What is the essence of Taoist culture?

The essence is to advocate "morality".

The main works of Taoism include Laozi and Zhuangzi. Zhuang Zi is the representative of the Taoist school of thought, and the essence of his thought is to advocate "morality". Zhuang Zi inherited and developed Lao Zi's ideas, so historically, Lao and Zhuang were known together, and Taoist thought was also known as Lao and Zhuang thought.

The precious thing about Zhuangzi's thought is that he has a simple materialistic and dialectical view of nature. He believed that "heaven and earth are the greatest of forms; yin and yang are the greatest of qi; and the Tao is the commonwealth" ("Zhuangzi - Zeyang"). Qi is the naturalness of matter, so the subjective spirit of "Tao" is inseparable from the objective nature of "Qi".

Expanded Information

Influence on China:

1. Influence on traditional Chinese politics. The influence of Taoism on traditional Chinese politics is mainly reflected in the theory and practice of the Huang Lao school of Taoism.

2. Influence on traditional legal system. As one of the ideological pillars of traditional Chinese culture, Taoist thought had a great influence on the ancient Chinese legal system in the form of Huanglao Taoism in the pre-Qin and early Western Han Dynasty, so much so that some people in later times called Huanglao Taoism by the name of Taoist Legalism.

3. Influence on traditional science and technology. The traditional Chinese scientific paradigm has always been in pursuit of the Tao inherent in things, and in the pursuit of the Tao an organic scientific system of thought has been formed with the Tao as the core, with the relationship between heaven and earth and man as the main line, with nature as the principle, and with the Tao, yuan qi, yin and yang, existence and non-existence, and self-transformation as the basic concepts.

4. Influence on literature and art. Taoist thought, especially Taoist Laozhuang party's influence on Chinese literature and art, more than the Hundred Schools of Thought, but also beyond Confucianism and Buddhist thought, this influence is so great that it is still not obsolete.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Taoism

Baidu Encyclopedia - Taoist School