Taoism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Early modern Taoism === [[File:万寿八仙宫.jpg|thumb|Taoist clergy of {{ill|Baxian Temple|zh|八仙宫}}, [[Xi'an]], 1910–1911.]] [[file:Yang-single (restoration).jpg|thumb|[[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 mission]]ization.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=202-203}} By the 20th century, only one complete copy of the [[Tao Tsang]] survived intact, stored at the [[White Cloud Monastery]] in [[Beijing]].<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|1993|p=220}}</ref> 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. {{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=185}} During the [[Cultural Revolution]] (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.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=184}}<ref>Dean, Kenneth (1993). ''Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast China'', p. 40. Princeton: Princeton University.</ref> 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.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=205}} In the 1910s, Taoist doctrine about [[Xian (Taoism)|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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reid |first=Gilbert |date=February 1917 |title=Taoism, an Appreciation |journal=[[The Biblical World]] |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |volume=49 |issue=2 |page=87 |doi=10.1086/475692 |jstor=3136462 |s2cid=145738732 |issn=0190-3578 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The 20th century was also a creative period for Taoism despite its many setbacks. The Taoist influenced practice of [[Tai chi|Tai Chi]] developed during this time, led by figures like [[Yang Chengfu]] and [[Sun Lutang]].<ref name="Wile1995">{{cite book |last=Wile |first=Douglas |title=Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty (Chinese Philosophy and Culture) |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-7914-2654-8}}{{page needed|date=May 2013}}</ref> Early proponents of Tai Chi Quan, like Sun Lutang, claimed that Tai Chi was a Taoist internal practice created by the Taoist immortal [[Zhang Sanfeng]] (though modern scholars note that this claim lacks credible historical evidence).<ref>Wile, Douglas. ''[http://blackmoonharbor.com/uploads/1/1/5/3/115363763/taijiquan_and_daoism_.pdf Taijiquan and Daoism: From Religion to Martial Art and Martial Art to Religion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210144032/http://blackmoonharbor.com/uploads/1/1/5/3/115363763/taijiquan_and_daoism_.pdf |date=10 February 2023 }}''. Journal of Asian Martial Arts (Vol. 16, Issue 4).</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page