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Taoism

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Philosophy

   Taoism (sometimes written as and actually pronounced as Daoism
   (dow-ism)) is the English name for:
    1. Dao Jia [philosophical tao] philosophical school based on the texts
       the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi [Lao Tzu] and alternately
       spelled Dào Dé Jīng) and the Zhuangzi;
    2. a family of organized Chinese religious movements such as the
       Zhengyi ("Orthodoxy") or Quanzhen ("complete reality") sects, which
       collectively trace back to Zhang Daoling in the late Han Dynasty;
    3. a Chinese folk religion.

   The Chinese character Tào or Dào ("Way").
   The Chinese character Tào or Dào ("Way").

   The English word "Taoism" is used to translate the Chinese terms
   Daojiao (道教 "teachings/religion of the Dao") and Daojia (道家 "school of
   the Dao"). The character Tao 道 (or Dao, depending on the romanisation
   scheme) means "path" or "way", but in Chinese religion and philosophy
   it has taken on more abstract meanings. The compound Daojiao refers to
   Daoism as a religion; Daojia refers to the activity of scholars in
   their studies. It must be noted that this distinction is itself
   controversial and fraught with hermeneutic difficulty.

   Much uncertainty exists over the meaning of "Taoism," not least because
   of its often being confused with such seemingly similar disciplines
   such as Zen. In some countries and contexts (for example, the "Taoism"
   organisations of China and Taiwan), the label is applied to Chinese
   folk religion, which would otherwise not have a readily recognisable
   English name. However many, if not most, of its practitioners would not
   recognise "Taoism" (in any language) as the name of their religion.
   Moreover, the several forms of what we might call "elite" or
   "organised" Taoism often distinguish their ritual activities from those
   of the folk religion, which some professional "Taoists" (Daoshi) tend
   to view as debased.

   Chinese alchemy, astrology, cuisine, several Chinese martial arts,
   Chinese traditional medicine, fengshui, and many styles of qigong
   breath training disciplines have some relationship with Taoism.

History

   Depending on how it is defined, Taoism's origins may be traced to
   prehistoric Chinese religions; to the composition of the "Tao Te
   Ching/Dao de Jing" ( 3rd or 4th century BCE); or to the activity of
   Zhang Daoling ( 2nd century AD). Alternatively, one could argue that
   "Taoism" as a religious identity only arose later, by way of contrast
   with the newly-arrived religion of Buddhism, or with the fourth-century
   codification of the Shangching and Lingbao texts.

   Other accounts credit Laozi (reputed author of the Tao Te Ching/Dao de
   Jing) as the teacher of both Buddha, and Confucius, and alledged Laozi
   to have had thirteen incarnates starting in the reign of Fuxi, one of
   the Three August Ones and Five Emperors up till his last as Laozi who
   lived over 900 years. They describe early Taoism (Daoism) to ancient
   picture writing, mysticism, and indigenous Ancestor worship. Symbology
   on tortoise shells predates early Chinese calligraphy and is the basis
   of written Chinese from artifacts dated from prior to 1600 BCE.

   Legend has it that while passing through the hills of China, a bridge
   keeper asked Lao-Tzu to write a book containing his thoughts and
   beliefs, which yielded the text of Tao Te Ching.

Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)

   In the early Han, the Tao came to be associated with or conflated with
   the Yellow Emperor. A major text from this "Huang-Lao" movement would
   be the Huainanzi, which interprets earlier Taoist teachings in light of
   the quest for immortality (including drugs, sexual practices, and
   breathing techniques). ..

   Zhang Daoling claimed to have begun receiving new revelations from
   Tai-Shang(commonly mistaken with Tai Shang Lao Jun)and went on to found
   the Tianshi ("Celestial Masters") sect around them as the "First
   Celestrial Master". He performed spiritual healing, and collected dues
   of "five pecks of rice" from his followers (thus providing an
   alternative name for his movement). Zhang Daoling's major message was
   that the world-order as his followers knew it would soon come to an
   end, and be succeeded by an era of "Great Peace" (Taiping). In fact
   their activities did hasten the downfall of the Han dynasty. The same
   could be said of their contemporaries and fellow Taoists, the Yellow
   Turban sect. Zhang's grandson set up a theocratic state into what is
   now Sichuan province.

   Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in 166 CE. The Yin
   and Yang and "five elements" theories date from this time, but were not
   yet integrated into Taoism.

   The name Daojia comes from the Han Dynasty. In Sima Qian's history
   (chapter 63) it refers to immortals; in Liu Xiang it refers to Laozi
   and Zhuangzi. Daojiao came to be applied to the religious movements
   mentioned above. The two terms were used interchangeably until modern
   times. (We owe the distinction to Confucian writers.) The earliest Han
   commentary on the Dao De Jing is actually that of Heshang Gong (the
   "Riverside Master"), a religious Taoist.

Three Kingdoms Period (220–265)

   The Xuanxue ("Mysterious Wisdom") school, including Wang Bi, focuses on
   the texts of Laozi and Zhuangzi but not necessarily on the organised
   religion.

Six Dynasties (316–589)

   Taoist alchemist Ge Hong, also known as Baopuzi (抱扑子 The "Master
   Embracing Simplicity") was active in the third and fourth centuries AD
   and had great influence on later Taoism. Major scriptures were produced
   during this time period, including The Shangqing (上清 "Highest Purity")
   (365–370) and Lingbao (靈寶 "Sacred Treasure") scriptures (397–402)
   received at Maoshan. The Shangqing revelations were received by Yang
   Xi, a relative of Ge Hong's; the revelations emphasised meditative
   visualisation (內觀 neiguan). They spoke of the Shangqing heaven, which
   stood above what had been previously considered the highest heaven by
   Celestial Master Taoists. Yang Xi's revelations consisted of
   visitations from the residents of this heaven (the "Zhen Ren") many of
   whom were ancestors of a circle of aristocrats from southern China.
   These Zhen Ren spoke of an apocalypse which was to arrive in 384, and
   claimed that only certain people from this aristocratic circle had been
   chosen to be saved. For the first century of its existence, Shangqing
   Taoism was isolated to this aristocratic circle. However, Tao Hongjing
   (456–536) codified and wrote commentaries on Yang Xi's writings and
   allowed for the creation of Shangching Taoism as a popular religion.
   The Lingbao scriptures added some Buddhist elements such as chanted
   rituals, and an emphasis on universal salvation.

   The Huahujing (化胡經 "Scripture of Conversion of Barbarians") claimed
   that Laozi went to India, where he taught less advanced doctrines under
   the name of Buddha. Buddhists found this claim objectionable, and
   emperors regularly condemned it. A similar claim is made in the
   Xishengjing (西升經 the "Scripture of Western Ascension").

Tang Dynasty (618–907)

   Taoism gained official status in China during the Tang dynasty, whose
   emperors claimed Laozi as their relative. However, it was forced to
   compete with Confucianism and Buddhism, its major rivals, for patronage
   and rank. Emperor Xuanzong (685–762), who ruled at the height of the
   Tang, wrote commentaries on texts from all three of these traditions,
   which exemplifies the fact that in many people's lives they were not
   mutually exclusive. This marks the beginning of a long-lived tendency
   within imperial China, in which the government supported (and
   simultaneously regulated) all three movements.

   Emperor Tang Gaozong added the Dao De Jing to the list of "classics"
   (jing, 經) to be studied for the imperial examinations; hence the
   appearance of -jing in its title.

Song Dynasty (960–1279)

   Several Song emperors, most notably Huizong, were active in promoting
   Taoism, collecting Taoist texts and publishing editions of the Daozang.

   The Quanzhen school of Taoism was founded during this period, and
   together with the Zhengyi Celestial Masters is one of the two schools
   of Taoism that have survived to the present.

   The Song Dynasty saw an increasingly complex interaction between the
   elite traditions of organised Taoism as practised by ordained Taoist
   ministers (daoshi) and the local traditions of folk religion as
   practised by spirit mediums (wu) and a new class of non-ordained ritual
   experts known as fashi. This interaction manifested itself in the
   integration of 'converted' local deities into the bureaucratically
   organised Taoist pantheon and the emergence of new exorcistic rituals,
   including the Celestial Heart Rites and the Thunder Rites.

   Aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism were consciously
   synthesised in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually became
   Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes.

Yuan Dynasty (1279–1367)

   White Cloud Monastery, Beijing
   Enlarge
   White Cloud Monastery, Beijing

   Neidan ("Interior Alchemy") became a major emphasis of the Quanzhen
   sect, whose practitioners followed a monastic model inspired by
   Buddhism. One of its leaders, Qiu Chuji became a teacher of Genghis
   Khan (and used his influence to save millions of lives). Originally
   from Shanxi and Shandong, the sect established its main centre in
   Beijing's Baiyunguan ("White Cloud Monastery"). Before the end of the
   dynasty, the Celestial Masters sect (and Buddhism) again gained
   preeminence.

Nationalist Period (1912–1949)

   Guomindang (China Nationalist Party) leaders embrace science,
   modernity, and Western culture, including (to some extent)
   Christianity. Viewing the popular religion as reactionary and
   parasitic, they confiscated some temples for public buildings, and
   otherwise attempted to control traditional religious activity.

People's Republic of China (1949–present)

   The Communist Party of China, officially atheistic, initially
   suppressed Taoism along with other religions. Much of the Taoist
   infrastructure was destroyed. Monks and priests were sent to labor
   camps. This practice intensified during the Cultural Revolution from
   1966 to 1976, nearly eradicating most Taoist sites.

   Deng Xiaoping eventually restored some religious tolerance beginning in
   1982. Subsequently, communist leaders have recognised Taoism as an
   important traditional religion of China and also as a potential
   lucrative focus for tourism, so many of the more scenic temples and
   monasteries have been repaired and reopened.

   Taoism is one of five religions recognised by the PRC, which insists on
   controlling its activities through a state bureaucracy (the China
   Taoist Association). Sensitive areas include the relationship of the
   Zhengyi Taoists with their sect's lineage-holder (he lives in Taiwan);
   and the status of various traditional temple activities (astrology,
   shamanism) which have been criticised as "superstitious" or "feudal".

Adherents

   The number of "Taoists" is difficult to estimate, partly for
   definitional reasons (who counts as a Taoist?), and partly for
   practical ones (it is illegal for private parties to conduct surveys in
   China). The number of people practicing some aspect of the Chinese folk
   religion might number in the hundreds of millions. ( Adherents.com
   estimates "Traditional Chinese religion" at nearly four hundred
   million). The number of people patronising Daoshi (Taoist "priests" or
   masters) would be smaller by several orders of magnitude, while the
   number of literary Daojia would be smaller yet. At the same time, most
   Chinese people and many others have been influenced in some way by
   Taoist tradition.

   Geographically, Taoism flourishes best in regions populated by Chinese
   people: inland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and various Chinese
   diaspora communities. Taoist literature and art has influenced the
   cultures of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and these countries' folk
   religions have many common elements. "Organized" Taoism seems not to
   have attracted a non-Chinese following until modern times.

Beliefs

Religious Taoism (Daojiao)

   A Taoist Temple in Taiwan. The religious practice of incense burning as
   well as images of the Fu Dog and Dragon guardian spirits can be seen.
   Enlarge
   A Taoist Temple in Taiwan. The religious practice of incense burning as
   well as images of the Fu Dog and Dragon guardian spirits can be seen.

   Taoism is not a belief-centered religion, and there are no known Taoist
   creeds. At the same time, certain characteristic beliefs or assumptions
   can be identified. (See Taoist doctrine.)

   Beyond the Chinese folk religion, various rituals, exercises, or
   substances are said to positively affect one's physical health (even to
   the point of immortality); align oneself spiritually with cosmic
   forces; or enable ecstatic spiritual journeys. These concepts seem
   basic to Taoism in its elite forms.

Philosophical Taoism (Daojia)

   Philosophical Taoism does not refer to one Taoist school or group of
   philosophers. Philosophical Taoism is a part of Xuanxue and other
   lineages. Ultimately the distinction between "philosophical" and
   "religious" Taoism is as difficult to define as Taoism itself.
   "Religious" Taoists may never have read Laozi or Zhuangzi or any of the
   Daozang, and being called a Taoist may even seem unfamiliar or
   artificial.

   Philosophical Taoism emphasizes various themes found in the Dao De Jing
   such as "nonaction" ( wu wei), emptiness, detachment, the strength of
   softness (or flexibility), and The Zhuangzi such as receptiveness,
   spontaneity, the relativism of human ways of life, ways of speaking and
   guiding behaviour. Most philosophical debate concerns dao--what way we
   should follow, but really, Taoists more directly question what a dao
   is, how or if we can know it and emphasize more than other schools the
   ways social daos depend on and presuppose natural daos. Their more
   detached discussion and their reluctance to formulate or advocate a
   social dao of their own means their discussions tend to be more playful
   and paradoxical than dogmatic. This makes their tone strikingly
   different from Confucian and Mohist texts.

   Taoist commentators have been puzzled by the opening lines of the Dao
   De Jing, which has usually been translated:

          The way which can be uttered, is not the eternal Way.
          The name which can be named, is not the eternal Name.

   (The original words are

          道可道，非常道。 (dao (ways) can be spoken, not usual ways)
          名可名，非常名。 (names can be named, not usual names))

   In Chinese, "道" or "Dao" is used both as a noun and verb. 'Way' works
   well for the noun, but the translation for the verb "to speak" seems
   unmatched in meaning, unless we think in terms of "to advocate, to
   preach, to formulate etc." Notice in the second line, the noun and verb
   use of '名' seem closer in meaning, "names" and "to name". Concretely, a
   road is a dao--a guide for where to go or how to get where we want to
   go. However, daos can be marked in other ways--e.g. simply by pointing
   or putting signs "along the way" etc. Daoists are intrigued both by how
   daos are made by our walking (wearing a path) and by how we can read
   what way to go from natural signals (animal paths). The verb probably
   would be something like pointing, marking, setting an example or
   otherwise signaling which way to go.

   It should also be noted that while the above has become a standard
   translation, scholars have noted it is grammatically and conceptually
   problematic. Grammatically, it has no article so could be read "a/any
   dao can be dao-ed, (but) this is not the constant dao-ing. A name can
   be named, (but) this is not the constant naming". Conceptually, the
   character for "constant"(常) is used philosophically to describe a dao
   that does not need to change in different times or societies and
   reliably guides behaviour. Laozi later describes a dao as "reversing"
   and the texts emphasises opposites, i.e.: high and low, hard and soft,
   etc. The Mawangdui version of the text contains similar passages, vide:
   ch.1, 3, 40).

   Thus, any terms we use to advocate a dao can be reversed and still
   guide behavior. The other term in the title (which, compounded with
   'dao', formed the Chinese term for 'ethics') is 'de' (or 'te'). It is
   "the dao within" which may comprise the capacity we have to learn a way
   of life and the result of learning/practicing it. De should interpret
   the learned "way of life" into a correct pattern of behaviour--hence
   its usual translation as "virtue" or "excellence." Other terms were
   later integrated into philosophical Taoism including yin and yang
   (closely related to Dialectical monism) and five elements (五行, wuxing)
   theories, and the concept of qi. Originally belonging to rival
   philosophical schools, these themes entered Taoism by way of Han
   Confucianism which focused on cosmic cycles and portents to guide the
   ruler's deportment dress, and so forth. They blend into Daoism as
   examples of "natural" dao with which any viable human dao must
   harmonise.

          The way which can be uttered, is not the eternal Way.

   While academic deconstructions of this phrase result in much confusion,
   there is also a much simpler interpretation by metaphor: The Way is
   like dancing. You can talk about dancing, but your talk about dancing
   isn't the dance itself. Nor does your description really teach someone
   else how to dance unless they figure out how to apply it for
   themselves. No matter how complicated the description (words, sketches
   even video) it always lacks the entirety of what is.

   This interpretation shares Korzybski's observation that " the map is
   not the territory".

Deities

Religious Taoism

   Traditional Chinese religion is determinedly polytheistic. Its deities
   are arranged into a heavenly civil service that mirrors the bureaucracy
   of imperial China. Deities may be promoted or demoted. Many are said to
   have once been virtuous humans. The particular deities worshipped vary
   somewhat according to geography, and much more according to historical
   period (though the general pattern of worship is more constant).

   There is also something of a disconnection between the set of gods
   which currently receive popular worship, and those which are the focus
   of elite Taoist texts and rituals. For example, the Jade Emperor is at
   the head of the popular pantheon, while the Celestial Masters' altar
   recognizes the deified Laozi (Laojun, "Lord Lao") and the Three Pure
   Ones in that position. Some texts explain that Laozi has sponsored the
   apotheosis of various other gods.

Philosophical Taoism

   While a number of immortals or other mysterious figures appear in the
   Zhuangzi, and to a lesser extent in the Dao De Jing (e.g., the
   "mysterious female" in chapter 6), these have generally not become the
   objects of cultic worship. We must not confuse Dao with the western
   concept of monotheism. The Dao is not personal, nor is it an unchanging
   spiritual entity similar to the Hindu Atman. The Chinese word Dao can
   mean a process or a path, but not an entity. It is only to be followed,
   not to be worshipped. Dao merely means the natural way of the universe.
   Being one with the Dao does not indicate an union with an eternal
   spirit in the Hindu sense, but merely live with the change and accept
   the way of nature; that of impermanence and flexiblility. Early texts
   describe Tao not as equal to "the One," but as a principle underlying
   both the One and the Many. One revealing phrase used to describe it is
   huntun (roughly, "chaotic mixture"). In the wake of Wang Bi,
   philosophical Taoists have tended to describe it as "nothingness,"
   which is the origin of "being." (Cf. the apophatic tendencies of
   theism, including negative theology.)

Practices

   Taoist charm from Tien Hau Temple in San Francisco.
   Enlarge
   Taoist charm from Tien Hau Temple in San Francisco.

Religious Taoism

   All forms of Chinese traditional religion involve baibai (拜拜)--bowing
   towards an altar, with a stick of incense in one's hand. This may be
   done at home, or in a temple, or outdoors; by an ordinary person, or a
   professional (such as a Daoshi 道士); and the altar may feature any
   number of deities or ancestral tablets. Baibai is usually done in
   accordance with certain dates of the lunar/solar calendar (see Chinese
   calendar).

   At certain dates, food may be set out as a sacrifice to the gods and/or
   spirits of the departed. This may include slaughtered pigs and ducks,
   or fruit. Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of Hell Bank
   Notes, on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will
   reappear--not as a mere image, but as the actual item--in the spirit
   world, and be available for the departed spirit to use.

   Also at certain dates, street parades take place. These are lively
   affairs which invariably involve firecrackers and flower-covered floats
   broadcasting traditional music. Street parades may also include lion
   dances and dragon dances; human-occupied puppets (often of the "Seventh
   Lord" and "Eighth Lord"); jitong (乩童 male "Mediums") who mutilate their
   skin with knives; Bajiajiang, which are gongfu-practicing honour guards
   in demonic makeup; and palanquins carrying god-images. The various
   participants are not considered performers, but rather possessed by the
   god in question.

   Fortune-telling--including astrology, palmistry, phrenology, and
   divination--has long been considered a traditional Taoist pursuit.
   Mediumship is also widely encountered. We may distinguish between
   "martial" forms of mediumship (like the aforementioned jitong) and more
   literary forms in which the possessed medium communicates messages from
   the spirit world by writing them with a special utensil.

   Isabelle Robinet's book Taoist Meditation describes various practices
   given in the Maoshan texts. These include controlling bodily fluids
   such as urine, saliva, and the breath; visualisation practices in which
   various internal organs are imaginally linked with corresponding gods
   and/or celestial bodies (e.g. the stars of the bei tou, the "Big
   Dipper"); and heavenly journeys via the Great Pole, which is reached by
   a limping shamanic dance called the "Step of Wu".

Philosophical Taoism

   The fundamental form of activity among philosophical Taoists seems to
   be the reading and writing of books. Taoists of this type tend to be
   civil servants, elderly retirees, or in modern times, university
   faculty. While there is considerable overlap with religious Taoism,
   there are often important divergences in interpretation. Wang Bi, one
   of the most influential philosophical commentators on the Laozi (and
   Yijing) was in fact a Confucian.

   For many educated Chinese people (the Literati), life was divided into
   a social aspect, where Confucian doctrine prevailed, and a private
   aspect, with Taoist aspirations. Night-time, exile, or retirement
   provided the opportunity to cultivate Taoism and reread Laozi and
   Zhuangzi. The Literati often dedicated this period of life to arts such
   as calligraphy, painting, and poetry, or personal researches into
   antiquities, medicine, folklore, and so on.

   The Vinegar Tasters (sometimes called Three Vinegar Tasters) is a
   popular painting (usually in scroll format) that explained Taoist
   ideals in relation to the Neo-Confucian school which began in the 10th
   century and gained prominence in the 12th century. The image depicts
   Laozi together with The Buddha, and Confucius. In these paintings the
   three are gathered around a vat of vinegar and the motto associated
   with the grouping is "the three teachings are one." However, see The
   Vinegar Tasters for an alternate interpretation.

Scriptures

   Taoist Priest in Macau, February 2006
   Enlarge
   Taoist Priest in Macau, February 2006

Religious Taoism

   The Daozang (道藏, Treasury of Tao) is sometimes referred to as the
   "Taoist canon." It was compiled during the Jin, Tang, Song, and Ming
   dynasties, and includes almost 1500 texts. Following the example of the
   Buddhist Tripitaka, it is divided into three dong 洞 ("caves," often
   translated "grottoes"), arranged here from highest to lowest:

          (1) The Zhen ("real") grotto. Includes the Shangching texts.
          (2) The Yuan ("primordial") grotto. Includes the Lingbao
          scriptures.
          (3) The Shen ("divine") grotto. Includes texts predating the
          Maoshan revelations.

   The Dao De Jing constitutes an appendix (fu) to the first grotto. Other
   appendices include the Taipingjing ("Scripture of Great Peace") as well
   as various alchemical texts, and scriptures from the Celestial Masters
   tradition.

   However, Taoism is not a religion which regards the scripture as the
   primary source of truth. Daoshi generally do not consult published
   versions of the Daozang, but use texts which have been passed down from
   teacher to student (who are often relatives). The receipt of permission
   to do the ritual is considered more important than knowledge of the
   texts' contents.

   The Quanzhen school does have a tradition of approaching Taoism through
   scriptural study, and the Yijing features more prominently than any
   other scripture, owing to its relevance for cosmology.

   Some Chinese movements emphasise newly-revealed scriptures. In Taiwan,
   one often finds Buddhist texts being chanted in Taoist temples.

Philosophical Taoism

   Philosophical Taoism has focused on the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi,
   and to a lesser extent the Liezi. This form of Taoism, more than any
   other, has influenced Western commentators. Much of the philosophy of
   Taoism is derived from the following passage:
   The Tao is unknown
   And you need not know it.

Taoist symbols and images

   Taijitu
   Enlarge
   Taijitu

   There are many Symbols and Images that are associated with Taoism. Like
   in Christianity the " cross", and in Buddhism the "wheel", Taoism has
   Laozi, actual Chinese characters, and many other symbols that are often
   represent or are associated with it.

   Many people associate the Taijitu symbol 太極圖 as well as the Bagua 八卦
   ("Eight Trigrams") with Taoist symbolism. While almost all Taoist
   organisations make use of it, one could also call it Confucian,
   Neo-Confucian or pan-Chinese. The yin and yang border should make a
   backwards "S" shape, with yang (white or red) on top. One is likely to
   see this symbol as decorations on Taoist organisation flags and logos,
   temple floors, or stitched into clerical robes.

   Taoist temples may fly square or triangular flags. These are not merely
   decorative but function as talismans, and typically feature mystical
   writing or diagrams. Often a tree branch is used as a flagpole.

   One sometimes sees a zigzag with seven stars, representing the Big
   Dipper (or the "Bushel", the Chinese equivalent). Taoists see the North
   and South Poles as divine.

   Taoist temples in southern China and Taiwan may often be identified by
   their roofs, which feature Chinese dragons and phoenixes made from
   multi-colored ceramic tiles. They also stand for the harmony of yin and
   yang (with the phoenix being yin). A related symbol is the flaming
   pearl which may be seen on such roofs between two dragons, as well as
   on the hairpin of a Celestial Master.

Relations with other religions and philosophies

   The origins of Taoism and other philosophical schools are intimately
   related. The authorship of the Dao De Jing is assigned to Laozi,
   traditionally thought to be a teacher of Confucius, yet appears to be
   reacting against Confucian doctrine (suggesting the text comes after
   Confucianism). Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), the other "defining" philosopher
   of Daoism, reacted both to the Confucian-Mohist ethical disputes and to
   related developments in theory of "names" (language). There is little
   evidence of a link between Laozi and Zhuangzi--whose most frequent
   interactions are with Hui Shi (of the school of names). However, the
   chapters of the Zhuangzi written after his death include dialogues
   between Laozi and Confucius that mimic (or inspire?) the style of the
   Dao de Jing, suggesting the first association of the two texts dates
   from around that time. The "history of thought" contained in the
   Zhuangzi cites Laozi as a prior step (and demotes Hui Shi to a
   postscript). It includes the Mohists by name and the Confucians by
   implication and a cluster of other less well known thinkers.

   The terms Dao and De (virtue/excellence) are shared terms of debate in
   this period. Most of the texts of ancient Chinese philosophy argued for
   some dao or other and advocated cultivating de in that favored dao.
   While dao was initially ethical-social norms, it quickly broadened to
   include the norms of language use and of claiming or attributing
   knowledge. This broadening dialectic about dao is what warrants
   describing the views of Laozi and Zhuangzi as Daoism. Daoism represents
   the view that the norms for language, knowledge, ethics and society are
   grounded in and continuous with natural norms. So any discussion of dao
   and de involves us in reflections on the nature of human society and
   its place in the universe as a whole.

   These early Taoist texts reject numerous basic assumptions of
   Confucianism, embracing instead values based on nature,
   perspectivalism, and spontaneity. They express skepticism of
   conventional moralities and Mozi's Utilitarian or Mencius' benevolence
   based revisions. Since politics was conceived by these traditional
   schools as a scheme for "unifying" all "under the sky" in their favored
   dao, Daoists tend toward anarchism, mistrustful of hierarchical social
   structures and particularly, governments. (Zhuangzi argues that the
   proponents of benevolence and morality are usually found at the gates
   of feudal lords who have stolen their kingdoms.) Although philosophical
   Taoist appear to be anarchist, it is clearly an over statement.
   Mitigated Anarchism would better categorise the philosophical Taoists,
   they tend to believe in the idea that the government should act in a
   'non acting' or 'wu wei' manner. This means that they should only act
   when necessary and their actions should not be felt directly by the
   people, nor should they be visible to the people. Chapters 57-81 of the
   Dao De Ching all deal with government, ruling, and appeasing the
   people.

   The entry of Buddhism into China was via its dialectic with later
   Taoism which transformed them both. Over the centuries of Chinese
   interactions, Buddhism gradually found itself transformed from a
   competitor of Taoism, to a fellow inhabitant of the Chinese cultural
   ecosystem. Originally seen as a kind of foreign Taoism, its scriptures
   were translated into Chinese with Taoist vocabulary. Chan Buddhism in
   particular is inspired by crucial elements of philosophical Taoism,
   ranging from distrust of scripture, text and language to its more
   positive view of "this life", practice, skill and the absorption in
   "every-moment". In the Tang period Taoism incorporated such Buddhist
   elements as monasteries, vegetarianism, prohibition of alcohol, the
   celibacy of the clergy, the doctrine of emptiness, and the amassing of
   a vast collection of scripture into tripartite organisation.

   Ideological and political rivals in ancient times, Taoism,
   Confucianism, and Buddhism have inevitably deeply influenced one
   another, and eventually achieved a kind of modus vivendi in which each
   has its own particular ecological niche within Chinese society. With
   time, most Chinese people likewise came to identify to some extent with
   all three traditions simultaneously. This became institutionalised by
   the time of the Song dynasty, when aspects of the three schools were
   consciously synthesised in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually
   became Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes. To this
   today orthodox Taoist teaching advocates all three schools originated
   from the same source.

   Taoist thought partly inspired Legalist philosophers, whose theories
   were used by Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Chinese Empire. The junction
   point can be found in the work of Hanfeizi, a prominent Legalist
   thinker who commented on the Tao Te Ching. Hanfeizi used some chapters
   of the book to justify a structured society based on law and punishment
   and on the undiscussed power of the Emperor.

   Taoism up till early twentieth century maintained a school with gifted
   practioners with special powers including knowldege of Alchemy and
   Exorcism as a means to mend the ills of its followers but subsequently
   this was subjugated as myth and superstitions, leading to beliefs that
   they were shamanic practices from ancient Chinese traditions.

   In spreading Catholic Christianity to China, Jesuit Matteo Ricci sought
   to ally the Church with Confucianism. In so doing the Jesuits
   encouraged the view that China lacked a high religion of its own (since
   Confucianism was not regarded as such). This was only a contemporary
   view, as neither Confucianism nor Taoism can be moulded into
   establishments directly comparable to Catholicism in its post Middle
   Ages expansionism. Until well into the twentieth century, Christians
   have tended to view religious Taoism as a hodgepodge of primitive
   superstitions, or even as a form of demonolatry due to insufficient
   understanding.

   In the last century or so, Taoism (along with Confucianism and
   Buddhism) has become incorporated into the theology of the Way of
   Former Heaven sects, notably Yiguandao however this annexation is not a
   sanctioned move. The same could be said with respect to Vietnam's
   religion of Caodaism.

   Western New Agers have embraced some aspects of Taoism: the name and
   concept of "Tao", the names and concepts of yin and yang; an
   appreciation for Laozi and Zhuangzi, and a respect for other aspects of
   Chinese tradition such as qigong. At the same time, Western
   appropriations differ in subtle (or not so subtle) ways from their
   Asian sources. For example, the word "Tao" is used in numerous book
   titles which are connected to Chinese culture only tangentially.
   Examples would include Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics, or Benjamin
   Hoff's The Tao of Pooh.

   Taoism has also been a resource for those in environmental philosophy,
   who see the non-anthropocentric nature of Taoism as a guide for new
   ways of thinking about nature and environmental ethics. Some consider
   Taoism to fit naturally with the radical environmental philosophy of
   deep ecology. Daoism and Ecology: Ways Within A Cosmic Landscape edited
   by N. J. Girardot, James Miller, and Liu Xiaogan is currently the most
   thorough introduction to studies done on concepts of nature and ecology
   within Taoism.

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