Editing Chinese culture (section)

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in China|Taoism|Chinese folk religion|Fortune-telling#Eastern fortune telling}}

During the Xia and Shang dynasties, Chinese religion was oriented to worshipping the supreme god [[Shang Di]], with the king and diviners acting as priests and using [[oracle bones]]. The Zhou dynasty oriented religion to worshipping the broader concept of heaven. A large part of Chinese culture is based in the belief in a spiritual world. Countless [[methods of divination]] have helped answer questions, even serving as an alternative to medicine. [[Chinese folklore|Folklores]] have helped fill the gap between things that cannot be explained. There is often a blurred line between myth, religion and unexplained phenomenon. Many of the stories have since evolved into [[traditional Chinese holidays]]. Other concepts have extended beyond mythology into spiritual symbols such as [[Door god]] and the [[Imperial guardian lions]]. Along with the belief in the divine beings, there is belief in evil beings. Practices such as Taoist [[exorcism]] fighting [[Mogwai (Chinese culture)|mogwai]] and [[jiangshi]] with peachwood swords are just some of the concepts passed down from generations. A few [[Fortune-telling#Eastern fortune telling|Chinese fortune telling]] rituals are still in use today after thousands of years of refinement.

Taoism, a religious or philosophical tradition of [[China|Chinese]] origin, emphasizes living in harmony with the ''[[Tao]]'' ({{lang|zh|[[Wikt:道|道]]}}, literally "Way", [[Taoism#Spelling and pronunciation|also romanized as ''Dao'']]). The ''Tao'' is a fundamental idea in most [[Chinese philosophy|Chinese philosophical]] schools; in Taoism, however, it denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists.<ref name="Pollard; Rosenberg; Tignor 2011 164">{{Cite book | title = Worlds Together Worlds Apart |author1= Pollard |author2=Rosenberg |author3=Tignor  | first = Elizabeth; Clifford; Robert | publisher = Norton | year = 2011 |isbn=978-0-393-91847-2 | location = New York, New York | page = 164}}</ref><ref name=Creel>{{cite book | author = Creel | date = 1970 | title = What Is Taoism? | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5p6EBnx4_W0C&pg=PA48 | pages = 48, 62–63 | publisher = University of Chicago Press | isbn = 978-0-226-12047-8 | access-date = 29 October 2017 | archive-date = 1 September 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230901025357/https://books.google.com/books?id=5p6EBnx4_W0C&pg=PA48 | url-status = live }}</ref> Taoism differs from [[Confucianism]] by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order.<ref name="Pollard; Rosenberg; Tignor 2011 164"/> Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize ''[[wu wei]]'' (effortless action), "naturalness", simplicity, spontaneity, and the [[Three Treasures (Taoism)|Three Treasures]]: 慈 "compassion", 儉/俭 "frugality", and 谦 "humility". The roots of Taoism can be traced back to at least the 4th century BCE. Early Taoism drew its cosmological notions from the [[School of Naturalists|School of Yinyang]] (Naturalists), and was deeply influenced by one of China's oldest texts, the ''[[I Ching|Yijing]]'', which expounds a philosophical system of human behavior in accordance with the alternating cycles of nature. The "[[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist]]" [[Shen Buhai]] may also have been a major influence, expounding a [[realpolitik]] of wu wei.<ref name=Creel/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Benard |first=Elisabeth Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-E5LZeR7QKwC&pg=PA92 |title=Chinnamastā, the Aweful Buddhist and Hindu Tantric Goddess |date=2010 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-1748-7 |language=en |access-date=29 October 2017 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022223031/https://books.google.com/books?id=-E5LZeR7QKwC&pg=PA92 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ching |first1=Julia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynfrlFZcUG8C&pg=PA75 |title=Sages and Filial Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China |last2=Guisso |first2=R. W. L. |date=1991 |publisher=Chinese University Press |isbn=978-962-201-469-5 |language=en |access-date=29 October 2017 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022223032/https://books.google.com/books?id=ynfrlFZcUG8C&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'', a compact book containing teachings attributed to [[Laozi]] ({{zh|c=老子|p=Lǎozǐ|w=Lao Tzu}}), is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later [[Zhuangzi (book)|writings of Zhuangzi]].