I owe an immense debt of gratitude to the Daoist priests, Chen Rongsheng, Zeng Chunshou, Lai Longfei, and Lin Jirui, who took me in, gave me a place in their midst, fed me, and taught me during my years of fieldwork in Tainan, Taiwan. They showed me a way that was infinitely satisfying and true, and that subsequently helped me find a path through the enclosed world of academics toward something more personal and meaningful. They assured me in my being by engaging with me in our shared humanity and thus forever eliminated the option of viewing them (and Chinese people in general) as fundamentally different from myself.
I would not have known how to begin this quest without the inspiration and guidance from my early teachers, especially Søren Egerod, Piet van der Loon, Al Dien, and Kristofer Schipper, who together (and often from a distance) taught me how to be a scholar of Chinese religion, and who paved the way for me in more ways than one by opening opportunities and ensuring that I would be able to survive in the academic environment.
Along the way, I have made many friends among my colleagues in the field of Daoist studies. I shall mention first those who read the manuscript in its entirety, critiqued it, and offered suggestions for its improvement. I shall always be grateful to the two readers, John Lagerwey and James Robson (both anonymous to begin with), for their extremely positive responses to my work and for tirelessly going through it and working things out with me. Then there was David Mozina, who spent much
My other close friends who have been very helpful in reading and commenting on parts of the book, or simply by sharing ideas with me over many years, include Jens Østergaard Petersen, Inga-Lill Hansson, Ursula-Angelika Cedzich, Eugene Wang, Steve Bokenkamp, Ned Davis, Mark Meulenbeld, and Gil Raz. In addition, I thank the small group of students at the University of Hawaii, especially Matt McDonald, Stephen Flanigan, and Aaron Reich, who joined me in the endeavor to do research on Daoist images and ritual, and who have all remained close friends and collaborators. A special role was played by Steve Little, who obtained a substantial grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation to get the Daoist Iconography Project (DIP) started, and who generously allowed me to spend the money without any bureaucratic hassle. I am deeply grateful to my wife, Ceil Toupin, who managed this project and built its database. Her understanding and encouragement through the period of almost ten years when this book was in the works go a long way to explain how I finally reached the finish line.
I offer heartfelt thanks also to the many Chinese friends who have helped me find my way around while doing fieldwork in China and Taiwan, and who in some cases have assisted me in finding textual materials and pictures to use in this book and in getting permissions to publish those pictures. I cannot list them all but will mention in particular Maggie Wan, Li Yuanguo, Ding Huang, Li Fengmao, and Lin Shengzhi.
The first drafts of the manuscript were worked out during my final years as an associate professor of Chinese religions at the University of Hawaii. I thank the department chair, Helen Baroni, for lightening my chores and thus allowing me to focus on the book, and I acknowledge
Finally, I cannot overstate my appreciation for Bob Graham, director of the Publications Program at the Harvard University Asia Center, for his extremely positive, gentle, and supportive ways of bringing this project to fruition. His reassuring and competent ways of getting things done have saved me from many a worry bordering on despair. The same goes for the copyeditor, Sue Sakai, whose firm but respectful hand saved me from myself by bringing the text into good order.