Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) originated in China and is based on the philisophy of Laotse (Thai Thuong Lao Quan). Laotse lived in the 6th cenery BC. little is known about Laotse and there is some question as to whether or not he really existed. He is believed to have been the custodian of the imperial archives for the Chinese government.

Much uncertainty exists over the meaning of "Taoism." In some countries and contexts (for example, the national "Taoism" organizations of China and Taiwan), the label has come to be applied to the Chinese folk religion, which would otherwise not have a readily-recognizable English name. However many, if not most, of its practitioners would not recognize "Taoism" (in any language) as the name of their religion. Moreover, the several forms of what we might call "elite" or "organized" Taoism often distinguish their ritual activities from those of the folk religion, which professional "Taoists" (Daoshi) tend to view as debased.

Beliefs

According to the Taoist cosmology, Ngoc Hoang, the emperor of Jade whose abode is in the heaven, rules over a world of divinities, genies, spirits and demons in which the forces of nature are incarnated as a supernatural beings and great historical personages have become gods. It is the aspect of Raoism that has become assimiliated into the daily lives of most Vietnamese as a collection of supersition and mystical and animistic beliefs.

History

Depending on how it is defined, Taoism's origins may be traced to the prehistoric Chinese religion; to the composition of the Daodejing (third or fourth century BCE); or to the activity of Zhang Daoling (second century CE). Alternatively, one could argue that "Taoism" as a religious identity only arose later, by way of contrast with the newly-arrived religion of Buddhism, or with the fourth-century codification of the Shangching and Lingbao texts.

Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)

By the early Han, Laozi came to be worshipped as a god—either in association with or conflated with the Yellow Emperor. A major text from this "Huang-Lao" movement would be the Huainanzi, which interprets earlier Taoist teachings in light of the quest for immortality (including drugs, sexual practices, and breathing techniques).

Zhang Daoling began receiving new revelations from Laozi in 142 CE, and founded the Tianshi ("Celestial Masters") sect around them. He performed spiritual healing, and collected dues of "five pecks of rice" from his followers (thus providing an alternative name for his movement). Zhang Daoling's major message was that the world-order as his followers knew it would soon come to an end, and be succeeded by an era of "Great Peace" (Taiping). In fact their activities did hasten the downfall of the Han dynasty. The same could be said of their contemporaries and fellow Taoists, the Yellow Turban sect. Zhang's grandson set up a theocratic state in what is now Sichuan province. Today's Zhengyi sect claims continuity with Zhang Daoling.

Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in 166 CE. The Yin and Yang and "five elements" theories date from this time, but were not yet integrated into Taoism.

The name Daojia comes from the Han Dynasty. In Sima Qian's history (ch. 63) it refers to immortals; in Liu Xiang it refers to Laozi and Zhuangzi. Daojiao came to be applied to the religious movements mentioned above. The two terms were used interchangeably until modern times. (We owe the distinction to Confucian writers.) The earliest commentary on the Daodejing is actually that of Heshang Gong (the "Riverside Master"), a religious Taoist.

Six Dynasties (316-589)

Taoist alchemist Ge Hong, also known as Baopuzi (The "Master Embracing Simplicity") was active in the third and fourth centuries CE and had great influence on later Taoism. Major scriptures were produced during this time period, including The Shangqing ("Highest Purity") (365-70) and Lingbao ("Sacred Treasure") scriptures (397-402) received at Maoshan. The Shangqing revelations were received by Yang Xi, a relative of Ge Hong's; the revelations emphasized meditative visualization (neiguan). They spoke of the Shangqing heaven, which stood above what had been previously considered the highest heaven by Celestial Master Taoists. Yang Xi's revelations consisted of visitations from the residents of this heaven (the "Zhen Ren") many of whom were ancestors of a circle of aristocrats from southern China. These Zhen Ren spoke of an apocalypse which was to arrive in 384, and claimed that only certain people from this aristocratic circle had been chosen to be saved. For the first century of its existence, Shangqing Taoism was isolated to this aristocratic circle. However, Tao Hongjing (456-536) codified and wrote commentaries on Yang Xi's writings and allowed for the creation of Shangching Taoism as a popular religion. The Lingbao scriptures added some Buddhist elements such as chanted rituals, and an emphasis on universal salvation.

The Huahujing ("Scripture of Conversion of Barbarians") claimed that Laozi went to India, where he taught less advanced doctrines under the name of Buddha. Buddhists found its premise objectionable, and emperors regularly condemned it. A similar claim is made in the Xishengjing (the "Scripture of Western Ascension").

Tang Dynasty (618-907)

Taoism gained official status in China during the Tang dynasty, whose emperors claimed Laozi as their relative. However, it was forced to compete with Confucianism and Buddhism, its major rivals, for patronage and rank. Emperor Xuanzong (685-762), who ruled at the height of the Tang, wrote commentaries on texts from all three of these traditions, which exemplifies the fact that in many people's lives they were not mutually exclusive. This marks the beginning of a long-lived tendency within imperial China, in which the government supported (and simultaneously regulated) all three movements.

Emperor Tang Gaozong added the Daodejing to the list of "classics" (jing, 經) to be studied for the imperial examinations; hence the appearance of -jing in its title.

Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Several Song emperors, most notably Huizong, were active in promoting Taoism, collecting Taoist texts and publishing editions of the Daozang.

The Quanzhen school of Taoism was founded during this period, and together with the Zhengyi Celestial Masters is one of the two schools of Taoism that have survived to the present.

The Song Dynasty saw an increasingly complex interaction between the elite traditions of organised Taoism as practised by ordained Taoist ministers (daoshi) and the local traditions of folk religion as practised by spirit mediums (wu) and a new class of non-ordained ritual experts known as fashi. This interaction manifested itself in the integration of 'converted' local deities into the bureaucratically organised Taoist pantheon and the emergence of new exorcistic rituals, including the Celestial Heart Rites and the Thunder Rites.

Aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism were consciously synthesized in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually became Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes.

Yuan Dynasty (1279-1367)

Neidan ("Interior Alchemy") became a major emphasis of the Quanzhen sect, whose practitioners followed a monastic model inspired by Buddhism. One of its leaders, Qiu Chuji became a teacher of Genghis Khan (and uses his influence to save millions of lives). Originally from Shanxi and Shandong, the sect established its main center in Beijing's Baiyunguan ("White Cloud Monastery"). Before the end of the dynasty, the Celestial Masters sect (and Buddhism) again gained preeminence.

Nationalist Period (1912-1949)

Guomindang (China Nationalist Party) leaders embrace science, modernity, and Western culture, including (to some extent) Christianity. Viewing the popular religion as reactionary and parasitic, they confiscated some temples for public buildings, and otherwise attempted to control traditional religious activity.

Adherents

The number of "Taoists" is difficult to estimate, partly for definitional reasons (who counts as a Taoist?), and partly for practical ones (it is illegal for private parties to conduct surveys in China). The number of people practicing some aspect of the Chinese folk religion might number in the hundreds of millions. (Adherents.com estimates "Traditional Chinese religion" at nearly four hundred million). The number of people patronizing Daoshi (Taoist "priests" or masters) would be smaller by several orders of magnitude, while the number of literary Daojia would be smaller yet. At the same time, most Chinese people and many others have been influenced in some way by Taoist tradition.

Geographically, Taoism flourishes best in regions populated by Chinese people: inland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and various Chinese diaspora communities. Taoist literature and art has influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and these countries' folk religions have many common elements. "Organized" Taoism seems not to have attracted a non-Chinese following until modern times.

Relations with other religions and philosophies

The origins of Taoism and Confucianism are intimately related. The authorship of the Daodejing is traditionally assigned to Laozi, a teacher of Confucius, yet appears to be reacting against Confucian doctrine (suggesting a younger date). The term Dao is by no means exclusively Taoist, but was used in several schools of ancient Chinese philosophy--including Confucianism--to indicate their views on the proper conduct of individuals, the nature of human society, and the relationship of humans with the universe as a whole.

These early Taoist texts reject numerous basic assumptions of Confucianism, embracing instead values based on nature, individualism, and spontaneity. They express great skepticism toward morality, benevolence, and other Confucian virtues; and are similarly mistrustful of hierarchical social structures and indeed, governments. (Zhuangzi argues that the proponents of benevolence and morality are usually found at the gates of feudal lords who have stolen their kingdoms.)

Buddhism similarly found itself transformed from a competitor of Taoism, to a fellow inhabitant of the Chinese cultural ecosystem. Originally seen as a kind of foreign Taoism, its scriptures were translated into Chinese with Taoist vocabulary. Chan Buddhism in particular holds many beliefs in common with philosophical Taoism. In the Tang period Taoism incorporated such Buddhist elements as monasteries, vegetarianism, prohibition of alcohol, the celibacy of the clergy, the doctrine of emptiness, and the amassing of a vast collection of scripture into tripartite organization.

Ideological and political rivals in ancient times, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have nevertheless deeply influenced one another, and eventually achieved a kind of modus vivendi in which each has its own particular ecological niche within Chinese society. With time, most Chinese people likewise came to identify to some extent with all three traditions simultaneously. This became institutionalized by the time of the Song dynasty, when aspects of the three schools were consciously synthesized in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually became Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes.

Taoist thought partly inspired Legalist philosophers, whose theories where used by Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Chinese Empire. The junction point can be found in the work of Hanfeizi, a prominent Legalist thinker who commented on the Tao Te Ching. Hanfeizi used some chapters of the book to justify a structured society based on law and punishment and on the undiscussed power of the Emperor.

Taoism may have inherited some shamanic practices from ancient Chinese traditions. At the same time, Taoist leaders have sometimes viewed Central Asian shamans as rivals.

In spreading Catholic Christianity to China, Jesuit Matteo Ricci sought to ally the Church with Confucianism. In so doing the Jesuits encouraged the view that China lacked a high religion of its own (since Confucianism was not regarded as such). Until well into the twentieth century, Christians have tended to view religious Taoism as a hodgepodge of primitive superstitions, or even as a form of demonolatry.

In the last century or so, Taoism (along with Confucianism and Buddhism) has become incorporated into the theology of the Way of Former Heaven sects, notably Yiguandao. The same could be said with respect to Vietnam's religion of Caodaism.

Western New Agers have embraced some aspects of Taoism: the name and concept of "Tao", the names and concepts of yin and yang; an appreciation for Laozi and Zhuangzi, and a respect for other aspects of Chinese tradition such as qigong. At the same time, Western appropriations differ in subtle (or not so subtle) ways from their Asian sources. For example, the word "Tao" is used in numerous book titles which are connected to Chinese culture only tangentially. Examples would include Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics, or Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh.