Early Religions: Taoism
“The Tao surrounds everyone and therefore
everyone must listen to find enlightenment.”
-Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE)
•
ultimate goal is to become one with Tao
•
seek answers to life’s problems through
inner meditation and outer observation
•
must nurture the ‘Chi’ given to them
The Founder
-
Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE)
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He has been credited with writing the seminal
Taoist work
Example Dao De Jing (道德經)
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As well he is acknowledged as the founding
father of Taoism
-
Chinese name: 老子
Place of Origin
- Taoism's origins have been traced backed to the
prehistoric Chinese religion
- The organization of the Dao De Jing is the first
record of Taoism in the third or fourth century
BCE
- Taoism, became one of China’s great religions
History Of Taoism
 Tao
roughly translates to “the path”
 It
evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE
when it was adopted as a state religion
 With
the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty in
1911, state support for Taoism ended
History Of Taoism (cont.)
 After
the Communist victory in 1949, religious
freedom was severely restricted.
 Monks were put into labour camps. Several
million were reduced down to less then 50
000.
 Some
religious tolerance has been restored
under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the
present time.
SYMBOLS

There are many symbols and images associated with
Taoism. However, there is once central symbol, known as:
THE YIN-YANG or TAIJITU (太極圖)
 Yin (black) represents eternity, dark, feminine,
left side of the body, etc.
Yang (white) is its opposite and represents
history, light, masculine, right side of the body,
etc.
 Together they represent the peace and
harmony of the opposing sides.
ADHERENTS

Last year, the estimated Taoist population was 31 million outside
China ( primarily centered in Taiwan) and around 30,000 Taoists
living in North America.
INFLUENCE IN THE

st
21
CENTURY
Taoism can be seen in Western societies in areas of acupuncture
and herbalism, certain exercises and martial arts such as Tai-chi,
and other art forms such as feng-shui.
Tai Chi
•
slow moving exercise
•
balances energy flow, promoting healthy
life
•
exercise that requires whole body
concentration
Taoism
•
three jewels: compassion, moderation and
humility
•
Taoists follow art of ‘wu wei’
•
strongly promote health and vitality
Religious vs. Philosophical
•
rituals such as presenting sacrifices,
bowing toward an altar holding insense in
one’s hand, parades, dragon dances
coinciding with lunar calendar