Origins and Development
The foundation of Taoism, the second of the great Chinese traditions, is attributed partially to Laozi (Lao Tzu) and his written material called the Dao De Ding or Tao Te Ching (“The Way and its Power”). He advocates the philosophy of disharmony or harmony of opposites, meaning there is no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female — in short, yin and yang. Collectively, the writings called Tao Tsang are concerned with the ritual meditations of the Tao. Adherents of the philosophy are called Taoists.
Little is known about the life dates of Lao Tzu; he is sometimes placed in the sixth century and sometimes in the fourth. What is beyond doubt is that the book attributed to him, the Tao Te Ching, is a work held in the highest regard not only in China but in many parts of the world.
Taoism is generally seen as a balance to Confucianism, rather than in opposition to it. Taoism seeks harmony with the nature of things through a humble submission to the Way Tao, which for Taoists is the ultimate metaphysical principle of being. In its way, Confucianism also seeks a harmony with nature, but with Confucianism this is achieved by enacting rituals and ceremonies deemed conducive to it. Where Confucianism is ceremonial, Taoism is intuitive and meandering.
Taoist thought permeated the Chinese culture the same way Confucianism did, and the two are often linked. Taoism became more popular than Confucianism, even though Confucianism enjoyed state patronage. Taoism was based on the individual and tended to reject the organized society of Confucianism. The traditions became so well entrenched within China that many people accepted both of them, although they applied the concepts to their lives in different ways.
Taoism wasn't a religious faith when it began; it was conceived as a philosophy and evolved into a religion that has a number of deities. Lao Tzu, who many credit as the founder of Taoism, was so revered he was often thought of as a deity or a mystical character.
Nonaction
A key Taoist concept is that of nonaction or the natural course of things. It is a direct link to yin and yang. Yin (dark/female) represents cold, feminine, and negative principles. The yang (light/male) represents warmth, masculine, and positive principles. Yin (the dark side) is the breath that formed the earth. Yang (the light side) is the breath that formed the heavens. When civilization gets in the way, the balance of yin and yang is upset. A western person might remark that one needs to get out of one's own way to get anywhere. However, yin and yang are not polar opposites; they are values in people that depend on individual circumstances. What is cold for one person may be warm for another. Yin and yang are identical aspects of the same reality.
The study, practice, and readings of yin and yang have become a school of philosophy in its own right. The idea is for the student to find balance in life where yin represents inactivity, rest, and reflection and yang represents activity and creativity. The basic feature of Taoism is restoring balance. Extremes produce a swinging back to the opposite. Therefore, there is a constant movement from activity to inactivity and back again.
Buddhism was the other religion close to Taoism, and it held sway with people in the same way that Confucianism did. However, Buddhist notions of the nonexistence of the individual ego and the illusory nature of the physical world didn't square with Taoism; in fact, Taoists were opposed to them. Taoism and Buddhism did share common ground, however, as with the practice of Zen.
It's not easy to define Taoism in any formal way because its philosophy doesn't have a concrete system. While it shares many of the same ideas about man, society, and the universe as Confucianism, its attitude tends to be more personal and metaphysical. Taoism must be experienced, and thus words like “power” and “energy” are frequently used to describe what actually can't be measured in any scientific form. That said, it's interesting that Taoism had a bent toward science, especially medicine. Taoist faith healers contributed to medical knowledge and literature with the production of the medical book The Yellow Emperor's Esoteric Classic, which included experiments with natural ingredients such as plants and minerals.
Interest in science reflected the Taoist emphasis on direct observation and experience of the nature of things. But there is a sort of contradiction of terms because a tremendous amount of the work was based not on scientific discovery but intuitive thought and experience. It is said that much of the knowledge died with the men who discovered it, for they did not share it with future generations.
