The term Taoism (also known as Taouism or Daoism), refers to a school of philosophical thought and a religion, which both share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the Tao ("Way") and have had a profound influence on Chinese culture over the centuries. The Tao Te Ching, a book containing teachings attributed to Lao-tse, along with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely regarded as the key works of Taoism. This philosophy/religion teaches the various disciplines of achieving perfection through self-cultivation. This can be done through the use of Taoist techniques and by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the whole, called "the Way" or "Tao". The roots of Taoism go back to at least the 4th century BC. Early Taoism drew its cosmological notions from the Yinyang School and was profoundly influenced by one of the oldest texts of Chinese culture, the I Ching, which expounds a philosophical system on how to keep human behavior in accord with the alternating cycles of nature.
The great American journalist Warren Gilbert Benton, in his short essay from 1890 The Taoist Religion, summarizes the essence and teachings of this extraordinary discipline.