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Tradition

Daoism

The Chinese philosophical and religious tradition of the Dao, the Way.

Also called Taoism

Introduction

Daoism is the Chinese tradition centred on the Dao, the Way: the nameless source and pattern of all things. Its classical texts, the Daodejing attributed to Laozi and the Zhuangzi, teach that the Dao cannot be grasped in words, and that the sage lives in accord with it by non-forcing action (wu wei), simplicity and naturalness (ziran), letting things be what they are of themselves.

The word Daoism covers a wide range: the philosophy of the classical texts and their commentators; practices of self-cultivation aimed at health, longevity and transformation, such as breathing, meditation and inner alchemy; and an organized religion with priests, temples, scriptures, rituals and a pantheon of deities, in which Laozi himself is revered as a god.

Older Western scholarship sharply divided “philosophical” from “religious” Daoism, and preferred the first. Most scholars now see the two as intertwined: the religious traditions read and revered the classical texts, and the philosophy was itself a way of life.

History

Historical

The Daodejing and the Zhuangzi took shape in the Warring States period, from the fourth to the third centuries BCE, alongside Confucianism and other schools. In the Han dynasty, Daoist ideas were joined with ideas of government and cosmology, and the term “Daoist school” was first used by historians.

In 142 CE, according to tradition, Laozi revealed himself to Zhang Daoling, who founded the Way of the Celestial Masters, the first organized Daoist religion. In the third century the philosophers of “mysterious learning”, Wang Bi and Guo Xiang, wrote the classic commentaries on Laozi and Zhuangzi. New revelations followed in the fourth and fifth centuries, the Shangqing and Lingbao scriptures, and Daoism and Buddhism shaped each other deeply, above all in Chan.

In the twelfth century Wang Chongyang founded the Quanzhen, “Complete Perfection”, school of monastic Daoism, which with the Celestial Masters remains one of the two main branches today. The Daoist canon was printed in 1445. Daoism was suppressed in twentieth-century China, but has revived, and its classics are read throughout the world.

  1. 4th–3rd c. BCEThe Daodejing and the Zhuangzi take shape
  2. 142 CEZhang Daoling founds the Way of the Celestial Masters
  3. 3rd c.Wang Bi and Guo Xiang write their commentaries
  4. 4th–5th c.The Shangqing and Lingbao revelations
  5. 12th c.Wang Chongyang founds the Quanzhen school
  6. 1445The Daoist canon is printed

Major thinkers

Key concepts

Important texts

Convergence and divergence

Resemblance and difference, given equal room. Each note is marked with the kind of statement it makes.

Areas of convergence

  • Dao, with Christian Mysticism

    Scholarship

    The Daodejing opens by saying that the Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao, a theme close to apophatic theology.

  • Wu wei, with Zen

    Historical

    Chan Buddhism absorbed the Daoist language of naturalness and effortless action, and the Zhuangzi’s humour and paradox.

Areas of divergence

  • God, with Christian Mysticism

    Scholarship

    The Dao is not a personal creator who wills and commands, and the classical texts speak of return to naturalness rather than union with a God.

Cite this entry
Chicago (bibliography)

“Daoism.” Tradition. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/taoism.

Chicago (note)

“Daoism,” tradition, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/taoism.

MLA

“Daoism.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/taoism.

BibTeX
@misc{traditions-taoism,
  title = {{Daoism}},
  howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society},
  note = {Tradition. Last modified November 7, 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/taoism}
}

Parallels

Schools and branches

Reading lists

Also in this tradition

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