In the second century AD, the first legendary celestial master, Chang Tao-ling, organized the Taoist religion into a formal system. He added mysterious cults including tien ting (imperial court), chu hsieh (banishing evil), chang sheng (longevity) and cheng hsien (immortality) to the original ideology.
至後漢時，張道陵在四川青城山得黃帝九鼎丹書，他努力精研秘笈後，創立了道教的儀式，定道教的規律。除原先道家的哲學思想體系外，加入宗教神秘色彩，如天庭、驅邪、降神、長生、成仙等，道家才正式成為一個有組織的宗教。