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! === Late modern Taoism === [[file:Wong Tai Sin Temple Night view 202103.jpg|thumb|[[Wong Tai Sin Temple (Hong Kong)|Wong Tai Sin Temple]], one of the most important Taoist temples in [[Hong Kong]]]] [[File:Taoist ceremony at Xiao ancestral temple in Chaoyang, Shantou, Guangdong (daoshi) (1).jpg|thumb|Taoist ceremony at Xiao Ancestral Temple in [[Chaoyang]], Shantou, [[Guangdong]].]] Taoism began to recover during the [[Reform and opening up|Reform and Opening up period]] (beginning in 1979) after which it experienced increased religious freedom in mainland China.<ref>Dean, Kenneth (1993). ''Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast China'', p. 41. Princeton: Princeton University.</ref> This led to the restoration of many temples and communities, the publishing of Taoist literature and the preservation of Taoist material culture.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=211}} 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]].{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=212}} 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 ([[Tantra|Tantric]] Qigong influenced by [[Tibetan Buddhism]]), [[Zhong Gong|Zhonggong]] (Central Qigong), and [[Falun Gong|Falungong]] (which came to be outlawed and repressed by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] [CCP]).{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=185}} Today, Taoism is one of five official recognized religions in the [[China|People's Republic of China]]. In mainland China, the government regulates its activities through the [[Chinese Taoist Association]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Rights Without Frontiers "Religious Freedom in China in 2006" |url=http://www.hrwf.net/advocacy/ext/religious_freedom_china.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327075017/http://www.hrwf.net/advocacy/ext/religious_freedom_china.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009}} {{small|(30.6 KB)}} An address given to the Delegation EU–China of the European Parliament.</ref> Regarding the status of Taoism in mainland China, [[Livia Kohn]] writes: <blockquote>Taoist institutions are state-owned, monastics are paid by the government, several bureaus compete for revenues and administrative power, and training centers require courses in Marxism as preparation for full ordination. Still, temple compounds are growing on the five sacred mountains, on Taoist mountains, and in all major cities.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=183}}</blockquote> [[White Cloud Temple|The White Cloud Temple]] at Beijing remains the most important center for the training of Taoist monastics on the mainland, while the [[Sacred Mountains of China|five sacred mountains of China]] also contain influential Taoist centers. Other key sites include: [[Wudang Mountains|Wudangshan]], [[Mount Longhu]], [[Mount Qiyun]], [[Mount Qingcheng]], [[Mount Tai]], [[Zhongnan Mountains|Zhongnan mountains]], [[Mount Mao]], and [[Mount Lao]].{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=185-187}} Meanwhile, Taoism is also practiced much more freely in [[Religion in Taiwan|Taiwan]] and [[Hong Kong]], where it is a major religion and retains unique features and movements that differ from mainland Taoism.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=215-216}} Taoism is also practiced throughout the wider [[East Asian cultural sphere]].{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=201}} [[File:西塞2017·神舟前的道士.jpg|thumb|Taoist priest at [[Dragon Boat Festival|Xisai Sacred Boat Rally]], [[Hubei]], 2017.]] [[file:Weaverville, April 2020-2070.jpg|thumb|The [[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.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=201}} Taoist influenced practices, like [[Tai chi]] and [[qigong]], are also popular around the world.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=219}} As such, Taoism is now a diverse world religion with a global distribution.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=201}} Taoism has been traditionally associated with [[Northern China]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Wallechinsky |first1=David |title=The People's Almanac #2 |title-link=The People's Almanac |last2=Wallace |first2=Irving |publisher=[[William Morrow and Company]] |year=1978 |editor-last=Orsag |editor-first=Carol |location=New York |pages=1157–1158 |author-link=David Wallechinsky |author-link2=Irving Wallace |editor-last2=Kempthorne |editor-first2=Elizebethe |editor-last3=Willis |editor-first3=Cathy |editor-last4=Fadness |editor-first4=Fern Bryant |editor-last5=Overman |editor-first5=Laurel |editor-last6=Chase |editor-first6=Linda |editor-last7=Lawson |editor-first7=Wayne |editor-last8=Beadle |editor-first8=Jeremy |editor-last9=Knipe |editor-first9=Judy}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[Southern China]],<ref name=":18">{{Cite book |last=Dean |first=Kenneth |title=Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast China |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-691-07417-7 |editor-last=Laznovsky |editor-first=Bill |edition= |series= |location=Princeton, New Jersey |pages=24, 26 |author-link=Kenneth Dean (academic)}}</ref> and [[Western China]].<ref name=":0" /> During the late 20th century, Taoism began to spread to the [[Western world]], leading to various forms of Taoist communities in the West, with Taoist publications, websites, meditation and [[Tai chi]] centers, and translations of Taoist texts by western scholars as well as non-specialists.<ref>Herman, Jonathan R. (2001), "Taoist Environmentalism in the West: Ursula K. Le Guin's Reception and Transmission of Taoism," in ''Taoism and Ecology'', ed. by N. J. Girardot et al., Harvard University Press, 391, 392.</ref> Taoist classics like the ''Tao Te Ching'' have also became popular in the [[New Age|New Age movement]] and in "popular Western Taoism", a kind of popularized hybrid spirituality.<ref>Komjathy, Louis (2004), [http://www.daoistcenter.org/novareligio.pdf Tracing the Contours of Daoism in North America] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226091433/http://www.daoistcenter.org/novareligio.pdf|date=2011-12-26}}, ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'', 8.2, 6.</ref> 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]], [[Alan Watts]], [[John Blofeld]], [[Gia-Fu Feng|Gia-fu Feng]], and [[Bruce Lee]].{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=207-208}} This popular spirituality also draws on [[Chinese martial arts]] (which are often unrelated to Taoism proper), [[Transcendentalism|American Transcendentalism]], [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]], [[New Age Spirituality|New Age spirituality]], the [[perennial philosophy]], and [[alternative medicine]].{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=208}} On the other hand, traditionally minded Taoists in the West are often either ethnically Chinese or generally assume some level of [[sinicization]], especially the adoption of [[Chinese language]] 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.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=220}} Some prominent Western Taoist associations include: Associacion de Taoism de España, Association Francaise Daoiste, 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 Sociedade Taoista do Brasil.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=222-224}} Particularly popular in the West are groups that focus on internal martial arts like Taijiquan, as well as qigong and meditation. A smaller set of groups also focus around internal alchemy, such as [[Mantak Chia]]'s Healing Tao.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=210}} 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."{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=208}} 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). 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