The Three Great Faiths of the Chinese

The three main beliefs of the Chinese: Taoism, Buddhism and Islam.

Taoism: Originating in China, Taoism emphasizes the path of living in harmony with nature, cultivating one's body and pursuing immortality. Its core idea is the philosophy of Taoism, which stresses the unity of human beings and nature, and emphasizes the principles of doing nothing and following nature.

Buddhism: Buddhism first originated in India, and was later introduced to China and integrated with Chinese culture and philosophical thought. Buddhism emphasizes the relief of suffering through cultivation and enlightenment, and the attainment of liberation and enlightenment.

Islam: In China, Islam is mainly found in the northwestern region and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which include the provinces and autonomous regions of Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. After Islam was introduced to China, it gradually grew in development.

The emergence, formation and development of Taoism

The Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei-Jin and North-South Dynasties is the period of the formation and establishment of Taoism, the late Eastern Han Dynasty Huanglao Dao formed the entity of the Taoism, Taiping Dao, Tianshi Dao and other folk primitive religious groups were established one after another, and then by the Wei-Jin and North-South Dynasties for hundreds of years of the transformation of the development of the Taoism of the classic teachings, practice methods and techniques, the precepts and rituals of the paradigm is becoming more complete, the emerging Taoist sects have been born, and the new Taoists are growing. The new Taoist sects flourished and were recognized by the rulers, evolving into a mature orthodox religion.

Sui-Tang to the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the ruling class respect, Taoism is extremely prosperous, social influence is great, Taoist philosophy, health techniques, incantations, rituals and regulations are also more perfect, the late Tang Dynasty after the Northern Song Dynasty, there are some new changes within the Taoist religion, the main manifestation of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, the emergence of the ideology of the three schools of thought and the practice of internal alchemy-based jingdan Taoist school began to rise, to the Southern Song Dynasty, the Golden Age of Taoism, the changes. The changes took place during the Southern Song and Jin Yuan periods.

The new Taoist sects of Quanzhen Dao, Taidao Dao, and Zhendao Dao appeared in North China, and the new Taoist sects of Jindan Nanzong, Tianxin, Shenxiao, Qingwei, and Jingshiming appeared in South China. Early days of Tianshidao, Shangqing, and Lingbao sects also innovated in their doctrines and Taoist methods, and the propaganda of unity of the three religions and the focus on the internal elixir cultivation were the main characteristics of Taoism in this period.