Daoism

Daoism is considered the second moral/religious philosophy of China. Daoism is hard to define because it values silence and inaction. To a Dao believer the observable human world is not what matters because what truly matters is the far greater cosmic world of nature. It is from the cosmos that Daoists believers must receive their guidance, but for here in this world Daoists receive their guidance from the DaoDeJing, the main text of Daoism. It is a collection of mystical remarks whose meaning even in Chinese is hard to decipher. The famous opening line of the text is “The name that can be named is not the eternal name”, which could possibly mean that truth cannot be put into simple words. Much of the content of the DaoDeJing can be attributed to Laozi. Although the present texts had several contributors Laozi is said to have debated with Confucius himself and to have later on disappeared at an old age.
While most Confucians have to attempt and improve the state of things, Daoists tend to “go with the flow”. In other words not try to do too much, just let things happen, be as natural as possible. As Daoism grew, it merged with folk beliefs, animism, worship of natural forces and belief in the supernatural. The development of priests, temples and monastic orders followed soon after. After the Han dynasty, Daoists began to practice magic and alchemy in pursuit of the elixirs of immortality. This varied experimentation with medicinal herbs contributed immensely to the growth of Chinese medicines and discoveries.