The Diversity and Harmony of Taoism: Ideas, Behaviors and Influences
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 July 2025 | Viewed by 2428
Special Issue Editor
Interests: the history of Taoism; Taoist philosophy; Taoist practice methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues，
In memory of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity promulgated by UNESCO, the International Summit Forum on "World Cultural Diversity & Laozi Taoist Culture" will proceed in May 20-22, 2024. It is organized by the Research Association of Laozi Taoist Culture of China, and the Oriental Renaissance Alliance of the United States. This forum will discuss the Eastern Taoist wisdom focusing on the "Laozi Taoist culture" and its significance. However, we are well aware that due to the limit of the meeting time and number of participants, it is impossible for a forum to reveal Taoist ideas on "diversity" and “harmony” completely, and more scholars should participate in relevant studies and discussions. Therefore, we set up a Special Issue on this topic in the journal Religions to provide an academic platform for in-depth discussions among scholars.
As a representative of traditional Chinese culture, Taoism has always advocated for "He-er-bu-tong和而不同"(harmony but diversity); for example, Boyangfu伯陽父 in the Western Zhou Dynasty(1046-771 BC) told the truth of “He-shi-sheng-wu, tong-ze-bu-ji和實生物，同則不繼”(harmony between diversity fosters new things actually, but the same of everything will not be continued) to the governor Laozi老子 in the spring and autumn period (770-476 BC), and gave us the sentence “Wanwu fuyin er baoyang, chongqi yi weihe萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和” (all things possess Yin and embrace Yang, and the state of them blending is harmony) in his book Taode Jing(《道德經》). These ideas, which emphasize diversity and harmony, provide wisdom for people of different cultures around the world to get along with each other today. In order to discover this wisdom of Taoism in depth, we are pleased to accept original research articles and reviews that focus on (but are not limited to) the following:
- Thoughts about diversity and harmony in Taoist philosophy, moral education, and political ideal.
- Diversity and harmony in Taoist practices of religious cultivation, health preservation, and psychological treatment.
- Historical cases of diversity and harmony in Taoist temples, sects, and communities.
- Contemporary value of Taoist diversity in its thoughts, practices, and history.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Wu Guo
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Taoism
- diversity
- harmony
- ideas
- behaviors
- contemporary value
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