Daoism

Daoism (道教) is one of the major religions of the world and constitutes one of China's three main philosophies, alongside Confucianism (儒家) and Buddhism (佛教). Daoism originated in China over 2000 years ago and has since spread throughout Asia.

Daoism focuses on various topics such as immortality, virtue, and saving the world (长生不死、得道成仙、济世救人). Various concepts popular in the world such as Yin Yang (阴阳) originate from Daoism.

## Etymology

Dao (道) is a Chinese concept roughly meaning 'the way', 'the truth', or 'the principle'.

Dao is the modern Chinese pinyin spelling. Tao is the old spelling.

* 道士 Daoshi is Daoist.
* 道教 Daojiao is Daoism.

## History

Daoism is based primarily on the teachings of **Huangdi (黄帝) and Laozi (老子)** and is thus sometimes called Huanglao (黄老).

Huang was a legendary emperor of the Huaxia ethnicity of China that lived around 2717-2599 BC. He wrote the ancient Huangdi Neijing (《黄帝内经》) and made numerous inventions in the fields of agriculture, clothing, military, medicine, and transportation.

Modern Daoism and the teachings of Laozi originated from the **State of Chen (陈国)**, founded by Chen Hugong (陈胡公) during the Spring Autumn Period and Zhou Dynasty (周朝春秋战国). Today this is the Chen State of Henan province (今河南陈州). Specifically Daoism originated from a citizen of the Chen Dynasty named **Laozi (老子 571-471 BC).**

Laozi wrote the Daodejing (《道德经》), and since the Warring States Period, Daoism had become one of the 100 Schools of Thought (诸子百家之一).

The State of Qi (齐国) respected and used the teachings of Huang and Lao as the core tenets of modern Daoism. Over time, up to the Han dynasty, Daoism began merging with and borrowing from other Chinese philosophies such as the mysticism of Zhuangzi (庄子), the ethics of Confucianism, and the teachings of Mohism (墨家). Ancient scripture such as the famous Chinese text Yijing (《易经》) became classic reading material for Daoist priests.

Later, Han Dynasty philosophers such as Zhang Daoling (张道陵) helped further expand on Daoism as well. Tang Dynasty emperors made Daoism the official state religion, worshipped Laozi, and began synthesizing elements of Buddhism with Daoism.

Before the Yuan Dynasty, the Daoist Qiu Chuji (丘处机 1148-1227 CE) traveled to Central Asia / the Western Regions (西域), where he persuaded Chenggis Khan to love the people of the world. He was praised and worshipped by Chenggis Khan as a Divine Spirit (神仙) and national teacher and was put in charge of developing Quanzhen Daoism (全真道). During the Yuan dynasty, Quanzhen Daoism flourished and blended with elements of Southern Daoist sects based on the 'Five Ancestors and Seven Truths' (五祖七真) teachings of Chen Zhixu (陈致虚). During the time, teaching Confucianism and Daoism as one (儒道合一) as well as loyalty, filial piety and clarity (忠孝净明) became popular. In 1304 CE, Yuan Chengzong (元成宗) supported Zhang Yucai (张与材) as the leader of the Zhengyi school (正一道), and various other schools of Daoism also continued to develop.

Daoism was also developed during the Sui, Song, and Ming dynasties. Today, Daoism has experienced a cultural renaissance in modern China, becoming an overarching theme in many modern media.

## References

1. ↑ 《史记》
2. ↑ The Yijing 《易经》was written in ancient times, roughly in the period from c. 2500 BC up to the Han dynasty, making it one of the oldest written records in China and the world. It is considered to be the fountain of many aspects of Chinese culture, including art, astronomy, architecture, historiography, math, music, medicine, martial arts, philosophy, and religion. It is notable for using trigrams or bagua (八卦).