Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE: Daoism

Teacher guide prepared: by Gloria W. Lannom, a regular contributor to CALLIOPE^®.
Note: Page numbers refer to pertinent articles in the issue.

Before the students begin reading the articles, have them look up "philosophy" ("a particular system of principles for the conduct of life") and "religion" ("a system of faith and worship of a god or gods") in the dictionary and discuss their meanings.

After they have read the article on page 4, ask them whether Daoism is a philosophy or a religion or both and follow with when and how it also became a religion.

Divide the class into three groups. Have each group make a list of the ideas and objects associated with the development of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism to see what the three beliefs have in common with each other (great thinker / leader who becomes a god, public buildings of worship - temples / shrines, objects used in worship - altar, images, written texts, special language terms, art, festivals / holidays, music / chanting, special clothing, incense). Note that these may differ in meaning and usage depending on which belief they belong to. (Other Resources: CALLIOPE^® issues on Buddhism, March / April 1995, and on Confucianism, October 1999.)

Ask a student to read aloud the definitions of yin and yang given on page 16. Ask one half of the class to be yang and propose yang terms, one at a time, and ask the other half of the class to be yin and to respond with the appropriate complementary yin term (examples: male / female, sun / moon, heaven / earth, light / dark, warmth / cold, positive / negative, active / passive). Remind them that both yang and yin are necessary to balance.

After the students look at the activity on page 48, point out that we use symbolism also and ask the students to think of animals or objects and link them with certain characteristics that we commonly think they represent. Some examples are: fox (slyness), lion (power and strength), rock (hardness), deer (swiftness), lamb (gentleness), pig (greediness), violet (shyness).

On page 8, have the students find the term the Chinese used for the mystical person said to be the founder of Daoism and give the English translation. Ask them what they think the term "Old Master" reveals to us about Chinese attitudes, even today, towards old age and teachers.

Ask the students to name some places where Daoism is a living religion today (Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, USA). Note that they all have Chinese members in their populations. Ask whether it is necessary to be born Chinese in order to practice Daoism and how they know (pages 44 - 46).

In conclusion, underscore two points:

1. Daoism is so deeply a part of their culture that Chinese people may not think of some ideas and things as specifically part of Daoist thought ("tai ji quan," a form of martial art and meditation, is a good example)
2. Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism exist side by side in Chinese culture and the Chinese borrow and accept ideas from all three beliefs which are referred to as the "Three Teachings" or "Three Creeds" (see pages 18 - 19).

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Updated: 11/21/08 02:48 pm
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