Daoism

In Our Time: Philosophy

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2010

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daoism. An ancient Chinese tradition of philosophy and religious belief, Daoism first appeared more than two thousand years ago. For centuries it was the most popular religion in China; in the West its religious aspects are not as well known as its practices, which include meditation and Feng Shui, and for its most celebrated text, the Daodejing.The central aim in Daoism is to follow the 'Dao', a word which roughly translates as 'The Way'. Daoists believe in following life in its natural flow, what they refer to as an 'effortless action'. This transcendence can be linked to Buddhism, the Indian religion that came to China in the 2nd century BC and influenced Daoism - an exchange which went both ways. Daoism is closely related to, but has also at times conflicted with, the religion of the Chinese Imperial court, Confucianism. The spirit world is of great significance in Daoism, and its hierarchy and power often take precedence over events and people in real life. But how did this ancient and complex religion come to be so influential?With:Tim Barrett Professor of East Asian History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of LondonMartin PalmerDirector of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and CultureHilde De WeerdtFellow and Tutor in Chinese History at Pembroke College, University of Oxford Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Thanks for downloading the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.uk.
0:10.0	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:11.0	Hello, it's said that on a cold, misty night many years ago, an old man arrived at the
0:16.7	Western border of Imperial China. He was weary and keen to get on his way, but the
0:21.1	border guard stopped him, recognizing him as the learned
0:24.1	archivist of the Chinese royal court. The man in question was Loud Tsar the old
0:28.9	master and at the request of the guard he stopped for the night and wrote down some of his wisdom.
0:33.4	In doing so, he created what was to become the most revered text of the Taoist faith,
0:38.5	the Tao de Jing.
0:40.3	According to a Taoist tradition, these nocturnal events took place sometime in the 6th century
0:45.1	BC, although today summed out that such a person as Loudza even existed.
0:50.3	Taoists thought has been a powerful force in China for centuries.
0:53.7	Today Taoism is a world religion, perhaps best known in the West by some of its
0:57.3	symbols and practices such as the Yin and Yang and the art of Fensui.
1:01.6	But how did this complex religious philosophy spread and what lies
1:05.8	at the heart of its teachings? With me to discuss ourism at Tim Barrett, Professor of East Asian
1:11.3	History at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
1:14.5	Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture,
1:20.0	and Hilda de Viet, Fellow and Tut tutor in Chinese history at Pembroke College
1:23.8	the University of Oxford. Martin Palmer at the heart of diason is a notion
1:28.0	called the Tao. Can you explain what the word means?
1:30.6	Well the word itself simply means a road or a path or a street. We first
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.