Taoist music

The importance of music in Taoist ceremony is demonstrated by revealing how central beliefs are reflected through elements of music such as harmony, instrumentation and rhythm. The ritual celebrating the birth of Guanyin was observed at the Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia, Deagon to identify structure, role of participants, music forms and instrumentation. Expression of spiritual beliefs through music enables followers of Taoism to enhance their path to enlightenment.

Music has long played an integral part in religious ceremonies. In Taoist ceremonies, music has several different functions. Taoists believe that music is a way to speak to the gods, to inspire religious followers and to achieve inner harmony, bringing the listener or participant closer to Tao. Tao is the path to enlightenment, the goal of all followers of the Taoist faith. To follow Tao is to recognise the inner harmony and balance in all living things. This belief is often represented in the Yin Yang symbol. In the ceremony witnessed at the Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia, Deagon, the birth of Quan Yin, the goddess of mercy was celebrated. Music and instrumentation played a central role in this ritual. The priests sung each chant and prayer to their gods, and accompanied these on musical instruments. The musical expression of a Taoist ceremony supports the core beliefs of the religion. Firstly, the role of music in the ceremony will be described, showing its religious importance to Taoism. Secondly, this relates the structure of the birth of Quan Yin ceremony to the achievement of Tao. The principal doctrines of Taoism and the roles of the various participants in the ceremony will also be described. Following this, the demeanour of participants and the physical setting of the ceremony will be illustrated. Studying the role of music in Taoist ceremony will demonstrate the importance of music in religion as a means to inspire followers, improve and deepen faith, and enable communication with gods. Describing how the music in the ceremony witnessed communicates and confirms the belief systems of Taoism will reveal music is as intrinsic to the Taoist as the path of Tao itself.

Taoism or Daoism, as it is commonly referred to, is an ancient Chinese religion and philosophy. Taoism can be traced to a 6th-century B.C. scripture written by Lao Tzu, the Tao Te Ching (Verellen, 1995). Tao Te Ching translates into the classic of the way and its virtue . The writings of the Tao Te Ching support passive behaviour and promote natural harmony with nature. The main underlying theme to the writings is the value of wu-wei, (non-striving) “by which one returns to a primitive state closer to the Tao”. (Duyvendak, Chan, Lau, Mitchell, & Mair, 2005). These writings are considered to be influenced by Buddhist ideals, Confucian philosophy and traditional ancient Chinese mysticism ([1]).

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