White Cloud Temple

It was also a mystical tradition, as Quanzhen monks and nuns developed complicated meditative and alchemical practices that we'll explore in the next section.

Today, the White Cloud Monastery, or Baiyun Guan, located in Beijing, is the headquarters for a branch of Quanzhen Daoism called Dragon Gate Taoism.

The White Cloud Monastery is also the headquarters of the China Taoist Association, the Chinese government's official supervisory body for Taoism.

Along with the rise of these more organized, systematized Taoisms, we also see an effort to delineate an official Taoist canon of texts, which took shape in 1445 under the Ming Dynasty.

The Taoist canon is huge, way bigger than the Bible or the Quran.

Unlike Yan, which was newly founded, Ji may have existed earlier as a local polity.

Archaeological discoveries near modern Beijing locations such as Baiyun Temple and Guang'an Gate have revealed remains from the Warring States period that appear connected with the old city of Ji.

Over time, the rising state of Yan absorbed Ji and made it its capital.

Because of its strategic location, controlling routes through the Yanshan Mountains, Ji gradually became the central city of the region.

The Quanjian school developed extensive monastic traditions.

The White Cloud Monastery in Beijing is a notable center.

The map isn't clean at all.

Some traditions forbid it, some celebrate it, some redefine it.