Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Daoism
Chinese philosophy and religion
Alternative Title: Taoism
Table of Contents
Introduction
General characteristics
History
Influence
Daoism, also spelled Taoism, indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. In the broadest sense, a Daoist attitude toward life can be seen in the accepting and yielding, the joyful and carefree sides of the Chinese character, an attitude that offsets and complements the moral and duty-conscious, austere and purposeful character ascribed to Confucianism. Daoism is also characterized by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical (theories on the nature of reality), whereas the agnostic, pragmatic Confucian tradition considers these issues of only marginal importance, although the reality of such issues is, by most Confucians, not denied.
More strictly defined, Daoism includes: the ideas and attitudes peculiar to the Laozi (or Daodejing; “Classic of the Way of Power”), the Zhuangzi, the Liezi, and related writings; the Daoist religion, which is concerned with the ritual worship of the Dao; and those who identify themselves as Daoists.
Daoist thought permeates Chinese culture, including many aspects not usually considered Daoist. In Chinese religion, the Daoist tradition—often serving as a link between the Confucian tradition and folk tradition—has generally been more popular and spontaneous than the official (Confucian) state cult and less diffuse and shapeless than folk religion.
Daoist philosophy and religion have found their way into all Asian cultures influenced by China, especially those of Vietnam, Japan, and Korea. Various religious practices reminiscent of Daoism in such areas of Chinese cultural influence indicate early contacts with Chinese travelers and immigrants that have yet to be elucidated.
Both Western Sinologists and Chinese scholars themselves have distinguished—since Han times (206 bce–220 ce)—between a Daoist philosophy of the great mystics and their commentators (daojia) and a later Daoist religion (daojiao). This theory—no longer considered valid—was based on the view that the “ancient Daoism” of the mystics antedated the “later Neo-Daoist superstitions” that were misinterpretations of the mystics’ metaphorical images. The mystics, however, should be viewed against the background of the religious practices existing in their own times. Their ecstasies, for example, were closely related to the trances and spirit journeys of the early magicians and shamans (religious personages with healing and psychic transformation powers). Not only are the authors of the Daodejing, the Zhuangzi (book of “Master Chuang”), and the Liezi (book of “Master Lie”) not the actual and central founders of an earlier “pure” Daoism later degraded into superstitious practices but they can even be considered somewhat on the margin of older Daoist traditions. Therefore, because there has been a nearly continuous mutual influence between Daoists of different social classes—philosophers, ascetics, alchemists, and the priests of popular cults—the distinction between philosophical and religious Daoism in this article is made simply for the sake of descriptive convenience.
There is also a tendency among scholars today to draw a less rigid line between what is called Daoist and what is called Confucian. The two traditions share many of the same ideas about man, society, the ruler, heaven, and the universe—ideas that were not created by either school but that stem from a tradition prior to either Confucius or Laozi.
Viewed from this common tradition, orthodox Confucianism limited its field of interest to the creation of a moral and political system that fashioned society and the Chinese empire; whereas Daoism, inside the same worldview, represented more personal and metaphysical preoccupations.
In the case of Buddhism—a third tradition that influenced China—fundamental concepts such as the nonexistence of the individual ego and the illusory nature of the physical world are diametrically opposed to Daoism. In terms of overt individual and collective practices, however, competition between these two religions for influence among the people—a competition in which Confucianism had no need to participate because it had state patronage—resulted in mutual borrowings, numerous superficial similarities, and essentially Chinese developments inside Buddhism, such as the Chan (Japanese Zen) sect. In folk religion, since Song times (960–1279), Daoist and Buddhist elements have coexisted without clear distinctions in the minds of the worshippers. General characteristics The great sages and their associated texts Laozi and the Daodejing
Behind all forms of Daoism stands the figure of Laozi, traditionally regarded as the author of the classic text known as the Laozi, or the Daodejing (“Classic of the Way of Power”). The first mention of Laozi is found in another early classic of Daoist speculation, the Zhuangzi (4th–3rd century bce), so called after the name of its author. In this work Laozi is described as being one of Zhuangzi’s own teachers, and the same book contains many of the Master’s (Laozi’s) discourses, generally introduced by the questions of a disciple. The Zhuangzi also presents seven versions of a meeting of Laozi and Confucius. Laozi is portrayed as the elder and his Daoist teachings confound his celebrated interlocutor. The Zhuangzi also gives the only account of Laozi’s death. Thus, in this early source, Laozi appears as a senior contemporary of Confucius (6th–5th century bce) and a renowned Daoist master, a curator of the archives at the court of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 bce), and, finally, a mere mortal.
LaoziLaozi, sculpture located north of Quanzhou, Fujian province, China.Thanato
The first consistent biographical account of Laozi is found in the “Records of the Historian” (Shiji)—China’s first universal history (2nd century bce)—of Sima Qian. This concise résumé has served as the classical source on the philosopher’s life. Laozi’s family name was Li, his given name Er; and he occupied the post of archivist at the Zhou court. He is said to have instructed Confucius on points of ceremony. Observing the decline of the Zhou dynasty, Laozi left the court and headed west. At the request of Yin Xi, the guardian of the frontier pass, he wrote his treatise on the Dao in two scrolls. He then left China behind, and what became of him is not known. The historian quotes variant accounts, including one that attributed to Laozi an exceptional longevity; the narrative terminates with the genealogy of eight generations of Laozi’s supposed descendants. With passing references in other early texts, this constitutes the body of information on the life of the sage as of the 2nd century bce; it is presumably legendary (see also Laozi).
Modern scholarship has little to add to the Shiji account, and the Daodejing, regarded by many scholars as a compilation that reached its final form only in the 3rd century bce, rather than the work of a single author, stands alone, with all its attractions and enigmas, as the fundamental text of both philosophical and religious Daoism.
The work’s 81 brief sections contain only about 5,000 characters in all, from which fact derives still another of its titles, Laozi’s Five Thousand Words. The text itself appears in equal measure to express a profound quietism and anarchistic views on government. It is consequently between the extremes of meditative introspection and political application that its many and widely divergent interpreters have veered.