As with Shinto, exclusive-adherence counts misrepresent Chinese religious practice.
Overview
The two Classical texts of Daoism are credited to their titled masters, Laozi and Zhuangzi, who did not themselves coin the name later given to the tradition.12 Historians first coined the collective category “Daoist” during the Han, between the second century BCE and the second century CE.3
History and origins
The terms for the Daoist school and for its teachings were both coined during the eclectic Han dynasty, following the repression under the Qin of 221–206 BCE.4 An internal intellectual history traces the trend through schools of fatalism, which treated Great Dào as fixed cosmic history, to Laozi’s school rejecting social constructs.5
What is taught
Dào is described as how natural kinds are born, come to exist, change, evolve and eventually disappear.6 As the structure of natural probability it is held to be more like a map than a formula, rule or law.7 Both of the classical strands rejected linguistic terms and social practices in general as distorting the natural guiding capacity, by instilling desires for social status.8
References
- “The two Classical texts, credited to their titled masters” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “did not coin their “-ism.”” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “Historians first coined the collective category “Daoist”” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “were both coined during the eclectic Han dynasty following the Qin” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “traces the trend through schools of fatalism, treating Great Dào as fixed cosmic history” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “Dào is how natural kinds are born” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “the structure of natural probability is more like a map than a formula, rule or law” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
- “Both rejected linguistic terms” — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Daoism, source page↗ (opens in a new tab)
Individual sourced statements
Statements recorded one at a time, each shown with the words it rests on. They sit alongside the account above rather than beneath it.
The Daoist Foundation describes scriptures as manifestations of the Dao and an authentic source of Daoist views inspired by spirit and contemplation.
“Considered manifestations of the Dao, they represent an authentic source of Daoist views inspired by spirit and contemplation.”
Every quotation above was checked against its source on 5 September 2026.
Authority
Taoism has no central authority.
Schools
How these dates are worked out
This is the part that decides whether a date in your rota is right. Every observance below is computed from a published rule rather than copied from anyone’s list, and the rule is what explains why a date moves, why two calendars can disagree, and how far ahead you can safely plan.
The second new moon after the winter solstice
- What sets the date
- The year begins at the second new moon following the December solstice, computed for a specific meridian.
- Why it falls where it does
- Because both the solstice and the new moon are astronomical instants, the rule is exact, but the meridian used decides which side of midnight a new moon falls on. That is enough to shift the new year by a whole month in rare years where a leap month is at stake.
- What that means for planning
- The date moves between late January and late February. Published tables and computation agree for almost every year; where a known disagreement exists the site follows the published table and says so.
Observances in 2026
Sources
No expert review. Accuracy here rests on continuous machine verification of every quotation against its source. Spotted an error? Corrections are answered within five working days.