tang dynasty Daoism became fully integrated with the imperial court system.
Starting with the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the boundaries between organized Daoist religion, Buddhism, and local cults begin to be increasingly blurred. In terms of organized Daoism, the most significant event was the founding of the Complete Perfection tradition in the 12th cen. (see below).

Main doctrinal traditions: Highest Purity
In the 4th century, an individual named Yang Xi purportedly began to receive textual revelations from a number of different gods. These texts contained elements of alchemical speculations, considerable borrowings from the earlier Way of Celestial Masters (see p. 5), and superficial aspects of Buddhism.
From these teachings developed the Highest Purity tradition  , which spread in particular among aristocrats. It was characterized by a downgrading of communal, ritual and bodily practices in favor of an internal approach to the quest for Immortality   Practitioners were undertaking meditative and visionary journeys in order to attain physical and spiritual transformation.  In the 5th and 6th centuries, probably under the influence of Buddhism, Highest Purity tradition was shaped into an organization with monasteries and community structures. 

Main doctrinal traditions: Numinous Treasure
From 4th to the 5th C.E. another set of sacred scriptures was revealed,  Called Numinous Treasuretradition. This was also the first Daoist scriptural tradition to incorporate significant elements from Buddhism.  The Buddhist idea of Liberation from suffering (see Module on Buddhism I sec. 4) replaced Immortality as a goal, and the texts contained some loose ideas about rebirth and the afterlife borrowed from Buddhism.
The Numinous Treasure scriptures gained popularity very quickly, and, as in the case of Highest Purity tradition, prompted the development of a religious organization.  Numinous Treasure tradition was particularly important in the history of Daoism for its role in establishing definitive forms of Daoist ritual that would eventually become the model for all of the Daoist sects.

Main doctrinal traditions: Complete Perfection
Complete Perfection tradition is the major monastic form of Daoism that exists nowadays alongside the more community-based priesthood of the Celestial Masters (see p. 5). The Complete Perfection tradition is devoted to the practice of Inner Alchemy (see below) and is also marked by its aim to "harmonise the three teachings" (see p.6)
Nowadays, the Complete Perfection tradition's temple in Beijing, the  White Cloud Temple, is the seat of the modern Chinese Daoist Association (see section 8).

Acknowledge Authority: general remarks
Daoists generally categorize themselves according the above cited variety of distinct schools and lineage, each with its own genealogy of sacred authority (represented by master or texts). Daoists are initiated into a tradition by a master, receiving sacred texts and teachings  taught by that tradition. Daoist schools tend to have strongholds in distinct regions of China.
In the modern period, however, all lineages and forms of  have been increasingly subjected to mechanisms of centralization, nationalization and bureaucratization under the aegis of a single organizational framework, known as the Chinese Daoist Association (see section 8).

Main doctrinal tenets: cosmic correlation and the human body
In Daoism cosmos, deities, society, natural elements, human emotions and human body are analogically related to each other through the pattern of the Five Agents Theory (see p. 2). Within these sets, the relation of the five human viscera to the other entities and phenomena play a pivotal role in the quest for Immortality.
Human body can be seen as a counterpart of the larger cosmos, or a particular sacred landscape as a mountain. In these instances, the adept must harmonize the flux of internal Qi of his/her body with the flux of outer Qi energy of the macrocosmic counterpart. Often the human body is thought to host of a set of Inner Gods. The most important among them dwell both in Heaven and within the individual, and therefore play a role in connecting the human and divine realms.
A more subtle view of the body is embedded also in the Internal Alchemy Practice: the tripod and the furnace and even the fire itself, are said to be found within the human being, the ingredients are no more material things, but spiritual and metaphysical realities.

Main Practices: visualization of Inner Gods
Besides the gods and goddesses who reside in heaven, a  pantheon of Daoist deities also exists within the human being. These deities fulfill various functions related to one another: they personify formless realities such as the Dao , Yin and Yang , or the  Five Agents and they allow the human being to communicate with the  gods of the outer pantheon; they act as officers in the bureaucratic system that manages the whole body; they perform healing tasks by supporting the balance of the body's functions; and they are objects of meditation and visualization. The basic purpose of visualizing them is to "maintain" them  in their proper locations, to nourish them with one's inner breaths, and to invoke them so that in turn they provide protection. This is said to result in health, Longevity, or even Immortality, and to defend one from calamities. This was a practice typical of the Highest Purity tradition.

Main rites and Practices: Inner alchemy
Following the same tenets of the practice of Daoist alchemy discussed in p.3, inner Alchemy seeks to retrace backwards the process of differentiation that emanate from the Dao into the multiplicity of things. The difference lies in the fact that in place of external chemical procedures, the whole activity is interiorised through meditation and visualization techniques. Ingredients are not material elements, but more subtle and basic constituents of human beings and of the whole cosmos, such as the Qi energy. This trend towards the interiorisation of an external practice is thought to be influenced by Buddhist meditation.

Source Analysis

Source n° 1
White Cloud Temple
During the Tang Dynasty, the abbey was state-sponsored and  served as the Daoist administrative headquarters and played an important role in state ceremonies. After Beijing was taken by the Mongols in 1215, the abbey became the headquarters of the Complete Perfection School. In  1222, lectures on Daoism was offered to Genghis Khan. During the Ming Dinasty (1368 al 1644), monks from the Way of the Celestial Master  took over operations of the abbey, but Complete Perfection regain control in 17th cen. To this day, the White Cloud Temple remains under its management. During the 20th century, unlike many other historical sites which were damaged during the Cultural Revolution, White Cloud Temple was well-protected and remained safe. Today it is again a fully functioning temple and is the seat of the modern Chinese Daoist Association.

Source n° 2
Daoist Inner Landscape
The Neijing Tu is a Daoist "inner landscape", a diagram of the human body drawn according to the Daoist tenets of cosmic correlation between the inner body and the outer cosmos, in particular inside the framework of Inner Alchemy practices. The body is shown from the side and it is divided in three parts  corresponding to the head, the heart and the abdomen. The spinal cord is a river that flows upwards bringing the energy from the abdomen to the other two parts. In fact, in the lower part, a boy and a girl who represent Yin and Yang are working on a treadmill inverting the stream of energy.  The viscera are represented by elements such as Forest, clouds, Palace and so on. The old man on the top, near the sacred mountains ( dwelling of the Immortals), is a representation of Laozi. All these an much more other symbolic correspondences form a coherent system of meanings that lead the adept to the unification with the Dao.

Link to other Modules
Module on: "Religion and the Body"