be positive.
REINTERPRETATION OF CONFUCIUS
The Neo-Taoists broadened the scope of the practical-minded Confucian doctrines that had been influencing thought for several centuries by including metaphysical questions about being and nonbeing. Chuang-tzu and Lao-tzu had emphasized the Way of Nature, but the Neo-Taoists talked about the Principle of Nature. They did not reject Confucianism; they examined it in terms of Taoism.
The Neo-Taoists believed that Confucius was even greater than Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, viewing him as the master of emptiness. They justified Confucius’s concern with everyday life, rituals, ceremonies, and external circumstances by arguing that he realized that it is impossible to instruct directly about wu, nonbeing, emptiness. Therefore, he wisely focused all his attention on yu, being. This explanation reflects the idea expressed by Lao-tzu:“He who knows does not speak; he who speaks, does not know” (Tao Te Ching, Chapter 56, trans. by Wilhelm 1990, 52). By not even speaking of Tao in his sayings, Confucius was the ultimate Taoist.
The Neo-Taoists believed what the I Ching stated: Everything is continually changing, never still. They encouraged people to accept change. The old is different from the new, and even though tradition may have its place, people and institutions should change with the times. Unlike the early Taoists, these philosophers did not oppose all institutions or moral values, only those that were unwilling to evolve. This view permitted the Neo-Taoists to embrace useful principles in other philosophies. Taoism was modified considerably, opening the possibility for later philosophers to incorporate Taoist principles within Neo-Confucianism.
CHAPTER 6
Later Developments Toward Health and Long Life
What is preached should be put into practice—
only then is it called speech and action without defect.
—P. Chang 1987, 188
The Taoist philosophy of Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu, Lieh-tzu, and the Neo-Taoists is but one aspect of the larger body of Taoism that is practiced as a religion for both spiritual fulfillment and physical well-being. Taoist religions are a complex, vast collection of customs, rituals, and beliefs that have never been organized into one single, consistent set of doctrines. Rural areas were the stronghold of Taoist religions, surviving for more than two millennia in the hearts and minds of the people.
Empress Chang Blessed by Taoist Deities
TAOIST RELIGION EMERGES
Religious Taoism began in separate groups that traced their inspiration back to Lao-tzu and concepts within the Tao Te Ching. Historians believe that Taoist religion is very old, incorporating primitive Chinese shamanic religions. Bronze and gold objects representing Taoist immortals have been found in tombs, dating early Taoist worship back to the third century B.C. (Schipper 1982, 6).
References to Taoist religion can be found in the writings of philosophical Taoists, especially Chuang-tzu and Lieh-tzu. Both refer to faraway places where divine beings lived free of all worldly limitations, capable of great powers. Lieh-tzu spoke of men who could walk through walls, implying that nothing in this world could stop them. Chuang-tzu described these godlike people in the very first book of his writings:
On the distant mountain of Ku-yeh live divine beings. . . . They mount clouds of ch’i and ride winged dragons to wander beyond the Four Seas.... By concentrating their minds, they can protect all beings from plague and ripen the crops. . . . These men! What power (te)! They embrace the Ten Thousand Beings, making them into a single one.” (Schipper 1982, 7)
Religious Taoism was implied in the early philosophical Taoist writers, but religious interpretations were made explicit by the beginning of the Christian era. The image and meaning of Lao-tzu transformed, much like Buddha’s metamorphosis, from being thought of as a man of great insight to becoming a deity. Taoism merged with earlier mythologies and occult sciences. One such combination put Lao-tzu with Huang-ti, a mythological inventor who was worshiped by craftsmen and artisans. This unity was called Huang-Lao Chih Tao, the Way of the Yellow Emperor and the Old Master. Lao-tzu was worshiped and revered, now that he had risen to the status of a deity.
During the second Han dynasty, Lao-tzu’s writings were believed to contain secret practices to prolong life using special forms of meditation. For example, certain passages from the Tao Te Ching refer to “nurturing the life principle” (Kaltenmark 1969, 111). Such passages inspired Taoists to search for methods that would extend life and find immortality.
FOUNDING OF THE TAOIST CHURCH
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