Taoism
Taoism or Daoism is a philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao. 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 transforming ultimately underlying reality. Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition, including forms of meditation, astrology, qigong, feng shui, and internal alchemy. A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation, a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and more harmonious existence. Taoist ethics generally emphasize virtues of effortless action, naturalness, simplicity, and the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility.
Taoism is treated as a distinct tradition with its own scriptures, priestly lineages, and ritual systems, but it has long been closely intertwined with Chinese folk religion, and the boundary between them is often fluid in practice.
The core of Taoist thought crystallized during the early Warring States period, 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, Confucianism, various Legalist theories, as well as the and Spring and Autumn Annals.
Taoism is frequently discussed in comparison with Confucianism, since both traditions profoundly influenced Chinese thought. Taoism was further influenced with Buddhism upon its introduction to China, with long-running discourses shared between Taoists and Buddhists. This mutual co-existence lead to the emergence of Three Teachings discourse by the 6th century CE, which examined how the three traditions could be integrated harmoniously in Chinese society.
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 . 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 title is traditionally reserved for ordained clergy within Taoist organizations, who distinguish their formal traditions from those of Chinese folk religion. 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 during the late Han dynasty, attempting to create what has been characterized as a Taoist theocracy.
Today, Taoism is one of five religious doctrines officially recognized by the Chinese government, also having official status in Hong Kong and Macau. It is considered a major religion in Taiwan, 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.
Terminology
Spelling and pronunciation
"Tao" and "Dao" are different romanized spellings of the same Chinese word: 道.- "Tao" is the romanized spelling in the Wade–Giles 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 system, officially adopted in China in the 1950s and the Library of Congress in 2000, which has largely replaced Wade–Giles romanization in academic sources.
One authority calls the pronunciation with a as in "tie" 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 as philosophy and religion
The English word Taoism is often used to translate two distinct terms in Chinese:Daojia is a Han-dynasty label used to classify teachings and texts associated with the dao. The expression daojia is traced to the early Han historian Sima Tan, where it appears as part of a scheme for organizing “six schools”: Yin-Yang, Confucian, Mohist, Legalist, School of Names, and Taoist. The term is commonly applied, particularly in Western scholarship, with reference to the early Chinese philosophical texts Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi, as well as later related philosophical developments such as Xuanxue.
Daojiao. The term was coined by Lu Xiujing, a key figure in the early Lingbao movement and architect of the early Taoist tradition, in order to distinguish Taoism from Buddhism. In scholarship, it is often interpreted as the Taoist "religion proper", referring to later organized Taoist schools, institutional structures, and religious practices and rituals. The first instance of Taoism as a proper religious community is generally traced back to the Way of the Celestial Masters tradition founded in 142 CE.
Early scholarship on Taoism classified these terms as Philosophical Taoism and Religious Taoism, respectively. This distinction, traced to the Protestant missionary James Legge, remains present in many non-specialist texts such as world religion textbooks. However, Taoist scholars themselves have increasingly moved away from this classification, with Komjathy calling it "wholly inaccurate and untenable." Komjathy notes even early "classical Taoism" already consisted of several characteristic features of religion, such as a cosmology centered on the Dao, specific practices like meditation, and aims of a mystical union. Philosopher Chung-ying Cheng likewise views Taoism as a religion 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, the teaching of can also include the way of heaven independently of human nature". Sinologists 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.
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, is traditionally used to translate daoshi, 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 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. Taoshi are comparable to the non-Taoist ritual masters of vernacular traditions 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 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, which were eventually synthesized into the first organized forms of "Taoism".The main early Taoist sources include the Neiye, the Zhuangzi, and the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching, attributed to Laozi, was composed 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 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 virtues 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 and the Zhou dynasty, such as their use of divination, ancestor worship, and the idea of Heaven 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, including Mohism, Confucianism, Legalist theorists, the School of Naturalists, and the Chinese classics, especially the I Ching and the Lüshi Chunqiu.
Meanwhile, Isabelle Robinet identifies four components in the emergence of Taoism: the teachings found in the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, techniques for achieving ecstasy, practices for achieving longevity and becoming an immortal, and practices for exorcism. Robinet states that some elements of Taoism may be traced to prehistoric folk religions in China. In particular, many Taoist practices drew from the Warring States era phenomena of the wu and the fangshi.
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 hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life, while others sought to establish a harmonious society based on Taoist principles. Zhuang Zhou 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. Zhuang Zhou 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, diviners, early environmentalists, 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 and a mother goddess.
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.