Taoism in China

Daoism has a history of more than 1，800 years，back to the East Han Dynasty.On the most basic level，Daoism refers to an indigenous Chinese religious tradition in which reverence for and veneration of the Dao ，translatable as the Way，is a matter of ultimate concern.Daoism traces its origins to Laozi，and his works，the Classic ofthe Way and Virtue .The philosophy of Daoism is centered on‘the way’，which is an understanding of the true nature of the universe，the existence of an unseen and inexpressible absolute.

Daoism is a religion because it involves an orientation towards and relationship with the sacred.Daoism is considered the folk religion of China.China now has more than 1，500 Daoist temples.Daoism is a Chinese religious tradition in the process of being transmitted and adapted to a global context.

Daoism is no longer simply a Chinese religious tradition.

It is now a global religious and cultural phenomenon（a），existing in Brazil，Canada，Denmark，England，France，Italy，Korea，Singapore，Thailand，and Vietnam and practiced by people of a wide variety of ethical backgrounds.It is alsoslowly becoming established in the United States in various forms，with varying degrees of connection with the earlier Chinese religious tradition.Without an understanding of such historical precedents，Daoism in the West will simply be a fabrication，a fiction，and a fantasy.This does not mean that there should not be adaptation and modification；change necessarily occurs when a religious tradition enters a new cultural context and when religious practitioners have different concerns and motivations.But it does mean that without a connection and collective memory suchinnovations”become meaningless names.

Daoism has no supreme being.Daoists do not pray to any God.They seek answers to life’S problems through their inner meditation and outer observation.

The typical Daoist figure is the hermit，retiring from the mundane world to remote rural areas where they devoted themselves to meditation, the study of the Dao, medicinal herbs, music or poetry to attain the blessed state of immortality.

Laozi

Laozi, meaning”old master”, is a scholar in the royal archives in the sixth century BC. His works the Classic ofthe Way and Virtue, slightly more than 5,000 characters, is one of the most celebrated works of Chinese spirituality. Laozi focused on nature and the natural order, and believed that people are, by nature, good.

Laozi was borm at Ku Prefecture (today’ s Luyi County of Henan province ) in the later years of the Spring and Autumn Period. His real name was Li Er and his courtesy name was Dan. Unlike Confucius, Laozi is not taken as a historical figure by historians, and his works, too, was thought to be written by a group of scholars. Anyway, Laozi has remained one of deities in religious Daoism.

ThecoreofLaoZi’ sthoughtisDao(theWay), by which he referred to the condition of the universe before the creation of the heaven and the earth. Lao Zi believed that the soft and the weak overcome the hard and the strong (“Of allthings yielding and weak in the world, none is more so than water. But for attacking what is unyielding and strong, nothing is superior to it.”) . He upheld the idea of stillness and tranquility (“Attain utmost vacuity, hold fast to quietude.”) and suggested that only through”cleansing and purifying the distracting thoughts”should one understands one’ s true self. Lao Zi attached importance to the withdrawal in oneself, especiallythrough the cultivation and regulation of mentality with one’ S own efforts. Lao Zi believed that the force behind the motion of the universe is overwhelming. The idealistic state in his description is naturalistic, even primitive and in isolation. “Whatis higher is pulled down, and what is lower is raised up; what is taller is shortened, and what is thinner is broadened; Nature’ s motion decreases those who have more than they need and increases those who need more than they have.

Lao Zi is the teacher of Confucius. Lao Zi is the”mystic”who spoke chiefly of the unseen and intangible; Confucius isthe”great realistic”and moral philosopher who preferred not speaking of things unseen, rather he set a system of’ moral axiomsrather than’ religious dogmas”.

Development of Daoism Daoist ideas, as immortality and sanctification of the bodies had already existed during the time of the W arring States.

They became even more popular During the Qin and Han Dynasties. It was in the Eatern Han that Daoism was developed into a religion. Its growth and development were directly related to the social life of the people, their history, and other objective facts.

In the Eatern Han undue economic exploitations and political pressure at that time had made it impossible for the populace to lead a decent life; bankruptcy and emigration were common. The economic and political unrest, as well as spiritu-al and moral decay, provided an objective vantage for the dev-elopment of religion. Besides, the conflict between the ruling class and the ruled was intense and acute. The leaders of the peasant uprising preferred magic and superstitions as tools for mobilizing the people to rally support in their movements.

Thus the way for the widespread development of religion had been paved.

Another important factor for Daoism to become a religion was that Confucianism declined at that time. In the time of Han Wudi the idea”of the hundred schools, only Confucianism is the most revered, “had adapted itself to the needs of building aunified feudal society and serving as an ideology for the ruling class. However, Confucian attempt to materialize the ideals ofgoverning the state and pacifying the world”in the real world was lessoned with the decay of the later Han Dynasty.

When the dominant ideology of the ruling class lost its power, it often signalled the growth and dominance of a countervailing religion.

But Confucian ideas are rooted in Daoism，For example，the idea ofthe ultimate peace in the unity of the three（heaven，earth and man）in one”.

Fangxian Dao or the Way of the Saints began about in the 4th century BC.Its aim was to get longevity andbecome immortal with the help of ghosts and gods.The saints’underlying objective was to attain eternal life and to cause the bodies to be sanctified.Its immortal theory became the basic belief in later Daoism.

Huanglao Dao or the Way of Huang-Lao was a combination of Emperors’ruling ideas and philosophers’thoughts.At the begining of the Western Han，the popular Huang-Lao learning was essentially Daoist.It frequently emphasized the exemplary qualities of the sage and was thus deemed capable of exercising its power over the state and the cosmos.It was based on Five Elements ：（wood，fire，earth，metal，water）；egative and posi-tive ，and the immortal theories.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty Wudoumi Dao was created and Taiping Dao was established.All these were schools of Daoism.Daoism was first favored by the upper class，and from the 12th century forward it spread in the lower-class society.With its witchcraft elements Daoism has an air of mystery.

hancheng

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