Spread of Daoism
- After the “publication” of the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi in the 4th century BCE, Daoism began to spread throughout the regions of China during the Warring States period and into the Han Dynasty.
- Around 200 CE following the growing popularity of Buddhism, Daoism was forced to become a more organized religion, but also adapted with, and to a certain degree merged with, Buddhism for more people. This led to the spread of Daoism being twofold, both through its organized form and through the aspects of Daoism being spread through Buddhism.
- Daoism became the official religion of China during the Tang Dynasty in the 8th century CE, but lost support with the decline of the Tang Empire in the 9th and 10th centuries CE.
- Daoism spread to Japan and Korea during the Tang dynasty through trade, conflict, and interactions between China and the other two regions. Daoism had more success in Japan, as the spiritual and natural aspect transitioned easily with the Japanese traditional religion of Shintoism. In Korea however, daoism’s popularity ended pretty quickly due to the existence of Buddhism and Confucianism in Korea.
- Following the end of the Tang Dynasty, Daoism remained concentrated mainly throughout China, spreading to the pacific southeastern island of Asia in small capacity
- In the globalized world today, Daoism has the capacity to spread throughout the world due to the endless and easily acceptable research databases, but still remains concentrated in China as a practiced religion
