Taoism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places

by Jennifer Oldstone-Moore

Existing in China alongside Confucianism and Buddhism throughout the centuries, Taoism has had a major impact on Chinese intellectual and spiritual life. This concise guide offers an engaging introduction to the precepts, history and practices of Taoism, in a well-designed and attractively
illustrated volume that includes dozens of color photographs.
The book illuminates Taoism--its main beliefs and rituals, the key sacred texts, the status of the religion today. We learn that the term Tao ("Way") signifies the natural pattern underlying all cosmic change and transformation, the way in which qi (life force) is endlessly created and
dissolved to form the myriad phenomena of the universe. Focusing on one's development as an individual and on establishing harmony with nature, Taoism teaches that to achieve order and harmony in one's own life and in the cosmos, one must learn to perceive the Tao in nature and to act--or refrain
from acting--in accordance with it. The idea of strengthening oneself through attunement with natural forces is also applied to the preservation of the body through the quest for longevity. Oldstone-Moore also illuminates the history of Taoism, ranging from its founding by Laozi, who is believed to
have written the Tao Te Jing , the main text of Taoist thought, to the religion's decline in the early twentieth century, due to the impact of anti-religious movements, the most radical of which was Chinese Communism, to its recent resurgence.
Elegantly designed and beautifully illustrated, this volume would make a wonderful gift for someone interested in Eastern religion or Chinese culture.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, China, Taoism, History, Asia

112 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 2003

Reviews

[SaraCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is not meant to be a comprehensive text on Taoism, it does seem to touch all many of the key aspects. It feels like a book meant to be either a starting off point to learn more deeply about Taoism or possibly a book to review and remind the reader of things they have already studied. Since so many things are touched on in just over 100 pages, each page is very dense and requires the readers full attention. Each time something is mentioned that is covered in greater detail in another chapter, those pages are referenced so readers can easily look up that information if they wish to.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a volume in a series by Oxford University Press on the world's religions. They're all around 100 pages each and are pretty quick reads. Nothing super in-depth obviously, but they get the job done on giving you the basics. This is only the second one I've read in the series (I've also read the one on Shinto) and it wasn't quite as engaging as the other. I felt like a lot of this was repetitive and that the material was really being stretched to fill up the allotted space.

[Conrad Zero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick overview of Taoist religion and philosophy. The content is divided into short 'themes' like Origins, Sacred Texts, etc. The content was accessible, but could have been either more academic or more friendly. I think the size of the book prevented it from being more of either. I would have preferred shorter and more direct, or longer and more relaxed. Perhaps the author was taking the middle path. Ah well, such is the way.

I appreciated the high quality of the physical book. The printing, binding, and illustrations made this small book a pleasure to read. Also, the author took the time to provide a transliterations glossary, a bibliography and an index.

[Rosanna]

Piccola guida al taoismo. Scrittura scorrevole, con 9 temi chiave a delineare un percorso, dalle origini del TAO, fino al suo diffondersi nella società, al suo persistere sino ai nostri giorni e al suo significato all'interno di un'antica cultura come quella cinese. Il TAO è il fulcro, esso vuol dire 'Via' e questo libro è una buona iniziale guida conoscitiva ad esso, anche se....le parole per definire il TAO sono inutili, per comprendere bisogna smettere di studiare e razionalizzare e semplicemente essere al centro di se stessi. Lì è il TAO.

[Michael Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I'd thought Taoism was limited to one text written by a legendary figure named Lao Tzu. From Oldstone-Moore's book I discovered that, in time, Taoism became much more complicated with the addition of myriad texts and an assortment of deities. For that reason, I'm giving this "beginner" book the full array of stars--for telling me what those other books on Eastern religion had omitted.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense dry book. It would be good for beginners but also the density of information makes it so difficult to read especially at the beginning. I think the book would be best for people who want to review their knowledge or want to learn more history or "technical" knowledge of Taoism

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information on how Taoism affects Chinese people and culture, but aside from a few key points, doesn't delve into the specifics of the religion.

[Onoma Velika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and concise overview of taostic traditions and (mostly religious) practices.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short introduction to the philosophy and religious applications of Taoism. As with any book of this nature, which discusses such a complicated and far reaching subject in such a small space, it often feels like the reader is only given quick glimpses of what Taoism is all about. However, the author is clearly extremely knowledgeable on the subject, and has written many bigger books about China and Chinese religion, so this is certainly an excellent starting point.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms Oldstone-Moore does a short study on Toaism to include its beginning and development. The sacred beliefs are addressed as are the texts of this Eastern religion. Holy people and places are identified. The afterlife and Toaism's place in society are mentioned.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buona sintesi storico-culturale del taoismo. Accurato ma senza pretese, ottimo per uno sguardo di superficie. I brani originali temo siano tradotti dalla traduzione inglese dell'originale cinese, per cui ad esempio i brani riportati del Tao Te Ching sono a dir poco orribili.

[Jack Ziegler]

I am four chapters into this book and I am finding it very informative. It gives a good overview of Taoism and suggests other texts to read as a follow.

As someone interested in Taoism, I find it a good introduction.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a good intro to Taoism. I'm following Karen Armstrong's advice and reading a lot about different religions. On to Islam.

[Shu Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serviceable summary with very little dogma from a practitioners perspective. Much of the transliterations use the old romanization form, before pinyin came into use.