Daoism Information - Help?

Question

Hello to All:

I am doing a project on Daoism: I need help researching the following things:

-Influence on social structures
1) Gender Relations
2) Family Structure
3) Social Class

I would apprecitate it if someone could either answer these directly, or give me links to these topics. I could not find any useful / relavent information on the internet.

THANKS

Answer 1

Daoism, Chinese philosophy and religion, dating from about the 4th century bc. Among native Chinese schools of thought, the influence of Daoism on Chinese civilization has been second only to that of Confucianism.

II Origins of Daoism

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Daoism developed, along with Confucianism, during the Warring States period of Chinese history, from the 5th to the 3rd centuries bc. This was one of the times when China’s usually strong central government was weak and civil wars were frequent among feudal lords of small Chinese states. Daoist philosophy was a reaction against the chaotic violence and the arbitrary laws and strict social hierarchy in the states. It encouraged people to seek harmony with nature and with other human beings through a simple life and through calm meditation on the unity underlying all things in the universe.

The early Daoist philosophers were a relatively small number of sages, such as Yang Zhu (Yang Chu); Laozi (Lao-tzu), the legendary founder of Taoism; Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu), Laozi’s disciple; and Liezi (Lieh-tzu). Their philosophy is expressed chiefly in two texts: the poetic Daodejing (Tao-te Ching) and the Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu). The Daodejing, translated as the “Book of the Dao and the De” or the “Classic Book of the Way and Its Virtue,” has traditionally been attributed to Laozi. The Zhuangzi, essays elaborating the Daodejing, is named after the author of its first seven chapters.

III Basic Beliefs of Daoism

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Daoist philosophy is based on the Dao, an ancient Chinese concept that means “way,” “path,” or “natural working of the universe.” Daoists consider the Dao an original Oneness in things, an eternal underlying foundation of being from which the many parts of the universe continuously spring and into which they continuously return. The process occurs by means of the De, or energy, of the Dao.


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Daoists explain the operation of the De in terms of two other ancient Chinese principles: the dark, negative, female yin and the bright, positive, male yang. They believe the two opposing forces of yin and yang combine in different proportions to produce all the endlessly varied things in the universe, before these things return once more into the Dao.

According to Daoist thought, human beings are an integral part of the universe and, by nature, are in harmony with its operations. Unfortunately, they have fallen from this condition into self-assertive, aggressive, competitive actions that lie outside the natural harmony of all things. Thus, the ills of the world are produced. People perform inconsiderate and harmful acts toward their neighbors. As they organize into societies, through turbulent competition a few grow wealthy and many are forced into poverty. Oppressive rulers develop, and laws seek to regulate the citizens by defining socially undesirable acts as crimes. Communities and societies located close to one another compete, causing war. Daoists believed that most of the organized efforts to correct the situation—including the codes developed by Confucius and Mozi (Mo-tzu) to regulate society, learning, or virtuous actions—simply added to the disharmony by their aggressive striving to shape people’s actions.

The only true solution, in the Daoist view, must begin with the individual’s conscious refusal to participate in the turbulent, aggressive, and assertive ways of life. This refusal is called wuwei (“not doing”). Wise individuals, then, seek to fulfill their potential harmony with the Dao by a quiet and sensitive contemplation of the natural tendency in things, making their life like a smooth-flowing river, clear and undisturbed in its movement. They try always to do only as much as their natural impulse requires, never straining for further achievement. They relate to other people in a spirit of natural kindness, tolerance, and humility, never striving to dominate them.

Daoists who become leaders leave their people free, so each one can fulfill his or her individual nature. The highest social organization desired by Daoists was a small state containing isolated and independent villages of free individuals who would not compete with other villages or states for land or trade and who would thus not feel the need for war.

The Daoists felt that by being relatively inactive and humble, like the Dao, the individual will be most truly active and in control, as the Dao is. “The Dao is ever inactive, and yet there is nothing it does not do.” “The way of Heaven is not to contend and yet to be able to conquer.” The calm contemplative life led by believers sometimes included meditation that led to a mystical experience of union with the Dao. Daoist sages often withdrew to lonely mountain retreats for more solitary contemplation. Throughout Chinese history, Daoism inspired gentle, mystically inclined individuals, including many of China’s greatest painters and poets. See also Chinese art and architecture; Chinese Literature.

IV History of Daoism

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Daoism gradually changed from the philosophy of a small number of sages to a widespread popular religion followed by numerous individual believers and by many groups of monks and lay people. This change occurred from about the time of the Han dynasty (206 bc-ad 220) to about the 14th century. The old established ideas of philosophical Daoism were modified, and new elements were added.

Between the 3rd and 6th centuries, various sects developed that sought to prolong life and achieve immortality. Some groups experimented with alchemy and magic. One idea was that an individual can become immortal by replacing the destructible elements in the body with indestructible ones. Some Daoists tried to find the magic elixir, or drink, of long life by boiling concoctions of gold, cinnabar, and other chemicals. Many Daoists performed special breathing exercises devised to take in the finer or more durable parts of the universe. Some Daoists took to using magic charms and amulets to ward off evil spirits.

From the 4th century ad, as Buddhism was introduced from India and became prominent, changes also came from Buddhism. The development of religious Daoism was welcomed by Chinese emperors who wanted a strong popular religion as a check on growing Buddhist influence in the country. During many periods Daoism enjoyed imperial favor and Buddhists were persecuted. Even in periods when Buddhism was the state religion, Daoism continued to flourish among the common people of China.

Another major element of religious Daoism was belief in gods. Often the Daoist gods were identified with various Buddhist gods. In addition, there were figures from Chinese folklore such as the pair of guardian gods of all house gates and city gates, the god of kitchens (see Zao Shen), and many other gods of nature. Especially popular were the Eight Immortals, celestial beings who were believed to have been human but to have gained immortality.

In the Tang period, from the 7th to the 10th centuries ad, Daoism borrowed the Buddhist idea of isolated life in a monastery. Monastic monks and nuns, including many of the Chinese nobility, took vows to avoid meat, alcohol, killing, lying, and stealing, and to live in celibacy. They made sacrifices to Daoist gods in monastery temples. Some monks in northern China later formed a school of Daoism that, like Buddhism, stressed meditation. See also Monasticism.

In modern times, religious Daoism has continued to merge with Buddhism and other religions in China. China’s Communist government has suppressed individual Daoist sects. However, it recognizes Daoism as a Chinese religion devoted to universal unity and peace, and it has repaired some Daoist temples and monasteries that had been closed or destroyed. Many Western scholars believe that Daoism is still a strong force among the Chinese people, especially in rural areas.