The golden age of Daoists, rather than being imaginary, closely matches life in the Mesolithic, ca. 9000-5000 BCE, a sedentary form of hunting and collecting before the full development of agriculture and the rise of stratified societies and discriminating consciousness. The book examines fundamental Daoist values, modes of thinking, dietetics, communities, leadership ideals, nonviolence, gender equality as well as methods of self-cultivation in relation to prehistoric patterns. An enlightening account of Daoism in the context of human development since the Paleolithic, Pristine Affluence offers a new vision of the Daoist tradition, Chinese history, and essential human choices.