Taoism

Taoism is a local religion in China, with “Tao” as its supreme belief. On the concept of worshiping ghosts and gods in ancient China, Taoism took Huang and Lao’s Taoism as its theoretical basis and inherited the development of immortal occult techniques since the Warring States Period. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of Taoist organizations appeared, with the famous Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao. Zhang Daoling, officially founded the organization, which has a history of 1800 years. Taoism is a multi-god worship. The gods worshipped are the personification of Taoism’s belief in Tao. Taoist priests are clergymen of Taoism, and there are more than 30,000 Taoist priests living in the country. Taoist temple is a place for Taoist activities. There are more than 2,000 registered Taoist temples throughout the country.

History of Taoism

Taoism shares the same breath and destiny with the Chinese nation, and the history of Taoism is closely connected with the history of China.

Laozi is traditionally regarded as one of the founders of Taoism and is closely associated in this context with “original” or “primordial” Taoism. His work Tao Te Ching is dated to the late 4th century BCE. In the mid-Warring States Period, the Taoism of Huanglao, which respected Huangdi and Laozi, was flourishing in Qi State. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the rulers respected the doctrine of Huanglao Taoism that doing nothing that goes against nature. 

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a fierce confrontation between the foreign Buddhism and the native Taoism. The Sui Dynasty is giving equal attention to Buddhism and Taoism when it was a turning point in the development of Taoism. In the Tang Dynasty, Lao Tzu was respected as the ancestor and Taoism as the national religion. Measures were taken to vigorously promote Taoism and improve the status of Taoist priests.

After the unification of the whole country, the Qing Dynasty accepted Buddhism and adopted a strict policy of prevention and suppression against Taoism. After the Opium War, the country lagged behind and weakened, and Taoism was declining day by day. After the founding of New China, people’s freedom of religious belief was guaranteed in law and policy. In 1957, the Chinese Taoist Association was founded in Baiyun Guan, Beijing, the ancestral temple of Quanzhen Longmen School. For the first time, Taoism had a unified national organization.

Doctrines of Taoism

Taoism tends to emphasize the various themes of Tao Te Ching and Zhuang zi, such as nature, spontaneity, simplicity, freedom from desire, and most importantly, inaction. Tao literally means “way”, but it can also be interpreted as road, passage, path, doctrine or line. In Taoism, it is “a person, who is natural, spontaneous, eternal, nameless and indescribable. It is not only the beginning of everything, but also the way in which everything pursues its process.

Wu-wei

Wu-wei constitutes the leading ethical concept in Taoism. Wu refers to any intentional or intentional act, while it has the meaning of “no” or “lack”. Common translations are “inaction”, “effortless action” or “action without intention”. Taoist philosophy, in accordance with the I Ching, proposes that the universe works harmoniously according to its own ways. Taoism does not regard one’s will as the fundamental problem.Instead, it asserts that man must reconcile his will with the natural universe.

Ziran

Nature is regarded as the core value of Taoism, which describes the “original state” of all things and the basic characteristics of Tao, usually associated with spontaneity and creativity. In order to acquire Ziran, one must agree with Tao, which involves freeing oneself from selfishness and desire and enjoying simplicity.

Three Treasures

The basic virtues of ci(compassion), jian(moderation), and bugan wei tianxia xian(humility) are the three treasures of Taoism. The Three Treasures can also refer to jing(精), qi(气) and shen(神), which are elements of the traditional Chinese concept of the human body, which shares its cosmological foundation—Yinyangism or the Naturalists—with Taoism. 

Famous Taoist Mountains in China

Famous Taoist Temples in China

• White Cloud Taoist Temple in Beijing(北京白云观)
• Yongle Palace in Ruicheng(芮城永乐宫)
• Chongyang Palace in Huxian County(户县重阳宫)
• Shenqing Temple in Yantai(烟台神清观)
• Maoshan Temple in Jurong(句容茅山道院)

Discover Daoism in China with Us

In China, there are more than 9,000 Taoist temples , more than 50,000 priests and nuns, and five Taoist schools. The number of believers is numerous and difficult to count. If you are interested in Chinese Daoism, please contact our consultant to get a deeper understanding of Daoism and make the private China culture tour.

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