Daoism is represented as a practice that came out as early as any other leading religion. It has almost been an entire twentieth century that the intense study of this religion began. Along with many other major religions, the origins of Daoism can’t be specifically dated, but details of Daoism can be lead to many religious practices in prehistoric China.
Even though there isn’t an exact date, they ¨however, credit the movement’s beginnings to two historical figures, whose existence is still disputed, although they are both celebrated as mythical figures and deities within Chinese culture¨ (¨Daoism (Taoism)¨).
Laozi’s name is translated to ¨Old Master¨ and it´s said that he had lived during the sixth century and is recognized for both the founding of Daoism and writing, the Dao De Ching, one of the most important texts. Daoism became an official religious tradition towards the ending of the second century CE, the years of Han Dynasty. The time of the Song dynasty (960-1279 c.e.) is when Daoism hit its peak.
However, Buddhism and Confucianism soon became more popular and dominated the imperial imagination. Daoism offered alternative ways for the Confucian way of life because ¨During its entire history, it has coexisted alongside the Confucian tradition, which served as the ethical and religious basis of the institutions and arrangements of the Chinese empire¨ (Daoism The Way).
Most of the Chinese culture easily picked between Confucianism and Daoism. Daoists believe that the main idea of their language is that unless associated with an exact instruction, all conversation should be avoided. They believe that inner transformation can only happen by limiting expression and conversation.
They think ¨As a result of this aversion to language as a tool for self-expression, Taoists learned to use other methods of self-expression¨ (Editors of Consumer Guide). To live a long and healthy life is something Daoists aspire for, which is why they believe in a strict diet. According to the religion “For a Taoist diet and health are connected and an important part of how each person should live” (Casey).
Health is very serious for them and they claim to say “you are what you eat”. Daoists made it clear that learning and education were not important for a person’s growth. The texts of Daoism made it obvious that they believed learning was considered useless, hazardous and corrupting. The texts also stated that there are no books and there is no use for them.
Not having education was so important that “the human who sought learning and knowledge, according to the Daoists, polluted his or her natural state, risked becoming immoral, wasted his or her time on mediocre knowledge, jeopardized his or her ability to effectively follow the Dao, and could potentially become unruly and di cult to govern” (Rekowski 87).
It was more important for Daoists to obtain understanding their own beliefs, their instinctive setting and the Dao way of life. They assume that knowledge would be more dangerous for an individual because it can end up causing people to be more distant from “the way”. One of the most captivating facts about Daoism is their ideas about learning and knowledge.
Another contrasting philosophy to Daoism is Confucianism, which is the idea of “Ren”, or doing to others what you want to be done to you. Confucius believed that “It is the goodness that gives to a neighborhood its beauty. One who is free to choose, yet does not prefer to dwell among the Good” (Confucius 95).
This is the idea that without enforcing harsh laws, people will do the right thing naturally. This central principle of Confucianism drives these teachings forward. Confucianism is based on finding harmony in life and moral uprightness.
Both Confucianism and Daoism believe that The Way is the ultimate superior authority in the cosmic order; both schools developed an ideal condition of how an individual should be; and both schools constructed a systematic method of cultivation in able for people to obtain that ideal state and be in accordance with The Way.
While the concept of virtues is significantly valued in both Confucianism and Daoism, the variation of obtaining virtues is different between the two schools. Daoists reject the Confucian practice of rites because Daoism considers naturalness as the necessary mean towards virtues, so any artificial practice should be abandoned.
The Daoists also disagreed with the Confucians regarding the ideal man being a moral superior; the Daoists believe in positioning oneself lower than the others. Most importantly the Confucians’ moral orthodoxy is different with the Daoists idea in terms that the latter one believes there isn’t one absolute way to obtain The Way.
