Daoist History

The Daoist tradition is a community of dedicated practitioners connected to each other as a historical and energetic continuum. The study of this tradition, the development of historical consciousness concerning the diversity of Daoist communities, practitioners, and their material expressions, is necessary for deepening one's understanding of the religious tradition which is Daoism as well as informing one's participation in that community. Familiarity with the historical precedents that have been established by the earlier Chinese tradition(s) allows practitioners to reflect on and determine the extent to which what they are doing is "Daoist." Considering Daoist practice in particular, there are various "models" that emerge through the careful consideration of the entire breadth of the tradition. In terms of traditional models of Daoist praxis, one may identify at least the following: quietistic, ritualistic, cosmological, exorcistic, behavioral/ethical, mediumistic/shamanic, dietetical, ascetical, literary/artistic, alchemical, meditative, hermeneutical, medical, mystical, syncretistic, and so forth. Many more could be proposed, and these various models can be either individualistic or communal. While such categories may have heuristic value, careful historical study of the Daoist tradition shows that various models and methods were combined and integrated in unique and convincing ways. Some Daoists may have embraced, applied, and developed one particular model, but most Daoist sub-traditions employed and recommended a combination. Without an understanding of such historical precedents, Daoism in the West will simply be a fabrication, a fiction, and a fantasy. This does not mean that there should not be adaptation and modification; change necessarily occurs when a religious tradition enters a new cultural context and when religious practitioners have different concerns and motivations. But it does mean that without a connection and collective memory such "innovations" become meaningless names.