How did Daoism came about?
Daoism actually has its roots in ancient shamanism. In any primitive community, the shamans and priests were the ones with great authority and possessed the ability to manipulate the elements of nature. These ancient wise men worshipped nature and spirits; divination and vaticination were then common too. This form of primitive religion gradually evolved into the worship of `Heaven', `God' and ancestors prevalent in the Yin and Zhou eras. In fact, almost all religions have their roots in such shamanistic practices. By the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the archaic religion had undergone a metamorphosis that contributed to its more organized structure. The Hundred Schools emerged and competed with each other 百家争鸣. Different schools of thoughts emerged like the Huang Lao Daoists 黄老道, the Confucianists 儒家, the Mohists 墨家, the Yin-Yang Naturalists (Yin Yang Jia) 阴阳家 and also the Immortalists (Fang Xian Dao) 方仙道, all of them having strong influence on China's cultural history. With the introduction of Buddhism to China during the Eastern Han period, religious interest among the people turned into some form of delirium. Under these circumstances, the Huang-Lao tradition of thought (based on the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Lao Zi) was eventually fused with the different philosophies and gradually assimilated the traditional Shamanism, Immortalist alchemical techniques, Yin-Yang Jia’s duality concepts, etc. Thus, the earliest form of organized Daoism we all know had taken shape at this time.
Written by Alvin Chua. All rights reserved. Copyright @. Not for commercial use of any kind.
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