Taoism (or Daoism) refers to a variety of related philosophical Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the and religious Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. It is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s relation to God or to gods or spirits. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are traditions that have influenced Eastern Asia East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically and geo-politically, it covers about 12,000,000 km2 (4,600,000 sq mi), or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe for more than two millennia,[1] and have had a notable influence on the western world particularly since the 19th century.[2] The word 道, Tao Tao (道, pinyin: dào ) is a concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy and East Asian religions. While the word itself translates as 'way', 'path', or 'route', or sometimes more loosely as 'doctrine' or 'principle', it is often used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the (or Dao, depending on the romanization In linguistics, romanization or latinization, alternately spelt as latinisation or romanisation , is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system (or none). Methods of romanization include transliteration, for scheme), roughly translates as, "path" or "way" (of life), although in Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion is a collective label given to various folkloric beliefs that draw heavily from Chinese mythology. It comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years, which included ancestor worship and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology. Chinese folk religion is sometimes seen as a and philosophy Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. Chinese philosophy has a history of several thousand years; its origins are often traced back to the Yi Jing , an ancient compendium of divination, which uses a system of 64 hexagrams to guide action. This system is attributed to King Wen of Zhou (1099–1050 BCE) and it carries more abstract meanings. Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao Waley describes these Three Treasures as, "The three rules that formed the practical, political side of the author's teaching abstention from aggressive war and capital punishment, (2) absolute simplicity of living, (3) refusal to assert active authority.": compassion Compassion is a virtue —one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others) are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnectedness and humanism —foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood, moderation Moderation is the process of eliminating or lessening extremes. It is used to ensure normality throughout the medium on which it is being conducted. Common uses of moderation include:, and humility Humility is the quality of being modest, reverential, even politely submissive, and never being arrogant, contemptuous, rude or even self-abasing. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and, while Taoist thought generally focuses on nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos (天人相应), health At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" and longevity The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or to connote "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected, and wu wei Wu wei is an important concept of Taoism (Daoism), that involves knowing when to act and when not to act. Another perspective to this is that "Wu Wei" means natural action - as planets revolve around the sun, they "do" this revolving, but without "doing" it; or as trees grow, they "do", but without " (action through inaction), which is thought to produce harmony with the Universe The universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all physical matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, although this usage may differ with the context . The term universe may be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting such concepts as the cosmos,.[3]
Reverence for ancestor spirits and immortals The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian ("immortals; transcendents; fairies") in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool (法器) that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" (暗八仙 àn ~). Most of them are said to have been is also common in popular Taoism. Organized Taoism distinguishes its ritual activity from that of the folk religion, which some professional Taoists (Daoshi) view as debased. Chinese alchemy Chinese alchemy is a part of the larger tradition of Taoism , centers on the tradition of body-spirit cultivation that developed through the Chinese understandings of medicine and the body. These Chinese traditions were developed into a system of energy practices. Chinese alchemy focuses mainly on the purification of one's spirit and body in the (including Neidan Neidan, or internal alchemy, spiritual alchemy is a concept in Taoist Chinese alchemy), astrology Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. Chinese astrology does not calculate the positions of the sun, moon and planets at the time of birth, cuisine Chinese Cuisine is a term for styles of food originating in the regions of China, many of which have become extremely popular in other parts of the world — from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa. Where there are historical immigrant Chinese populations, the style of food has evolved – for example, American, Zen Buddhism Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Chinese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means "meditation" or "meditative state.",[4] several Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, sometimes referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu (Chinese: 功夫 pinyin: gōngfu), are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in what is today the country of China.These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families&, Chinese traditional medicine Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM, includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the Western world, feng shui The term feng shui literally translates as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zangshu by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty:, immortality Immortality is the concept of living in a physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time, and many styles of qigong Qigong is the Mandarin Chinese term used to describe various Chinese systems of physical and mental training for health, martial arts and self-enlightenment breath training disciplines have been intertwined with Taoism throughout history.
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Spelling and pronunciation
Main article: Daoism–Taoism romanization issue A Taoist Temple in Hong Kong Hong Kong[note 3] is one of two special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of sevenIn English, the words Daoism and Taoism are the subject of an ongoing controversy over the preferred romanization In linguistics, romanization or latinization, alternately spelt as latinisation or romanisation , is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system (or none). Methods of romanization include transliteration, for. The root Chinese Chinese or the Sinitic language (汉语／漢語 Hànyǔ; 华语／華語 Huáyǔ; 中文 Zhōngwén) is a language family consisting of languages which are mostly mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages word 道 "way, path" is romanized tao Tao (道, pinyin: dào ) is a concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy and East Asian religions. While the word itself translates as 'way', 'path', or 'route', or sometimes more loosely as 'doctrine' or 'principle', it is often used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the in the older Wade–Giles system and dào Tao (道, pinyin: dào ) is a concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy and East Asian religions. While the word itself translates as 'way', 'path', or 'route', or sometimes more loosely as 'doctrine' or 'principle', it is often used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the in the modern Pinyin Pinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音 / 漢語拼音), is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin (标准普通话 / 標準普通話). Hànyǔ (汉语 / 漢語) means the Chinese language, and pīnyīn (拼音) means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or " system. In linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning (semantics and pragmatics). Grammar encompasses morphology (the formation and composition of words), syntax (the rules that determine how words terminology, English Taoism/Daoism is a calque In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word (Latin: "verbum pro verbo") or root-for-root translation formed from the Chinese loanword By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept, whereby it is the meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort, while calque is a loanword from French tao/dao 道 "way; route; principle" and the native suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Particularly in the study of Semitic languages, a suffix is called an afformative, as they can alter the form of the -ism. The sometimes heated arguments over Taoism vs. Daoism involve sinology Sinology in general use is the study of China and things related to China, but, especially in the American academic context, refers more strictly to the study of classical language and literature, and the philological approach. Its origin, says one recent survey, "may be traced to the examination which Chinese scholars made of their own, phonemes In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances, loanwords By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept, whereby it is the meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort, while calque is a loanword from French, and politics – not to mention whether Taoism should be pronounced /ˈtaʊ.ɪzəm/ or /ˈdaʊ.ɪzəm/.
Daoism is consistently pronounced /ˈdaʊ.ɪzəm/, but English speakers disagree whether Taoism should be pronounced /ˈdaʊ.ɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊ.ɪzəm/. In theory, both Wade-Giles tao and Pinyin dao are articulated identically, as are Taoism and Daoism. An investment book titled The Tao Jones Averages illustrates this /daʊ/ pronunciation's widespread familiarity.[5] In speech, Tao and Taoism are mistakenly pronounced /ˈtaʊ/ and ˈtaʊ.ɪzəm/, reading the Chinese unaspirated lenis In linguistics, fortis and lenis are terms generally used to refer to groups of consonants that are produced with greater and lesser energy, respectively, such as in energy applied, articulation, etc. "Fortis" and "lenis" were coined as less misleading terms to refer to consonantal contrasts in languages that don't employ ("weak") /t/ as the English voiceless stop consonant A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. The terms plosive and stop are usually used interchangeably, but they are not perfect synonyms. Plosives are oral stops with a pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. The term is also used to describe oral stops. Many use the term nasal /t/. Lexicography General lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and evaluation of general dictionaries, i.e. dictionaries that provide a description of the language in general use. Such a dictionary is usually called a general dictionary or LGP dictionary. Specialized lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and evaluation of specialized shows American and British English differences Written forms of American and British English as found in newspapers and textbooks vary little in their essential features, with only occasional noticeable differences in comparable media . This kind of formal English, particularly written English, is often called 'standard English'. An unofficial standard for spoken American English has also in pronouncing Taoism. A study of major English dictionaries published in Great Britain and the United States found the most common Taoism glosses A Gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different were /taʊ.ɪzəm/ in British sources and /daʊ.ɪzəm, taʊ.ɪzəm/ in American ones.[6]
Categorization
There is debate over how, and whether, Taoism should be subdivided. Livia Kohn divided it into the following three categories:[7]
- Philosophical Taoism (Daojia 道家) - A philosophical school Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the based on the texts Dao De Jing The Tao Te Ching or Dao De Jing (simplified Chinese: 道德经; traditional Chinese: 道德經; Mandarin Pinyin: dàodéjīng; Wade–Giles: Tao Te Ching; Jyutping: dou6 dak1 ging1[ Listen] ), whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi (simplified Chinese: 老子; traditional Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ), is a Chinese classic text. Its (道德經) and Zhuangzi Zhuangzi is thought to have lived during the reign of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi, in the span from 370 to 301 BCE. Zhuangzi was from the Town of Meng in the State of Song (now Shāngqiū 商丘, Henan). His given name was Zhou (周, Zhōu). He was also known as Meng Official, Meng Zhuang, and Meng Elder (蒙吏, Méng Lì; 蒙莊, Méng (莊子);
- Religious Taoism (Daojiao 道敎) - A family of organized Chinese Religion in China has been characterized by pluralism since the beginning of Chinese history. The Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand the exclusive adherence of members. Some scholars question the use of the term "religion" in reference to Buddhism and Taoism, and suggest "cultural practices" or " religious movements originating from the Celestial Masters Tianshi Dao or Way of the Celestial Masters is a Chinese Daoist movement that was founded by Zhang Daoling in 142 CE. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic state in Sichuan movement during the late Han Dynasty and later including the "Orthodox" (Zhengyi 正一) and "Complete Reality" (Quanzhen 全眞) sects, which claim lineages going back to Lao Zi (老子) or Zhang Daoling in the late Han Dynasty;
- Folk Taoism - The Chinese folk religion.
This distinction is complicated by hermeneutic (interpretive) difficulties in the categorization of Taoist schools, sects and movements.[8] Some scholars believe that there is no distinction between Daojia and Daojiao.[9] According to Kirkland, "most scholars who have seriously studied Taoism, both in Asia and the West, have finally abandoned the simplistic dichotomy of Tao-chia and Tao-chiao, 'philosophical Taoism' and 'religious Taoism.'"[10]
Hansen states that the identification of "Taoism" as such first occurred in the early Han Dynasty when dao-jia was identified as a single school.[11] The writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi were linked together under this single tradition during the Han Dynasty, but notably not before.[12] It is unlikely that Zhuangzi was familiar with the text of the Daodejing.[13][14] Additionally, Graham states that Zhuangzi would not have identified himself as a Taoist, a classification that did not arise until well after his death.[14]
Taoism does not fall strictly under an umbrella or a definition of an organized religion like the Abrahamic traditions, nor can it purely be studied as the originator or a variant of Chinese folk religion, as much of the traditional religion is outside of the tenets and core teachings of Taoism.[15] Robinet asserts that Taoism is better understood as a way of life than as a religion, and that its adherents do not approach or view Taoism the way non-Taoist historians have done.[16] Henri Maspero noted that many scholarly works frame Taoism as a school of thought focused on the quest for immortality.[17]
Beliefs
A Taoist Temple in Taiwan, showing elements of the Jingxiang religious practice and sculptures of Dragon and Lion guardiansTaoism has never been a unified religion, but has rather consisted of numerous teachings based on various revelations. Therefore, different branches of Taoism often have very distinct beliefs. Nevertheless, there are certain core beliefs that nearly all the sects share.[18]
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The Australian It encountered a civilisation already based on a complementary pair of belief systems, Confucianism and Taoism , neither of which was a conventional religion ...
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I finished researching Philosophy and founded Taoism IMG http i260 photobucket com albums ii6 djvandrake 104 taoism jpg And continued my expansion to fill in the rest of the land to the west
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Taoism (Home Use): Taoism explores both the ancient origins of Tao philosophy and its ability to coexist with the Chinese political agenda. Learn ... amazon.com.
