Was Taoism popular in the Ming Dynasty?

The decline of Taoism in the Ming Dynasty had far less influence on the ruling class than in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Taoism flourished. First of all, the ancestor of Taoism is surnamed Li, who was honored as the ancestor by Tang Gaozong Li. According to historical data, the real establishment stage of Taoism should be based on the founding period of Emperor Taizong. At the beginning of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), due to the influence of the traditional patriarchal concept, Emperor Taizong wanted to show off a distant ancestor whose virtue was well-known all over the world, so he made Laozi Li Er the leader of Taoism, and made sure that he was honored as a grand old gentleman. And officially ordered the world to take Taoism as the state religion, ranking first in Buddhism. Later, although it caused controversy among Buddhists, it never changed the order of status after Buddhism.

Secondly, Zhao in the Song Dynasty and Taoism in the Song Dynasty, because illusory sects began to use religious beliefs to cover up the shame of various failures in military, political and diplomatic affairs, laid the lie that Huizong and Qinzong were superstitious about false Taoist priests later, and as for the consequences of the country's demise.

Wang Zhongyang founded Quanzhen religion in Shaanxi, and his disciple Qiu Changchun continued to preach and spread it between Shandong and Hebei. The establishment of Quanzhen religion became the foundation of the mainstream dragon religion in northern Taoism after Ming and Qing Dynasties. When the Yuan Dynasty rose in Mongolia and Genghis Khan made an expedition to the Indian border, he sent troops to Shandong through Xixia, invited Qiu Changchun to spend thousands of miles in the desert and met him at the northern border of India. Later, he gave Qiu Changchun a steel coupon as a contract reservation. When Yuan soldiers enter China, anyone who holds the Quanzhen Road sign can avoid killing and looting. Whether this is Qiu Changchun's foresight or whether later generations have accused him of being a traitor cannot be judged at will. In a word, this is a major case in China's cultural and religious history.

Taoism was formally founded in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and its symbol was the appearance of Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao. After the efforts and reforms of Ge Hong, Kou, Lu, Tao Hongjing and others in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Taoism became one of the orthodox religions in China alongside Buddhism. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the rulers of the five dynasties basically attached importance to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, but the emperors of previous dynasties had different degrees of love and belief in each religion, some attached more importance to Buddhism and some attached more importance to Taoism. At the same time, the rulers also strengthened their control over Buddhism and Taoism. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Taoism was highly respected by the ruling class and further developed, forming various schools. After the Yuan Dynasty, two schools, Quanzhen School and Zhengyi School, were gradually formed. The decline of Taoism in the Ming Dynasty had far less influence on the ruling class than in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, the royal family respected Tibetan Buddhism and adopted a policy of strict restrictions on Taoism. Taoism has declined even more, and its activities are mainly among the people. Since the Opium War, China has been reduced to a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society. Taoism has also been oppressed by imperialism and impacted by western ideas, and Taoism has further declined, becoming one of the five major religions with weak strength and political influence. Many Taoist priests have low cultural quality and lack religious knowledge. The organization of Taoism is loose, and the connection and unity between localities are not close enough. However, there are still a group of Taoists who devote themselves to practice, write books, preach and teach, so that Taoism can continue. At the beginning of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), during the transition from a new democratic society to a socialist society, the Taoist community cooperated with the land reform and launched the democratic reform movement of the religious system. After the democratic reform, Taoism in China has strengthened its ties and unity. With the initiative of Yue Chongdai, the abbot of Shenyang Taiqing Palace, and the support of the government, the first national meeting of Taoist representatives was held in Beijing in April. 1957, the Chinese Taoist Association was established, and Yue Chongdai served as the first president of the Council. Taoism in China has entered a new period of development.