Daoism · Communities & events
The Celestial Masters remember a founding revelation
142 CE · traditional date
The Celestial Masters trace their beginning to a revelation from the deified Laozi to Zhang Daoling. In Sichuan, the movement developed communities organized around priests, ritual obligations, and shared religious life. Its institutional practices became important reference points for later Daoist traditions.
Why it matters
The milestone distinguishes an organized religious community from earlier writings without treating Daoist philosophy, ritual, and lineage as wholly separate historical worlds.
About the date
Traditional founding date; historical evidence concerns the development of the lineage and its communities.
Sichuan
Region of Zhang Daoling’s activity; no exact revelation site asserted.
region orientation
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