While there are many historical and modern schools of

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

with different teachings on the subject, many

Taoist priest A daoshi (道士 "master of the Tao"), translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, Taoist master or Professional Taoist, is a priest in Taoism. Along with Han Chinese priests, there are also many practicing ethnic minority priests in China. Some o ...

s regard their diet as extremely important to their physical, mental and spiritual health in one way or another, especially where the amount of qi in the food is concerned.

Fasting

Some early Taoist diets called for '' bigu'' (), based on the belief that

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

could be achieved in this way. The ancient Taoist texts of the '' Taiping Jing'' suggest that individuals who attained the state of complete

ziran Ziran or tzu-jan is a key concept in Daoism that literally means "of its own; by itself" and thus "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly". This Chinese word is a two-character compound of ''z ...

would not need food at all, but instead could sustain themselves by absorbing the cosmic qi.

Vegetarianism

Taoist religious orders often promote a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

diet in order to minimize harm to other sentient life. Taoist levels of dietary restriction, however, are varied. In legend, Han dynasty prince and Taoist adept Liú Ān is credited for inventing the vegetarian food tofu.

Contemporary Taoism

According to Ming Yi Wang, one version of the taoist diet includes bigu, veganism, as well as refraining from eating strong-smelling plants, traditionally asafoetida, shallot, mountain

leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

, and ''

Allium chinense ''Allium chinense'' (also known as Chinese onion,Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name DatabaseUniversity of Melbourne. Updated 3 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Chinese scallion, glittering chive, Japanese scallion, Kiangsi scallion, an ...

'' or other alliums, which together with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

are referred to as ''wǔ hūn'' (五葷, or 'Five Fetid and Strong-smelling Vegetables'). Additionally,

nightshade The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orna ...

s are avoided.Wang, Ming Yi (2010). Ancient Wisdom for Total Vitality. Triple Muse Publications.

References

External links

Yoked to Earth: A Treatise on Corpse-Demons and Bigu
Frederick R. Dannaway (2009) Taoist practices Religion-based diets Vegetarianism and religion Chinese cuisine {{tao-stub

Fasting

Vegetarianism

Contemporary Taoism

See also

References

Further reading

External links