Taoism Timeline

(6th century BCE – Present)

Taoism (or Daoism) is a philosophical and religious tradition originating in ancient China that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao, an ineffable source and pattern of existence. Rooted in texts like the Tao Te Ching attributed to Laozi and the Zhuangzi, it developed into organized religious movements, influenced Chinese culture, medicine, martial arts, and spirituality, and remains a living tradition today. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Origins and Early Texts

Composition of the Tao Te Ching

400 BCE

The Tao Te Ching, attributed to Laozi, was composed between the 4th and 6th century BCE. It became the foundational text of Taoism, teaching the way of the Tao, naturalness, and wu wei (non-action).

Image source: Tao Te Ching

Neiye text on self-cultivation written

350 BC

The Neiye (Inward Training), a 4th-century BCE text on self-cultivation, emphasizes breath/qi practices and training the heart-mind (xin), becoming an important early Taoist work.

Image source: Neiye

Earliest bamboo manuscripts of the Tao Te Ching

320 BC

The earliest manuscripts of the Tao Te Ching, written on bamboo tablets, date back to the late 4th century BCE. These contain significant differences from the later received edition associated with Wang Bi (c. 226–249).

Image source: Bamboo Texts of Guodian

Taoist philosophy draws on Warring States schools

300 BC - 221 BC

According to modern scholars such as Kirkland and Livia Kohn, Taoist philosophy developed by drawing on numerous schools of thought from the Warring States period, including Mohism, Confucianism, Legalist theorists like Shen Buhai and Han Fei, and the School of Naturalists, from which Taoism draws yin and yang and the five phases.

Image source: Taoism

Taoist philosophy draws on Warring States schools

Heguanzi syncretic collection compiled

250 BC

The Heguanzi is a 3rd-century BCE syncretic collection of writings from the Chinese Hundred Schools of Thought, reflecting the intellectual milieu from which Taoist thought emerged.

Image source: Heguanzi

Huang–Lao movement flourishes in Han era

200 BC

One of the earliest forms of Taoism was the Han era Huang–Lao movement, which was an influential school of thought at this time, blending the teachings of the Yellow Emperor with those of Laozi.

Image source: Huang–Lao

Unorganized syncretic Taoism popular in Han dynasty

200 BC - 100 BC

An unorganized form of Taoism was popular in the Han dynasty that syncretized many preexisting forms in multiple ways for different groups during a rough span of time throughout the 2nd century BCE.

Heshang Gong commentary on the Tao Te Ching

150

Perhaps the oldest commentary on the Tao Te Ching, the Heshang Gong commentary was most likely written in the 2nd century CE and remains one of the most influential interpretations of the classic.

Daozang canon assembly begins

400

Monks began assembling the Daozang canon starting in the 5th century CE, forming the core of a body of Taoist writings accrued over the following centuries.

Image source: Daozang

Dynastic Developments

Laozi receives imperial recognition as a divinity

150 BC

Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in the mid-2nd century BCE, elevating the legendary sage to a central place in emerging religious Taoism.

Image source: Laozi

Ge Hong writes the Baopuzi

317

Ge Hong, a 4th century alchemist, wrote a key Taoist work on inner cultivation, the Baopuzi (Master Embracing Simplicity), covering alchemy, immortality practices, and esoteric techniques.

Image source: Ge Hong

Three Teachings discourse emerges

500

Mutual co-existence between Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism led to the emergence of Three Teachings discourse by the 6th century CE, which examined how the three traditions could be integrated harmoniously in Chinese society.

Image source: Three teachings

Taoists attempt unification of traditions

500 - 600

During the 6th century, Taoists attempted to unify the various traditions into one integrated Taoism that could compete with Buddhism and Confucianism.

Five Dragons Temple built at Wudang Mountains

627 - 649

During the reign of the 7th century Emperor Taizong, the Five Dragons Temple, the first temple at the Wudang Mountains, was constructed, beginning the site's long association with Taoism.

Image source: Wudang Mountains

Taijitu yin-yang symbol originates

960

What has become the standardised yin-yang taijitu originated as a Taoist symbol in the 10th century CE during the early Song dynasty, becoming an enduring emblem of Taoist cosmology.

Image source: Taijitu

Zhang Boduan writes the Wuzhen pian

1075

Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) is a major Song-dynasty internal alchemy text by Zhang Boduan (987?–1082), becoming a foundational work for neidan practice.

Neo-Confucian synthesis under Ming dynasty

1368 - 1644

Under the Ming dynasty, aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism were consciously synthesized in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually became Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes.

Image source: Neo-Confucianism

Zhengtong Daozang published

1445

Although earlier Taoist canons were compiled and revised in the medieval and Song–Jin periods, the only complete canon extant today is the Ming-dynasty Zhengtong Daozang, published in 1445, containing roughly 1,500 texts.

Secret of the Golden Flower circulated

1690

The Taiyi Jinhua zongzhi (The Secret of the Golden Flower) is an influential internal alchemy text from the late 17th century, later promoted by Longmen authors like Liu Yiming (1734–1821) and Min Yide (1758–1836).

Qing imperial library excludes Taoist books

1700 - 1800

During the 18th century, the Qing imperial library excluded virtually all Taoist books, reflecting the dynasty's preference for Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism over Taoism.

Organized Schools

Way of the Celestial Masters founded

142

The first organized form of Taoism was the Way of the Celestial Masters, which developed from the Five Pecks of Rice movement at the end of the 2nd century CE, establishing a structured religious community with priests and parishes.

Ge Chaofu compiles Lingbao scriptures

397 - 402

Between 397 and 402, Ge Chaofu compiled a series of scriptures that later served as the foundation of the Lingbao school, which was most influential during the later Song dynasty and focused on scriptural recitation and talismans for harmony and longevity.

Image source: Lingbao School

Quanzhen School founded by Wang Chongyang

1160

In the 12th century, the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) School was founded in Shandong by the sage Wang Chongyang (1113–1170) to compete with religious Taoist traditions that worshipped ghosts and gods, and largely displaced them.

Image source: Quanzhen School

Quanzhen School founded by Wang Chongyang

Quanzhen School embraces Three Teachings philosophy

1170

Later, in the 12th century, the Quanzhen School of Taoism was explicitly founded on three teachings philosophy, incorporating Buddhist meditation techniques and monastic organization alongside Confucian ethical discipline and social responsibility.

Sun Bu'er founds the Qingjing lineage

1180

Another important Quanzhen lineage is the Qingjing pai, founded by the nun Sun Bu'er (1119–1182), the only female member of Wang Chongyang's 'seven perfected' disciples.

Image source: Sun Bu'er

Qiu Chuji founds the Dragon Gate lineage

1200

Qiu Chuji (1148–1227), one of Wang Chongyang's 'seven perfected' disciples, founded the Dragon Gate lineage, which would become the most prominent branch of Quanzhen Taoism.

Image source: Qiu Chuji

Quanzhen flourishes under Yuan dynasty

1271 - 1368

Quanzhen flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries and during the Yuan dynasty, expanding its monasteries and influence across China.

Longmen school established at White Cloud Temple

1600

The Qing era saw the birth of the Longmen (Dragon Gate) school of Wang Kunyang (1552–1641), a branch of Quanzhen from southern China that became established at the White Cloud Temple in Beijing.

Image source: Dragon Gate Taoism

Modern Era

Taoism suffers destruction in century of humiliation

1839 - 1949

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Taoism suffered much destruction as a result of religious persecution and numerous wars and conflicts that beset China in the so-called century of humiliation.

Image source: Century of humiliation

Chen Yingning revitalizes Taoism

1900 - 1969

A key Taoist figure during this turbulent period was Chen Yingning (1880–1969), who worked to modernize and preserve Taoist inner alchemy teachings despite widespread upheaval.

Image source: Taoism

Chinese Taoist Association formed

1956

In 1956, the Chinese Taoist Association was formed to administer the activities of all registered Taoist orders, and received official approval in 1957.

Image source: Chinese Taoist Association

Cultural Revolution devastates Taoism

1966 - 1976

During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), many Taoist priests were laicized and sent to work camps, many Taoist sites and temples were destroyed or converted to secular use, and the Chinese Taoist Association was disbanded.

Image source: Cultural Revolution

Taoism recovers during reform and opening up

1979

Taoism began to recover during the reform and opening up period beginning in 1979, during which mainland China experienced increased religious freedom.

Image source: Chinese economic reform

Chinese Taoist Association reestablished

1980

The Chinese Taoist Association, disbanded during the Cultural Revolution, was reestablished in 1980. Since then, many Taoist monasteries and temples have been reopened or rebuilt, both belonging to the Zhengyi or Quanzhen schools, and ordination has been resumed.

Schipper publishes The Taoist Body

1986

Scholar and Taoist initiate Kristofer Schipper proposed in The Taoist Body (1986) the definition of Taoism as a liturgical framework for the development of local cults, a scheme or structure for Chinese religion.

Image source: Kristofer Schipper

Taoism spreads to the Western world

1990

During the late 20th century, Taoism began to spread to the Western world, leading to various forms of Taoist communities in the West, with Taoist publications, websites, meditation and Tai chi centers, and translations of Taoist texts.

Library of Congress adopts Pinyin romanization

2000

'Dao' is the romanized spelling in the Hanyu Pinyin system, officially adopted in China in the 1950s and by the Library of Congress in 2000, largely replacing Wade–Giles romanization ('Tao') in academic sources.

Image source: Romanization of Chinese

Survey finds 950 million practitioners of Chinese folk religion

2010

According to a survey of religion in China in 2010, the number of people practicing some form of Chinese folk religion is near to 950 million, about 70% of Chinese, within which Taoism continues as an order of the larger body of Chinese religion.

Image source: Chinese folk religion

Key Facts

Taoism's foundational text, the Tao Te Ching, is traditionally attributed to the sage Laozi, who is believed to have lived around the 6th century BCE.
The core concept of the Tao means 'the Way' — the natural order of the universe that cannot be fully described in words.
The philosophy emphasizes wu wei (effortless action or non-forcing), simplicity, humility, and harmony with nature.
During the Han Dynasty (2nd century CE), Taoism evolved into an organized religion known as the Way of the Celestial Masters, founded by Zhang Daoling.
Taoism has deeply influenced Chinese medicine, feng shui, tai chi, martial arts, and alchemy, and today millions of people worldwide practice Taoist traditions.

Source

This Taoism timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

Want a timeline like this one?

Generate yours with AI or build it from scratch, for free.

Try It for Free