Taoistische Malerei - Tong Dan

The religion of Taoism goes back to the teachings of the Chinese thinker Laozi (604-531 BC), which offers a sophisticated system for understanding the world and the cosmos. He developed the Tao as a transcendental principle on which all phenomena beyond time and space are based.

Only in the course of time did his philosophy develop into an organized religion with a diverse pantheon to satisfy basic human needs for divine assistance in this world and the world beyond.

The set of three paintings - see also inventory numbers 180078 and 180079) - is also known as the "Small Altar". Tong Dan in the center is considered to be a gathering of many Taoist deities from the Jade Emperor at the top to deities depicted below him such as the Three Pure Ones, the Marshals, the Masters of Heaven and Earth and the many guardian deities below. This group representation is referred to as the image of the ancestors, with ancestors referring to Taoism as such. At the core of Taoist philosophy, all these gods are ultimately just a mere breath to make the Tao recognizable.