The Way of Complete Perfection: A Quanzhen Daoist Anthology (review)

“Clothing and vestments,” “Liturgical art and ritual implements,” as well as “Architecture and temple layout.” Finally, the section “Daoism in the modern world” (pp. 301–316) consists of a sole chapter (16) of the same title. After outlining the situation of Daoism in contemporary China and other Asian countries and areas, Komjathy briefly discusses “Global Daoism beyond the Chinese cultural sphere,” that is, the emergence of “tradition-based Daoist practice and forms of community” (p. 313) in North America, Europe, and other parts of the world outside Asia. Komjathy’s book, based on solid scholarship and personal engagement with the Daoist tradition, is the most comprehensive introduction to Daoism currently available. A certain emphasis on Quanzhen teachings and practices, Komjathy’s main area of expertise, only adds to the book’s value, since many earlier studies of Daoism centered on the non-monastic Zhengyi 正一 (Orthodox Unity) or Tianshi 天師 (Celestial Masters) tradition. Given its immense wealth and density of information, The Daoist Tradition is not an “easy read,” but it is hoped that this book will also reach non-specialists who would greatly benefit from this presentation of Daoism which rectifies many common misconceptions about this religious tradition. As regards “Daoism” in Western societies, Komjathy does not mince his words: “Most of what goes by the name of ‘Daoism’ in the West, especially throughout the internet and popular publications, are forms of appropriation and fabrication” (p. 305). Nevertheless, he acknowledges the existence of “tradition-based” Daoist communities in America and Europe (pp. 313–315), including the Daoist Foundation (San Diego), which was founded in 2007 by Komjathy and Kate Townsend. Instead of commenting on the individual organizations listed on these pages, Komjathy wisely states: “As with any religious tradition, there are always issues of affinity, authenticity, and credibility involved in the associated teachers and communities, and I leave it to readers to find their own positions on these and other matters” (p. 313). VOLKER OLLES Humboldt University, Berlin The Way of Complete Perfection: A Quanzhen Daoist Anthology. Selected, translated, and with an introduction by LOUIS KOMJATHY. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2013. xix, 448 pp. US$105 (hb). ISBN 978-1-4384-4651-6 This anthology includes a mixture of complete (eight) and partial (thirteen) translations of twenty-one texts associated with the group of disciples who followed Wang Chongyang’s 王重陽 (1113–1170) teachings, or with those of later generations who successfully defended and asserted a lineage-claim traced to Wang. Such a collection is much-needed given the enduring legacy of Quanzhen 全真. While it is going too far to say that Quanzhen “occupies a central position in contemporary Chinese society” (p. xv), the influence of Quanzhen texts and teachers has been considerable, even in contemporary diasporic lay religious communities that have chosen to identify with the legacy of Quanzhen. This book is aimed at an audience of modern spiritual seekers inclined to read such texts, not as historical artifacts, but as “religious expressions and biographical dispensations” that may aid in finding a new “hidden landscape” (p. 21). The present 106 BOOK REVIEWS volume is said to represent not only “a unique opportunity to access Daoist literature,” but the texts are also “in reliable English translation” (p. xv). Furthermore, the translation work rests on a foundation of archeological and anthropological work undertaken by the translator in cooperation with scholars at the Institute of Religion, Science and Social Studies of Shandong University (p. xvii). This study also claims to be the first of its kind to be “historically accurate” (p. 1). The claim that the translator is among only “a handful of people in the modern world” who have read these texts in Chinese (p.xviii) feelslike anoverstatement, even if we take “modern”asasynonym for “contemporary.” There is a decidedly missionary tone to the book, offered “in the hope that it may also support the revitalization of Daoism as a religious path in the contemporary world” (p. xvii) and, for the global “Quanzhen community,” that it will perhaps “deepen their understanding, connection, and practice” (p. 11). Reading the book is a form of scripture study, which is an answer to the dismal state of modern America, plagued as it is by “planned obsolescence...