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My understanding of Taoism 刘冬明 103001700053 思想政治教育 I have been interested in Taoism for a long time. I feel that it is so fantastic, abstruse and mysterious. Every time when I read Tao Te Ching, I feel that I am enlightened. Taoism is our local philosophy and it has a longer history than Confucianism. Taoism was set up by Lao Tzu and carried forward by Chuang Tzu. Different to western philosophy, traditional Chinese philosophy, like Taoism, is not predominantly concerned with finding out the truth about reality, but is more practical as it is the concern about how to live one’s life. I think that as far as we put more effort into learning Taoism, we can get great inspiration in our lives. And I am fascinated into the thought of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. There are two main schools of thought as to the origin of Taoism. One sticks to the point that Taoism is a development of early animism and magical practices. And to support this theory there is the legend of yellow emperor, who was regarded as our earliest ancestor and reputed to have been instructed in magic and mysticism. The other thought maintain that classic Taoism began with Lao Tzu though the doctrine of Tao existed earlier. Taoism was not so prosperous after Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and the element of magic was so prominent in later decadent Taoism. But in the teachings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, the element of magic and mystery was expunged. Nowadays, as classic Taoism is mainly based on Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, the Book of Chuang Tzu and only a few fragments before them, the Taoism that was developed by Chuang Tzu as a rarefied metaphysical teaching and a protest against magic and popular superstitions is more easier to be accepted by scholars. Similar to Confucianism, Taoism is the philosophy of the art of living and relationships; it deals with the whole of nature and Man’s place in it. But Taoism has a different attitude to life as to Confucianism. Taoists advocate that w