Taoism, known by a religion, is very ancient in China. Taoism is about multi-gods. Besides those gods who once appeared in the immortal stories, there are many gods who were greatest educator or philosophers as well. Such as the founder of the theory of Taoism, Lao Zi, he is the highest-level god in the religion. Moreover, great educators and historical people like Confucian and Mencius or the hero Yue Fei or Guan Gong, they are also the gods in the religion.
Taoists are seeking immortality. From the foundation of Taoism in 2 AD, Taoists have been seeking the best way to longer their lives. Taoists don’t care about what will happen “after life”. During these two thousand years, besides the development of their belief, Taoists also make a great contribution to iatrology.
There are two part of Taoism in China. One is called “Zheng Yi Jiao” and the other called “Quan Zhen Jiao”. “Zheng Yi Jiao” was original from “Wu Dou Mi Jiao”, founded by Zhang Daoling while “Quan Zhen Jiao” was founded by Wang Chongyang. Now, in China main land, most Taoism temples are Quan Zhen Jiao. As for Zheng Yi Jiao, most Taoists are living in Taiwan now. Taoists of Quan Zhen Jiao must be vegetarians, living in temple and wearing the Taoist clothes. On the contrary, Zheng Yi Taoist don’t need to live in the temple. They can get married and eat meat as well.
In China, Taoism is important not because it is a religion but it is part of the culture. In other words, there is a strong interaction between the developments of Taoism and Chinese culture.
Taoism is an ancient philosophy