Daoism
By: Olivia Lommen,Kaustubh Madiraju, and Waleed Cherif
Basic Information on Taoism
Origin of the Religion
Basic Religous Beliefs
The Daoist’s believe in the yin-yang sign, where it shows a ball with about half white, and half black, with a dot the opposite color in the yin yang symbol. It symbolizes that there must be good in this world (the white) and there must be bad in this world (the black), they must be balanced to truly have a true and good world, if there was too much white or good then in the end that utopian society would break due to no such thing as perfect. If there was to much black in the yin-yang or bad in the world, then the world would be mischievous and be broken apart.
Branches / Divisions of Religion
The Diffusion of Daosim
(Daosim is also referred to as Taoism)
Daoism believes people should come to this religion instead of it coming to them which is why you will not find Taoism missionaries.Contagious diffusion is seen with Taoism. Since the empire of China was so united under emperors, the entire country practiced extremely similar religions and believed similar things. Once Zhang Daoling founded Mount Qingcheng as the center of the empire, many other Chinese jumped on the bandwagon and became Taoists. Mount Qingcheng is still a place where many Taoists take pilgrimages.The picture below shows the common areas Taoism is found.
Holy Places
Monument
This statue is of the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, is located in the Quanzhou province of China on the sacred site of Mt. Qingyuan.Many people come to admire, pray, and sometimes meditate at this sacred site.
Temple
Qing Yang Gong Temple (Green Goat Palace) is the oldest and largest Taoist temple in the Southwest of China. Many believe this is the birthplace of Lao Tzu.
Founder
Lao Tzu, is shown in this picture he is know as the founder of Taoism.
Followers
Unique Features
Key figures and important people
He was the first philosopher of Chinese Taoism in the 6th century BC. He is known as the author of the Daodejing, though modern scholars say that his work had more than one author. According to legend, he was carried for 72 years in his mother's stomach, and he met Confucius as a young man.
Zhuangzi (369–286 BC) :
THe collection of essays he wrote, called the Chuang-tzu, are distinguished by its brilliant and original style, with abundant use of satire, paradox, and seemingly nonsensical stories. Zhuangzi emphasizes the relativity of all ideas and conventions that are the basis of judgments and distinctions; he puts forward as the solution to the problems of the human condition freedom in identification with the universal Tao, or principle of Nature.
Zhang Sanfeng
Zhang Sanfeng, was a semi-mythical Chinese Taoist priest who is believed by some to have achieved immortality, said variously to date from either the late Song Dynasty, As a legendary culture hero, Zhang Sanfeng is credited by modern practitioners as having originated the concepts of neijia; soft, internal martial arts, specifically taijiquan, as a result of a Neo-Confucian syncretism of Chan Buddhist Shaolin martial arts with his mastery of Taoist Tao Yin (neigong) principles.
Holy Texts:
The second most important work is the Chuang Tzu or Zhuang Zi, written by the man of the same name. In this book the completion of the primary doctrines of Daoism are contained (specifically the doctrine of Wu-wei).
The final main text is the Lie Zi, which was named after the man who was believed to have written it. This however is probably an apocryphal association. It was written by a man named Lao Tsu 400BC or so.
Religous Symbols:
The yin and yang border should make a backwards "S" shape, with yang (white or red) on top. One is likely to see this symbol as decorations on Taoist organization flags and logos, temple floors, or stitched into clerical robes.
Taoist temples fly square or triangular flags. These are not merely decorative but function as talismans, and typically feature mystical writing or diagrams. Often a tree branch is used as the flagpole.
Another Taoist symbol of sorts is a zigzag with seven stars, representing the Big Dipper (or the "Bushel", the Chinese equivalent). Taoists see the North Pole (and the South) as divine.
Taoist temples in southern China and Taiwan may often be identified by their roofs, which feature Chinese dragons and phoenixes made from multi-colored ceramic tiles. They also stand for the harmony of yin and yang (with the phoenix being yin). A related symbol is the flaming pearl which may be seen on such roofs between two dragons, as well as on the hairpin of a Celestial Master.
Places of Worship
pictures of symbols