Taoism has masculinity and femininity deeply rooted in their beliefs. In the Tao de Jing is a collection of 81 poems that offer advice on various topics. Because the poems are ambiguously written, they are interpreted in many different ways. Furthermore, English translations of the texts have resulted in further obscurity of the meaning. However, a Chapter 61 clearly refers to femininity in a positive light. It contains the lines "The Feminine always conquers the Masculine by her quietness, by lowering herself through her quietness./ Hence, if a great country can lower itself before a small country, it will win over the small country . . . " Taoists traditionally have had a positive view of women. Nonetheless, the Tao de Jing was written by men for men, at a time when conflict was a common part of life. Historians believe it was written to try to end the perpetual conflicts by teaching men to be more feminine.
A central part of Taoism is the concept of yin and yang. Yin and yang are male and female, they cannot exist without one another, are unified and equal but represent different things. Yin, the female part of the symbol which is black is calmer and cooler and is often represented by still water. Hence, Taoist women are expected to conform to this ideal of being peaceful and quiet. This is clearly represented in the image of He XianGu, one of the Eight Immortals in Taoist beliefs, the Eight Immortals being humans who are true followers of the Tao. She is the only woman of the Eight Immortals and her symbol is the lotus which signifies modesty, purity and love.
In reality, the expectation for women to be peaceful, beautiful and respectful like He XianGu and the Yin, is often abused by the loud, fiery Yang counterparts. Taoist women can be very reserved and restricted because of their gender stereotype. There have been very few female Taoists who have risen to prominence. This is due to the way Taoist women are expected to behave. The result is the loss of a great female contribution to Taoism. Nonetheless, the Tao De Jing written by Lao Tzu aims to teach society how to live peacefully by describing 'feminine' characteristics for people to follow.
Experts often assert that the Tao De Jing is a feminist text that, for the majority of the text, remains gender neutral. However the Tao De Jing promotes qualities such as gentleness, quietness and peace, that in Western culture, are viewed as feminine attributes. Therefore, translations of the Tao De Jing can be gender defined in English transcripts as they were not in the Chinese scripture. An example of this follows below from verse six.
A central part of Taoism is the concept of yin and yang. Yin and yang are male and female, they cannot exist without one another, are unified and equal but represent different things. Yin, the female part of the symbol which is black is calmer and cooler and is often represented by still water. Hence, Taoist women are expected to conform to this ideal of being peaceful and quiet. This is clearly represented in the image of He XianGu, one of the Eight Immortals in Taoist beliefs, the Eight Immortals being humans who are true followers of the Tao. She is the only woman of the Eight Immortals and her symbol is the lotus which signifies modesty, purity and love.
In reality, the expectation for women to be peaceful, beautiful and respectful like He XianGu and the Yin, is often abused by the loud, fiery Yang counterparts. Taoist women can be very reserved and restricted because of their gender stereotype. There have been very few female Taoists who have risen to prominence. This is due to the way Taoist women are expected to behave. The result is the loss of a great female contribution to Taoism. Nonetheless, the Tao De Jing written by Lao Tzu aims to teach society how to live peacefully by describing 'feminine' characteristics for people to follow.
Experts often assert that the Tao De Jing is a feminist text that, for the majority of the text, remains gender neutral. However the Tao De Jing promotes qualities such as gentleness, quietness and peace, that in Western culture, are viewed as feminine attributes. Therefore, translations of the Tao De Jing can be gender defined in English transcripts as they were not in the Chinese scripture. An example of this follows below from verse six.
The first translation clearly identifies a 'wondrous female' while the second, it is 'The Mysterious pass'. This kind of gender representation has caused global Taoist followers to be impeded by their various interpretations and their cultural manifestations of the text. Western ideals of 'female' qualities are what determined Douglas Allchin to translate the text in a different way, because he thought that the qualities described were female. This fallacy is also confuses global Taoists and further obscures the meaning of the Tao De Jing. This leads to global Taoists not following Taoists principals, especially the principle that male and female are entwined, opposite and equal.