Historically, Taoism is undoubtedly the most influential and far-reaching religion in China, and its development history runs through the history of Chinese civilization for more than 2,000 years since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
The profound influence of Taoism on China can be understood from the following aspects.
Political economy:
Taoism believes that "the body governs with the Kuomintang" and "the sage inside is the king outside", and inaction is the universal principle of self-cultivation in governing the country. A close reading of the history of China reveals a secret: the rule of Wen Jing in Han Dynasty, the prosperity of martial arts, the rule of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty, the prosperity of Kaiyuan, the rule of Renzong in Song Dynasty, the rule of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty and the prosperity of Kanggan in Qing Dynasty. These Haitian adopted the policy of "using Huang Lao internally and showing Confucianism externally". The Taoist thought of "governing by doing nothing" coincides with the western market economy thought of "invisible hand". In fact, whenever the rulers take Huang Lao's theory as the guiding ideology, they will recuperate, neglect taxes, and rule by arch, so that the world will be "self-righteous", production will resume development, economy will prosper, and peace and prosperity will emerge.
Literature and art:
Taoism's mysterious thought, immortal realm, strange and magical, carefree spirit and noble ethics permeate all aspects of literature and art, and Taoism's natural feelings and romanticism deeply influence the aesthetics of traditional literature and art, providing an inexhaustible spiritual source. Strange novels such as Sou, Youyang Miscellaneous Meanings and Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio since the Southern and Northern Dynasties are closely related to Taoism, and legends such as Sleeping on the Pillow and Taiping Guangji in the Tang and Song Dynasties all contain a lot of Taoist elements. Tang poetry was rendered by Taoism, forming a magnificent style of ancient Austria. A large number of epigrams in Song Ci originated from Taoism, and the theme of immortal soaring in Yuan Qu is very prominent. Novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the four classic novels, all contain Taoist theological thoughts, forming the tradition of "Taoist wise image". In addition, Taoist literature has also derived unique forms, such as Li Bai's poems about immortals, the popular Qing Ci in the Ming Dynasty, and the novels of ghosts and gods such as Romance of Ghosts and Ghosts and The Journey to the West. The theme of contemporary popular novels to fix the truth is Dandao, and fantasy novel, tomb-robbing novels and Xianxia novels are also closely related to Taoism.
The thought of "invisible image, loud voice and vocal music" has a far-reaching influence on China's pursuit of freehand brushwork, spirit likeness and natural style and charm. Wang Xizhi, Gu Kaizhi, Wu Daozi, Zhao Mengfu, Huang, Xu Wei and other painters are all Taoists, and their works are deeply infiltrated by Taoism. The tunes and vocals of Taoist music have promoted the development of musicals, and Beijing Opera, Yue Opera, Henan Opera and Huangmei Opera have fully absorbed its nutrition. The combination of heaven and man, geomantic omen and Taoist thoughts affect the site selection, layout and construction of traditional buildings in China.
Science and technology:
Taoism has the spirit of conquering nature, and various ways of seeking to break through the limit of life have promoted the development of ancient science and technology. Chemistry, mineralogy, botany and pharmacology in East Asia all originated from Taoism. Taoist mathematics is inextricably linked with ancient mathematics and has made great achievements in optics, magnetism, acoustics, astronomy and other fields. Among the four great inventions, gunpowder originated from Taoist alchemy, and the inventions of compass and printing were also closely related to Taoism. Taoism promotes the development of smelting technology in the practice of alchemy, and Taoism promotes the progress of machinery manufacturing in order to realize "going against the wind"; Taoism has contributed to the manufacture of wine, cement and pigments, and tofu is the product of alchemy of Huainan Wang. Taoist alchemy accumulated rich chemical knowledge, and alchemy spread to Europe and became a pioneer of modern chemistry. Taoism pursues immortality, which greatly promotes the development of medicine and health preservation. Ge Hong, Tao Hongjing, Sun Simiao, Fu Shan, Liu, etc. are all doctors. Taoist thought of disease prevention, isomorphism between man and nature and natural inaction, has become the guiding ideology of traditional Chinese medicine. External alchemy initiated chemical pharmacy, and Taoism has made great achievements in physiology, meridians, anatomy, pharmacology, sexual medicine and psychology. Diet, activating qi, crossing the valley, guiding breath and other prescriptions, as well as internal alchemy, have become the main contents of health preservation. Taoist health preservation has derived various martial arts qigong to strengthen the body. Tai Ji Chuan, Xingyiquan and Bagua Palm all originated from Zhang Sanfeng's family boxing.
National character:
Taoism is unparalleled in shaping China people's personality psychology, ethics and national cohesion. Zhou Zuoren said, "People who usually talk about religions in China always say that there are three religions, namely Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. In fact, Confucianism has already collapsed, and only a few Buddhist beliefs assimilated with Taoism are still popular among the people, and it is the power of Taoism that dominates the national thinking. According to the facts, China people are indeed Taoists. " Taoism's philosophy of life, which respects Tao and only seeks Tao, inspires China people to hone hard, integrate knowledge with practice, and make unremitting exploration and struggle for Tao. The Taoist spirit of attaching importance to life, happiness and being free and easy has shaped China people's love for life and pragmatic character. Taoism's thinking mode of being good at Shui Rou and being rigid has created China people's introverted and implicit personality psychology; The Taoist thought of harmony between Yin and Yang and harmony between man and nature determines the dialectical thinking mode of China people. Taoism adheres to the principle of "knowing what is normal and tolerating others", and has formed a national character of tolerance, humility, tolerance and openness, which has promoted the enduring of Chinese civilization. "Benevolence and morality" is the highest criterion of China culture. Taoism not only pursues "respecting Taoism and valuing morality", but also advocates "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness". Based on moral practice, it actively promotes and disseminates all kinds of books to persuade goodness, which has a wide and far-reaching impact on the lifestyle and values of Chinese people. Taoism vigorously publicized the ancestor Xuanyuan Huangdi, making Chinese people at home and abroad respect Huangdi as their ancestor, forming a national feeling that blood is thicker than water and a national cohesion that overcomes all difficulties.
Folk beliefs:
Xu Dishan said: "Judging from Chinese people's daily habits and Taoist beliefs, Taoism has more components than Confucianism. We can simply say that Taoism dominates the ideals and lives of ordinary people in China. " Taoism has carried out some contents of folk beliefs.
Absorb, transform, and return to the people, profoundly affecting folk beliefs. Taoism actively "collects" common folk gods, absorbs myths and legends, and brings them into the Taoist immortal pedigree, such as Pangu, Nu Wa, Guan Gong, Mazu, Guanyin, etc., so that folk beliefs have a strong Taoist color. Taoism influenced the folk religions that rose in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The "unborn mother", the highest god of various folk religions, originated from Tao Te Ching's "the beginning of the nameless world, the mother of all things". The world outlook of "vacuum hometown" draws lessons from Taoist cosmology, and the cultivation method comes from Taoist inner alchemy, inheriting Taoist belief mode and organizational form. The folk custom in China basically belongs to Taoism, and the Taoist belief is deeply accumulated in the traditional folk custom, which affects the belief custom, ancestor worship, festival custom, entertainment custom and witchcraft activities. In the Year of the Animal, worshipping Tai Sui, burning paper money for ancestors, putting up couplets, setting off firecrackers, receiving the god of wealth, worshiping God and celebrating the Lantern Festival all originated from Taoism. Taoism and all kinds of alchemy are based on the unity of heaven and man, yin and yang and five elements, which permeate and complement each other in the process of development. Taoism, immortals, magic and scientific instruments have a far-reaching influence on metaphysical formulas.
International influence:
Taoism is widely spread in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Japanese Shintoism, Emperor belief and folk belief are deeply influenced by Taoism. Tiantai Taoism in Korea and Gao Tai Taoism in Vietnam are new religions formed on the basis of Taoism, and Quanzhen Taoism is an important religion in Singapore and Malaysia. In Europe and America, there are nearly 500 western translations of Tao Te Ching. Judging from the circulation of famous books translated into foreign languages, the Bible ranks first and the Tao Te Ching ranks second. Philosophers such as Kant, Nietzsche and Hegel, scientists such as Leibniz and Einstein, writers such as Kafka and Tolstoy, and politicians such as Reagan and Medvedev all gained great enlightenment from it. Taoist culture, such as inner alchemy, astrology and divination, is also popular all over the world. Tai Ji Chuan has spread to more than 150 countries and regions, with1500,000 people practicing Tai Ji Chuan overseas. Taoism's thought of harmony between man and nature has also brought great enlightenment and thinking to environmentalists. Quanzhen religion is the mainstream of Taoism in the world.