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( Taoism)
Reverence for nature and ancestor spirits is common in popular Taoism. Organized Taoism distinguishes its ritual activity from that of the folk religion, which some professional Taoists (Daoshi) view as debased. Chinese alchemy, astrology, cuisine, several Chinese martial arts, Chinese traditional medicine, fengshui, and many styles of qigong breath training disciplines are intertwined with Taoism throughout history. There is debate over how, and whether, Taoism should be subdivided. Livia Kohn divided it into the following three categories[2] This distinction is complicated by hermeneutic (interpretive) difficulties in the categorization of Taoist schools, sects and movements.[3] Many scholars believe that there is no distinction between Daojia and Daojiao.[4] According to Kirkland, "most scholars who have seriously studied Taoism, both in Asia and the West, have finally abandoned the simplistic dichotomy of Tao-chia and Tao-chiao, "philosophical Taoism" and "religious Taoism."[5] Hansen states that the identification of "Taoism" as such first occurred in the early Han Dynasty when dao-jia was identified as a single school.[6] The writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi were linked together under this single tradition during the Han Dynasty, but notably not before.[7] It is unlikely that Zhuangzi was familiar with the text of the Daodejing.[8][9] Additionally, Graham states that Zhuangzi would not have identified himself as a Taoist, a classification that did not arise until well after his death.[10]
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