There is no trace in the historical records of any organized Daoist community before the Latter Han dynasty (25–220 CE). Among the various politico-religious movements that sprang up during the second century as the dynasty went into decline, the most famous are the Way of the Heavenly Masters (Tianshi Dao) and the Way of Great Peace (Tai ping Dao). Although the historical evidence linking these two groups is slim, both clearly aimed at the total transformation of society and the establishment of a Daoist utopia; both were founded by people surnamed Zhang, probably because the Zhang clan was thought to be descended from the Yellow Emperor, who, together with Laozi, was revered in Han Daoism as the divine source of Daoist teachings; both organized the faithful into cosmologically determined units; and both considered sickness a sign of sin and therefore prescribed confession as...