The Culture and History of Taoism

1. The Culture, History and Origin of Taoism in China

Taoism is an inherent Chinese religion with a history of more than 1800 years. Its teachings are closely related to the local Chinese culture, y rooted in the Chinese fertile soil, with distinctive Chinese characteristics, and has had a profound impact on all aspects of Chinese culture.

The origin of the name of Taoism lies in the ancient doctrine of Taoism, and in the Taoist teachings of Laozi, which were first described in the Laozi wuer zhi (Note to Laozi). Taoism worships Laozi as its master, because the earliest origin of Taoist philosophical thought can be traced back to Laozhuang. It is worth noting that Taoism and Taoism are two distinctly different things. The Taoism taught by the Taoists is not a religion and does not advocate the establishment of a religion. Laozi is the source of Taoist thought, and was regarded as a "scripture" by Zhang Daoling and others in later times, not a scripture written by "Taishang Laojun" for the purpose of preaching. It is generally believed that the first official classic of Taoism was the Taiping Jing, which was completed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and therefore the Eastern Han Dynasty is regarded as the period of Taoism's beginnings. Taoism officially had Taoist entity activities in the late Eastern Han Dynasty when Taiping Dao and Wudoumidao appeared, and the three books, Taiping Jing, Zhouyi Sen Tongqi, and Laozi wuer zhu, are the symbols of the formation of the beliefs and theories of Taoism. In recent years, the Taoist idea of "the unity of heaven and mankind" and the concept of the universe have been increasingly emphasized and have attracted the interest of the Western world, which has also made Taoism gain more attention. Although there is a Taoist component in the teachings of Taoism, it is far from enough to represent the spirit of Taoism, and far from enough to convey the ideas of Laozhuang, and the two must not be confused.

Taoism to "Tao" name religion, or say Laozhuang doctrine, or say internal and external cultivation, or say talismanic magic, its doctrine is to "Tao" or "morality" as the core, that all things in heaven and earth, "Tao" and derived, that is, the so-called "one life, two, three, three, three, all things," the society should be law "Tao" and behavior, and finally return to nature. Specifically, the doctrine system is developed from four aspects, namely, "heaven", "earth", "man" and "ghost". Heaven refers to both the real universe and the place where the immortals reside. The heavenly realm is said to have thirty-six heavens, and heaven has a heavenly gate with a jade palace inside, inhabited by celestial gods, celestial honors, celestial emperors, riding celestial horses, drinking from the celestial river, and serving celestial soldiers, celestial generals, and celestial maidens. Its enshriner is the Way of Heaven. The earth refers to both the reality of the earth and all things, and the hell where ghosts suffer. Its operation is subject to the Way of the Earth. Human beings refer to both human beings in general and individuals in their limitations. The words and deeds of human beings should be practiced in accordance with the human way and human virtues. Ghost refers to the place to which one belongs. If a person can cultivate good virtues, he can be transcended in the netherworld and get out of the sea of suffering, and his surname will not be recorded in the Ghost Pass, which is called the Ghost Immortal. Immortals, too, are the idolatrous embodiment of Taoist doctrinal thought. Taoism is a polytheistic religion, inherited the ancient Chinese for the sun, moon, stars, rivers, seas and mountains, as well as ancestral spirits of the dead are worshiped by the customary beliefs of the ancestors, forming a complex system of gods and goddesses, including the gods and goddesses of heaven, earth and ghosts. Taoism advocates the doctrine of Wuji, Yuanji, Taiji, and Zhongyong, which is the 'Way', the Middle Way.

There are two kinds of Taoists: the clergy, or "Taoist priests". According to the Taixiao Luangshu Sutra, "A man who walks the Way is called a Taoist priest." According to "Taixiao Luanshu Jing", "people walk the road, called Taoist." "The body and mind is smooth, for the road is from, so called Taoist." They can be categorized according to the geographical area of Maoshan Taoist priests, Luofu Taoist priests and so on. From the teacher can be divided into the "first" Taoist priests, "Quanzhen" Taoist priests, and so on. According to the Palace in the Church can be divided into "the head", "Hall master", "guest" and so on. The other is the general public, known as the "resident" or "believers. The "Gong Guan" is the most important form of Taoist organization. It is the place where Taoist priests practiced Taoism, worshipped the gods, and held ceremonies. Taoism also has a number of economic organizations (such as the vegetarian department, tea factory, etc.), educational organizations (Taoism classes, Taoist scripture classes, etc.), charitable organizations (homes for the elderly, the Department of medicine, etc.).

Taoism is an important religious practice of Taoists practicing the Way of Heaven, which is generally considered to have external elixir, internal elixir, food service, and rooming-in. External Dan, refers to the use of Dan furnace or tripod burning lead and mercury and other minerals, the production of people can be served after "immortality" of the elixir. After the Tang Dynasty, it was gradually replaced by internal alchemy. Neidan, for the line of gas, guide, breathing and vomiting and so on the general term, refers to the use of the human body as a pot, so that the essence of the body condensed into dan and achieve the purpose of immortality. The art of internal alchemy has been gradually popular since the Jin Yuan Dynasty, and its origins date back to the Warring States Period, which has had a great influence on Chinese medicine and health science. The term "taking food" refers to the use of medicines in order to achieve immortality.

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2. Introduce the culture and history of Taoism

Washing machine, you want to dry

Taoism is the highest belief in the "Tao" for the Chinese people inherent in the traditional religion, which is based on the ancient religious beliefs of China, inherited from the ancient Chinese people, and has been the basis for the development of a new religion.

It is believed that people can live forever and become immortals after certain training. It religiousized Laozi and his Tao Te Ching, honoring Laozi

as the master of the religion, worshipping him as a god, taking the Tao Te Ching as the main classic, and explaining it religiously. At the time of its founding, it was mainly popular

among the people, and became the organizer and banner of some peasant uprisings. After the Wei and Jin dynasties, some of the more influential Taoists

were fostered and utilized by the feudal rulers, leading to the gradual upward mobilization of Taoism and its integration with Confucian concepts of discipline and religion; in

some dynasties were also involved in court politics.

In some dynasties, it was also involved in court political activities.

On the other hand, in the private sector, Taoism continued to spread in its popular form, from which it also developed

a number of clandestine religious organizations, which continued to play their role in organizing and linking up with the peasants and civilians in their struggles against oppression and exploitation.

Taoism in its long-term development process, with the increasing multiplication of sects, but also accumulated a large number of books

text, compiled into the "Taoist Collection", many of which have historical value of the literature, for the Chinese society's political, economic,

philosophy, literature, art, music, as well as medicine, pharmacy, health care, qigong science, chemistry, astronomy, Geography and

social psychology, social customs and other aspects have had varying degrees of positive impact, in the traditional Chinese culture occupies

an important position.

3. The origin of Taoist culture in China

Taoism, like other religions, is a socio-historical phenomenon with its own process of occurrence and development. The early sects were not formed through the same way, in the same region and at the same time, and there was no unified and stable sect organization for a long time, so the upper limit of the history of Taoism in China is not easy to determine. In the early days, there were the Fu-Lu School and the Dan-Ding School, but the process of their birth was quite complicated. The Danding Sect, which emphasized purification and cultivation, and had its predecessors in the form of internal and external elixirs, was developed during the Warring States period from the art of divine formulae and the study of qigong for health. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, < > and < > began to form the early Taoist theory, but there is no corresponding Taoist organization. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Inner Taoist scriptures < > and the Outer Taoist scriptures < > had a greater impact on society, but their social organization was still weak. < > and < > also became another important source of Taoism. From this we can see that the process of the emergence of Taoism in China is multi-source, multi-channel and gradual convergence. All the sects were influenced by each other, but basically developed independently, and there is no unified time for the creation of Taoism. There is no unified name for the sects and their members, and the term Taoism can be found in < >. The emergence of Taoism can be seen from < > < > < > the three books as a sign of Taoist activity and the emergence of Taoist entities. The main sources and social backgrounds of early Taoism are as follows: first, from ancient religions and folk sorcery; second, from the legends of immortals and the magic of the Fonzes from the Warring States period to the Qin and Han dynasties. Thirdly, it originated from the philosophy of Laozhuang in the pre-Qin period and the Taoist doctrine in the Qin and Han periods. Fourthly, it comes from Confucianism and the idea of yin-yang and five elements. Fifthly, it is derived from ancient medicine and knowledge of sports and hygiene. Taoism was born at the end of the Han Dynasty. It is a product of Han society and an integral part of Han ideology and culture, with profound social reasons. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it directly promoted the formation of the Danding School. In addition, the introduction and prosperity of Buddhism on the emergence of Taoism has *** and promote the role. < > is the earliest Taoist classic handed down to this day. Its main ideas are: 1. the mysterious theory of qi chemistry, 2. three concentric harmony theory. That is to say, advocating the king, the minister, the people straight coordination **** place. 3. Yin and Yang, five elements of the plague said. 4. Heaven and man are connected to the divine immortal system. < > of the immortal system of gods and goddesses, the second is a real person, the third is the immortal, the fourth is the Taoist, the fifth is the saint, the sixth is the sage. It has two theological systems: namely, the heaven and earth yin and yang system . . and the divine-immortal system . These two are parallel, the gods and goddesses of heaven, the real people of earth, the immortals of wind and rain, the Taoists of good and bad luck, the saints of the people, the sages of the people, and the sages of the sages of the sages of the sages of the sages of the sages of the sages of the sages. < > is the earliest theoretical work of Taoism Danding School. Its central idea is the use of hints of the yin and yang way, with reference to the theory of Huang Lao nature, about the fire alchemy, basically an external Danjing. It is basically an external Dan scripture. Its text is ancient and difficult to understand, and its true meaning is not easy to grasp. < > is an important source for further understanding of the teachings and theories of Wudoumidao. The biggest difference between Wudoumidao and Taipingdao is that it did not suffer the same tragedy as Taipingdao, but after evolving into Tianshidao, it became the orthodox school of Daoism.

4. Seeking a history of the development of Taoist thought

1. Origin: The Han Shu - Art and Culture Zhi has recorded that Taoist books include the Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor, the Yellow Emperor's Inscriptions, the Yellow Emperor's Junshen, the Miscellaneous Yellow Emperors, the Li-Mu, the Yi Yin, the T'ai Kung, the Xin Jia, the Sai Tzu, and the Guan Tzu, which implies that Taoist thought is related to the thoughts on governance by the Yellow Emperor, the Yi Yin, the Jiang T'ai Kung, the Xin Jia, the Sai Tzu, and the Guan Tzu. . In addition, unlike Confucian culture, which originated from Zhou culture, Taoist scholars mostly came from Song, Chu, Qin, Qi, etc., implying that Taoist thought was closely related to Yin and Shang cultures

Portrait of Laozi

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2. Forming: At the end of Spring and Autumn Period, with the introduction of Laozi's Tao Te Ching as a sign, the idea of Taoism had been fully formed.

3, flourished: the Warring States period, Taoism formed three schools, Yang Zhu school, Huang Lao school and Laozhuang school, in addition to the Laozhuang school, Yang Zhu school and Huang Lao school have flourished for a while, which is the most flourishing Huang Lao school, at which time, Huang Lao thought not only became Tian Qi's ideology of governing the country and through the Hundred Schools of Thought had a great impact on the sons, but also in the reign of the State of Chu and Lv Buwei, the reign of the State of Qin has also played a role, and the State of Chu and Lv Buwei, the reign of the State of Qin. So much so that at the end of the Warring States period, the formation of Mr. Meng Wentong said, "Huang Lao alone prevailed over the hundred schools of thought" situation.

4, setback: before the unification of China by Qin, Lu Buwei organized the compilation of "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", which was based on Taoist thought and blended various schools of thought, obviously, Lu Buwei wanted to use this as an ideology after the unification of China. However, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who came to power later, chose Legalism, and burned books and pitted the Confucians shortly after the unification of China, which frustrated all the schools of thought, including Taoism.

5. Splendor: After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, due to the devastation of prolonged war, based on the reflection of Qin's ruling ideology, he began to choose Taoism as the ideology of governance, and created a period of prosperity called the "Rule of Wen and Jing".

6. Suppression: After the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion to "revere Confucianism and depose all schools of thought", and the development of Taoism was temporarily suppressed.

7, resurrection: Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties period, the rise of the wind of the Xuan, Taoist thought resurrection, but this time the focus is not Huang Lao, but the Lao Zhuang re-interpretation, and the formation of a far-reaching Wei Jin metaphysics. Since then, Laozhuang has become the orthodoxy of Taoism, which continues to this day.

8, latent: Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties, although Taoist thought has repeatedly become a first aid kit for the rule of the country after the chaos, but also part of the scholarly community after the loss of spiritual support, but it is most of the time in a marginalized state, can only continue to play a role in the arts and science and technology, etc., and, in addition, the Taoist ideology has been combined with Buddhism, the formation of the Chinese style of Buddhism -- Zen Buddhism; and Taoist thought has been combined with Buddhism, forming the Chinese style of Buddhism. -Zen; and Taoism had also played an important role in the formation of Confucian Song Ming ethics and Yangming Xinxue.

9. Revival: In the late Qing Dynasty, with the onslaught of the West, the ruling order of Confucianism was strongly impacted, coupled with the fact that Taoism and Western concepts of freedom and democracy have much in common, so Taoist thought was revived again. 1991, Mr. Tung Kwang-pi firstly put forward the concept of a new Taoism of the present day, and got Chen Gu-yin and other people to respond warmly, and since then there have been Taoist theories, Taoism, Taoism, Taoism, liberalism, and the theory of self-transformation, and so on, the new theory appeared. Since then, there have been new theories such as Taoism, Taoist liberalism, and the theory of self-transformation, among which theories like the Taoist quotient have also been applied and popularized in real life.

5. Origins of Taoism in China

Lao Tzu is a Taoist, and Taoism and Taoism have their origins, but they are not the same thing. ......

Taoism is a religion native to China. It was founded during the reign of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the cultural tradition, Taoism inherited the ancient Chinese traditional rites and music civilization; in this theory, Taoism directly absorbed and developed the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period of Laozi, Zhuangzi's Taoism; in practice, Taoism inherited the pre-Qin period of the Shi, the immortal cultivation experience and results. Taoist culture has a long and profound history. To summarize: Taoist cosmology, Taoist concept of life, Taoist philosophy, Taoist theology, Taoism, Taoism, Bun Rituals, medicine and health, yin and yang feng shui, life prediction, Taoism, Taoism, Taoism, Taoism, Taoism, martial arts, Taoism, such as music and other aspects of the twelve.

6. Historical Origins of Taoism in China

Taoism was formally founded in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, marked by the emergence of the Tao of Taiping and the Tao of Wudoumidao.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, through the efforts and reforms of Ge Hong, Kou Qianzhi, Lu Xiujing, Tao Hongjing, and others, Taoism became one of the orthodox religions of China, alongside Buddhism.

After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the rulers of the five generations basically valued the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, only the love of each emperor for each religion, the degree of belief varies, some more important to Buddhism, some more important to Taoism. While honoring, the rulers also strengthened the control of Buddhism and Taoism.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, Taoism was revered by the ruling class and further developed, forming a variety of schools, and after the Yuan gradually formed the Quanzhen school and the Zhengyi school of the two schools. In the Ming Dynasty, Taoism was in decline, and its influence on the ruling class was far weaker than in the Tang and Song dynasties.

By the Qing Dynasty, the royal family respected Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism to take the policy of severe restrictions, Taoism is more declining, the activities are mainly in the folk.

Since the Opium War, China became a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, and Taoism was also subjected to imperialist oppression and the impact of Western thought. Taoism further decline, in China's five religions down to the power of the Order and political influence of the weakest one. Many Taoist priests were poorly educated and lacked religious knowledge. Taoist organizations were loosely organized, and contacts and unity were not strong enough in different parts of the country. However, there are still a group of Taoist priests dedicated to cultivation, writing books and preaching, class disciples precepts, so that the Taoist teachings to continue.

At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, during the transition from a new democratic society to a socialist society, the Taoist community cooperated with the upland reforms and carried out a campaign of democratic reform of the religious system.

After the democratic reform, the Chinese Taoists strengthened ties and unity, in Shenyang, Taiqing official abbot Yue Chongdai advocate and *** support, in April 1957 in Beijing, held the first national meeting of the Taoist community, the establishment of the Chinese Taoist Association, Yue Chongdai served as the first president of the Board of Governors. Chinese Taoism entered a new period of development.

7. The origin of Chinese Taoist culture

Taoism, like other religions, is a social and historical phenomenon, its occurrence, the development process. The early sects were not formed through the same way, in the same region and at the same time, and there was no unified and stable sect organization for a long time, so the upper limit of the history of Taoism in China is not easy to determine. In the early days, there were the Fu-Lu School and the Dan-Ding School, but the process of their birth was quite complicated. The Danding Sect, which emphasized purification and cultivation, and had its predecessors in the form of internal and external elixirs, was developed during the Warring States period from the art of divine formulae and the study of qigong for health. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, <<; Taiping Jing>>; and <<; Zhouyi Sen Tongqi>>; began to form the early Taoist theory, but there is no corresponding Taoist organization. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Inner Dan Jing<<; Huangting Jing>>; and the Outer Dan Jing<<; Huguo Puzi. The Inner Chapters>>; and despite their large social impact, their social organization is still weak. <<; Laozi>>; and <<; Zhuangzi>>;; also become another important source of Taoism. From this, we can see that the process of the emergence of Chinese Taoism is multi-source, multi-channel and gradually converge. The various sects have influenced each other, but basically developed independently, and there is no uniformity in the time of their founding. The name of the religion and the members also do not have a unified name, Taoism, the word Taoism in <<; Laozi want to note >>;. Accordingly, the emergence of Taoism can be seen by <<; Taiping Jing > > < <;; Zhouyi Sen Tongqi > > < <; Lao Zi want to note > >; three books as a sign of the emergence of Taoist activities and Taoist entities.

The main sources of early Taoism and the social background of its emergence are as follows:

First, from ancient religions and folk sorcery,

Second, from the legends of the gods and immortals from the Warring States period to the Qin and Han dynasties, and the Fangshi magic.

The third source is from the philosophy of Laozhuang in the pre-Qin Dynasty and Taoism in the Qin and Han dynasties.

The fourth is from Confucianism and the Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

Fifthly, it comes from ancient medicine and physical hygiene.

The historical origins of Taoism were born at the end of the Han Dynasty, and it was a product of Han society and an integral part of Han ideology and culture for profound social reasons. In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it directly promoted the formation of the Danding School. In addition, the introduction of Buddhism and the prosperity of Taoism has *** and promote the role.

<<;; Taiping Jing>>;; is the earliest Taoist classic handed down to this day. Its main ideas are: 1. the mysterious theory of qi chemistry, 2. the three concentric harmonization theory. That is to say, advocating the king, the minister, the people straight coordination **** place.3. Yin and Yang five elements of the calamity said.4. Heaven and man are connected to the divine immortal system. <<; Taiping Jing>>; of the immortal system of gods and goddesses, the second for the real person, the third for the immortal, the fourth for the Taoist, the fifth for the saints, the sixth for the sages. It has two theological systems: namely, the heaven and earth yin and yang system . . and the divine-immortal system . These two are parallel, the gods and goddesses of heaven, the real people of earth, the immortals of wind and rain, the Taoists of good and bad luck, the saints of the people, the sages of the people, the sages to assist the saints.

<<;; Zhouyi Sen Tongqi>>; is the earliest theoretical work of Taoism Danding School. Its central idea is the use of hints of yin and yang way, with reference to the theory of Huang Lao nature, about the fire alchemy, basically an external Danjing. Its text is ancient and difficult to understand, and its true meaning is not easy to grasp.

<<;; Laozi want to note >>;; is an important source of further understanding of the teachings and theories of Wu Dou Mi Tao. The biggest difference between Wudoumidao and Taipingdao is that it did not suffer the same tragedy as Taipingdao, but after evolving into Tianshidao, it became the orthodoxy of Taoism.