Blue Dragon White Tiger: Taoist Rites of Passage

by Michael Saso

A view of Chinese religion from the Taoist perspective, derived from field work in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the People’s Republic of China, this book is based on the Taoist hypothesis that all Chinese rites of passage and festivals are structured by Yin-yang Five Element cosmology. Buddhist and Taoist meditation of emptying, marriage, birthing, initiation, burial, ancestor rituals, and the annual festivals are described through the eyes of the experts called on to serve family and village needs. The work ends with a view of religion in the People’s Republic of China during a period of renewal and restoration.

232 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Professor Saso is a scholar of the religious practices of Japan and China, with a particular emphasis on Taoism. He has translated Japanese and Chinese religious texts and related works and has written several books on Asian religion. His knowledge of Taoism and Buddhism comes from within those communities: he is an initiated Taoist priest of the Zhengyi Sect as well as an ordained Tendai Buddhist monk.

His first ordination, however, was as a Jesuit. He left the order in the 1960s, and in 1968 married Nariko Akimoto, with whom he had two daughters. The marriage was later annulled. Saso requested reinstatement as a RC priest in 1997 and is now connected with the Sino-Asian Institute in Los Angeles, California, and serves in the Diocese of San Jose.