You might have heard, that there are two kinds of Taoism: the so-called Philosophical Taoism VS the Religious Taoism. And the Latter one is often thought to differ from the original Daoism very drastically.
However, for Taoist cultivators, this view misunderstands something very essential about Taoism, and this is what this article is trying to introduce.
By the end of this article, you’ll learn how early and religious Taoism not only share common roots but also prioritize Daoist cultivation as their core—a practice aimed at elevating the essence of life.
I. Common Understanding of Taoism
Before we dive into the cultivator’s take on Taoism, let’s quickly talk about the common understanding first, just to give folks that are not that familiar a more complete story.
1. “Philosophical” Taoism
In common understanding, Philosophical Taoism, or Daoism, is often seen as one of the major philosophical schools that emerged during China’s Pre-Qin Era.
This is before 221 BCE, and the founder of Early Taoism is often thought to be Laozi.
Comparable to the diverse philosophical schools of ancient Greece—like those founded by Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics and so on—Daoism has a significant place in Chinese philosophy.
Daoism suggests that the Dao (the Way) is the root of everything. All complexities in the world originate from this singular source.
This belief is why it’s called Daoism: the term reflects the view that the Dao, as “the root and governing principle of all things,” should be emulated. Daoists advocate for an effortless approach to life, advising individuals and communities to let the natural order guide their actions.
2. Religious Taoism
On the other hand, religious Taoism came into being much later, during the late Eastern Han dynasty, which is roughly around 200 AD, hundreds of years after the philosophical roots took hold. This form of Taoism transforms Laozi (Li Er) into a divine figure, the Supreme Lord Lao, and worships him.
Although it shares the Daoist label, religious Taoism to many people often feels like a departure from the philosophical principles of its predecessor.
Religious Taoism delves into practices such as using talismans for healing, making elixirs of immortality, and pursuing spiritual ascension—themes that seem absent in the foundational Daoist text, the “Tao Te Ching.”
This has led many, both in China and abroad, who aren’t deeply familiar with Daoist practices to view religious Taoism as an offshoot that only focuses on supernatural elements.
However, if you are a Taoist cultivator, you will understand that this view doesn’t capture the full picture.
Today, we are going to offer you the view of how Taoist cultivators see Early Taoism and the later religious Taoism.
II. Cultivator Perspective
1. Early Taoism
The common misconception that early and religious Taoism are drastically different comes from an assumption: Daoism pre Qin Dynasty is PURELY a philosophy.
This view, however, may not be entirely accurate and often misinterprets Daoism through the lens of Greek philosophy, applying its principles universally.
For the purpose of accuracy, we will no longer use the term philosophical Taoism, and will be using Pre-Qin or Early Taoism.
i. Hundred Schools of Thought (诸子百家)
Firstly, it’s essential to recognize that Daoism does not merely teach philosophy, but rather reveals the essence of the world, including theories and practices for elevating life’s essence. While these include philosophical elements, philosophy is NOT all there is to Daoism.
We can understand this by looking at the various schools from the pre-Qin era. In fact, these early thinkers were not merely philosophers. Although often compared to Greek philosophers, their teachings were fundamentally different.
The doctrines of these pre-Qin scholars had strong practical implications and were a blend of thought and action.
For instance, Mohist teachings combined Mohist thought with engineering (and practice);
Legalist teachings integrated Legalist thought with administrative and state governance theories;
Agriculturalist teachings merged Agriculturalist thought with agricultural techniques and practices.
There are also school of military, of medicine and so on.
These doctrines all carried significant practical relevance and embodied the belief in the “unity between heaven and humanity”.
Daoism, naturally, also integrated the cultivation of Dao, which is the practice, and Daoist thought.
ii. Cultivation Practice in Early Taoism
In fact, both the “Dao De Jing” and “Zhuangzi” discuss cultivation extensively, which even delve into specific practices.
These texts are profound, interpretable on many levels, so viewing them solely as philosophy might seem sufficient, but is ultimately incomplete.
a. Dao De Jing (or Tao Te Ching)
The Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi both mention one of the fundamental methods of cultivation—breathing techniques. If one has the lineage of cultivation, they can grasp its essence.
For example, Dao De Jing Chapter 29 states:
Here, “blow” and “puff” refer to two specific breathing techniques.
These techniques adjust the state of one’s body, or “Xing” (form) and thereby regulate one’s “Qi” (energy) and “Shen” (spirit). With prolonged practice, one can unlock the secrets at the core of life.
Using these two different breathing techniques, “blow” and “puff,” one can adjust the frequency of their meridians.
“Xu” or “Blow” can quickly warm and nourish body, while “Chui” or “puff” can rapidly cool and release heat from the body.
This is another sophisticated application within the cultivation, which is called “yang fire” and “yin talisman” in the Taoist Internal Alchemy.
b. Zhuangzi
Furthermore, Zhuangzi’s “The Great Master” mentions:
“The true ancients slept without dreaming and woke without worries. Their food was plain, and their breaths were deep. The breath of a true person rises from their heels, whereas ordinary people breathe from their throats.”
“古之真人，其寝不梦，其觉无忧，其食不甘，其息深深。真人之息以踵，众人之息以喉。”
For many people, their reaction is:
Breathing from the heels? How can one breathe from their heels?
This too is one of the profound mysteries of Daoist cultivation techniques. As cultivation deepens, the body and mind gradually revert to an unspoiled state, attuning and connecting to heaven and earth, and developing astonishing capabilities beyond ordinary human understanding.
When the practice of breathing techniques is mastered, the meridians throughout the body are fully interconnected, functioning like a network that links the whole body.
With each breath, the body’s fasciae systematically expand and contract. Although it seems like a simple act of breathing through the mouth and nose affecting the chest, the coordinated action can extend to the extremities of the body. In advanced stages, you can even feel tidal-like changes through touch during cultivator’s breathing.
Thus, for cultivators, the wisdom in the “Dao De Jing” and “Zhuangzi” is not merely intellectual speculation but involves a full-body experience—integrating “Xing” (or the form), “Qi” (or the energy), and “Shen” (or the spirit). It transcends mere mental activity, encouraging thinking with the heart, beyond the heart with the body, and beyond the body with the cosmos.
iii. Taoism: The Study of Huang-Lao
Additionally, Daoism, over the long course of ancient Chinese history, has been referred to by another name: the School of Huang-Lao, which means the teachings of the Huang Di (or the Yellow Emperor) and Laozi.
Many are familiar with Laozi through the renowned text, the “Dao De Jing.” But what about the teachings of the Yellow Emperor?
If you’re acquainted with the system of Traditional Chinese Medicine, you’d recognize the foundational text, the Huang Di Nei Jing (or The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine). However, if you think this is merely a medical text, you’d be greatly mistaken.
The first chapter of Huang Di Nei Jing , the “Treatise on the Natural Truths of Antiquity” explicitly states:
“In ancient times, there were True Human who held up the heavens and the earth, grasped Yin and Yang, breathed the essential Qi, stood alone and guarded their spirit, their muscles and flesh as one, thus they could outlive the heavens and the earth, without an end to their time; this is the Dao of life they followed.”
“上古有真人者，提挈天地，把握阴阳，呼吸精气，独立守神，肌肉若一，故能寿敝天地，无有终时，此其道生。”
These “True Human” understood and mastered the way of heaven and earth, achieved longevity and a visionary state—this is indeed the miraculous state achieved by practitioners.
Therefore, fundamentally, Daoism has never been a speculative philosophy akin to that of ancient Greece but rather a miraculous practice for elevating life’s levels. After perceiving and understanding the profound mysteries of the world from a sufficient height, the teachings naturally carried a wealth of philosophical depth.
2. Religious Taoism
When we realize that Early Taoism itself is a practice transcending life’s existential levels, we can begin to understand the connection to Religious Taoism. Essentially, Religious Taoism is just one form of Daoist practice and a unique organizational format.
i. Criticism of the Theistic Beliefs in Taoism
Many criticize Taoism for adopting Daoist principles into a system of theistic beliefs. This criticism comes from the perception that Taoism has degenerated from venerating the fundamental Dao and its natural laws to worshipping various anthropomorphic Gods and deities, moving from a rational state to idol worship.
This viewpoint is understandable but arises from a lack of deeper insight into the Taoist theistic system.
While it appears that Taoism worships anthropomorphic Gods and deities, it is actually the universal laws behind the deities that are worshiped, but not the deities themselves.
For instance, the highest gods in Taoism—the San Qing (or the Three Pure Ones): Yuqing (Jade Pure), Shangqing (Upper Pure), and Taiqing (Great Pure)—represent the three fundamental principles of Daoist cosmogony.
- Yuqing (Yuan Shi Tian Zun) symbolizes creation, corresponding to the phase “the Dao engenders One.”
- Shangqing (Lingbao Tian Zun) represents the dynamics of existence and cessation, reflecting “One gives birth to Two.”
- Taiqing (Dao De Tian Zun) embodies enlightenment and development, denoting “Two gives birth to Three.”
When these three fundamental principles of the Dao come together, “Three gives birth to everything,” creating the rich diversity of our world.
So Why Personify These Principles?
Personification makes these complex concepts accessible to the vast majority who, in ancient times, had no opportunity for formal education and were busy with daily survival. In the ancient world, not just in China but globally, education was a privilege of the elite few.
The mystical and wise teachings of Laozi’s Dao De Jing, challenging for even modern educated minds to grasp, would have been incomprehensible to the common people in ancient time.
They might find it hard to grasp the concept of “principles,” but could relate to the authoritative figures and deified saints worshiped in their communities.
Daoist tradition has always emphasized the elevation of all sentient beings, which is why the theistic system in Taoism developed. Belief in these deities essentially represents a reverence for the various levels of universal principles.
Thus, with sufficient understanding of Taoism, one realizes that at its core, the so-called theistic beliefs in Taoism truly reflect a reiteration of Daoist lineage, aimed at benefiting all sentient beings.
This is expressed in the saying:
“Set forth the teachings through the gods, to universally enlighten the people.”
“神道设教，普化万民。”
As modern education becomes more accessible, the need for theistic beliefs has diminished, which is why we in Shengxuan Daoism no longer advocate for a system of deities.
ii. Institutionalization of Taoism
Compared to Early Daoism, Religious Taoism has an institutionalized organizational structure. Its formation as an organized religious community is often why some people think Religious Taoism is unrelated to Early Daoism. However, the essence of institutionalization is simply that Religious Taoism represents a unique form of organizational structure within the Daoist tradition.
In fact, the founders or pivotal figures of various renowned Taoist sects, are fundamentally Daoist cultivators. And they are often revered as “ancestral masters”, or the “ancestral teachers.”
For instance, Zhang Daoling, the founding ancestral masters of the Tianshi Dao (or the Way of the Celestial Masters), cultivated the great elixir of Dragon and Tiger at Heming Mountain.
To aid the world and respond to the chaotic historical context of war and displacement, he founded the Way of the Celestial Masters, organized a religious community, and established twenty-four jurisdictions to bring order to the chaotic times. As a cultivator, Zhang Daoling accumulated sufficient Gong De (or the merit and virtue), ultimately achieving transcendence.
a. Gongde and Ascension
Daoist cultivation believes that if an individual wishes to elevate their essential existence and achieve transcendence, they need to teach the Dao to enlighten and benefit sentient beings.
In helping more people, cultivators will break through their own confines. By enhancing the world’s possibility, the cultivators could elevate their own possibility, which is essential for transcendence.
This aligns with the Taoist principle from the Dao De Jing, which says:
“By being selfless, one can fulfill their own selfishness.”
“非以其无私邪？故能成其私。“
The so-called “selfishness” refers to the desire for personal cultivation and transcendence. “Selflessness,” in contrast, involves benefiting all sentient beings and uplifting the world. Only through selflessness, one’s selfishness will be possible.
Therefore, the institutionalization of Taoism can also be seen as a special method chosen by the ancestral masters during particular historical periods to benefit all sentient beings.
Its core still comes from Daoist cultivation and is consistent with the Daoist tradition that has been passed down since the pre-Qin era.
b. “Body As The State, State As The Body”
Moreover, in the Daoist system of cultivation, the distinction between what is inside the body and what is outside is not as clear as ordinary people might perceive. So teaching Taoism in the world is connected with cultivating one’s own being, which is supposedly inside.
This touches upon the Huang-Lao teachings of “the body as the state, and the state as the body,” reflecting different stages of cultivation logic.
Of course, traditional institutional forms have their problems. Their organizational structure is very similar to the secretive artisanal lineage systems, where the teachings are strictly and secretly passed down through master-disciple lineage.
However, in today’s world, where basic education is widespread and the school system is well-developed, the traditional model of religious organizations may no longer be the most beneficial for all sentient beings.
As an organization dedicated to bringing cultivation practices to diverse cultural groups worldwide, We, the Shengxuan Daoism, will explore and develop methods suited to our era.
III. Conclusion
We have outlined the characteristics and differences between Early Taoism and Religious Taoism, revealing the true “secret” of Daoism—cultivation.
However, due to time constraints, a lot of topics have not been fully discussed. Please let us know in the comments below what you would like to hear about Taoism.
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In summary, while Early Daoism and Religious Taoism differ chronologically and in forms of organization, they are fundamentally consistent. Both agree that the practice of Dao is about elevating and transcending existential states, and they recognize the Dao as the source of all creation.
Therefore, Daoist culture has always been a system of exploring, understanding, and practicing to achieve life’s elevation.
