Taoism and Environmentalism - The Way and Nature

This article is by Denise Hruby from the journal, Sixth Tone - Fresh voices from to-day's China.

Here is the Taoism portal on Wikipedia.

SHAANXI, Northwest China — 

On a chilly winter morning, rays of sunlight warmed the wrinkled face of Ren Farong, the former president of the Chinese Taoist Association. His long white beard bobbed up and down as he spoke.

“In the past, people were pure and honest, and they protected the environment,” Ren said from his wicker chair in the courtyard of Louguantai Temple. It was here in the fourth century that Lao-tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, the text that serves as the foundation of Taoism.

Under the emerald roofs of Louguantai, monks with long hair tied into buns saunter past pine trees and firs, paying their respects to the sage and their gods in golden shrines, interrupted only by the occasional ringing of bells.

Just 70 kilometers from this tranquil enclave lies Shaanxi’s capital, Xi’an, a city of about 9 million people. There, luxury cars zip past high-end shopping malls, coal plants belch toxic fumes into the air, and factories dump waste into waterways.

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and there are some beautiful pictures too.

This post is merely to help you to start

your own exploration of Taoism.