According to Livia Kohn, a leading scholar of Daoism, _____ is the oldest branch of Daoism based on the texts Daode Jing and Zhuangzi.

Question

a. neo-Daoism
b. religious Daoism
c. folk Daoism
d. philosophical Daoism

Answer 1

d. philosophical Daoism


Analysis:
a, b & c. Incorrect. Daoism, the religion of the natural Way, refers to diverse but related Chinese traditions that have shaped Asia for more than two thousand years and have had an influence on the Western world since the nineteenth century.
d. Correct. Livia Kohn has carefully divided Daoism into three categories: (1) philosophical Daoism, the oldest branch, based on the texts Daode Jing and Zhuangzi; (2) religious Daoism, a collection of formal, organized religious movements originating from the Celestial Masters movement around 200 C.E.; and (3) folk Daoism, the widely diverse Chinese indigenous local religions taken up into Daoism after 200 C.E.