Taoist philosophy

during the Zhou dynasty. Compared to other philosophical traditions, Taoist philosophy is quite heterogeneous. According to Russell Kirkland, "Taoists did not generally regard themselves as followers of a single religious community that shared a single set of teachings, or practices." Instead of drawing on a single book or the works of one founding teacher, Taoism developed out a widely diverse set of Chinese beliefs and texts, that over time were gathered together into various synthetic traditions. These texts had some things in common, especially ideas about personal cultivation and integration with what they saw as the deep realities of life. The first group consciously identifying itself as "Taoist" ('''') appeared and began to collect texts during the fifth century CE. Their collection of Taoist texts did not initially include classics typically considered to be "Taoist" like the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi. Only after a later expansion of the canon did these texts become included. The legend of the "person" Laozi was developed during the Han dynasty and has no historical validity. Thus, while there was never a coherent "school" of "classical Taoism" during the pre-Han eras, later self-identified Taoists (c. 500 BCE) were influenced by streams of thought, practices and frameworks inherited from the period of the hundred schools of thought (6th century to 221 BCE). According to Russell Kirkland, these independent influences include: • Mohism, which might have influenced the Taoist idea of "great peace" ('') seen in later works like the Taipingjing''. • Several divergent Confucian schools and their ideas of personal cultivation and ''''. • Several Legalist theorists, such as Shen Buhai, who spoke of ' and ', and Han Fei, whose work explicates some parts of the Daodejing. • The School of Naturalists who produced the ideas of yīn and yáng and the “Five Phases” (''''). • Ideas associated with official practitioners of divination and the I Ching. • Early versions of independent texts like the Neiye, the Lüshi Chunqiu, the Zhuangzi, and the Daodejing. Ideas in Taoist classics The Daodejing (also known as the Laozi after its purported author, terminus ante quem 3rd-century BCE) has traditionally been seen as the central and founding Taoist text, though historically, it is only one of the many different influences on Taoist thought, and at times, a marginal one at that. The Daodejing changed and developed over time, possibly from a tradition of oral sayings, and is a loose collection of aphorisms on various topics which seek to give the reader wise advice on how to live and govern, and also includes some metaphysical speculations. Some scholars have argued that the Daodejing prominently refers to a subtle universal phenomenon or cosmic creative power called ' (literally "way" or "road"), using feminine and maternal imagery to describe it. ' is the natural spontaneous way that things arise and exist, it is the "organic order" of the universe. James Giles, however, argues that the refers to a meditative state of awareness in which one sees that one's own awareness is what enables things to arise and exist. The Daodejing distinguishes between the named ' and the true ' which cannot be named () and cannot be captured by language. ' is associated with yielding, minimal action and softness. ' is the activity of the ideal sage ('), who spontaneously and effortlessly express ' (virtue), acting as one with the universal forces of the '', resembling children or un-carved wood (pu''). This, says Giles, is the meditative state of awareness that is the ''''. It is the state of awareness achieved by sages. Sages concentrate their internal energies, are humble, pliable, and content; and they move naturally without being restricted by the structures of society and culture. The Neiye's idea of a pervasive and unseen "spirit" called qì and its relationship to acquiring '''' (virtue or inner power) was very influential for later Taoist philosophy. Similarly, important Taoist ideas such as the relationship between a person's '' (“inner nature”, ) and their mìng (“personal fate”, ) can be found in another lesser known text called the Lüshi Chunqiu. In these texts, as well as in the Daodejing'', a person who acquires ' and has a balanced and tranquil heartmind is called a ' (“sage”). According to Russell Kirkland: The “heart/mind” is the ruling agency within an individual’s biospiritual nexus, i.e., in the entire personal complex of body/mind/heart/spirit. The Neiye’s principal teaching is that a person should work constantly to ensure that his/her “heart/mind” is balanced and tranquil—without excessive cogitation or emotion. If one maintains a tranquil “heart/ mind,” one will become a receptor of life’s healthful energies, and will be able to retain them and live a long life. It contains various ideas such as the idea that society and morality is a relative cultural construct, and that the sage is not bound by such things and lives, in a sense, beyond them. The Zhuangzi's vision for becoming a sage requires one to empty oneself of conventional social values and cultural ideas and to cultivate ''''. According to Kirkland what these three texts have in common is the idea that "one can live one’s life wisely only if one learns how to live in accord with life’s unseen forces and subtle processes, not on the basis of society’s more prosaic concerns". == Han and Jin dynasties ==

The term Daojia (usually translated as "philosophical Taoism") was coined during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) by scholars and bibliographers to refer to a grouping of classic texts like the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi. There are also commentaries written on the classics, the earliest commentary on the Daodejing is that of Heshang Gong (the "Riverside Master"). Another influence to the development of later Taoism was Huáng-Lǎo (literally: "Yellow [Emperor] Old [Master]"), one of the most influential Chinese school of thought in the early Han dynasty (2nd-century BCE). It was a syncretist philosophy which brought together texts and elements from many schools. Huang–Lao philosophy was favoured at the Western Han, before the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) who made Confucianism the official state philosophy. These intellectual currents helped inspire several new social movements such as the Way of the Celestial Masters which would later influence Taoist thought. The fourth century saw major developments such as the rise of new spiritual traditions like the Shangqing ("Supreme Clarity") and Lingbao ("Numinous Treasure") with new scriptures and practices such as alchemy and visualization meditations as a way of moral and spiritual refinement. It was the Lingbao school who also developed the ideas of a great cosmic deity as a personification of the Tao and a heavenly order with Mahayana Buddhist influences. The Shangqing school is the beginning of the Taoist tradition known as “inner alchemy” (neidan), a form of physical and spiritual self cultivation. What He Yan seems to mean by '''' can be variously described as formlessness and undifferentiated wholeness. Wu is property-less and yet full and fecund. Wang Bi's view of '' is that it is "not being as a necessary basis of being". For being to be possible, there must be not-being, and as the Daodejing'' states, “Dao gives birth to ['] one” and “all things in the world are born of something ('); something is born of nothing ('''')”. Wang Bi's account focuses on this foundational aspect of not-being. A later Xuanxue thinker, Zhang Zhan (), is known particularly for his commentary on the Liezi. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589), Xuanxue reached the height of influence as it was admitted into the official curriculum of the imperial academy. == Tang dynasty ==

By the Tang dynasty times (618–907 CE), a common sense of a "Taoist identity" had developed (which Tang leaders called '', "teachings of the Tao"), partly by the efforts of systematisers like Lu Xiujing and due to the need to compete against Buddhism for imperial patronage. This synthetic system is sometimes called the Three Caverns. They collected the first Taoist canon, often called “The Three Arcana” (san-dong, ), which did not originally include the Daodejing. The Gaozong Emperor added the Daodejing to the list of classics ('', ) to be studied for the imperial examinations. This was the height of Taoist influence in Chinese history. Sima Chengzhen (647—735 CE) is an important intellectual figure of this period. He is especially known for blending Taoist, and Buddhist theories and forms of mental cultivation in the Taoist meditation text called the Zuowanglun. He served as an adviser to the Tang government. Another influential Daoist tradition from the Tang dynasty is the Twofold Mystery School (Chinese: 重玄, pinyin: Chóngxuán). Their philosophy was influenced by Buddhist Madhyamaka thought. A key thinker from this tradition was Cheng Xuanying (成玄英, fl. 631–655), who is known for his influential commentaries on the Daodejing and Zhuangzi. Another key Taoist writer and thinker of the Tang era is Du Guangting (850—933 CE). He produced an influential commentary on the Daodejing as well as numerous expositions of other scriptures and histories. == Song dynasty ==

, Taoism, and Buddhism are one, a painting in the litang style'' portraying three men laughing by a river stream, 12th century, Song dynasty. The Song dynasty (960–1279) era saw the foundation of the Quanzhen (Complete perfection or Integrating perfection) school of Taoism during the 12th century among followers of Wang Chongyang (1113–1170), a scholar who wrote various collections of poetry and texts on living a Taoist life who taught that the "three teachings" (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism), "when investigated, prove to be but one school". The Quanzhen school was syncretic, combining elements from Buddhism (such as monasticism) and Confucianism with past Taoist traditions. He taught that, by mental training and asceticism through which one reaches a state of no-mind (wú-xīn, ) and no-thoughts, attached to nothing, one can recover the primordial, deathless "radiant spirit" or "true nature" (' , ' ). According to Stephen Eskildsen, Wang Chongyang appears to have been familiar with and influenced by Mahayana Buddhist texts like the Diamond Sutra as well as Chan texts, however: One Quanzhen master, Qiu Chuji, became a teacher of Genghis Khan before the establishment of the Yuan dynasty. Originally from Shanxi and Shandong, the sect established its main center in Beijing's Baiyunguan ("White Cloud Monastery"). Several Song emperors, most notably Huizong, were active in promoting Taoism, collecting Taoist texts and publishing editions of the Daozang. == Yuan and Ming dynasties ==

The Yuan and Ming government meanwhile often attempted to control and regulate Taoism. Taoism suffered a significant setback during the reign of Kublai Khan when many copies of the Daozang were ordered burned in 1281. Chinese Taoists during the 12–14th centuries engaged in a revaluation of their tradition, dubbed by some a "reformation", which focused on individual cultivation. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the state promoted the notion that “the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) are one”, an idea which over time became popular consensus. The current Taoist textual canon, called the Daozang, was compiled during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Moreover, during the Ming dynasty, Taoist ideas also influenced Neo-Confucian thinkers like Wang Yangming and Zhan Ruoshui. == Qing dynasty and modern China ==

The late Ming and early Qing dynasty saw the rise of the Longmen ("Dragon Gate" ) school of Taoism, founded by Wang Kunyang (d. 1680) which reinvigorated the Quanzhen tradition. Longmen Taoist writers such as Liu Yiming (1734–1821) also simplified Taoist “Inner Alchemy” practices making more accessible to the public by removing much of the esoteric symbolism of medieval texts. It was Min Yide (1758–1836) though that became the most influential figure of the Longmen lineage, as he was the main compiler of the Longmen Daozang xubian and doctrine. The study and practice of Taoist philosophy saw a steep decline in the more tumultuous times of the later Qing dynasty. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Taoism had declined considerably, and only one complete copy of the Daozang still remained, at the White Cloud Monastery in Beijing. ==See also==