During the Spring and Autumn Period, Laozi collected the great wisdom of ancient sages, summed up the essence of ancient Taoist thought, and formed a complete and systematic Taoist theory, which marked the formal formation of Taoist thought. His theory regards "Tao" as the highest philosophical category, and holds that "Tao" is the highest truth in the world, the origin of all things in the universe, and the foundation on which all things in the universe depend.

Taoism has a profound influence on China's philosophy, literature, science and technology, art, music, health, religion, calligraphy, fine arts, sports, history, commerce, military and so on.

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Taoist thought began in ancient times, with Pangu as the distant ancestor, Fuxi (or Huangdi) as the ancestor, Laozi as the ancestor of Taoism and Zhang Ling as the godfather. The Taoist calendar has a history of more than 4700 years.

Ancient Taoism advocated nature, with dialectical factors and atheistic tendencies, but advocated quietness and opposed struggle. Sima Tan, the father of Sima Qian, commented on ancient Taoism, which was easier to do than to know, with less work and more success.

Among the pre-Qin philosophers, Taoism did not have as many disciples as Confucianism and Mohism, but with the development of history, Taoism showed eternal value and vitality in philosophy with its unique understanding of the universe, society and life.

Baidu encyclopedia-Taoist thought