What's Taoism, philosophy and religion

If you are wondering, "what is Taoism", then here is some basic information we have gathered on the topic. It is pronounced simply as TOW ihz uhm or DOW ihz uhm. Taoism is a philosophy that began in China, probably during the 300’s B.C. Taoism is also the name of a religion that began about the 100’s B.C. Through the centuries, the philosophy has influenced artists and writers in the East and West. The word tao (also spelled dao) originally meant road or way. The Tao (Way) represents the characteristics or behavior that makes each thing in the universe what it is. The word is also used to mean reality as whole, which consists of all the individual "ways."

Taoism as a philosophy:
The beliefs of Taoism as a philosophy appear in two books, the Lao-tzu (later re-named the Tao Te Chin, The Classic of the Way and the Virtue) and the Chuang-tzu. The Laso-tzu is a collection from several sources and its authors and editors are unknown. The ideas were partly a reaction against Confucianism, a philosophy that developed in China beginning in about 500 B.C.

According to Confucianism, people can live a good life only in a well-disciplined society that stresses attention to ceremony, duty, morality, and public service. The Taoist ideal, on the other hand, is a person who avoids conventional social obligations and leads a simple, spontaneous, and meditative life close to nature.

Taoist philosophy had a great influence on Chinese literature and art. For example, the poetry of Tao Qian (Tao Ch’ien) (A.D. 365-472) expressed a distance for wordy affairs and a yearning for life in harmony with nature. During the early 1200’s, Xia Gui (Hsia Kuei) painted landscapes that reflect the Taoist sensitivity to nature.

This should give you the basics of what is Taoism in terms of philosophy.

Taoism as a religion:
What is Taoism as a religion? Taoism as a religion was influenced by Chinese folk religion. In folk religion, most of the gods are human beings, who displayed remarkable or exceptional powers. For example, in the story of Guan Di, who is the protector of business people, lived as a general during the A.D 200’s.

Taoism has a hereditary priesthood. The priests conducted public rituals, during which  they would submit the people’s prayers to the Gods, of folk religion. The Chief Priest, who would be in a trance prays to the other divinities on behalf of the worshipers. These divinities are not former human beings but represent aspects of the Tao.

The members of the Taoist groups have sought to attain immortality through magic, meditation, special diets, breath control, or the recitation of scriptures. The Taoist search for knowledge of nature has led many believers to pursue various sciences, such as alchemy, astronomy and medicine.