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! == History == {{Main|History of Taoism}} [[File:Zhang Lu-Laozi Riding an Ox.jpg|upright|thumb|''Laozi Riding an Ox'' by [[Zhang Lu (painter)|Zhang Lu]] ({{circa|1464}}–1538)]] [[File:Zhuangzi fishes.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration of "The Debate on the Joy of Fish" from the [[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]]] === Classical Taoism and its sources === Scholars like Harold Roth argue that early Taoism was a series of "inner-cultivation lineages" of master-disciple communities. According to Roth, these practitioners emphasized a contentless and nonconceptual [[Apophatic theology|apophatic]] meditation as a way of achieving union with the Tao.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=8, 24}} According to Louis Komjathy, their worldview "emphasized the Dao as sacred, and the universe and each individual being as a manifestation of the Dao."{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=24}} These communities were also closely related to and intermixed with the [[fangshi]] (method master) communities.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=8}} 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 (like the ideas of the ''[[I Ching|Yijing]]'', [[School of Naturalists|yin-yang thought]], as well as [[Mohism|Mohist]], "[[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]]", and "[[Confucianism|Confucian]]" ideas), which were eventually synthesized in the [[Medieval China|medieval era]] into the first forms of "Taoism".{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=20-33, 75}} Some of the main early Taoist sources include: the ''[[Neiye]]'', the [[Zhuangzi (book)|''Zhuangzi'']], and the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]''.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=23–33}} The ''Tao Te Ching'', attributed to [[Laozi]], is dated by scholars to sometime between the 4th and 6th century BCE.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=61}}<ref name="Bellingham-1992">{{Cite book |last1=Bellingham |first1=David |title=Myths and Legends |last2=Whittaker |first2=Clio |last3=Grant |first3=John |publisher=Wellfleet Press |year=1992 |isbn=1-55521-812-1 |location=Secaucus, New Jersey |page=124 |oclc=27192394}}</ref> A common tradition holds that Laozi founded Taoism.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hackett |first1=Conrad |last2=Grim |first2=Brian J. |date=2012-12-18 |title=Other Religions |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-other/ |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |series=The Global Religious Landscape |language=en-US |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901021622/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-other/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Laozi's historicity is disputed, with many scholars seeing him as a legendary founding figure.{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=25}}{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=62}} 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,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Windridge |first=Charles |title=Tong Sing: The Book of Wisdom: Based on the Ancient Chinese Almanac |publisher=[[Barnes & Noble Books]] |others=Consulting work done by Cheng Kam Fong |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7607-4535-9 |edition=Revised and Updated |location=New York |pages=59, 107 |oclc=54439373}}</ref> including the quest for "long life".<ref name="Salamone-2004">{{Cite book |last=Salamone |first=Frank A. |title=Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-94180-6 |editor-last=Levinson |editor-first=David |location=New York |page=431}}</ref> 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 [[virtue]]s in his own kingdom, to ensure order and prosperity among the inhabitants".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Huangdi |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Huangdi |access-date=2023-05-22 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104135049/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Huangdi |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 veneration in China|ancestor worship]], and the idea of Heaven ([[Tian]]) and its relationship to humanity.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=23–33}} 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]] (4th to 3rd centuries BCE), including [[Mohism]], [[Confucianism]], [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]] theorists (like [[Shen Buhai]] and [[Han Fei]], which speak of ''[[wu wei]]''), the [[School of Naturalists]] (from which Taoism draws its main cosmological ideas, [[yin and yang]] and the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five phases]]), and the [[Chinese classics]], especially the ''[[I Ching]]'' and the ''[[Lüshi Chunqiu]]''.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=2-10}}{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=23–33}}<ref name="Robinet 1997, p. 62">{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=6}}</ref> Meanwhile, Isabelle Robinet identifies four components in the emergence of Taoism: the teachings found in the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' and ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]],'' techniques for achieving ecstasy, practices for achieving longevity and becoming an immortal ([[Xian (Taoism)|xian]]), and practices for [[exorcism]].{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=25}} Robinet states that some elements of Taoism may be traced to [[prehistoric]] folk religions in China.<ref>{{harvp|Demerath|2003|p=149}}; {{harvp|Hucker|1995|pp=203–204}}</ref> In particular, many Taoist practices drew from the Warring States era phenomena of the ''[[Wu (shaman)|wu]]'' ([[Chinese shamanism|Chinese shamans]]) and the ''[[fangshi]]'' ("method masters", which probably derived from the "archivist-soothsayers of antiquity").<ref name="Robinet 1997, p. 36">{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=36}}</ref> Both terms were used to designate individuals dedicated to "...magic, medicine, divination,... methods of longevity and to ecstatic wanderings" as well as exorcism.<ref name="Robinet 1997, p. 36" /> The ''fangshi'' were philosophically close to the School of Naturalists and relied greatly on astrological and calendrical speculations in their divinatory activities.{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=39}} Female shamans played an important role in the early Taoist tradition, which was particularly strong in the southern state of [[Chu (state)|Chu]]. Early Taoist movements developed their own tradition in contrast to shamanism while also absorbing shamanic elements.<ref>{{harvc|author=Catherine Despeux|c=Women in Taoism|in=Kohn|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXVk1tr6lEYC&q=shamanism|access-date=13 September 2016|pp=403–404}}</ref> During the early period, some Taoists lived as [[hermit]]s or recluses who did not participate in political life, while others sought to establish a harmonious society based on Taoist principles.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=24}} [[Zhuang Zhou]] (c. 370–290 BCE) was the most influential of the Taoist hermits. Some scholars holds that since he lived in the south, he may have been influenced by [[Chinese shamanism]].{{sfnp|Nadeau|2012|p=42}} [[Zhuang Zhou]] and his followers insisted they were the heirs of ancient traditions and the ways of life of by-then legendary kingdoms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cleary |first=Thomas F. |title=The Essential Tao: An Initiation Into the Heart of Taoism Through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-Tzu |date=1998 |publisher=Castle Books |isbn=0-7858-0905-8 |location=Edison, New Jersey |page=161 |oclc=39243466 |author-link=Thomas Cleary}}</ref> 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 [[environmentalist]]s, tribal chieftains, court scribes and commoner members of governments, members of the nobility in Chinese states, and the descendants of refugee communities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cleary |first=Thomas F. |title=The Essential Tao: An Initiation Into the Heart of Taoism Through the Authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-Tzu |date=1998 |publisher=Castle Books |isbn=0-7858-0905-8 |location=Edison, New Jersey |pages=123–124 |oclc=39243466 |author-link=Thomas Cleary}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Harari-2015">{{Cite book |last=Harari |first=Yuval Noah |title=Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind |publisher=Penguin Random House UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-09-959008-8 |location=London |page=249 |translator-last=Harari |translator-first=Yuval Noah |oclc=910498369 |author-link=Yuval Noah Harari |translator-last2=Purcell |translator-first2=John |translator-last3=Watzman |translator-first3=Haim |translator-link=Yuval Noah Harari |translator-link3=Haim Watzman}}</ref><ref name="Sanders-1980">{{Cite book |last=Sanders |first=Tao Tao Liu |title=Dragons, Gods & Spirits from Chinese Mythology |publisher=[[Peter Bedrick Books]] |year=1980 |isbn=0-87226-922-1 |location=New York |page=73}}</ref> 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 veneration in China|ancestor]] and a [[mother goddess]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Karen |title=A Short History of Myth |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-84195-716-6 |edition=First American |location=Broadway, New York |pages=90–91 |author-link=Karen Armstrong}}</ref> Early Taoists studied the natural world in attempts to find what they thought were supernatural laws that governed existence.<ref name="Bellingham-1992" /> 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.<ref name="Bellingham-1992" /> === Early organized Taoism === [[File:Chinese Fulu talisman han dynasty 乌程汉简浙江出土.jpg|left|thumb|Han dynasty [[Fulu|Chinese talisman]], part of the {{ill|Wucheng Bamboo-slips|zh|乌程汉简}}]] [[File:Zhang_Daoling.jpg|thumb|[[Zhang Daoling]], the first Celestial Master]] By the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BCE–220 CE), the various sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of ritualists in the state of [[Shu Han|Shu]] (modern [[Sichuan]]).{{sfnp|Nadeau|2012|p=42}} One of the earliest forms of Taoism was the Han era ([[2nd century BC|2nd century BCE]]) ''[[Huang–Lao]]'' movement, which was an influential school of thought at this time.<ref>Eno, Robert (2010). [https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/23472/4.8-Huang-Lao-2010.pdf "4.8 Huang-Lao Ideology".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210134106/https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/23472/4.8-Huang-Lao-2010.pdf |date=10 February 2023 }} Indiana University, History G380.</ref> The ''[[Huainanzi]]'' and the ''[[Taipingjing]]'' are important sources from this period.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=76-81}} An unorganized form of Taoism was popular in the Han dynasty that syncretized many preexisting forms in multiple ways for different groups existed during a rough span of time throughout the 2nd century BCE.<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Stark |first=Rodney |title=Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief |publisher=[[HarperOne]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-06-117389-9 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=402–403 |author-link=Rodney Stark}}</ref> Also during the Han, the earliest extant commentaries on the ''Tao Te Ching'' were written: the [[Heshang Gong]] commentary and the [[Xiang'er]] commentary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kohn|year=2000|p=6}}</ref>{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=82}} The first organized form of Taoism was the [[Way of the Celestial Masters]], which developed from the [[Five Pecks of Rice]] movement at the end of the 2nd century CE. The latter had been founded by [[Zhang Daoling]], who was said to have had a vision of Laozi in 142 CE and claimed that the world was coming to an end.{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=54}}{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=65}} Zhang sought to teach people to repent and prepare for the coming cataclysm, after which they would become the seeds of a new era of great peace. It was a mass movement in which men and women could act as libationers and tend to the commoners.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=83}} A related movement arose in [[Shandong]] called the "[[Way of the Taiping|Way of Great Peace]]", seeking to create a new world by replacing the Han dynasty. This movement led to the [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]], and after years of bloody war, they were crushed.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=65}} The Celestial Masters movement survived this period and did not take part in attempting to replace the Han. As such, they grew and became an influential religion during the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, focusing on ritual confession and petition, as well as developing a well-organized religious structure.<ref>[[James Legge|Legge, James]] (1911). "Lâo-Tsze". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 194.</ref> The Celestial Masters school was officially recognized by the warlord [[Cao Cao]] in 215 CE, legitimizing Cao Cao's rise to power in return.{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=1}} Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in the mid-2nd century BCE.{{sfnp|Robinet|1997|p=50}} Another important early Taoist movement was Taiqing (Great Clarity), which was a tradition of external alchemy (weidan) that sought immortality through the concoction of elixirs, often using toxic elements like [[cinnabar]], [[lead]], [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], and [[realgar]], as well as ritual and purificatory practices.{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=26-27}} After this point, Taoism did not have nearly as significant an effect on the passing of law as the syncretic [[Confucianism|Confucian]]-[[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]] tradition.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} === Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties eras === [[File:Lingbao Talisman.PNG|thumb|A Taoist talisman from one of the Lingbao Scriptures.]] The [[Three Kingdoms Period]] saw the rise of the [[Xuanxue]] (Mysterious Learning or Deep Wisdom) tradition, which focused on philosophical inquiry and integrated Confucian teachings with Taoist thought. The movement included scholars like [[Wang Bi]] (226–249), [[He Yan]] (d. 249), [[Xiang Xiu]] (223?–300), [[Guo Xiang]] (d. 312), and [[Pei Wei (Jin dynasty)|Pei Wei]] (267–300).<ref name="Chan-2023">Chan, Alan. [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neo-daoism/ "Neo-Taoism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305221227/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neo-daoism/ |date=5 March 2023 }}, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.</ref> Another later influential figure was the 4th century alchemist [[Ge Hong]], who wrote a key Taoist work on inner cultivation, the ''[[Baopuzi]]'' (''Master Embracing Simplicity'').<ref>{{Harvnb|Robinet|1997|p=78}}</ref> The [[Six Dynasties]] (316–589) era saw the rise of two new Taoist traditions, the [[Shangqing School|Shangqing]] and [[Lingbao School|Lingbao]] schools. Shangqing was based on a series of revelations by gods and spirits to a certain Yang Xi between 364 and 370. As [[Livia Kohn]] writes, these revelations included detailed descriptions of the heavens as well as "specific methods of [[Astral projection|shamanic travels]] or ecstatic excursions, visualizations, and alchemical concoctions."{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=67}} The Shangqing revelations also introduced many new Taoist scriptures.<ref>{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=115}}</ref> Similarly, between 397 and 402, [[Ge Chaofu]] compiled a series of scriptures that later served as the foundation of the [[Lingbao School|Lingbao school]], which was most influential during the later [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279) and focused on scriptural recitation and the use of talismans for harmony and longevity.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=86-87}}{{sfnmp|Kohn|2008|1p=68|Robinet|1997|2p=xvi|Robinet|1997|3p=150}} The Lingbao school practiced purification rituals called "purgations" in which talismans were empowered. Lingbao also adopted [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhist]] elements. According to Kohn, they "integrated aspects of [[Buddhist cosmology]], worldview, scriptures, and practices, and created a vast new collection of Taoist texts in close imitation of [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist sutras]]."{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=69}} Louis Komjathy also notes that they adopted the Mahayana Buddhist [[universalism]] in its promotion of "universal salvation" (pudu).{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=28-29}} During this period, [[Louguantai|Louguan]], the first Taoist monastic institution (influenced by [[Buddhist monasticism]]) was established in the [[Zhongnan Mountains|Zhongnan mountains]] by a local Taoist master named Yin Tong. This tradition was called the [[Northern Celestial Masters|Northern Celestial masters]], and their main scripture was the ''[[Xishengjing|Xisheng jing]]'' (''Scripture of Western Ascension'').{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=69-70}} During the sixth century, Taoists attempted to unify the various traditions into one integrated Taoism that could compete with Buddhism and Confucianism. To do this they adopted the schema known as the "three caverns", first developed by the scholar [[Lu Xiujing|Lu Xiujing (406–477)]] based on the "[[Yana (Buddhism)|three vehicles]]" of Buddhism. The three caverns were: Perfection (Dongzhen), associated with the [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|Three Sovereigns]]; Mystery (Dongxuan), associated with Lingbao; and Spirit (Dongshen), associated with the Supreme Clarity tradition.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=71-72}} Lu Xiujing also used this schema to arrange the Taoist scriptures and Taoist deities. Lu Xiujing worked to compile the first edition of the ''[[Daozang]]'' (the Taoist Canon), which was published at the behest of the [[Emperor of China|Chinese emperor]]. Thus, according to Russell Kirkland, "in several important senses, it was really Lu Hsiu-ching who founded Taoism, for it was he who first gained community acceptance for a common canon of texts, which established the boundaries, and contents, of 'the teachings of the Tao' (Tao-chiao). Lu also reconfigured the ritual activities of the tradition, and formulated a new set of liturgies, which continue to influence Taoist practice to the present day."{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=87}} This period also saw the development of the [[Three Pure Ones]], which merged the high deities from different Taoist traditions into a common trinity that has remained influential until today.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=71-72}} === Later Imperial Dynasties === [[File:Wudangshan 2003 10.jpg|thumb|A temple in the [[Wudang Mountains|Wudangshan]], a sacred space in Taoism.]] The new Integrated Taoism, now with a united Taoist identity, gained official status in China during the [[Tang dynasty]]. This tradition was termed ''daojiao'' (the teaching of the Tao).{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=90}} The Tang was the height of Taoist influence, during which Taoism, led by the Patriarch of Supreme Clarity, was the dominant religion in China.<ref>{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=184}}</ref>{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=74}}{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=90}} According to Russell Kirkland, this new Taoist synthesis had its main foundation in the [[Lingbao School|Lingbao]] school's teachings, which was appealing to all classes of society and drew on [[Mahayana]] Buddhism.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=91}} Perhaps the most important figure of the Tang was the court Taoist and writer [[Du Guangting]] (850–933). Du wrote numerous works about Taoist rituals, history, myth, and biography. He also reorganized and edited the ''[[Taotsang]]'' after a period of war and loss.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=94}} During the Tang, several emperors became patrons of Taoism, inviting priests to court to conduct rituals and enhance the prestige of the sovereign.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=163}} The [[Emperor Gaozong of Tang|Gaozong Emperor]] even decreed that the ''Tao Te Ching'' was to be a topic in the imperial examinations.<ref>{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=185}}</ref> During the reign of the 7th century [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]], the Five Dragons Temple (the first temple at the [[Wudang Mountains]]) was constructed.<ref name="unesco">{{cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/705 |website=whc.unesco.org |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223085753/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/705 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wudang would eventually become a major center for Taoism and a home for Taoist martial arts ([[Wudang quan]]). [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]] (r. 712–755) was also a devoted Taoist who wrote various Taoist works, and according to [[Livia Kohn]], "had frequent meetings with senior masters, ritual specialists, Taoist poets, and official patriarchs, such as [[Sima Chengzhen]]."{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=75}} He reorganized imperial rituals based on Taoist forms, sponsored Taoist shrines and monasteries, and introduced a separate examination system based on Taoism.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=75}} Another important Taoist figure of the Tang dynasty was [[Lü Dongbin|Lu Dongbin]], who is considered the founder of the jindan meditation tradition and an influential figure in the development of [[neidan]] (internal alchemy) practice. Likewise, several [[Song dynasty]] emperors, most notably [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Huizong]], were active in promoting Taoism, collecting Taoist texts, and publishing updated editions of the ''[[Daozang]].''<ref>{{harvp|Robinet|1997|p=213}}</ref> The Song era saw new scriptures and new movements of ritualists and Taoist rites, the most popular of which were the Thunder Rites (leifa). The Thunder rites were protection and exorcism rites that evoked the celestial department of thunder, and they became central to the new Heavenly Heart (Tianxin) tradition as well as for the Youthful Incipience (Tongchu) school.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=153}} [[File:Guo Xu album dated 1503 (4).jpg|thumb|''Qiu Chuji'' (1503) by Guo Xu]] In the [[12th century]], the [[Quanzhen School|Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) School]] was founded in [[Shandong]] by the sage [[Wang Chongyang]] (1113–1170) to compete with religious Taoist traditions that worshipped "[[Ghosts in Chinese culture|ghosts]] and [[Shen (Chinese religion)|gods]]" and largely displaced them.<ref name="Wang-2022">{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Wei |date=2022-08-16 |title=On the Historical Background and Ideological Resources of the Confluence of Islam and Confucianism |journal=Religions |language=en |volume=13 |issue=8 |page=13 |doi=10.3390/rel13080748 |issn=2077-1444 |via=[[MDPI]] |doi-access=free}}</ref> The school focused on inner transformation,<ref name="Wang-2022" /> [[mystical experience]],<ref name="Wang-2022" /> [[monasticism]], and [[asceticism]].{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=154}}{{sfnp|Komjathy|2014|p=29}} Quanzhen flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries and during the [[Yuan dynasty]]. The Quanzhen school was syncretic, combining elements from Buddhism and Confucianism with Taoist tradition. According to Wang Chongyang, the "[[Three Teachings|three teachings]]" (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism), "when investigated, prove to be but one school".<ref name="littlejohn">Littlejohn, Ronnie (n.d.). "Taoist Philosophy". The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ISSN 2161-0002.</ref> Quanzhen became the largest and most important Taoist school in China when master [[Qiu Chuji]] met with [[Genghis Khan]] who ended up making him the leader of all Chinese religions as well as exempting Quanzhen institutions from taxation.{{sfnp|Eskildsen|2004|p=17}}{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=155}} Another important Quanzhen figure was Zhang Boduan, author of the ''[[Wuzhen pian]]'', a classic of internal alchemy, and the founder of the southern branch of Quanzhen. During the Song era, the [[Zhengyi Dao]] tradition properly developed in Southern China among Taoists of the Chang clan.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=103-104}} This liturgically focused tradition would continue to be supported by later emperors and survives to this day.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=105}} In the Yuan dynasty, Taoism in [[Northern China]] took inspiration from [[Tibetan culture|Tibetan cultural]] practices, [[Chinese folk religion]] (often from the western parts of the Yuan dynasty's land), and [[Tibetan Buddhism]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Michael |title=The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-250-20257-4 |edition=First U.S. |location=New York |page=363 |author-link=Michael Wood (historian)}}</ref> Under the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644), aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and [[East Asian Buddhism]] were consciously synthesized in the [[Neo-Confucian]] school, which eventually became Imperial [[orthodoxy]] for state bureaucratic purposes.<ref>{{harvp|Kohn|2000|p=xvii}}</ref> Taoist ideas also influenced Neo-Confucian thinkers like [[Wang Yangming]] and [[Zhan Ruoshui]].{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=178}} During the Ming, the legends of the [[Eight Immortals]] (the most important of which is [[Lü Dongbin]]) rose to prominence, being part of local plays and folk culture.{{sfnp|Kohn|2008|p=163}} Ming emperors like the [[Hongwu Emperor]] continued to invite Taoists to court and hold Taoist rituals that were believed to enhance the power of the throne. The most important of these were connected with the Taoist deity [[Xuanwu (god)|Xuanwu]] ("Perfect Warrior"), which was the main dynastic protector deity of the Ming.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=163}} The Ming era saw the rise of the Jingming ("Pure Illumination") school to prominence, which merged Taoism with Buddhist and Confucian teachings and focused on "purity, clarity, loyalty and [[filial piety]]".<ref name="Mou-2003">Zhongjian Mou (2003). ''A Brief History of the Relationship Between Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism'', p. 389. Springer Nature.</ref> {{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=108-109, 165}} The school derided internal and external alchemy, fasting ([[Bigu (grain avoidance)|bigu]]), and breathwork. Instead, the school focused on using mental cultivation to return to the mind's original purity and clarity (which could become obscured by desires and emotions).<ref name="Mou-2003" /> Key figures of this school include Xu Xun, Liu Yu, Huang Yuanji, Xu Yi, and Liu Yuanran. Some of these figures taught at the imperial capital and were awarded titles.<ref name="Mou-2003" /> Their emphasis on practical ethics and self-cultivation in everyday life (rather than ritual or monasticism) made it very popular among the literati class.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=165}} The [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1912) mainly promoted Buddhism as well as [[Neo-Confucianism]].{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=165}} Thus, during this period, the status and influence of Taoism declined. During the 18th century, the Qing imperial library excluded virtually all Taoist books.<ref>{{harvp|Schipper|1993|p=19}}</ref> The Qing era also saw the birth of the [[Longmen Taoism|Longmen]] ("Dragon Gate" {{lang|zh|龍門}}) school of Wang Kunyang (1552–1641), a branch of Quanzhen from southern China that became established at the [[White Cloud Temple]].{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=110}}<ref name="esposito">{{harvp|Esposito|2001}}{{pages needed|date=June 2020}}</ref> Longmen authors like [[Liu Yiming]] (1734–1821) and Min Yide (1758–1836) worked to promote and preserve Taoist inner alchemy practices through books like ''[[The Secret of the Golden Flower]]''.<ref>{{harvp|Kirkland|2004|p=112}}</ref> The Longmen school synthesized the Quanzhen and neidan teachings with the Chan Buddhist and Neo-Confucian elements that the Jingming tradition had developed, making it widely appealing to the literati class.{{sfnp|Kirkland|2004|p=168}} === 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> === 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). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page