Τaοism

In southeast China, in Kiang-su Province, there is a range of mountains known as Mao-shan. Mao-shan was home to the earliest Taoist mountain retreat communities. These communities date back to the fifth and sixth centuries and were built by the followers of Shang-ching Taoism. Many Taoist clergy and devotees who participate in this festival are women. Women should begin their training by cultivating their natural disposition and intrinsic nature, which is stillness and tranquility. For a religion in which the majority of its adherents are women, it seems strange that very little is known about the history of its female practitioners. This chapter explores whether Taoist women were rare in the history of China and reveals the hidden history of women in Taoism. The acceptance of the Mother Empress of the West into the Taoist pantheon of deities was a landmark in the development of Devotional Taoism.