Origins. Daoism originally had a political dimension, but later it became focused on natural harmony rather than on social harmony, the purview of Confucianism. To the Daoists, social harmony follows from a return of man to harmony with nature and its fundamental reality. The first great Daoist classic, the Daodejing, appeared in the third century, and the philosophy continued to develop in the following centuries.

Daoism in Tang. When Li Shimin established the Tang dynasty (618-907), the Daoists proposed that he was a descendant of Lao Zi, the founder of Daoism, who possessed the same surname "Li." Daoists won Li Shimin's support even though he favored Buddhism. Many emperors of the Tang dynasty became active patrons of Daoism, granting titles and dignities to Lao Zi. Emperor Xuanzong decreed that a Daoist temple should be built in every city and that every aristocratic...