When was Taoism founded?

Taoism is an inherent religion in China with a history of 1800 years. Its teachings are closely linked with the local culture of China, deeply rooted in the fertile soil of China, with distinctive China characteristics, and have had a far-reaching impact on all levels of China culture.

The name of Taoism comes from the ancient Shinto. Secondly, the theory of Taoism originated from Laozi, and it was first seen in Laozi's Sier Notes. The earliest origin of Taoism can be traced back to Laozi and Zhuangzi, so Taoism takes Laozi as its leader. However, the general academic circles believe that the first official classic of Taoism is Taiping Jing, which was completed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the Eastern Han Dynasty is regarded as the initial period of Taoism. The formal existence of Taoist entity activities in Taoism is the appearance of Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the three books of Taiping Jing, Zhouyi Shentongqi and Laozi Xianger Zhu are the symbols of the formation of Taoist beliefs and theories. At the end of Han Dynasty, Taiping Road was established by Zhang Jiao, and then the "Yellow Scarf" uprising failed and Taiping Road declined. At the same time, "Five Mi Dou Roads" (later renamed Shitiandao, namely justice drive) developed. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Taoism in the Northern Dynasty was reformed by bandits, while Taoism in the Southern Dynasty was reformed by Ge Hong, Lu and Tao Hongjing, which was supported by the emperor and developed greatly. Among them, the Shangqing school represented by Tao Hongjing was a famous Taoist school in this period. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Taoism developed further, resulting in many small factions, and the cultivation mode changed from practicing external alchemy to practicing internal alchemy. In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, another big sect-Quanzhen religion appeared. Since then, various factions have gradually merged, and by the time of Ming and Qing Dynasties, they have become the representatives of Fu You School and Quanzhen Road have become the representatives of Dante School. After the Republic of China, Taoism was hit by years of war, and many temples were destroyed, which gradually declined. People in Taoist circles have set up some Taoist mass organizations to safeguard this religion; 19 12 years, Beijing Baiyun Temple established the all-true national organization "Central Taoist Society". In the same year, Zhang Ye, the 62nd generation teacher of Zhengyi School, established the Zhengyi School National Church Organization in Shanghai, but failed to do so, and only established the Shanghai branch. Mr. Chen Yingning, a Taoist scholar, founded "China Academy of Immortals" and edited teaching magazines such as Immortal Monthly and Yangshan Semimonthly. He advocated distinguishing between the traditional "Chinese immortal school" and Taoism. After 1949, Chinese mainland founded the Taoist mass organization "Chinese Taoist Association" in Beijing Baiyun Temple, which was hit by the "Cultural Revolution" and terminated its activities. 1980, the "Chinese Taoist Association" resumed its activities, and Taoist temples in various places gradually recovered. Promoting and developing Taoist work is listed as one of the important tasks of the Chinese Taoist Association. China Taoism, a quarterly magazine sponsored by the Association, has been published. In recent years, people have paid more and more attention to Taoism's idea of "harmony between man and nature" and its world outlook, which has aroused the interest of Europeans and Americans.

Taoism takes "Tao" as its name, or talks about the principles of Laozi and Zhuangzi, or talks about both inside and outside, or talks about the beauty of symbols. Its doctrine takes "Tao" or "morality" as the core, and holds that everything in the world originates from "Tao", that is, the so-called "second life, second life, third life and third life", and all social life should follow "Tao". Specifically, the theoretical system is developed from four aspects: heaven, earth, man and ghost. Heaven not only refers to the real universe, but also refers to the place where immortals live. Heaven is called thirty-six days, and there is Tianmen in heaven. There is a jade building in it, which contains immortals, immortals, heavenly emperors, Tianma, Tianhe, heavenly soldiers, heavenly generals and heavenly daughters. Its practitioners are heaven. The land refers to both the real land and everything, and the hell where ghosts suffer. Its operation is affected by the tunnel. People refer to both people and limited individuals. People's words and deeds should have a human touch and a human touch. Ghosts refer to where people belong. If a person can Xiu De, he can get rid of darkness and suffering. His surname is not recorded in the ghost biography, and he is a famous ghost fairy. Immortals are also the idol embodiment of Taoist teachings and thoughts. Taoism is a polytheistic religion, which follows China's ancient belief that the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, ancestors and the dead all worship their ancestors, and forms a complex god system including gods, earth gods and ghosts.

There are two kinds of Taoist priests: one is clergy, that is, Taoist priests. According to Taixiao Shu Lang Jing, "Pedestrian Avenue, posthumous title Taoist." "Body and mind are logical and follow the Tao, so they praise them." It can be divided into Maoshan Road and Luofu Road. Learning Taoism from teachers can be divided into "just one" Taoism and "all truth" Taoism. According to the palace view, educational administration can be divided into "master", "temple master" and "knowing guests" The other is the common people, called "laity" or "believer". "Palace view" is the most important organizational form of Taoism. The Palace Temple is a place where Taoist priests cultivate, worship and hold ceremonies. There are also some economic organizations in Taoism (such as vegetarian department and tea factory), educational organizations (such as Taoist classes and Taoist classic classes) and charitable organizations (such as nursing homes, clinics and medical departments).

Taoist rituals, in addition to daily morning and evening classes, also include large-scale merits, collectively known as "fasting." "Zhai" means qi, and before the sacrifice, the body and mind are neat; "Zhu" is a ceremony to build an altar and pray. Taoist fasting is divided into three categories: yellow, gold and jade. Huang Zhi, dedicated to the death of crossing; In addition to crossing over, golden reed also contains the content of prolonging life and endless life; Jade, dedicated to disaster relief and blessing. Dojo is in days, ranging from one day, three days, seven days and forty-nine days.

Taoism is an important religious behavior of Taoist priests to cultivate heaven. It is generally considered to include external Dan, internal Dan and food and shelter. External elixir refers to the elixir that can be "immortal" by burning minerals such as lead and mercury in an elixir furnace or tripod after the producer takes it. After the Tang Dynasty, it was gradually replaced by Inner alchemy. Inner elixir, the general term for activating qi, guiding qi, breathing and breathing, refers to the use of the human body as a cauldron to condense essence into elixir in the body and achieve the goal of immortality. Since the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Inner alchemy has gradually prevailed, and its origin can be traced back to the Warring States period, which has had a great influence on China's medicine and health care. Eating refers to taking medicine to live longer. In the room, it refers to seeking eternal life through sexual intercourse between men and women.

Taoism is mainly Han nationality, and it is also spread among Qiang, Bai, Zhuang and other ethnic minorities.

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