From an early age she displayed a propensity for studying the works of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and practising Daoist methods of cultivation.
Among these was the Yellow Court Classic (黃庭經), which detailed a form of Daoist meditation involving the visualizations of deities within the adept's body, a practice that would become a defining feature of Shangqing.
Shangqing has sometimes been described as a "mystical" form of Daoism, emphasising the notion of the human body as a microcosm containing universal energies, which could be actualised by ecstatic union with deities.
With the emphasis on meditation, there would be much less attention paid to physiological cultivation by ingesting herbs and drugs, which had been important in earlier forms of Daoism.
From the 6th to the 10th century, Shangqing would be the most prominent Daoist sect and would gain favour among aristocrats of the Tang dynasty.