Taoism is perhaps the most misunderstood of Asia's major religious traditions. The West has been led to believe that Taoism is nothing more than taijiquan, or fengshui, or Laozi's Dao De Jing. To be blunt, we've been fooled. Taoism is much more than mere philosophy, or a way of life, or any single practice. We must not confuse activities commonly beloved by Taoists for those factors that define Taoists. Taoism is an ancient religious tradition, rooted in traditional Chinese culture, with a large canonical body of ritual, liturgy, prayer, magical practice, meditation and related cultivations, a extensive pantheon of deities, etc. How did we miss all this?

How the West was Fooled
In general, Western missionaries were the first individuals to bring any sense of Taoism back to the West during the mid-to-late 19th Century. At that time, China's ruling Qing Dynasty was much more supportive of Buddhism than it was of Taoism. Taoism of that era suffered from some class-based stereotypes, and was often looked down upon by the upper classes. When the original Western missionary-translators arrived in China, they were guided by this atmosphere to assume that Buddhism was a "lofty" religion, while Taoism was mostly superstition for the "lowly" common man. It is indeed easy to discriminate against that which we do not understand! As these Westerners became acquainted with Chinese religious writings, they found several Taoist books that could be seen as quite compatible with their preconceived (and ill-conceived!) notions regarding Chinese religious practice. The most famous of these books are Laozi's Dao De Jing (The Classic of the Way and Its Power) and the Zhuangzi (named for its author, Zhuangzi). The early translators felt these works could be separated from other parts of the Taoist tradition, and that they represented something again "loftier" than other aspects of Taoism. This reflected their great hubris, and these important works came to be understood outside of all Taoist context.

Once these books (and a very few others) started to be translated, their natural beauty so greatly charmed non-Chinese audiences that an ever-increasing flood of translators have continued to render their own versions. Things have gotten so silly that today we have translators of the Dao De Jing who work only from the translations of others, and who have themselves never read the original version!

Even worse than the problem of poor translation, however, was the impact such translations had upon an unsuspecting Western public. These few works, which represent a miniscule proportion of the 5,000+ works included in the Taoist canon, began to be regarded as the whole of Taoism! We inadvertently mistook the entire forest for one beautiful bough of one ancient tree.

What is Taoism?
If the West has been mislead regarding the authentic nature of Taoism, that begs the question, "What is Taoism?"

Laozi, the author of the Dao De Jing, is believed by Taoists to have lived in the 6th Century B.C. Zhuangzi is thought to have lived in the 4th Century B.C. Whether or not these men were actual historical figures is not terribly important, as we can trace the ideas credited to them to these eras. These thoughts continued to combine with other Chinese spiritual practices and movements, including shamanism, cultivation practices, sexual yogas, etc., for several centuries until, the 2nd century A.D. birth of Taoism.

It is interesting to note that Taoism arose about 700 years after Laozi. Laozi and Zhuangzi never mention Taoism, and surely never considered themselves to be Taoists. But they provided the foundation upon which later individuals were able to build the religious tradition that came to be known as Taoism.

Taoism, claiming Laozi and Zhuangzi as its spiritual forebears (and as Deities as well!), is a fascinating mix of elements. First of all, it's not easy to even become a Taoist. According to Michael Saso (one of academia's most prominent researchers into Taoism, and a Taoist Priest himself), in order to be a Taoist one must:

1. Be accepted, trained, and initiated by a licensed Taoist Master;
2. Learn to meditate on the writings of Laozi and Zhaungzi;
3. Promise to obey the rules and play the music, sing the songs, and dance the steps of Taoist ritual;
4. Receive a Taoist "register" ("lu"), or list of spirits to be envisioned, talismans to summon them, and mantra to command them, that is, empty them from heart and mind before meditating on the tao.

Not an easy task! From this list alone we can see that Taoism includes study, meditation, philosophy, ritual, music, dance, song, Deities, and magic. These general headings would also include such activities as internal martial arts, feng shui, Taoist medicine and healing (which is slightly different than standard TCM), fortune telling, art, botany and herbalism, prayer, and much, much more.

In traditional (and modern) China, only someone who had met these requirements could call himself a Taoist. What about the masses of people, those who believed in Taoism with great sincerity, yet who had not fulfilled all of the requirements? Well, in Chinese they would say "I believe in Taoism" and not "I am a Taoist." In modern Western society, I think that all people who enjoy Taoism should understand and remember this traditional lesson, but I also think there should be some adaptation of traditional concepts in new lands and modern times.

What Happened to Taoism?
Since Taoism has such a deep and ancient tradition, why wasn't that tradition sufficient to combat the West's misunderstanding of Taoism? Taoism has experienced a very somber, even tragic, modern history. That history really begins in 1644, the year China's Ming Dynasty fell to the new Qing Dynasty. (Remember, this is China - modern history can begin in 1644!) Taoism has always been a very "Chinese" religion. It originated in China, worshipped Chinese Deities, and was grounded in Chinese culture. The Ming were ethnic Chinese rulers. The Qing Emperors, however, were ethnic Manchurians. The Manchurian people were not only more naturally comfortable with Buddhism, but they also rightfully feared China's more nationalistic Taoist tradition. So Taoism began its fall from favor.

By the mid-19th century, the Qing Dynasty had been considerably weakened. In 1845, the Taiping Rebellion broke out. This rebellion, which was to last for nineteen years, was led by a man (Hong Xiu Quan) who claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ. His millennial, somewhat Christian movement grew to control roughly the southern half of China for about a decade. His armies took great delight in destroying the traditional religious infrastructure in the areas under its control. Taoism, especially in southern, rebel-controlled China, suffered a terrible disfigurement.

In 1864 the Qing finally defeated the rebels and reasserted control over all of China. Victory, however, was costly. The Qing had now entered its final period of decline, and possessed little inclination or financial ability to lead a Taoist restoration. Having recently suffered great destruction, and now cut off from imperial patronage, Taoism limped along as best it could. The situation became even worse when the Qing Dynasty finally fell in 1911. The resulting social chaos and warlordism greatly decreased the level of pilgrimage in China, and thus served to reduce popular support for Taoist institutions.

Institutional Taoism continued to slowly crumble until the Japanese invasion of China in 1938. The Japanese army frequently destroyed important societal institutions as means of demoralizing and destabilizing possible resistance. Many Taoist treasures were lost during this period. The famous "Rape of Nanjing" also included a thorough razing of nearby Mao Shan, one of Taoism's most ancient and important sites.

In 1950, Mao Ze Dong's communists won control of China's government, and promptly illegalized Taoism. All Taoists were required by law to turn themselves in to government authorities, after which most were "reformed" through forced labor, torture, murder, etc. Of the approximately 5,000,000 Taoists (initiates) active in 1950, fewer than 50,000 were still active in 1960. Taoists in China were reduced by 99% over ten years! Then the decade of the Cultural Revolution came (1966-76), during which time most remaining Taoists were tortured or eliminated, and most remaining temples were destroyed (or, at best, requisitioned for non-religious, governmental use).

By the 1980's, no one outside of China really knew if Taoism continued to exist, or if it had been driven into extinction. China had recently undertaken a significant liberalization, but massive problems remained. Imagine the problems with transmission of Taoist knowledge: A man born in 1910 who had been apprenticed to an established Taoist at the age of 15 was just coming into spiritual maturity when Taoism was outlawed. For the next thirty years he was tortured, starved, and ridiculed. He was not allowed to openly practice his religion, nor was he allowed to develop students. He had been forced to burn his scriptures and to destroy his own temple. Now he was 75 years old, a tired and scared old man. Yet he also represented the last crucial link to Taoism's ancient traditions and oral transmissions.

Throughout the 20th Century, Taoism was simply too embattled, and its tradition too weakened, to effectively combat the growing misperception of it in the West.

Taoism's Renaissance
Over the last 15-20 years, Taoism has undertaken a remarkable renaissance. China now enjoys a much more liberal government than in the past, and Taoism has made good use of this respite. Whereas in 1980 no one knew for sure whether Taoism has survived, in 2000 we know that it has. The body of Taoism still carries myriad scars, and still requires decades of attention and care if it is to make a full recovery. But their has been much positive growth during the last two decades.

Many Taoist temples have been reopened. The number of reopened temples is just a small fraction of the total of previous temples, but the opening of any temples at all is a great joy to Taoists. The number of Taoists (initiates and not believers) has risen from mere hundreds or a few thousands to many thousands or perhaps tens of thousands. Many older Taoists are being convinced to emerge from hiding and to train new generations of Taoists. Some Taoist sites now appear to be bustling hives of Taoist activity.

Equally as important as Taoism's rejuvenation in China is the growth of Taoist communities throughout the West. Almost every major Western country, and every large Western city, enjoys some Taoist presence. Untold numbers of Westerners are now firmly interested in such Taoist and Taoistic activities as feng shui, taijiquan, baguaquan, xingyiquan, the I Ching, TCM and associated healing techniques, and more. Many people all over the world now engage in Taoist cultivation techniques. The internet, with its capability to reduce the distance between far off peoples, is littered with Taoism-related websites

The global conditions for Taoism are at their highest point since our grandparents' days, and perhaps since their grandparents' days. With the continuance of liberal attitudes towards religion in China and the emergence of a deeper, more authentic understanding of Taoism in the West, Taoism's future may be brighter than ever!