History UsefulNotes / Taoism

Of the traditional Chinese religions, Taoism has substantially higher appeal in the West than [[Creator/{{Confucius}} Confucianism]], if only because the latter is so concerned with politeness and filial piety, whereas Taoism actually has things to say about spiritual matters [[note]]Probably another, greater, reason, was that Confucianism fundamentally emphasizes a class system/hierarchy, which is offensive to modern sensibilities.[[/note]]. Possibly the most notable non-Chinese Taoist is Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin, who inserted Taoist themes into her works and wrote a commentary / loose translation (by her own admission) of the Tao Te Ching.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', [[WiseOldTurtle Master Oogway]] represents the Taoist philosophy, contrasting against his pupil Master Shifu's [[Creator/{{Confucius}} Confucianist]] discipline. Best exemplified in their exchange just before Oogway's passing, as they discuss how Po is to defeat Tai Lung:

* Taoism appears in the ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' DLC ''Jade Dragon'', followed mainly by Han Chinese characters, mostly the ones living in the "Western Protectorate" of the Chinese Empire, which exist in the eastern fringes of the map in the 769 A.D and 936 A.D start dates. It is a surprisingly good religion for stability and economic power, giving you bonus stewardship, no "Short reign" relations penalty with vassals, the ability to choose heirs, allows concubines and Taoist characters can choose between three "school of thought": Zhengyi Dao - the Way of Orthodox Unity, Quanzhen - School of Complete Perfection, and Shangqing - School of Supreme Clarity; It also makes it easier to "adopt Chinese imperialism" and form your own Imperial Dynasty. It should be noted that it comes with a dose of ArtisticLicenseReligion -- Confucianism/Neo-Confucianism are absent, which is notable as the entire system of Chinese Meritocracy (which ''is'' present in-game) is based on its precepts. All Chinese characters are instead Taoist, so in-game Taoism also represents Confucianism to a certain degree.
** Taoism is back in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsIII'' but has been DemotedToExtra, there's only one start with Taoist rulers (867 A.D) and no province in the map follows Taoism. The religion has also been split into three separate faiths: Quanzhen, Shangqing and Zhengyi (the only one actually present at the start).

Of the traditional Chinese religions, Taoism has substantially higher appeal in the West than [[Creator/{{Confucius}} Confucianism]], if only because the latter is so concerned with politeness and filial piety, whereas Taoism actually has things to say about spiritual matters [[note]]Probably another, greater, reason, was that Confucianism fundamentally emphasizes a class system/hierarchy, which is offensive to modern sensibilities.[[/note]]. Possibly the most notable non-Chinese Taoist is Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin, who inserts Taoist themes into her works and has written a commentary about the Tao Te Ching.

Of the traditional Chinese religions, Taoism has substantially higher appeal in the West than [[Creator/{{Confucius}} Confucianism]], if only because the latter is so concerned with politeness and filial piety, whereas Taoism actually has things to say about spiritual matters [[note]]Probably another, greater, reason, was that Confucianism fundamentally emphasizes a class system/ hierarchy, which is offensive to modern sensibilities.[[/note]]. Possibly the most notable non-Chinese Taoist is Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin, who inserts Taoist themes into her works and has written a commentary about the Tao Te Ching.