Jonathan Herman

You may be familiar with Taoism the way your parents were familiar with the music you and your friends listened to when you were a kid — you have a passing knowledge, but wouldn't be able to win any trivia competitions. A lot of what you know about Taoism may be a little fuzzy. To understand Taoism completely is a lifelong journey, but you’d do well to know a little bit about the history of Taoism and its important branches.

The origin of Taoism reaches back as far as prehistoric China, and has had a strong influence over Chinese culture throughout its history. The following people shaped Taoism over time, making it what it is today: Lao Tzu: Lao Tzu is the traditional “founder” of Taoism and the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching.

There have historically been many different types of Taoism, and it’s sometimes hard to keep them all straight or understand how they relate to one another. Here’s a brief summary of the different historical and modern branches of Taoism. Classical Taoism Taoism traces its roots to a series of texts written more than 2,000 years ago.

Taoism encompasses a wide range of beliefs, practices, and cultural traditions, and its history has often followed a “Way” of complicated twists and turns. Here’s a brief timeline that lays out the basic periods of Taoist history. Dates What Happened in Taoist History 6th to 2nd centuries B.C.E. The Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, Nei-yeh, Huai Nan Tzu, and Ma-wang-tui manuscripts were composed.