Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, emphasizing harmony with the
Tao
The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...
( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', 'path', or 'technique', generally understood in the Taoist sense as an enigmatic process of transformation
ultimately underlying reality.
Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition and beyond, including forms of
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
,
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
,
qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
,
feng shui
Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
, and
internal alchemy. A common goal of Taoist practice is
self-cultivation
Self-cultivation or personal cultivation () is the development of one's mind or capacities through one's own efforts. Self-cultivation is the cultivation, integration, and coordination of mind and body. Although self-cultivation may be practice ...
, a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and more harmonious existence. Taoist ethics vary, but generally emphasize such virtues as ''
effortless action'',
''naturalness'', ''
simplicity
Simplicity is the state or quality of being wikt:simple, simple. Something easy to understand or explain seems simple, in contrast to something complicated. Alternatively, as Herbert A. Simon suggests, something is simple or Complexity, complex ...
'', and the
three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility.
The core of Taoist thought crystallized during the early
Warring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
(), during which the epigrammatic and the anecdotal —widely regarded as the fundamental texts of Taoist philosophy—were largely composed. They form the core of a body of Taoist writings accrued over the following centuries, which was assembled by monks into the canon starting in the 5th century CE. Early Taoism drew upon diverse influences, including the
Shang and
Zhou state religions,
Naturalism,
Mohism
Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and scientific technology developed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (), embodied in an eponymous book: the '' ...
,
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
, various
Legalist theories, as well as the and ''
Spring and Autumn Annals
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. ''The Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 242-year period from 722 to 481&nbs ...
''.
Although Taoism and Confucianism developed significant differences, they are not seen as mutually incompatible or exclusive. The relationship between Taoism and
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
upon the latter's
introduction to China is characterized as one of mutual influence, with long-running discourses shared between Taoists and Buddhists; the distinct
Mahayana
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
tradition of
Zen
Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
that emerged during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
(607–917) incorporates many ideas from Taoism.
Many Taoist denominations
recognize deities, often ones shared with other traditions, which are venerated as superhuman figures exemplifying Taoist virtues. They can be roughly divided into two categories of "gods" and (or "immortals"). were immortal beings with vast supernatural powers, also describing a principled, moral person. Since Taoist thought is syncretic and deeply rooted in Chinese culture for millennia, it is often unclear which denominations should be considered "Taoist".
The status of , or 'Taoist master', is traditionally attributed only to clergy in Taoist organizations, who distinguish between their traditions and others in
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
.
Though generally lacking motivation for strong hierarchies, Taoist philosophy has often served as a theoretical foundation for politics, warfare, and Taoist organizations. Taoist secret societies precipitated the
Yellow Turban Rebellion
The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt during the late Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China. The uprising broke out in 184 CE, during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although t ...
during the late
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, attempting to create what has been characterized as a Taoist
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...
.
Today, Taoism is one of
five religious doctrines officially recognized by the Chinese government, also having official status in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. It is considered a
major religion
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, and also has significant populations of adherents throughout the Sinosphere and Southeast Asia. In the West, Taoism has
taken on various forms, both those hewing to historical practice, as well as highly synthesized practices variously characterized as
new religious movements
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part of a wider re ...
.
Terminology
Spelling
"Tao" and "Dao" are different romanized spellings of the same Chinese word: 道.
* "Tao" is the romanized spelling in the
Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...
system, which was predominant in English-speaking countries until the late 20th century, and remains in use for certain terms with strongly established spellings.
* "Dao" is the romanized spelling in the
Hanyu Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means ' Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin'' literally ...
system, officially adopted in China in the 1950s, which has largely replaced Wade–Giles romanization.
Standard Chinese and English pronunciation
The Standard Chinese pronunciation of 道 is .
* In Standard Chinese, the initial consonant, , is ''not''
voiced
Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced.
The term, however, is used to refe ...
like the in the English word "do".
* In Standard Chinese, the initial consonant, , is ''not''
aspirated like the in the English word "to".
Neither an English pronunciation like (an English pronunciation of "Dao") nor an English pronunciation like (an English pronunciation of "Tao") is the same as the Standard Chinese pronunciation of 道.
These differences in the initial consonants used in English and Standard Chinese may contribute to there being different methods of romanizing Chinese, which consequently may confuse English speakers when encountering both "Tao" and "Dao" spellings for the same Chinese term.
One authority calls the pronunciation with a as in "tie" (with a ) to be a "mispronunciation" originally caused by the "clumsy Wade–Giles system", which misled most readers. Standard Chinese phonology does not have the same sound inventory as English phonology; the Wade–Giles romanization system provides spellings in the Latin alphabet, but they are not meant to indicate an exact English pronunciation in the same way as though they were English words.
Classification
The word ''Taoism'' is used to translate two related but distinct Chinese terms.
# Firstly, a term encompassing a family of organized religious movements that share concepts and terminology from Taoist philosophy—what can be specifically translated as 'the teachings of the Tao', (), often interpreted as the Taoist "religion proper", or the "mystical" or "liturgical" aspects of Taoism. The
Celestial Masters school is a well-known early example of this sense.
# The other, referring to the
philosophical doctrines largely based on core Taoist texts themselves—a term that can be translated as 'the philosophical school of the Tao' or 'Taology' (, or sometimes ). This would go on to be considered one of the
Hundred Schools of Thought
The Hundred Schools of Thought () were philosophies and schools that flourished during the late Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period (221 BC). The term was not used to describe these different philosophies until Confucianism, M ...
from the Warring States period. The earliest recorded use of the word 'Tao' to reference such a philosophical school is found in the works of
Han-era historians:
such as the ''
Commentary of Zuo'' () by
Zuo Qiuming
Zuo Qiuming, Zuoqiu Ming or Qiu Ming (556 – 451 BCEZhou, Jixu (May 2011"Confucius and Lao Zi" Their Differing Social Foundations and Cultures ''Sino-Platonic Papers'' 211. p. 2 or 502 – 422 BCE) was a Chinese historian who was a c ...
, and in the ''
Records of the Grand Historian
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...
''. This particular usage precedes the emergence of the Celestial Masters and associated later religions. It is unlikely that
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States p ...
, author of the
Zhuangzi, was familiar with the text of the ''Tao Te Ching'', and Zhuangzi himself may have died before the term was in use.

The distinction between Taoism in ''philosophy'' and Taoist ''religion'' is an ancient, deeply-rooted one. Taoism as a positive philosophy aims for the holistic unification of an individual's reality with everything that is not only real but also valuable, encompassing both the natural world and society. But the earliest references to 'the Tao' per se are largely devoid of liturgical or explicitly supernatural character, used in contexts either of abstract metaphysics or of the ordinary conditions required for human flourishing. This distinction is still understood in everyday contexts among Chinese people, echoed by early modern scholars of Chinese history and philosophy such as
Feng Youlan
Feng Youlan (; 4 December 1895 – 26 November 1990) was a Chinese philosopher, historian, and writer who was instrumental for reintroducing the study of Chinese philosophy in the modern era. The name he published under in English was 'Fung ...
and
Wing-tsit Chan. Use of the term ''daojia'' dates to the Western Han , referring to the purported authors of the emerging Taoist canon, such as
Lao Dan and
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States p ...
.
Neither the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''Zhuangzi'' themselves, or the early secondary sources written about them, put forward any particular supernatural ontology. Nonetheless, that religious Taoism emerged from a synthesis of folk religion with philosophical Taoist precepts is clear. The earlier, naturalistic was employed by pre-Han and Han thinkers, and continued to be used well into the Song, including among those who explicitly rejected cults, both private and state-sanctioned, that were often either labeled or self-identified as Taoist.
However, this distinction has been challenged or rejected by some scholars of religion, often those from a Western or Japanese background, who often use distinct interpretive models and techniques. This point of view characterizes the religious and philosophical characteristics of the Taoist tradition as being inseparable.
Sinologists
Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilization ...
such as Isabelle Robinet and
Livia Kohn state that "Taoism has never been a unified religion, and has constantly consisted of a combination of teachings based on a variety of original revelations." The distinction is fraught with hermeneutic difficulties when attempting to categorize different schools, sects, and movements. Russell Kirkland writes that "most scholars who have seriously studied Taoism, both in Asia and in the West" have abandoned this "simplistic dichotomy". Louis Komjathy writes that this is an untenable misconception because "the association of ''daojia'' with "thought" (''sixiang'') and of ''daojiao'' with "religion" (''zongjiao'') is a modern Chinese construction largely rooted in earlier Chinese literati, European colonialist, and Protestant missionary interpretations. Contemporaneous Neo-Confucianists, for example, often self-identify as Taoist without partaking in any rituals.
In contrast, Komjathy characterizes Taoism as "a unified religious tradition characterized by complexity and diversity", arguing that historically, none of these terms were understood according to a bifurcated 'philosophy' versus 'religion' model. ''Daojia'' was a taxonomical category for Taoist texts, that was eventually applied to Taoist movements and priests in the early medieval period. Meanwhile, ''daojiao'' was originally used to specifically distinguish Taoist tradition from Buddhism. Thus, ''daojiao'' included ''daojia''. Komjathy notes that the earliest Taoist texts also "reveal a religious community composed of master-disciple lineages", and therefore, that "Taoism was a religious tradition from the beginning." Philosopher
Chung-ying Cheng likewise views Taoism as a
religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
embedded into Chinese history and tradition, while also assuming many different "forms of philosophy and practical wisdom".
Chung-ying Cheng also noted that the Taoist view of 'heaven' mainly from "observation and meditation,
houghthe teaching of
he Taocan also include the way of heaven independently of human nature".
Taoism is generally not understood as a variant of
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
per se: while the two umbrella terms have considerable cultural overlap, core themes of both also diverge considerably from one another.
Adherents
Traditionally, the Chinese language does not have terms defining lay people adhering to the doctrines or the practices of Taoism, who fall instead within the field of folk religion. Taoist, in Western
sinology
Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilization p ...
, is traditionally used to translate ''
daoshi
A ''daoshi'' () or Taoshih, translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, or Taoist professional is a priest in Taoism. The courtesy title of a senior is ''daozhang'' (, meaning "Tao master"), and a highly accomplished and revered is often cal ...
/taoshih'' (), thus strictly defining the priests of Taoism, ordained clergymen of a Taoist institution who "represent Taoist culture on a professional basis", are experts of Taoist liturgy, and therefore can employ this knowledge and ritual skill for the benefit of a community.
This role of Taoist priests reflects the definition of Taoism as a "
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
framework for the development of local cults", in other words a scheme or structure for Chinese religion, proposed first by the scholar and Taoist initiate
Kristofer Schipper in ''The Taoist Body'' (1986). ''Taoshi'' are comparable to the non-Taoist ritual masters () of vernacular traditions (the so-called
Faism
Chinese ritual mastery traditions, also referred to as ritual teachings (, sometimes rendered as "Faism"), Folk Taoism (), or Red Taoism (mostly in east China and Taiwan), constitute a large group of China, Chinese orders of ritual officers who ...
) within Chinese religion.
The term (), with the meaning of "Taoist" as "lay member or believer of Taoism", is a modern invention that goes back to the introduction of the Western category of "organized religion" in China in the 20th century, but it has no significance for most of Chinese society in which Taoism continues to be an "order" of the larger body of Chinese religion.
History
Classical Taoism and its sources
Scholars like Harold Roth argue that early Taoism was a series of "inner-cultivation lineages" of master-disciple communities, emphasizing a contentless and nonconceptual
apophatic meditation as a way of achieving union with the Tao. According to Louis Komjathy, their worldview "emphasized the Dao as sacred, and the universe and each individual being as a manifestation of the Dao." These communities were also closely related to and intermixed with the
fangshi (method master) communities. Other scholars, like Russell Kirkland, argue that before the Han dynasty, there were no real "Taoists" or "Taoism". Instead, there were various sets of behaviors, practices, and interpretative frameworks (like the ideas of the ''
Yijing
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'',
yin-yang thought, as well as
Mohist
Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and scientific technology developed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (), embodied in an eponymous book: the '' ...
, "
Legalist", and "
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...
" ideas), which were eventually synthesized into the first organized forms of "Taoism".
Some of the main early Taoist sources include: the ''
Neiye'', the
''Zhuangzi'', and the ''
Tao Te Ching
The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...
''. The ''Tao Te Ching'', attributed to
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
, is dated by scholars to sometime between the 4th and 6th century BCE.
A common tradition holds that Laozi founded Taoism. Laozi's historicity is disputed, with many scholars seeing him as a legendary founding figure.
While Taoism is often regarded in the West as arising from Laozi, many Chinese Taoists claim that the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...
formulated many of their precepts, including the quest for "long life".
Traditionally, the Yellow Emperor's founding of Taoism was said to have been because he "dreamed of an ideal kingdom whose tranquil inhabitants lived in harmonious accord with the natural law and possessed virtues remarkably like those espoused by early Taoism. On waking from his dream, Huangdi sought to" bring about "these
virtue
A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...
s in his own kingdom, to ensure order and prosperity among the inhabitants".
Afterwards, Taoism developed and grew into two sects; One is Zhengyi Taoism, which mainly focuses on spells, and the other is Quanzhen Taoism, which mainly focuses on practicing inner alchemy. Overall, traditional Taoist thought, content, and sects are varied, reflecting the ideal of "absorbing everything inside and mixing everything outside".
Early Taoism drew on the ideas found in the religion of the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
and the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...
, such as their use of
divination
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
,
ancestor worship
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
, and the idea of Heaven (
Tian
Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...
) and its relationship to humanity. According to modern scholars of Taoism, such as Kirkland and
Livia Kohn, Taoist philosophy also developed by drawing on numerous schools of thought from the
Warring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
(4th to 3rd centuries BCE), including
Mohism
Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and scientific technology developed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (), embodied in an eponymous book: the '' ...
,
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
,
Legalist theorists (like
Shen Buhai
Shen Buhai (; ) was a Chinese statesman, reformer and diplomat. According to the Shiji, Shen Buhai served as Chancellor of the Han state under Marquis Zhao of Han, for around fifteen years to his natural death in office in 337 BC, ordering it ...
and
Han Fei
Han Fei (233 BC), also known as Han Feizi, was a Chinese Legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He was a prince of the state of Han.
Han Fei is often considered the greatest representative of Legalism for th ...
, which speak of ''
wu wei
''Wu wei'' () is a polysemous, ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal dao, practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous Improvisation, creative manifestation. In a ...
''), the
School of Naturalists (from which Taoism draws its main cosmological ideas,
yin and yang
Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
and the
five phases
( zh, c=五行, p=wǔxíng), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, including terrestrial and celestial rela ...
), and the
Chinese classics
The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...
, especially the ''
I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'' and the ''
Lüshi Chunqiu
The ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' (), also known in English as ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', is an encyclopedic Chinese classic text compiled around 239BC under the patronage of late pre-imperial Qin Chancellor Lü Buwei. In the evaluati ...
''.
Meanwhile, Isabelle Robinet identifies four components in the emergence of Taoism: the teachings found in the ''
Tao Te Ching
The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...
'' and ''
Zhuangzi,'' techniques for achieving ecstasy, practices for achieving longevity and becoming an immortal (
xian
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
), and practices for
exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...
. Robinet states that some elements of Taoism may be traced to
prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
folk religions in China. In particular, many Taoist practices drew from the Warring States era phenomena of the ''
wu'' (
Chinese shamans) and the ''
fangshi'' ("method masters", which probably derived from the "archivist-soothsayers of antiquity").
Both terms were used to designate individuals dedicated to "magic, medicine, divination, ... methods of longevity and to ecstatic wanderings" as well as exorcism.
The ''fangshi'' were philosophically close to the School of Naturalists and relied greatly on astrological and calendrical speculations in their divinatory activities. Female shamans played an important role in the early Taoist tradition, which was particularly strong in the southern state of
Chu. Early Taoist movements developed their own tradition in contrast to shamanism while also absorbing shamanic elements.
During the early period, some Taoists lived as
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
s or recluses who did not participate in political life, while others sought to establish a harmonious society based on Taoist principles.
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States p ...
(c. 370–290 BCE) was the most influential of the Taoist hermits. Some scholars hold that since he lived in the south, he may have been influenced by
Chinese shamanism
Chinese shamanism, alternatively called Wuism (; alternatively ''wū xí zōngjiào''), refers to the shamanic religious tradition of China. Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan cultu ...
.
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States p ...
and his followers insisted they were the heirs of ancient traditions and the ways of life of by-then legendary kingdoms. Pre-Taoist philosophers and mystics whose activities may have influenced Taoism included shamans, naturalists skilled in understanding the properties of plants and
geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
,
diviners
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
, early
environmentalist
Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
s, tribal chieftains, court scribes and commoner members of governments, members of the nobility in Chinese states, and the descendants of refugee communities.
Significant movements in early Taoism disregarded the existence of gods, and many who believed in gods thought they were subject to the natural law of the Tao, in a similar nature to all other life.
Roughly contemporaneously to the ''Tao Te Ching'', some believed the Tao was a force that was the "basis of all existence" and more powerful than the gods, while being a god-like being that was an
ancestor
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...
and a
mother goddess
A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...
.
Early Taoists studied the natural world in attempts to find what they thought were supernatural laws that governed existence.
Taoists created scientific principles that were the first of their kind in China, and the belief system has been known to merge scientific, philosophical, and religious conceits from close to its beginning.
Early organized Taoism
By the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
(206 BCE–220 CE), the various sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of ritualists in the state of
Shu (modern
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
). One of the earliest forms of Taoism was the Han era (
2nd century BCE) ''
Huang–Lao
''Huang–Lao'' () was the most influential Chinese school of thought in the early Han dynasty, having its origins in a broader political-philosophical drive looking for solutions to strengthen the feudal order as depicted in Zhou politics. Not s ...
'' movement, which was an influential school of thought at this time. The ''
Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to defi ...
'' and the ''
Taipingjing
''Taipingjing'' ("Scriptures of the Great Peace") is the name of several different Taoist texts. At least two works were known by this title:
:*, 12 Chapters, contents unknown, author: Gan Zhongke
:*, 170 Chapters, only 57 of which survive ...
'' are important sources from this period. An unorganized form of Taoism was popular in the Han dynasty that syncretized many preexisting forms in multiple ways for different groups existed during a rough span of time throughout the 2nd century BCE.
Also during the Han, the earliest extant commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' were written: the
Heshang Gong
Heshang Gong (also Ho-Shang Kung) is the reputed author of one of the earliest commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' of Laozi to survive to modern times, which is dated to the latter part of the Han dynasty. While reputedly a reclusive Chinese he ...
commentary and the
Xiang'er
The ''Xiang'er'' () is a commentary to the '' Daodejing'' that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism. The meaning of the title is debated, but can be translated as 'th ...
commentary.
The first organized form of Taoism was the
Way of the Celestial Masters
The Way of the Celestial Masters or the Heavenly Masters Sect is a Chinese Taoist movement that was founded by Zhang Daoling in 142 AD. Its followers rebelled against the Han dynasty, and won their independence in 194. At its height, the movemen ...
, which developed from the
Five Pecks of Rice movement at the end of the 2nd century CE. The latter had been founded by
Zhang Daoling
Zhang Daoling (, traditionally February 22, 34October 10, 156), birth name Zhang Ling (), courtesy name Fuhan (), was a Chinese Taoist religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty. He founded the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice ...
, who was said to have had a vision of Laozi in 142 CE and claimed that the world was coming to an end. Zhang sought to teach people to repent and prepare for the coming cataclysm, after which they would become the seeds of a new era of great peace. It was a mass movement in which men and women could act as libationers and tend to the commoners. A related movement arose in
Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
called the "
Way of Great Peace", seeking to create a new world by replacing the Han dynasty. This movement led to the
Yellow Turban Rebellion
The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt during the late Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China. The uprising broke out in 184 CE, during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although t ...
, and after years of bloody war, they were crushed.
The Celestial Masters movement survived this period and did not take part in attempting to replace the Han. As such, they grew and became an influential religion during the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period, focusing on ritual confession and petition, as well as developing a well-organized religious structure. The Celestial Masters school was officially recognized by the warlord
Cao Cao
Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...
in 215 CE, legitimizing Cao Cao's rise to power in return. Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in the mid-2nd century BCE.
Another important early Taoist movement was Taiqing (Great Clarity), which was a tradition of
external alchemy (外丹) that sought immortality through the concoction of elixirs, often using toxic elements like
cinnabar
Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...
,
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
,
mercury, and
realgar
Realgar ( ), also known as arsenic blende, ruby sulphur or ruby of arsenic, is an arsenic sulfide mineral with the chemical formula α-. It is a soft, sectile mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, or in granular, compact, or powdery form, ...
, as well as ritual and purificatory practices.
After this point, Taoism did not have nearly as significant an effect on the passing of law as the syncretic
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...
–
Legalist tradition.
Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties eras

The
Three Kingdoms period
The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...
saw the rise of the
Xuanxue
Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical Post-classical history, post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucianism, Confucian beliefs through revision and di ...
(Mysterious Learning or Deep Wisdom) tradition, which focused on philosophical inquiry and integrated Confucian teachings with Taoist thought. The movement included scholars like
Wang Bi
Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249), courtesy name Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''I Ching'' which were highly influential in Chinese ph ...
(226–249),
He Yan
He Yan ( 195 – 9 February 249), courtesy name Pingshu, was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of He Jin, a general and regent of the Eastern Han dynasty. His ...
(d. 249),
Xiang Xiu
Xiang Xiu () is one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.
His most famous contribution is a commentary on the Zhuangzi, which was later used and amended by Guo Xiang. After his friend Xi Kang was killed by the ruling Jin dynasty, Xiang carefu ...
(223?–300),
Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang (; 252–312) is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the '' Zhuangzi'' which, along with the ''Tao Te Ching'', forms the textual and philosophical basis of the Taoist school of thought. He was als ...
(d. 312), and
Pei Wei (267–300).
[Chan, Alan]
"Neo-Taoism"
. ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. Another later influential figure was the 4th century alchemist
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...
, who wrote a key Taoist work on inner cultivation, the ''
Baopuzi'' (''Master Embracing Simplicity'').
The
Six Dynasties
Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD, between the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the beginning of the Sui ...
(316–589) era saw the rise of two new Taoist traditions, the
Shangqing and
Lingbao schools. Shangqing was based on a series of revelations by gods and spirits to a certain Yang Xi between 364 and 370. As
Livia Kohn writes, these revelations included detailed descriptions of the heavens as well as "specific methods of
shamanic travels or ecstatic excursions, visualizations, and alchemical concoctions". The Shangqing revelations also introduced many new Taoist scriptures.
Similarly, between 397 and 402,
Ge Chaofu compiled a series of scriptures that later served as the foundation of the
Lingbao school, which was most influential during the later
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
(960–1279) and focused on scriptural recitation and the use of talismans for harmony and longevity. The Lingbao school practiced purification rituals called "purgations" in which talismans were empowered. Lingbao also adopted
Mahayana Buddhist elements. According to Kohn, they "integrated aspects of
Buddhist cosmology
Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to Buddhist Tripitaka, scriptures and Atthakatha, commentaries.
It consists of a temporal and a spatial cosmology. The temporal cosmology describes the ...
, worldview, scriptures, and practices, and created a vast new collection of Taoist texts in close imitation of
Buddhist sutras". Louis Komjathy also notes that they adopted the Mahayana Buddhist
universalism
Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept within Christianity that some ideas have universal application or applicability.
A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is se ...
in its promotion of "universal salvation" (pudu).
During this period,
Louguan, the first Taoist monastic institution (influenced by
Buddhist monasticism
Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu (Pāli, Pali, Skt. bhikshu) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni), are responsibl ...
) was established in the
Zhongnan mountains by a local Taoist master named Yin Tong. This tradition was called the
Northern Celestial masters, and their main scripture was the ''
Xisheng jing'' (''Scripture of Western Ascension'').
During the sixth century, Taoists attempted to unify the various traditions into one integrated Taoism that could compete with Buddhism and Confucianism. To do this they adopted the schema known as the "three caverns", first developed by the scholar
Lu Xiujing (406–477) based on the "
three vehicles" of Buddhism. The three caverns were: Perfection (Dongzhen), associated with the
Three Sovereigns
According to Chinese mythology and traditional Chinese historiography, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors () were a series of sage Chinese emperors, and the first Emperor of China, Emperors of China. Today, they are considered culture heroe ...
; Mystery (Dongxuan), associated with Lingbao; and Spirit (Dongshen), associated with the Supreme Clarity tradition. Lu Xiujing also used this schema to arrange the Taoist scriptures and Taoist deities. Lu Xiujing worked to compile the first edition of the ''
Daozang
The Daozang ( zh, c=道藏, p=Dàozàng, w=Tao Tsang) is a large canon of Taoist writings, consisting of around 1,500 texts that were seen as continuing traditions first embodied by the '' Daodejing'', '' Zhuangzi'', and '' Liezi''. The canon was ...
'' (the Taoist Canon), which was published at the behest of the
Chinese emperor. Thus, according to Russell Kirkland, "in several important senses, it was really Lu Hsiu-ching who founded Taoism, for it was he who first gained community acceptance for a common canon of texts, which established the boundaries, and contents, of 'the teachings of the Tao' (Tao-chiao). Lu also reconfigured the ritual activities of the tradition, and formulated a new set of liturgies, which continue to influence Taoist practice to the present day."
This period also saw the development of the
Three Pure Ones, which merged the high deities from different Taoist traditions into a common trinity that has remained influential until today.
Later imperial dynasties

The new Integrated Taoism, now with a united Taoist identity, gained official status in China during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
. This tradition was termed ''daojiao'' (the teaching of the Tao). The Tang was the height of Taoist influence, during which Taoism, led by the Patriarch of Supreme Clarity, was the dominant religion in China. According to Russell Kirkland, this new Taoist synthesis had its main foundation in the
Lingbao school's teachings, which was appealing to all classes of society and drew on
Mahayana
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
Buddhism.
Perhaps the most important figure of the Tang was the court Taoist and writer
Du Guangting (850–933). Du wrote numerous works about Taoist rituals, history, myth, and biography. He also reorganized and edited the ''Taotsang'' after a period of war and loss.
During the Tang, several emperors became patrons of Taoism, inviting priests to court to conduct rituals and enhance the prestige of the sovereign. The
Gaozong Emperor even decreed that the ''Tao Te Ching'' was to be a topic in the imperial examinations. During the reign of the 7th century
Emperor Taizong, the Five Dragons Temple (the first temple at the
Wudang Mountains) was constructed.
Wudang would eventually become a major center for Taoism and a home for Taoist martial arts (
Wudang quan).
Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–755) was also a devoted Taoist who wrote various Taoist works, and according to
Livia Kohn, "had frequent meetings with senior masters, ritual specialists, Taoist poets, and official patriarchs, such as Sima Chengzhen." He reorganized imperial rituals based on Taoist forms, sponsored Taoist shrines and monasteries, and introduced a separate examination system based on Taoism. Another important Taoist figure of the Tang dynasty was
Lu Dongbin, who is considered the founder of the jindan meditation tradition and an influential figure in the development of
neidan
Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...
(internal alchemy) practice.
Likewise, several
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
emperors, most notably
Huizong, were active in promoting Taoism, collecting Taoist texts, and publishing updated editions of the ''
Daozang
The Daozang ( zh, c=道藏, p=Dàozàng, w=Tao Tsang) is a large canon of Taoist writings, consisting of around 1,500 texts that were seen as continuing traditions first embodied by the '' Daodejing'', '' Zhuangzi'', and '' Liezi''. The canon was ...
''. The Song era saw new scriptures and new movements of ritualists and Taoist rites, the most popular of which were the Thunder Rites (leifa). The Thunder rites were protection and exorcism rites that evoked the celestial department of thunder, and they became central to the new Heavenly Heart (Tianxin) tradition as well as for the Youthful Incipience (Tongchu) school.
In the
12th century
The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar.
In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...
, the
Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) School was founded in
Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
by the sage
Wang Chongyang (1113–1170) to compete with religious Taoist traditions that worshipped "
ghosts
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
and
gods
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
" and largely displaced them.
The school focused on inner transformation,
mystical experience
A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense ag ...
,
monasticism
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...
, and
asceticism
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...
. Quanzhen flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries and during the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
. The Quanzhen school was syncretic, combining elements from Buddhism and Confucianism with Taoist tradition. According to Wang Chongyang, the "
three teachings
In Chinese philosophy, the ''three teachings'' (; , Chữ Hán: 三教) are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The learning and the understanding of the three teachings are traditionally considered to be a harmonious aggregate within Chinese ...
" (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism), "when investigated, prove to be but one school".
[Littlejohn, Ronnie (n.d.)]
"Daoist Philosophy"
''The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. . Accessed 5 December 2024. Quanzhen became the largest and most important Taoist school in China when master
Qiu Chuji
Qiu Chuji (10 February 1148– 21 August 1227), courtesy name Tongmi (通密), also known by his Taoist name Master Changchun, was a renowned Taoist master from late Southern Song/ Jin dynasty and a famous disciple of Wang Chongyang, the foun ...
met with
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
who ended up making him the leader of all Chinese religions as well as exempting Quanzhen institutions from taxation. Another important Quanzhen figure was Zhang Boduan, author of the ''
Wuzhen pian'', a classic of internal alchemy, and the founder of the southern branch of Quanzhen.
During the Song era, the
Zhengyi Dao
Zhengyi Dao (), also known as the Way of Orthodox Unity, Teaching of the Orthodox Unity, and Branch of the Orthodox Unity is a Chinese Taoist movement that traditionally refers to the same Taoist lineage as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and ...
tradition properly developed in Southern China among Taoists of the Chang clan. This liturgically focused tradition would continue to be supported by later emperors and survives to this day.
In the Yuan dynasty, Taoism in
Northern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.
Extent
The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...
took inspiration from
Tibetan cultural practices,
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
(often from the western parts of the Yuan dynasty's land), and
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
.
Under the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
(1368–1644), aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and
East Asian Buddhism
East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism which developed across East Asia and which rely on the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Kore ...
were consciously synthesized in the
Neo-Confucian
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a Morality, moral, Ethics, ethical, and metaphysics, metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768� ...
school, which eventually became Imperial
orthodoxy
Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...
for state bureaucratic purposes. Taoist ideas also influenced Neo-Confucian thinkers like
Wang Yangming
Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese statesman, general, and Neo-Confucian philosopher during the Ming dynasty. After Zhu ...
and
Zhan Ruoshui. During the Ming, the legends of the
Eight Immortals
The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''Xian (Taoism), xian (immortals)'' in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the ...
(the most important of which is
Lü Dongbin) rose to prominence, being part of local plays and folk culture. Ming emperors like the
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...
continued to invite Taoists to court and hold Taoist rituals that were believed to enhance the power of the throne. The most important of these were connected with the Taoist deity
Xuanwu ("Perfect Warrior"), which was the main dynastic protector deity of the Ming.
The Ming era saw the rise of the Jingming ("Pure Illumination") school to prominence, which merged Taoism with Buddhist and Confucian teachings and focused on "purity, clarity, loyalty and
filial piety
Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...
".
[Zhongjian Mou (2003). ''A Brief History of the Relationship Between Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism'', p. 389. Springer Nature.] The school derided internal and external alchemy, fasting (
bigu), and breathwork. Instead, the school focused on using mental cultivation to return to the mind's original purity and clarity (which could become obscured by desires and emotions).
Key figures of this school include Xu Xun, Liu Yu, Huang Yuanji, Xu Yi, and Liu Yuanran. Some of these figures taught at the imperial capital and were awarded titles.
Their emphasis on practical ethics and self-cultivation in everyday life (rather than ritual or monasticism) made it very popular among the literati class.
The
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
(1644–1912) mainly promoted Buddhism as well as
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) i ...
. Thus, during this period, the status and influence of Taoism declined. During the 18th century, the Qing imperial library excluded virtually all Taoist books.
The Qing era also saw the birth of the
Longmen ("Dragon Gate" ) school of Wang Kunyang (1552–1641), a branch of Quanzhen from southern China that became established at the
White Cloud Temple.
Longmen authors like
Liu Yiming (1734–1821) and Min Yide (1758–1836) worked to promote and preserve Taoist inner alchemy practices through books like ''
The Secret of the Golden Flower''. The Longmen school synthesized the Quanzhen and neidan teachings with the Chan Buddhist and Neo-Confucian elements that the Jingming tradition had developed, making it widely appealing to the literati class.
Early modern Taoism
practicing Tai chi">Yang Chengfu practicing Tai chi ">Tai_chi.html" ;"title="Yang Chengfu practicing Tai chi">Yang Chengfu practicing Tai chi
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Taoism suffered much destruction as a result of religious persecution and numerous wars and conflicts that beset China in the so-called century of humiliation. This period of persecution was caused by numerous factors including Confucian prejudices, anti-traditional Chinese Modernism, modernist ideologies, European and Japanese colonialism, and Christian missionary activity. By the 20th century, only one complete copy of the
Tao Tsang
The Daozang ( zh, c=道藏, p=Dàozàng, w=Tao Tsang) is a large canon of Taoist writings, consisting of around 1,500 texts that were seen as continuing traditions first embodied by the '' Daodejing'', '' Zhuangzi'', and ''Liezi''. The canon was ...
survived intact, stored at the
White Cloud Monastery in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. A key Taoist figure during this period was Chen Yingning (1880–1969). He was a key member of the early Chinese Taoist Association and wrote numerous books promoting Taoist practice.
During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
(1966–1976), many Taoist priests were laicized and sent to work camps, and many Taoist sites and temples were destroyed or converted to secular use. This period saw an exodus of Taoists out of China. They immigrated to Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and to Europe and North America. Thus, the communist repression had the consequence of making Taoism a world religion by disseminating Taoists throughout the world.
In the 1910s, Taoist doctrine about
immortals and waiting until after death to live in "the dwelling of the immortals" was one of the faith's most popular and influential beliefs.
The 20th century was also a creative period for Taoism despite its many setbacks. The Taoist influenced practice of
tai chi
is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...
developed during this time, led by figures like
Yang Chengfu
Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) was one of the best known teachers of Yang-style tai chi Chinese martial art. He helped develop the art into its modern form. His students would go on to found successful martial arts schools of their own and helped s ...
and
Sun Lutang
Sun Lutang (1860-1933) was a master of Chinese ''neijia'' (internal) martial arts and was the progenitor of the Syncretism, syncretic art of Sun-style tai chi. He was also considered an accomplished Neo-Confucian and Taoist scholar (especiall ...
.
Early proponents of tai chi, like Sun Lutang, claimed that it was a Taoist internal practice created by the Taoist immortal
Zhang Sanfeng (though modern scholars note that this claim lacks credible historical evidence).
Late modern Taoism
Wong Tai Sin Temple (Hong Kong), Wong Tai Sin Temple, one of the most important Taoist temples in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
Taoism began to recover during the Reform and opening up, reform and opening up period (beginning in 1979) during which mainland China experienced increased religious freedom. This led to the restoration of many temples and communities, the publishing of Taoist literature and the preservation of Taoist material culture. Several Chinese intellectuals, like Hu Fuchen (Chinese Academy of Social Studies) and Liu Xiaogan (Chinese University of Hong Kong) have worked to developed a "New Daojia" (''xin daojia''), which parallels the rise of
New Confucianism
New Confucianism () is an intellectual movement of Confucianism that began in the early 20th century in Republic of China (1912–1949), Republican China, and further developed in post-Mao era People's Republic of China, contemporary China. I ...
.
During the 1980s and 1990s, China experienced the so-called
Qigong fever, which saw a surge in the popularity of Qigong practice throughout China. During this period many new Taoist and Taoist influenced religions sprung up, the most popular being those associated with Qigong, such as Zangmigong (
Tantric Qigong influenced by
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
),
Zhonggong (Central Qigong), and
Falungong (which came to be outlawed and repressed by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
CP.
Today, Taoism is one of five official recognized religions in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. In mainland China, the government regulates its activities through the
Chinese Taoist Association
Chinese Taoist Association (CTA; ), founded in April 1957, is the official government supervisory organ of Taoism in the People's Republic of China.
History
In 1980, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party approved a request by t ...
. Regarding the status of Taoism in mainland China,
Livia Kohn writes:
The
White Cloud Temple at Beijing remains the most important center for the training of Taoist monastics on the mainland, while the
five sacred mountains of China also contain influential Taoist centers. Other key sites include:
Wudangshan,
Mount Longhu
Mount Longhu (, Gan: Lung-fu San) is located in Yingtan, Jiangxi, China. It is famous for being one of the birthplaces of Taoism, with many Taoist temples built upon the mountainside. It is particularly important to the Zhengyi Dao as the Sha ...
,
Mount Qiyun,
Mount Qingcheng,
Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...
,
Zhongnan mountains,
Mount Mao, and
Mount Lao. Meanwhile, Taoism is also practiced much more freely in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, where it is a major religion and retains unique features and movements that differ from mainland Taoism. Taoism is also practiced throughout the wider
East Asian cultural sphere
The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...
.
The , the oldest Chinese temple in California">Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park, the oldest Chinese temple in California and an active Taoist center
Outside of China, many traditionally Taoist practices have spread, especially through Chinese emigration as well as conversion by non-Chinese. Taoist influenced practices, like
tai chi
is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...
and
qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
, are also popular around the world. Its influence is ubiquitous, especially in divination and magical practices. As such, Taoism is now a religion with a global distribution.
Taoism has been traditionally associated with
Northern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.
Extent
The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...
,
Southern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.
Extent
The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...
,
and
Western China
Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...
,
and originated from Southern China.
During the late 20th century, Taoism began to spread to the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
, leading to various forms of Taoist communities in the West, with Taoist publications, websites, meditation and
Tai chi
is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...
centers, and translations of Taoist texts by western scholars as well as non-specialists. Taoist classics like the ''Tao Te Ching'' have also become popular in the
New Age movement
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
and in "popular Western Taoism", a kind of popularized hybrid spirituality. According to Louis Komjathy, this "popular Western Taoism" is associated with popular translations and interpretations of the ''Tao Te Ching'' and the work of popular figures like
James Legge
James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator
who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the Lond ...
,
Alan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hinduism, Hindu philosophy for a Wes ...
,
John Blofeld,
Gia-fu Feng, and
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
. This popular spirituality also draws on
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
(which are often unrelated to Taoism proper), American
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the New England region of the United States. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of ...
,
1960s counterculture
The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...
,
New Age spirituality, the
perennial philosophy
The perennial philosophy (), also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a school of thought in philosophy and spirituality that posits that the recurrence of common themes across world religions illuminates universal truths about ...
, and
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...
.
On the other hand, traditionally minded Taoists in the West are often either ethnically Chinese or generally assume some level of
sinicization
Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies or groups are acculturated or assimilated into Chinese culture, particularly the language, ...
, especially the adoption of
Chinese language
Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...
and culture. This is because, for most traditional Taoists, the religion is not seen as separate from Chinese ethnicity and culture. As such, most Western convert Taoist groups are led either by Chinese teachers or by teachers who studied with Chinese teachers. Some prominent Western Taoist associations include: , , British Daoist Association, Daoist Foundation (San Diego, California), American Taoist and Buddhist Association (New York), Ching Chung Taoist Association (San Francisco), Universal Society of the Integral Way (Ni Hua-Ching), and .
Particularly popular in the West are groups that focus on internal martial arts like tai chi, as well as qigong and meditation. A smaller set of groups also focus around internal alchemy, such as
Mantak Chia's Healing Tao. While traditional Taoism initially arrived in the West through Chinese immigrants, more recently, Western run Taoist temples have also appeared, such as the Taoist Sanctuary in San Diego and the Dayuan Circle in San Francisco. Kohn notes that all of these centers "combine traditional ritual services with ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''Yijing'' philosophy as well as with various health practices, such as breathing, diet, meditation, qigong, and soft martial arts".
Teachings
Tao
''Tao'' (or ''Dao'') can mean "way", "road", "channel", "path", "doctrine", or "line". The Tao is a natural order that enables all things to exist and dominate every action, not so much through force as through a natural curvature of space and time. It is the origin and power of all creation - its essence is unknown, but it can be observed in its manifestation - this is behind the operation and change of nature.
Livia Kohn describes the Tao as "the underlying cosmic power which creates the universe, supports culture and the state, saves the good and punishes the wicked. Literally 'the way', Tao refers to the way things develop naturally, the way nature moves along, and living beings growing and declining in accordance with cosmic laws." The Tao is ultimately indescribable and transcends all analysis and definition. Thus, the ''Tao Te Ching'' begins with: "The Tao that can be told is not eternal Tao." Likewise, Louis Komjathy writes that Taoists have described the Tao as "dark" (''xuan''), "indistinct" (''hu''), "obscure" (''huang''), and "silent" (''mo'').
According to Komjathy, the Tao has four primary characteristics: "(1) Source of all existence; (2) Unnamable mystery; (3) All-pervading sacred presence; and (4) Universe as cosmological process." As such, Taoist thought can be seen as
monistic
Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonis ...
(the Tao is one reality), panenhenic (seeing nature as sacred), and
panentheistic
Panentheism (; "all in God", from the Greek , and ) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewin ...
(the Tao is both the sacred world and what is beyond it, immanent and transcendent). Similarly,
Wing-tsit Chan describes the Tao as an "ontological ground" and as "the One, which is natural, spontaneous, eternal, nameless, and indescribable. It is at once the beginning of all things and the way in which all things pursue their course." The Tao is thus an "organic order", which is not a willful or self-conscious creator, but an infinite and boundless natural pattern.
Furthermore, the Tao is something that individuals can find
immanent
The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheist ...
in themselves and in natural and social patterns. Thus, the Tao is also the "innate nature" (''xing'') of all people, a nature which Taoists see as being ultimately good. In a naturalistic sense, the Tao is a visible pattern, "the Tao that can be told", that is, the rhythmic processes and patterns of the natural world that can be observed and described. Thus, Kohn writes that Tao can be explained as twofold: the transcendent, ineffable, mysterious Tao and the natural, visible, and tangible Tao.
Dao is a process of reality itself, a way for things to gather together while still changing. All of these reflect the deep-rooted belief of the Chinese people that change is the most fundamental characteristic of things. In the ''Book of Changes'', this pattern of change is symbolized by numbers representing 64 related force relationships, known as hexagrams. Dao is the change of these forces, usually simply referred to as yin and yang.
Throughout Taoist history, Taoists have developed different
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...
views regarding the Tao. For example, while the
Xuanxue
Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical Post-classical history, post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucianism, Confucian beliefs through revision and di ...
thinker
Wang Bi
Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249), courtesy name Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''I Ching'' which were highly influential in Chinese ph ...
described Tao as
wú (nothingness, negativity, not-being),
Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang (; 252–312) is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the '' Zhuangzi'' which, along with the ''Tao Te Ching'', forms the textual and philosophical basis of the Taoist school of thought. He was als ...
rejected wú as the source and held that instead the true source was spontaneous "self-production" (zìshēng 自生) and "self-transformation" (zìhuà 自化). Another school, the
Chóngxuán (Twofold Mystery), developed a metaphysics influenced by Buddhist
Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the Śūnyatā, emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no Svabhava, ''svabhāva'' d ...
philosophy.
De
The active expression of Tao is called ''De'' (; also spelled ''Te'' or ''Teh''; often translated with virtue or power), in a sense that ''De'' results from an individual living and cultivating the Tao. The term ''De'' can be used to refer to ethical
virtue
A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...
in the conventional
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...
sense, as well as to a higher spontaneous kind of sagely virtue or power that comes from following the Tao and practicing ''wu-wei''. Thus, it is a natural expression of the Tao's power and not anything like conventional
morality
Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...
. Louis Komjathy describes ''De'' as the manifestation of one's connection to the Tao, which is a beneficial influence of one's cosmological attunement.
Ziran
file:Zhangzi in front of waterfalls.jpg,
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States p ...
in front of a waterfall. The natural downward flow of water is a common metaphor for naturalness in Taoism.
''Ziran'' (; lit. "self-so", "self-organization"
) is regarded as a central concept and value in Taoism and as a way of flowing with the Tao. It describes the "primordial state" of all things as well as a basic character of the Tao, and is usually associated with
spontaneity and creativity. According to Kohn, in the ''Zhuangzi'', ''ziran'' refers to the fact that "there is thus no ultimate cause to make things what they are. The universe exists by itself and of itself; it is existence just as it is. Nothing can be added or subtracted from it; it is entirely sufficient upon itself."
To attain naturalness, one has to identify with the Tao and flow with its natural rhythms as expressed in oneself. This involves freeing oneself from selfishness and desire and appreciating simplicity. It also consists of understanding one's nature and living in accordance with it without trying to be something one is not or
overthinking
Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process where overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become " paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of acti ...
one's experience. One way of cultivating ''ziran'' found in the ''Zhuangzi'' is to practice the "fasting of the mind", a kind of
Taoist meditation
Taoist meditation (, ), also spelled Daoist (), refers to the traditional meditative practices associated with the Chinese philosophy and religion of Taoism, including concentration, mindfulness, contemplation, and visualization. The earliest C ...
in which one empties the mind. It is held that this can also activate qi (vital energy). In some passages found in the ''Zhuangzi'' and in the ''Tao Te Ching'', naturalness is also associated with rejection of the state (anarchism) and a desire to return to simpler pre-technological times (Anarcho-primitivism, primitivism).
An often cited metaphor for naturalness is ''Pu (Taoism), pu'' (), the "uncarved log", which represents the "original nature ... prior to the imprint of culture" of an individual. It is usually referred to as a state one may return to.
''Wu wei''
file:Butcher Zhuangzi.jpg, Illustration of the parable of the adept butcher Ding from the
Zhuangzi. Butcher Ding was so expert at butchering a carcass, that he barely had to use any force to cut the meat.
The term ''wu wei'' constitutes the leading ethical concept in Taoism.
''Wei'' refers to any intentional or deliberated action, while ''wu'' carries the meaning of "there is no ..." or "lacking, without". Standard translations are nonaction, effortless action, action without intent, noninterference, and nonintervention.
[ The meaning is sometimes emphasized by using the paradoxical expression "wei wu wei": an action without action. Kohn writes that ''wuwei'' refers to "letting go of egoistic concerns" and "to abstain from forceful and interfering measures that cause tensions and disruption in favor of gentleness, adaptation, and ease."
In ancient Taoist texts, wu-wei is associated with water through its yielding nature and the effortless way it flows around obstacles. Taoist philosophy, in accordance with the '']I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'', proposes that the universe works harmoniously according to its own ways. When someone exerts their will against the world in a manner that is out of rhythm with the cycles of change, they may disrupt that harmony, and unintended consequences may more likely result rather than the willed outcome. Thus, the ''Tao Te Ching'' says: "act of things and you will ruin them. Grasp for things and you will lose them. Therefore the sage acts with inaction and has no ruin, lets go of grasping and has no loss."
Taoism does not identify one's will as the root problem. Rather, it asserts that one must place their will in harmony with the natural way of the universe. Thus, a potentially harmful interference may be avoided, and in this way, goals can be achieved effortlessly. "By wu-wei, the sage seeks to come into harmony with the great Tao, which itself accomplishes by nonaction."[
]
Aspects of self (xing, xin, and ming)
The Taoist view of the self is holistic and rejects the idea of a separate individualized self. As Russell Kirkland writes, Taoists "generally assume that one's 'self' cannot be understood or fulfilled without reference to other persons, and to the broader set of realities in which all persons are naturally and properly embedded."
In Taoism, one's innate or fundamental nature (xing) is ultimately the Tao expressing or manifesting itself as an embodied person. Innate nature is connected with one's heartmind (xin), which refers to consciousness, the heart, and one's spirit. The focus of Taoist psychology is the Xin (heart-mind), heartmind (xin), the intellectual and emotional center (zhong) of a person. It is associated with the chest cavity and the physical heart, as well as with emotions, thoughts, consciousness, and the storehouse of spirit (shen). When the heartmind is unstable and separated from the Tao, it is called the ordinary heartmind (suxin). On the other hand, the original heartmind (benxin) pervades Tao and is constant and peaceful.
The ''Neiye'' (ch.14) calls this pure original heart-mind the "inner heartmind", "an awareness that precedes language", and "a lodging place of the numinous". Later Taoist sources also refer to it by other terms like "awakened nature" (wuxing), "original nature" (benxing), "original spirit" (yuanshen), and "scarlet palace". This pure heartmind is seen as being characterized by clarity and stillness (qingjing), purity, pure yang, spiritual insight, and emptiness.
Taoists see life (sheng) as an expression of the Tao. The Tao is seen as granting each person a ''Ming yun, ming'' (life destiny), which is one's corporeal existence, one's body and vitality. Generally speaking, Taoist cultivation seeks a holistic Psychosomatic medicine, psychosomatic form of training that is described as "dual cultivation of innate nature and life-destiny" (''xingming shuanxiu''). Taoism believes in a "pervasive spirit world that is both interlocked with and separate from the world of humans."
The cultivation of innate nature is often associated with the practice of stillness (jinggong) or quiet meditation, while the cultivation of life-destiny generally revolves around movement based practices (dongong) like daoyin and health and longevity practices (Yangsheng (Daoism), yangsheng).
The Taoist body
file:NeijingTu1.jpg, The Neijing Tu, a diagram which illustrates the complex Taoist schema of the body as a way to aid practitioners of inner cultivation.
Many Taoist practices work with ancient Chinese understandings of the body, its organs and parts, "elixir fields" (Dantian, dantien), inner substances (such as "essence" or jing), animating forces (like the hun and po), and Meridian (Chinese medicine), meridians (qi channels). The complex Taoist schema of the body and its subtle body components contains many parallels with Traditional Chinese medicine and is used for health practices as well as for somatic and spiritual transformation (through neidan
Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...
– "psychosomatic transmutation" or "internal alchemy"). Taoist physical cultivation rely on purifying and transforming the body's qi (vital breath, energy) in various ways such as dieting and meditation.
According to Livia Kohn, qi is "the cosmic energy that pervades all. The concrete aspect of Tao, qi is the material force of the universe, the basic stuff of nature." According to the ''Zhuangzi,'' "human life is the accumulation of qi; death is its dispersal." Everyone has some amount of qi and can gain and lose qi in various ways. Therefore, Taoists hold that through various qi cultivation methods they can harmonize their qi, and thus improve health and longevity, and even attain magic powers, Harmonious Society, social harmony, and immortality. The '' Neiye'' (Inward Training) is one of the earliest texts that teach qi cultivation methods.
Qi is one of the Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine), Three Treasures, which is a specifically Taoist schema of the main elements in Taoist physical practices like qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
and neidan
Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...
. The three are: Jing (Chinese medicine), jing (精, essence, the foundation for one's vitality), traditional Chinese medicine#Qi, qi and Shen (Chinese religion), shén (神, spirit, subtle consciousness, a capacity to connect with the subtle spiritual reality).[Blofeld, John. ''Taoism''. Shambhala, 2000.]'''' These three are further associated with the three "elixir fields" (Dantian, dantien) and the organs in different ways.''''
The body in Taoist political philosophy was important and their differing views on it and humanity's place in the universe were a point of distinction from Confucian politicians, writers, and Pundit, political commentators. Some Taoists viewed ancestors as merely corpses that were improperly revered and respect for the dead as irrelevant and others within groups that followed these beliefs viewed almost all traditions as worthless.
Ethics
file:Fishing Zhuangzi.png, Illustration of the tortoise in the mud parable from the ''Zhuangzi''. When some officials came to offer Zhuang zhou a job at court, he replied he preferred to continue to live a life of solitary simplicity, like a turtle who prefers to live in the mud than to be displayed at court.
Daoist ethics tends to emphasize various themes from the Taoist classics, such as naturalness (''pu''), spontaneity (''ziran''), simplicity, detachment (philosophy), detachment from desires, and most important of all, ''wu wei
''Wu wei'' () is a polysemous, ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal dao, practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous Improvisation, creative manifestation. In a ...
''. The classic Daoist view is that humans are originally and naturally aligned with Tao, thus their original nature is inherently good. It emphasizes doing things that are natural, following the Tao, which is a cosmic force that flows through all things and binds and releases them. However, one can fall away from this due to personal habits, desires, and social conditions. Returning to one's nature requires active attunement through Daoist practice and ethical cultivation.
Some popular Daoist beliefs, such as the early Shangqing School, Shangqing school, do not believe this and believe that some people are irredeemably evil and destined to be so. Many Taoist movements from around the time Buddhism, Buddhist elements started being syncretized with Daoism had an extremely negative view of foreigners, referring to them as ''Hua–Yi distinction, yi'' or "barbarians", and some of these thought of foreigners as people who do not feel "human feelings" and who never live out the correct norms of conduct until they became Taoist. At this time, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
was widely viewed by Taoists as a holy land because of influence from the Chinese public that viewed being born in China as a privilege and that outsiders were enemies. Preserving a sense of "Chineseness" in the country and rewarding Nativism (politics), nativist policies such as the building of the Great Wall of China was important to many Taoist groups.
Foreigners who joined these Taoist sects were made to repent for their sins in another life that caused them to be born "in the frontier wilds" because of Buddhist ideas of reincarnation coming into their doctrines. Some Daoist movements viewed human nature neutrally. However, some of the movements that were dour or skeptical about human nature did not believe that evil is permanent and believed that evil people can become good. Korean Daoists tended to think extremely positively of human nature.
Some of the most important virtues in Taoism are the ''Three Treasures'' or ''Three Jewels'' (). These are: ''ci'' (, usually translated as ''compassion''), ''jian'' (, usually translated as ''moderation''), and ''bugan wei tianxia xian'' (, but usually translated as ''humility''). Arthur Waley, applying them to the Political sociology, socio-political sphere, translated them as: "abstention from aggressive war and capital punishment", "absolute simplicity of living", and "refusal to assert active authority".
Taoism also adopted the Buddhist doctrines of karma and reincarnation into its religious ethical system. Medieval Taoist thought developed the idea that ethics was overseen by a celestial administration that kept records of people's actions and their fate, as well as handed out rewards and punishments through particular celestial administrators.
In its original form, the religion does not involve political affairs or complex rituals; on the contrary, it encourages the avoidance of public responsibility and the search for a vision of a spiritual transcendent world.
Soteriology and religious goals
file:White Cloud Temple (9868245123).jpg, Illustrations of Taoist immortals at the White Cloud Temple
Taoists have different religious goals that include Taoist conceptions of sagehood (''zhenren''), spiritual self-cultivation, a happy afterlife or longevity and some form of immortality (Xian (Taoism), ''xian'', variously understood as a kind of transcendent post-mortem state of the spirit).
Taoists' views about what happens in the afterlife tend to include the soul becoming a part of the cosmos (which was often thought of as an illusionary place where ''qi'' and physical matter were thought of as being the same in a way held together by the microcosm of the spirits of the human body and the macrocosm of the universe itself, represented and embodied by the Three Pure Ones), somehow aiding the spiritual functions of nature or ''Tian
Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...
'' after death or being Salvation, saved by either achieving spiritual immortality in an afterlife or becoming a ''xian'' who can appear in the human world at will, but normally lives in another plane. "[S]acred forests and[/or] mountains" or a Yin and yang, yin-yang, yin, yang, or Tao
The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...
realm inconceivable and incomprehensible by normal humans and even the virtuous Confucius and Confucianism, Confucianists, such as the mental realm sometimes called "the Tian, Heavens" where higher, spiritual versions of Daoists such as Laozi were thought to exist when they were alive and absorb "the purest Yin and Yang" were all possibilities for a potential ''xian'' to be reborn in. These spiritual versions were thought to be abstract beings that can manifest in that world as mythical beings such as ''xian
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
'' Chinese dragon, dragons who eat yin and yang energy and ride clouds and their ''qi''.
More specifically, possibilities for "the spirit of the body" include "join[ing] the universe after death", exploring or serving various functions in parts of ''tiān'' or other spiritual worlds, or becoming a ''xian'' who can do one or more of those things.
Taoist ''xian'' are often seen as being Eternal youth, eternally young because "of their life being totally at one with the Tao of nature." They are also often seen as being made up of "pure breath and light" and as being able to Shapeshifting, shapeshift, and some Taoists believed their afterlife natural "paradises" were palaces of heaven.
Taoists who sought to become one of the many different types of immortals, such as ''xian'' or ''zhenren'', wanted to "ensure complete physical and spiritual immortality".
In the Quanzhen School, Quanzhen school of Wang Chongyang, the goal is to become a sage, which he equates with being a "spiritual immortal" (''shen xien'') and with the attainment of "clarity and stillness" (''qingjing'') through the integration of "inner nature" (xing) and "worldly reality" (ming).
Those who know the Tao, who flow with the natural way of the Tao and thus embody the patterns of the Tao are called sages or "perfected persons" (zhenren). This is what is often considered salvation in Taoist soteriology. They often are depicted as living simple lives, as craftsmen or hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
s. In other cases, they are depicted as the ideal rulers which practice ruling through non-intervention and under which nations prosper peacefully. Sages are the highest humans, mediators between heaven and earth and the best guides on the Taoist path. They act naturally and simply, with a pure mind and with wuwei. They may have supernatural powers and bring good fortune and peace.
Some sages are also considered to have become one of the Xian (Taoism), immortals (xian) through their mastery of the Tao. After shedding their mortal form, spiritual immortals may have many superhuman abilities like flight and are often said to live in heavenly realms.
The sages as thus because they have attained the primary goal of Taoism: a union with the Tao and harmonization or alignment with its patterns and flows. This experience is one of being attuned to the Tao and to our own original nature, which already has a natural capacity for resonance (ganying) with Tao. This is the main goal that all Daoist practices are aiming towards and can be felt in various ways, such as a sense of psychosomatic vitality and aliveness as well as stillness and a "true joy" (zhenle) or "celestial joy" that remains unaffected by mundane concerns like gain and loss.
The Taoist quest for immortality was inspired by Confucian emphasis on filial piety
Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...
and how Ancestor veneration in China, worshipped ancestors were thought to exist after death.
Becoming an immortal through the power of yin-yang and heaven, but also specifically Taoist interpretations of the Tao, was sometimes thought of as possible in Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
, and Taoist thoughts on immortality were sometimes drawn from Confucian views on heaven and its status as an afterlife that permeates the mortal world as well.
Cosmology
Taoist cosmology is Cyclic model, cyclic—the universe is seen as being in constant change, with various forces and energies (qi) affecting each other in different complex patterns.[Dr Zai, J]
''Taoism and Science: Cosmology, Evolution, Morality, Health and more''
. Ultravisum, 2015. Taoist cosmology shares similar views with the School of Naturalists. Taoist cosmology focuses on the impersonal transformations (zaohua) of the universe, which are spontaneous and unguided.
Livia Kohn explains the basic Taoist cosmological theory as:
the root of creation Tao rested in deep chaos (ch. 42). Next, it evolved into the One, a concentrated state cosmic unity that is full of creative potential and often described in ''I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'' terms as the Taiji (philosophy), taiji. The One then brought forth "the Two", the two energies yin and yang, which in turn merged in harmony to create the next level of existence, "the Three" (yin-yang combined), from which the myriad beings came forth. From original oneness, the world thus continued to move into ever greater states of distinction and differentiation.
The main distinction in Taoist cosmology is that between ''yin and yang
Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
'', which applies to various sets of complementary ideas: bright – dark, light – heavy, soft – hard, strong – weak, above – below, ruler – minister, male – female, and so on. Cosmically, these two forces exist in mutual harmony and interdependence. Yin and yang are further divided into five phases (Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), Wu Xing, or five materials): minor yang, major yang, yin/yang, minor yin, major yin. Each of these correlates with a specific substance: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water respectively. This schema is used in many different ways in Taoist thought and practice, from nourishing life (Yangsheng (Daoism), yangsheng) and medicine to astrology and divination.
Taoists also generally see all things as being animated and constituted by ''qi'' (vital air, subtle breath), which is seen as a force that circulates throughout the universe and throughout human bodies (as both air in the lungs and as a subtle breath throughout the body's Meridian (Chinese medicine), meridians and organs). Qi is in constant transformation between its condensed state (life) and diluted state (potential). These two different states of qi are embodiments of yin and yang, two complementary forces that constantly play against and with each other and where one cannot exist without the other.
Taoist texts present various creation stories and Cosmogony, cosmogonies. Classic cosmogonies are Nontheism, nontheistic, presenting a natural undirected process in which an apophatic undifferentiated potentiality (called wuwuji, "without non-differentiation") naturally unfolds into Wuji (philosophy), wuji (primordial oneness, "non-differentiation"), which then evolves into yin-yang (Taijitu, taiji) and then into the myriad beings, as in the ''Tao Te Ching''. Later medieval models included the idea of a Creator deity, creator God (mainly seen as Lord Lao), representing order and creativity. Taoist cosmology influences Taoist soteriology, which holds that one can "return to the root" (guigen) of the universe (and of ourselves), which is also the Tao—the impersonal source (yuan) of all things.
In Taoism, human beings are seen as a Macrocosm and microcosm, microcosm of the universe, and thus the cosmological forces, like the five phases, are also present in the form of the zang-fu organs. Another common belief is that there are various gods that reside in human bodies. As a consequence, it is believed that a deeper understanding of the universe can be achieved by understanding oneself.
Another important element of Taoist cosmology is the use of Chinese astrology.
Theology
file:Yu Zhiding - Xi Wangmu (The Queen Mother of the West).jpg, Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wangmu (The Queen Mother of the West).
Taoist theology can be defined as apophatic, given its philosophical emphasis on the formlessness and unknowable nature of the Tao, and the primacy of the "Way" rather than Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic concepts of God. Nearly all the sects share this core belief.
Arguments do exist the monotheistic concepts in Taoism. However, Taoism does include many deities and spirits and thus can also be considered Animism, animistic and Polytheism, polytheistic in a secondary sense (since they are considered to be emanations from the impersonal and nameless ultimate principle). Some Taoist theology presents the Three Pure Ones at the top of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon of deities, which was a hierarchy emanating from the Tao. Laozi, Laozi (Lao Tzu) is considered the incarnation of one of the three and worshiped as the ancestral founder of Taoism.
The gods and immortals() believed in by Taoism can be roughly divided into two categories, namely "gods" and "xian" (immortals). "Gods" are also called Deity, deities and there are many kinds, that is, god of heaven(), god of ground(), wuling(: animism, the spirit of all things), god of netherworld(), god of human body(), god of human ghost()etc. Among these "gods" such as god of heaven(), god of ground(), god of netherworld(), god of human body() are innate beings. "Xian" (immortals) is acquired the cultivation of the Tao,persons with vast supernatural powers, unpredictable changes and immortality.
Different branches of Taoism often have differing pantheons of lesser deities, where these deities reflect different notions of cosmology. Lesser deities also may be promoted or demoted for their activity. Some varieties of popular Chinese religion incorporate the Jade Emperor (Yü-Huang or Yü-Di), one of the Three Pure Ones, as the highest God. Historical Taoist figures, and people who are considered to have become immortals (''xian (Taoism), xian''), are also venerated as well by both clergy and laypeople.
Despite these hierarchies of deities, most conceptions of Tao should not be confused with the Western sense of theism. Being one with the Tao does not necessarily indicate a union with an eternal spirit in, for example, the Hindu theistic sense.
Practices
file:Shi Rui-Xuan Yuan Inquires of the Dao.jpg, 290px, ''Xuan Yuan [Yellow Emperor] Inquires of the Tao'', National Palace Museum, Taipei, Early Ming dynasty (1368–1644). This silk scroll painting is based on the story that the Yellow Emperor went out to the Kongtong Mountains to meet with the famous Taoist sage Guang Chengzi, Guangchengzi
Some key elements of Taoist practice include a commitment to self-cultivation, ''wu wei
''Wu wei'' () is a polysemous, ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal dao, practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous Improvisation, creative manifestation. In a ...
'', and attunement to the patterns of the Tao.The practice of Taoism seeks to develop the body back to its original level of energy and restore it to its original state of creation. The body is no longer just a means of living in harmony in the world, it is itself a universe. Most Taoists throughout history have agreed on the importance of self cultivation through various practices, which were seen as ways to transform oneself and integrate oneself to the deepest realities.
Communal rituals are important in most Taoist traditions, as are methods of self-cultivation. Taoist self-cultivation practices tend to focus on the transformation of the heartmind together with bodily substances and energies (like ''Jing (Chinese medicine), jing'' and ''qi'') and their connection to natural and universal forces, patterns, and powers.
Despite the detachment from reality and dissent from Confucian humanism that the ''Tao Te Ching'' teaches, Taoists were and are generally not Misanthropy, misanthropes or Nihilism, nihilists and see humans as an important class of things in the world. However, in most Taoist views humans were not held to be especially important in comparison to other aspects of the world and Taoist metaphysics that were seen as equally or more special. Similarly, some Taoists had similar views on their gods or the gods of other religions.
According to Louis Komjathy, Taoist practice is a diverse and complex subject that can include "aesthetics, art, dietetics, ethics, health and longevity practice, meditation, ritual, seasonal attunement, scripture study, and so forth."
Throughout the history of Taoism, mountains have occupied a special place for Taoist practice. They are seen as sacred spaces and as the ideal places for Taoist cultivation and Taoist monastic or eremitic life, which may include "cloud wandering" () in the mountains and dwelling in mountain Hermitage (religious retreat), hermitages (an) or grottoes ().
Tao can serve as a life energy instead of qi in some Taoist belief systems.
The nine practices
One of the earliest schemas for Taoist practice was the "nine practices" or "nine virtues" ( ), which were taught in the Celestial Masters school. These were drawn from classic Taoist sources, mainly the ''Tao Te Ching'', and are presented in the ''Laojun jinglu'' (''Scriptural Statutes of Lord Lao''; DZ 786).
The nine practices are:
#Nonaction (''wu wei, wúwéi'' )
#Softness and weakness ( )
#Guarding the feminine ( )
#Being nameless ( )
#Clarity and stillness ( )
#Being adept ( )
#Being desireless ( )
#Knowing how to stop and be content ( )
#Yielding and withdrawing ( )
Rituals
Ancient Religion in China, Chinese religion made much use of sacrifices to gods and ancestors, which could include slaughtered animals (such as pigs and ducks) or fruit. The Taoist List of Celestial Masters, Celestial Master Zhang Daoling
Zhang Daoling (, traditionally February 22, 34October 10, 156), birth name Zhang Ling (), courtesy name Fuhan (), was a Chinese Taoist religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty. He founded the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice ...
rejected food and animal sacrifices to the gods. Today, many Taoist temples reject animal sacrifice. Sacrifices to the deities remains a key element of Taoist rituals however. There are various kinds of Taoist rituals, which may include presenting offerings, scripture reading, sacrifices, incantations, purification rites, confession, petitions and announcements to the gods, observing the ethical precepts, memorials, chanting, lectures, and communal feasts.
On particular holidays, such as the Qingming Festival, Qingming/Ching Ming festival, street parades take place. These are lively affairs that involve firecrackers, the burning of hell money, and flower-covered floats broadcasting traditional music. They also variously include lion dances and dragon dances, human-occupied puppets (often of the Heibai Wuchang, "Seventh Lord" and "Eighth Lord"), Kungfu, gongfu, and palanquins carrying images of deities. The various participants are not considered performers, but rather possessed by the gods and spirits in question.
In Taoism, there are two main types of rituals: vernacular and classical. Vernacular rituals are more about the community and include things like healing, protection, and celebrations for farming. Local people often do these and mix Taoist beliefs with local traditions, like ancestor worship and seasonal festivals. On the other hand, classical rituals are more formal and are performed by trained priests in temples. They follow ancient texts and involve detailed ceremonies, offerings, and chants to connect with the Tao and the universe. Examples of classical rituals include the "Three Purities" ceremony, which honors important deities, and rituals for purification and meditation. Together, these rituals show different ways people practice Taoism, focusing on community and personal spirituality.
Ethical precepts
Taking up and living by sets of ethical precepts is another important practice in Taoism. By the Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
, Taoism had created a system of lay discipleship in which one took a set of Ten precepts (Taoism).
The Five precepts (Taoism) are identical to the Buddhist five precepts (which are to avoid: killing [both human and non-human animals], theft, sexual misconduct, lying, and Psychoactive drug, intoxicants like Alcoholic beverage, alcohol.) The other five were a set of five injunctions: (6) I will maintain harmony with my ancestors and family and never disregard my kin; (7) When I see someone do good, I will support him with joy and delight; (8) When I see someone unfortunate, I will support him with dignity to recover good fortune; (9) When someone comes to do me harm, I will not harbor thoughts of revenge; (10) As long as all beings have not attained the Dao, I will not expect to do so myself.
Apart from these common ethical precepts, Taoist traditions also have larger sets of precepts that are often reserved for ordained priests or monastics.
Divination and magic
A key part of many Taoist traditions is the practice of divination
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
. There are many methods used by Chinese Taoists including I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
divination, Chinese astrology, Chinese astrological divination, feng shui
Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
(Geomancy, geomantic divination), and the interpretation of various omens.
Mediumship and exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...
is a key element of some Taoist traditions. These can include ''Tongji (spirit medium), tongji'' mediumship and the practice of Fuji (planchette writing), planchette writing or spirit writing.
Longevity practices
Taoist longevity methods are closely related to ancient Chinese medicine. Many of these methods date back to Tang dynasty figures like alchemist Sun Simiao (582–683) and the Highest Clarity Patriarch Sima Chengzhen (647–735). The goal of these methods range from better health and longevity to immortality. Key elements of these "nourishing life" (Yangsheng (Daoism), yangsheng) methods include: moderation in all things (drink, food, etc.), adapting to the cycles of the seasons by following injunctions regarding healing exercises (daoyin), and Breathwork (New Age), breathwork.
A number of physical practices, like modern forms of qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
, as well as modern internal martial arts (neijia) like Tai chi, Taijiquan, Baguazhang, Xing Yi Quan, Xingyiquan, and Liuhebafa, are practiced by Taoists as methods of cultivating health and longevity as well as eliciting internal alchemical transformations. However, these methods are not specifically Taoist and are often practiced outside of Taoist contexts.
Another key longevity method is "ingestion", which focuses on what one absorbs or consumes from one's environment and is seen as affecting what one becomes. Diatectics, closely influenced by Chinese medicine, is a key element of ingestion practice, and there are numerous Taoist diet regimens for different effects (such as ascetic diets, monastic diets, therapeutic diets, and alchemical diets that use herbs and minerals). One common practice is the Bigu (grain avoidance), avoidance of grains (bigu). In certain cases, practices like vegetarianism and true fasting is also adopted (which may also be termed ''bigu'').
Some Taoists thought of the human body as a spiritual nexus with thousands of ''Shen (Chinese religion), shen'' (often 36,000), gods who were likely thought of as at least somewhat mental in nature because of the word's other meaning of consciousness, that could be communed with by doing various methods to manipulate the yin and yang
Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
of the body, as well as its qi. These Taoists also thought of the human body as a metaphorical existence where three "cinnabar
Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...
fields" that represented a higher level of reality or a spiritual kind of cinnabar that does not exist in normal reality. A method of meditation used by these Taoists was "visualizing light" that was thought to be ''qi'' or another kind of life energy a Taoist substituted for ''qi'' or believed in the existence of instead. The light was then channeled through the three cinnabar fields, forming a "microcosmic orbit" or through the hands and feet for a "macrocosmic orbit".
The 36,000 ''shen'' regulated the body and bodily functions through a bureaucratic system "modeled after the Chinese system of government". Death occurs only when these gods leave, but life can be extended by meditating while visualizing them, doing good deeds, and avoiding meat and wine.
Meditation
file:Stage1.gif, Illustration of Taoist meditation.
There are many methods of Taoist meditation (often referred to as "stillness practice", ''jinggong''), some of which were strongly influenced by Buddhist meditation, Buddhist methods.
Some of the key forms of Taoist meditation are:
* Apophatic theology, Apophatic or quietistic meditation, which was the main method of classical Taoism and can be found in classic texts like the'' Zhuangzi'', where it is termed "fasting the heartmind" (xinzhai). This practice is also variously termed "embracing the one" (baoyi), "guarding the one" (shouyi), "quiet sitting" (jingzuo), and "sitting forgetfulness" (zuowang). According to Louis Komjathy, this type of meditation "emphasizes emptiness and stillness; it is contentless, non-conceptual, and non-dualistic. One simply empties the heart-mind of all emotional and intellectual content." The texts of classical Taoism state that this meditation leads to the dissolution of the self and any sense of separate dualistic identity. Sima Chengzhen's ''Zuowanglun, Zuowang lun'' is a key text that outlines this method. The practice is also closely connected with the virtue of wuwei (inaction).
* Concentration meditation, focusing the mind on one theme, like the breath, a sound, a part of the body (like one of the dantiens), a diagram or mental image, a deity etc. A subset of this is called "guarding the one", which is interpreted in different ways.
* Observation (guan)—according to Livia Kohn, this method "encourages openness to all sorts of stimuli and leads to a sense of free-flowing awareness. It often begins with the recognition of physical sensations and subtle events in the body but may also involve paying attention to outside occurrences." Guan is associated with deep listening and energetic sensitivity. The term most often refers to "inner observation" (neiguan), a practice that developed through Buddhist influence (see: Vipaśyanā). Neiguan entails developing introspection of one's body and mind, which includes being aware of the various parts of the body as well as the various deities residing in the body.
* Zhan zhuang ("post standing")—standing meditation in various postures.
* Visualization (cunxiang) of various mental images, including deities, cosmic patterns, the lives of saints, various lights in the bodies organs, etc. This method is associated with the Supreme Clarity school, which first developed it.
Alchemy
file:Chinese woodcut; Daoist internal alchemy (4) Wellcome L0038974.jpg, Illustration of Taoist neidan from the (''Pointers on Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life''), (Wanli Emperor, Wanli era).
A key element of many schools of Taoism are Alchemy, alchemical practices, which include rituals, meditations, exercises, and the creation of various alchemical substances. The goals of alchemy include physical and spiritual transformation, aligning oneself spiritually with cosmic forces, undertaking ecstatic spiritual journeys, improving physical health, extending one's life, and even becoming an immortal (xian
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
).
Taoist alchemy can be found in early Taoist scriptures like the ''Taiping Jing'' and the '' Baopuzi''. There are two main kinds of alchemy, internal alchemy (neidan
Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...
) and external alchemy (waidan). Internal alchemy (neidan, literally: "internal elixir"), which focuses on the transformation and increase of qi in the body, developed during the late imperial period (especially during the Tang) and is found in almost all Taoist schools today, though it is most closely associated with the Quanzhen School. There are many systems of internal alchemy with different methods such as visualization and breathwork. In the late Imperial period, neidan developed into complex systems that drew on numerous elements, including: classic Taoist texts and meditations, Yangsheng (Daoism), yangsheng, I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
symbology, Taoist cosmology, external alchemy concepts and terms, Traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine, and Buddhist influences. Neidan systems tend to be passed on through oral master-disciple lineages that are often to be secret.
Livia Kohn writes that the main goal of internal alchemy is generally understood as a set of three transformations: "from essence (jing) to energy (qi), from energy to spirit (shen), and from spirit to Dao." Common methods for this include engaging the subtle body and activating the microcosmic orbit. Louis Komjathy adds that neidan seeks to create a transcendent spirit, usually called the "immortal embryo" (xiantai) or "yang spirit" (yangshen).
Texts
Some religious Taoist movements view traditional texts as scriptures that are considered sacred, authoritative, binding, and divinely inspired or revealed. However, the ''Tao Te Ching'' was originally viewed as "human wisdom" and "written by humans for humans." It and other important texts "acquired authority...that caused them to be regarded...as sacred."
Perhaps the most influential texts are the ''Tao Te Ching'' and the ''Zhuangzi''.
''Tao Te Ching''
Throughout the history of Taoism, the ''Tao Te Ching'' has been a central text, used for ritual, self-cultivation, and philosophical purposes.
According to legend, the ''Tao Te Ching'' (also known as the ''Laozi'') was written by Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
. Authorship, precise date of origin, and even unity of the text are still subject of debate and will probably never be known with certainty. The earliest manuscripts of this work (written on Guodian Chu Slips, bamboo tablets) date back to the late 4th century BCE, and these contain significant differences from the later received edition (of Wang Bi
Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249), courtesy name Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''I Ching'' which were highly influential in Chinese ph ...
–249). Apart from the Guodian text and the Wang Bi edition, another alternative version exists, the Mawangdui Tao Te Chings.
Louis Komjathy writes that the ''Tao Te Ching'' is "actually a multi-vocal anthology consisting of a variety of historical and textual layers; in certain respects, it is a collection of oral teachings of various members of the inner cultivation lineages." Meanwhile, Russell Kirkland argues that the text arose out of "various traditions of oral wisdom" from the Chu (state), state of Chu that were written, circulated, edited, and rewritten by different hands. He also suggests that authors from the Jixia Academy, Jixia academy may have been involved in the editing process.
The ''Tao Te Ching ''is not organized in any clear fashion and is a collection of different sayings on various themes. The leading themes of the Tao Te Ching revolve around the nature of Tao, how to attain it and De, the inner power of Tao, as well as the idea of Wu wei, wei wu-wei. Tao is said to be ineffable and accomplishes great things through small, lowly, effortless, and "feminine" (yin) ways (which are compared to the behavior of water).
Ancient commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' are important texts in their own right. Perhaps the oldest one, the ''Heshang Gong
Heshang Gong (also Ho-Shang Kung) is the reputed author of one of the earliest commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' of Laozi to survive to modern times, which is dated to the latter part of the Han dynasty. While reputedly a reclusive Chinese he ...
'' commentary, was most likely written in the 2nd century CE. Other important commentaries include the one from Wang Bi
Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249), courtesy name Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''I Ching'' which were highly influential in Chinese ph ...
and the Xiang'er
The ''Xiang'er'' () is a commentary to the '' Daodejing'' that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism. The meaning of the title is debated, but can be translated as 'th ...
commentary.
''Zhuangzi''
The ''Zhuangzi'' (''Book of Master Zhuang'', ), named after its supposed author Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States p ...
, is a highly influential composite text of multi-vocal writings from various sources and historical periods. The commentator and editor Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang (; 252–312) is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the '' Zhuangzi'' which, along with the ''Tao Te Ching'', forms the textual and philosophical basis of the Taoist school of thought. He was als ...
(c. CE 300) helped establish the text as an important source for Taoist thought. One traditional view is that a sage called Zhuang Zhou wrote the first seven chapters (the "inner chapters"), and his students and related thinkers were responsible for the other parts (the outer and miscellaneous chapters). However, some modern scholars, like Russell Kirkland, argue that Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang (; 252–312) is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the '' Zhuangzi'' which, along with the ''Tao Te Ching'', forms the textual and philosophical basis of the Taoist school of thought. He was als ...
is actually the creator of the 33-chapter Zhuangzi text and that there is no solid historical data for the existence of Zhuang Zhou himself (other than the sparse and unreliable mentions in Sima Qian). Zhuangzi also introduced seven versions of the meeting between Laozi and Confucius. Laozi is portrayed as growing old, and his Taoist teachings confuse his famous interlocutors. Zhuangzi also provides the only record of Laozi's death.
The ''Zhuangzi'' uses anecdotes, parables, and dialogues to express one of its main themes—avoiding cultural constructs and instead living in a spontaneous way aligned with the natural world. This way of living might be perceived as "useless" by most people who follow their own "common sense" and social and political rules, but this uselessness is actually a wiser alternative, since it is more in accord with reality.
Chinese classics
Taoism draws on numerous Chinese classics
The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...
that are not themselves "Taoist" texts but that remain important sources for Taoists. Perhaps the most important of these is the ancient divination text called the ''Yijing
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'' (circa 1150 BCE). The divination method in the ''Yijing'' and its associated concepts of yin and yang mapped into 64 "Hexagram (I Ching), hexagrams"—combinations of the Bagua, 8 trigrams—has influenced Taoism from its inception until today.[e.g. Cleary, Thomas, tr]
''The Taoist I Ching''
. Shambhala, 1986. p. 6.
Taoism also drew on other non-Taoist Chinese classic texts including:
* The ''Mozi'', which was later adopted as a Taoist text by Taoists (who also saw master Mo – Mozi – as a Taoist immortal and included the ''Mozi'' into the Taoist canon).
* Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...
classics like the ''Analects'' and the ''Mencius (book), Mengzi''.
* ''Guanzi (text), Guanzi'', which includes Taoistic ideas in several chapters.
* The ''Han Feizi'' (''Writings of Master Han Fei
Han Fei (233 BC), also known as Han Feizi, was a Chinese Legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He was a prince of the state of Han.
Han Fei is often considered the greatest representative of Legalism for th ...
''), a Legalist work that also contains key Taoist themes, such as wu-wei.
* ''Lüshi Chunqiu
The ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' (), also known in English as ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', is an encyclopedic Chinese classic text compiled around 239BC under the patronage of late pre-imperial Qin Chancellor Lü Buwei. In the evaluati ...
'', which is widely quoted in early Taoist sources.
* ''Huangdi Neijing'' ''(The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor),'' an ancient Chinese medical text that was influential on Taoist inner cultivation theory.
* ''Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to defi ...
'' (), an ancient source that includes Taoist, Confucianist, and Legalist ideas.
* ''Guiguzi'', which its ideas were integrated into Taoist writings
* ''Heguanzi'', a collection also contain Taoist writings
Other important Taoist texts
There are many other important Taoist texts, including:
* ''Liezi'', a 4th-century BCE classic Taoist work, which during the Tang was seen as the third great Taoist work alongside the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''Zhuangzi''.
* '' Neiye'', a 4th-century BCE text that describes self-cultivation, meditation, how to work with qi', and how to train one's heart-mind (xin) as well as one's body. The ideas found in this text influenced later Taoist conceptions of internal alchemy.
* ''Wenzi''; attributed to a Disciple of Laozi but which likely dates to the early Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
.
* ''Huahujing'' (''Classic on converting the barbarians''), an old text (5th–6th century BCE) that claims that Laozi traveled to India and is thus the source of Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
* The ''Taipingjing
''Taipingjing'' ("Scriptures of the Great Peace") is the name of several different Taoist texts. At least two works were known by this title:
:*, 12 Chapters, contents unknown, author: Gan Zhongke
:*, 170 Chapters, only 57 of which survive ...
'' (''Great Peace Scripture''), a key source for Han dynasty Taoism.
* ''Liexian Zhuan (Biographies of Immortals),'' a Han dynasty text that is the earliest Taoist hagiography of Taoist immortals.
* ''Shenxian Zhuan'', a Jin dynasty Taoist hagiography of immortals.
* The '' Baopuzi neipian'', attributed to Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...
, also known as Baopu (''Master who embraces simplicity''). This text is a major source for the Shangqing School and its inner-cultivation practices.
*The ''Dadong zhenjing'' (''Perfect Scripture of the Great Cavern'') and the ''Lingshu ziwen'' (''Purple Texts Inscribed by the Spirits''), the two most influential Supreme Clarity scriptures.
* ''Cantong qi, Cāntóng qì'' (''Kinship of the Three'')—one of the earliest sources on Taoist internal alchemy (neidan).
* ''Yellow Court Classic, The Yellow Court Classic'' (''Huang Ting Jing'', ) is a work on Taoist meditation revealed by Lady Wei Huacun of the Shangqing School, Shangqing school in the 288 CE. It remained an influential Shangqin text and was important for Lu Dongbin.
* ''Wupian zhenwen'' (''Perfect Writings in Five Sections''), the first of the Lingbao scriptures.
* ''Ling Bao Bi Fai'' (''Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure''), a manual of longevity practices and neidan.
* ''Zuowanglun'' (), a work on Zuowang, zuòwàng ("sitting forgetting") meditation by Sima Chengzhen (647–735 CE), which is influenced by Buddhism.
* ''Huangdi Yinfujing, Huángdì Yǐnfújīng'' (, c. 8th century CE), a text on internal alchemy and astrology.
* ''Huashu, Huàshū'' (), a 10th-century CE classic on internal alchemy.
* ''Qingjing Jing, Qīngjìng Jīng'' (, ''Classic of Clarity and Stillness''), Taoist teachings from the ''Tao Te Ching'' with Mahayana
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
Buddhist ideas. The text was adopted as one of the key scriptures of the Quanzhen School, Quanzhen school.
* ''Huangdi Yinfujing, Yinfu jing'' (''Scripture on the Inner Talisman''), a 6th-century CE text that was adopted by Quanzen school as one of their key scriptures.
* ''Wuzhen pian, Wùzhēn piān'' (, ''Folios on Awakening to Reality'') is a work on internal alchemy written by Wuzhen pian, Zhang Boduan (; 987?–1082), a Song era scholar of the three teachings.
* The ''Lijiao shiwu lun'' (''Fifteen discourses to Establish the Teachings'') of Wang Chongyang, the founder of Quanzhen.
* ''The Book of Balance and Harmony'' (''Zhong he ji'', ) a 13th-century anthology by Daochun Li that outlines the teachings and practices of the Quanzhen School.
* ''Treatise On the Response of the Tao, Taishang Ganying Pian'' (''Treatise of the Exalted One on Response and Retribution'', C. 12th century) discusses sin and ethics and has become a popular morality tract in the last few centuries. It asserts that those in harmony with Tao will live long and fruitful lives. The wicked, and their descendants, will suffer and have shortened lives.
* '' The Secret of the Golden Flower'' (; ''Tàiyǐ Jīnhuá Zōngzhǐ''), an influential neidan text from the late 17th century.
* The key texts of the Dragon Gate Taoism, Dragon Gate School (Longmen Pai), composed by the founder Wang Changyue (1622?–80), focus on Daoist monasticism: ''Chuzhen jie'' (''Precepts for Novices''), ''Zhongji jie'' (''Precepts of the Central Pole''), ''Tianxian jie'' (''Precepts for Celestial Immortals''), and ''Longmen xinfa'' (''Central Teachings of Dragon Gate'').
''The Taoist Canon''
The Taoist Canon (, ''Treasury of Tao'') is also referred to as the ''Daozang''. It was originally compiled during the Jin dynasty (265-420), Jin, Tang dynasty, Tang, and Song dynasty, Song dynasties. The extant version was published during the Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
. The Ming ''Daozang'' includes almost 1,500 sacred text, texts. Following the example of the Buddhist Tripiṭaka, it is divided into three ''dong'' (, "caves" or "grottoes"). They are arranged from "highest" to "lowest":
# The ''Reality, Zhen'' ("real" or "truth" ) grotto, which includes the Shangqing texts.
# The ''Xuan'' ("mystery" ) grotto, which includes the Lingbao scriptures.
# The ''Shen (Chinese religion), Shen'' ("divine" ) grotto, which includes texts predating the Maoshan () revelations.
''Taoist'' generally do not consult published versions of the Daozang, but individually choose or inherit texts included in the Daozang. These texts have been passed down for generations from teacher to student.
The Shangqing School has a tradition of approaching Taoism through scriptural study. It is believed that by reciting certain texts often enough one will be rewarded with immortality.
Symbols and images
file:文光塔-二层藻井.JPG, A caisson (Asian architecture), ''spider web ceiling'' depicting a ''taijitu'' surrounded by the ''Bagua''
file:2016 Kuala Lumpur, Świątynia taoistyczna Guan Di (15).jpg, Chinese dragon at Guan Di Taoist Temple, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
file:Daoist Priest's Robe (China), 19th century (CH 18464275).jpg, Chinese Taoist Priest's Robe, 19th century. Aside from Taoist symbols like the dragon, it also adopts the Ashtamangala, eight auspicious symbols from Buddhism.
The ''taijitu'', commonly known as the "yin and yang symbol" or simply the "yin-yang", and the ''bagua'' are important symbols in Taoism because they represent key elements of Taoist cosmology (see above). Many Taoist (as well as non-Taoist) organizations make use of these symbols, and they may appear on flags and logos, temple floors, or stitched into clerical robes. What has become the standardised yin-yang taijitu originated as a Taoist symbol in the 10th century CE during the early Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
.[
]
The tiger and Chinese dragon, dragon are more ancient symbols for yin and yang respectively, and these two animals are still widely used in Taoist art. Taoist temples in southern China and Taiwan may often be identified by their roofs, which feature Chinese dragon, dragons, tigers, and fenghuang, phoenixes (with the phoenix also standing for yin) made from multicolored ceramic tiles. In general though, Chinese Taoist architecture lacks universal features that distinguish it from other structures.
Taoist temples may fly square or triangular flags. They typically feature mystical writing, talismans, or diagrams and are intended to fulfill various functions including providing guidance for the spirits of the dead, bringing good fortune, increasing life span, etc. Other flags and banners may be those of the gods or immortals themselves.
Drawings of the Big Dipper (also called the Bushel) are also important symbols. In the Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
of the 2nd millennium BCE, Chinese thought regarded the Big Dipper as a deity, while, in later periods, it came to symbolize Taijitu, Taiji. A related symbol is the flaming pearl, which stands for the pole star and may be seen on such roofs between two dragons as well as on the hairpin of a List of Celestial Masters, Celestial Master.
Some Taoists saw the stars as "knots in the 'net of Heaven'" that connected everything in "heaven and earth".
Many Taoists saw the Tao as "the [metaphorical] pearl of the sage" and a "conjunction between yin...[and] yang." Taoists also revered pearls more generally, seeing Chinese dragon, ''lung'' dragon celestials as emerging from the glint of light off of a pearl that existed "in the mists of chaos" and trapped in an endless cycle where they continually retrieve the pearl that makes them out of the mists. Some Internal Alchemy Taoists worshipped mercury as "divine water" and an embodiment of consciousness that was a "flowing pearl".
In the later Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, Taoists and intellectuals who leaned towards Taoism used the ''wuxing'' as symbols of leadership and good governance, using old religious texts and various historiographies made in prior dynasties to assign a phase from the five ''wuxing'' to different Chinese dynasties.
Symbols that represent longevity and immortality are particularly popular, and these include: Crane in Chinese mythology, cranes, pine trees, and the peaches of immortality (associated with the Queen Mother of the West). Natural symbols are also common, and include gourds, caves, clouds, mountains, and the animals of the Chinese zodiac. Other symbols used by Taoists include: the Yellow River Map, the Luoshu Square, I Ching coins, Taoist talismans (fulu), the Four Symbols, Four Symbols (mythical creatures), and various Chinese characters (such as the character for Tao and the ''Shou (character), shou'' ('longevity') character).
Taoist priests also wear distinctive robes, such as the Daojiao fushi and Taoist versions of the Daopao, which symbolize their status and school affiliation.
Society
file:Luoyang laojunshan.jpg, Mount Laojun (Henan), Laojun Mountain temple of Laozi
Taoist communities can include a wide variety of people and groups, including daoshi, hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
s, monastics, teachers, householders, ascetics, family lineages, teacher-disciple lineages, urban associations, temples, and monasteries.
According to Russell Kirkland, throughout most of its history, most Taoist traditions "were founded and maintained by Chinese nobility, aristocrats or by members of the later well-to-do 'Landed gentry in China, gentry' class". The only real exception is the Way of the Celestial Masters, Celestial Masters movement, which had a strong basis in the lower classes (though even this movement had a hereditary leadership made up of figures of the Chang clan for generations).
Adherents
The number of Taoists is difficult to estimate, due to a variety of factors, including defining Taoism. According to a survey of religion in China in 2010, the number of people practicing some form of Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
is near to 950 million, which is 70% of Chinese.[2010 Chinese Spiritual Life Survey, Purdue University's Center on Religion and Chinese Society. Data reported in ] Among these, 173 million (13%) claim an affiliation with Taoist practices. 12 million people stated that they were "Taoists", a term traditionally used exclusively for initiates, priests, and experts of Taoist rituals and methods.
Since the creation of the People's Republic of China, the government has encouraged a revival of Taoist traditions in codified settings. In 1956, the Chinese Taoist Association
Chinese Taoist Association (CTA; ), founded in April 1957, is the official government supervisory organ of Taoism in the People's Republic of China.
History
In 1980, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party approved a request by t ...
was formed to administer the activities of all registered Taoist orders, and received official approval in 1957.
It was disbanded during the Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
under Mao Zedong, but was reestablished in 1980. The headquarters of the association are at the ''Baiyunguan'', or White Cloud Temple of Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, belonging to the Longmen branch of the Quanzhen School, Quanzhen tradition. Since 1980, many Taoist monasteries and temples have been reopened or rebuilt, both belonging to the Zhengyi Dao, Zhengyi or Quanzhen schools, and clergy ordination has been resumed.
Taoist literature and art has influenced the cultures of Taoism in Korea, Korea, Taoism in Japan, Japan, and Taoism in Vietnam, Vietnam. Organized Taoism seems not to have attracted a large non-Chinese following until modern times. In Taiwan, 7.5 million people, 33% of the population, identify themselves as Taoists. Data collected in 2010 for religious demographics of Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and Singapore show that, respectively, 14% and 11% of the people of these cities identify as Taoists.
Followers of Daoism are present in Chinese émigré communities outside Asia. It has attracted followers with no Chinese heritage. For example, in Brazil there are Daoist temples in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro that are affiliated with the Taoist Society of China. Membership of these temples is entirely of non-Chinese ancestry.
Art and poetry
Throughout Chinese history, there have been many examples of art being influenced by Taoism. Notable painters influenced by Taoism include Wu Wei (painter), Wu Wei, Huang Gongwang, Mi Fu, Muqi Fachang, Shitao, Ni Zan, Tang Mi, and Wang Zengzu. Taoist arts and belles-lettres represents the different regions, dialects, and time spans that are commonly associated with Taoism. Ancient Taoist art was commissioned by the aristocracy; however, scholars masters and adepts also directly engaged in the art themselves.
Political aspects
Taoism never had a unified political theory. While Huang–Lao
''Huang–Lao'' () was the most influential Chinese school of thought in the early Han dynasty, having its origins in a broader political-philosophical drive looking for solutions to strengthen the feudal order as depicted in Zhou politics. Not s ...
positions justified a strong emperor as the legitimate ruler, the Taoist "primitivists" (of chapters 8–11 of the ''Zhuangzi'') argued for a kind of anarchism. A more moderate position is presented in the Inner Chapters of the ''Zhuangzi'' in which the political life is presented with disdain and some kind of pluralism or perspectivism is preferred.
The syncretist position found in texts like the ''Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to defi ...
'' and some of the Outer Chapters of the ''Zhuangzi'' blend Taoist positions with Confucian views.
Relations with other traditions
file:Huxisanxiaotu.jpg, A painting in the ''litang style'' portraying "Three laughs at Tiger Brook, three laughs at tiger brook" which illustrates the unity of the three teachings, 12th century, Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
.
Many scholars believe Taoism arose as a countermovement to Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
. The philosophical terms ''Tao'' and ''De'' are indeed shared by both Taoism and Confucianism. Zhuang Zhou, Zhuangzi explicitly criticized Confucian and Mohist tenets in his work. In general, Taoism rejects the Confucian emphasis on li (Confucian), rituals, hierarchical social order, and conventional morality, and favors "naturalness", spontaneity, and individualism instead.
The entry of Chinese Buddhism, Buddhism into China was marked by significant interaction and syncretism with Taoism. Originally seen as a kind of "foreign Taoism", Buddhism's scriptures were translated into Chinese using the Taoist vocabulary. Representatives of early Chinese Buddhism, like Sengzhao and Tao Sheng, knew and were deeply influenced by the Taoist keystone texts.
Taoism especially shaped the development of Chinese Chan, Chan Buddhism, introducing elements like the concept of ''naturalness'', distrust of scripture and text, and emphasis on embracing "this life" and living in the "every-moment". Zhuangzi's statements that the Tao was omnipresent and that creation escorts animals and humans to death influenced Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist practitioners and scholars, especially Chan Buddhists. On the other hand, Taoism also incorporated Buddhist elements during the Tang dynasty. Examples of such influence include monasteries, vegetarianism, prohibition of alcohol, the doctrine of emptiness, and collecting scripture in tripartite organization in certain sects.
Ideological and political rivals for centuries, Taoism, Confucianism,Hinduism and Buddhism deeply influenced one another. For example, Wang Bi
Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249), courtesy name Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''I Ching'' which were highly influential in Chinese ph ...
, one of the most influential philosophical commentators on ''Laozi'' (and the ''I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
''), was a Confucian. The three rivals also share some similar values, with all three embracing a humanism, humanist philosophy emphasizing moral behavior and human perfection. In time, most Chinese people identified to some extent with all three traditions simultaneously.[Windows on Asia](_blank)
Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University. This became institutionalized when aspects of the three schools were synthesized in the Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian school.
Christianity, Christian and Taoist contact often took place in the Tang dynasty, and some scholars believe that the Church of the East influenced Taoist thought on the Three Pure Ones. Emperor Taizong encouraged this, and Taoists who agreed with him and his laws incorporated elements of Christianity, Islam, Manichaeism, Judaism, Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
, and Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
into their faith.
Comparisons with other religions
Comparisons between Taoism and Epicureanism have focused on the absence of a creator or gods controlling the forces of nature in both. Lucretius' poem ''De rerum natura'' describes a naturalist cosmology where there are only atoms and void (a primal duality which mirrors yin-yang in its dance of assertion/yielding), and where nature takes its course with no gods or masters. Other parallels include the similarities between Daoist ''wu wei
''Wu wei'' () is a polysemous, ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal dao, practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous Improvisation, creative manifestation. In a ...
'' (effortless action) and Epicurean ''lathe biosas'' (live in obscurity), focus on naturalness (''ziran'') as opposed to conventional virtues, and the prominence of the Epicurus-like Chinese sage Yang Chu in the foundational Taoist writings.
Some authors have undertaken comparative religion, comparative studies of Taoism and Christianity. This has been of interest for students of the history of religion such as J. J. M. de Groot, among others. A comparison of the teachings of Laozi and Jesus of Nazareth has been made by several authors, such as Martin Aronson, and Toropov & Hansen (2002), who believe that there are parallels that should not be ignored. In the opinion of J. Isamu Yamamoto, the main difference is that Christianity preaches a personal God while Daoism does not. Yet, a number of authors, including Lin Yutang, have argued that some moral and ethical tenets of the religions are similar. In neighboring Taoism in Vietnam, Vietnam, Taoist values have been shown to adapt to social norms and formed emerging sociocultural beliefs together with Confucianism. It also imitates some Hinduism concept.
Varieties
file:Chart of Daoist Talismans, 1553, woodblock print, Honolulu Museum of Art.jpg, Chart of Fulu, Taoist Talismans, Japan, Muromachi period, Muromachi period, 1553, anonymous woodblock print, James Michener Collection, Honolulu Museum of Art
Today, there are various living Taoist traditions, the largest and most influential are the Quanzhen School, particularly the Dragon Gate Taoism, Dragon Gate sect, and Zhengyi Dao
Zhengyi Dao (), also known as the Way of Orthodox Unity, Teaching of the Orthodox Unity, and Branch of the Orthodox Unity is a Chinese Taoist movement that traditionally refers to the same Taoist lineage as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and ...
. Quanzhen lineages are mainly monastic and ascetic tradition, based on meditation and internal cultivation, while the Orthodox Unity tradition is based on a lay priests (daoshi) who are expected to master an extensive ritual repertoire. These two traditions developed during the Song dynasty and grew to become recognized by the imperial government during late imperial China.
"Some sects are concerned with the ritual control of spirits and the cosmic currents of yin and yang; others specialize in inner disciplines of meditation or breath control and mind-body exercise regimes."
There are also various smaller Taoist groups and traditions of practice. Eva Wong divides the major "systems" of Taoism into the following categories: Magical Taoism, Divinational Taoism, Ceremonial Taoism, Internal-Alchemical Taoism and Action and Karma Taoism.
Magical Taoism
Magic (supernatural), Magical Taoism is one of the oldest systems of Taoism and its practices are similar to the shamans and sorcerers of ancient China. Magical Taoism believes there are various natural powers, deities and spirits (benevolent and malevolent) in the universe that can be made use of by specialists who know the right methods. Their magic can include rainmaking, protection, exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...
, healing, traveling to the underworld to help the dead and mediumship.
Protection magic can include the use of amulets and fulu, as well as specific rites. Protection rites often include ritual petitions to the celestial deities of the northern bushel. Divination is also a widespread practice. A commonly used method of divination in magical Taoism is Fuji (planchette writing), sandwriting (planchette writing).
According to Eva Wong, the main sects of magical Taoism today are the Maoshan sect (a very secretive sect, not to be confused with Shangqing), the Way of the Celestial Masters, Celestial Masters and the Kun-Lun sect (which is strongly influenced by Tibetan magic and make use of Taoist and Buddhist deities).
Divinational Taoism
file:Threevarious-Luopans-singapore-march28-2017.jpg, Three luopans (geomantic compasses) used in feng shui
Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
.
Divinational Taoism focuses on various divination
Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
techniques to help one predict the future and live accordingly. This practice can also carry deeper spiritual significance, since it can help one appreciate the flux of the Tao. This form of Taoism owes much to the ancient Fangshi, fang-shih, the Yin and yang school of thought and often relies on the classic Chinese divination text, the Yijing
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
.
This tradition also relies on the cosmology of Wuji (philosophy), Wuji and Taijitu, Taiji, along with the teachings of yin and yang, the Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), five elements and the Chinese calendar. There many forms of Daoist divination, they include: celestial divination (which include various systems of Chinese astrology, like Tzu-wei tu-su), terrestrial divination (feng shui
Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
), the casting of incense sticks with Hexagram (I Ching), hexagrams on them and the interpretation of omens.
Contemporary divinational Taoism is practiced in temples and monasteries by various individuals and may not be sect specific (it is even practiced by non-daoists). This Taoist practice can be found in the Mao-shan sorcerers, the Celestial Masters sect and the Dragon Gate Taoism and Wudang Mountains sects. There are also many lay practitioners that are not affiliated with any specific sect. These lay Taoist practitioners are called "kui-shih".
Ceremonial Taoism
file:小門震義宮 (20)正殿.jpg, Interior of the Xiaomen Zhengyi Temple
Ceremonial Taoism focuses on ritual and devotion towards various celestial deities and spirits. The basic belief of ceremonial Taoism is that through various rites, human beings can honor the deities and these deities may then grant them with power, protection and blessings. Rituals and festivals can include chanting, offerings, and the reading of scripture. These rites are mostly performed by ritual masters who have trained extensively for this role and who may, through their mastery of ritual, intercede on behalf of laypersons.
There are various kinds of festivals in Ceremonial Taoism, including "Great Services" (chai-chiao) and Ritual Gatherings (fa-hui) that can last for days and can focus on repentance, rainmaking, disaster aversion or petitioning. There are feast days which honor specific deities. 164 Funerals and birthday blessings are a common service.
There is a complex and large pantheon in Taoism. It includes various deities classified into various ranks within an administrative structure, at the top of which are the celestial lords (t'ien-tsun). These include judges, heralds, officers, generals, clerks and messengers. The main division is between "earlier heaven" deities, who have existed since the beginning of time and "later heaven" deities, mortals who later became immortal.
146 Key earlier heaven deities include the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother of the West, the Doumu, Mother of the Bushel of Stars, the Seven Star Lords of the Northern Bushel and the Three Great Emperor-Officials, Three Officials (Celestial, Earth, and Water). Some key later heaven deities include: Immortal Lü Dongbin, Lu Tung-pin, and Guan Yu, Emperor Kuan (Kuan-yu). Taoists may also honor local spirits and deities, as well Buddhist deities (like Guanyin, Amitābha, Amitabha, etc.).
The largest and most prominent sect of Ceremonial Taoism is the Way of the Celestial Masters, also known as Zhengyi Dao
Zhengyi Dao (), also known as the Way of Orthodox Unity, Teaching of the Orthodox Unity, and Branch of the Orthodox Unity is a Chinese Taoist movement that traditionally refers to the same Taoist lineage as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and ...
. The patriarch of this sect resides in Taiwan and this tradition performs numerous ceremonies which are often sponsored by the Taiwanese government. The training for Zhengyi priesthood, who are not celibate, focuses mainly on learning extensive rituals and liturgy, so that they can perform them flawlessly.
Ceremonies are practiced, to a lesser extent, in the Longmen (Dragon Gate) sect of the Quanzhen School and in the Xiantiandao sect, though these schools understand ritual as mainly a way to develop internal alchemy. During the Song dynasty, a popular form of ceremonial Taoism was the Thunder Rites (leifa), which focused on exorcism and protection.
Internal alchemy
Internal Alchemy Taoism or Transformation Taoism focuses on internal transformation through the use of various self-cultivation techniques like qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
, neidan
Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...
(internal alchemy), Yangsheng (Daoism), Yangsheng and so forth.
The basic worldview of this Taoist tradition is that all beings are born with certain forms of energy (mainly the Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine), three treasures of jing, qi and shen), which become dissipated, weak and lost as we age. To prevent this and to increase our inner vital energies, one must practice various methods of "internal alchemy" (neidan) to harmonize the internal energy in one's body and refine the "golden elixir" (jindan) inside the body. These meditative inner alchemical practices are believed to lead to greater longevity and even immortality (union with the Tao at death).
Another worldview is that beings must "harmonize ''yin'' and ''yang'' forces internally to achieve immortality."
A term used by some Taoists that sums up traditions that do not use these practices is "singular path". Most traditions follow the "singular path". These include the Longmen (Dragon Gate Taoism, Dragon Gate) sect of the Quanzhen School, the Xiantiandao (Earlier Heaven Way) sect, the Wuliupai sect, and the Wudang quan sect.
The Quanzhen School was founded by Wang Chongyang (1112–1170), a hermit in the Zhongnan mountains who was said in legends to have met and learned secret methods from two immortals: Lu Dongbin and Zhongli Quan. He then moved to Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
and preached his teachings, founding various religious communities. His school popularized Internal Alchemy Taoism and the usage of the term.
One of his "seven perfected" disciples, Qiu Chuji
Qiu Chuji (10 February 1148– 21 August 1227), courtesy name Tongmi (通密), also known by his Taoist name Master Changchun, was a renowned Taoist master from late Southern Song/ Jin dynasty and a famous disciple of Wang Chongyang, the foun ...
(1148–1227), founded the Dragon Gate Taoism, Dragon Gate lineage. Chuji was also made the leader of all religions in China by Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
, making his tradition the most powerful in all of China, and contributing to Longmen's lasting influence. Another important Quanzhen lineage is the Qingjing pai, founded by the nun Sun Bu'er (1119–1182), the only female member of the "seven perfected". Today, Quanzhen is mainly made up of celibate monastics who practice vegetarianism, sobriety, internal alchemy and recite daily liturgies. The largest lineage is Dragon Gate Taoism.
Much like Taoists who see writings made by influential members of their faith as having a divine nature, some Taoists view self-cultivation as a way for emotions and self to partake in divinity, and a smaller subset of these view some Legendary creature, mythological Hero, beings such as Xian (Taoism), ''xian'' as being divine. Xian were viewed in many lights and as completely different types of beings over different times and in different places. They were sometimes viewed as Deity, deities, parts of the celestial hierarchy, metaphorical ideals that people should strive to be like, reclusive Taoist masters who know how to control and harness spiritual energies or shamans.
Hygiene Taoism
Hygiene Taoism is a Taoist tradition meant to increase life and "physical and mental harmony". Some Taoists from the "Hygiene School" believed that they could survive only on their own breath and saliva to purify their bodies.
Much of Taoism in general is about cleanliness in some way and involves free thinking, as well as rejecting the gratification of the senses, in order to purify oneself to make the mind like "the sky", "sun", and nature in general.
Karmic Taoism
Karmic Taoism, or "Action and Karma Taoism", according to Wong, focuses on ethics and is grounded in the idea that the sacred celestial powers aid and reward those who do good and punish those who do evil. This tradition can be traced back to Song dynasty Taoist Li Ying-chang and his Laozu Treatise on the Response of the Tao (T'ai-shang kan-ying p'ien). Li sparked a popular movement which focused on the everyday life of ordinary persons instead of on temples, monasteries and sages. At the core of this tradition is living in harmony with the Tao and with the Way of Heaven, which means acting with benevolence, kindness and compassion. Doing evil is considered a transgression against the way and this evil will be punished by deities, celestial ministers and judges.
These ideas are quite ancient, the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace) states: "accumulate good deeds, and prosperity will come to you from the Tao". Besides wealth and prosperity, Karmic Taoism also believes that doing good increases longevity, while doing evil decreases it. Another common idea in this group of Taoist traditions is that there deities, like the Kitchen Lord, who monitor our actions and report to Heaven and the Jade Emperor (who tallies them and metes out punishment and reward).
Karmic Taoism is a nonsectarian tradition adopted by many Taoist sects. The Laozu Treatise on the Response of the Tao is studied in Quanzhen Taoism, Hsien-t'ien Tao and in the Wu-Liu sect. All major schools of Taoism view ethics as the foundation for spirituality. Furthermore, there are those who are not affiliated with a Taoist sect who may still follow Karmic Taoism in daily life.
Other divisions of Taoism
Taoism has traditionally been divided into religious Taoism and philosophical Taoism (Dàojiào and Dàojiā), respectively.
Religious Taoism
Some Taoist sects are expressly religious in the Western sense. "Lord Heaven" and "Jade Emperor" were terms for a Taoist supreme deity also used in Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
and Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
, and some conceptions of this deity thought of the two names as synonymous.
The Taoist Jade Emperor in the 1st millennium, first millennium AD was a primary deity among polytheists who had a Tian, heaven that contained numerous ministries and officials and which was "modelled on...the earthly Emperor of China, emperor['s rule]".
Polytheist Taoists venerated one or more of these kinds of spiritual entities: "deified heroes...forces of nature" and "nature spirits", ''xian
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
'', spirits, Deity, gods, Deva (Buddhism), devas and other celestial beings from Chinese Buddhism, Indian Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
, various kinds of beings occupying Tian, heaven, members of the Chinese theology, celestial bureaucracy, ghosts, "mythical emperors", Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
, a trinity of high gods that varied in how it was thought of, and the Three Pure Ones. Some Taoists chose not to worship beings they saw as gods, and only worshipped guardian spirits or "celestials", such as devas, various kinds of beings occupying heaven, members of the celestial bureaucracy, and ''xian''. In some Taoist sects, the Tao was the primary thing that was venerated and beings that would be gods in other sects were merely treated as supernatural beings similar to gods who could only act in accordance with the Tao's wishes.
When the ''Tao Te Ching'' was written, many Taoists told stories and legends about heroes "whose bodies had been rendered invulnerable". This could be achieved by making contact with "dragon's blood" or a river in the afterlife, or drinking the "waters of the 'Well of Life' and eating the 'fungus of immortality'".
Ordinary Chinese in the early Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
often worshipped local gods, Buddhist gods and devas, and Taoist gods simultaneously, and this population included a significant amount of the Taoists who have ever worshipped devas throughout history.
The trinity is thought by scholars to have evolved into the Three Pure Ones. It was thought of in the early Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
as the three gods Tianyi, Diyi, and "the Taiyi". These beings were varyingly interpreted as relatively simple heavenly, earthly, and all-purpose gods respectively, the "supreme deity" (an intangible god that represented the mind of the Tao), "his disciple", the Lord Tao (a more physical god representing the Tao), and Lord Lao (Laozi "deified"), or an emanation of the Tao that was ultimately singular in nature.
An unrelated trinity was the Three Great Emperor-Officials, three of the highest Shen (Chinese religion), ''shen'' in some branches of religious Taoism thought to be able to pardon sins.
The Tao
The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...
was not worshipped alone, although gods do exist that anthropomorphize it in various ways. Laozi was sometimes thought to be a god or "the image of the Tao".
"Some Taoist adepts" worshipped thousands of gods that were thought to exist in the body.
Taoist worldview
See also
Schools and organizations
* Hong Kong Taoist Association
* Yao Taoism
* Zhengyi Taoism
Concepts and objects
* Fulu
* Jiaobei
* Ten precepts (Taoism), Ten precepts
* Pu (Taoism), Pu
* Taoist coin charm
* Zhizha
Practice
* Taoist diet
* Taoist music
* Taoist Tai Chi
Deities
* Three Pure Ones
* Four heavenly ministers
* Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
Texts
* Daozang, Tao Zang
* Qingjing Jing
Regional Taoism
China
* Chinese culture
* Chinese gods and immortals
* Chinese ritual mastery traditions
* Chinese spiritual world concepts
* Taoism and Confucianism
* Taoism in Hong Kong
Japan
* Taoism in Japan
* Onmyōdō
* Onmyōji
Southeast Asia
* Taoism in Malaysia
* Taoism in Singapore
* Taoism in Vietnam
Europe
* Taoist Church of Italy
References
Citations
General sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Taoist Translations of Thomas Cleary: A Reader's Guide
. Shambala Publications.
*
*
*
*
* —with Pinyin transcription, interlinear and literary translation, contains a complete dictionary of the book Zhuangzi and a concordance to Laozi.
*White, R.J. Teaching the Dao: monotheism, transcendence, and intercultural philosophy. Int. Commun. Chin. Cult 8, 271–287 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40636-021-00225-1
Popular (nonacademic) interpretations of Taoism
*
*
*
*
*
* The Tao of Steve, a 2000 film directed by Jenniphr Goodman and starring Donal Logue.
External links
BBC religions – Taoism
*
*
Early Taoist texts
– Chinese Text Project
Patheos Library – Taoism
at the Internet Sacred Text Archive
Collection: "Daoism/Taoism"
from the University of Michigan Museum of Art
{{Authority control
Taoism
Chinese astrology
Chinese folk religion
Classical Chinese philosophy
Dualism in cosmology
East Asian religions
Three teachings
Religious faiths, traditions, and movements