Editing History of East Asia (section)

===Birth of Confucianism and Taoism===
{{Main|Confucianism|Taoism}}

Confucianism and Taoism originated in the [[Spring and Autumn period]], arising from the historic figures of [[Confucius]] and [[Laozi]]. They have functioned has both competing and complementary belief systems. Confucianism emphasizes social order and filial piety while Taoism emphasizes the universal force of the [[Tao]] and spiritual well-being.

Confucianism is an [[ethics|ethical]] and [[philosophy|philosophical]] system that developed during the [[Spring and Autumn period]]. It later developed [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] and [[cosmology|cosmological]] elements in the [[Han dynasty]].{{sfn|Craig|1998|p=550}} Following the official abandonment of [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] in China after the [[Qin dynasty]], Confucianism became the official state ideology of the Han. Nonetheless, from the Han period onwards, most Chinese emperors have used a mix of [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] and [[Confucianism]] as their ruling doctrine. The disintegration of the Han in the second century CE opened the way for the [[soteriology|soteriological]] doctrines of [[Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]] to dominate intellectual life at that time.

A Confucian revival began during the [[Tang dynasty]]. In the late Tang, Confucianism developed aspects on the model of Buddhism and Taoism that gradually evolved into what is now known as [[Neo-Confucianism]]. This reinvigorated form was adopted as the basis of the [[imperial exams]] and the core philosophy of the [[scholar-official]] class in the [[Song dynasty]]. Confucianism would reign supreme as an ideology influencing all of East Asia until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.

Taoism as a movement originates from the semi mystical figure of Laozi, who allegedly lived during the 6th–5th century BC. His teachings revolved around personal serenity, balance in the universe and the life source of the [[Taoism|Tao]]. The first organized form of Taoism, the [[Tianshi Dao|Tianshi]] (Celestial Masters') school (later known as [[Zhengyi Dao|Zhengyi]] school), developed from the [[Five Pecks of Rice]] movement at the end of the 2nd century CE; the latter had been founded by [[Zhang Daoling]], who claimed that Laozi appeared to him in the year 142.{{sfn|Robinet|1997|p=54}} The Tianshi school was officially recognized by ruler [[Cao Cao]] in 215, legitimizing Cao Cao's rise to power in return.{{sfn|Robinet|1997|p=1}} Laozi received imperial recognition as a divinity in the mid-2nd century BCE.{{sfn|Robinet|1997|p=50}}

Taoism, in form of the [[Shangqing School]], gained official status in China again during the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), whose emperors claimed [[Laozi]] as their relative.{{sfn|Robinet|1997|p=184}} The Shangqing movement, however, had developed much earlier, in the 4th century, on the basis of a series of revelations by gods and spirits to a certain Yang Xi in the years between 364 and 370.{{sfn|Robinet|1997|p=115}}