- published: 22 Apr 2013
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Taoism (pronounced and also spelled Daoism; Chinese: 道教 or 道家; pinyin: dàojiào or dàojiā) is a philosophical and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (Chinese: 道; pinyin: dào). The term Tao (or Dao, depending on the romanization system used) originally means "way", "path" or "principle", and can be found in Chinese philosophies and religions other than Taoism. In Taoism, however, Tao denotes an obscure metaphysical force which is ultimately ineffable: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." In Taoism, the Tao is the source and essence of everything that exists.
The keystone work of literature in Taoism is the Daodejing, a concise and ambiguous book containing teachings attributed to Laozi, or "the Old Teacher". Together with the writings of Zhuangzi, these texts build the philosophical foundation of Taoism. This philosophical Taoism, individualistic by nature, is not institutionalized. Institutionalized forms, however, evolved over time in the shape of a number of different schools, often integrating beliefs and practices that even pre-dated the keystone texts – as, for example, the theories of the School of Naturalists, which synthesized the concepts of yin-yang and the Five Elements. Taoist schools traditionally feature reverence for Laozi, immortals or ancestors, along with a variety of divination and exorcism rituals, and practices for achieving ecstasy, longevity or immortality.