Daoism

Daoism is one of the most common religion in China today. Daoism, also spelled Taoism, was founded by Laozi. There is no wirtten evidence that Laozi existed, but he supposedly wrote the Daodejing. The Daodejing is the holy book that Daoists live by. The main beliefs of Daoism are often misunderstood as "just to go with the flow" and let everything happen naturally. Part of this is true but the main belief of Daoists is longevity and health and balance in one's life. To find more information on this topic, read the Daoism section of the book Religions of the World. (Pg. 384-390).

Daoism

This is the daoist character Shou. It means longevity.

This is Laozi, the founder on Daosim. He is holding the Daodejing under his arm.

By Grace Claybrook

Works CitedBlack And White Illustration Of Shou The Taoist Character For Longevity Depicted As Circular Symbol. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 13 Nov 2013.Detail Of A Plate With Yin Yang And Trigram Symbols. From A Taoist Temple. Country Of Origin: China ***. Culture: Chinese. Date/Period: 19th C. Material Size: Pottery. Credit Line: Werner Forman Archive/Private Collection . Location: 08.. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 13 Nov 2013.Hansen, Chad, "Daoism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = Hartz, Paula. Taoism. New York: Facts on File, 1993. Print.Lao-Tse. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 13 Nov 2013Melton, J. Gordon, and Martin Baumann. Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print. Vol. 2 of Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices.Nelson, Eric Sean. "Responding with Dao: early Daoist ethics and the environment." Philosophy East and West 59.3 (2009): 294+. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.Yin And Yang Symbol. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 13 Nov 2013

Dao - the way