Daoist traditions emerged in China during the beginning period of the Common Era. During the second century, preexisting notions of Daoism transformed into a newfound understanding that paved the way for Daoism to become one of China’s major religions. Among the basic principles of Daoism lives the Dao, or the Way. The Dao is important in providing the essentialness of existence. The Dao effects all aspects of life because humans, as individuals and groups, can experience harmony in life if they align with the Dao.[1]
While Daoist traditions can be linked to ancient China, the religion notably emerged in the second century of the Common Era. Daoism, or daojiao in Chinese, was an essential facet of medieval China. Daoist traditions, practices, and identity would continue to grow for centuries after its emergence. Centuries like the fifth and sixth saw an increase in Daoist movements that attempted to legitimize its canonization, scriptures, rituals, practices, etc. The period between Daoism’s emergence and canonization saw a great amount of development of its basic concepts and practices.[2]
Like most major religions, Daoism has its own complexity and unique form. Daoism is a collection of texts, rituals, and traditions alongside a set of beliefs that is distinguishable from other religions. Raz writes that the Daoist collections alongside common beliefs “formed a commonality as opposed to other traditions such as Buddhism, on the one hand, and the practices of common religion, on the other”. Another distinguishing factor of Daoism is, reasonably, its great emphasis on attaining the Dao. Therefore, Daoism defines the ideal practices in attaining the Dao and overall harmony. In turn, various Daoist groups possess different ideal ways to attain the Dao. The different interpretations among varying groups adds to an overall understanding of Daoism as a whole.[3]
Among the important sites along the Silk Road is Dunhuang. Dunhuang is a particular site that houses a wide variety of religious texts, artifacts, and paintings. Daoism is one of the religions archived at this location among the majority of Buddhist texts. Dunhuang features a series of caves that houses different artifacts, paintings, and documents. One of the most famous caves of Dunhuang is the “library cave” discovered by Wang Yuanlu around the year 1900. This library cave holds the largest collection of documents at Dunhuang. Yuanlu is referred to as “Daoist Wang” by expeditioner Aurel Stein. Aurel Stein’s expeditions to Dunhuang allowed documents to leave Dunhuang to travel across the world. Dunhuang is one location along the Silk Road that has helped to preserve and spread documents of various religions and languages.[4]
[1] Raz, 1.
[2] Raz, 2-3.
[3] Raz, 4-5.
[4] Hansen, 287.
Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History with Documents Oxford University Press, 2017.
Raz, Gil. The Emergence of Daoism: Creation of Tradition. Taylor & Francis Group, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pitt-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957082.