Daoism is native to China and has spread with Chinese migration and scholarly transmission across Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America, Europe, Oceania and South America. Regional profiles below cover history, major schools, principal temples, organizations and verifiable statistics.
| Indicator | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daoist temples legally registered in mainland China | over 9,000 | State Council Information Office white paper, China's Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief, April 2018 |
| Daoist clergy in mainland China (male and female priests) | over 40,000 | State Council Information Office white paper, 2018 |
| National Key Daoist Temples in mainland China | 21 sites | State Council list of National Key Daoist Temples published in 1983; cited in the 2018 white paper |
| Daoist temples in mainland China (1997) | over 1,500, with over 25,000 male and female priests | State Council Information Office white paper, Freedom of Religious Belief in China, 1997 |
| Proportion of Chinese adults formally self-identifying as Daoist | less than 1% | Pew Research Center, Measuring Religion in China, 2023 (based on surveys such as CGSS/CFPS) |
| Global folk religion population | approximately 405 million (5.9%), of which approximately 294 million are in China | Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape, 2012 (data year 2010) |
| Global population of 'other religions' (including Daoism, Baha'i, Sikhism, Jainism, Shinto, and others) | approximately 58 million | Pew Research Center, The Global Religious Landscape, 2012 (data year 2010) |
| Registered Daoist temples in Taiwan | 9,451, or 78.22% of registered temples (end of 2013) | Taiwan Ministry of the Interior, Department of Statistics, Statistical Bulletin, Week 33, 2014 |
| Registered Daoist temples in Taiwan (recent years) | approximately over 9,700 (2024) | Taiwan Ministry of the Interior, National Religious Information Network statistical report (religion.moi.gov.tw) |
| Proportion of Daoists among Singapore residents aged 15 and above | 8.8% (2020); 10.9% in 2010, 8.5% in 2000 | Singapore Department of Statistics, Census of Population 2020, Statistical Release 1 |
| Proportion of Daoists among ethnic Chinese residents in Singapore | 11.6% (2020) | Singapore Census of Population 2020 |
| Population share of 'Confucianism, Taoism, and other traditional Chinese religions' in Malaysia | 0.9% (2020); 1.3% in 2010 | Department of Statistics Malaysia, Census 2020 / 2010; U.S. State Dept. IRF Report 2022 |
| Daoist believers in Hong Kong | approximately 1 million; over 300 Daoist temples and daotang | Hong Kong SAR Government annual report / religious handbook (2010s); Hong Kong Taoist Association |
| Founding members of the World Taoism Federation | 52 organizations from 20 countries and regions | Chinese Taoist Association official website; China.org.cn report, 27 September 2023 |
| Past International Forums on Daoism | 2007 Xi'an and Hong Kong (International Daodejing Forum), 2011 Mount Heng (Nanyue), 2014 Longhushan, 2017 Wudang Mountains, 2023 Maoshan | Chinese Taoist Association official website; reports on each forum |
Beijing has been the Daoist center of the north since the Jin and Yuan dynasties. In the late Jin and early Yuan, after traveling west to have an audience with Genghis Khan, Qiu Chuji resided at Changchun Palace (present-day Baiyun Guan), and Quanzhen Daoism came for a time to head all Daoism in the realm; in the Yuan the Taiyi and Zhen Dadao teachings, among others, were established in the capital. In the Ming and Qing, Beijing was dense with Daoist temples: Baiyun Guan (White Cloud Temple) was the ancestral court of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage and foremost among the public monasteries — in the Kangxi reign of the Qing, Wang Changyue opened an ordination platform there, making it the site of the Longmen revival. Dongyue Temple was an important Zhengyi temple in the capital, built in the Yuan by Zhang Liusun and Wu Quanjie. Daoism in Beijing gradually declined during the Republican era; the Chinese Taoist Association was founded at Baiyun Guan in 1957, and the China Taoist College was also established there in 1990, making Baiyun Guan the national center of Daoist administration and education. Today Daoism in Beijing is predominantly Quanzhen, with some Zhengyi activity; the Fire God Temple, Lüzu Palace, and Taoyuan Temple have all reopened.
Daoism in Tianjin flourished during the Ming and Qing eras of canal transport and Hai River commerce, with the cult of Mazu (Tianhou) coexisting alongside Daoist temples. Tianhou Palace (popularly called Niangniang Gong), first built in the third year of the Taiding reign of the Yuan (1326), is the symbolic birthplace of the city of Tianjin; in the Ming and Qing it was headed by Daoist priests and was one of the centers of Zhengyi ritual practice in the Hai River basin. Yuhuang Ge (Jade Emperor Pavilion) and Lüzu Tang (former site of a Boxer altar) were also important temples of the Qing. In modern times Daoism in Tianjin developed a system of household Daoist priests (huoju daoshi) providing zhai and jiao services as the city industrialized and commercialized. Today Daoism in Tianjin centers on Lüzu Tang, Tianhou Palace, and Yuhuang Ge as the main open sites; the Tianjin Taoist Association was founded in the 1990s (one account gives 1996), overseeing temples at Panshan in Jizhou District, Jinghai, and elsewhere.
Hebei was the homeland of the Way of Great Peace (Taiping Dao): in the Eastern Han, Zhang Jiao of Julu (in the area of present-day Pingxiang, Xingtai) preached from the Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping jing) and launched the Yellow Turban uprising. During the Jin and Yuan, Quanzhen, Zhen Dadao and Taiyi Daoism spread widely across Hebei; the founder of Zhen Dadao, Liu Deren, was a native of Leling, Cangzhou, and Jin- and Yuan-dynasty steles survive at Taiqing Palace in Luyi and at Quanzhen temples throughout Hebei. Beiyue Temple at Quyang was the site where successive dynasties offered sacrifice to the Northern Peak, Mount Heng (Hengshan) — before the Shunzhi reign of the Qing the state sacrifice to the peak was held at Quyang; Baodu Fortress in Luquan, Mount Tiangui in Pingshan, and Wahuang Palace in Handan (a site of both popular belief and Daoism) are other important sacred sites. Under the influence of Beijing during the Qing, the Longmen lineage flourished across central and northern Hebei. Today Daoism in Hebei is predominantly Quanzhen, with Zhengyi activity concentrated in the south of the province. The provincial Taoist Association was founded in the 1990s; major temples include Shifang Yuan in Shijiazhuang, Yuquan Temple in Xingtai, and Dongyue Temple in Sanhe, Langfang.
Shanxi was one of the core regions where Quanzhen Daoism spread in its early period, and is the province that preserves the richest Yuan-dynasty Daoist art. Yongle Palace (Palace of Eternal Joy) in Ruicheng — built in the Yuan to commemorate Lü Dongbin, and relocated whole in 1959 owing to the Sanmenxia project — preserves the Chaoyuan Tu mural and other Yuan-dynasty wall paintings, and stands as the supreme surviving monument to both the Quanzhen cult of Patriarch Lü and Yuan-dynasty Daoist art. Yuhuang Temple in Jincheng preserves Yuan-dynasty polychrome sculptures of the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions; Jinci Temple, the Guandi Temple at Xiezhou (ancestral court of the cult of Lord Guan), Mount Heng (Hengshan) at Hunyuan — site of the state sacrifice to the Northern Peak after the Shunzhi reign of the Qing, and home to the Hanging Temple — Chunyang Palace in Taiyuan, and the Longshan Grottoes (Yuan-dynasty Daoist rock-cut caves) are all important remains. During the Jin and Yuan, Song Defang oversaw the carving and printing of the Xuandu baozang (Precious Canon of the Mysterious Metropolis) at Pingyang (Linfen), and Shanxi was an important center for the publication of the Daoist Canon. Today Daoism in Shanxi is predominantly of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage, and its temples are often combined with popular religion.
Historically, Tibetan Buddhism and shamanic belief predominated in the Inner Mongolia region; Daoism was introduced to the Hetao, Tumed, Chifeng and Hulunbuir areas by migrants from Shanxi and Shaanxi (the Zouxikou migration) from the Ming and Qing onward, mostly Quanzhen Longmen-lineage priests and popular Zhengyi Daoists. Guandi temples, Lüzu temples and Yuhuang pavilions were once built in Hohhot, Baotou, Chifeng and elsewhere. During the Jin and Yuan the Mongol khan's court had close ties with Quanzhen Daoism: Qiu Chuji, summoned by the khan, traveled west through the northern steppe, a journey recorded in the Journey to the West of the Perfected Changchun; in the Yuan, Zhen Dadao and Quanzhen were also active on the steppe north of Yanjing. Today Daoism in Inner Mongolia is very small in scale; temples that have reopened include the Lüzu Temple in Baotou and Taiqing Palace in Hohhot. The regional Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s.
Liaoning is the center of Quanzhen Daoism in the Northeast. In the Kangxi reign of the Qing, the Longmen-lineage priest Guo Shouzhen founded Taiqing Palace in Shenyang, the foremost Quanzhen public monastery in the Northeast; the Longmen lineage subsequently spread along the line of Tieling, Benxi, Anshan and Liaoyang. Mount Qian (Qianshan) at Anshan is a famous Daoist mountain of the Northeast, with temples such as Wuliang Temple and Wulong Palace coexisting with Buddhist monasteries, forming the 'Qianshan Shifang Yuan' ordination center. Mount Yiwulü (at Beizhen, site of successive dynasties' sacrifices to the guardian mountain), Fenghuang Mountain in Dandong, Xiangshui Temple in Jinzhou, Dalian, and Gaizhou in Yingkou also have Daoist temples. Ordinations were conferred several times in the Northeast during the Republican era and after the founding of the People's Republic. Taiqing Palace, Shenyang is a National Key Daoist Temple, and the Liaoning Provincial Taoist Association was reinstated in the 1980s. Today Liaoning has the largest number of Quanzhen priests in the Northeast.
Daoism in Jilin is mainly Quanzhen Longmen-lineage Daoism transmitted north from the Taiqing Palace system in Shenyang, Liaoning, since the Qing. In the Qianlong reign of the Qing, Xuandi Temple, Guandi Temple and Beiji Temple, among others, were built in Changchun and Jilin City (formerly called Chuanchang); North Hill (Beishan) in Jilin City once had a Yuhuang Pavilion, a King of Medicine Temple, a Kanli Palace and a Zhenwu Temple, and was the most active center of Daoist worship in Jilin (the Yuhuang Pavilion now belongs to Buddhism). In modern times migrants to the Guandong region brought popular Daoist ritual methods from Shandong and Hebei. Today Daoism in Jilin is small in scale; temples that have reopened include Changchun Temple in Changchun (rebuilt in the 1990s), some of the temples on North Hill in Jilin City, and Ciyun Temple in Siping. The Jilin Provincial Taoist Association was founded in the late 1990s.
Heilongjiang is one of the provinces where Daoism arrived latest: it was introduced from Shandong and Hebei by migrants 'crossing into Guandong' in the late Qing and early Republican period, predominantly of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage; Guandi temples and Haiyun Temple were once built in Harbin, Qiqihar, Mudanjiang, Wuchang and elsewhere. Haiyun Temple in Harbin (first built in the early Republican era) is the representative Daoist temple of Heilongjiang. Daoist activity was nearly interrupted after the mid-20th century, and began to recover from the 1990s. Today Daoism in Heilongjiang is very small in scale; the provincial Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s, and the number of temples is among the fewest in the country, mostly newly built or restored Quanzhen temples.
Daoism in Shanghai belongs to the Jiangnan Zhengyi tradition. Since the Ming and Qing, the City God Temple (dedicated to Qin Yubo, built in the Yongle reign of the Ming) has been the center of urban belief, forming a network of temples together with Baiyun Guan (built in the Guangxu reign of the Qing, Quanzhen), Qinci Yangdian, the Guandi Temple at Dajing, and Dongyue Temple in Songjiang. In modern times Shanghai was a major center of Daoist reform and publishing: Chen Yingning promoted Immortality Studies (Xianxue) there and founded the periodicals Yangshan Banyuekan and Xiandao Yuebao; in the 1930s Shanghai Daoist organizations (such as the Chinese Taoist General Association) were active. After 1957 the traditions of Shanghai Daoist ritual music and Zhengyi zhai and jiao continued at the City God Temple and Qinci Yangdian. The Shanghai Taoist Association was founded in 1985, and the Shanghai Taoist College was established in 1986, an important base for training Zhengyi priests.
Jiangsu is the core region of the Shangqing school and of Jiangnan Zhengyi Daoism. Mount Mao (Maoshan, or Gouqu Mountain) in Jurong has been the ancestral platform of the Shangqing school since the revelation of the Shangqing scriptures to Yang Xi and Xu Mi in the Eastern Jin and the founding of a religious retreat there by Tao Hongjing in the Southern Dynasties; together with Mount Longhu and Mount Gezao it is known as the 'Three Mountains of Registers.' Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace and Yuanfu Wanning Palace on Maoshan are its core temples. The Sanqing Hall of Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou (a Southern Song building) is a great Zhengyi temple of Jiangnan, and Suzhou Daoist ritual music has been listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Zhengyi altars and the cults of the City God, the Eastern Peak, and Patriarch Lü flourish in Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Wuxi, Changshu and elsewhere. In modern times, Daoist figures from Jiangsu (such as disciples of Chen Yingning) took part in national Daoist organizations. Today Jiangsu is one of the most active provinces for Daoist activity nationwide; the 5th International Forum on Daoism was held at Maoshan in 2023, and the World Taoism Federation was founded there at the same time.
Daoism has deep roots in Zhejiang: Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han (a native of Kuaiji) wrote the Zhouyi Cantong Qi; Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin practiced alchemy at Gebei Hill in Hangzhou (Baopu Daoist Temple); Mount Tiantai was the residence of Sima Chengzhen, and Tongbai Palace is the ancestral court of the Southern Lineage (Zhang Boduan was a native of Tiantai); Hangzhou was the center of Daoism in the Southern Song, and the worship at Fuxing Temple on Yuhuang Hill, Wushan, and Baopu Daoist Temple remains vigorous to this day. Zhengyi ritual altars are densely concentrated around Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Jinhua; the cult of Wong Tai Sin (Huang Chuping) of Jinhua originated in Zhejiang and was later transmitted through Guangdong to Hong Kong. Mount Weiyu (Huangyan), Mount Dadi (Dongxiao Palace, Yuhang), Mount Kuocang, and Mount Siming are counted among the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands. Zhejiang today is one of the provinces with the largest number of Zhengyi priests, with temples and folk ritual altars coexisting; the Zhejiang Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s, and the Zhejiang Taoist College (at Tiantai) was established in 2015.
Anhui is the homeland of Laozi and Zhuangzi: one tradition places Laozi's birthplace in Guoyang (another holds it was Luyi, Henan), and Zhuangzi was a native of Meng (in the area of present-day Mengcheng). Mount Qiyun in Xiuning is one of the Four Great Daoist Mountains; during the Jiajing era of the Ming, Zhengyi priests built Taisu Palace there, worshipping Zhenwu as at Wudang, and it became the center of Zhengyi Daoism in southern Anhui; Mount Tianzhu (Qianshan) is the site of the Shrine of the Perfected Lord Siming, where Daoism flourished in the Tang and Song; Mount Jiuhua, by contrast, is primarily a Buddhist site. Tianjing Palace in Guoyang, Bozhou, and the Zhuangzi Shrine in Mengcheng are commemorative Daoist temples for Laozi and Zhuangzi. Zhengyi ritual altars along the Huai River basin are intermingled with folk belief. Anhui Daoism today is centered chiefly on Mount Qiyun, Mount Tianzhu, and Tianjing Palace in Guoyang as its main open sites; the Anhui Taoist Association was founded in the 1990s.
Fujian Daoism is most distinctively marked by the system of married householder Zhengyi priests (dao tan, ritual altars) and by the Lüshan Ritual Tradition, and it is the source of Daoism in Fujian and Taiwan. Since the Song and Yuan, Zhengyi ritual altars in southern and eastern Fujian have been transmitted generation after generation; Xuanmiao Temple (Yuanmiao Temple) in Quanzhou is one of the earliest Daoist temples in Fujian. The Lüshan Ritual Tradition (the Sannai Branch and the cult of Fazhu Gong) flourishes in eastern and northern Fujian, intertwined with local cults such as Mazu (of Meizhou, Putian), Baosheng Dadi, and Qingshui Zushi. Jiuxian Temple on Yushan in Fuzhou, Wushishan, Mount Wuyi (Zhizhi Nunnery, once home to Bai Yuchan), and Laojun Rock on Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou (a Song-dynasty statue of Laozi) are important historical sites. In the Ming and Qing, ritual altars from southern Fujian followed migrants to Taiwan and Southeast Asia, forming the "Fujian–Taiwan Zhengyi ritual altar" network and a Daoist service system for Chinese-community temples across Southeast Asia. Zhengyi priests remain numerous in Fujian today; the Fujian Taoist Association was founded in 1988, and exchange between Fujian and Taiwan Daoist circles is frequent.
Jiangxi is the stronghold of talismanic Daoism: Mount Longhu is the ancestral court of Zhengyi Celestial Master Daoism, where Zhang Daoling is said to have practiced alchemy; his descendants have resided for generations in Shangqing Town since the Tang and Song, and the Mansion of the Celestial Masters (Tianshi Fu) has been the residence of successive Celestial Masters — in the Yuan, the Celestial Master Zhang was commissioned to "govern the talismans and registers of the Three Mountains." Mount Gezao (Zhangshu) is the patriarchal altar of the Lingbao School, where Ge Xuan cultivated the Dao; Wanshou Palace at Xishan, Nanchang, is the ancestral court of Jingming Daoism, honoring Xu Xun as its patriarch, and in the Ming and Qing Wanshou palaces spread throughout Jiangxi and wherever the Jiangyou merchant guild traveled. Mount Sanqing (Shangrao) holds a complex of Ming-dynasty Daoist architecture, and Mount Lu and Mount Magu are also counted among the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands. Quanzhen Daoism was also introduced in the Jin and Yuan. After the Republican era, the Zhengyi Celestial Master Zhang Enpu went to Taiwan in 1949. Jiangxi today is the center of the Zhengyi revival; the Mansion of the Celestial Masters at Mount Longhu resumed conferring registers on adherents at home and abroad from the 1990s, and the Third International Forum on Daoism was held at Mount Longhu in 2014.
Shandong is the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism: in the seventh year of the Dading era of the Jin (1167), Wang Chongyang traveled east to Ninghai (Muping) to teach the Dao, gaining Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, and the other members of the Seven Perfected as disciples, and Quanzhen Daoism was founded in the Jiaodong region. Mount Lao has been a site of Quanzhen practice since the Song and Yuan; Taiqing Palace (traditionally built in the Han, associated with both Qiu Chuji in the Yuan and Pu Songling in the Qing) is the ancestral court of the Suishan Lineage of Quanzhen, and in the Ming and Qing, Daoist temples proliferated on Mount Lao, known as "Nine Palaces, Eight Temples, and Seventy-two Hermitages." Mount Tai is foremost of the Five Marchmounts, and Dai Temple is the site where emperors performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices; the cult of Bixia Yuanjun (the Lady of Mount Tai) has had far-reaching influence throughout North China. Penglai Pavilion is associated with the legend of the Eight Immortals. Mount Kunyu in Yantai (where Wang Chongyang cultivated the Dao) and Taixu Palace in Qixia (the native place of Qiu Chuji) are sacred sites of Quanzhen. Shandong Daoism today is centered on Mount Lao and Mount Tai, with Quanzhen as the predominant tradition; the Shandong Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s.
Henan is the homeland of Laozi (Taiqing Palace, Luyi) and an important cradle of early Daoism: one of the core areas of Zhang Jiao's uprising of the Way of Great Peace was in northern Henan, and Luoyang in the Eastern Han was a capital of the arts of the fangshi. Zhongyue Temple on Mount Song is the largest of the marchmount temples among the Five Marchmounts; Kou Qianzhi reformed the Way of the Celestial Masters on Mount Song in the Northern Wei, founding the Northern Celestial Masters. Mount Wangwu (Jiyuan) is foremost of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, where Sima Chengzhen of the Tang built Yangtai Temple. Yanqing Temple in Kaifeng (built in the Yuan to commemorate Wang Chongyang) is an early Quanzhen remnant; Xuanmiao Temple in Nanyang was one of the Four Great Public Monasteries of the north in the Ming and Qing. Taiqing Palace in Luyi is the site where successive emperors sacrificed to Laozi, on a grand scale in the Tang and Song. Henan Daoism today is centered chiefly on Zhongyue Temple on Mount Song, Taiqing Palace in Luyi, Xuanmiao Temple in Nanyang, and Yangtai Palace on Mount Wangwu as its main open sites; the Henan Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s.
Hubei is centered on the Wudang Mountains. The Wudang Mountains (Mount Taihe) are the sacred site of the Great Emperor Zhenwu; a Wulong Shrine already stood there in the Tang, and Zhang Shouqing and others greatly expanded the temple complex in the Yuan. During the Yongle era of the Ming, the court mobilized several hundred thousand troops, civilians, and craftsmen to build Taihe Palace, Zixiao Palace, Nanyan Palace, Yuxu Palace, and the other "Nine Palaces and Eight Temples," and bestowed on the mountain the title "Great Marchmount" (Da Yue), making it an imperial sacred site of the Ming; it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Wudang Daoism embraces both Quanzhen and Zhengyi, forming a distinctive "Wudang Daoism" centered on the cult of Zhenwu, internal martial arts, and Daoist medicine, and Wudang martial arts carry on the legend of Zhang Sanfeng. Changchun Temple in Wuhan is a public monastery of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen, and was the center of Daoism in central China in the late Qing and Republican era. Hubei Daoism today is centered on the Wudang Mountains Taoist Association, and the Fourth International Forum on Daoism was held on the Wudang Mountains in 2017.
Daoism in Hunan is centered on Mount Heng (the Southern Peak). Mount Heng is the Southern Peak among the Five Marchmounts; Nanyue Great Temple (first built in the Tang) houses Buddhism and Daoism together, and Zhurong Peak, Huangting Temple (associated with the legend of Wei Huacun's cultivation), and Xuandu Temple are Daoist sacred sites, where Sima Chengzhen of the Tang and Tan Qiao of the Five Dynasties once resided; Nanyue has been a site for the transmission of Daoist internal alchemy and ritual protocol since the Song. The Meishan Ritual Tradition (Meishan fa) in central Hunan is a folk Daoist ritual system of the Hunan–Jiangxi region; Zhengyi ritual altars in western and southern Hunan are intertwined with Tujia and Miao beliefs. Yunlu Palace on Yuelu Mountain, Changsha, and Taohuayuan (Taoyuan Grotto-Heaven) in Changde are important temples. The Second International Forum on Daoism was held on Mount Heng (Nanyue) in 2011. Hunan Daoism today is centered on Nanyue and Changsha; the Hunan Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s.
Daoism in Guangdong is centered on Mount Luofu (Boluo), where Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin practiced alchemy and wrote his works, and Chongxu Temple is a relic of his presence; since the Southern Han and the Song and Yuan, Sanyuan Palace, Wuxian Temple, and Chunyang Temple in Guangzhou have been representative Daoist temples of Lingnan. In the late Qing and early Republican era, Guangdong saw the rise of Xiantiandao, spirit-writing altars devoted to Lü Dongbin (Lüzu), and the cult of Wong Tai Sin (whose temple was originally in Panyu, later transmitted to Hong Kong after 1915); lay altars such as Zhibao Tai and Chunyang Xianyuan were distinguished by spirit writing, moral exhortation, and charitable works, and formed a common source for Daoism across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. In the Chaoshan region, Zhengyi ritual altars coexist with charitable halls (such as the Teochew Dejiao). Guangdong Daoism today is dominated by Longmen Quanzhen; Sanyuan Palace in Guangzhou and Chongxu Temple on Mount Luofu are National Key Daoist Temples, and the Guangdong Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s, with close exchange among Daoist circles in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Daoism entered Guangxi with the southward migration of Han Chinese from the Tang–Song period onward; in the Song dynasty Guilin was the Daoist center of western Lingnan. In the Ming and Qing, Zhengyi Daoist altars intermingled with the folk religion of the Zhuang and Yao peoples, and the Meishan and Lüshan ritual methods and the "shigong" (ritual master) tradition were widespread in northern Guangxi. Guilin, Wuzhou, Nanning, Yulin and other places once had Sanqing Temples, Zhenwu Pavilions (the Zhenwu Pavilion of Rongxian is a noted Ming-dynasty structure), White Cloud Temples and Tianhou Palaces. Daoism in Guangxi declined in the modern era; temples reopened today include a small number in Guilin, Nanning and Wuzhou, on a modest scale. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s. Scholarship on Daoism among the Yao of Guangxi ("Yao Daoism") is extensive, and the Yao ordination (Du Jie) rite retains a great deal of Daoist content.
Daoism came to Hainan with Fujianese and Cantonese immigrants from the Song–Yuan period onward. Bai Yuchan of the Southern Song was a native of Qiongshan and one of the Five Patriarchs of the Southern Lineage; Hainan regards him as its representative Daoist figure, and the Yuchan Palace was built at Wenbi Peak in Ding'an in his memory. In the Ming and Qing, Tianhou Palaces, Guandi temples, Zhenwu temples and City God temples were built throughout Hainan, with married (huoju) Zhengyi Daoist priests presiding over retreats and offerings, intermingling with Li ethnic religion and with maritime deity cults such as Mazu and Shuiwei Shengniang. Daoism in Hainan was nearly extinguished in the modern era, reviving after the 2000s with the completion of the Yuchan Palace at Wenbi Peak; the Hainan Taoist Association was founded around 2010. Contemporary Daoism in Hainan is small in scale, centered on the Yuchan Palace and a few temples in Haikou.
Daoism in Chongqing belongs to the Ba-Shu Daoist tradition; some of the Way of the Celestial Masters' original twenty-four parishes were located in the Ba-Yu region. From the Song–Yuan period, Zhengyi and Quanzhen were both transmitted, and in the Ming and Qing the city of Chongqing had the Laojun Cave Temple (on the south bank, a Longmen-lineage Quanzhen center that served for generations as the Daoist center of eastern Chongqing), Donghua Temple, Chunyang Cave and other temples. The Southern Song rock carvings at Dazu — at Nanshan, Shizhuanshan, Shuchengyan and elsewhere — preserve Daoist statuary and images of the Three Teachings united, an important surviving body of Daoist art. Fengdu, the "Ghost City," is famous for its cult of the underworld of Fengdu and serves as a popular vehicle for Daoist conceptions of the netherworld. Contemporary Daoism in Chongqing is centered on the Laojun Cave Temple; the Chongqing Taoist Association was founded in the 1990s (reorganized after Chongqing became a municipality directly under the central government).
Sichuan is the birthplace of Daoism. Under Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han, Zhang Daoling founded the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice at Mount Heming (in Dayi), establishing twenty-four parishes across Shu territory, with Mount Qingcheng as his site of proselytizing; the Way of the Celestial Masters continued thereafter through Shu-Han and the Jin dynasties. Daoism at Mount Qingcheng reached its height in the Tang and Song, and Du Guangting lived there in his later years. The Qingyang Palace in Chengdu is a sacred site associated with the legend of Laozi, rebuilt by Wang Jian of the Five Dynasties state of Former Shu and again in the Qing, and is now a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level; the cult of Wenchang Dijun originated at the Great Temple of Qiqu Mountain in Zitong; the Yuntai Temple in Santai, the Erwang Temple in Guanxian (dedicated to Li Bing) and Gexian Mountain in Pengzhou are also important sacred sites. In the modern era, figures such as Yi Xinying transmitted the Longmen lineage of Quanzhen at Mount Qingcheng. The Institute for Religious Studies at Sichuan University (founded by Qing Xitai) is a major center of Daoist studies in China. Contemporary Daoism in Sichuan is centered on Mount Qingcheng and the Qingyang Palace; the Sichuan Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s.
Daoism came to Guizhou with Ming-dynasty garrison troops and Han Chinese immigrants; in the Ming and Qing, Guiyang, Zunyi, Anshun, Zhenyuan and other places built Xuanmiao Temples, Zhenwu temples, Wenchang Pavilions (the Wenchang Pavilion of Guiyang is a Ming-dynasty structure) and temples such as the one at Qingyan town. The Qinglong Cave at Zhenyuan is an old architectural complex uniting Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, where the Ziyang Academy, the Wanshou Palace and the Qinglong Cave Daoist temple stand side by side. In southeastern and northern Guizhou, folk Daoist rites intermingle with Miao, Dong and Buyi religion, and duangong and daogong ritual masters are widespread in folk ceremonies. Contemporary Daoism in Guizhou is modest in scale; the Guizhou Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s, with the main open temples being the Xianren Cave in Guiyang and the Qinglong Cave in Zhenyuan.
Daoism came to Yunnan with Han Chinese immigrants of the Yuan and Ming; from the Ming dynasty onward, the Longmen lineage of Quanzhen and Zhengyi Daoism coexisted, and the Longquan Temple at Black Dragon Pool in Kunming, the Bronze Hall of Taihe Palace on Mount Jin (cast in the Wanli era of the Ming and recast in bronze by Wu Sangui in the Qing) and the Sanqing Pavilion on Kunming's Western Hills were the Daoist centers of the provincial capital. Mount Weibao in Weishan is a famed Daoist mountain of Yunnan; Longmen-lineage Quanzhen Daoists built more than twenty temples there in the Ming and Qing, jointly venerating the Nanzhao earth lord (tuzhu), a typical case of Daoism intermingling with local religion in a Yi-ethnic area; Tengchong, Baoshan, Dali and other places also have Daoist temples. In the modern era Yunnan produced many Daoist priests, and the Longmen lineage formed its own local transmission there. Contemporary Daoism in Yunnan is centered on Kunming and Mount Weibao; the Yunnan Taoist Association was founded in the 1990s. Yunnan has considerable exchange with overseas Chinese Daoism in Southeast Asia.
Tibet is predominantly Tibetan Buddhist and Bon, and Daoism has never formed a religious organization within Tibetan society historically. Knowledge from Han China such as yin-yang, the Five Phases and calendrical calculation entered Tibet through cultural exchange, including via Princess Wencheng's marriage into Tibet in the Tang; Tibetan medical and calendrical science absorbed some elements of the Central Plains Five-Phases and Heavenly-Stems-Earthly-Branches systems. In the Qing, garrison officers, soldiers and merchants stationed in Tibet built Guandi temples in Lhasa (such as the Mopan Mountain Guandi Temple, built in 1793 after the Qing army defeated the Gurkhas), among the very few surviving traces of Daoism and Han popular religion in Tibetan areas. Contemporary Tibet has no registered Daoist sites or Taoist association.
Shaanxi is a major cradle of Daoism and the site of several ancestral temples: Louguantai in Zhouzhi is traditionally held to be where Laozi expounded the Daodejing; the Louguan school flourished from the Northern Dynasties through the Tang and was regarded as "the wellspring of the Daoist forest under Heaven," and the Tang, venerating Laozi as its ancestor, greatly expanded Louguan. Mount Hua, the Western Marchmount among the Five Sacred Peaks, is where Chen Tuan lived in reclusion and is a sacred site of the Huashan lineage and of internal alchemy studies; the Yuquan Temple, Zhenyue Palace and Xiyue Temple are its main temples. The Zhongnan Mountains have been a place of eremitic cultivation since antiquity; Wang Chongyang, founder of Quanzhen, cultivated the Dao at the Tomb for the Living Dead in Liujiang village, Huxian (now Hu district), and the Chongyang Palace there is the ancestral temple of Quanzhen, of grand scale in the Yuan dynasty, preserving a great many Yuan-dynasty steles. The Eight Immortals Palace (Baxian An) in Xi'an is a public monastery (shifang conglin) of Quanzhen in the northwest, granted its imperial plaque in 1900 when Empress Dowager Cixi took up temporary residence there; the White Cloud Mountain in Jiaxian and Hancheng are also important Daoist sites. The International Daodejing Forum was held in Xi'an (and Hong Kong) in 2007. Contemporary Daoism in Shaanxi is predominantly Quanzhen.
Daoism in Gansu spread along the Hexi Corridor and eastern Gansu; in the Tang and Song, Dunhuang was a major center for the copying and transmission of Daoist scriptures, and the Dunhuang manuscript cave yielded a great many Daoist manuscripts (fragments of the Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi, the Scripture of Great Peace, and others), core sources for the study of Tang-dynasty Daoism. Mount Kongtong in Pingliang is traditionally held to be where the Yellow Emperor sought instruction from Guang Chengzi, and became a famed Daoist mountain in the Ming and Qing, where Longmen-lineage Quanzhen and Zhengyi coexisted; the Yuquan Temple in Tianshui (built in the Yuan, the Daoist center of Qinzhou), the White Cloud Temple and Jintian Temple in Lanzhou, the Leitai site in Wuwei and temples in Zhangye and elsewhere also exist. In the modern era Daoism in Gansu was predominantly Quanzhen. Contemporary Daoism in Gansu is centered on Mount Kongtong, the Yuquan Temple in Tianshui and the White Cloud Temple in Lanzhou; the Gansu Taoist Association was founded in the 1980s.
Qinghai is a multiethnic region predominantly Tibetan Buddhist and Muslim; Daoism entered the Hehuang valley with Han Chinese immigrants and garrison troops of the Ming and Qing. The North Chan Temple in Xining (the Tulou Temple, on the northern hill, a Ming–Qing Daoist temple built against a Danxia cliff face) is representative of Qinghai Daoism; City God temples, Yuhuang Pavilions and Wenchang Palaces were built in Huangzhong, Ledu, Minhe and elsewhere, with married (huoju) Zhengyi Daoist priests intermingling with Hehuang folk religion (Green Sprout Societies, shehuo festival performances), and Quanzhen Daoists also active there. Contemporary Daoism in Qinghai is very small in scale, with the Tulou Temple in Xining among the main open sites; the Qinghai Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s.
Daoism came to Ningxia with garrison and reclamation immigrants of the Ming and Qing; Yinchuan, Zhongwei, Guyuan and other places once had Yuhuang Pavilions, City God temples, Gao Temples (the Gao Temple of Zhongwei, a Qing-dynasty complex uniting Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism), the Yuhuang Pavilion of Pingluo, and others; married Zhengyi Daoist priests remain active in folk practice in the Helan and Liupan mountain areas to this day. During the Western Xia period, the Tangut regime also patronized Daoism, ordering the construction of Daoist temples by imperial decree, and Western Xia documents contain Daoist material. Contemporary Daoism in Ningxia is very small in scale; temples reopened include the Gao Temple of Zhongwei and the Yuhuang Pavilion of Yinchuan; the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s.
Historically, Xinjiang has been dominated by Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Islam; Daoism entered the northern Tianshan region with Han-Tang military-agricultural garrisons and, from the Qing dynasty onward, with Han Chinese migration (especially after the Qianlong Emperor's pacification of the Dzungars). Fragments of Tang-dynasty Daoist scriptures and talismanic documents excavated at Turpan and Hami attest to the spread of Daoism in places such as Gaochang. In the Qing dynasty, Guandi temples, Yuhuang pavilions, City God temples, and Wenchang palaces were built at Hongshan in Ürümqi, in Yili, Qitai, and elsewhere, most presided over by priests from inland China. Daoism in Xinjiang had largely vanished by modern times; today only a very small number of registered Daoist temples remain (such as some sites in Ürümqi and Changji), and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Taoist Association was founded in the 2000s.
Daoism in Hong Kong derives mainly from Quanzhen Longmen Daoist halls, Xiantiandao, and Lü Dongbin spirit-writing altars transmitted from Guangdong in the late Qing and Republican periods; after the 1920s, Daoist halls from Guangdong moved south, including Fung Ying Seen Koon (1929, Quanzhen Longmen, originating from the Luofu Mountain system in Guangzhou), Ching Chung Koon (1950, originating from the Zhibao Tai in Guangzhou), The Yuen Yuen Institute (1950, uniting the three teachings), and the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple (1921, Xiantiandao and the cult of Wong Tai Sin), forming a system of 'Daoist halls' distinguished by charity, education, and moral exhortation through spirit-writing; in addition, a large number of traditional temples dedicated to Tianhou, Hung Shing, Pak Tai, and Che Kung are managed by the Chinese Temples Committee. The Hong Kong Taoist Association was founded in 1961 and formally registered in 1967, serving as the umbrella organization for Hong Kong's Daoist bodies; it runs primary and secondary schools and elderly homes, and organizes Daoism Day. The Hong Kong Taoist College (founded in the 1990s with funding from Ching Chung Koon) and the Centre for the Study of Daoist Culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong serve as institutions for research and education. Daoist organizations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia maintain close contact with one another.
Daoism in Macau centers traditionally on the cult of Mazu and Zhengyi Daoist altars: the A-Ma Temple (built around the mid-Ming, also called Ma Kok Miu), from which the name Macau derives, together with the Na Tcha Temple (1888, part of the UNESCO World Heritage 'Historic Centre of Macao'), the Lin Fung Temple, the Hong Kung Temple, the Bao Gong Temple, and the Lüzu Xianyuan (Xiantiandao), form a network of Chinese temples; Zhengyi priests in Macau (such as the Ng family Daoist hall) have preserved Macau's Daoist ritual music, inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2011. In the twentieth century Macau also had Xiantiandao and Lü Dongbin spirit-writing halls. The Macau Taoist Association was founded in 2001 and organizes the Macau Taoist Culture Festival, promoting the preservation of Daoist music and ritual; the number of temples and Daoist priests in Macau is relatively small.
Daoism in Taiwan derives from Ming- and Qing-dynasty migrants from Fujian and Guangdong, centered on fire-dwelling Zhengyi priests — 'black-head' priests who preside over jiao offerings and 'red-head' ritual masters who practice the Lüshan Ritual Tradition — and a system of temples mostly dedicated to Mazu, Wangye, Baosheng Dadi, Guandi, Xuantian Shangdi (Zhenwu), and the City God; temples registered as 'Daoist' make up the great majority of all registered temples in Taiwan. In 1949, the sixty-third-generation Celestial Master Zhang Enpu went to Taiwan; in 1950 the 'Taiwan Provincial Taoist Association' was reestablished, and in 1966 the Taoism Society of the Republic of China was founded as Taiwan's national Daoist body; the transmission and conferral of registers by the Celestial Master's Mansion in Taiwan once formed the core of Taiwanese Zhengyi Daoism, and other organizations such as the Chinese Taoist Association have since also been formed. The Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen, Xiantiandao, spirit-writing halls (luantang, the 'Confucian Sacred Teaching'), and Yiguandao have also developed in Taiwan. Research on Taiwanese Daoist ritual and music is abundant (as in the work of Liu Chih-wan and Lee Fong-mao, among others), and the systems of Daoist altars in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Hsinchu are especially well preserved. Contemporary Taiwanese Daoist organizations maintain frequent exchange with those on the mainland, in Hong Kong and Macau, and in Southeast Asia.
Singapore is the only country in the world that lists 'Daoism' as a distinct category in its census, with a stable proportion of adherents. After Chinese immigration began in the early 19th century, a temple system took shape rooted in Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka clan associations, represented by Thian Hock Keng (1839–1842, built by the Hokkien Huay Kuan, dedicated to Mazu), Yueh Hai Ching Temple, and the Jade Emperor Palace (Yuhuang Gong), among others; Daoism is largely intermingled with Buddhism and popular religion. The Taoist Federation (Singapore) was founded in 1990, and San Qing Gong was established in 1996, promoting Daoist identity and the Daoist Festival (celebrated annually on the fifteenth day of the second lunar month, the birthday of Laojun).
During the colonial period, Chinese temples were administered by dialect-group associations, with Zhengyi 'fire-dwelling' (married, non-monastic) Daoist priests — mostly of the southern Fujian and Teochew traditions — officiating at retreats and offerings; celebrations such as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival and the Zhongyuan (Ghost) Festival were widely observed. A marked shift in Singaporean Chinese religious identity occurred in the late 20th century: the proportion of census respondents self-identifying as Daoists fell from 30% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2000, with large numbers shifting to Buddhism or no religion — a phenomenon scholars term the 'erosion of Daoist identity'; the figure rose again to 10.9% in 2010 and stood at 8.8% in 2020. From the 1990s onward, the Taoist Federation has promoted Daoist culture festivals, a Taoist college (the Taoist College, Singapore), and youth organizations, seeking to re-'Daoicize' popular religious practice. Scholars at the National University of Singapore and local researchers have produced substantial research on the network of Chinese temples.
Malaysian Chinese (about 23% of the population, 2020) generally practice a blend of Buddhism, Daoism and popular religion; the country has several thousand Chinese temples venerating Mazu, Guandi, Tua Pek Kong (the God of Prosperity), the Nine Emperor Gods, Guanyin and others, with retreats and offerings conducted by Zhengyi 'fire-dwelling' Daoist priests. Representative sites include Cheng Hoon Teng Temple in Malacca (c. 1673), Kong Hock Keong (Goddess of Mercy Temple) and Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi in Penang, and the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple (1864) and Guandi Temple in Kuala Lumpur. In 2006 Daoism was officially recognized by the government as one of Malaysia's recognized religions, and the Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia became a member of the Council of Five Major Religions.
Chinese contact dates back to the Malacca Sultanate of the 15th century; 19th-century immigration for tin mining and plantation work brought Hokkien and Cantonese religious traditions, and temples were administered by clan associations and kongsi organizations. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (in Penang and Ampang) became a major regional celebration. From the mid-20th century, new religious halls such as Dejiao (the Teaching of Virtue) and Xiantiandao (the Way of Prior Heaven) also became active. The Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia was founded in 1994, followed by other national bodies such as the United Federation of Taoist Organizations Malaysia; priests from the Celestial Master's Mansion at Mount Longhu and Quanzhen Daoist priests have also held register-conferral and precept-transmission ceremonies in Malaysia. Scholars at the University of Malaya, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, and local researchers continue to study Chinese temples and the cult of the Nine Emperor Gods.
Thailand's ethnic Chinese (mostly of Teochew origin) are numerous and highly integrated into Thai society; religiously they mostly combine Theravada Buddhism with Chinese popular religion and Daoism. The main forms of 'Daoist' practice in Thailand are represented by Wat Mangkon Kamalawat (Long Lian Si, a Chinese-rite Buddhist temple) in Bangkok's Chinatown, along with Bun Thau Kong Temple, Tianhou (Mazu) Temple, and the Xuantian Shangdi Temple, the Vegetarian (Nine Emperor Gods) Festival in Phuket, and Teochew-tradition charitable halls (shantang) such as the Poh Teck Tung Foundation and the Dejiao Zhizhen Ge; Daoism coexists here with elements of Buddhism and Brahmanism, and the degree of local adaptation is high.
From the Thonburi period (18th century) onward, large numbers of Teochew immigrants entered Thailand; temples (referred to as 'sacred shrines') were established by dialect and clan groups, venerating Bun Thau Kong, Mazu, Guandi, Xuantian Shangdi, and others. In the early 20th century, the Teochew-Chaoshan shantang tradition (worship of Patriarch Dafeng, spirit-writing, and the free distribution of medicine and medical care) was introduced, forming Thailand's distinctive Chinese charitable-religious organizations; Dejiao was also introduced in the 1950s. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival originated with 19th-century Hokkien miners and is today a nationwide celebration. In recent years, Thai Chinese Daoist organizations have increased exchanges with the China Taoist Association and Daoist organizations in Singapore and Malaysia, and Thailand also has a united body operating under the name 'Taoist Federation,' though public information on it remains limited.
Historically part of the Sinographic cultural sphere, Vietnam saw Daoism introduced during the period of Chinese rule; under the Lý and Trần dynasties it stood alongside Buddhism and Confucianism as one of the 'Three Teachings,' with the court establishing Daoist examinations and temples, and cults of the Jade Emperor, Zhenwu (at Quan Thanh Temple), Guandi, and Tianhou (Mazu) deeply rooted among the populace; the indigenized cult of the Mother Goddesses (Đạo Mẫu, including Princess Liễu Hạnh) fused with Daoist ritual, and in the 20th century Caodaism (founded 1926) synthesized Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Catholicism. The ethnic-Chinese (Hoa) community built Tianhou temples, Guandi temples, and the Minh Hương Assembly Hall in the Cholon district of Ho Chi Minh City.
Fangshi occultist activity is already attested in Jiaozhi during the Han dynasty. The Lý dynasty (11th century) instituted Daoist examinations, and the Trần dynasty established sites for Daoist metaphysical study; under the Lê dynasty, Confucianism predominated and Daoism gradually receded into popular religion. Quan Thanh Temple (a Zhenwu temple, first built in the 11th century) in Hanoi, together with the White Horse Temple and the Tây Hồ Palace, represent Daoism and the cult of the Mother Goddesses. From the 19th century, Chinese immigrants built temples in the south and engaged Chinese Daoist priests; in 1926 Caodaism was founded in Tây Ninh province, venerating the Jade Emperor, its doctrine and architecture deeply influenced by Daoism, with a following of over a million. Modern Vietnamese scholars (such as Đào Duy Anh and Nguyễn Duy Hinh) have increasingly studied indigenous Vietnamese Daoism. Vietnam today has no national Daoist organization; Daoism exists mainly as popular religion.
The religious practice of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese (about 2.8 million in the 2010 census, likely more in reality) is centered on 'Tridharma' temples (klenteng/vihara) that unite Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, venerating Tianhou (Mazu), Guandi, Tua Pek Kong (the God of Prosperity), Guanyin and others, with retreats and offerings generally conducted by local Chinese ritual masters. The Indonesian government recognizes six official religions (including Confucianism) but does not separately recognize Daoism, so Daoist adherents are mostly registered as Buddhist or Confucian; the Perhimpunan Tempat Ibadat Tri Dharma (Indonesian Tridharma Temple Association), founded in the 1950s, is the national organization for these temples.
Chinese settlement in Java predates the Ming dynasty; temples such as Kim Tek Ie (Vihara Dharma Bhakti) (1650) in Batavia arose in the 17th century, and during the colonial period temples were administered by kapitan officials and clan associations. In 1934, Kwee Tek Hoay founded the Sam Kauw Hwee (Tridharma Society), systematically articulating a 'Tridharma' religious identity uniting Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. During the Suharto era (1967–1998), Chinese religious practice was suppressed and many temples were renamed as Buddhist vihara; after 1998, a revival of Chinese culture took place, Confucianism regained official recognition in the 2000s, and Tridharma temples resumed public celebrations. In recent years, Indonesian Daoist groups have sought recognition of Daoism as an independent religion and have increased exchanges with Daoist organizations in China, Singapore and Malaysia.
Filipino Chinese are predominantly of Hokkien origin, from areas such as Jinjiang and Nan'an in Fujian. Alongside the mainstream Catholic faith, they retain Daoist and popular religious practices; temples designated 'Daoist temple' (daoguan) or 'temple' (si) have been built in Manila, Cebu and elsewhere, including the Cebu Taoist Temple (1972), the Manila Seng Guan Buddhist Temple, Tianhou temples, and numerous temples dedicated chiefly to Guandi, Mazu, Baosheng Dadi, and Qingshui Zushi, with retreats and offerings conducted by 'fire-dwelling' Daoist priests of the southern-Fujian tradition.
During the Spanish colonial period most Chinese were baptized into Catholicism but retained ancestor and deity worship; Hokkien immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries built temples and clan association halls, and from the 1930s Daoist temples became concentrated in Manila's Chinatown. In the postwar period, Philippine-Chinese society developed a dual religious practice of 'Catholic yet also worshipping the gods.' The Cebu Taoist Temple was built by Chinese merchants in 1972 on Beverly Hills, becoming a landmark of Philippine Daoism and a tourist attraction. Philippine Daoist organizations (such as the Philippine Taoist Association) maintain fairly frequent contact with Daoist bodies in Taiwan and Fujian.
Myanmar's ethnic Chinese (of both Yunnanese and Hokkien-Cantonese origin) have built temples in Yangon, Mandalay, Lashio and elsewhere, including the Guandi Qingfu Gong (1861, Yangon), a Guanyin pavilion, Tianhou temples, and Yunnan clan-association temples, venerating Guandi, Mazu, Guanyin and Tua Pek Kong. Against the backdrop of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion, Daoism exists mainly in the form of Chinese popular religion, and Yunnanese Chinese retain the Zhengyi ritual traditions and 'benzhu' (tutelary spirit) cult customs of western Yunnan.
Since the 18th century, Yunnanese caravan traders and Hokkien-Cantonese maritime immigrants have settled in the country; the Qingfu Gong and the old Guanyin Temple in Yangon's Chinatown were the earliest temples. After nationalization by the military government in the 1960s, Chinese religious activity was restricted, gradually recovering from the 1990s. Ethnic Chinese in northern Myanmar (Kokang, Lashio) maintain close ties with Yunnanese Daoism. There is no national Daoist organization today; temples are administered by the governing boards of individual clan associations.
Cambodia's ethnic Chinese are predominantly of Teochew origin; temples such as Bun Thau Kong Temple, Tianhou temples, Guandi temples, and charitable halls (such as the Teochew Association temple beside Duanhua School in Phnom Penh) have been built in Phnom Penh, Battambang and elsewhere. Daoism exists mainly in the form of popular religion, and festivals such as the Zhongyuan (Ghost) Festival and the Nine Emperor Gods' birthday are still observed.
Chinese settlement is already recorded in the 13th-century Customs of Cambodia by Zhou Daguan; Teochew immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries established clan associations and temples. Between 1975 and 1979, religious activity was completely destroyed under the Khmer Rouge; after the 1990s, as Chinese society was rebuilt, temples were gradually restored, and in the 2000s ties were re-established with Teochew-Chaoshan charitable-hall networks in Guangdong and Thailand. There is no national Daoist organization.
Daoism has never taken root in Japan as an independent religious organization, but Daoist elements are deeply woven into Japanese culture: Onmyōdō (which absorbed the Five Phases, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, talismans and incantations, and the cult of the Lord of Mount Tai), the cult of Kōshin (keeping vigil on Gengshen nights, the theory of the Three Corpses), the cult of Myōken (the North Star), traces of Daoism in Shugendō and popular custom, and the Yoshida Shintō of Kyoto were also influenced by Daoism. In scholarship, Japan is a major center of Daoist studies: the Japanese Association for Daoist Studies (1950) and its journal Tōhō Shūkyō, along with Fukui Kōjun, Yoshioka Yoshitoyo, Kubo Noritada, Sakai Tadao, and Fukunaga Mitsuji, laid the foundations of modern Daoist scholarship. In modern times overseas Chinese communities built Guandi and Mazu temples in Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki.
Before the seventh century, Daoist scriptures and magical arts were introduced along with the missions sent to Sui and Tang China; by the time of Prince Shōtoku and Emperor Tenmu there was already a Daoist coloring to Japanese thought (in the title "Tennō" and in ideas of immortality). In the Heian period the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin-Yang) was institutionalized, and onmyōji such as Abe no Seimei used Daoist talismans and incantations and the cult of the Lord of Mount Tai; from the Kamakura period onward, the Kōshin assemblies and the cult of Myōken circulated among the common people. In the Edo period, overseas Chinese in Nagasaki built the Kōfuku-ji and Sōfuku-ji temples (the latter including a Mazu hall). After the war, scholars carried out a famous debate over "whether Daoism was ever transmitted to Japan" (Tsuda Sōkichi's negative thesis against Fukunaga Mitsuji's affirmative one). In recent years new temples have been built, such as the Yokohama Masobyo (2006), and Daoist organizations from Taiwan and the mainland have also established branch altars in Japan (such as a Japanese Zhengyi Lingbao ritual center).
Daoism entered the Korean peninsula from the Three Kingdoms period (when Tang envoys transmitted the Daodejing under King Yeongnyu of Goguryeo); Goryeo established Daoist temples such as the Bogwon Palace, and the Joseon dynasty set up the Sogyeokseo to preside over jiao offerings, but official Daoism was abolished after the sixteenth century, and it turned into Neidan cultivation among the literati (the "Alchemy School": Kim Si-seup, Jeong Ryeom's Yonghu Bigyeol, Heo Gyun) and popular beliefs (the Seven Stars, mountain spirits, the Star of the Old Man). In modern and contemporary Korea there is no organized Daoist religious community, but "Seondo" (the Way of the Immortals) and "Danhak" (Alchemy Studies) — as in Dantian breathing exercises and Dahn World — are related to Daoism; the Korean Society for Daoist Studies (founded around 1986) and the journal Studies in Daoist Culture form the academic foundation.
In 624, Emperor Gaozu of Tang sent Daoist priests to Goguryeo to lecture on the Laozi, and Daoism was for a time officially favored during the reign of King Bojang; the Silla hwarang tradition is also related to Daoist ideas of immortality. King Yejong of Goryeo established the Bogwon Palace as a state Daoist temple; King Taejo of Joseon established the Sogyeok Hall (later called the Sogyeokseo) to conduct stellar jiao offerings, which the Confucian official Jo Gwang-jo memorialized to abolish under King Jungjong (1518), and it was discontinued after the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Thereafter Daoism retreated into popular religion and the literati's own inner-cultivation traditions, and in the nineteenth century new religions such as Donghak absorbed Daoist elements. Since the twentieth century, Korean scholars (Cha Ju-hwan, Do Kwang-sun, Kim Nak-pil, and others) have systematically studied the history of Korean Daoism. Overseas Chinese in Incheon and Seoul have built Guandi temples (such as the Uiseondang in Incheon).
American Daoism follows two distinct strands. The first consists of temples founded by Chinese immigrants from the mid-nineteenth century onward (the Tin How Temple in San Francisco, 1852; the Kong Chow Temple; the Bok Kai Temple in Marysville, 1880; the Weaverville temple), which enshrine the Empress of Heaven, Guandi, and the Northern Emperor, and are managed by Chinese community associations. The second is a twentieth-century "American Daoism" oriented toward non-Chinese practitioners: entering through translations of the Daodejing, taijiquan, qigong, Neidan, and life-nourishing practices — in 1970 the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego became the first formally registered Daoist religious organization in the United States, followed by various temples and teaching centers with Quanzhen or Zhengyi backgrounds (such as the Ching Chung Taoist Association of America, the Daoist Foundation, and Universal Healing Tao). The United States is also one of the centers of Daoist academic research (Livia Kohn, Russell Kirkland, Louis Komjathy, Stephen R. Bokenkamp, Terry F. Kleeman, Fabrizio Pregadio, and others).
In the 1850s Chinese laborers of the Gold Rush built temples in California; toward the end of the nineteenth century, under the Chinese Exclusion Act, these temples fell into decline. In the 1960s the counterculture movement and the popularity of the Daodejing spurred the rise of an "American-style Daoism," with figures such as Al Huang, Mantak Chia, and Hua-Ching Ni teaching taiji and internal-energy practices; from the 1970s onward, scholars and practitioners began to distinguish "philosophical Daoism" from "religious Daoism," a distinction that has since drawn scholarly criticism. From the 1990s, Daoist priests from the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong went to the United States to establish temples (such as Quanzhen and Zhengyi centers in Los Angeles and New York), and the Ching Chung Koon of Hong Kong established a branch temple in San Francisco. The American Academy of Religion (AAR) established a Daoist Studies Group, and the Daoist Studies website and the Journal of Daoist Studies (published from 2008) are issued in the United States.
Canadian Daoism consists mainly of two strands: temples and clan-association shrines founded by Chinese laborers in Victoria and Vancouver in the late nineteenth century, and the Taoist Tai Chi Society and the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism, founded in Toronto in 1970 by the Hong Kong Daoist priest Moy Lin-shin — the latter using taijiquan as its vehicle of transmission, with branches established in more than twenty countries worldwide, making it one of the largest Daoist-background organizations in the West. Vancouver and Toronto have several Chinese Daoist temples (such as branch temples of the Fung Ying Seen Koon and the Ching Chung Koon of Canada).
From 1858, Chinese laborers went to British Columbia; the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Victoria (1884) established the Lit Sing Gung temple. In the late twentieth century, Hong Kong immigrants brought with them the tradition of Quanzhen Longmen ritual halls. In 1970 Moy Lin-shin founded the Taoist Tai Chi Society; in 1981 he established the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism (venerating the unity of the Three Teachings, originating from the Fung Ying Seen Koon/Ching Chung Koon system of Hong Kong), headquartered in Orangeville, Ontario, with a large temple complex and annual ritual gatherings; from the 1990s new Chinese Daoist temples were built in areas such as Richmond, Vancouver. Statistics Canada's census groups Daoism under "Other Religions." Academically, the University of British Columbia and McGill University conduct research on Daoism.
Australian Daoism originated from temples built by Chinese Gold Rush laborers in the nineteenth century (the Sze Yup Temple, Sydney, 1898; temples in Melbourne and Bendigo; the Hou Wang Temple, Atherton, 1903, among others), enshrining Guandi, the Northern Emperor, Hongsheng, and the Empress of Heaven; in the late twentieth century immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia brought Quanzhen ritual halls and Zhengyi ritual protocols, and branch temples of the Ching Chung Koon and Wong Tai Sin temples were built in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane; at the same time the Taoist Tai Chi Society, qigong, and Daoist philosophy groups spread among non-Chinese Australians. Since the 1990s the Australian census has allowed respondents to write in "Taoism," with a count of just over ten thousand.
In the 1850s–1880s, Chinese laborers in Victoria and New South Wales built temples, most of which fell into disuse during the White Australia policy era, with some preserved as heritage sites (the Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo, and the Hou Wang Temple, Atherton, listed on heritage registers); after the multicultural policies of the 1970s, Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam rebuilt temples, and in the 1980s the Ching Chung Taoist Association of Australia was founded in Sydney, with the Fung Loy Kok Institute/Taoist Tai Chi Society also establishing branches. The Australian National University and the University of Sydney have scholars researching Daoism and Chinese religion (such as Benjamin Penny).
Chinese communities in New Zealand have settled since the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s, and most early temples have since disappeared; in the late twentieth century, immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia established Daoist temples and mixed Buddhist-Daoist temples in Auckland, and the Taoist Tai Chi Society set up branches in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. The New Zealand census allows respondents to report Daoism, though the number is very small.
Chinese Gold Rush laborers brought with them the cults of Guandi and the God of Wealth; the 1881 poll tax and exclusionary policies caused the community to shrink. After the 1987 immigration reform, immigration from Hong Kong and Taiwan increased, and Chinese Daoist altars and temples appeared in Auckland (such as the Auckland Tin Hau Temple). Academically, the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington conduct research on Chinese religion.
Daoism has spread in Britain mainly through two channels: the Guandi and Mazu shrines of the Chinese communities in London, Manchester, and Liverpool, and, since the 1970s, Daoist organizations oriented toward British practitioners (the British Taoist Association, founded around 1996, with a Quanzhen background; the Lung Hu Shan Daoist Association, and others), together with taijiquan and qigong schools; SOAS University of London, Cambridge, Oxford, and Edinburgh conduct research on Chinese religion, Kristofer Schipper once taught briefly in Britain, and scholars such as Livia Kohn are frequent visiting academics.
By the 1860s there were already Chinese seafarer communities in Liverpool and Limehouse, London, though without formal Daoist temples in the early period. From the 1950s to the 1970s, large numbers of immigrants from Hong Kong's New Territories arrived, and Guandi and Guanyin shrines were set up within the catering-trade community; in the 1970s, books of Daoist philosophy and the Daoism volumes of Joseph Needham's Science and Civilisation in China stirred British interest, and taiji and qigong became popular. In the 1990s the British Taoist Association was founded by a British-born Daoist priest of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage, engaging in translation (such as of the Qingjing jing), teaching, and ritual; from the 2000s onward, Daoist priests from Wudang and Longhushan established branches in Britain.
France is a center of Daoist studies in Europe: the Collège de France, the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), and the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) have, since Édouard Chavannes and Henri Maspero, formed a tradition of Daoist scholarship, and figures such as Max Kaltenmark, Kristofer Schipper, Isabelle Robinet, and John Lagerwey have directed major projects such as The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. On the practical side, the Teochew and Wenzhou Chinese communities of the 13th arrondissement and Belleville in Paris maintain temples to the Empress of Heaven and Guandi, along with Teochew guild-hall shrines, and since the 1990s Daoist organizations founded by French practitioners (such as the Association Française Taoïste) have taught Quanzhen inner cultivation, ritual protocol, and taiji.
Jesuit missionaries had already introduced the Daodejing to France in the eighteenth century, and in the nineteenth century Stanislas Julien translated the Daodejing and the Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response; in the 1930s Henri Maspero pioneered the study of religious Daoism, and in the 1970s Kristofer Schipper, after receiving Daoist ordination in Taiwan, returned to France to direct the "Daozang project" (1979–2004). On the Chinese side, Chinese laborers from the First World War and Indochinese refugees of the 1970s (Teochew, and ethnic Chinese from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) built temples in Paris, and places such as the Tianhou Temple of the Paris Teochew Association have served as community centers. From the 2000s onward, Daoist priests from Longhushan and Wudang have established ritual centers in France, and French disciples (such as Karine Martin) have founded Daoist associations and research institutes.
The spread of Daoism in Germany centers on philosophy and health cultivation: Richard Wilhelm's translations of the Daodejing and The Secret of the Golden Flower (Taiyi jinhua zongzhi) — the latter co-published with Carl Jung as The Secret of the Golden Flower, 1929 — have had a lasting influence, and German-language publications on Daoist philosophy are numerous. In practice, taijiquan and qigong are widely popular, and priests of the Quanzhen and Wudang traditions maintain small temples or teaching centers in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt; groups such as the Deutsche Daoistische Vereinigung (German Daoist Association) were mostly founded by German disciples. Academically, universities in Munich, Heidelberg, Erlangen and Tübingen conduct research on Daoism (such as Florian Reiter and Michael Lackner).
German sinology translated Daoist classics in the nineteenth century; in the early twentieth century, Richard Wilhelm collaborated with Lao Naixuan in Qingdao to translate scriptures, and after returning to Germany founded the China Institute in Frankfurt. After the Second World War, the concept of ‘Dao’ became a topic in German-language philosophy and psychology. From the 1980s onward, Daoist priests from Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland traveled to Germany to spread the teaching, and Chinese communities in Berlin and Hamburg established shrines. Under Germany's religious registration system, Daoism has no status as a corporate religious body, and groups exist in the form of registered associations (e.V.).
Daoism in Italy is distinguished by native convert organizations: the Chiesa Taoista d'Italia (Italian Taoist Church), formally established in 2013 by Vincenzo Di Ieso and preceded by the Italian Taoist Association of the 1990s, is centered in Rome and Caserta and engages in Quanzhen internal cultivation, ritual practice, and translation of the Daoist Canon; Italian Chinese communities (mainly from Wenzhou and Qingtian in Zhejiang, in Milan, Prato and Rome) maintain shrines to Guandi and Mazu and Buddhist-Daoist syncretic temples. Academically, the University of Venice and the University of Rome conduct research on Daoism (Fabrizio Pregadio, for instance, formerly taught at Venice and edited the Encyclopedia of Taoism).
From the 1980s, large numbers of Wenzhou migrants entered Italy, and religious practice centered on household shrines and festivals; in the 1990s Di Ieso, after training at Wudang and Mount Longhu, founded a Daoist association, which registered as a religious organization in 2013 and applied to sign an agreement (intesa) with the Italian state. Taijiquan and qigong are widely popular.
Daoism spreads in Spain mainly through taijiquan, qigong and Daoist philosophy; from the 2010s onward, formally registered Daoist religious organizations have appeared, such as the Asociación Taoísta de España (Spanish Taoist Association) and a Qingjing Daoist temple in Barcelona headed by a Chinese priest; Chinese communities from Zhejiang in Madrid and Barcelona maintain shrines and temples. Academically, Daoist studies began relatively late in Spain, though there are numerous translations of the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi.
From the 1980s, migrants from Zhejiang entered Spain, and the Chinese community expanded in the 2000s; in the 2010s Daoist organizations of Spanish members were established and registered as religious entities with the Ministry of Justice, forming transmission relationships with temples at Wudang and Mount Longhu.
Portugal has had indirect contact with Daoism through its historical ties to Macau: from the sixteenth century missionaries recorded the A-Ma Temple of Macau and Chinese religion, and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries there was interaction between Macau's Chinese and Macanese communities. Today, Portuguese Chinese communities (migrants from Zhejiang and from Macau) maintain shrines in Lisbon and Porto; the Taoist Tai Chi Society has a branch in Portugal, and Daoist philosophy and taijiquan are popular. There is no native Daoist religious organization.
Around the handover of Macau (1999), some Macanese Chinese emigrated to Portugal; from the 2000s onward the Chinese community grew, with religious activity centered on the household and seasonal festivals.
The Netherlands is one of the major centers of Daoist scholarship in Europe: Kristofer Schipper served as a professor at Leiden University, which has a deep tradition of sinology; at the same time, Dutch Chinese communities (early migrants from Qingtian in Zhejiang and from Guangdong and Hong Kong, joined after the 1970s by Chinese from Indonesia and Suriname) built Europe's first traditional Chinese Buddhist-Daoist temple in Amsterdam — the Fa Hai Temple (He Hua Temple, 2000, primarily Buddhist) — along with shrines to Guandi and Mazu; the Taoist Tai Chi Society and local Dutch Daoist groups (such as the Daoisme Association) are active.
Chinese sailor communities appeared in Rotterdam and Amsterdam in 1911; after the war, migration into the catering trade increased, and in the 1970s Chinese from Suriname and Indonesia brought the tradition of the Three Teachings. Leiden University has offered sinology since the early twentieth century, and from the 1970s Kristofer Schipper trained scholars of Daoism there, with Barend ter Haar and others later continuing research on Chinese religion.
The spread of Daoism in Belgium centers mainly on taijiquan, qigong and Daoist philosophy; Chinese communities in Brussels and Antwerp maintain shrines, and the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism / Taoist Tai Chi Society has a branch in Belgium. The University of Leuven conducts research on Chinese religion and philosophy. There is no native Daoist religious organization.
From the mid-twentieth century, migrants from Hong Kong and Zhejiang settled in Belgium; after the 1980s the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism established branches on the European continent.
The spread of Daoism in Switzerland is linked to Jungian psychology (its interpretation of The Secret of the Golden Flower and the Yijing) and to oriental studies in Geneva and Zurich; taijiquan and qigong are popular. The Chinese community is small in size, and there is no formal Daoist temple. The University of Zurich and the University of Geneva conduct research on Chinese philosophy and religion.
In 1929 Richard Wilhelm and Carl Jung jointly published The Secret of the Golden Flower, bringing Daoist internal alchemy to the attention of the German-speaking world and the field of psychology; in the latter part of the twentieth century, groups teaching taijiquan and qigong were established.
Daoism in Austria consists mainly of groups practicing taijiquan, qigong and Daoist philosophy; Chinese community associations in Vienna maintain shrines, and the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism / Taoist Tai Chi Society has a branch there. The Department of Sinology at the University of Vienna conducts research on Chinese religion. There is no native Daoist religious organization.
Taijiquan and Daoist health cultivation were introduced in the latter part of the twentieth century; Chinese immigration increased after the 1990s.
The spread of Daoism in Russia centers mainly on scholarship and health cultivation: the tradition of oriental studies in St. Petersburg (Evgeny Torchinov, Leonid Vasiliev and others) has produced deep research into Daoist philosophy and internal alchemy, and there are numerous Russian translations of the Daodejing; since the 1990s, priests of the Wudang and Quanzhen traditions together with Russian disciples have established Daoist centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg (such as the Daoist Association of Russia / ‘Dao’ Culture Center), and Chinese communities in the Russian Far East (Khabarovsk, Vladivostok) maintain small shrines.
In the eighteenth century the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing began translating Chinese classics; in the twentieth century, Soviet sinology (such as Yang Xingshun's The Ancient Chinese Philosopher Laozi and His Teaching, 1950) studied philosophical Daoism; after religious liberalization in the 1990s, groups devoted to Daoist qigong, taijiquan and internal alchemy proliferated, and Evgeny Torchinov (1956–2003) laid the foundations of Russian-language Daoist studies.
Brazil is the most organized country for the spread of Daoism in Latin America: in 1991 the Taiwanese Daoist priest Wu Jyh Cherng (1958–2004, of the Zhengyi tradition) founded the Sociedade Taoísta do Brasil (Taoist Society of Brazil) in Rio de Janeiro, establishing a temple and translating the Daodejing and the Qingjing jing (Scripture of Clarity and Stillness); branches were later established in São Paulo and elsewhere, with disciples mostly Brazilian; the Chinese community in the Liberdade district of São Paulo also maintains shrines to Guandi and Mazu.
In the mid-twentieth century, migrants from Taiwan, Guangdong and Macau entered Brazil, and taijiquan became popular in the 1970s; in the 1990s Wu Jyh Cherng established a localized Daoist organization and trained Brazilian-born priests, making Brazil a center of Daoism in South America.
Daoism in Argentina centers mainly on the shrines and Buddhist-Daoist syncretic temples of the Chinese community (migrants from Taiwan and Fujian) in Buenos Aires, along with local taijiquan and Daoist philosophy groups; the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism / Taoist Tai Chi Society and Wudang-tradition groups have branches there. There is no nationwide Daoist organization.
From the 1980s, migrants from Taiwan and Fujian settled in Argentina, and taijiquan and qigong rose in popularity in the 1990s.
Peru has the oldest Chinese community in Latin America (indentured Chinese laborers arriving from 1849); near Lima's Chinatown and the Sociedad Central de Beneficencia China (1886) there are shrines in Guandi temples and Chinese association halls, and early Chinese laborers built temples to Tianhou (Mazu) and Guandi; today, Peruvian-Chinese descendants (tusán) are mostly Catholic, and Daoism survives only in the form of folk belief and taijiquan.
Between 1849 and 1874, about 100,000 Chinese laborers went to Peru and built temples on plantations and in Lima; in the twentieth century their descendants assimilated and most temples fell into disuse; after the 1980s new migrants rebuilt shrines.
South African Chinese (nineteenth-century migrants from Guangdong, twentieth-century migrants from Taiwan, and more recent migrants from the mainland) maintain shrines to Guandi and Guanyin and Buddhist-Daoist syncretic temples in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban; Daoism exists mainly in the form of folk belief and taijiquan and qigong practice, and the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism / Taoist Tai Chi Society has a branch there. There is no nationwide Daoist organization.
From the 1870s, migrants from Guangdong arrived, and between 1904 and 1910 Chinese laborers were brought to work the gold mines; during the apartheid era Chinese religious activity was restricted, and after the 1990s immigration from Taiwan and the mainland increased.
Mauritian Chinese (mostly Hakka from Meixian, Guangdong) built the Kwan Tee Pagoda (Old Guandi Temple, 1842, one of the oldest Chinese temples in the southern hemisphere), a Tianhou (Mazu) temple, and a Fude (Earth God) temple in Port Louis; Buddhist-Daoist syncretism and ancestor worship are the mainstream of Chinese religion there, though in the Mauritian census most Chinese register as Buddhist or Catholic.
Chinese arrived from the 1780s onward, and in the nineteenth century Hakka migrants established temples and association halls (the Nam Shun Fooy Koon and the Yan Wo Association); Chinese New Year is a national public holiday.
| Name | Country / Region | Founded | Type | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Taoist Association ↗ Chinese Taoist Association | China | 1957 | National Religious Organization | Founded in April 1957 in Beijing, headquartered at the White Cloud Temple, Beijing, with Yue Chongdai as its first president. It is the national organization for Daoism in mainland China, responsible for religious affairs, the certification of clergy (conferral of registers, ordination), guidance in temple management, Daoist education (the China Taoist College, founded 1990), and external exchange; it publishes the journal China Taoism and hosts the International Forum on Daoism. Its successive presidents have included Chen Yingning, Li Yuhang, Fu Yuantian, Min Zhiting, Ren Farong, and Li Guangfu. |
| China Taoist College ↗ Chinese Taoist College | China | 1990 | Educational Institution | Founded in 1990 at the White Cloud Temple, Beijing, it is the highest Daoist educational institution, run by the Chinese Taoist Association, offering undergraduate, graduate, and short-term training programs to train Daoist clergy and research personnel. Local Daoist colleges also exist elsewhere, including in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Wudang Mountains in Hubei, Longhushan in Jiangxi, Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, Guangdong, and Fujian. |
| Beijing Taoist Association ↗ Beijing Taoist Association | China | 1984 | Local Daoist Organizations | The local Daoist organization for the city of Beijing, founded in 1984 and headquartered at the White Cloud Temple, it coordinates the religious affairs, ordinations, and cultural activities of temples including the White Cloud Temple, Dongyue Temple, the Fire God Temple, Lüzu Palace, and Taoyuan Temple, and assists the Chinese Taoist Association in hosting national conferences; it shares its premises with the China Taoist College. |
| Shanghai Taoist Association ↗ Shanghai Taoist Association | China | 1985 | Local Daoist Organizations | Founded in 1985 and headquartered at the Shanghai City God Temple, it established the Shanghai Taoist College in 1986 (with Chen Liansheng as its first dean) and publishes the journal Shanghai Daoism; it is an important center for the education and ritual transmission of the Zhengyi tradition. |
| Jiangsu Taoist Association ↗ Jiangsu Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Jiangsu, headquartered in Nanjing, it oversees Zhengyi and Quanzhen temples such as the Maoshan Daoist Institute, Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou, and temples in Wuxi and Zhenjiang; it organizes the Jiangsu Daoist Culture Festival and works on the preservation of ritual music, and in 2023 co-hosted the Fifth International Forum on Daoism and the founding assembly of the World Taoism Federation, both at Maoshan. |
| Wudang Mountains Taoist Association ↗ Wudang Mountain Taoist Association | China | 1984 | Local Daoist Organizations | A local Daoist organization managing temples on Wudang Mountains such as Zixiao Palace, Taihe Palace, and Nanyan Palace, founded around 1984, it runs the Wudang Mountains Taoist College and oversees the transmission of Wudang martial arts and Daoist music, and hosted the Fourth International Forum on Daoism in 2017. |
| Longhushan Taoist Association (Mansion of the Celestial Masters) ↗ Longhushan Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | A local Zhengyi organization headquartered at the Mansion of the Celestial Masters (Tianshi Fu), it resumed the conferral of registers on Zhengyi priests from China and abroad in 1991, making it the contemporary center for Zhengyi register conferral, and it hosted the Third International Forum on Daoism in 2014. |
| Sichuan Taoist Association ↗ Sichuan Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Sichuan, headquartered at Qingyang Palace in Chengdu, it coordinates the affairs of temples at Mount Qingcheng, Mount Heming, Qingyang Palace, and elsewhere in the province, and runs the Sichuan Taoist College (at Mount Qingcheng); the Institute for Religious Studies of Sichuan University has long been its academic partner. |
| Shaanxi Taoist Association ↗ Shaanxi Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Shaanxi, headquartered at the Eight Immortals Palace in Xi'an, it coordinates temples such as Louguantai, Chongyang Palace, Yuquan Temple at Mount Hua, and White Cloud Temple at Jiaxian, and organizes symposia on Shaanxi Daoist culture and ordination ceremonies; it co-hosted the International Forum on the Daodejing (Xi'an) in 2007. |
| Shandong Taoist Association ↗ Shandong Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Shandong, headquartered in Jinan, it coordinates temples such as Taiqing Palace at Laoshan, Bixia Temple at Mount Tai, and Mount Kunyu; as the religious-affairs body of the birthplace of the Quanzhen school, it regularly holds commemorative events at the Quanzhen ancestral court and Daoist culture forums. |
| Guangdong Taoist Association ↗ Guangdong Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Guangdong, headquartered at Sanyuan Palace in Guangzhou, it coordinates temples such as Chongxu Temple at Mount Luofu, Chunyang Temple in Guangzhou, and temples in Shenzhen and Foshan, and runs the Guangdong Taoist College; it maintains close exchange with the Hong Kong Taoist Association and the Macau Taoist Association. |
| Zhejiang Taoist Association ↗ Zhejiang Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Zhejiang, headquartered in Hangzhou, it established the Zhejiang Taoist College at Tongbai Palace in Tiantai in 2015, and coordinates Zhengyi altars and temples such as Baopu Daoist Temple, Fuxing Temple at Yuhuang Hill, and temples in Wenzhou and Taizhou; Zhejiang is one of the provinces with the largest number of Zhengyi priests. |
| Fujian Taoist Association ↗ Fujian Taoist Association | China | 1988 | Local Daoist Organizations | Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Fuzhou, it coordinates Zhengyi altars, Lüshan ritual altars, and Quanzhen temples throughout Fujian, and runs the Fujian Taoist College and cross-strait Fujian–Taiwan Daoist cultural exchange activities; it is the principal platform for exchange among Daoist organizations in Fujian, Taiwan, and among Hokkien communities in Southeast Asia. |
| Hunan Taoist Association ↗ Hunan Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Hunan, headquartered in Changsha, it coordinates temples such as those on Mount Heng (Southern Peak), Yunlu Palace on Yuelu Mountain, and Peach Blossom Spring in Changde, and jointly hosted the Second International Forum on Daoism (at Mount Heng) in 2011 with the Nanyue Taoist Association; it also promotes research on the Meishan Ritual Tradition of central Hunan and Daoist ritual. |
| Liaoning Taoist Association ↗ Liaoning Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Liaoning, headquartered at Taiqing Palace in Shenyang, it is the central body for Quanzhen Daoism in Northeast China, coordinating temples such as Wuliang Temple at Qianshan, Mount Yiwulü, and Fenghuang Mountain in Dandong; it has held Quanzhen ordinations on numerous occasions, training Daoist clergy for the three northeastern provinces. |
| Yunnan Taoist Association ↗ Yunnan Taoist Association | China | the 1990s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Yunnan, headquartered in Kunming, it coordinates the affairs of Longquan Temple, the Golden Hall (Jindian), the Daoist temples on Mount Weibao, and temples throughout the province; it promotes the transmission of the Longmen lineage of Quanzhen in Yunnan and research on Daoism in Yi ethnic regions, and maintains frequent exchange with Chinese Daoist organizations in Southeast Asia. |
| Henan Taoist Association ↗ Henan Taoist Association | China | the 1980s | Local Daoist Organizations | The provincial organization for Daoism in Henan, headquartered in Zhengzhou, it coordinates temples such as Zhongyue Temple on Mount Song, Taiqing Palace in Luyi, Xuanmiao Temple in Nanyang, and Yangtai Palace on Mount Wangwu, and organizes commemorations of Laozi's birthday and Daoist cultural events in the Central Plains. |
| Taoism Society of the Republic of China ↗ Taoist Association of the Republic of China | Taiwan | 1966 | National Religious Organization | After the sixty-third Celestial Master Zhang Enpu went to Taiwan in 1949, he re-established the Taiwan Provincial Taoist Association in 1950; it was expanded into the Taoism Society of the Republic of China in 1966 (an alternative account gives its registration approval as 1968), making it the national organization for Taoism in Taiwan, with subordinate county- and city-level Taoist associations that carry out ordinations, register conferral, and liaison with temples. Its successive chairmen have mostly been connected with the Celestial Master's Mansion or with major temples. |
| Celestial Master's Mansion, Taiwan ↗ Celestial Master's Mansion (Taiwan) | Taiwan | 1949（在台） | Daoist Lineage Institution | In 1949, Zhang Enpu brought the Zhengyi Celestial Master lineage to Taiwan and established the Celestial Master's Mansion there, overseeing register conferral and ordination. After Zhang Enpu's death in 1969, he was succeeded by Zhang Yuanxian (sixty-fourth generation); after Zhang Yuanxian's death in 2008, disagreement arose over the succession of the Celestial Master (with Zhang Yijiang, Zhang Daozhen, and others each asserting a claim), and the Celestial Master's Mansion in Taiwan now has several rival lines. Since the 1990s, the Celestial Master's Mansion at Longhushan has likewise resumed register conferral, so that Zhengyi transmission now exists in parallel on both sides of the strait. |
| Taoism Society of the Republic of China ↗ Chinese Taoist Federation (Taiwan) | Taiwan | the 1990s | National Religious Organization | Another national Taoist organization in Taiwan, composed of the heads of major temples and Daoist figures, it engages in cross-strait and international Daoist exchange, temple fellowship, and the promotion of Daoist culture; in 2023 it co-hosted the Fifth International Forum on Daoism together with the Hong Kong Taoist Association and the Macau Taoist Association. |
| Preparatory Office of the Taiwan Daoist College ↗ Taiwan Taoist College (preparatory) | Taiwan | 2000 年代 | Educational Institution | A Daoist educational institution organized by Taiwan's Daoist community, offering courses in Daoist ritual, scripture recitation, Daoist history, and culture, aimed at temple officiants and believers, with the goal of raising the doctrinal knowledge and ritual proficiency of Taiwan's Daoist clergy. |
| Hong Kong Taoist Association ↗ Hong Kong Taoist Association | Hong Kong | 1961 | Regional Federation of Daoist Organizations | Founded in 1961 on the initiative of Daoist halls such as Fung Ying Seen Koon, Ching Chung Koon, and the Yuen Yuen Institute, and registered as a nonprofit corporation in 1967, it is the umbrella organization of Hong Kong's Daoist bodies, now with over a hundred member organizations; it runs primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and elderly-care services, has hosted the "Taoist Festival" since 2001, maintains frequent exchange with Daoist circles on the mainland, in Taiwan, and in Southeast Asia, and co-hosted the International Forum on the Daodejing in 2007. |
| Sik Sik Yuen ↗ Sik Sik Yuen | Hong Kong | 1921 | Daoist Hall / Charitable Organization | Founded in 1921 to manage the Wong Tai Sin Temple, dedicated to Huang Chuping, while also honoring Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism together, it began through spirit-writing and the provision of free medical treatment and medicine; it is now one of Hong Kong's largest religious charitable organizations, running numerous schools and medical and elderly-care services. |
| Fung Ying Seen Koon ↗ Fung Ying Seen Koon | Hong Kong | 1929 | Quanzhen Daoist Temple | Founded in 1929 in Fanling by Longmen-lineage Quanzhen priests from Guangzhou, it is the representative Quanzhen Longmen temple in Hong Kong, and conducts Daoist cultural research and publishing (through the Daoist Culture Centre Database at daoinfo.org), while also funding branch halls in Canada and elsewhere. |
| Ching Chung Koon ↗ Ching Chung Koon | Hong Kong | 1950 | Quanzhen Daoist Temple | Founded in 1950 by Daoist companions who migrated south from Zhibao Terrace in Guangzhou, it is located in Tuen Mun and belongs to the Quanzhen Longmen lineage; it is known for its devotion to Lü Dongbin, its charitable work, and its educational activities, has established branch temples in Australia, the United States, and Canada, and funds the Hong Kong Taoist College. |
| The Yuen Yuen Institute ↗ Yuen Yuen Institute | Hong Kong | 1950 | Three Teachings Daoist Hall | Founded in 1950 at Sam Dip Tam in Tsuen Wan, it advocates the unity of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, enshrining the sages of all three teachings; it is one of the founding organizations of the Hong Kong Taoist Association, runs numerous primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and elderly-care homes, and is one of Hong Kong's largest religious charitable organizations. |
| Daoist Culture Research Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong ↗ Centre for Studies of Daoist Culture, CUHK | Hong Kong | 2006 | Academic Institutions | A Daoist research center within the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, founded in 2006 and directed by Lai Chi-tim, it publishes the Journal of Daoist Studies: Religion, History and Society, promotes research into Daoist documents, Daoist halls, and fieldwork in Hong Kong and South China, and organizes international conferences on Daoist studies. |
| Macau Taoist Association ↗ Macau Taoist Association | Macau | 2001 | Regional Daoist Organization | Founded in 2001, with Ng Peng-chi as president, it is dedicated to the preservation and transmission of Macau Daoist ritual music (inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2011), organizes the Macau Daoist Culture Festival, and has co-hosted the International Forum on Daoism. |
| Taoist Federation (Singapore) ↗ Taoist Federation (Singapore) | Singapore | 1990 | National Religious Organization | Founded in 1990, it is the national umbrella organization for Taoist temples and organizations in Singapore; it built San Qing Gong as its headquarters in 1996, promotes the Taoist Festival (celebrating Laojun's birthday), a Taoist college, and a youth corps, participates in the Inter-Religious Organisation of Singapore (IRO), and maintains exchange with Daoist circles in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia. |
| Taoist Association of Singapore (Taoist Mission) ↗ Taoist Mission (Singapore) | Singapore | 1996 | Missionary Organization | A missionary and educational organization founded in 1996 by Daoist Master Lee Zhi Wang, it propagates Daoist doctrine, ritual, and scripture to the younger generation and non-Chinese communities in English and Chinese, publishes English-language Daoist reading materials, and has developed in parallel with the Taoist Federation (Singapore). |
| Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia ↗ Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia | Malaysia | 1994 | National Religious Organization | Founded in 1994 on the initiative of Tan Chai Ho and others, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, it is the national umbrella organization for Taoist organizations in Malaysia; after Taoism received official recognition in 2006, it became a member of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), and it runs the Malaysian Taoist College. |
| Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia ↗ Malaysia Taoist Organisations Federation | Malaysia | 2000 年代 | National Religious Organization | Another national federation of Taoist organizations in Malaysia, uniting state-level Taoist associations and temples; it maintains exchange with the Chinese Taoist Association, the Celestial Master's Mansion at Longhushan, and others, and participates in the International Forum on Daoism and the World Taoism Federation. |
| Taoist Association of Thailand ↗ Taoism Association of Thailand | Thailand | Unresolved | National Religious Organization | An umbrella organization of Chinese Daoist temples and organizations in Thailand, it participates in the International Forum on Daoism hosted by the Chinese Taoist Association and in activities of the World Taoism Federation, and maintains contact with Chinese shrines in Bangkok and the provinces; public information is limited, and its founding date and registration status remain unverified. |
| Zi Zhen Ge of the De Jiao (Virtue Teaching) Association, Thailand ↗ Thai Dejiao Association Zizhen Ge | Thailand | 1950 年代 | Charitable Hall of Daoist Background | A charitable religious organization established after Dejiao (the Teaching of Virtue, originating in Chaoyang in 1939) spread to Thailand, it venerates the "Sages of the Five Teachings," including Guandi and Lü Dongbin, and centers on spirit-writing, the provision of free medical treatment and medicine, and disaster relief; it is representative of Chinese religious charity in Thailand. |
| Federation of Tridharma Temples, Indonesia ↗ Perhimpunan Tempat Ibadat Tri Dharma (PTITD) | Indonesia | 1950 年代 | Temple Federation | Continuing the Sam Kauw Hwee (Tridharma Association) founded by Kwee Tek Hoay in 1934, it is the national umbrella organization for Indonesia's "Three Teachings" temples (klenteng) — Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism — with member temples throughout Java, Sumatra, and elsewhere; during the Suharto era it maintained itself under the guise of Buddhism, and resumed open activity after 1998. |
| Caodaism ↗ Cao Đài | Vietnam | 1926 | Syncretic Religion (Daoist Influence) | Founded in 1926 in Tay Ninh, Vietnam, it venerates the Jade Emperor (Cao Dai, "High Tower"), blending Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism, and the spirit-writing tradition, with a hierarchical clergy modeled on the Catholic Church and its Holy See at Tay Ninh; with over a million adherents, it is Vietnam's third-largest religion and the most significant product of Daoism's localization in Vietnam. |
| Japanese Society for Taoist Studies ↗ Japan Society of Taoistic Research | Japan | 1950 | Academic Organization | Founded on October 18, 1950, it is the world's earliest learned society devoted specifically to Daoist studies. It publishes Tōhō Shūkyō (Journal of Eastern Religions, semiannual since 1951), and its membership includes scholars of Daoism and East Asian religions; its secretariat is housed at Senshu University, and it regularly holds annual conferences and Sino-Japanese symposia on Daoist studies. |
| Korean Society for Taoist Studies ↗ Korean Society of Taoism Studies | South Korea | 1986 | Academic Organization | A scholarly association for the study of the history of Daoism, Daoist thought, and the study of internal alchemy (danxue) in Korea and East Asia, which publishes Studies in Daoist Culture; its members are mostly Korean university scholars of philosophy, religious studies and Korean studies, and it holds joint symposia with scholars in China and Japan. |
| Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego ↗ Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego | United States | 1970 | Daoist Organization | Founded by Khigh Dhiegh in Los Angeles in 1970 and later relocated to San Diego, it was the first Daoist religious organization to receive government recognition in the United States; its main activities center on the study of the Daodejing, taiji, and Chinese medicine, and it is regarded as one of the starting points of "American Daoism." |
| Ching Chung Taoist Association of America ↗ Ching Chung Taoist Association of America | United States | the 1980s | Quanzhen Daoist Temple | A branch temple established in San Francisco by the Ching Chung Koon of Hong Kong, enshrining Patriarch Lü, one of the representative Chinese Quanzhen Daoist temples in North America; it runs a Chinese-language school, holds Daoist rites, and conducts charitable activities, and is a typical example of the extension of the Hong Kong Daoist temple (daotang) system into North America. |
| Daoist Foundation ↗ Daoist Foundation | United States | 2007 | Educational Organization | Founded by the scholar-priest Louis Komjathy (Kang Siqi) and Kate Townsend, it engages in teaching the practice of Daoism (especially Quanzhen), translation and publishing, and advocates distinguishing academic Daoist studies from "Popular Daoism." |
| Taoist Tai Chi Society ↗ Taoist Tai Chi Society | Canada (international) | 1970 | International Daoist organizations | Founded in Toronto in 1970 by the Hong Kong Daoist priest Moy Lin-shin, it primarily teaches "Taoist Tai Chi," with branches in 26 countries worldwide and tens of thousands of members; in 1981 it established its religious branch, the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism, headquartered in Orangeville, Ontario. |
| Fung Loy Kok Taoism ↗ Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism | Canada (international) | 1981 | International Daoist organizations | The religious organization of the Taoist Tai Chi Society, venerating the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, originating from the Fung Ying Seen Koon / Ching Chung Koon system of Hong Kong; it maintains a large Daoist temple in Orangeville, holds annual rites and rituals for the salvation of the dead, and has altars established at branches in various countries. |
| British Columbia Taoist Association ↗ BC Taoism Association | Canada | 2010 年代 | Local Daoist Organization | A Chinese Daoist organization in British Columbia, Canada, that connects Daoist temples and priests in the Vancouver and Richmond areas, holds Daoist rites, lectures on Daoist culture, and festival events, and exchanges with Daoist organizations in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. |
| Ching Chung Taoist Association of Australia ↗ Ching Chung Taoist Association of Australia | Australia | the 1980s | Quanzhen Daoist Temple | A branch temple established in Sydney by the Ching Chung Koon of Hong Kong in the 1980s, one of the principal Chinese Daoist temples in Australia, enshrining Patriarch Lü; it holds Daoist rites and charitable and cultural activities, and is the representative institution of Quanzhen Daoism in Australia. |
| The British Daoist Association ↗ British Taoist Association | United Kingdom | the 1990s | Daoist Organization | Founded by a British-national priest of the Quanzhen Longmen Lineage, it engages in the translation of Daoist scriptures (such as the Qingjing jing and the Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response), teaching of practice, and ritual, and is one of the earliest indigenous Daoist religious organizations in Britain. |
| Association Française Taoïste ↗ Association Française de Taoïsme (AFT) | France | 2010 年代 | Daoist Organization | Founded by the French Daoist Karine Martin, who studied for many years at temples in China, it operates alongside the Institut d'Études Taoïstes (Institute of Daoist Studies), and engages in teaching and disseminating Daoist philosophy, medicine, ritual protocol, and traditional learning. |
| Chiesa Taoista d'Italia ↗ Chiesa Taoista d'Italia | Italy | 2013 | Daoist Organization | Formally established in November 2013 by Vincenzo Di Ieso, its predecessor was the Associazione Taoista d'Italia (Italian Taoist Association) of the 1990s; it engages in Quanzhen internal cultivation, ritual protocol, and free translation of Daoist scriptures, and is one of the few formally registered indigenous Daoist religious organizations in Europe. |
| Spanish Taoist Association ↗ Asociación Taoísta de España | Spain | 2010 年代 | Daoist Organization | A Spanish organization dedicated to disseminating traditional Daoism, which has established lineage ties with temples in China and holds courses and rituals; Spain also has a Daoist religious entity registered with the Ministry of Justice and a Daoist temple in Barcelona. |
| Deutsche Daoistische Vereinigung ↗ German Daoist Association | Germany | 2000 年代 | Daoist Organization | A Daoist organization in Germany existing in the form of a registered association (e.V.), whose members are mostly German Daoist priests and practitioners of taiji and qigong; it has master-disciple ties with temples of Wudang and Quanzhen Daoism. Publicly available information is limited. |
| Dutch Taoist Association ↗ Daoisme (Netherlands) | Netherlands | 2000 年代 | Daoist Organization | A local Dutch organization for Daoist philosophy and practice, which holds lectures on the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, courses in meditation and taiji, and publishes Dutch-language readings on Daoist philosophy; it is one of the main platforms for non-Chinese enthusiasts of Daoism in the Netherlands. |
| Belgian Taoist Tai Chi Society ↗ Taoist Tai Chi Society of Belgium | Belgium | the 1980s | Branch of an international Daoist organization | The Belgian branch of the Taoist Tai Chi Society / Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism, with teaching centers in Brussels, Antwerp and elsewhere; it teaches "Taoist Tai Chi" and holds Fung Loy Kok rites and cultural events. |
| Swiss Taoist Tai Chi Society ↗ Taoist Tai Chi Society of Switzerland | Switzerland | the 1990s | Branch of an international Daoist organization | The Swiss branch of the Taoist Tai Chi Society, with teaching centers in Zurich, Geneva, Bern and elsewhere; its main activity is taijiquan for health cultivation, and it takes part in the rites and international conferences of the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism. |
| Daoist Association of Russia ↗ Daoist Association of Russia | Russia | 2000 年代 | Daoist Organization | An organization composed of Russian practitioners of Daoism and Chinese Daoist priests resident in Russia, active in Moscow and Saint Petersburg in disseminating and translating Daoist culture, internal alchemy and taiji; it has connections with temples of Wudang and Quanzhen Daoism. Publicly available information is limited. |
| Sociedade Taoísta do Brasil ↗ Sociedade Taoísta do Brasil | Brazil | 1991 | Daoist Organization | Founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1991 by the Taiwanese Zhengyi priest Wu Zhicheng (Wu Jyh Cherng), it maintains a Daoist temple and trains Brazilian-national priests, and has translated the Daodejing, the Qingjing jing and other texts; it is the most well-organized Daoist organization in South America. |
| Association for Asian Studies (Daoist Studies) ↗ Association for Asian Studies | United States | 1941 | Academic Organization | The largest Asian studies association in North America; its annual conference includes panels and sessions related to Daoist studies. The American Academy of Religion (AAR) likewise has a Daoist Studies Unit, and together these form the main platform for exchange among Daoist studies scholars in North America. |
| Society for the Study of Chinese Religions ↗ Society for the Study of Chinese Religions | United States (International) | 1973 | Academic Organization | An international society for the study of Chinese religions founded in 1973, which publishes the Journal of Chinese Religions (formerly the SSCR Bulletin), an important venue for the publication of Daoist studies scholarship; its European branch is the European Network for the Study of Chinese Religions (ENSRC). |
| European Network for the Study of Chinese Religions ↗ European Network for the Study of Religions in China (ENSRC) | Europe | 2010 年代 | Academic Network | A network of European scholars operating within the framework of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions (SSCR), which organizes sessions on the study of Chinese religion and Daoism at venues such as the annual conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS). |
| École française d'Extrême-Orient (Daoist Studies) ↗ École française d'Extrême-Orient | France | 1900 | Academic Institutions | The French national institute for Oriental studies, which together with the École Pratique des Hautes Études constitutes the French tradition of Daoist studies (Henri Maspero, Max Kaltenmark, Kristofer Schipper, John Lagerwey); it has directed projects such as The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang, and maintains centers in Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong. |
| Institute of Daoist and Religious Culture, Sichuan University ↗ Institute of Daoism and Religious Studies, Sichuan University | China | 1980 | Academic Institutions | Founded in 1980 by Qing Xitai, it is the earliest institution dedicated specifically to Daoist studies on the Chinese mainland; it compiled History of Chinese Daoism (ed. Qing Xitai) and History of Chinese Daoist Thought, publishes the journal Religious Studies, and is a Key Research Base for Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education. |
| World Taoism Federation ↗ World Federation of Taoism | International (Headquartered in Beijing) | 2023 | International Federation of Daoist Organizations | Established on September 24, 2023, during the Fifth International Forum on Daoism at Mount Mao in Jiangsu, with 52 Daoist organizations from 20 countries and regions as founding members; Li Guangfu, president of the Chinese Taoist Association, was elected as its first chairman. Headquartered in Beijing, its mission is to connect Daoist organizations around the world and promote exchange in Daoist culture. |
| International Forum on Daoism ↗ International Taoism Forum | International (Hosted by China) | 2007 | International Forum | An international Daoist gathering co-hosted by the Chinese Taoist Association and the China Religious Culture Communication Association: the International Forum on the Daodejing in 2007 (Xi'an and Hong Kong), the second forum in 2011 (Mount Heng, Nanyue, Hunan), the third in 2014 (Mount Longhu, Jiangxi), the fourth in 2017 (the Wudang Mountains, Hubei), and the fifth in 2023 (Mount Mao, Jiangsu, during which the World Federation of Taoism was also established); Daoist organizations from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas have co-hosted or taken part. |
| Daoist Culture Centre Database ↗ Daoist Culture Centre Database (daoinfo.org) | Hong Kong | 2000 年代 | Database / Research Institution | A Chinese-English encyclopedic database of Daoism established by the Daoist Culture Centre of Fung Ying Seen Koon, containing several thousand entries on figures, temples, organizations, scriptures, ritual protocols and more; it provides a basic reference for the public and researchers, and is an important source of information on Daoist organizations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas. |
| Hong Kong Taoist College ↗ Hong Kong Taoist College | Hong Kong | 1991 | Educational Institution | Founded in 1991 with funding from Ching Chung Koon, it engages scholars and senior priests to offer courses on Daoist scriptures, ritual protocol, history and culture, publishes the journal Hongdao (Propagating the Dao), and holds international academic conferences on Daoism; it is an important institution for Daoist education and research in Hong Kong. |
| Chinese Temples Committee ↗ Chinese Temples Committee | Hong Kong | 1928 | Statutory Governing Body | Established under the 1928 Chinese Temples Ordinance, it manages numerous traditional temples in Hong Kong (such as the Man Mo Temple in Sheung Wan and the Pak Tai Temple in Wan Chai), with temple income used for charitable purposes; it is an important managing body for popular Daoist temples in Hong Kong. |
| Federation of Taoist Shrines, Phuket (Nine Emperor Gods Festival) ↗ Phuket Chinese Shrines / Vegetarian Festival | Thailand | 1825（斋节起源） | Temple Consortium | The Nine Emperor Gods Vegetarian Festival of Phuket was introduced by Fujianese miners in the 19th century, and is jointly held by dozens of Chinese Daoist shrines including the Kathu Shrine, the Jui Tui Shrine, and the Bang Neow Shrine; it involves nine days of vegetarian fasting along with deity processions, fire-walking and other rites, and is the largest Daoism-related festival in Thailand. |
| Cebu Taoist Temple ↗ Cebu Taoist Temple | Philippines | 1972 | Daoist Temple (Guan) | Built in 1972 on Beverly Hills by Chinese merchants of Cebu, enshrining Laozi and other deities, it is a landmark building of Daoism in the Philippines and a site where local Chinese hold rituals and draw oracle lots, and which tourists visit; it is managed by a Daoist organization in Cebu. |
| Kwan Tee Pagoda, Port Louis ↗ Kwan Tee Pagoda (Port Louis) | Mauritius | 1842 | Chinese temple | Built by Chinese immigrants in Port Louis in 1842, it is one of the oldest Chinese temples in the Southern Hemisphere, enshrining Guandi; it is the center of Chinese religious and community activity in Mauritius, and holds sacrificial rites and processions during Chinese New Year and the Birthday of Guandi. |
| Yokohama Kanteibyo ↗ Yokohama Kanteibyo | Japan | 1862 | Chinese temple | Built in Yokohama Chinatown in 1862, enshrining Guandi, it has been rebuilt several times after being destroyed by earthquakes and war (the current, fourth-generation building dates from 1990); together with the Yokohama Masobyo, completed in 2006, it is representative of Chinese Daoist belief in Japan. |
| Thian Hock Keng (Hokkien Huay Kuan), Singapore ↗ Thian Hock Keng | Singapore | 1839 | Temple / Association Hall | Built between 1839 and 1842 by Hokkien immigrants, enshrining Mazu, it is the oldest Hokkien temple in Singapore and the seat of the Hokkien Huay Kuan (Fujian Association); a National Monument (1973), it is a central site of Chinese Daoist and popular religion in Singapore. |
| Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Malacca ↗ Cheng Hoon Teng | Malaysia | 1673 前后 | Temple | The oldest surviving Chinese temple in Malaysia, enshrining Guanyin, Mazu, Guandi and others, jointly venerating Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism; historically it was the deliberative center of the Kapitan Cina (Chinese headman) of Malacca, and it received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award in 2003. |