Abstract
Taoism has generally been discriminated by intellectuals and considered to be the root of many negative factors in Chinese society in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, especially during the New Culture Movement (around the time of the May 4th movement in 1919). This discrimination encompasses both the conservation of the traditional scholarofficials’ conception and the launch of the Chinese Renaissance by the intellectuals of the New Culture. However, there is now a trend toward Taoism being the seed of native science in China since the 1930s. This trend has started to destigmatize Taoism. In fact, the image of Taoism, either negative or positive, is shaped by science. The case study presented here helps us to better understand the religious views in the ideology of modern China and remind us that the image of Taoism from the perspective of science history is not its true color. What is more, two levels of “science view” have been formed in modern China: at the level of ideological structure, the traditional principle of “craft at climax can be closer to the Tao” and at the level of concrete connotation, the real meaning of either Tao or craft has undergone a rudimental change.
Recommended Citation
Dongjie, Wang
(2020)
"The Stigmatization of Taoism and Its Destigmatizing Process in Modern China,"
Contemporary Social Sciences:
No.
2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://css.researchcommons.org/journal/vol2020/iss2/6