The Collapse of the Han Empire on the Impact of Daoism

Abstract

Daoist School has exerted a great influence on shaping Chinese history. However, Daoism did not really appear in China until more than 600 years after the birth of the Daoist School. The special cultural and political shaping of the Eastern Han dynasty led to the transformation of Daoism from a pure idea to a more practical theory. The Han Empire had an elaborate and massive bureaucratic system that ensured that imperial power was concentrated in the hands of the emperor and his trusted ministers. At the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the government could not maintain a costly bureaucratic system due to the plague, famine, and financial crises. Daoism gained unprecedented freedom to preach. This paper analyzes the late Han dynasty’s unique social and political background through historical materials. Comparing the attitudes of different Daoist tribes towards the government concludes that the true foothold of Daoism in China must be an alliance with aristocrats. At the same time, Daoism has assumed the corresponding social responsibility and gained more people’s trust. However, when Daoist power grew to a certain size, it inevitably attracted the attention of the empire. Different sects have chosen different paths to develop. The Taiping Dao underestimated the empire’s military power, which soon led to its own destruction. The Heavenly Master avoided direct conflict with the empire and achieved their religious and political goals by uniting with local forces when the empire was on its way to destruction.