text: what is your...? i'm interested in taoism.  what is your opinion on the philosophy? why? my philosphy is to each his own =)  the english word "taoism" is used to translate the chinese terms daojiao (道教) and daojia (道家). the character tao 道 (or dao, depending on the romanisation scheme one prefers) literally means "path" or "way", but in chinese religion and philosophy has taken on more abstract meanings. the compound daojiao refers to daoism as a religion (i.e., people worshipping at altars); daojia refers to the activity of scholars in their studies. it must be noted that this distinction is itself controversial and fraught with hermeneutic difficulty.  much uncertainty exists over the meaning of "taoism". in some countries and contexts (for example, the national "taoism" organisations of china and taiwan), the label has come to be applied to the chinese folk religion, which would otherwise not have a readily recognisable english name. however many, if not most, of its practitioners would not recognise "taoism" (in any language) as the name of their religion. moreover, the several forms of what we might call "elite" or "organised" taoism often distinguish their ritual activities from those of the folk religion, which some professional "taoists" (daoshi) tend to view as debased.  chinese alchemy, astrology, cuisine, several chinese martial arts, chinese traditional medicine, fengshui, and many styles of qigong breath training disciplines have some relationship with taoism.