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What is the oldest religion in China?
Taoism is the earliest religion in the history of China, with a history of 1800 years.

The name of Taoism comes from the ancient Shinto. Secondly, the theory of Taoism originated from Laozi, and it was first seen in Laozi's Sier Notes. The earliest origin of Taoism can be traced back to Laozi and Zhuangzi, so Taoism takes Laozi as its leader. However, the general academic circles believe that the first official classic of Taoism is Taiping Jing, which was completed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the Eastern Han Dynasty is regarded as the initial period of Taoism. The formal existence of Taoist entity activities in Taoism is the appearance of Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the three books of Taiping Jing, Zhouyi Shentongqi and Laozi Xianger Zhu are the symbols of the formation of Taoist beliefs and theories. In recent years, people have paid more and more attention to Taoism's idea of "harmony between man and nature" and its world outlook, which has aroused the interest of Europeans and Americans.

Taoism takes "Tao" as its name, or talks about the principles of Laozi and Zhuangzi, or talks about both inside and outside, or talks about the beauty of symbols. Its doctrine takes "Tao" or "morality" as the core, and holds that everything in the world originates from "Tao", that is, the so-called "second life, second life, third life and third life", and all social life should follow "Tao". Specifically, the theoretical system is developed from four aspects: heaven, earth, man and ghost. Heaven not only refers to the real universe, but also refers to the place where immortals live. Heaven is called thirty-six days, and there is Tianmen in heaven. There is a jade building in it, which contains immortals, immortals, heavenly emperors, Tianma, Tianhe, heavenly soldiers, heavenly generals and heavenly daughters. Its practitioners are heaven. The land refers to both the real land and everything, and the hell where ghosts suffer. Its operation is affected by the tunnel. People refer to both people and limited individuals. People's words and deeds should have a human touch and a human touch. Ghosts refer to where people belong. If a person can Xiu De, he can get rid of darkness and suffering. His surname is not recorded in the ghost biography, and he is a famous ghost fairy. Immortals are also the idol embodiment of Taoist teachings and thoughts. Taoism is a polytheistic religion, which follows China's ancient belief that the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, ancestors and the dead all worship their ancestors, and forms a complex god system including gods, earth gods and ghosts. Taoism advocates infinity, Yuanji, Taiji and the doctrine of the mean, that is, "Tao".

There are two kinds of Taoist priests: one is clergy, that is, Taoist priests. According to Taixiao Shu Lang Jing, "Pedestrian Avenue, posthumous title Taoist." "Body and mind are logical and follow the Tao, so they praise them." It can be divided into Maoshan Road and Luofu Road. Learning Taoism from teachers can be divided into "just one" Taoism and "all truth" Taoism. According to the palace view, educational administration can be divided into "master", "temple master" and "knowing guests" The other is the common people, called "laity" or "believer". "Palace view" is the most important organizational form of Taoism. The Palace Temple is a place where Taoist priests cultivate, worship and hold ceremonies. There are also some economic organizations in Taoism (such as vegetarian department and tea factory), educational organizations (such as Taoist classes and Taoist classic classes) and charitable organizations (such as nursing homes, clinics and medical departments).

Taoism is an important religious behavior of Taoist priests to cultivate heaven. It is generally considered to include external Dan, internal Dan and food and shelter. External elixir refers to the elixir that can be "immortal" by burning minerals such as lead and mercury in an elixir furnace or tripod after the producer takes it. After the Tang Dynasty, it was gradually replaced by Inner alchemy. Inner elixir, the general term for activating qi, guiding qi, breathing and breathing, refers to the use of the human body as a cauldron to condense essence into elixir in the body and achieve the goal of immortality. Since the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Inner alchemy has gradually prevailed, and its origin can be traced back to the Warring States period, which has had a great influence on China's medicine and health care. Eating refers to taking medicine to live longer.