Taoist Immortal Bibliographic Classification Research

Taoist celestial biographical literature (Xian Zhuan), part of Taoist Classics, is thoroughly investigated with bibliography research methods, into its classification and spreading, both in a horizontal process of times and catalog records and in a vertical comparision of particular celestial biographies and their catagories. These biographies' classification and the impact factors, changing historical backgrounds and acadamic features of various periods are also specifically focused on in this thesis.Introduction part defines the concept of celestial biography and summarizes existing researches of related areas. This essay uses a stricter defination of celestial biography that is one sort of Chinese ancient literature promoting ideas about celestial behaviours in content, imitating writing techniques of biographical history books, being recorded in different comprehensive catalogs as well as the special collection of Taoist literature (Tao Tsang), and being classified uniformly and regularly. In light of their differences in characteristics, such as formation ages, current situations of existence or disappearance, editorial styles, details of heroes and environment and classified habits, these celestial biographies are divided into three levels and discussed respectively. A class literature is the core of celestial biography, which was written in early stages, obviously biographical, recorded in many catalogs and almost intact so far.B class literature shows similar features but largely cannot be read nowadays, while C class consists of Taoist views and speeches by and large.The former body of the thesis talks about the dynastic evolution of the bibliographical records of celestial biographical literature, with transverse contrast between various catagories established in Sui and before, Tang and Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan and Ming, and Qing Dynasty. Examining the formal and private catalogues equally is for analyses of the features and causes of classification.The latter part of the thesis is a profound investigation of the evolution in comprehensive catalogs of each book's classification. A and B class literature is paid highly attention, such as Lie Xian Zhuan, Shen Xian Zhuan, Xu Xian Zhuan and Xian Zhuan Shi Yi and so forth, whose forming times, preserved situation, authors, classified ways and other related information are well discussed in order to come up with an intuitional perception of the major modification of the literature's classification.Furthermore, C class literature's marked change in classifying ways of comprehensive catalogs is expounded prominently, following analyses of some obscure literature with similar characteristics in content, style and records.Conclusion sums up all the main arguments of this thesis, emphasizing the classification and spreading of Taoist celestial biographical literature, so as to reflect academic and political connotation behind comprehensive catalogs of different eras, in a bibliographical research way.