A review of Gai Jianmin's book Daojiao yixue 道教醫學. While acknowledging the breadth of material covered, I offer critiques about the conceptualization of the project. However, rather than this being a critique simply from the standpoint of Western epistemological history, I point out that many of the underlying concerns of the book rise from cultural drivers in the contemporary Chinese intellectual climate: the drive to legitimate religion through science, for example. I point out some elements of Daoism that this overlooks, and warn against the potential for gutting the religion of its earlier meanings through over-modernisation.